Chapter 600: Knight
Only then did Lana lazily stretch her sore body, her joints giving soft cracks as the tension finally left her muscles. "Good."
She turned toward Shelley, who was still standing there completely frozen in shock, her beautiful eyes blank as if her soul had temporarily left her body.
Lana extended her hand toward her. "Shall we go, Shelley?"
Shelley blinked repeatedly, finally snapping out of her daze. Her heart warmed unexpectedly.
’She... she’s waiting for me?’
Almost instinctively, she hurried forward and placed her hand into Lana’s warm palm.
"Y-Yes."
Lana simply smiled before leading her away.
Watching the two girls leave side by side, the audience slowly realized something.
Lana had done this entirely to protect Shelley’s dignity.
If Lana had simply walked away after winning so overwhelmingly, Shelley would have inevitably become nothing more than a background character, a stepping stone used to highlight Lana’s brilliance.
Instead, Lana had reached out her hand and walked beside her as an equal.
That single gesture completely changed everyone’s perception.
Rather than seeing Shelley as someone defeated by Lana, they now subconsciously viewed her as a princess being escorted by a knight.
The image was strangely beautiful.
Combined with Lana’s calm confidence, handsome aura, and effortless charm, many people stared blankly at her retreating figure.
For a brief moment, countless girls in the audience felt their hearts skip a beat.
"I... why does she look so cool?"
"I suddenly feel like she’d make the perfect girlfriend."
"Forget boys. I think I just became bisexual."
Lucian happened to hear those conversations because two groups of girls were sitting right beside him.
One of them practically had stars shining in her eyes. "That was so cool. I seriously feel like I’m becoming bisexual."
Lucian frowned deeply. "This girl, can’t she hide her charm even a little?"
He helplessly shook his head before standing up.
Soon, Lana’s friends, several teachers, and the important guests all left the arena together.
Mark, Harper, Jessica, Mason, and Vincent quietly followed behind Lana, who continued walking beside Shelley.
The old president clearly had no intention of giving up.
"How about a one-billion-dollar villa? You’ll be participating in the International Mystical Cultivation Competition soon, won’t you? I’m willing to give you two Silver Vein herbs."
Seeing that Lana showed no reaction whatsoever, he continued without hesitation.
"No? Then, how about a Moon Essence Crystal? Still not interested? I can provide countless cultivation resources. What exactly do you want? As long as it’s money, resources, treasures, or anything within the Mystical Association’s capabilities, I’ll personally obtain it for you."
Lana finally stopped walking. She turned around and looked at the old man before smiling faintly.
"Well, old man, you honestly don’t possess anything that I truly need. So please stop wasting your time. I will never join the Mystical Cultivation Association."
Hearing those words, Mark wasn’t disappointed. Instead, a mysterious smile slowly appeared on his face.
"How about this? I can grant you a National Authority Card. You’ll be allowed to purchase land anywhere in the country. You could even establish your own city. The entire Mystical Cultivation Association would stand behind you and support its development."
For the briefest second, Lana was genuinely tempted. ’A city...’
The thought flashed through her mind before she forcefully suppressed it. She narrowed her eyes and stared directly at Mark.
"I don’t believe you’re offering me all of this simply because I awakened yellow mystical energy. There has to be another reason. Am I right?"
Mark chuckled softly.
"As expected. You’re very smart. I simply want to know how you awakened the yellow mystical energy. And more importantly, what method did you use?"
Lana couldn’t help laughing.
"If it were really that simple, old man, I would’ve created a cultivation formula long ago and sold it for trillions of dollars. Do you honestly think I’d still be standing here wasting my time talking nonsense with you?"
Mark laughed heartily.
"Lana, you may have fooled everyone else, but do you truly believe you can fool me about what your actual mystical energy rank is?"
The moment those words were spoken, Harper’s expression froze.
Jessica’s pupils contracted violently. Mason and Vincent stared at Lana in disbelief.
"What?"
"Yellow... isn’t her true mystical energy?"
An eerie silence immediately descended over the corridor.
Lana narrowed her eyes, a dangerous glint flashing within them.
She was just about to reply when another carefree voice echoed from behind.
"Yo, so people can threaten others this openly now?"
Lana turned around.
She saw Phillips walking toward them with Conard, Axel, and Lucy.
Following closely behind them was Melody, who was trying her hardest to hide behind everyone else while lowering her head, clearly hoping nobody would notice her presence.
Lana quietly let out a small breath of relief.
Conard stepped forward, his expression turning cold as he looked directly at Mark.
"Old man Mark, are you planning to make an enemy of the Peterson family?"
Mason frowned immediately.
"Why is the Peterson family interfering in this matter?"
Lana let out an amused chuckle before answering first.
"It just so happens that I share a rather good friendship with the Peterson family. They’re intervening on my behalf."
She smiled calmly before locking eyes with Mason. "And you honestly think they don’t have the right to do that?"
Mason’s expression stiffened. He instantly forced an awkward smile onto his face.
"Girl, are you still angry because of what I said earlier? Just ignore it. I was blind."
Lana simply shook her head.
"You really are quite smart. But sometimes, I genuinely don’t understand why a mere change in the colour of mystical energy makes everyone treat a person so differently."
Mark frowned slightly before looking directly at Lana.
"Well, it’s not that simple. You see, for many cultivators, a change in mystical energy color doesn’t mean much in the beginning. But as your cultivation advances further and further, you’ll gradually awaken new powers, new abilities, and completely different characteristics."
His expression turned unusually serious.
"Eventually, you’ll reach a point where you can directly bypass an entire cultivation rank. You’ll be capable of defeating even the strongest cultivator despite being a whole rank below them."