Mu Qing felt a trace of anger rise within him. The school's higher-ups had inexplicably suspected him of being a murderer, and he had never expected them to move up the mock exam because of him!
According to Ling Fei, the school's higher-ups would secretly keep an eye on him the whole time. If it were anyone else, that might be all right, but Mu Qing's Blood Spirit had only just formed after he took the Blood Spirit Potion. If the school's higher-ups noticed anything amiss, he feared his fate would be just as miserable.
His father, Mu Yu, had also warned him never to reveal the existence of the Blood Spirit Potion.
In the short time since he had obtained the Purple Lightning Bamboo, Mu Qing had clearly felt just how extraordinary the Blood Spirit awakened in his mind by the Blood Spirit Potion was.
The mere ability to enter a state of enlightenment by expending Mental Power was enough to show Mu Qing that the Purple Lightning Bamboo was worth far more than other people's Blood Spirits.
One had to understand that before a Blood Spirit opened the First-Order Bloodline Lock, released its bloodline ability, and became a First-Order Martial Artist, it could only convert Blood Qi into Origin Force.
Only when a Martial Practitioner reached the first order or higher would their Blood Spirit develop all kinds of mysterious, uncanny abilities.
Yet Mu Qing's Purple Lightning Bamboo had possessed a mysterious ability when he was only at Blood Qi Fifth Rank. That state of enlightenment had let him quickly comprehend the third level of Thunderstorm Fist!
He knew that once this news got out, it would cause an absolute uproar.
"Don't worry. As long as you pass the examination by the school's powerful higher-ups during this mock exam, they probably won't suspect you anymore." Ling Fei sensed the trace of anger in Mu Qing's heart and tried to reassure him.
"I hope so." Mu Qing sighed. What he mainly worried about was someone discovering the Purple Lightning Bamboo's special nature. He didn't care much about the other things.
"Attention, all senior students at East Campus. Please report to the East Campus training field immediately."
At the same time, a deep, rough voice came through the communication devices belonging to Mu Qing and Ling Fei.
The speaker was West Lake High School's vice principal, who was in charge of East Campus. Clearly, the school was taking this mock exam very seriously; the vice principal himself was organizing and leading it.
It was just that Mu Qing couldn't tell whether the school was taking it so seriously because of him or because of the College Entrance Exam...
Mu Qing and Ling Fei then headed for the training field. West Lake High School was enormous, and the East Campus training field alone could hold more than ten thousand people.
As soon as Mu Qing and Ling Fei arrived at the spacious training field, many people noticed him.
After all, thanks to the News Department's extensive publicity, most of the students across the four campuses knew who he was.
And with the Mummified Corpse Incident, the notorious name "Demon Mu" had spread throughout the entire school.
"Look, isn't that Demon Mu? He really came!"
The students from each class at East Campus had gathered in groups on the training field. The moment they spotted Mu Qing, they began whispering among themselves.
"Have you heard what happened? They say top student Song Qing turned into a mummified corpse. Rumor has it Demon Mu did it!" one student whispered.
"I don't think that's likely. If Mu Qing were really the culprit and the evidence were conclusive, the school's higher-ups would've already arrested him. I think the real culprit is someone else." There were still some levelheaded students among them. After analyzing the situation, one answered.
Mu Qing gave a wry smile. He hadn't expected to become so famous one day. Most of the students on the training field were looking at him and talking about him.
As soon as Ling Fei entered the training field, someone from the Student Council called him away. It seemed they had something important to discuss.
Mu Qing went to where his class had gathered: Class 3-B.
There were thirty students in the class, and all of them were top students with Blood Qi Fifth Rank cultivation.
"Mu Qing!"
A sweet voice called out. Mu Qing looked up and saw a graceful figure standing not far away. Her reddish hair was tied in a ponytail, and her white cultivation outfit couldn't hide her shapely figure. Her curves were full, and her skin glowed like fine jade.
The girl with the reddish ponytail was Ji Jia. Like Mu Qing's ex-girlfriend, Song Yalan, she was one of the school's ten beauties. She was also the class monitor of Class 3-B.
Ji Jia's father, Ji Xiangfeng, was the school's vice principal, responsible for managing West Campus.
Every vice principal at West Lake High School was a powerful Martial Practitioner registered with Federation Headquarters. They had released their bloodline power and opened the Bloodline Shackles eight times, making them eighth-order Martial Venerables of terrifying strength.
As the daughter of such a powerful figure, Ji Jia was naturally strong. She had broken through to Blood Qi Fifth Rank long ago and had even mastered an Advanced Martial Skill.
"You really broke through to Blood Qi Fifth Rank? Congratulations!" Ji Jia walked over to Mu Qing. Feeling the surging Blood Qi radiating from him, she knew he really had broken through.
Ji Jia smiled faintly, her bright eyes curving like crescent moons as she showed a row of pearly teeth. She looked as lovely as jade.
"That's right. I finally broke through while cultivating yesterday." Mu Qing rubbed the tip of his nose and smiled.
"If you like this book, add it to your bookshelf so you can find it again next time."
"Hmph! At a time like this, you're still trying to fool the class monitor."
A top student in Mu Qing's class suddenly spoke up. "The News Department already released last night's video. You clearly used the third level of Thunderstorm Fist. How could you have mastered the third level of an Advanced Martial Skill in a single day?"
"That's right. No matter how easy Thunderstorm Fist is to learn, it's impossible to master the third level in one day."
"They say the fastest student in West Lake High School's history to master Thunderstorm Fist still took a full month to reach the third level. So Mu Qing must have broken through at least a month ago," one of the top students analyzed.
As soon as he said that, the students of Class 3-B all nodded involuntarily. Even Ji Jia furrowed her delicate brows, thinking Mu Qing's claim was false.
"Jiajia, come over here." Just then, someone approached. She was a student in denim shorts and a pink shirt, looking petite and adorable.
She was Ji Jia's best friend, Yang Shanshan, also a top student. She stepped forward, wrapped her arm around Ji Jia's, and pulled her toward the other side.
Ji Jia glanced back with an apologetic smile, but Yang Shanshan glared fiercely at Mu Qing, clearly not wanting her best friend to spend too much time with him.
Yang Shanshan wasn't the only one. In fact, the other students in Class 3-B had also distanced themselves from Mu Qing to varying degrees.
They had all gotten along well with Mu Qing before. Even when they learned that he had been unable to break through to Blood Qi Fifth Rank, they had never mocked him or kicked him when he was down.
What had truly driven them away from Mu Qing was the news that had just come out.
Top students had access to far more information than ordinary students. The students of Class 3-B, along with those in the other top-student classes, knew that Mu Qing was connected to the recent Mummified Corpse Incident.
Until the school's higher-ups issued an announcement, Mu Qing remained the prime suspect.
Song Qing and the student from another campus were both top students with considerable strength, yet they had turned into mummified corpses without putting up any resistance. The school's higher-ups couldn't even find the culprit, so they had no choice but to treat Mu Qing, who had been in contact with Song Qing at the time of the incident, as a suspect.
They knew that top students were strong. They had all just broken through to Blood Qi Fifth Rank, and at most there was a month's difference in cultivation between them. The gap shouldn't be too great.
But after the Mummified Corpse Incident, the top students had all started paying attention to Mu Qing.
If Mu Qing really was the culprit, then they would probably be just as powerless to resist if he tried to turn them into mummified corpses!
What's more, even if Mu Qing wasn't the culprit, he had once badly injured Song Qing in just three punches. That alone had made many people regard him as a terrifying opponent.
"Jiajia, don't get too close to Mu Qing. Everyone says Song Qing and that guy from West Campus had their blood drained by him." A trace of fear flashed across Yang Shanshan's delicate face as she spoke anxiously.
"I went to West Campus this morning. They say the top student who turned into a mummified corpse was the strongest senior there, but his whole body had dried up, without a drop of blood left!" Yang Shanshan felt sick just thinking about the corpse she'd seen, and described its frightening state to Ji Jia.
At her words, a look of shock also appeared on Ji Jia's face.
Just as everyone was keeping their distance from Mu Qing, Ling Fei returned from the Student Council.
"I brought back some news. It should be good news for you," Ling Fei said with a bitter smile, a trace of fear in his eyes.
"What happened?" Mu Qing frowned, noticing that Ling Fei seemed a little off.
"It's about the Mummified Corpse Incident. Just now, the Student Council discovered that another top student had turned into a mummified corpse at North Campus. This time, the school's surveillance cameras happened to capture the moment it happened," Ling Fei replied.
"They caught it on camera? Doesn't that mean they've found the culprit?" Mu Qing asked, brightening.
"No, they still haven't found the culprit. The Student Council called me over and showed me the footage." A look of horror appeared on Ling Fei's face. He continued, "The top student at North Campus was on his way to the Cultivation Room when he suddenly lost consciousness. Then the blood inside his body vanished without a sound, leaving only skin and bones."
"Right now, only the school's higher-ups and a few Student Council officers know about this. The video's been kept under wraps. And because of the footage, the school's higher-ups suspect you much less."
"With the College Entrance Exam approaching, the school's higher-ups plan to investigate in secret for now. After the exam, they might even call in powerful figures from the Federation to find the culprit!"
Mu Qing furrowed his brows and said quietly, "Song Qing and the other two top students were all at Blood Qi Fifth Rank. I don't think that's a coincidence. The culprit's target is probably top students at Blood Qi Fifth Rank!"
"Exactly!" Ling Fei nodded, his expression grave.
"Everyone, quiet!"
At that moment, a streak of rainbow light flashed across the sky above the training field. It was a burly man with a thick beard, wearing a black coat. His eyes were wide, and his expression was stern.
With Origin Force pouring into his voice, his rough shout boomed like rolling thunder across the training field.
Mu Qing, Ling Fei, and the others looked up at the man.
His voice made it clear that he was the vice principal who had announced the gathering over their communication devices—the one chiefly responsible for East Campus.
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