Black Flag

Seeing that Ma Liang had made his position clear, Principal Xie had no choice but to turn to Lu Su and the others. "A Bronze Grade secret realm that is still being explored is very dangerous. Think it over carefully."

Lu Su fell silent for a moment before speaking. "Principal Xie, I'm still going."

Fortune was found amid danger. If he continued living so steadily, when would he gain enough strength to protect himself from the Spirit Summoning Society?

Besides, the Association definitely would not send them in alone. There should be Bronze Grade Card Masters leading the team.

Seeing that Lu Su and the others had made their decision, Principal Xie naturally could no longer interfere. A smile appeared on his face. "You performed well. When we return to school, the school will have rewards for you as well."

That was right. The Association had its rewards, and naturally the school had its own rewards too.

Principal Xie was not going to be stingy over such a small amount of materials.

However, Shanghai City No. 1 High School could not afford high-quality Bronze Grade materials. At most, it could reward them with cash or Black Iron Grade materials.

Lu Su and the other two said in unison, "Thank you, Principal!"

"Haha, good children." Principal Xie was even happier. Their performance today—mainly Lu Su's performance—had truly made him hold his head high. "Come on, I'll treat you to a proper celebration at the Shanghai City Peace Hotel today."

Late that night, Lu Su rode Pidgeot home.

At the Shanghai City Peace Hotel earlier, Principal Xie had drunk until his face was red and he was completely out of it. He kept muttering things like, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—do not mock the poor old man," leaving Lu Su and the other two utterly bewildered.

Fortunately, the other three principals and Ma Liang had not drunk much, and together they carried him away.

After seeing off Principal Xie and the others, Lu Su and the other two went home separately.

Pushing open the door, Lu Su collapsed onto the sofa. It would have been a lie to say he had not been nervous during his first competition, but fortunately, he had won in the end.

Unlike the others, he had no parents to rely on. In this world, the only person he could depend on was himself.

Amid his muddled thoughts, Lu Su gradually fell asleep.

Tsugikuni Yoriichi and Kaneki exchanged a glance beside him, turned off the room's lights, and stood guard at his side.

They could both tell that their holder was truly exhausted. Ever since they had been created, they had sensed that Lu Su had constantly been stretched taut.

Fortunately, that tension had eased slightly today. Otherwise, they truly feared that one day, it would snap.

However, Lu Su did not know that ever since he had returned home, someone in the house next door had been closely watching him.

That person was naturally Brother Hu.

Seeing that there was no more movement in Lu Su's house, Brother Hu drew the curtains and sat in his executive chair with a gloomy expression.

These past few days, Brother Hu had been observing Lu Su almost every day.

Yet he had discovered nothing. Lu Su behaved exactly like a genuinely ordinary student.

But Brother Hu did not see it that way. In his eyes, the lack of anything unusual was the greatest abnormality of all!

"Still, this isn't a good time to make a move." Thinking of the task assigned by the Spirit Summoning Society, Brother Hu could not help feeling a headache coming on.

In the end, Brother Hu decided to stay put for now and see what Lu Su was really up to.

"Mm~"

The next morning, Lu Su stretched lazily. He had not slept so comfortably in a long time.

Suddenly, he froze.

He had not meditated last night, yet the threshold to Bronze Grade that he had crossed was instead beginning to waver.

Still, it was good news no matter what, so Lu Su did not dwell on it too much.

After washing up, he rode Pidgeot to the Card Master Association in Ning'an District.

Ma Liang had instructed Lu Su and the other two about this yesterday.

He had told them to report directly to the Card Master Association today, where someone would take them to the newly discovered secret realm.

When he arrived at the Association entrance, Lu Su saw that Jiang Nanxi and Lin Yue were already waiting for him. He immediately said, "Sorry, I'm late."

Before Jiang Nanxi could speak, Lin Yue scratched the back of his head and gave a foolish grin. "You're not late. We just got here too."

As the three chatted, Ma Liang appeared before them with three Card Masters.

"These three are the students who will be accompanying you this time," Ma Liang said as he introduced the people beside him.

The three immediately responded, "Yes, Chairman Ma. We'll definitely take good care of the younger students."

All three were captains of Bronze Grade Card Master teams. This time, Lu Su and the others would each join a Card Master team for the exploration.

Lu Su would be following a sturdy man named Zhou Yi.

Watching their departing figures, Ma Liang's gaze flickered.

Following Zhou Yi to the parking lot, Lu Su saw a man and a woman standing beside a jeep.

Zhou Yi greeted them. "Zhao Chang, Xiang Yan, this is Classmate Lu Su, who'll be coming with us this trip."

The two looked Lu Su up and down, then let out nearly imperceptible sighs.

In their eyes, they had simply been unlucky to receive a task like taking care of a rookie.

Not only had they gained an extra burden, but they also had to give Lu Su a share of the secret realm's gains.

Although the Association would compensate them for that share afterward.

Zhao Chang was a refined-looking man with glasses. Smiling, he greeted Lu Su. "Classmate Lu, please guide us during this trip."

Xiang Yan, meanwhile, was a fierce-looking woman with a knife scar on her face. She was nowhere near as polite. "Hey, rookie. Once we enter the secret realm, stay obediently by our side. Just don't cause us any trouble."

Lu Su did not get angry. Although Xiang Yan's words were unpleasant, she was fundamentally trying to ensure his safety. He immediately replied obediently, "Got it, Brother Zhao, Sister Xiang."

The four got into the jeep, and Zhou Yi began telling Lu Su about the secret realm.

"The secret realm we're heading to this time has been temporarily named Black Flag by the Association. After preliminary investigation, it has been classified as a Bronze Grade secret realm. You should already know all that, right?"

Lu Su nodded. Ma Liang had told them about this yesterday.

Seeing that Lu Su knew, Zhou Yi continued, "The terrain inside the secret realm is ocean-and-island type, which is one of the more troublesome kinds."

"But don't worry. The Association has already prepared ships. This time, all we need to do is gather more intelligence through further exploration."

Since students were involved in this exploration, the Association wanted them to gain experience, but it could not possibly assign them excessively dangerous tasks.

However, Zhou Yi's expression then turned solemn as he said in a low voice, "And in Black Flag, the most common Demons are humanoid pirates."

"I don't know how your school taught you, but I hope there's only one idea in your head right now."

"That is, Demons cannot be trusted. No matter how human they appear, do not sympathize with them!"

The Demons Lu Su had encountered before had all been monster types. He had never encountered a humanoid one.

However, he remembered that the textbooks said humanoid Demons resembled humans closely and possessed great intelligence, but once they discovered the identity of Blue Star humans, they would immediately attack.

Even if they did not attack at once, it was only to deceive Blue Star humans into trusting them so they could kill more Blue Star humans.

There had once been voices advocating peaceful coexistence with Demons, but after paying painful lessons in blood and tears, those voices had all disappeared.

Recalling the textbook's contents, Lu Su's expression grew solemn, and he quickly replied, "Understood, Brother Zhou."