Evil Demon System?
After hearing Lu Nian's grand ambitions, Cheng Xiaoyu fell into thought, already forming a rough idea of what was going on.
The experiments on this new system must have started many years ago, with the higher-ups likely involved. After years of testing, they had ultimately chosen to abandon it. Perhaps another faction had also played a part in suppressing it.
But even so... why should we have to pay with our lives for an experiment on a new system?
Cheng Xiaoyu's heart filled with rage. Even if these people weren't enough to threaten him, he still felt that they shouldn't be allowed to squander innocent lives like this!
For the first time... he had experienced the true cruelty of this world. It wasn't demons slaughtering humans, but human greed and desire turning against their own. Human nature often couldn't withstand a test...
Cheng Xiaoyu's eyes narrowed. He turned off the recording on his phone, then unhesitatingly cut Lu Zhenghe's throat. No one had expected this sudden turn of events.
"Bell, leave a few alive for me."
[Yes.]
Before Lu Nian could recover enough to fly into a rage, a massive shadow flashed before his eyes, and a spray of liquid splashed across his face.
The heads of the Military Mages around them toppled one after another. Their headless bodies fell to the ground, leaving a wide pool of scarlet blood.
Even someone as slow on the uptake as Lu Nian could tell he was no match for this student. Terror instantly appeared on his face, and he said in a trembling voice,
"Student... We can talk this over... I have something on an important figure... I can help you get more cultivation resources... I..."
It was as if something had lodged in his throat. Blood poured uncontrollably from his mouth. He stiffly lowered his head, and saw four long, sharp claws piercing his chest.
With Lu Nian dead, Jiang Yi and the two surviving officers sat on the ground, their whole bodies trembling uncontrollably. They stared at the ant-like monster in terror, not daring to make a sound.
The students on the training trip had thought they were doomed, but Cheng Xiaoyu had taken care of everything in a few swift moves—and with such brutality.
"Thanks for your effort."
After sending Bell back to the Land of Rest, Cheng Xiaoyu crouched beside Lu Nian's corpse. He felt around, picked up the Spatial Ring, erased its original soul imprint, and finally took out a voice recorder.
He listened to it briefly, and his pupils contracted. His grip tightened around the recorder as he forced down the rage in his heart.
"Xiao Yu!"
"Brother Xiaoyu!"
By the time Cheng Xiaoyu came back to himself, Mu Ningxue, Mu Nujiao, and Bai Tingting had gathered around him. Concern showed on all three of their pretty faces.
At this point, Mu Ningxue, his official girlfriend, couldn't be bothered with those two foxes. She had seen how wrong Cheng Xiaoyu had seemed just moments ago and was deeply worried about her boyfriend.
"I'm fine."
Cheng Xiaoyu gently pinched Mu Ningxue's cheek, then smiled warmly at the other two women to reassure them that he was all right.
"Cheng... Brother Yu, thank you for stepping in and saving us."
Mo Fan immediately changed how he addressed him. He knew Lu Nian had been targeting him. Without Cheng Xiaoyu's help, he might well have been in grave danger.
"That's right. Without Brother Yu, we'd all be dead by now. You're our lifesaver!"
Everyone nodded repeatedly. They were still more than a little shaken by what had just happened.
"All right. Take the Skyhawk back to the Imperial Capital Academy, and take those three officers with you."
"What about you?"
Mu Ningxue grabbed Cheng Xiaoyu's arm and stared straight at him with her beautiful eyes as she asked.
"Don't worry. I have something to take care of. You don't need to worry about me."
Cheng Xiaoyu patted the jade-like hand on his shoulder. Mu Ningxue didn't ask any more questions, choosing to trust him.
After watching everyone fly away on the Skyhawk, Cheng Xiaoyu turned to look at Lu Nian's corpse on the ground. He wanted to know what would happen if he turned a human into a shadow.
"Rise."
Lu Nian's shadow was extracted and transformed into a Shadow Soldier. It was larger and more robust than his original body, and it threw back its head and roared.
Looking at the Shadow Soldier kneeling obediently before him, Cheng Xiaoyu studied it carefully, then asked,
"Can you use magic?"
The Shadow Soldier shook its head. Cheng Xiaoyu let out a faint sigh. It seemed extracting a mage's shadow didn't let it inherit the magic it had once possessed. That was a little disappointing.
Still, extracting a High-Tier Mage produced a Commander Level Shadow Soldier, which made for a decent fighter. Unfortunately, he wasn't someone who liked killing. Besides, how often would he get the chance to come across a High-Tier Mage's corpse?
"Forget it. From now on, your name is Aine."
After sending Aine back, Cheng Xiaoyu boarded the Skyhawk and returned to the Imperial Capital Academy... Some things needed to be brought to an end!
At that moment, Zu Xingyi was on his way, flying with Wind Wings...
Back at the Imperial Capital Academy, Cheng Xiaoyu told everyone to keep quiet for the time being and wait for his instructions.
He had already summoned President Xiao from Mingzhu University. He was surprised by how quickly his teacher had arrived, and hurriedly brought him into a sealed space.
"Xiao Yu, you called me all the way to the Imperial Capital in such a hurry. What happened?"
After hearing from Cheng Xiaoyu, President Xiao had been puzzled, but he had rushed over at once. It would have been a lie to say he wasn't worried.
"Teacher, this matter is extremely important. We can't let anyone else hear."
Seeing Cheng Xiaoyu's serious expression, President Xiao swept a hand through the air, setting up a spatial barrier around the room.
After listening to the recording on the phone and the contents of the voice recorder, President Xiao's face turned icy. His entire presence surged, as if he might tear the spatial barrier apart.
Th-this... is this... my teacher's strength?
Even Cheng Xiaoyu, who considered himself quite powerful, couldn't help feeling surprised and intimidated. He felt even more certain that they could get this matter resolved.
"Teacher, don't crush the phone or the voice recorder. They're evidence."
At that, the overwhelming aura surrounding President Xiao faltered. He glared at Cheng Xiaoyu, then reined in his power.
His expression was unusually stern as he said in a low voice,
"Xiao Yu, don't worry. Since I'm here, I'll make sure you get justice. I won't let you suffer for nothing!"
It wasn't that he had suffered...
Seeing his teacher like this, Cheng Xiaoyu felt much safer.
President Xiao was undoubtedly furious. He knew about the research and experiments on the Evil Demon System, but he had never imagined they would target students. As the academy's president, he couldn't accept that.
He didn't dare think about what would have happened to this training group if Cheng Xiaoyu hadn't been with them this time...
Songhe, you're old now, and your thinking has gone astray. It's time to give up your power!
At that moment, Zu Xingyi was on his way, flying with Wind Wings...
In the end, several great clans and the Magic Association jointly reported Songhe, accusing him of deliberately endangering students. He was brought before the Supreme Court.
With recordings from both sources, the incident was confirmed as fact. But even with President Xiao stepping in, Songhe still received no substantial punishment. He was merely stripped of his position as academy president.
The people behind Lu Nian had surely meddled in this. They were also afraid that if Songhe were pushed too far, he would expose them all.
And with the resources he had accumulated over many years as academy president, it was still far too difficult to bring him down for real.
But after such a major incident, the other higher-ups were bound to get involved. They might already be considering how to suppress these arrogant people. This was the perfect opportunity to purge them, and the upper ranks would likely undergo a major reshuffle in the future...
Thanks to President Xiao's forceful advocacy, everyone in the training group would receive compensation. Each person would get a Star River Vein and a vast supply of resources for their respective systems—a quantity even the great clans couldn't provide all at once.
The compensation seemed generous, but Cheng Xiaoyu remained unmoved. He had finally witnessed the dark side of this world, and learned his lesson the hard way!
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