One Sword Kill, and You're the Strongest Sequence, Part 15

Shen Ruyun looked at Su Xing's slightly loose clothes and thoughtfully stroked her chin. Feeling her nails lightly brush against her skin, she suddenly thought:

"Brother Su, have you gotten a little thinner... But you somehow look stronger too."

Su Yu was also secretly watching his brother.

The muscles that bulged with every swing of his sword no longer seemed as impressive as before, but the sound of the blade cutting through the air was still as loud as ever.

"Your brother probably isn't a martial artist yet, but he might have a chance to take this path in the future. Keep an eye on him. If you see any signs, find a way to bring him into our organization," Shen Ruyun whispered by Su Yu's ear.

She had also learned about martial artists' cultivation methods through ancient texts. Shrinking muscles were not necessarily a bad thing, especially since Su Xing truly had considerable talent in swordsmanship.

Even from so far away, she could sense Su Xing's effortless control. If he really had the chance to advance further in the future, their special department would gain its first martial artist.

Hearing Shen Ruyun's approval,

Su Yu's eyes lit up with delighted joy, and he nodded vigorously. Learning that his brother might have a chance to step onto the path of the extraordinary made him even happier than discovering that he himself had awakened a Sequence.

"Mm!"

Su Xing had actually heard every word of their quiet conversation, but he continued practicing his swordsmanship on his own, showing no reaction.

It wasn't that Su Xing had never considered joining the authorities.

But after thinking it over repeatedly, he still felt the time was not right. Because of the system's unique nature, he had to rely on teaching classes to grow stronger. That would become especially troublesome after entering an organization.

And besides,

Su Xing did not really like the feeling of being constrained.

He admired people who fought for some great ideal and desperately pushed themselves to become stronger, but he did not like living that way.

He only wanted to live his own quiet life, take good care of his younger brother, practice swordsmanship every day, teach classes, and add points.

If one had to say what Su Xing liked,

he felt that he simply enjoyed the process of becoming stronger. Ever since he had added his first point, Su Xing had become utterly addicted to the thrill of rapidly growing stronger.

So compared to whether or not he should join the authorities, Su Xing would rather think about how to teach today's online class.

"Whew, I really should get ready."

Su Xing swung his final strike, drew the blade wide, and slowly sheathed his sword. He walked over to the sword rack in a few steps, leaned the sword against it, then grabbed the towel hanging from the rack and casually wiped the sweat from his forehead.

For some reason, practicing swordsmanship today had given him a strange feeling he had never experienced before. It was like scratching an itch through a boot, leaving him somewhat unsatisfied.

But Su Xing did not dwell on it. With slightly brisk steps, he headed indoors.

"Everyone, please turn on your cameras."

Su Xing aimed the computer at the spacious training hall, turned on the camera, and only slowly began speaking after the students could all see the training area.

Quite a few students obediently turned on their cameras, revealing their somewhat unkempt appearances at home.

But many students' cameras remained black, so Su Xing had no choice but to emphasize it again. Only under Coach Su's authority did they finally turn them all on, their faces showing varying degrees of reluctance as they faced Su Xing.

To be honest,

when he had attended online classes as a student, he had not wanted to turn on his camera either. Seeing his own head appear on the screen always gave him an inexplicable sense of embarrassment.

But as a coach, asking students to keep their cameras on during class was perfectly normal. Otherwise, if he could not see what they were doing, he could only talk to himself.

Still, it was fine. This was also the last class of the day.

Once this class was over,

today's three swordsmanship points would be in hand. At that thought, Su Xing smiled and began counting heads one by one to check whether anyone had skipped class.

"Hmm?"

"Liu Shiyu? Why isn't Student Liu here?"

Su Xing was a little puzzled. Liu Shiyu had always been obedient in class, and she had never skipped even a single offline lesson. Yet now that classes had gone online, she was absent instead.

That made Su Xing suspicious. Could something have happened to her?

Su Xing asked around among the students, including several girls who were relatively close to her. Amid the overlapping chatter, he ultimately got no answer, only learning that she seemed to have gone out to handle something.

"Alright, alright. I'll contact her parents after class and find out. Let's begin class for now."

Su Xing directly muted everyone.

Then, holding a sword, he walked in front of the camera and began today's online swordsmanship lesson.

Very quickly,

the class reached its end.

Although online lessons were not as effective as in-person ones, Su Xing saw the system notification telling him that he had obtained swordsmanship points, so all was forgiven.

[Swordsmanship Points: 3]

As the students and coach exchanged farewells, the number of people still in the online class rapidly dwindled. Soon, Su Xing was the only one left.

Su Xing briefly packed up the streaming equipment, then took out his phone and called the number Liu Shiyu had registered with the sword school. It should have been her father's number.

This was Su Xing's first time proactively contacting a student's parent by phone, but after waiting for a while, his brows gradually furrowed.

Because all that came from the other end was:

"Beep beep beep... The number you have dialed is invalid. Please check the number and try again."

"Invalid number?"

Su Xing murmured in surprise, then called her mother's number as well. It was also invalid.

That was truly strange.

The chances of both parents changing their numbers at the same time were far too low.

Either Liu Shiyu had registered invalid numbers from the beginning.

Or else...

No, there was only one possibility. She had given the sword school invalid numbers from the start. Su Xing's mind worked quickly, and he immediately realized this.

But what was her purpose in doing that?

Just as Su Xing was still thinking, a voice suddenly called, "Coach Su," from outside the wooden door of the sword school not far behind him.

The tone was soft and gentle, very familiar,

and Liu Shiyu's appearance immediately flashed through Su Xing's mind.

Su Xing lightly pressed the side button and blacked out his phone screen before slowly walking to the entrance. He pulled open the wooden door with a rustle, and Liu Shiyu's pretty face appeared before his eyes.

Only,

today, she was not wearing her usual white T-shirt and jeans.

Today, Liu Shiyu wore a long, bright-red dress and heavy makeup. Her lips were red as blood, and her hair was arranged perfectly neatly, as though she were about to attend some grand ceremony.

"Student Liu, why weren't you in class today?"

Su Xing glanced at her appearance, and a trace of vigilance suddenly rose in his heart. No matter how he looked at it, Liu Shiyu was just an ordinary young girl, but strange behavior always had a reason behind it. Su Xing firmly believed that.

"Coach Su, there's something I'd like to ask you to help me with. Could you come with me for a moment?"

Though Liu Shiyu was dressed extravagantly, her voice remained as timid as usual. She lowered her head, secretly looking up at Su Xing's reaction.

"No problem. Where are we going?"

Su Xing smiled and nodded, but his eyes instinctively narrowed. If this had not been the sword school, he almost would have drawn his sword to test her. The sense of danger in his heart was trembling wildly like an alarm bell.

"It's very close. Coach Su just needs to walk with me for a bit... I'm really troubling you, Coach Su."

Liu Shiyu lowered her head deeply,

then, at Su Xing's gesture, turned around and began leading the way in tiny, measured steps.

Before leaving the sword school, Su Xing had wanted to grab a sword for protection, but then felt that might be too obvious. In the end, he did not take one. With his strength, as long as something was long and slender, what could not serve as a sword?

It was only a matter of

whether it felt convenient in his hand.

So, empty-handed, Su Xing followed Liu Shiyu out of the sword school and headed toward the woods on the left side of the lakeside.

This area was rarely visited, and Su Xing seldom came here, so he was not familiar with the surroundings. The only advantage was that branches and such could be picked up everywhere, so there was no need to worry about lacking a weapon.

Along the way, Liu Shiyu kept talking to Su Xing about meaningless things. Su Xing answered steadily, sometimes responding and sometimes not, occasionally asking, "When will we get there? I still have something to do later." Of course, all he received from Liu Shiyu was, "Coach Su, very soon, very soon."

Perhaps it was just an illusion,

but as Su Xing watched Liu Shiyu's back, he could seemingly tell that she was very happy—so happy that she was about to laugh, as though something was finally about to be accomplished.

All kinds of thoughts

flowed through Su Xing's mind.

The first possibility he could rule out was that Liu Shiyu's target was him. At least on the surface, he was merely an ordinary swordsmanship coach. If she wanted to kill him, there was no reason for it.

Besides, she could take him down directly right now. There was no one around at all, so there was absolutely no need to go through the trouble of luring him somewhere.