Chapter 596: The Wager Begins! Ling Shuang

"Using lightning to transform into fire, Master Thunderfire is indeed a prodigy of heaven."

"Conversely, all his fire-related combat techniques are extremely difficult to cultivate."

"According to the database, I found data from the First Civilization era."

"Master Thunderfire once took six disciples, but four of them were ultimately forgotten, as their cultivation of these techniques progressed far too slowly."

"Only two achieved any modest success."

"Iva continued, 'Even with a complete manual, cultivation is this difficult—repairing the combat technique will be even harder.'

"S-rank? Wang Chun probably set this up as a trap for you deliberately."

"The 'Falling Thunder Technique' he holds is far easier to repair than yours."

"It doesn't matter—I have my own judgment."

Hearing Iva's words, Xu Jingming's interest in the 'Thunderfire' combat technique grew even stronger.

He nodded at Wang Chun before him: "Fine. You repair the 'Falling Thunder Technique'; I'll repair the 'Thunderfire'."

Wang Chun had been nervous, fearing Xu Jingming might detect some trick.

Seeing Xu Jingming agree so swiftly, he secretly rejoiced and hurried to say:

"No wonder you're the top scorer in the National Genius Competition! Truly generous!"

"The wager officially begins now!"

"In half an hour, the incomplete S+ rank combat technique 'Thunderfire' will be delivered to your villa."

"If you complete the repair before me, I will immediately step down as head coach—no regrets!"

Seeing the two reach an agreement, Baker beside them was stunned and asked tentatively:

"Teacher Wang, what about us?"

"You?"

Wang Chun raised an eyebrow and said solemnly:

"The martial arts hall's rules are sacred and inviolable. You've broken them and have been expelled from the Elite Training Camp."

"Go pack your things. I don't want to see you at the hall again in one day."

Without another word, he walked away, ignoring the stunned expressions of Baker and the others.

"This is power. With power, interpreting the rules is just a single sentence."

"You can arbitrarily decide others' futures..."

Xu Jingming thought silently.

Of course,

In this world of Blue Star, rules are bound entirely by strength.

If I reach the ninth stage, not even this small Thunder Martial Arts Hall branch—

even Deputy Director Hu Jinyu—would have to make way for me.

"In the end, my strength is still insufficient."

Shaking his head, Xu Jingming turned to Xia Lan:

"You two chat first. I'm going to see Teacher Ling."

Besides asking about how to join the front-line battlefield, I must also tell Teacher Ling about this wager with Wang Chun.

"Teacher Ling isn't here—she went back to the villa," Xia Lan said softly.

Just over ten minutes ago, Ling Shuang had sent her a voice message saying she'd be at the villa in an hour to give a lesson.

"Alright, I'll call and confirm first."

He pulled out his phone, called Ling Shuang, confirmed she was at the villa, then left.

"So cool—he just kicked Baker and the others out with a few words."

After Xu Jingming left, He Xin and the others looked at him with admiration.

Baker and the others had always been cruel; they'd been reported by other students more than once.

But because their strength was decent, every complaint ended in nothing.

Not even a token punishment—yet now, Xu Jingming had expelled them.

Unlike He Xin and the others' admiration, Xia Lan's beautiful, sapphire-like eyes held a faint hint of concern.

Ling Shuang's villa.

In the living room, besides Ling Shuang, there was another beautiful woman in her thirties.

The woman brought a seven-year-old girl, who seemed nervous.

She clung timidly to her mother's side, her large black eyes curiously scanning the room.

"Xiao Shuang, was that your student who just called?" the woman asked with a smile.

"Yes, he has something to discuss—he'll come by soon," Ling Shuang said, placing her phone on the coffee table.

"How wonderful—you've already become the National Genius Competition champion."

"You're already an eighth-stage Grand Master, while I've long since married."

"I haven't cultivated in ages—my stage has stagnated at third."

The woman sighed.

"It's still another kind of life," Ling Shuang replied with a light smile.

The woman's name was Bai Sha; she was also thirty-five, the same age as Ling Shuang.

They'd met eight or nine years ago during Ling Shuang's training in Dayangzhou.

They'd lost contact for years; now they met again, both married women.

"Don't comfort me, Xiao Shuang. Before I came to you today,"

"I was terrified just thinking about facing an eighth-stage Grand Master."

"Thank goodness you're still the same as before—I'd have been unable to stay otherwise."

Bai Sha patted her chest, relieved.

If an eighth-stage Grand Master unleashed her aura,

a third-stage adept like her wouldn't even be able to speak—or move.

"By the way, you're married now—have you still not found someone you like?"

"I heard a scion from a top family in Great Xia is courting you."

Bai Sha chuckled behind her hand.

"I have no interest in him," Ling Shuang shook her head.

"Really? But someone of your caliber must be cautious in choosing a partner."

"When you finally decide, you must invite me to your wedding."

"Come to think of it, my husband was someone I met here at Thunder Martial Arts Hall..."

Bai Sha seemed to have opened the floodgates, talking endlessly.

Only then did Ling Shuang realize why her old friend had come to her now.

Bai Sha's husband, Ding Cai, was a minor supervisor at Thunder Martial Arts Hall.

He'd likely feared leaving a bad impression, so he'd asked Bai Sha to plead his case.

"Ding Cai actually wanted to pick you up at the airport yesterday, but he couldn't act because of Director Liu's orders."

"You know—Director Liu treats your arrival like an invasion."

"He specifically ordered that no supervisors, big or small, should contact you. Ding Cai had no choice."

Bai Sha spoke with a hint of apology.

"It's fine—I don't mind," Ling Shuang shook her head.

People like Ding Cai were fence-sitters.

In her power struggle with Liu Shan, they'd follow whoever won.

Now sending Bai Sha here was just a hedge—hoping that if Ling Shuang won, she might consider him.

But reality isn't so simple: no drop of kindness, no torrent of repayment.

Of course,

since he's her old friend's husband, if she ultimately achieved her goal,

she might slightly promote him—but serious use? Almost impossible.

"Good," Bai Sha sighed in relief—her most important goal achieved.

"Teacher Ling, I'm here."

At that moment, a steady voice announced Xu Jingming's entrance.