A Necessary Part of the Real Cultivation World

Bai Mu slowly left the student council office building, his steps relaxed and unhurried. His negotiation with Manabu Horikita and Akane Tachibana had come to an end. Though the final decision on surveillance access had yet to come out, this round of probing had already been worth its weight in gold.

He had thoroughly grasped the limits of Advanced Nurturing High School's uppermost rules.

The claim that points could buy anything was no empty boast. As long as the price was high enough, even core privileges the school had controlled for years could be pried loose. The only question was how many points he would have to pay, and how much pressure from public opinion and the school he would have to bear.

A three-day waiting period was not long. It was enough for him to calmly make arrangements and deal with whatever changes came next.

The campus was especially quiet along the way. Most of the students who had filled it with noise during the day had already returned to their dorms to rest. Sparse streetlights stretched out the shadows, making the entire walkway seem empty and tranquil.

Rather than returning directly to Dorm 402, Bai Mu took a shortcut by the lake.

Advanced Nurturing High School's artificial lake was peaceful and secluded. Few people came by after nightfall, making it one of the campus's rare quiet corners. At the same time, it was a blind spot where surveillance coverage was relatively sparse, ideal for taking a walk and clearing one's mind.

As he walked, ripples shimmered across the lake's surface, while the evening breeze brushed past his ears and blew away the accumulated exhaustion of the day.

Just as Bai Mu was about to pass through the lakeside corridor, a suppressed yet piercing string of curses abruptly tore through the night's silence.

The voice was close, carrying an extreme irritation and resentment that clashed sharply with the gentle nightscape of the campus.

Bai Mu paused slightly, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes. Then he naturally lightened his steps and quietly approached the source of the voice.

Beside the lakeside railing stood a petite figure with her back to the path, gripping the metal bars tightly. Her shoulders heaved violently, and intense negative emotions radiated from her entire body.

Her striking short blonde hair stood out beneath the streetlights. It was Kikyo Kushida, Class D's social centerpiece.

At that moment, she had completely shed her usual image as a sunny, cheerful, energetic girl next door.

Normally, Kikyo Kushida was widely recognized as the first-year's ultimate social butterfly. She treated everyone gently, wore a sweet smile, and had impeccable social skills. Whether they were classmates or students from other classes, she could easily get along with all of them. Nearly everyone assumed she was a born optimist, beloved by all, without the slightest shadow within her.

But at this moment, she seemed like a completely different person.

"I'm seriously sick of this! Every single one of them has unbelievably low social awareness. They say the most awkward, disgusting things, yet they insist on coming over to talk to me!"

"I obviously don't want to deal with them, but I still have to force myself to greet them with a smile! Do these people even know what it means to take a hint?!"

"Damn Suzune Horikita, what the hell is she acting so high and mighty for?"

Kikyo Kushida lowered her voice and growled through clenched teeth. The grievance, irritation, and disgust she had bottled up nearly overflowed from her tone. Like an enraged little beast, she vented all the emotions she had suppressed during the day.

Facing the dark lake, she viciously complained about the students around her, the tedious socializing, and the version of herself she had to constantly pretend to be. Every grievance was blunt and sharp.

No one knew that the sunny girl who received praise from everyone, whom everyone adored, had long since grown sick to the extreme of the connections and social circles she maintained behind the scenes.

There had never been anyone born a perfect socializer. Behind every attempt to please others and fit in without limits, there had to be an obsession and vulnerability no one else knew about.

And Kushida's vulnerability was her extreme obsession—she was terrified of being disliked and isolated. To maintain her perfect persona, she would rather disguise herself day and night and suppress her true self than let anyone see her darker side.

Once that perfect mask was pierced, the psychological defenses she had built over so many years would completely collapse in an instant.

A hint of amusement flickered in Bai Mu's eyes. This really was an unexpected windfall.

He had only come out for a casual walk to clear his head, yet he had stumbled upon exclusive dirt on Class D's central figure. He had practically picked up intelligence off the roadside.

He did not interrupt her. Quietly taking out his phone, he tapped the screen and silently activated recording mode.

The high-definition camera steadily focused on the girl ahead, who had lost control and was cursing furiously, recording all of her negative emotions and twisted, unguarded appearance in full.

At Advanced Nurturing High School, a school where everyone played games and schemed at every turn, anyone's dark side, weakness, or flaw was a top-tier bargaining chip capable of controlling an opponent.

The more cards he held, the more ways out he had. Bai Mu never thought he had too many chips.

After recording the crucial footage, Bai Mu put away his phone and calmly stepped out of the shadows, intending to leave without a word.

The fewer troubles, the better. He had never intended to expose her. So long as he held this card in hand, he could deal with any future conflict calmly. They had no grudge against each other, so there was no need to make an enemy of her first.

But that faint sound of footsteps shattered the dead silence.

Kikyo Kushida, whose emotions had already collapsed, became alert in an instant and abruptly turned her head.

When she saw Bai Mu walking beneath the streetlights, her pupils suddenly constricted. The hostility and rage on her face froze at once, replaced by overwhelming panic and terror.

It's over.

Her most miserable, darkest, most shameful side had been seen by someone.

After a brief moment of panic, Kushida's mind began racing. A terrifying obsession and sense of danger instantly devoured her reason.

She could not let anyone discover her true face. Absolutely not!

If this got out, the perfect persona she had painstakingly cultivated would completely crumble. Everyone would despise her and stay away from her, and she would once again fall into the hell of isolation and exclusion!

Under that extreme panic, Kikyo Kushida completely lost her head, her thoughts turning extreme and crazed.

She hurried over to Bai Mu. Her once-clear, gentle eyes were now icy cold, without a trace of their usual softness or cuteness. She stared fixedly at the boy before her, her voice trembling but carrying a powerful sense of coercion. "How much did you see?"

Bai Mu remained calm, his voice level and unruffled as he openly admitted, "Most of it."

Those two simple words instantly crushed Kushida's final psychological defense.

Her face went pale at once, her fingertips trembling slightly. Only one thought remained in her mind—she had to shut him up, at any cost!

Ordinary explanations or pleading would be useless. If he held any reservations, he would reveal her secret sooner or later. If she wanted true peace of mind, she had to seize the initiative firmly in her own hands.

In a flash, the most extreme scheme crossed Kikyo Kushida's mind. A vicious plan to frame him swiftly took shape.

She raised her head. The panic on her face was forcibly swept away, replaced with a deliberately aggrieved, fragile, innocent expression, though a ruthless desperation lurked in her eyes.

Before Bai Mu could say anything more, Kushida suddenly raised her hand and grabbed his wrist, locking onto it with a deathly grip. At the same time, she deliberately leaned forward, intending to press Bai Mu's hand against her chest.

Her scheme had been loud and vicious.

As long as she created the illusion that Bai Mu had molested her in public and touched her body, then preserved clothing bearing Bai Mu's fingerprints as evidence, she could completely turn the tables.

Then, she would not need to explain herself. Everyone would assume that Bai Mu had harbored improper intentions and maliciously harassed a girl. No one would believe that a refined dark-horse student had been framed by her instead.

With Bai Mu's disciplinary weakness in her grasp, she could hold him firmly in her palm, force him to keep his mouth shut, and ensure that he would never dare reveal her two-faced persona.

The idea was perfect, and the execution was ruthless enough. Unfortunately, she had overestimated her own strength and underestimated Bai Mu's physical condition.

Bai Mu had maintained systematic training for years. His stamina and core strength far surpassed those of ordinary students. Even a casual lift of his hand carried force that petite Kikyo could never shake.

No matter how desperately Kikyo tugged or pressed down, Bai Mu's wrist remained as steady as a rock, completely unmoved by her efforts.

Awkward. Excruciatingly awkward.

The framing scene she had imagined never materialized. Kikyo's cheeks flushed red from the strain, her limbs went weak, and even after using all her strength, she could not move him in the slightest. Instead, having exerted herself too hard, she staggered half a step forward uncontrollably.

In her panic, she no longer cared about propriety. She only wanted to force the framing through.

Seeing her persist in her entanglement and insist on framing him, Bai Mu's eyes flickered with a trace of helplessness. The wrist she had grabbed casually curled into a light fist, his index knuckle protruding slightly forward.

At that exact moment, Kikyo, desperate to complete her frame-up, recklessly lunged forward herself.

"Thud—"

There was no loud sound, but the pain was devastating.

His hard index knuckle struck, without missing, directly into the center of Kikyo Kushida's sternum.

Anyone with even a little first-aid knowledge knew that the sternum was an exceptionally pain-sensitive vulnerable area of the human body. When medical staff encountered patients who were disoriented or unconscious, they would press their fingernails hard into the sternum to wake them. There was only one reason—pain there was real, piercing, bone-deep agony.

This was not the dull soreness of a bump. It was a sharp pain that struck directly at the nerves and instantly shattered the body's tolerance limit.

The next second, all the obsession, ruthlessness, and calculation vanished from Kikyo's face. Her entire face turned deathly pale.

Her taut body suddenly stiffened, her breathing cut off sharply, and an extremely suppressed groan squeezed from her throat. Her eyes reddened uncontrollably at once, and tears of pure physiological reflex surged forth.

Her legs went limp in an instant. The searing pain drained every bit of strength from her body, and she could no longer support herself. Her knees buckled, and she dropped straight to her knees on the path by the lake.

The mad calculations of framing him, controlling him, and silencing him that had filled her mind moments ago were utterly shattered by that blow to her sternum.

She bit down hard on her lower lip. A layer of fine cold sweat beaded on her forehead, while waves of lingering dull pain spread through her chest. She did not even dare breathe too hard; the slightest movement sent bone-piercing pain through her chest and across her entire body.

Bai Mu looked at the girl kneeling on the ground, pale-faced, and there was not the slightest ripple in his eyes—only helplessness.

He had never intended to hurt her. She had been the one forcibly tugging at him the entire time, the one who had actively thrown herself at him in an attempt to frame him. The embarrassment and pain were entirely self-inflicted.

He bent down and reached out, gently supporting Kikyo, whose arms had gone weak and who could barely hold herself up. He steadily helped her to her feet, his movements restrained and impeccably proper, without a single unnecessary touch, completely eliminating any room for her to make something of it.

Once he had steadied her, Bai Mu spoke slowly in a calm tone tinged with helpless amusement. "I never planned to tell anyone about you, and I never intended to do anything to you."

"I only happened to pass by and see it. After watching, I was going to leave directly. If you had just behaved yourself, neither of us would have had any trouble. Why did you have to think yourself clever and keep pressing the issue?"

That simple sentence instantly pierced through all of Kikyo's dark little thoughts.

Kikyo, who had originally planned to control him and bite back at him, now clutched her chest, trembling from pain. Tears welled in her eyes, and she did not even have the courage to look up and meet his gaze. All that remained in her heart was humiliation, embarrassment, and lingering fear.

She finally understood that her supposedly clever, vicious scheme had been childish and laughable before Bai Mu. He had controlled the rhythm from beginning to end, and in the end, she had lifted a stone only to smash it down on her own foot.