28 There Are No Police in the World of Cultivation

Wang Zhining’s punch was aimed directly at Jiang Xuan’s face.

He was already at the eighth level of Qi Refining, while only a few months ago, Jiang Xuan had been a mere fifth-level practitioner, curled up on the ground and covering his head under Wang’s assault.

As an inner-sect disciple of the Luoxia Sect, Wang Zhining usually disdained interacting with the down-and-out Xiaoyao Sect, and he couldn’t be bothered to join the outer-sect disciple Liu Chang in bullying others. Yet, from the very first moment he saw Jiang Xuan, he had felt an inexplicable hatred for him.

Jiang Xuan possessed eyes that were far too bright. Even when pinned beneath Wang’s boot, begging for mercy, he never became timid once he climbed back to his feet; his gaze remained clear and unwavering. This terrified Wang Zhining—the fear that one day, Jiang Xuan would stand tall and defeat him.

It wasn't that he hadn't considered gouging out those hateful eyes, but rash killing would sow negative karma, which was detrimental to his cultivation. So, he had decided to beat Jiang Xuan into submission, to make the light in those eyes fade forever.

He expected this punch to land; given Jiang Xuan’s speed, there was no way to dodge it. Jiang Xuan would struggle to stand, dazed for a moment, and in that gap, Wang would follow up with more strikes and a few techniques to knock him down and humiliate him. That was how it had always gone.

But this time, things did not go as Wang Zhining had envisioned. With a fluid step, Jiang Xuan dodged the strike with ease. Jiang Xuan’s sword was no longer as merciful or hesitant as it once was, and to Wang’s shock, he found himself unable to evade the counterattack.

Wang Zhining hurriedly cast an Earth Wall technique, a slab of hard yellow rock rising to meet the tip of Jiang Xuan’s blade. It blocked the blow. Just as Wang began to channel his energy to perform the Earth Dragon technique he had recently mastered—intending to transform the wall into a dragon and knock Jiang Xuan’s sword aside—the very stone he had summoned began to crack inch by inch before his eyes, shattering into pebbles that clattered to the ground.

Jiang Xuan’s sword pressed unstoppable against the side of his neck. With a calm expression, Jiang Xuan stated the facts: "You lost."

In just two moves, Jiang Xuan had defeated the overbearing Wang Zhining. While Jiang Xuan maintained the stoic demeanor of a master on the outside, his inner thoughts were simple: pure, unadulterated satisfaction!

The sword techniques and insights from Immortal Yanchi were truly effective; his reverence for the immortal had only grown!

Having secured his victory, he turned to check on the others. Zhu Yu was hiding in a corner, using a newly learned footwork technique to dodge the stray shockwaves of the fight. Zhao Zhixian was locked in an even match against two disciples, while Fu Qin and Cui Huai were simply dominating; despite being outnumbered, they took down an opponent with every swing of their blades.

Mindful of their surroundings, everyone instinctively restrained their moves to avoid damaging the shop’s furniture. Seeing his fellow disciples safe and no property destroyed, Jiang Xuan finally relaxed. It was time to settle the score.

He kicked the back of Wang Zhining’s knee, causing his leg to give way and forcing him to stumble onto his knees. Jiang Xuan looked down at the kneeling man and made a serious demand: "You owe me an apology."

"You used to beat me for no reason, telling me that in the world of cultivation, only the strong deserve to stand, while the weak belong underfoot. Now, I am standing and you are kneeling. I have no desire to humiliate you, and I still reject your rules, but if I don't do this, someone like you will never apologize to me."

He had no interest in stepping on others, but he needed that apology. Under the pressure of Jiang Xuan’s blade and the humiliation of his position, Wang Zhining finally spoke: "...I’m sorry. I shouldn't have bullied you."

Hearing this long-overdue apology, Jiang Xuan finally felt he had given closure to the version of himself that had first arrived in this world. Back then, he had been up late studying one moment, and the next, he found himself in a strange, vast mountain range. His only thought at the time was: *Are human traffickers so insane that they’re kidnapping college students now? Do they not even have the patience to raise a child, wanting me to support them in their old age instead?*

After wandering the mountains for two days, witnessing insects that moved faster than cars, flowers that spat fire, and rabbits that jumped dozens of meters into the air, he finally realized he wasn't on Earth—he had transmigrated. He was lucky; before he could starve to death, he met Master Qingyan, became his disciple, and began the bizarre journey of cultivation.

At first, he had been excited. It was, after all, incredibly cool; if his friends back home knew, they would be so jealous. But after the initial joy faded, it was replaced by endless longing. No matter how grand the cultivation world was, it wasn't his home.

He hadn't been depressed for more than two days before Wang Zhining appeared, acting in a way that was utterly pathetic. In the modern world, he would have been the ringleader of school bullies. Jiang Xuan had been forced into fights—or rather, one-sided beatings. Every time he was pinned down, Wang would sneer and ask, "Do you submit?" Each time, Jiang Xuan would choose the path of wisdom: "I submit."

In reality, he was hurt and furious, but his heart never yielded. Please, he was a sane college student; even if he couldn't win a fight, he certainly wouldn't think such bullying was right. If he had succumbed to that, he would have wasted all those years of education!

***

At this very moment, watching the begrudgingly apologetic Wang Zhining, Jiang Xuan said, "I accept your apology." Then, with his other hand, he swung his sword sheath, channeling his spiritual energy to strike Wang across the back, knocking him flat onto the ground.

Wang Zhining groaned, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth as he struggled to rise. Jiang Xuan withdrew his hand, satisfied. He was a reasonable person, but that didn't mean he lacked backbone!

In the past, he had often needed Zhao Zhixian to drag him back home after Wang’s beatings, leaving him bedridden for days. His master had been kind enough to him, and the Xiaoyao Sect was too small to risk offending the Luoxia Sect on his account. To keep the truth from his master, he had told many lies and became a frequent absentee from morning classes.

Wang Zhining had caused him physical harm repeatedly and tarnished his reputation as a good disciple. Since there were no police in the cultivation world to detain him, he had to settle for a simple, honest revenge: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

With that frustration vented, the matter was settled. His fellow disciples were even more formidable; the floor was littered with Luoxia Sect disciples, all wincing in pain. Those injured by the Fourth Junior Sister, Cui Huai, looked terrified—they were all desperately trying to crawl away from her. Everywhere there were wailing disciples, but a clear patch of space had formed around Cui Huai.

*Junior sister, truly terrifying!*

The meal was effectively over, and the food had gone cold. There was no point in staying. As the members of the Xiaoyao Sect prepared to leave, Wang Zhining stood up shakily, his face twisted with resentment. Lacking the strength to provoke them further, he vented his frustration by punching a table in front of the restaurant.

The table was made of ordinary wood and shattered instantly under the blow. Just as Wang Zhining regained a shred of confidence through this act of destruction, the voice of the shopkeeper rang out from inside: "You dare smash my furniture?"

An irresistible suction force dragged everyone standing or lying in front of the door into the shop. The spiritual force used on Cui Huai and her group was relatively gentle, and they did not resist. But for the culprit who had smashed the table, the shopkeeper clearly applied collective punishment, dragging all the Luoxia Sect disciples inside as well.

The shopkeeper stood with a dark expression, his full aura erupting and crushing everyone with his cultivation. The Luoxia Sect disciples, led by Wang Zhining, bore the brunt of it.

"You juniors actually dare to break my property? Then you shall stay here until your elders bring spirit stones to pay for your release!" With a flick of his sleeves, ropes made of spiritual energy flew out, binding the Luoxia Sect disciples tightly.

Cui Huai couldn't help but feel a bit of schadenfreude; she had warned them not to break the tables! Jiang Xuan, however, was stunned. He retracted his earlier thought about the lack of police in the cultivation world—the shopkeeper was the police, and he had used his own power to detain the lot of them!