Roxanne Lin was the goddess in the hearts of countless male students at Heavenly Dragon Academy. Her match was the most captivating, drawing cheers from all directions.
But Roxanne Lin paid no attention to the cheers all around her. All she wanted was to cut down the filthy, lecherous youth before her and finally vent the anger that had been building in her heart for so long.
Her Ocean of Blossoms was her most powerful move—countless sword-qi petals exploded thunderously, flooding toward the youth and reaching him in an instant.
“Good! That’s more like it! I love women who are both pretty and vicious—makes them way more fun!” The youth acted as if Roxanne’s attack meant nothing, grinning as he taunted her shamelessly.
With a sudden slide of his feet, the youth’s whole body shot sideways several meters—so fast that the audience below could hardly believe their eyes.
Roxanne’s strike was deftly dodged, and the youth’s sword spun out a flurry of sword flowers, slashing straight at her. The exchange happened in a flash—most people hadn’t even seen his attack before it was at her chest.
She hadn’t expected him to be so fast—faster even than Evan Chu! He dodged and countered in the blink of an eye, leaving her no time to react.
She could only pull her sword back and retreat quickly, opening up space to defend herself. She realized this lecherous punk was much stronger than she’d thought—she’d have to be careful.
In her rush, Roxanne raised her sword to block her chest, just barely catching his attack. But the force behind his blade shoved her back several meters before she finally stopped.
“How’s that feel, beauty? I went easy on you—otherwise you’d be crippled. See how much I care for pretty girls?” the youth jeered, utterly shameless.
“Despicable!” Roxanne’s sword trembled as she stabbed straight out, not caring in the slightest if the youth’s blade might injure her. She only wanted to vent her fury.
Seeing Roxanne attack so recklessly, the youth was startled and quickly retreated, frantically raising his sword to block her fierce thrust.
But Roxanne refused to let him escape so easily. Her sword suddenly slid downward in a sharp feint, stabbing toward his leg. She knew she couldn’t kill him outright, but if she could slow him down, she’d have a chance to strike back.
The youth caught her change in tactics and smirked, twisting sideways with uncanny precision to dodge—his timing was flawless.
At the same time, his sword lunged straight for Roxanne’s chest, his intentions utterly shameless and obvious to all.
Only now did Roxanne realize just how strong this guy was. He’d been playing with her from the very start, and she couldn’t beat him—frustration and humiliation burned inside her.
Thinking of Evan Chu’s uncertain fate only made her more distraught. A true martial artist’s heart must remain calm, but now even Roxanne’s usual composure was falling apart.
Seeing the sword strike coming, she felt powerless to block it and desperately struck out with her palm, hoping to deflect the attack.
But the youth seemed to anticipate her move—he instantly withdrew his sword and chopped out with his own palm, just as quickly.
Roxanne’s palm struck the youth’s sword, but his palm landed squarely on her chest. What looked like a powerful blow had no force behind it—instead, his hand shamelessly squeezed her.
“Nice and springy—good hand-feel! I like it!” The youth laughed wildly after getting his way, sure that the girl before him would explode in rage. He hurriedly retreated.
Many in the crowd saw the youth’s shameless act and immediately began to murmur—his behavior was way over the line.
The boys who secretly admired Roxanne cursed him out loud, while the jealous girls spat vicious insults at Roxanne herself, making her angrier than ever.
A humiliation unlike anything she’d ever known made Roxanne snap. Her fury surged to the limit; her Earth Star Pellet spun at full force, and she couldn’t hold back—a mouthful of reverse blood burst from her lips.
A heaven-burning killing intent erupted from her. The crimson Vermilion Bird Mark on her forehead suddenly blazed with red light, and a wrenching, agonized scream tore from her throat.
This was the sign of the Vermilion Bird Mark being forcibly awakened. She couldn’t fully unlock its power, but she could borrow a sliver of it—at the cost of unbearable pain.
Right now, Roxanne felt as if she were burning alive. The heart-searing pain made her cry out helplessly, her voice filled with torment and despair.
Her eyes turned blood-red in an instant—the agony lasted nearly a full minute before slowly fading. Across from her, the youth was so shocked by the transformation that he forgot to attack.
A suffocating pressure radiated from Roxanne—a primal holy beast’s aura. Some spectators near the stage even vomited blood, stunned by the force. No one had expected this.
Even Dean Marcus Gongsun and Elder Victor Xu hovering in the air were shocked. “Isn’t that Evan Chu’s girl? How does she have such a terrifying aura?” Marcus exclaimed.
Elder Xu frowned, still uncertain. “It must be a bloodline awakening. It’s incomplete, but she’s showing a sliver of her power. What kind of bloodline could be this strong?”
“That’s a Vermilion Bird Bloodline awakening! Didn’t you see the red glow on that girl’s forehead?” Flynn Yun suddenly called out. “I never expected your academy to have such talent, Elder Xu. I want her—this tournament’s wager is for her to join Sea Dragon Academy!”
“No way! Our academy’s people aren’t yours to take—give it up!” Elder Xu shot back instantly.
Flynn Yun sneered, “That’s not up to you—unless Heavenly Dragon Academy wins the elite-class competition. But I doubt it! Hahaha!” With a long sweep of his sleeves, he flew off, leaving the two elders fuming and speechless.
On the stage, Roxanne had completely lost control of the surging power inside her. The flames of rage in her heart burned hotter and hotter. She glared at the youth and roared, “Die!”
A fire-red sword-qi, more than two meters long, slashed straight at the youth. He instantly sensed the destructive power hidden within—it would destroy him if he took it head-on. His only hope was to dodge.
But when he tried to move sideways, he realized the surrounding space was locked down—he could only move forward or back. Panic seized his heart.
Roxanne herself had no idea how powerful her strike was. She just knew she had to vent the overwhelming force in her body, desperate to ease the pain.
The Sea Dragon Academy youth braced himself and unleashed his strongest martial skill to block Roxanne’s attack. But his sword was only halfway up when the raging flame sword-qi swallowed him whole…