Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 131: Saving Marcus (Part-2)

From what he knew, even among physicians, those who truly mastered acupuncture techniques were few and far between. Medical arts and alchemy alike required years of accumulation. Knowledge without depth was useless. Zora was simply too young.

Zora nodded lightly, her response neither humble nor arrogant.

"The poison in Marcus’s body is extremely fierce," Gerrad continued, his gaze steady. "Acupuncture alone may not be sufficient."

His words were a reminder, not a rebuke.

Zora met his eyes calmly, her expression unwavering. "Vice-Principal, please rest assured. I know what I’m doing."

There was no tremor in her voice, no trace of doubt.

This green-scaled python poison was not unfamiliar to her. She had studied it, refined it, and even extracted it before. Detoxifying it now was not reckless confidence, but practiced certainty.

Clarissa’s eyes widened slightly in disbelief. She had not expected Zora to respond to the vice-principal with such composure, let alone such confidence.

So arrogant.

"Hah." Clarissa let out a cold laugh. "Zora, don’t tell us you’re about to use the legendary needle-shaking technique. Do you really think everyone here is an idiot?"

Her words dripped with ridicule.

Zora raised her brows slightly and looked straight at Clarissa. Her gaze was sharp, cold, and utterly unamused. "Don’t flatter yourself," she said flatly. "Among everyone here, you’re the only one shouting nonsense."

The disdain in her tone was unmistakable, as if Clarissa was not even worth arguing with.

A beat of silence passed.

*Pfft*

Then Raphael couldn’t help himself and burst out laughing. The sound was clear and unrestrained, instantly breaking the tense atmosphere. Several others quickly followed, their lips twitching despite themselves.

So that was it.

They had almost misunderstood earlier. Zora wasn’t calling everyone fools. She was very specifically calling Clarissa one.

Reesa covered her mouth, eyes sparkling with amusement. She had always known Zora to be calm and aloof, but seeing her speak with such lethal precision was unexpectedly satisfying.

Clarissa’s face darkened, her expression twisting with fury.

And yet, under the calm, steady movements of Zora’s hands as she prepared the silver needles, no one doubted whose presence truly commanded the room.

Clarissa’s expression stiffened.

She had not expected Zora to be this direct, this sharp, and to speak so unrestrainedly even in front of the vice-principal.

Her face flushed with anger. "Don’t go too far," she snapped, struggling to keep her composure. With so many important figures present, she absolutely could not afford to lose face. "Marcus is your senior. This is a human life, a precious one at that. And yet you treat his life so casually just to satisfy your own selfish motives. Are you even human?"

Her words were calculated. Clarissa was no fool. Zora’s earlier remarks had isolated her from the crowd, so now she deliberately pulled Marcus into the argument, aiming straight for Tiffany’s emotional core.

As expected, Tiffany’s body trembled slightly, anger flickering in her eyes.

Zora raised her gaze slowly, her dark phoenix eyes gleaming with a cold, dangerous light.

"My own selfish motives?" she repeated calmly. "What motives? Please enlighten me. I truly don’t know."

Clarissa seized the moment, lifting her chin as if she had seen through everything.

"Aren’t you just trying to perform in front of the vice-principal? Putting on a show, pretending to be mysterious so you can stand out? I’ve seen this trick plenty of times."

She adjusted her expression instantly, adopting an air of righteousness and supposed insight, as if she alone had exposed the truth.

Zora sighed softly, shaking her head with an expression of mock regret. "Being foolish isn’t frightening," she said leisurely. "What’s frightening is being foolish without any self-awareness. That’s truly troubling."

The words landed like a slap.

Clarissa froze, momentarily stunned. "What... what do you mean?" she demanded. Her mind faltered. By all logic, Zora should have been on the defensive now. And yet, she stood there as if she were the one holding all the cards.

Zora’s lips curved slightly, her tone cool and incisive. "With the vice-principal’s wisdom," she said, glancing briefly toward Gerrad, "do you really think he would be fooled by empty theatrics? If I were merely posturing, would he not see through it immediately?"

Her gaze returned to Clarissa, sharp and unyielding. "You might be fond of self-degrading performances like that, but I am not."

Her voice was calm, but every word carried undeniable weight. It was not arrogance for show. It was confidence rooted in certainty.

Clarissa’s face paled. She opened her mouth to retort, only to find that no words came out.

Because Zora was right.

Not a single flaw could be found in her reasoning. To argue further would be to imply that Vice-Principal Gerrad lacked discernment. And that was something Clarissa absolutely could not afford.

Around them, Alaric Von Seraph and the others exchanged subtle glances.

Whatever doubts they had harbored before were quietly dissolving. Zora’s words made one thing clear: if she dared to step forward, it was because she was prepared to bear the consequences.

Clarissa clenched her fists, her eyes burning with resentment. She could only glare in silence. She had underestimated this girl. Not only was Zora sharp-tongued, but she was terrifyingly clear-headed.

Gerrad watched the exchange without intervening. His expression remained gentle, but his eyes held a thoughtful depth.

Over the years, he had seen countless students. He knew very well that there existed a certain kind of genius, one that defied common sense. Age, experience, and conventional logic simply did not apply to them.

Perhaps Zora was one of those rare exceptions.

Tiffany, who had been on the verge of speaking moments earlier, fell silent. The vice-principal’s lack of objection was itself an answer.

At last, Zora reached into her needle bag.

A slender silver needle slid into her fingers, catching the light. Without hesitation, she positioned it with flawless precision and pressed it into one of Marcus’s vital acupoints.

In that instant, every heart in the room tightened.

Zora was only fifteen.

And yet, as she stood there, calm and unwavering, no one dared to interrupt.

If Nigel and the others had been present, they would not have worried in the slightest. Back in the imperial city, the title of "Divine Doctor" had long been attached to Zora. When it came to medical skill, there was simply no need for doubt.

One silver needle after another slipped from her fingers and landed precisely upon Marcus’s body.

Her movements were fluid and natural, without the slightest pause or hesitation. As Zora entered this state of absolute focus, the room itself seemed to quiet. Every motion flowed seamlessly into the next, as if her hands remembered a rhythm engraved into bone and soul.

At the instant the first needle was placed, Gerrad’s eyes brightened almost imperceptibly.

He had seen doctors who truly understood acupuncture before, and he knew the signs. Speed without haste, steadiness without rigidity, accuracy without correction. Zora possessed all of them.

Even to someone only moderately familiar with medicine, it was clear that not a single acupoint had been misplaced.

And soon, Marcus’s body was densely covered in silver needles. At a glance, the sight was enough to make one’s scalp prickle. Yet Zora showed no hesitation. Her right hand hovered lightly above the needles, and then, with a subtle flick of her fingers, she set them into motion.

In the next instant, something astonishing happened.

The silver needles began to tremble.

They did not shake randomly, but in a precise, rhythmic pattern, as though guided by an invisible force. The vibration spread evenly, needle to needle, forming a delicate yet powerful resonance.

Sylvandria’s clear eyes widened in shock. "Vibrating needles... this is the legendary vibrating needle technique!"

Though she had never witnessed it personally, she had heard her master describe it countless times. There was no mistaking it.

Those words struck the room like thunder.