Chapter 16

Atas was delighted at first when the other boy noticed him. That lasted until he heard the aloof youth's final words.

"Huh?" Atas raised a hand and pointed at himself in disbelief.

The brilliant golden hair he was so proud of, dazzling as sunlight, had become "the student with yellow hair" in the other boy's eyes?! It was an unpleasant taunt.

When had he, Attas Flint, ever been treated like this!

"Yes, that's right," Qi Yue confirmed. "You."

"..."

As expected of Qi Yue: cool and arrogant, he ran roughshod over everyone he looked down on without distinction. Just as always.

Nothing hurt quite like a comparison. Honestly, who could surpass Qi Yue in arrogance? He maintained a cold arrogance toward bullies, while offering the weak a sincere warmth that could not simply be called pity. It was something they longed for, even as it made them feel guilty.

Atas: "?"

He was being treated in a way he had never imagined. Even S-rank students from First Hunter Academy would show him some consideration because of the Flint Family. Atas was too shocked to speak.

"You'd better stop right there." Clearly, the other boy knew he was the one being addressed. A gentle smile curved Qi Yue's lips.

He offered a kindly reminder. "If you don't want to die."

Atas: "?!"

First came the mockery, then the cold warning. Without a doubt, the other boy was refusing to let him come closer. The successive blows left Atas humiliated and furious. Flames seemed to burn in his green eyes as he looked at the other boy.

The other boy was sitting, while he was standing. He should have been able to use that advantage to look down on him, yet the gaze the other boy lazily lifted to him was calm and gentle, with a quiet, ruthless madness to it. He did not seem at a disadvantage in the slightest.

Did a youth even more aloof and arrogant than Attas Flint really belong in Class F?

Or... did he have someone even more powerful backing him? Was that why he dared to be so brazen? Come to think of it, his outstanding, exceptional presence set him apart from the crowd, making him unforgettable at a glance. And his indifferent attitude, remaining unruffled in the face of someone from the Attas Flint Family—how could he be ordinary?

In any case, the many possibilities running through Atas's mind made him stay where he was, cautious and unwilling to act rashly.

"May I ask what you mean by that?" Atas stopped. His green eyes were wary and guarded as he looked at Qi Yue. He was forcing down his displeasure and anger.

"...Exactly what I said." Qi Yue's upturned lips twitched slightly.

"Is that hard to understand?" He had been direct enough. If he couldn't understand even that, he didn't seem very bright.

Chapter 16

"..."

He hadn't used a single swear word, yet his roundabout sarcasm struck straight at the heart. In short, he had delivered a truly vicious insult in an elegant manner. As expected of Qi Yue. It had much the same effect as the "all of you, stay away from me" he had said to them before. How would this... yellow-haired student respond?

The students' gossip-hungry gazes all settled on Atas in unspoken agreement.

Atas: "..."

How was he supposed to answer?

If he said no, he would be accepting the implication behind the other boy's words—did you understand? If you did, get lost. If he admitted he "couldn't understand," how was that any different from admitting he "couldn't understand plain words" and humiliating himself?

The other boy's pleasantly gentle tone, his false smile that didn't reach his eyes, his cold gaze... What a familiar way to be regarded. It was common at the banquets in his social circle, amid clinking glasses, where those above him wore falsely polite expressions, maintaining their gentlemanly manners despite the contempt in their eyes.

As the second son of the Flint Family, he was the one subjected to such looks at most family banquets. But during most of his time at the academy, he treated students below B rank the same way. In any case, it wasn't as though he had never been treated like this before. Yet now, he could no longer accept it as calmly as he did at those banquets.

How had it become so unbearable?

Was it because he was being looked at this way by a Class F student, in the inferior Class F of Seventh Hunter Academy?

Atas's expression darkened.

In any case...

His cautious concession had been met with brazen mockery and provocation. Even a clay figurine had a temper, let alone Attas Flint, who had been born into a family more distinguished than even the president of Seventh Hunter Academy.

His earlier cautious judgment collapsed. Atas's green pupils contracted.

With a whoosh, scorching flames sprang to life in his palm.

At the sight of the flames in the other boy's palm, Qi Yue narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharpening. He quickly rose, placed one hand on Beixing's shoulder, and quietly positioned his foot beside the bench. A plan gradually formed in his mind.

Without knowing how strong the other boy was, he had to be fully prepared. If the other boy was strong enough to withstand Beixing's or his own (?) ability, he would quickly pull Beixing away and kick the bench at him. If the other boy couldn't withstand it, he would still kick the bench out to save his life.

With his other hand, Qi Yue had already copied a message to the academy infirmary into the chat box, ready to send it at any moment.

"You've gone too far." Atas's voice was low. He would show this inferior F-rank that no matter how powerful his backing was, his ability was still only F-rank, and he was still at Seventh Hunter Academy.

Next time he saw him, he had better be more polite.

Atas leaned forward, and a surge of flames shot straight at Qi Yue.

"Hss—ah..."

Atas's furious flames didn't even touch the edge of Qi Yue's clothes. The instant he stepped forward, convulsive pain swept through every inch of his body, as though his brain were bursting apart and his flesh burning and melting. A pained wail escaped his throat, his body like a melting candle...

Whoosh—

Almost simultaneously, Qi Yue raised his leg and kicked the bench out, expressionless. One end struck Atas in the abdomen. The force, the angle, the arc of the movement... all of it was calculated and controlled by Qi Yue, ensuring that the students saw a ruthless, decisive strike.

"..."

The yellow-haired student, already halfway to collapsing, was knocked beyond the one-meter perimeter into a safe area, and Qi Yue's heart settled. Whatever the case, he had seen people court death, but never anyone so eager to rush toward it. He couldn't blame Qi Yue for being rough, then.

At the sight of Atas in pain, Beixing panicked. "I'm sor—"

"Beixing." Qi Yue cut him off.

He was too kind; there was no need at all for him to bear unnecessary guilt. Qi Yue tightened his hand on Beixing's shoulder, let out a timely sigh, and said something easily misunderstood.

"This has nothing to do with you." It was time to spread word that his ability was similar to Beixing's, so that no more people like this would come looking for trouble.

Besides, what he said wasn't wrong. Out of humanitarian concern, he had already warned the other boy. The other boy had insisted on courting death, so what could they do? Wasn't that another sense in which it had nothing to do with Beixing?

"The infirmary will take care of him." Before kicking the bench out, Qi Yue had already sent the message he had prepared in the chat box.

"Let's go." He played with fire and couldn't understand plain words, was emotionally unstable, and had a violent temper. He had the full stack of buffs. Staying away from someone like that was the right move.

"This has nothing to do with you."

"The infirmary will take care of him."

"Let's go."

These were the words Atas heard before he fainted, on the verge of a mental breakdown, a piercing screech exploding in his mind. Beneath that gentle calm was a chill devoid of warmth.

No, the last sentence seemed to carry a different softness.

"..."

Everything had happened in an instant, a kill in one strike. Before the onlooking students had time to react, it was all over, swift and decisive.

By the time the Class F students recovered, all they saw was Qi Yue's departing back. He was casual and unruffled, yet vicious and cold.

Qi Yue had said, "It has nothing to do with Beixing."

Then... was it Qi Yue's own ability? Why was the "victim's" condition after Qi Yue used his ability so similar to the condition caused by Beixing's? Was there... some connection between their abilities?

If that was the case... no wonder Qi Yue could get close to Beixing. It all made sense.

It was similar to Beixing's, but unlike Beixing's, it wasn't "passive." He could control it at will. That meant Qi Yue could approach anyone he wanted and deliver a fatal blow once they let down their guard. After all, even an S-rank hunter would be in danger before Beixing. How much more so before Qi Yue, whose ability was stronger than Beixing's?

What a powerful, terrifying ability.

The infirmary staff had arrived so quickly, proving that Qi Yue had notified them long ago. Sure enough, Qi Yue had decided from the very beginning to attack the yellow-haired student. No wonder he had given such a cold warning.

Why would Qi Yue treat a student he didn't know that way? Who exactly was he? The onlookers were dying of curiosity.

But they didn't dare ask. They didn't dare ask at all.

In any case...

As expected of Qi Yue. He really did have the strength to back up his arrogance.

Never provoke Qi Yue lightly, and never turn a deaf ear to his words. The Class F students silently came to that conclusion.

Because of the academy's special circumstances and Qi Yue's notice before he acted, the infirmary doctors arrived quickly.

Atas had walked into the cafeteria upright and was carried out lying down.

Because the matter involved an exchange student, the infirmary soon reported it to the president, Li Qin.

Yu Kaicheng, who was in charge of this group of exchange students, followed behind Li Qin. The two entered Atas's hospital room.

"President." The doctor in charge of his treatment nodded to Li Qin and reported Atas's condition, concluding, "He was lucky. Someone mercifully kicked him out right away. He'll return to normal after a week's rest."

Yu Kaicheng: "..."

One week was exactly when the exchange period would end. By then, Atas would leave Seventh Hunter Academy with the other six exchange students. That meant Atas would remain unconscious and investigate nothing. He suspected Qi Yue had done it deliberately.

"Mm. You may leave." The old man with a gray-white beard waved his hand.

Soon, only Yu Kaicheng and Li Qin remained in the room.

"President, according to what I heard, when Atas appeared before Qi Yue, Qi Yue's expression turned cold and severe, and he immediately told Atas not to come closer, even giving him a cold threat. 'If you don't want to die,' were his words. Atas paid no heed to Qi Yue's warning, which led to his current condition."