Behind-the-Scenes Instigator

Behind-the-Scenes Instigator

"Little thief, stop!"

Watching his clansman being tormented like this, Yu Tianheng, who had been standing silently to the side, could no longer keep up the pretense. After activating Martial Soul Possession, three Soul Rings—two yellow and one purple—appeared around him.

His First Soul Ring flashed, lightning surged across Yu Tianheng's body, and a Lightning Dragon Claw viciously tore toward Chen Ming.

The Soul Skills of great clans were often the result of generations of selection and experimentation. The first three Soul Skills were almost always fixed; only after the fourth ring could one attempt to forge their own path.

Lightning Dragon Claw was the optimal First Soul Skill the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had developed through thousands of years of choices. It could be used at both range and close quarters, consumed little power, and yet packed considerable force. Among First Soul Ring skills, it was an exceptionally fine one.

Violent lightning churned, and even Chen Ming did not dare underestimate it.

Chen Ming swiftly released the cannon fodder he had pinned to the ground and viciously kicked him. It was both to send the cannon fodder flying aside and prevent matters from escalating into a death, and to use the force to dodge quickly.

Yu Tianheng stood roughly twenty paces from Chen Ming. The Lightning Dragon Claw came swiftly, but it was ultimately not as fast as real lightning, and Chen Ming sharply evaded it.

The moment someone used a Soul Skill, the students in the cafeteria erupted.

Summoning one's Martial Soul and using Soul Skills to attack students outside an arena was a major taboo at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. It was one thing if no one found out, but once discovered, it would become extremely troublesome.

Doing something like this in public took nerve, even for a spoiled young master.

Unlike freshmen like Chen Ming and Dugu Yan, Yu Tianheng had enrolled two years earlier and was considered a prominent figure in the academy. His background and strength made many envious, and even more secretly jealous.

Still, before this, everyone's impression of Yu Tianheng had been that although he was arrogant and looked down on others, he was the sort who followed the rules at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. No one had expected that, for some unknown reason, Yu Tianheng would be so impulsive today as to directly use a Soul Skill to attack a fellow student in the cafeteria.

After evading the Lightning Dragon Claw, Chen Ming quickly steadied himself and fixed his gaze on Yu Tianheng, who had summoned his Martial Soul. Green Soul Power flickered over his body, while a layer of dark green poisonous mist faintly enveloped him.

"Using a Soul Skill to launch a sneak attack on a fellow student over a disagreement—is this what you call a senior? The pride of the so-called Number One Beast Martial Soul Under Heaven? Or do you have some shameful motive, intending to use this chance to silence someone forever?"

Although Chen Ming had only two Soul Rings, the one yellow and one purple configuration around him shocked the crowd no less than Yu Tianheng's public use of a Soul Skill.

Seeing this, even though Yu Tianheng's heart had been full of rage, he fell briefly silent. His reptilian eyes carefully examined Chen Ming from head to toe, repeatedly confirming that Chen Ming was merely a two-ringed Soul Grandmaster and had not concealed another white or yellow Soul Ring.

"Hmph. You injured my clansman first, and you still dare question me like that? Using deadly poison to harm someone in public—such viciousness is hardly the behavior of a good person."

Looking at the cannon fodder who had been kicked aside and lay unconscious on the ground, a savage glint flashed through Yu Tianheng's eyes as he immediately turned the accusation back on Chen Ming.

Though he looked as righteous as some companion of justice, in truth, all of this was closely connected to him.

Ever since Dugu Yan entered the academy, Yu Tianheng had paid her the utmost attention.

Yet because he came from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Yu Tianheng disdained displaying the same fervor as those trash students. Thus, he had his lackeys carry out his will in secret.

Recently, Yu Tianheng's shadow had been behind most of the matters concerning Dugu Yan within the academy.

As an N-th generation member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, his standing within the clan was not as high as his cousin Yu Tianxin's, but it was still exceptionally noble. Though he had enrolled alone on the surface, he had never lacked lackeys at his command.

The cannon fodder Chen Ming had instantly taken down earlier was a distant relative of Yu Tianheng's. Though he did not belong to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and his Martial Soul was not the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, but rather the devolved Thunder Dragon—

Ever since Yu Tianheng entered Heaven Dou Royal Academy, he had followed Yu Tianheng's lead in everything and was the foremost figure among Yu Tianheng's subordinates.

Tasks like gathering information, watching certain people, and teaching certain people a lesson—things Yu Tianheng could not conveniently do himself without damaging his image—were all handled by this lackey on Yu Tianheng's behalf.

Though he never said it aloud, Yu Tianheng had been quite satisfied with this useful lackey who served as his glove. He had even promised that if he became the Young Clan Master, he would let the man marry a wife whose Martial Soul was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.

Just moments ago, Yu Tianheng and his lackey had come to the cafeteria as usual to eat. However, because of the rumors spreading through the academy about Dugu Yan and some other wild man, Yu Tianheng was in an extremely foul mood. He had stood in the cafeteria for quite a while without ordering anything.

Though Yu Tianheng had deliberately stirred up much of the fervor surrounding Dugu Yan at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, intending to step on that group of trash and leave a good impression before Dugu Yan—

Rumors were not something anyone could fully control.

Though the academy did indeed have elites, it had even more vermin. Whenever someone thought these vermin had brains, they would use their actions to prove that humanoid creatures did not need brains.

Although Yu Tianheng was one of the people pushing things behind the scenes, he clearly did not have the ability to control every rumor.

Originally, Yu Tianheng had merely wanted to prepare a stepping stone for himself so that he could get closer to Dugu Yan. Yet no one had expected that the stepping stone would turn into a stumbling block instead.

Just as his lackey noticed Yu Tianheng's poor mood and suggested they go have some fun in Heaven Dou City that night, one of Yu Tianheng's nameless underlings spotted Chen Ming hurrying into the cafeteria and immediately reported it to Yu Tianheng.

Once he learned that Chen Ming was the wild man from the rumors, Yu Tianheng became restless, impatient to teach Chen Ming—a man who dared compete with him for Dugu Yan—a lesson.

For something like this, Yu Tianheng merely glanced at the lackey beside him and gave a slight nod. The lackey immediately understood and swaggered over to crash into Chen Ming.

This lackey's Martial Soul was the Thunder Dragon, a product of mutation within the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon lineage.

This Martial Soul was a subspecies of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Though it was weaker than a true Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon in every respect and lacked the crucial Dragon Transformation ability, it was still a top-quality True Dragon Martial Soul.

Though he was merely a level twenty-eight Soul Grandmaster, even ordinary Soul Elders who had just obtained their third Soul Ring might not have been his match.

Moreover, even within Heaven Dou Royal Academy, a Soul Grandmaster was not considered weak. His strength could already be called outstanding.

In Yu Tianheng's eyes, this lackey should have been more than capable of teaching Chen Ming a harsh lesson, making this countryside brat who played with poison understand the rules of Heaven Dou City and Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Yet the lackey he had placed his hopes on was knocked to the ground by Chen Ming in a single exchange. Even after summoning his Martial Soul, his skin had been corroded by the poison of a mere Bilin Scorpion.

Everyone who had spent several months in the academy knew that this man was Yu Tianheng's lackey, one of his underlings.

Was Chen Ming's action just slapping his lackey's ass?

No, he was slapping Yu Tianheng's face!

He was slapping the face of the future Young Clan Master of the future Number One Sect Under Heaven!

By that logic, he was provoking the future Number One Sect Under Heaven!