Seeds Sprout

�Chapter: Seeds Sprout

With Tang Wulin gone, the class erupted into a flurry of discussion.

Lin Ximeng frowned deeply and gave Qiangu Wuji a searching look.

"What exactly happened? Did something happen between you two without my knowing?"

As a teacher, she hadn't even known there was a conflict between her students. It made her feel negligent.

"Teacher Lin, Wulin may have just gotten the wrong idea about me."

Qiangu Wuji shrugged, looking perfectly calm.

"Besides, Teacher Lin, do you think I'm the sort of person who'd do something like that?"

At his words, Lin Ximeng froze. She studied Qiangu Wuji closely, then fell silent.

It was true. Even by her standards, Qiangu Wuji was an excellent student who excelled in both character and academics.

She found it difficult to imagine a student like him having anything to do with a kidnapping.

After watching him for a little longer, Lin Ximeng nodded.

"I understand. I'll report this matter to Principal Lu exactly as it happened. We'll wait for the Federation's investigation before drawing any conclusions."

After a pause, she glanced around the classroom.

"Now, let's begin class."

At her words, the discussion in the classroom died down.

The day's lessons began soon after.

Since his desk had been smashed to pieces, Qiangu Wuji had no choice but to squeeze in beside Gu Yue.

Gu Yue glanced at him impassively.

"I've confirmed it again. You really do have a terrible personality."

"Huh? Why would you say that?"

Qiangu Wuji feigned surprise, as though he couldn't accept such an assessment.

Gu Yue's lips curled slightly.

"When you comforted Tang Wulin earlier, I actually thought you cared about him."

"Don't I?" Qiangu Wuji blinked. "He's our classmate. Isn't it only natural for classmates to encourage each other?"

"Heh."

Gu Yue merely smiled silently. A novel she'd happened to read recently suddenly came to mind.

There had been a character in that story who'd left a deep impression on her. That character's personality was much like Qiangu Wuji's.

She remembered how others had described the character: a white lotus, a green tea.

She hadn't understood what those terms meant before, but after seeing Qiangu Wuji's behavior, she thought that perhaps this was what people meant by a green tea.

She'd thought Qiangu Wuji was simply a saintly do-gooder. After Tang Wulin had provoked him and lost, Qiangu Wuji had comforted him anyway. Looking back, he must have had an ulterior motive even then.

For instance, a few days ago, she'd beaten Tang Wulin, yet Qiangu Wuji had still eagerly ingratiated himself with his family, taking the initiative to approach them.

There was no way Gu Yue would believe he hadn't been acting with some ulterior motive.

And then there was what had happened today. Qiangu Wuji could have easily explained everything, but he hadn't made a single attempt to do so. From beginning to end, he'd only put on the pitiful act of an innocent victim.

Gu Yue wasn't stupid. She knew very well what Qiangu Wuji's behavior would lead to.

All he was doing was intensifying Tang Wulin's hatred for him.

And since teachers and students alike saw him as a well-behaved child, everyone would instinctively take his side when he put on that act.

In other words, the more hostile Tang Wulin became toward him, the more he'd end up isolated and abandoned by everyone.

Gu Yue didn't know why Qiangu Wuji would do this. Perhaps he had some other goal in mind. Or perhaps she was right, and he was simply a natural-born little green tea, acting on instinct.

But was Qiangu Wuji really that much of a green tea?

Hmm~

After thinking it over, even he had to admit that his actions did seem rather green tea.

But what could he do about it?

He was only afraid Tang Wulin would lose his motivation to move forward and turn into a good-for-nothing.

If Tang Wulin became useless, how could he become Tang Aotian and awaken the Golden Dragon King's power?

If he couldn't awaken the Golden Dragon King's power, he'd die, and there'd be no way to save Tang Ziran and his wife.

He'd gone to all this trouble for his own opponent's sake. Why couldn't Gu Yue understand his magnanimity, his spirit?

And not only did she fail to understand, she even misunderstood his character.

Sigh!

Qiangu Wuji gazed up at the ceiling at a forty-five-degree angle, a trace of sadness in his eyes.

The strong were never understood.

After what happened that day, Tang Wulin disappeared. He never returned to Red Mountain Academy.

The disappearance of a Soul Master Class student wasn't exactly a major incident, but it certainly wasn't a minor one either.

In the end, the authorities in Aolai City had no choice but to step in. They personally brought a group of people to the school and went through the motions of an investigation.

They asked general questions, such as whether he'd had a grudge against anyone at school.

Naturally, the matter affected Qiangu Wuji as well. But just as the investigators were about to question him, Lu Renjia stepped forward and spoke with the captain in charge. The other man then left without a word.

As he was leaving, he repeatedly insisted that Qiangu Wuji had nothing to do with the matter.

There was no need to ask; Qiangu Wuji already knew what Lu Renjia had told the man. It was probably something about his identity.

Once the matter was settled, everything at school returned to normal. It was as if everyone had forgotten that Tang Wulin had disappeared.

Qiangu Wuji continued his usual daily routine.

He ate, went to school, and visited Mu Ye to study.

The only thing that displeased him was that without the pressure from the Golden Dragon King, the system had fallen silent and hardly spoke at all.

As a result, his strength was improving very slowly.

But Qiangu Wuji wasn't worried. He believed that the seed of hatred he'd planted in Tang Wulin was about to sprout.

The next time they met, Tang Wulin would surely bring him an unexpected surprise.

And just like that, a year passed in the blink of an eye.

In a relatively untouched forest outside Eastsea City,

a boy shrouded from head to toe in a black cloak sat cross-legged on the ground. Golden dragon scales could be seen glimmering across his body.

After a long while, the boy opened his eyes. A glint of gold flashed through them as he gazed into the distance, his expression cold.

"Old Tang, what else do I need to unlock the third seal?"

"The third seal? You only unlocked the second one recently, and now you want to unlock the third? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Tang Wulin pressed his lips together, his eyes blazing with hatred.

At that moment, the events of a year ago surfaced in his mind once more.

It was because those two had appeared that his once-happy life had changed.

His loving parents had vanished because of them.

At first, when he'd gone after Qiangu Wuji, he'd only been confronting him out of anger. He hadn't had any solid evidence.

But after traveling across the continent for a year and experiencing everything he had, he was now certain: those two were the culprits behind his parents' disappearance.

Qiangu Wuji was the son of the Spirit Pagoda's master.

The most mysterious one was Gu Yue. According to Old Tang, she had a power within her similar to his own.

That was likely why she'd targeted him in the first place.

As for why they hadn't simply captured him back then, Old Tang speculated that they might have known how difficult it was to break through the seals and planned to wait until he did so before claiming the benefits for themselves.

Of course, that was only Old Tang's guess.

But even Tang Wulin thought it was probably the case. Otherwise, there was no way to explain why those two hadn't captured him.

Now that he understood what had happened, Tang Wulin knew what he had to do.

If Gu Yue could target him, then he could target her too!

Kill Gu Yue and take her power!