Chapter 178 | The Otherworld Journey That Starts From a Slime

A spatial hum echoed. The fire giant's thick arm was severed cleanly, falling to the ground before turning into flames and vanishing.

Everyone was completely stunned.

Was... Wasn't that a spatial gate?!

Aren't spatial gates only used for teleportation?!

Why could it also be used for spatial slicing?!

Before anyone could figure it out, another spatial gate descended from above the fire giant's head, stopping at its neck before snapping shut.

“Weng—”

Another spatial hum echoed, and the fire giant's head fell to the ground in the distance. The entire fire giant then dissolved and vanished. Everyone stared with wide eyes, looking at this scene in disbelief.

Deep within the academy, inside a grand manor, an elderly man suddenly opened his eyes.

“Is this... the law of space?!”

“Who triggered the law of space?!”

Filled with astonishment, he immediately teleported, arriving at the source of the spatial law fluctuations. It was a small arena, and standing right in the middle of it was little Xi Ya.

“Xi Ya?!” The elderly man's eyes widened, filled with utter disbelief.

The elderly man's name was Vianney Moyani.

He belonged to the same family as Xi Ya and was also her grandfather.

If Zhang Ye were to see him, he would recognize him as the Saint-tier elder who had opened the spatial gate back then!

Vianney stared at Xi Ya in surprise, finally understanding what had happened.

It wasn't that Xi Ya had comprehended the law of space. Rather, her closing of the spatial gate had triggered the spatial law, causing that section of space to snap shut.

Using the closing of a spatial gate to perform spatial slicing... This was simply unimaginable!

As a space-attribute Saint-tier, he naturally knew that spatial gates could be used this way, but he had never expected Xi Ya to master such a technique.

After all, he had only figured out this trick himself after reaching the Saint-tier!

It required an incredibly vast amount of theoretical knowledge. Usually, those whose theoretical knowledge reached such a level were already Saint-tiers!

Unbelievable, simply unbelievable!

Xi Ya had always been that fragile little granddaughter of his in his heart, the grandchild with the worst talent in the clan.

The Moyani family was a space magic clan famous far and wide. Every direct member of the family was a powerful space-attribute mage.

Yet, such a powerful family had produced a waste!

A waste who had only just reached the Tier Five early stage at the age of twenty, and whose only spatial magic was a Miniature Spatial Gate!

Vianney found it hard to put his feelings about his granddaughter into words.

He harbored no ill will toward Xi Ya, nor did he dislike her because of her poor talent. He simply treated her as his little granddaughter and still showered her with care and affection.

However, compared to the other grandchildren, Xi Ya ultimately could not obtain the favor of the family elders, and her treatment at home was worlds apart.

Although he held a prominent position in the family as her grandfather, he couldn't forcibly bend the mindsets of the other clan members and make them treat Xi Ya like their own. After all, the larger a family was, the more complex its branches and factions became.

The family had not mistreated Xi Ya in any way, nor did they deprive her of resources. However, her talent was simply too lacking, and there was nothing they could do to push her up. Some clan members even developed prejudices due to Vianney's favoritism, secretly mocking and cold-shouldering Xi Ya.

This left Vianney completely helpless.

The world was just that realistic. Not everyone could be like Lina, who was still pampered by the entire royal family despite being called the 【Peerless Joke of the Lionheart Empire】.

Vianney didn't expect too much from Xi Ya. Even if she was a waste, it didn't matter. It wasn't as if the family couldn't afford to raise her.

It was just that among her peers, Xi Ya was always the one being ridiculed and cold-shouldered by her relatives.

For Xi Ya, Vianney felt nothing but heartache and regret.

Because of talent, her parents had given more of their love to Qiya and the others. The clan members had also cold-shadowed Xi Ya because she was a waste who brought shame to the family. Thus, she had always been a lonely and insecure child.

That was why, as her grandfather, he did everything he could to make it up to her.

For instance, on the day of admission, he had secretly sent points and cultivation resources to Xi Ya.

But Xi Ya had not accepted them.

This fragile, lonely child had an incredibly stubborn side. She could accept being cold-shouldered, mocked, and even helped out of goodwill, but she would never accept compensation that she viewed as charity.

Therefore, Vianney had remained helpless. After all, he was of the older generation, and there was a generational gap between him and Xi Ya. He didn't know how to interact with her.

Yet now, he was witnessing Xi Ya's moment of strength.

Stripping the Safety Magic Set from the spatial gate allowed it to trigger the spatial law upon closing, performing spatial slicing!

Such an ability was something even the second daughter, Qiya, and the eldest son, Costovar—both the pride of the family—had failed to master!

Furthermore, Xi Ya's cultivation had skyrocketed to the Tier Six late stage within a single month!

Xi Ya... had stood up?!

While this filled him with excitement, it also left him somewhat puzzled.

Xi Ya had always been the same Xi Ya, humble and fragile even after entering the academy. Why had she suddenly risen to prominence?

With doubt in his heart, he hid high up in the sky, watching silently.

Seeing his fire giant severed in an instant, Hanterot was utterly astounded, unable to believe his eyes.

While he was in a daze, a spatial gate suddenly descended from above his head.

Hanterot was absolutely terrified.

He had witnessed the spatial gate slicing the fire giant. If even the fire giant couldn't withstand it, how could he?

The spatial gate was too fast. It passed straight through his head, locked onto his neck, and suddenly tightened. Hanterot's body trembled violently, thinking his head was about to be severed from his body.

However, this spatial gate was blue.

Hanterot's body remained where it was, but his head appeared right in front of Xi Ya. His body was trembling, and his face was filled with terror. This scene of "decapitation" sent a shiver down everyone's spine.

Because the spatial gate was locked onto his neck, no matter how Hanterot struggled, he couldn't break free. It was as if an iron collar fixed to the surrounding space was tightly cinched around his neck.

“Y-You lost!” Xi Ya snapped out of her "calm" state. She looked at Hanterot and spoke, her voice trembling slightly.

“...” Hanterot swallowed hard, but the spatial gate locked around his neck made him incredibly tense.

“I concede!” he finally said.

The referee subsequently declared Xi Ya the winner.

The spatial gate rose and vanished, and Hanterot's head "returned" to his body. This left him in a state of lingering fear, and he hurriedly jumped off the stage while clutching his neck.

As Xi Ya stepped down from the stage, her steps felt somewhat light and floaty.

Her small face was slightly dazed.

I... I won?

I won that easily?!

At this moment, an indescribable wave of joy and excitement surged in her heart.

“Your first victory! That was amazing!” Lina skipped over to Xi Ya's side, hugging her as she showered her with praise.

Zhang Ye also smiled and said, “Well done!”

Hearing this, Xi Ya's small face instantly flushed red. She fidgeted with her small hands and whispered, “Th-Thank you...”

Her eyes were filled with gratitude.

She knew that if not for Zhang Ye, her rank would never have reached the Tier Six late stage, she wouldn't have been able to cast spatial gates in rapid succession so easily, and she certainly wouldn't have mastered the technique of spatial gate slicing.

Without Zhang Ye, even if she could have won, it would have been exceptionally difficult, and it was far more likely that she would have lost!

Therefore, all of this was because of Zhang Ye.

“Brother Ye, thank you!” Xi Ya said once more. “Really... thank you...”

As she spoke, tears the size of beans began to roll down from her eyes, leaving Zhang Ye feeling quite helpless.

Wait, why is she crying again?

Zhang Ye quickly comforted her, “Don't cry, don't cry. You learned all of this through your own hard work. Besides, winning is a good thing. You should be smiling.”

“Mhm!” Xi Ya nodded and wiped away her tears, a lovely smile blooming on her face.

From high in the sky, Vianney watched this scene and couldn't help but stroke his beard.

So, Xi Ya's massive improvement is because of this young man?

He knew of this young man. He was the God of Song, after all, and Vianney quite liked his songs.

His songs conveyed a yearning for the future and positive energy. Someone who could sing such songs was bound to be a positive person as well, so Vianney's first impression of Zhang Ye was excellent.