Qian Renxue left the scene of trouble without looking back. The cool breeze brushed her face, but it couldn't dispel the inexplicable heat in her heart. It was as if something had stung her eyes, and she couldn't shake the awkward feeling.
What was this all about? The truth remained shrouded in mist. She had wasted so much time for nothing, and even... even witnessed such an indecent scene.
Qian Renxue's thoughts were a mess. She could only reach the simplest, bluntest conclusion: there was no scheme at all. That woman Hu Liena had simply gotten lovesick, and she'd made a fool of herself.
By the time she returned to Spirit Academy, dusk had settled. Qian Renxue didn't go back to her own quarters. Instead, she headed straight for Xiao Wu and the others' dormitory.
In a secluded corner of the academy, she stopped Xiao Wu, who had just returned from outside. The lamplight was dim and yellow, stretching both their shadows long across the ground.
Qian Renxue decided to get straight to the interrogation.
"Xiao Wu." Qian Renxue's voice was as cool as ever, betraying no emotion. "I heard that your Soul Power Level rose from 62 to 70 in a single day. Is that true?"
Xiao Wu's heart gave a jolt, but her face remained calm. She nodded openly. "That's right. It did. What's the matter, President? Did I break some academy rule?"
Qian Renxue's gaze was sharp as a blade, as if she meant to see right through Xiao Wu. "Did the people in your dorm conspire with outside forces?"
"Conspire with outside forces?" Xiao Wu laughed as if she'd just heard the biggest joke in the world. "President, that's quite an accusation. What, did those spineless losers—Tang San and the others, who run to complain when they can't win—go whispering in your ear?"
Qian Renxue didn't answer. She simply watched her in silence, waiting for an explanation.
"Hmph, I knew it was them! When they were bullying us, where was the academy? Now that they can't win, they run off to make false accusations. What a disgusting bunch!"
Qian Renxue's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. "Answer my question first."
"How could we possibly conspire with outside forces? I, Xiao Wu, swear to the heavens: if we've teamed up with any shady characters, then may I never become a Douluo!" Xiao Wu held up three fingers and swore solemnly.
"Fine." Qian Renxue decided to take her at her word for now. "Then how do you explain the enormous change in your strength in a single day?"
Xiao Wu's eyes darted about as she quickly gathered her thoughts. She remembered every word of the Confidentiality Agreement: she absolutely couldn't reveal it to any men. It wasn't forbidden for women to know, but the fewer people who knew, the better.
"What's so strange about that?" Xiao Wu tilted her head, looking innocent. "Before level 70, it's not all that unusual to level up quickly. You've seen a lot, President. You must've heard of powerful family scions who happen to get their hands on some rare treasure or miraculous elixir, or absorb a high-year Soul Ring, and jump several levels at once. Isn't that perfectly normal?"
Her explanation made sense. For a moment, Qian Renxue couldn't find anything wrong with it.
She herself had gone through something similar. At level 64, it was a rare treasure, along with personal guidance from her teacher, Bibi Dong, that had helped her break through her bottleneck and leap straight to level 70, becoming a Soul Saint.
"Anyway, we didn't conspire with outside forces." Xiao Wu spread her hands, looking entirely justified. "As for how we got stronger, that's our own private matter and personal good fortune. We have the right not to say, don't we?"
Qian Renxue studied Xiao Wu for a long while but couldn't spot a single flaw. She nodded, her tone softening. "All right. As long as you didn't conspire with outside forces, that's good. You know what Dean Bibi Dong is like. She hates that sort of thing most of all."
Then, as if casually, Qian Renxue added, "I'll ask one more thing. Does your improvement have anything to do with Qin Chuan, the Shopkeeper at that Claw Machine Shop by the academy gate?"
Xiao Wu's heart lurched, missing half a beat. Why had she suddenly brought up Brother Chuan? Had she discovered something?
"Huh?" Xiao Wu laughed exaggeratedly, trying to hide her unease. "What are you talking about, President? He's an ordinary person without even a trace of Soul Power. What could he possibly have to do with getting stronger? The girls in our dorm just think the plush toys in his shop are cute, so we go catch a few now and then for fun. That's all."
"Is that really all?" Qian Renxue's gaze sharpened again. She had caught the brief flicker of panic in Xiao Wu's eyes.
"Of course! If you don't believe me, send someone to investigate." Xiao Wu puffed out her chest and tossed the question right back at her. "Better yet, send Tang San and the others. Let them turn the place inside out and see what they can dig up!"
Qian Renxue fell silent. She had indeed planned to send someone to investigate, but the little shop was closed on weekends, and she hadn't had a chance to act yet.
"Fine. That's that, then." Qian Renxue withdrew her gaze and turned to leave.
Watching Qian Renxue's retreating figure, Xiao Wu let out a long breath. A layer of cold sweat had already spread across her back. That was close. She'd almost given herself away.
Meanwhile, Qian Renxue went straight to the dean's office and gave Bibi Dong a detailed account of her investigation.
In the end, the academy's official conclusion was that Xiao Wu and the others' rise in strength was due to personal good fortune and had nothing to do with outside forces. As for the details of their good fortune, those were the students' private business, and the academy had no right to pry.
Flender also reviewed footage from the Soul Tools monitoring various parts of the campus, but likewise found no evidence of them meeting anyone suspicious.
And so, the storm kicked up by Tang San and the others fizzled out.
On Sunday morning, when Dai Mubai, Tang San, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun received the investigation results personally signed by Vice Dean Flender, all four of their faces turned green.
The report stated everything clearly:
Xiao Wu: Her Soul Power increased by 8 levels after she obtained a special opportunity, bringing her to level 70, Soul Saint. She chose to keep the details of the opportunity confidential, and the academy respected her decision.
Ning Rongrong: The "Flying Mushroom Sausage" Oscar ate that day had undergone an unforeseen mutation, purely by accident. Oscar himself had poor teeth and mistook a stone for a sausage. Ning Rongrong had nothing to do with it.
Zhu Zhuqing: It was confirmed that she had recently taken a miraculous elixir capable of briefly stimulating her potential, causing her speed to surge. No rules had been broken.
Bai Chenxiang: After multiple checks, Bai Chenxiang's Soul Ring Configuration was found to be normal. She did not have a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Ma Hongjun had been frightened into seeing things that weren't there.
"W-what the hell is this garbage supposed to say?!" Dai Mubai slammed his palm against the table, trembling with rage.
"You're calling that seeing things? I was so scared I nearly pissed myself! How could I have imagined it?!" Ma Hongjun shouted, his face bright red.
Oscar clutched his wobbling false tooth, close to tears. "My tooth got knocked loose, and they call that an accident?"
Tang San's expression was the darkest of all. He said nothing, only gripping the investigation report so tightly that its edges began to crumple.
This result was clearly favoritism! They were just sweeping everything under the rug!
The academy didn't want to help them at all—or rather, it was deliberately covering for those four girls!
An unprecedented humiliation and fury burned fiercely in all four of them.