99: Chapter 99: Understanding the Rules Before Talking About Cultivation

The mass of black mist was on the verge of exploding, and everyone thought a catastrophe was inevitable.

Just then, a figure appeared before Lin Yuan without warning.

It was Jiang Ning.

She was still wearing the same simple white T-shirt and sweatpants, her face expressionless, as if the "human bomb" about to detonate in front of her was merely a bothersome rock on the side of the road.

She stood there quietly, forming a stark contrast with the black cyclones swirling around her.

"Stop."

She uttered those two words.

Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an indescribable power. The violent black mist actually paused for a moment, its rotation slowing down.

Lin Yuan, currently blinded by rage, didn't stop upon seeing Jiang Ning; instead, he grew even more crazed.

"It's you! It's you!" He pointed at Jiang Ning, his face contorted. "You're the one behind this! You're the one who made me lose face in public! And now you want to stop me? It's too late!"

"Get lost! I'm going to let you see for yourself just how useless your ridiculous 'Infrastructure Construction' is in the face of absolute destructive power!"

He roared, pushing the black energy ball in his hands—which had reached its limit—toward Jiang Ning with all his might!

"Die!"

Those watching felt their hearts leap into their throats.

"Engineer Jiang!" Director Zhao Lixin and Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo cried out in terror.

The teachers and guards rushing forward felt their legs go weak.

Yet, facing an attack powerful enough to level a small hill, Jiang Ning didn't even twitch an eyebrow.

She simply reached out with one hand.

A clean, slender hand that looked like it had no strength at all.

Then, with a gesture as if brushing dust off her clothes, she lightly flicked the black sphere.

"You call this... power?"

Her words reached Lin Yuan's ears with crystal clarity.

"You don't even know where the energy you're mobilizing comes from or where it's going. This isn't skill; it's a loss of control."

"Do you think you're channeling the power of heaven and earth?"

Jiang Ning shook her head, her tone tinged with pity.

"Wrong. You've merely stirred up the Filthy Leyline Energy buried for decades beneath this Abandoned Industrial Zone. This energy is chaotic and cold, pure death energy; it's completely useless."

"Furthermore, your control technique is so crude it's unbearable to watch."

Jiang Ning didn't speak quickly, but every word struck Lin Yuan's heart.

"You only know how to frantically extract it, not how to guide it. Look beneath your feet—35 degrees southeast, 20 meters underground. What is that?"

Lin Yuan instinctively followed her words and sensed it.

"That is a main sewage pipe that's been abandoned. At least forty percent of this Filthy Leyline Energy you've gathered has already leaked through cracks in the pipe because of your terrible technique. You're like a fool trying to drink water with a sieve, and you don't even realize it."

As Jiang Ning spoke, a tiny spark of spiritual light emerged from her flicking fingertip.

That spark of light shot precisely into the ground.

A second later.

"Boom!"

A muffled explosion echoed from the ground dozens of meters away.

A massive sewage manhole cover, which had long been sealed with concrete, was blown into the sky by a column of black gas!

Immediately after, a black geyser of stench and sludge erupted, spraying over ten meters high!

Contained within that water column was the very same cold, destructive energy that Lin Yuan had painstakingly gathered!

The intimidating black energy ball in his hands, deprived of its source, instantly lost its support and dissipated into a wisp of black smoke with a soft "pfft."

The entire process happened so fast that no one could react.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

With just the flick of a finger, without even a flutter of her clothes, Jiang Ning had resolved the massive crisis.

She hadn't used greater force to overpower it.

She had directly identified the root of the problem and severed it with minimal effort.

This suppression wasn't one of physical strength.

It was one of insight; they were simply not on the same level.

Lin Yuan stood dazed, looking at his empty hands and then at the distant sewage outlet still spewing black water; his entire body froze.

His strongest trump card, the forbidden technique he had risked his life for, was nothing more than a childish trick full of holes in front of her.

It had been seen through effortlessly and then dismantled in a way that was almost humiliating.

"Destruction is the simplest and most incompetent thing one can do."

Jiang Ning withdrew her hand, her gaze landing on Lin Yuan. Her coldness made him feel a chill from head to toe.

"Someone who can't even control the strength in their own hands has no right to talk about talent, let alone a future."

"You are no pioneer; you are merely a... liability that brings disaster to the team."

She turned away, not looking at Lin Yuan, and instead addressed the equally stunned students of the Genius Class in an indisputable tone, announcing their final outcome.

The Genius Special Training Class is hereby disbanded.

All former members of the special training class will receive a zero for their assessment and be placed on disciplinary probation.

Starting tomorrow, you will all be assigned to the Basic Labor Reform Camp. Your first, and for a long time your only, course will be 'Construction Site Safety Regulations and Codes of Conduct'.

When you have learned what 'rules' are, then you can come and talk to me about 'cultivation'.

Having finished, Jiang Ning didn't spare a glance at the ashen-faced "geniuses" behind her and walked straight toward the Command Center.

Watching her back, Lin Yuan's legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees.

All his pride, all his resentment, and all his ambition were smashed to pieces at that moment.

But in his heart, one final, most powerful thought surged.

He couldn't let it end like this! He couldn't become a construction worker!

"W-wait!" he croaked, using the last of his strength. "I... I admit I lost! But... but I'm not trash! My talent is real! Give me another chance! One last chance!"

Jiang Ning's footsteps stopped.

She turned back, looking at the disheveled Lin Yuan kneeling on the ground, still refusing to fully concede, and her emotions flickered slightly.

"Fine."

To everyone's surprise, she actually agreed.

"One last chance."

"Follow me."