The Three Realms Thief Chapter 11

The Homeroom Teacher’s booming voice echoed throughout the classroom:

“Hurry up now, review all your subjects. The focus is on talismans.”

“At 8:30, as soon as the broadcast sounds, the class monitor will lead everyone down to the sports field to warm up and wait.”

“I remind each and every one of you—”

“This time, all the major universities have sent special representatives to observe. You must perform your best and do well.”

“Did you all remember?”

“Yes!” the students shouted in unison.

The Homeroom Teacher turned and hurried away.

—Today was the monthly exam, and they also had to host representatives from various universities. There weren’t enough staff everywhere, so the teachers were all very busy.

“Do you have anything else to eat?”

Xu Yuan whispered.

“Are you possessed by a hungry ghost? Seriously.”

Zhao Afei took out a pill from his drawer and handed it over.

Xu Yuan sniffed it, then popped the pill into his mouth, slowly chewing.

—This was a high-grade Bigu Dan (Grain Abstinence Pill).

Aside from its unpleasant taste, it had no flaws, and its nutritional value was more than sufficient.

Xu Yuan often scrounged things from Zhao Afei.

—Zhao Afei’s family was a provincial distributor for a brand of medicinal pills, so they were quite wealthy.

In contrast, Xu Yuan’s family was much poorer.

Moreover, Xu Yuan’s mother was ill, and his father was rarely home.

Xu Yuan himself had a bit of that “Ghost Fire Teenager” adolescent behavior, resorting to fists at the slightest disagreement.

Other students didn’t interact much with Xu Yuan.

Only Zhao Afei, his best friend, always treated him like a brother.

wWW ✿TTkan ✿c o

“Next time during the swordsmanship exam, you can use my sword—my sword is much better than the public swords provided by the school.”

Zhao Afei pulled out a sword from under his desk and dangled it in front of Xu Yuan.

Before Xu Yuan could speak, he quickly added:

“In this team battle, you’ve got to cover for me, brother.”

“What? What happened?” Xu Yuan asked in surprise.

“My relatives looked down on me, it really annoyed me—Brother Xu, let’s do well this time, okay?” Afei wore a deeply aggrieved expression.

“Absolutely, I’ll be a little more serious,” Xu Yuan said, patting his shoulder.

He took the sword and weighed it in his hand.

Tiny glowing text immediately appeared:

“Xiuying.”

“Sword, Excellent grade.”

“Triple Shadow Level 3: During combat, three overlapping shadows are generated to confuse the enemy.”

Excellent Grade!

When deployed, this effect was both cool and threatening.

Pay-to-win players are a pain.

—Even in the cultivation world, it’s the same!

Xu Yuan sighed, then suddenly remembered something. He returned the sword to Zhao Afei, then silently wished “Store.”

A virtual store immediately unfolded before his eyes.

Seeing that the other students were oblivious and continued reading, Xu Yuan held the “Night Walk” dagger in his hand.

“Sell.”

He said in his mind.

On the store’s counter, indeed, there was a blank price tag showing “1 Gold Coin.”

Selling to me for 2 gold coins, but buying back for only 1 gold coin.

What a shrewd merchant!

But this dagger really wasn’t suitable for him anymore.

Xu Yuan sold the knife and checked his remaining gold coins.

—19 remaining.

The shelves were empty.

“Refresh.”

Xu Yuan said.

One gold coin was deducted.

Three items immediately appeared on the shelves.

A “Common” grade leather glove, a pair of “Excellent” grade boots, and a bundle of talismans.

The talismans were actually of Excellent grade.

“Liezou Talisman.”

“Talisman drawing speed +2, success rate increased by 10%.”

Xu Yuan thought of Yang Xiaobing.

Yang Xiaobing was already at the third layer of Qi Refining, with outstanding grades in both talisman-making and spirit planting, earning her the qualification to participate in the special admissions selection for Nine Luminaries and Luofu.

Specializing in two subjects, other courses could be used as supplementary combat methods.

This was actually the best choice for low-level cultivators.

After all, their energy was limited.

It was only rational to consider refining other skills once cultivation improved and horizons broadened.

“Refresh.”

Xu Yuan silently repeated.

Gold Coins -1.

His assets now stood at 17 gold coins.

Accordingly.

The three items on the shelves disappeared.

New items appeared.

Two items in total.

One was a small rabbit pendant.

Excellent grade.

“Movement speed +1.”

And a longsword.

Also Excellent grade.

“Sharpness +2.”

“Price: 3 gold coins.”

This is it.

Xu Yuan reached out, drew the longsword named “Xu Feng,” and weighed it in his hand, feeling quite satisfied.

Refreshing the shelves was too expensive.

He only had 14 gold coins left.

—He couldn’t keep drawing indefinitely.

And his goal was very clear.

As long as it was stronger than the school’s public swords and didn’t affect his team battle, he’d use it for now.

He looked up at the store’s signboard:

“Apprentice Qi Cultivator’s Combat Preparation Room.”

Perhaps—

When he broke through to the second layer of Qi Refining and became a higher-level Qi Refiner, the store’s level would also increase.

“It will not.”

As if knowing what he was thinking, tiny words quickly appeared on a blank price tag on the shelf:

“Only by winning ‘difficult’ matches can you have a chance to upgrade the store level, or cause other changes to the store.”

“After the store changes, the quality and grade of the items sold will also change accordingly.”

…Alright.

It seems he still needs to compete.

Xu Yuan silently placed the longsword on his lap, reached for a book, and continued reviewing his talisman class notes.

—The team battle is a real combat!

The topic was confidential.

He was indeed a little eager to try his hand.

On the other side.

Teaching building, rooftop.

“Xiaoyao, you’re looking for me?”

Yang Xiaobing asked.

Jiang Xueyao stood opposite her.

Today, she wore a black sweater, dark blue jeans, and a dark longsword slung across her back, accentuating her slender waist and long legs.

Her cascading long hair fell over her shoulders, making her look fresh, ethereal, and gracefully beautiful.

“Yes, something’s up.”

Jiang Xueyao said.

“A message would have sufficed, why specifically come to the rooftop? What’s going on?” Yang Xiaobing asked curiously.

Jiang Xueyao gazed at the autumn colors filling the city, a smile in her voice:

“Do you want to see this?”

With a flick of her finger, a letter flew towards Yang Xiaobing.

Yang Xiaobing caught it, opened it, and her eyes scanned over it.

It was a love letter.

—Signed by Xu Yuan.

Yesterday, Xu Yuan had mentioned that someone was going to impersonate him and write a love letter.

It turned out to be true.

Who was so insidious?

“Where did you get this love letter?”

Yang Xiaobing asked nonchalantly.

“It was Song Huaijin,” Jiang Xueyao began, “He has a friend named Li Tao, who’s in Xu Yuan’s class.”

“But Xu Yuan never told me he was going to send a love letter,” Yang Xiaobing said.

“Li Tao found it when he rummaged through his drawer,” Jiang Xueyao said.

Yang Xiaobing looked at her, saying nothing.

Jiang Xueyao also shook her head and said:

“Of course this isn’t honorable, Song Huaijin even wanted to publicize this love letter and report it to the teachers. I stopped him.”

“What do you think I should do?” Yang Xiaobing asked.

“As you wish—this is your business. As a friend, this is all I can do.” Jiang Xueyao said.

Only then did Yang Xiaobing smile, and with a slight force of her hand.

The letter immediately scattered into white fragments, flying away with the wind.

“Xu Yuan didn’t write a love letter.”

Yang Xiaobing said.

Jiang Xueyao was startled and asked, “You trust him that much?”

“Yeah, and you—do you trust Song Huaijin’s words?” Yang Xiaobing asked.

“Song Huaijin doesn’t need to lie to me about this,” Jiang Xueyao said.

“I trust Xu Yuan,” Yang Xiaobing said.

The two fell silent.

You trust Song Huaijin, and I trust Xu Yuan.

One of these two must be lying.

—Who could it be?

Suddenly.

The school’s broadcast rang out.

After an inspiring musical melody, a solemn voice sounded:

“All students in the third year of high school.”

“Please gather on the sports field.”

—They were to gather on the sports field to warm up before the monthly exam.

Standing on the rooftop, one could see the doors of classrooms on various floors below swing open.

Third-year students poured out, descended the stairs, and gathered towards the sports field.

A gentle breeze blew.

Under the azure sky.

Jiang Xueyao’s long hair fluttered in the wind, making her look like a fairy from a painting, as if she could ride the wind at any moment.

She suddenly pulled out a patterned hair tie and began to tie up her hair.

“How interesting.”

She gazed down at the commotion below the teaching building, her voice soft and gentle.

Lies are easily exposed.

Just one sword.

One sword.

That’s enough.

“Huh?” Yang Xiaobing, her apricot eyes glistening, looked up at the other person with a puzzled expression.

“Xiaobing, you’re good at everything, but you’re too quick to trust others.”

Jiang Xueyao’s tone was somewhat stern, yet also concerned.

“Xu Yuan wouldn’t lie to me,” Yang Xiaobing retorted, “Instead, you trust Song Huaijin too much.”

The conversation again became strained.

“I also want to know who is lying,” Jiang Xueyao said softly.

The hair tie secured her hair into a ponytail.

That’s done.

She took a few steps forward, stood by the railing, gently touched her longsword, and looked down at the slowly moving crowd below.

Searching.

Searching.

Searching—

Her hand suddenly stopped, gently gripping the hilt of her sword.

She then softly said:

“You said he’s been diligently cultivating, didn’t you?”

Yang Xiaobing’s heart sank abruptly.

No, no.

Did I say something wrong?

Or—

“Why don’t you try to test Song Huaijin?”

Yang Xiaobing said urgently.

“Testing one person is enough,” Jiang Xueyao said, “If Song Huaijin lied to me, I’ll beat him so badly he won’t be able to take the Gaokao next year.”

“Don’t—” Yang Xiaobing pulled out two talismans.

“Don’t worry, I guess you also want to know the answer,” Jiang Xueyao interrupted her, continuing, “How about we make a bet?”

“A bet?” Yang Xiaobing asked.

“I bet Song Huaijin wouldn’t dare to lie to me,” Jiang Xueyao said.

“He definitely lied to you,” Yang Xiaobing said, refusing to be outdone.

“Exactly, now let’s see who’s telling the truth and who’s lying—”

What was she—

Going to do?

Yang Xiaobing suddenly let out a shriek.

—Because Jiang Xueyao, standing at the edge of the rooftop, jumped down!

The favored daughter’s figure was as swift as lightning. With a few light taps of her feet against the wall, she soared like an eagle, heading straight for a certain target.

Just one sword!

Clang—

Jiang Xueyao landed on the wall of the stairwell, drew her longsword, and thrust it diagonally towards the young man.

Her relaxed expression made the thrust seem as effortless and graceful as picking a branch from the ground while strolling.

The sword’s body was clear as water and mirror-like, reflecting the astonished or fearful faces of the students around.

The timing, angle, and technique were all perfect.

This sword thrust was unavoidable.

Xu Yuan suddenly turned his head, a sword instantly appearing in his hand.

His expression was still somewhat puzzled.

But his sword was already meeting the attack.

The sword’s spine glistened, reflecting the autumn light outside the building, the golden trees, and the lingering white frost on the rooftop tiles.

The sword was extremely fast, extremely steady.

In an instant.

The two swords clashed.

All light and shadow vibrated, radiating from the clash.

Blocked!