175: Chapter 175 Council of Elders

The afterimages left by the blade light expanded around Wang Lin like a fan.

One strike, two strikes, three strikes...

Thirteen strikes, each one faster than the last.

When the final strike was unleashed, it sliced a visible fissure into the air.

The students in the courtyard were speechless.

"This... this is impossible..." Huo Yan's voice trembled.

At this moment, Wang Lin stood in the center of the courtyard, holding the blade in his right hand, the tip pointing obliquely at the ground.

His breathing was steady, his expression normal, as if the dozens of blade techniques just performed were merely a warm-up for him.

No one in the courtyard spoke. Everyone looked at him with complex expressions—shock, awe, and disbelief.

Wang Lin looked up and glanced at the blade in his hand.

The blade reflected his own face—calm, indifferent, without a ripple of emotion.

Then, Wang Lin tossed the blade high into the air.

The blade spun as it rose, tracing an arc in the sunlight, so bright it was blinding.

Wang Lin didn't look at the blade; he turned and walked toward the courtyard entrance.

The moment Wang Lin stepped over the threshold, the blade in the sky landed steadily back onto the weapon rack.

Hilt up, blade down, it landed precisely in its original spot, lining up neatly with the other weapons on the rack, as if it had never left.

The courtyard was deathly silent; everyone's gaze remained fixed on the blade.

"How... how did he do that..."

A voice trembled from the corner.

But no one answered, for the crowd was too stunned to speak.

Wang Lin walked back to his dormitory, a thought on his mind...

The Superpower [Blade God] allowed him to master any skill or martial art related to blade techniques just by looking at it once. No practice, no refinement needed.

Since there was a [Blade God], could there also be a [Sword God]?

However, Wang Lin thought about it and shook his head.

The [Sword God] wouldn't actually be that useful to him. To use the [Sword God], one needed a sword.

But the [Blade God] was different; his Tentacles could perfectly function as a blade.

The power generation for blades and swords was completely different; blades emphasized ferocity and power, focusing on cleaving, hacking, slashing, and sweeping—wide, open movements that pressed forward relentlessly.

Swords emphasized lightness and agility, focusing on thrusting, poking, lifting, and flicking—flexible, varied movements that won through finesse.

Wang Lin's fighting style had always been fierce and powerful, not agile. Therefore, the blade was more suitable for him than the sword.

Wang Lin pulled back his thoughts and continued walking.

As he walked, Wang Lin suddenly remembered something. He stopped, raised his left hand, and took a plasma pistol out of his ring.

This was one of the most valuable items he had brought out of the temple, and it was extremely powerful.

Wang Lin had never practiced shooting and wasn't accurate. He possessed a treasure but couldn't use it.

He looked up and saw a sparrow standing on a low branch.

Wang Lin raised his hand and aimed the plasma pistol at the sparrow.

Might as well try. No one was around anyway.

Wang Lin pulled the trigger.

A pale blue beam shot from the muzzle, its Speed so fast it was almost invisible.

The beam cut through the air with a faint hum, then flew past the sparrow, missing by the distance of two fists.

The sparrow was startled, flapped its wings, and flew away.

Sigh! If only there were a [Gun God] Superpower, then he wouldn't need to practice marksmanship.

At that moment, Wang Lin heard a sound: "Plop."

A green fruit fell from the tree. Wang Lin's shot hadn't hit the sparrow, but it had hit the stem of the fruit behind it.

The beam had severed the stem, causing the fruit to fall.

Wang Lin paused—a lucky shot?

He watched the fruit falling from above.

Just then, a silver flash flew in from the side, fast as lightning, and precisely struck the falling fruit, splitting it neatly in half.

Wang Lin shifted his gaze from the fruit on the ground to the direction the silver light had come from.

Silver armor gleamed coldly under the dim light. Beneath the armor was a black bodysuit that outlined a slender yet powerful physique.

She held a long silver sword in her right hand, the tip pointing obliquely at the ground. Her posture was relaxed, as if that strike had just been a casual wave.

Her long hair was pulled back with a silver hairpin, with a few stray strands hanging by her ears.

The person who had arrived was none other than Lu Zhiyi.

Wang Lin looked at her, and she looked at Wang Lin.

"What are you doing here?"

Wang Lin glanced at the gun in his hand: "Practicing marksmanship."

Lu Zhiyi looked at the fallen fruit on the ground and nodded: "Not bad marksmanship."

"Thanks for the compliment!! Are you here to find me?"

Lu Zhiyi neither denied nor admitted it.

"Someone has come from the Holy Court, a person from the Council of Elders."

Wang Lin's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Council of Elders? He had heard Bishop Qin Cang mention it once when he joined the Holy Court.

It was the highest authority in the Holy Court, composed of seven elders. Bishop Qin Cang was one of them.

However, Bishop Qin Cang was mainly responsible for the academic affairs of the Holy City Academy and the combat forces of the Holy Court, while there were others in the Council of Elders in charge of different fields.

"And then?" Wang Lin asked.

"That person was sent by the Council of Elders. They learned that Bishop Qin Cang arranged a position for you outside the Holy Court... Inspector."

Wang Lin's brow twitched slightly.

Inspector. The name didn't sound like a good job.

"What does an Inspector do?"

"Nominally, it is to supervise the operations of the Holy Court's subordinate institutions and report directly to the Council of Elders."

"But in reality, it is a nominal position with no actual power."

"Bishop Qin Cang gave you this position so that you would have a legitimate status to remain within the Holy Court system, making it easier for him to call upon you in the future."

Wang Lin nodded, understanding. It was just a titular position, a figurehead role, merely to go through the motions.

"But the Council of Elders doesn't see it that way. They believe that a Level 4 Esper is not qualified to serve as an Inspector."

Wang Lin looked at her without speaking.

"First, the Holy Court rejects Espers. This is tradition, and it is the rule. The foundation of the Holy Court is Ancient Martial Arts, and six of the seven elders are Ancient Martial Artists."

"In their eyes, Espers are 'awakened upstarts.' Their power comes too easily, their foundations are unstable, their temperament is insufficient, and they are untrustworthy."

"Secondly... your level is too low."

Wang Lin's mouth twitched slightly.

"Level 4, in the Holy Court's system, doesn't even reach the threshold."

"The minimum standard for a Sacred Court Knight is Level 5. Although the position of Inspector is a nominal one, its nominal status is not low—it is half a level higher than an average knight."

"For a Level 4 Esper to serve as an Inspector, in the eyes of the Council of Elders, is an insult to the position."

Wang Lin was silent for a moment: "To put it bluntly, they think I'm too weak."

Lu Zhiyi continued: "The Council of Elders believes that Bishop Qin Cang, without going through deliberation,"

"arbitrarily appointed a Level 4 Esper as an Inspector, which violates the Holy Court's regulations and damages the reputation of the Holy Court."

"So they sent someone,"

Wang Lin interrupted her: "Sent someone over to see how weak I am?"