Zhang Changyu, Yan Jingxuan, and Huang Qibing surrounded Li Qiye.

“Clank!” Zhang Changyu unsheathed his sword. Its glint erupted like a vast ocean. The sword seemed to be containing a torrential power.

Yan Jingxuan summoned a violet sledgehammer, seemingly made from lightning. It had currents surging along with the occasional thunderous explosions.

Huang Qibing chose dual-wielding short halberds made from high earth-level dao bones. It had runes depicting dragons and phoenixes. Thus, one halberd was draconic and the other of the phoenix affinity; it consisted of both offense and defense.

“Today is your last day! I will decapitate you!” Zhang Changyu gritted his teeth and threatened. Killing Li Qiye was the only way to wash away the previous humiliation.

The other students began commenting. One of them murmured: “There’s a clear difference in power, not to mention three on one. Senior Brother Jingxuan is far stronger too. The outcome is obvious to anyone.”

“Not necessarily, their foe is Li Qiye, the son of miracles. His cultivation doesn’t prevent him from beating stronger people, don’t forget about the hammer.” Another shook his head.

The students took a moment to think. In history, only dao lords and top sovereigns were able to lift the hammer off the anvil.

Generations of students in Duality have tried and failed. This was definitely a miracle.

“True, don’t use common sense to judge Li Qiye.” One more added: “Teacher Du said that he is extremely devilish, no one else can match him in this regard. The impossible becomes possible with him around.”

“You can attribute the hammer thing to luck, he might not be that strong. This is an actual fight, luck isn’t enough. Just losing one move can result in death.” Someone else didn’t buy it.

“Senior Brother Yan, teach him a good lesson!” One spectator shouted.

“Let him know that the academy’s prestige isn’t to be trifled with!” His friends did the same.

The majority was annoyed by Li Qiye’s attitude so they hoped that the three would be able to take him down a notch. They became quite excited at the prospect.

“Li, since it’s three against one, you start first with whatever moves you want.” Changyu pointed his sword at Li Qiye.

“Seems like there’s a misunderstanding.” Li Qiye shook his head and smiled: “I won’t be the one fighting. She is.” He slowly stepped back and revealed Fan Bai who was hiding behind him.

Fan Bai didn’t know what to do after hearing that she would be up to fight these three.

“I… I…” She stammered and stared at him: “Young Master…”

Just facing the crowd was an ordeal to her, let alone actually fighting. She trembled with fear.

“What?!” Yang Ling became startled and stopped Li Qiye: “No, she has only cultivated for a few days, how can you let her fight? She has no chance.”

The rest didn’t expect Fan Bai to fight instead of Li Qiye either. The whole thing made little sense.

“Is this a joke? One finger is enough to crush someone of her cultivation. This isn’t a fight.” One student loudly said.

“Is the brat crazy? Letting a new cultivator fight against those three? Ridiculous.” Everyone stared at Li Qiye and Fan Bai.

“He must be trying to kill her.” A student with a darker mindset speculated: “Hmph, maybe he knows that he can’t win, that’s why he’s letting her die instead. This coincidentally ends the whole debacle with him not doing anything.”

“So despicable and shameless, he wants to use Zhang Changyu’s group to eliminate the Foredoomed Star. He’s selling her and betraying her trust.” Some began looking down on Li Qiye.

“Scummy traitor.” Another insulted him.

“Is this a joke?” Zhang Changyu didn’t expect this development either.

“No need to use a butcher blade to kill chickens, this young miss here will do. Just one move is enough.” Li Qiye smiled and confirmed.

“What did he just say?” Both Yan Jingxuan and Huang Qibing couldn’t believe their own ears.

“She will kill us with one move? More like the opposite.” Jingxuan stared at her and said.

“Hahaha, I’ve never heard something funnier than this!” Huang Qibing laughed and said: “A new cultivator wants to kill us with one move? You must be dreaming.”

Other students certainly agreed with this statement.

“This Li guy is crazy, to even say something like this…” One student said.

Everyone could tell that Fan Bai had only started cultivating recently. Her cultivation was shallow and insignificant. Even the weakest student in Duality could beat her in one move.

“Young Master…” Fan Bai didn’t know how to deal with this and was about to cry.

“You can’t let her go to her death!” Yang Ling shouted.

Li Qiye ignored her and stared at Fan Bai: “If you can’t take the next step today, you will never be able to. You’ll always be branded as an unlucky star. Remember, your life is in your hand, no one else. You don’t need charity or pity from anyone.”

Each word of his had a special rhythm striking deep into her mind. They kept on echoing inside - reaching her dao heart and ocean of consciousness. The words washed away her unnecessary emotions such as fear and self-abasement…

She became affected by his rhythm and began to calm down. This put her into a magical state.

“Go now.” He ordered. These two words alone instilled endless courage into Fan Bai.

She had unconditional trust in him so she walked towards her three opponents. Her cute and frail appearance has disappeared; she became an entirely new person.

Negative emotions were nowhere to be found. She threw away the past in order to face this tribulation and welcome her new life. She wanted to use actions to prove it, that her fate was her own. She didn’t need pity and charity from anyone else.

She closed her eyes and relaxed, looking dignified. This wasn’t because she was afraid of looking at others. No, it was because she didn’t need to look at them anymore. She only needed to look at herself and truly reflect.

“Buddha Bowing.” His voice echoed in her head: “All Buddhas shall bow before my supremacy…”

The mantra began affecting her vitality.