Bai Jing stared blankly at the scene before her, her spirit seemingly shattered.
She cradled Li Xuanxiao's cold corpse in her arms.
Memories of their past together flooded her mind, the sound of rain from her memories overlapping with the present.
Raindrops slid down her cheeks—whether tears or rainwater, she couldn't tell.
"Remember... the place we first met... I left something there for you..."
Bai Jing arrived at Baiyun County.
Beneath a tree, she found what Li Xuanxiao had left for her.
A box containing a black banner.
Triangular in shape, with six streamers fluttering gently beneath it.
"I possess nothing of value, only this wretched life."
"I remain in the past. Bai Jing, walk toward your future. Consider this my parting gift."
Bai Jing reached out and grasped Li Xuanxiao's final memento.
In that instant, an electric shock seemed to run through her entire body.
She stared in astonishment at the banner in her hand.
"What does it matter if I destroy this heartless, unrighteous academy?!"
The academy disciples looked up in shock, their gazes uniformly drawn to their chief senior sister hovering mid-air.
Drenched in blood, her once snow-white robes now dyed crimson, her long hair cascaded like a waterfall behind her.
Billowing wildly in the fierce wind, her face remained shadowed, her expression unreadable.
The disciples exchanged bewildered glances, utterly confused by this sudden turn of events.
Why would their chief senior sister suddenly erupt in such fury, even uttering such treasonous words about destroying the academy?
Just as the crowd stood perplexed, a dazzling sword light descended from the heavens like the Milky Way pouring down.
Wherever the sword light passed, it emitted piercing shrieks.
In the blink of an eye, the sword light struck the crowd like lightning.
Screams and cries of alarm erupted instantly.
Sword energy radiated outward, collapsing buildings and snapping trees in its wake.
The once peaceful academy was instantly reduced to chaos, littered with severed limbs and blood.
Bai Jing charged into the crowd as if entering unopposed territory.
The chief disciple of Xiangshan Academy was now unstoppable.
Even two Nascent Soul stage academy elders fell to Bai Jing's sword.
With this thunderous roar, Wang Tingzhi's voice exploded through the main academy hall like a clap of thunder.
The entire academy trembled under this power.
Simultaneously, an immense, invisible force spread like a giant net, tightly trapping Bai Jing.
The attack came so swiftly that Bai Jing had no time to react before being completely restrained.
Wang Tingzhi looked at Bai Jing with disappointment.
Golden Core breaking through to Nascent Soul.
At her age and with such talent, even Wang Tingzhi couldn't help but feel astonished.
His former fondness for his disciple made him reluctant to deal a fatal blow.
"Your heart harbors demons. Confess your crimes at once!"
Bai Jing's eyes turned icy, her sword strikes growing fiercer.
Though Wang Tingzhi held back, Bai Jing attacked with lethal precision, each move aimed at taking his life.
Enraged, Wang Tingzhi shouted, "Unfilial wretch! How dare you?! You leave me no choice!"
Bai Jing retreated step by step.
Though she had achieved the Golden Core to Nascent Soul breakthrough, she was no match for her teacher.
Suddenly, she raised her wrist.
The Myriad Soul Banner was summoned.
A deafening explosion suddenly rang out.
Wang Tingzhi's expression changed drastically as he clearly sensed the sinister energy emanating from the banner.
It was a horrifying presence, as if from the depths of hell.
With a flick of his sleeve, Wang Tingzhi produced a giant brush half a person's height from his robe.
Grasping the brush, he swung it without hesitation.
Black ink gushed forth.
The ink seemed alive, rapidly coalescing into a powerful current that surged toward Bai Jing.
Bai Jing retreated repeatedly, her bonded sword showing signs of shattering.
With Wang Tingzhi going all out, how could Bai Jing possibly match her teacher?
Even with the artifact Li Xuanxiao left her...
Bai Jing's control over the Myriad Soul Banner was clearly unrefined. Though it caught Wang Tingzhi off guard initially,
his counterattacks combined with her divided focus on controlling the banner
left her completely outmatched.
"Cough cough cough..."
Wang Tingzhi twirled his brush.
Though victory was certain, no joy showed on his face.
His chief disciple had betrayed the academy, slaughtered fellow disciples,
and even openly attacked her own teacher...
If word got out, he'd become a laughingstock—his years of nurturing rendered meaningless.
Wang Tingzhi sighed deeply. "Jing'er, it's not too late to stop. Is one person worth throwing your life away for?"
Bai Jing chuckled, her laughter growing louder and louder.
"Heartless and unrighteous! Do you know what love is?!"
Her anguished scream tore through the air.
That's not what you said when you killed your own sister.
Suddenly, Bai Jing pointed the Myriad Soul Banner at herself and drove it into her body,
piercing straight through her heart.
Her heart's essence blood flowed upward along the banner's shaft.
Bai Jing clearly felt the spiritual energy within her body violently convulsing.
This scene stunned Wang Tingzhi.
He never imagined Bai Jing would commit suicide.
But soon, he realized his mistake.
Rather than weakening, Bai Jing's energy surged violently, veins bulging on her neck as countless strands of black energy from the banner coursed through her meridians.
Blood-red web-like patterns emerged beneath her skin, squirming and swelling like countless tiny snakes slithering through flesh.
In an instant, Bai Jing's aura turned frenzied, her eyes blood-red.
"Not enough... still not enough..."
Her temples turned snow-white at visible speed, her sword trembling uncontrollably.
Across from her, Wang Tingzhi's face had already filled with terror.
Within Xiangshan Academy, where scholarly voices should have filled the air,
only deathly silence remained.
Corpses lay strewn across the ground.
Bai Jing continuously spat blood.
The backlash from the Myriad Soul Banner was nearly killing her.
In her dazed state, she saw a figure approaching.
As it drew nearer, Bai Jing froze.
"...Li... Li Xuanxiao..."