Chapter 397: Master Maker [Premium]

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Wu Di didn’t even spare the loser another glance. Instead, he roared triumphantly, his voice sweeping through the arena like a typhoon, as if unleashing all the humiliation from the crowd’s earlier jeers.

"Great fight, Wu Di!" The first to break the silence was undoubtedly Old Wang. Wang Feng immediately jumped onto the stands, pumping his fists and yelling like he’d won the fight himself.

"No way, a Soul Tyrant skill?!" Winnie’s mouth was now so wide open it could’ve swallowed a whole duck egg. She couldn’t help but glance back and forth between Wang Feng and Wu Di on the field. "Don’t tell me you taught him that too? Are you kidding me?!"

After reaching Tiger Peak, powerhouses would begin to come into contact with Soul Tyrant skills. Frankly, for a Holy Sanctuary disciple of Winnie’s level, Soul Tyrant skills weren’t particularly rare—Hei Wukai had them, Long Feixue had them, even someone like Mo Tong had them. Big deal! But Wu Di? A beastman who’d only awakened his Behemoth bloodline a month ago?!

"I couldn’t teach something like that. That was all Wu Di’s own realization," Old Wang said nonchalantly, like some kind of grandmaster.

"Tch!" Winnie rolled her eyes. Though unreliable most of the time, this guy was still trustworthy when it mattered.

The stands fell dead silent, filled with gaping mouths that couldn’t close. The audience still couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed.

It wasn’t until several exorcists hurried onto the stage and repeatedly confirmed that Katalev had lost the ability to fight that the arena exploded into wails and howls.

Three to zero—the most humiliating three to zero!

Unlike the fanatics of Mangalam, Londom’s sense of superiority wasn’t baseless. It was built upon their formidable strength.

The true birthplace of ice witches; the oldest nation in the League of Blades; once a perennial top-ten Holy Sanctuary, now ranked eleventh—any one of these was a point of pride for Londom. So against Rose, they’d been brimming with smug confidence. But now…

"Has Lord Yakray abandoned us? Have the gods forsaken us?"

"In the land of ice, in the heart of Yakray’s city, we were actually defeated by two beastmen…"

"Why two beastmen? And why a damn three to zero?"

The surroundings were filled with frenzied cries and wails. Being trounced three to zero by the bottom-ranked Holy Sanctuary they had always looked down upon, using two beastmen… their pride shattered in an instant. And the more arrogant Londom had been before their downfall, the more pitiful they appeared now.

Some screamed curses, others wailed, while a few just stood there, numb…

Normally, the Old Wang Squad would take this chance to mock them, but this time, even Winnie had no interest in taunting.

Why kick them when they were already down?

Nearby, Mapeier had already skillfully bandaged Wu Di, fed him healing potions, and stabilized his injuries. Though his face was still deathly pale, Wu Di’s gaze was steadier than ever.

"Let’s go, let’s go." Old Wang patted Wu Di’s shoulder and told the group coolly, "Next stop—Xifeng!"

…………

"Three to zero, another three to zero!"

"This time, it was against the Winter Holy Sanctuary—ranked eleventh! And still a three to zero!"

"Damn, can Old Wang top this? How about another three to zero against Xifeng?"

"Hell yeah! Xifeng is only three ranks above Winter Holy Sanctuary. If they get stomped three-zip too, we’ll be unstoppable!"

"Long live Old Wang! Long live Rose!"

"Those Alchemy slackers better start cooking up potions, stat! If there’s no scholarship next month, we’ll drink your blood…"

The once-dead Rose Holy Sanctuary was buzzing with life again. Every corner buzzed with passionate discussions.

The Temple disciples were exhilarated and invigorated, a stark contrast to the bleak, solemn atmosphere when Old Wang and the team had first set out. Now, the place was brimming with vitality and fervor. Four straight wins—something Rose disciples wouldn’t have believed possible.

Famier finally let out a slight sigh of relief at this moment.

To be honest, she had been having a tough time recently... When Old Wang left, he temporarily handed over the beastman potion trade to her. Despite the harsh criticism from all sides, as a member of Rose, she knew exactly how much that monthly income meant to the academy. Moreover, the signed contract with the beastmen was ironclad—there was no way to simply terminate it due to public opinion.

Famier was determined to safeguard this business for the Old Wang Squad, but the potion students had been distracted lately, most preoccupied with their futures after Rose’s potential dissolution. Who had the heart to brew potions? Last month, the business recorded its first loss, but worse, it led to a massive order backlog. If the contract were strictly enforced, Rose’s potion division would owe a massive penalty. Strangely, the usually meticulous beastmen hadn’t mentioned anything or sent anyone to press for payment, but Famier had been deeply self-reproachful and anxious.

Thankfully! Thankfully, the Old Wang Squad’s four straight 3-0 sweeps had reignited Rose’s fighting spirit. The potion students finally refocused, working day and night to deliver last month’s overdue orders to the beastmen. Only then did Famier’s two-month-long tension finally ease.

Hawkland had also been overjoyed lately. A month ago, the relentless attacks in Holy Sanctuary's Light had nearly driven him to resign as the new dean. But now, at least in Holy Sanctuary's Light, no one was badmouthing Rose anymore.

From individuals to reforms, the previous conspiracy theories had all but vanished. The successive awakenings of the two beastmen, Kela and Wu Di, though not extensively covered by the media, were now common knowledge across the entire alliance. Moreover, even that alliance-wide joke "Fleeing Fan" Fan Texi had been trained into a formidable fighter. Was Rose some kind of champion factory? Anyone who still claimed Rose’s teaching standards were poor or accused them of fraud at this point would just be talking out their ass!

Such favorable public opinion had to be leveraged! Time to strike back at those damned conservatives...

Hawkland eagerly sought Thunder Dragon’s opinion, but the old man, now obsessed with Go, only gave him a dismissive three-word reply: "No point."

Damn it... Hawkland returned in a foul mood. His old friend really seemed out of touch with the times. Just doing things without talking about them might have worked in the past, but what market was there for that now? These days, not only did you have to perform well, but you also had to out-talk everyone else!

Just look at Old Wang’s silver tongue. Hawkland prided himself on being a lifelong learner—he wasn’t about to listen to that old fool!

Hawkland swiftly launched a series of moves, pulling strings and sliding bribes. Holy Sanctuary's Light was controlled by the conservatives, but there was still Blade Path—the former was the mainstream publication of the Holy Sanctuary, while the latter belonged to the entire League of Blades.

Pro-Rose spin began circulating in Blade Path, attempting to steer public opinion and absolve Rose of its earlier wager—win or lose, Rose and the revitalizing Lei family should be preserved. Unfortunately, this momentum was quickly shut down hard.

It wasn’t that Blade Path lacked influence, but because Ye Dun of the Zenith Holy Sanctuary soon made a statement on the front page of Holy Sanctuary's Light.

Whether Rose was wronged or not, whether its teaching standards were high or low—these were no longer up for debate. A man’s word is his honor. Since Thunder Dragon had declared life or death by victory or defeat, then victory or defeat would decide it. If Rose wanted to survive, it would have to fight its way to the Zenith Holy Sanctuary! Ye Dun awaited their arrival.

This statement settled the matter decisively.

Reputation was the foundation of the Holy Sanctuary and the entire League of Blades—a word once spoken could not be taken back. Rose had made its own bet, and no one could refute that. This quickly became the mainstream narrative, crushing Hawkland’s weak protests.

Frankly, the world wasn’t filled with people who truly cared about justice. The average person didn’t give a damn about partisan disputes or who was wronged. They just wanted drama, gossip, the rise and fall of a faction, or a living legend.

For the audience, if Rose won and created a miracle, everyone would cheer for witnessing history. If Rose lost and the Lei family fell, the audience would still be happy—more fodder for idle chatter, a chance to smugly critique a once-unreachable power and witness its downfall. That, too, was history… Where’s the fucking spectacle without life-or-death stakes?

In truth, from the moment Rose set foot on this path, the outcome was already decided—only life or death remained, with no middle ground.

Hawkland was frustrated. His efforts had failed, he’d called in many favors, and he’d wasted money. Only then did he realize how spot-on his old friend’s dismissive "No point" had been while sitting at the Go board.

Ah, he really wasn’t cut out for this! Once Karida returned, he’d hand this mess off as soon as possible.

But then again, the next battle was against Xifeng Holy Sanctuary...