Chapter 51: The Shameless Senior and the Water Blade’s Edge

Su Liyue forcefully held back the impulse to strike him.

It truly was as the old adage from Earth went: ‘A tree without bark will surely die; a person without shame is invincible.’

She had often heard that one should be thick-skinned when pursuing girls, but now, she truly understood firsthand how utterly disgusting it felt to be relentlessly ogled by such a brazen lout.

“Excuse me, Senior, but I already have plans!” Su Liyue deliberately tightened her grip on Mu Wanqing’s arm, then gestured towards Ye Xingchen, who was holding a pink wallet.

The hint was so blatant even a three-year-old child could grasp it.

The Blond Senior’s eye twitched, and he cast a disdainful glance at Ye Xingchen, speaking with contempt.

“I’m not trying to be rude, Junior Su Liyue, but your taste is truly questionable. How could you possibly fancy such a useless pretty boy, a complete bottom-feeder?”

As he spoke, he didn’t forget to deliberately flex and show off his utterly nonexistent biceps.

A dark scowl settled upon Ye Xingchen’s face; it was clear this person was hell-bent on causing trouble this time.

If Xiao Qicai was the type to act shamelessly behind the scenes, then this Blond Senior was shamelessly brazen in broad daylight.

“Let’s go, Qingqing, we’ll check out other stores first.”

Su Liyue, with a touch of reluctance, tugged Mu Wanqing’s hand, making to leave.

‘Someone like him surely didn’t genuinely intend to buy this necklace; he merely sought to attract beautiful women’s attention. Besides, even if he were serious about buying it…’

However, before Su Liyue’s thoughts could fully form, the Blond Senior suddenly darted forward, blocking their path.

“Don’t be in such a hurry to leave, Junior Yuer, you haven’t even…”

At that moment, not only did the Blond Senior’s lewd actions churn Su Liyue’s stomach, but even from Ye Xingchen’s perspective as an observer, witnessing the entire scene—especially that sickening phrase, ‘Junior Yuer’—made him and Su Liyue feel as though the roasted meat they had just eaten would come right back up.

Stepping forward, Ye Xingchen lightly but firmly snatched the ‘salty pig trotters’ (TL Note: A Chinese slang term referring to a lecherous hand) that had reached out.

The lightness of his grip stemmed entirely from Ye Xingchen’s fear that a moment of carelessness would snap the arm clean off.

After all, mages generally possessed delicate physiques and could scarcely withstand the grip of a cultivation practitioner like himself.

Therefore, to avoid any unnecessary accidents caused by uncontrolled force in the future, Ye Xingchen realized he needed to expedite the refinement of his magic-conducting gun.

“Senior, my Yuanyue has already made it clear she wishes to leave. Why must you force the issue?”

Ye Xingchen deliberately emphasized the words ‘my Yuanyue’. As her nominal boyfriend and future human shield, he felt it was now necessary to shoulder the task of drawing enmity.

After all, Su Liyue, in her female form, needed to focus on her magic cultivation and had no leisure to constantly deal with these love-struck fools.

“Your Yuanyue? Who do you think you are?” The Blond Senior scoffed, disdainfully scrutinizing Ye Xingchen from head to toe.

As he spoke, his other hand unexpectedly drew a magic staff from behind his back, still maintaining a posture ready for a fight.

Observing the Blond Senior’s utterly foolish demeanor, Ye Xingchen genuinely felt he wasn’t worth his effort.

‘Why do I keep encountering such idiots today?’ The academy explicitly forbade private duels among students. Yet, there were always those who ignored the warnings, insistent on provoking the academy’s bottom line.

The Blond Senior abruptly flicked his right hand, attempting a stylish escape from Ye Xingchen’s hold.

However, after performing the entire move, he was startled to realize his arm was utterly immobile, as if locked in an iron vise!

“Oh?” A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, but he didn’t dwell on it.

“I didn’t expect a bottom-feeder like you to actually have some tricks up your sleeve! As a mage, you should be studying magic, not constantly training your physique!”

With that, he waved the magic staff in his left hand, and a sharp wind blade instantly materialized.

“Wind magic is the strongest cutting magic! If you don’t let go now, you can kiss that arm goodbye today!”

Before his words fully faded, a brilliant blue water blade sliced through the air, precisely bisecting the wind blade.

Su Liyue’s cool, clear voice rang out, “Who told you wind magic was the strongest cutting magic?”

Seeing the situation escalate, Su Liyue had no choice but to intervene.

‘She knew in her heart that this wind blade couldn’t harm Ye Xingchen in the slightest. However, if he were to truly withstand it head-on, his extraordinary physique would undoubtedly arouse the academy’s suspicion.

After all, they were merely apprentice mages at present; by all accounts, it should be utterly impossible for them to endure the cutting damage of wind magic with their bare flesh.’

Furthermore, the Blond Senior’s earlier declaration, ‘Wind magic is the strongest cutting magic,’ had left Su Liyue utterly speechless.

‘Even when she studied on Earth, she understood that the key to cutting damage lay in speed. When did wind magic become the fastest and strongest of the four elemental magics? If the speed was sufficient, even a sheet of paper could inflict a knife-like wound.’

‘In her previous life, she had even witnessed cultivation experts who could wield leaves as razor-sharp blades!

It could only be said that the magic apprentices of this world, having read a few magic books, presumptuously believed that the sole characteristics of wind magic were speed and sharpness.’

‘Anyone who truly comprehended the principle of speed’s damage amplification would never utter such foolish words!’

“H-how is this possible?!” The Blond Senior stared in disbelief at the broken magic staff in his hand. The sharp wind blade he had been so proud of had been instantly severed.

Even more astonishing to him was that the sudden water blade had not only cleaved his wind blade but had also neatly sliced his magic staff in two, completely overturning his understanding of magic.

‘In his magical theory, wind magic was considered omnipotent, capable of acceleration, forming blades for close combat, and launching ranged attacks. How could it possibly be so easily countered by a mere casual strike of water magic?’

Completely disregarding his right hand, which was still restrained by Ye Xingchen, he tremblingly raised the two halves of his broken magic staff and pointed them at Su Liyue.

“You… what trickery did you use?! How could water magic possibly inflict such sharp cutting damage?!” His voice was a blend of shock and indignation.

Su Liyue knew full well that without his magic staff, he posed no threat or harm to her. Ye Xingchen, understanding the situation, wisely released the hand he had been restraining, a silent sigh of relief escaping him.

‘Controlling his strength so as not to snap the delicate arm of this mage was truly no easy feat, especially since he had tried his best not to even stir a wisp of spiritual energy. It seemed his control over spiritual energy still needed considerable improvement.’

She cast a cold glance at the dishevelled Blond Senior, her voice frighteningly calm:

“It was merely a matter of slightly controlling the density of the water magic and then applying a simple acceleration. But if you continue to pester us like this, next time it won’t be as simple as severing a magic staff.”

“C-control density? A-and accelerate?” The Blond Senior stammered, his face etched with confusion. The magical concept of ‘density’ was utterly new to him, though ‘acceleration’ he understood.

‘So water magic could also be accelerated? But now was hardly the time to ponder such things. Failing so spectacularly to show off in front of a girl, and even having his magic staff severed—if this got out…’

He awkwardly picked up the two halves of his broken magic staff. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to hurl a threat at Ye Xingchen:

“Bottom-feeder, just you wait! Don’t think you can rest easy just because Junior Su is protecting you! Come the academy ranking competition, you’ll see how I deal with you!”

Although he had long heard of Su Liyue, the third-year student dubbed the ‘Ice-Cold Genius Campus Belle,’ seeing her today proved the rumors were true; even a senior like him had been put in his place.

‘But as for this flower protector, Ye Xingchen… aside from being strong, what real abilities could he possibly possess? If he truly had talent, he wouldn’t have fallen to the level of the class’s bottom-feeder!’

With that thought, he slunk away, pushing through the crowd, fearing that another second spent there would result in an even more humiliating headline in tomorrow’s academy newspaper.