Chapter 367 – Jiang Dongliu: If the Opponent Is Fellow Daoist Lu, Then…

The Real World, Barren Wilderness Academy, Seven Days Later.

“Senior Jiang, is this the Barren Wilderness Academy? Truly worthy of being the place with the most brutes among the Four Great Academies, completely incomparable to our Clear River Dao Academy.”

“Junior October, be careful with your words. Do not be rude.”

At the entrance of Barren Wilderness Academy, a student from Clear River Dao Academy looked at the massive yet relatively simplistic architectural style of the Barren Wilderness Academy and immediately began to criticize it.

He made no attempt to conceal his remarks, and they were directly overheard by other Barren Wilderness Academy students nearby.

Naturally, this displeased the surrounding Barren Wilderness Academy students.

In the eyes of Barren Wilderness Academy students, Clear River Dao Academy was full of “hypocrites.”

These individuals had little skill but were exceptionally sharp-tongued—just like the outspoken fellow before them.

His words were not merely about the architectural style of Barren Wilderness Academy.

He was clearly implying that the students of Barren Wilderness Academy were nothing but muscle-headed brutes!

Faced with such humiliation from Clear River Dao Academy, the hot-tempered Barren Wilderness Academy students, who championed solving problems with strength, naturally could not let it slide.

“What did you say, kid? Watch your mouth!”

A third-year Barren Wilderness Academy student, standing two meters tall and built with solid muscles, stepped out from the crowd.

He pointed at the Clear River Dao Academy student who had just criticized Barren Wilderness Academy and coldly threatened him.

The tension was palpable, and it seemed a fight could break out at any moment.

Around that Barren Wilderness Academy student, many others had gathered.

Although they weren’t entirely sure what had happened, their hostility toward Clear River Dao Academy was undeniable.

After all, in the last Dao Academy tournament, it was Barren Wilderness Academy and Clear River Dao Academy that had reached the finals.

But due to some unforeseen circumstances, Barren Wilderness Academy ended up as the runner-up.

Of course, Clear River Dao Academy didn’t see it as an accident.

To them, it was all about strength!

Because of this, Clear River Dao Academy students now held a psychological advantage when facing Barren Wilderness Academy students.

This, in turn, highlighted another issue:

Clear River Dao Academy took Barren Wilderness Academy seriously.

Though they never admitted it openly, deep down, they considered Barren Wilderness Academy a major opponent on their path to victory.

The outcome of a competition often doesn’t depend solely on the arena.

There are many factors outside the arena that can influence the result.

The Clear River Dao Academy student in question was trying to gain an Aura advantage over the Barren Wilderness Academy students beforehand.

Barren Wilderness Academy students were prone to acting on impulse.

If they let anger cloud their judgment, it could give their opponents a slight edge when it came time to compete—an edge that might ultimately decide the match.

Thus, while the Clear River Dao Academy student appeared arrogant on the surface, his eyes were clear and sharp.

Clearly, he knew exactly what he was doing and understood how to maximize the benefits for his Dao Academy.Facing the agitated students of Barren Wilderness Academy, Shiyue Yuanxi, a senior student from Clear River Dao Academy, stepped forward and said with a haughty expression, “What’s the matter? Did I say something wrong?”

Upon hearing this, the students of Barren Wilderness Academy clearly grew somewhat angry.

Seeing this scene, Shiyue Yuanxi wasn’t afraid at all; instead, he began to feel excited.

Go ahead, make a move. As soon as you do, I’ll immediately fall down.

Then I’ll go back and have some people from my Family write extensively about your Barren Wilderness Academy’s hospitality.

Strive to create enough pressure for you outside the competition arena.

This way, your students who are actually competing…

Either, due to anger, will lose their composure when competing against our academy.

Or, under excessive psychological pressure, while unable and unwilling to lose to us, will lose their normal level of strength.

Times are advancing, and mastering public opinion… is also a form of Divine Ability!

Just as Shiyue Yuanxi thought his plan was about to succeed,

A mocking voice came from the crowd.

“Seriously, where did this pretty boy come from, actually trying to show off on our Barren Wilderness Academy’s turf? What strength do you even have, little brother?”

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a chubby orange cat leisurely walking out from the crowd.

And this orange cat was unmistakably wearing the Barren Wilderness Academy uniform.

As for this orange cat, not only did the Barren Wilderness Academy students recognize him immediately,

But the Clear River Dao Academy students did as well.

The arriving orange cat was none other than the only Golden Core Stage student in Barren Wilderness Academy this time—Meow King.

Meow King walked up to the students and looked at Shiyue Yuanxi with disdain in his eyes.

His demeanor made it blatantly clear to Shiyue Yuanxi that he was looking down on him.

For the arrogant Shiyue Yuanxi, this was undoubtedly a huge humiliation.

Thus, Shiyue Yuanxi retorted directly, “Having a Spirit Beast stand up for you—this is all your Barren Wilderness Academy is capable of.”

Meow King said disdainfully, “I’m at the Golden Core Stage, and you are?”

Shiyue Yuanxi was left speechless, his face flushing with anger.

After a moment, he spoke up, “So what if you’re at the Golden Core Stage? Does being at the Golden Core Stage mean you can twist the truth? I’m only discussing your Barren Wilderness Academy’s architectural style and hospitality. What does that have to do with your Golden Core Stage?”

Meow King sat up, unconcernedly licked his paw, and then scratched his ear.

He mocked, “You’re absolutely right, but I’m at the Golden Core Stage, and you are?”

“…”

As soon as these words were spoken, the scene fell into an eerie silence.

After a moment, the surrounding Barren Wilderness Academy students burst into laughter.

Because the current situation was that Meow King was a Golden Core Stage Spirit Beast, his cultivation level completely overpowering Shiyue Yuanxi, who was at Foundation Establishment Perfection.

In the Immortal Cultivation World, this was a clear case of strength being supreme.

Moreover, Meow King didn’t just have the advantage in cultivation level.

As a Spirit Beast, he was also unbeatable in verbal sparring.

After all, if you went out and said you’d won an argument against an orange cat,

Others wouldn’t think you were impressive; instead, they’d think there was something wrong with you.

What’s so great about winning an argument against an orange cat?

Is winning an argument against an orange cat something to be proud of?

Shiyue Yuanxi undoubtedly realized this problem as well.

It had to be said that Meow King was practically an unsolvable presence at this moment.

Trying to reason with an orange cat was inherently unreasonable.Winning an argument would be embarrassing, but losing one would be even more humiliating.

Yet, surrounded by so many onlookers, Shiyue Yuanxi felt he had no way out.

Even though he knew he stood little chance of gaining any advantage, he still argued vehemently: “Even if you’re at the Golden Core Stage, does justice not lie in the hearts of people? Does the Golden Core Stage represent everything?”

Hearing this, Meow King nodded in agreement, then looked at him as if he were a fool.

He said, “You’re absolutely right, but I’m not human—I’m a ‘tiger’! What does your human justice have to do with me, a tiger?”

“Besides, have I bullied you? Haven’t I just been asking you questions?”

“What’s wrong? Is asking questions against the law?”

“You Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators have so many rules. Unlike us Golden Core Stage cultivators, we never bother with such convoluted nonsense.”

“Ah, perhaps this is the generation gap between us Golden Core Stage cultivators and Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators like you. We just can’t see eye to eye—what a hassle.”

“…”

Red-faced, Shiyue Yuanxi flushed completely at Meow King’s blatant sarcasm.

Yet, he couldn’t find a single angle to refute him.

After all, just as he could unreasonably nitpick about the architectural style of the Barren Wilderness Academy, Meow King could just as easily target his Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation.

Some things, when unweighed, seem light as a feather.

But once placed on the scale, they weigh a thousand pounds and more.

On the hard truth of cultivation level, Shiyue Yuanxi truly had no ground to stubbornly argue with Meow King.

No matter how stubbornly he argued, reality was reality, and it couldn’t be changed!

The best approach was undoubtedly to change the subject and not entangle further with Meow King on this matter.

But it was clear that Meow King knew where his advantage lay and gave Shiyue Yuanxi no such opportunity.

Seeing that Shiyue Yuanxi had flushed to the point of speechlessness, Meow King, knowing well the folly of resting on one’s laurels, immediately pressed his advantage.

“What’s wrong, little brother? Not laughing anymore? Are you just not the laughing type?”

“If you’re not going to laugh, then I will—Heh heh heh…”

As Meow King laughed, the students of the Barren Wilderness Academy in the crowd immediately joined in.

Hearing the mocking laughter around him and facing an overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation, Shiyue Yuanxi’s vision went black, and he “fainted” on the spot.

Fortunately, someone from the Clear River Dao Academy beside him reacted quickly and caught him.

Seeing Shiyue Yuanxi in this state, Meow King immediately lost interest in taunting him further, looking as though he hadn’t even exerted any effort before his opponent collapsed.

But without Shiyue Yuanxi to target, Meow King didn’t lose his edge.

“Dongliu, what’s going on with your Clear River Dao Academy? How can someone faint before even competing? If someone like that can be chosen to represent your academy, it seems your Dao Academy is really regressing.”

Being called out publicly by Meow King, Jiang Dongliu, who had initially felt somewhat embarrassed by Shiyue Yuanxi’s rudeness, immediately shifted his mindset.

After all, Meow King was one of the few opponents he genuinely respected—someone worthy of a direct response.

Jiang Dongliu looked at Meow King calmly and said, “There’s no shame in a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator losing to a Golden Core Stage cultivator.”

“Tch!” Meow King curled his lip in disdain.

“If I didn’t act shamelessly before reaching the Golden Core Stage, and I still don’t act shamelessly after reaching it, then what was the point of cultivating to the Golden Core Stage?””Bro, do I cultivate so diligently just to avoid embarrassment?”

“What a joke! I want to win! I want to leverage power to bully others, to use strength against the weak!”

In the Barren Wilderness Academy where strength reigns supreme and power is paramount, Meow King’s words undoubtedly resonated with the surrounding students.

“Senior Meow is right! We don’t want to avoid embarrassment—we want to win!”

“Strength is the only real truth. What’s the point in just saving face?”

Faced with the support of his juniors, Meow King proudly raised his head, looking directly at Jiang Dongliu not far away, and said seriously, “Losing to you two years ago was because I didn’t cultivate properly back then.”

“Now you’re at the Golden Core Stage, and so am I. What, do you think your Golden Core is bigger than mine?”

“This time, I’ll make you understand what it means to dominate the era!”

If it were Shiyue Yuanxi, he might have been provoked by Meow King into saying something irrational.

But Jiang Dongliu was different.

Though he was just as arrogant as Shiyue Yuanxi, their arrogance was not the same.

Jiang Dongliu’s arrogance was such that he looked down on everyone equally.

Thus, even in the face of Meow King’s provocation, Jiang Dongliu still exuded that unmistakable air of arrogance.

He looked at Meow King and, with the calmest expression and tone, uttered the most audacious words.

“Even among Golden Cores, there are differences. You couldn’t beat me before, and now… you stand even less of a chance.”

“!!!”

At these words, the corner of Meow King’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.

But against Jiang Dongliu, he truly had no certainty of victory.

If he boasted too much now and ended up losing to Jiang Dongliu later, it would become a huge joke.

And so, the clever Meow King ultimately chose not to dwell on the topic. After leaving one final remark, he decisively walked away.

“Talking is pointless. We’ll see who’s stronger when we face off.”

Hearing this, Jiang Dongliu said nothing more.

Yet his calm expression and the confidence radiating from within gave off the impression that, even at the same Golden Core Stage, he would absolutely not lose to Meow King.

Just by observing his demeanor and posture, it was clear:

Jiang Dongliu… was terrifyingly strong.

Even students of the Barren Wilderness Academy who were not very familiar with him had to acknowledge this.

With Meow King gone, the surrounding Barren Wilderness Academy students no longer lingered.

After all, no amount of talk could compare to an actual fight.

Winning with words isn’t true victory; winning with strength is what really matters.

As for the students of Clear River Dao Academy, though the atmosphere had been somewhat subdued due to the matter involving Shiyue Yuanxi, Jiang Dongliu’s forceful declaration reignited their pride and confidence.

In this Dao Academy competition, they would, just like two years ago, be determined to win!

But then, as if recalling something, a Clear River Dao Academy student nearby asked, “Senior Jiang, I heard that in this Dao Academy competition, aside from that Spirit Beast from the Barren Wilderness Academy, there are a few others who have also reached the Golden Core Stage.”

“Among them, the Sword Immortal Reincarnation from the Myriad Enterprises Immortal Sect is the most troublesome. I heard you’ve been to Luocheng before and had some interaction with him. What do you think of his strength?”

Hearing his junior mention Lu Chen, Jiang Dongliu’s expression noticeably shifted.

This change did not go unnoticed by the admiring juniors around him, and their hearts sank at the sight.Perhaps noticing the expressions of the junior students around him, Jiang Dongliu said with a smile, “If the opponent is Fellow Daoist Lu, it might be a bit troublesome…”

“Will you lose?”

The student from Clear River Dao Academy who asked the question voiced his greatest concern.

Jiang Dongliu looked at him and revealed a confident smile.

“I will win.”

Upon receiving this answer, the Clear River Dao Academy student seemed to fully believe Jiang Dongliu’s words.

After all, Jiang Dongliu had never lost a single match since enrolling in the Dao Academy!

(End of Chapter)