Favorability

The night was filled with the roar of the sea. Waves crashed against the reefs, spraying foam into the air.

The lighthouse on the shore cast a bright beam that slowly swept across the dark sea, faintly illuminating a colossal shape hidden in the mist. Its enormous reflection on the water looked like a giant turtle.

The hum of machinery, the sharp whine of taut steel cables, and the piercing sound of a steam whistle blended together.

This was a massive offshore floating platform built by Deep Sky Technology, a product of its time that was practically a work of industrial art. Designed specifically for operations at sea, it had been deployed to excavate the ruins of the Kirin Immortal Palace.

The work shed was lit up. A horribly mutated headless corpse lay on a stretcher.

"This man was Li Changzhi, one of the survivors of the Blood Moon Massacre. Now he's come knocking, too."

Lu Zijin sat in a chair, head bowed as she filed her fingertips. "Probably another pointless probe."

Deacon Nie glanced at the corpse with distaste and shook his head. "A pity we didn't take him alive."

He wore a black-and-white coat embroidered with dark gold thread over the chest, forming the outline of a cross. His hands were folded on the table. A gold Rolex watch adorned his right wrist, and a black ring sat on the ring finger of his left hand.

He looked to be around forty, with a stern, solemn face and thinning hair.

"Hmph. He's already mutated. What would be the point of keeping him alive?"

Lu Zijin snorted. "The organization behind him will probably come knocking again."

Deacon Nie smiled. "If you deal with that organization, Minister Lu, you might get promoted, too."

Within the Ether Association, the thirteen branch ministers held crucial positions, but their authority wasn't particularly great.

What the higher-ups valued was their ability to fight on their own.

So they weren't given much say in the council.

By contrast, the Tribunal had been thriving in recent years. Even Deacon Nie's status had risen along with it.

As for Lu Zijin, he'd be delighted if she got promoted as soon as possible.

Once this minister left, the Tribunal would have Feng City all to itself.

"Sorry, Deacon Nie. I'm not interested in a promotion. Handling all kinds of paperwork every day is going to make me lose all my hair." Lu Zijin rolled her eyes, her tone cool.

At the mention of hair, Deacon Nie's eyelid twitched.

Lu Zijin looked away, acting as if she couldn't care less.

Not long ago, the two of them had argued over that boy surnamed Gu.

Naturally, neither of them was in the mood to be pleasant now.

Deacon Nie looked a little awkward. He turned to the man beside them and said with a smile, "I heard there was a mutant in the city today, so I came to take a look. I didn't expect to run into you as well, Mr. Jing."

The man was mixed-race and dressed in a sharp suit. It was impossible to guess his age. His light blond hair was slicked neatly back, and his striking, handsome features were sharply defined. His eyes were deep-set, but his gaze was warm.

"Under the terms of the Black Mammon Soul Pact, someone like me has to notify the local minister whenever I visit a city. It's to avoid any trouble."

The mixed-race man spoke calmly and elegantly, but didn't even look the other man in the eye.

Deacon Nie clearly sensed that he was being ignored, but continued smiling. "The gates to the Kirin Immortal Palace could open at any moment. Yet so much has happened before then. It feels like an ill omen."

"This is an opportunity, but it also represents endless danger. The newcomers awakened because of the Kirin Immortal Palace have no chance of reaching its core." Mr. Jing sighed. "None of us knows what's inside the Immortal Palace."

"And I'm truly worried that those Fallen organizations will cause trouble."

Mr. Jing smiled without replying.

"Because of the Immortal Palace, the Tribunal has been stretched thin lately. Even after the Blood Moon Massacre, quite a few survivors are still at large in the province. We haven't caught them yet, and the major Fallen organizations are still watching us like hawks."

Deacon Nie said tactfully, "I think Feng City still needs a Calamity to keep watch over it."

Mr. Jing replied blandly, "My teacher arrived in Feng City three days ago."

Deacon Nie was overjoyed. "Really?"

Mr. Jing nodded.

"Since that person is here, we can finally rest easy."

Relieved, Deacon Nie smiled brightly. "Would you like me to bring some people over to pay our respects?"

Mr. Jing glanced at him. "The younger ones can come by. The rest can stay away."

Deacon Nie gave him an awkward but polite smile.

Lu Zijin sipped her strawberry juice, her bright, sparkling eyes full of disdain.

Most people from the Tribunal were like this.

They bowed and scraped to the strong, then threw their weight around against the weak.

Still, it was understandable.

After all, the man in front of them was that person's student, and his strength was terrifying.

Even the Lu Family would have to suck up to him.

Deacon Nie had only been making polite conversation. He knew he wasn't important enough to be granted an audience with that person.

"Then we won't keep you. But if you need anything, just let us know."

He took a tablet from his briefcase and offered it to Mr. Jing. "By the way, these are some newcomers trained by the Feng City branch. I wonder if any of them might catch your teacher's eye?"

Lu Zijin couldn't help sitting up straighter.

Although the Tribunal's people were obnoxious, some of their interests overlapped with hers in this district.

There was a rumor that the person in question still wanted to take on another student.

His travels over the years had been for that very purpose.

Mr. Jing didn't even look at the tablet. His voice remained perfectly flat. "No need. My teacher is getting on in years and doesn't have long to live. He won't waste his time on mediocrities. A genius like the one he described may never appear again in this era. The people you're recommending certainly aren't it."

He hadn't even looked at them before calling them mediocrities.

Deacon Nie still wouldn't give up. "Just because there isn't one now doesn't mean there won't be one later. Today, we're about to launch a hunt for Joker. Would you be interested?"

Mr. Jing gazed out at the dark sea. "Joker?"

"Yes. That bastard stole two precious Mythic Armaments!"

At the mention of it, Deacon Nie gritted his teeth. "He has Danger Premonition. Whenever an Ascender much stronger than him becomes hostile, he immediately runs away. And we still haven't identified the other two Mythic Armaments. We don't even know what they do."

"But he's been on the run for so long, so one of them must have an extremely powerful concealment ability. Even if he walked right past us at this very moment, we might not notice him."

He paused. "I even suspect he's secretly advanced to the next rank. And as a Fallen, he can mutate, too. He's extremely hard to deal with. But this time, he won't get away."

Mr. Jing showed a rare flicker of curiosity. "Oh?"

Deacon Nie held up one finger. "We've prepared bait—bait he won't be able to resist!"

Lu Zijin's bright eyes flashed with displeasure.

The Tribunal had become a pack of bullies, each one more rotten than the next.

They knew exactly how dangerous Joker was, yet they'd still assigned that child this mission.

"Is that so?"

Mr. Jing considered it. "That does sound interesting."

At his level, watching low-rank Ascenders fight was like watching children play house.

But everyone had started out that way.

By the standards of a low-rank Ascender, Joker was indeed quite a handful.

"We've assigned a large team to make sure nothing goes wrong."

Deacon Nie spoke earnestly. "I guarantee it'll be an exciting hunt. Maybe one of the talented youngsters on this mission will earn your teacher's approval."

Mr. Jing gave a quiet hum and was about to turn away when he suddenly stopped.

"Hmm?"

He looked toward the headless corpse beneath the work shed and studied it carefully. "Who killed him?"

Deacon Nie froze.

Lu Zijin narrowed her eyes in surprise. "My younger brother."

Mr. Jing shook his head. "No, I don't mean the final blow. This man died when a fourth-rank Ancient Martial Artist burst his head with qi. But someone had already defeated him before he mutated."

Before the other two could say anything, he raised his hand and pressed it against the corpse.

"It still has a little spirituality left. Good."

He closed his eyes. The corpse began to shake violently, twitching and convulsing.

Countless strange incantations spread across its body, as if they were burning.

"What's he doing?" Deacon Nie asked curiously.

Lu Zijin looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Some kind of forbidden spell. Mr. Jing is talking to the corpse."

"Car, pistol, Magician, Hypnosis, bench."

Mr. Jing spoke with his eyes closed. "Hypnosis didn't work? Hm. He's ruthless."

No one knew what he saw. After a long while, he opened his eyes, surprise and astonishment flashing through them. It was the first time his expression had changed.

"What's the name of the boy who defeated him?"

When evening study ended, a surging crowd poured out of the school building amid the din.

"Hey, have you heard? Zhang Lei from the class next door took a leave of absence!"

"So what? Taking time off is nothing. I'd take some too if my mom let me."

"No, you guys don't know? He went crazy! Apparently, he beat up both his parents at home, then the detectives dragged him away. I heard they locked him up in a mental hospital."

"Holy crap, I heard about that! Apparently, it happened in Class Three and Class Six, too. They just went 'ahh' and lost it!"

Gu Jianlin walked downstairs without expression, listening to the gossip.

After joining the Ether Association, he'd grown used to things like this. Not many people in Feng City had the talent to become Ascenders, but it wasn't all that rare, either. It was perfectly normal for a school to have a few.

Under Ether Association rules, after receiving mental treatment, those people would be cleared to leave the hospital.

Then, after completing their training, they could awaken with the Association's help and become investigators.

That would be their first step into a new world.

Just then, someone silently walked up beside him, chewing gum and acting as if nothing were out of the ordinary. "It's been a long time since I was back in school. I really miss it. I have to say, your school has a lot of pretty girls."

Gu Jianlin thought that was obvious. Fengcheng No. 2 High School was the best school in the city, and its rules weren't actually that strict.

Students could date, get perms, dye their hair, wear makeup, or wear skirts, and no one would care.

As long as their grades were good.

Only someone like Youzhu, who'd gotten in on the strength of her arts score and had been at the bottom of her class for years, would have her parents called in.

"What are you really here for?" Gu Jianlin couldn't help asking. "Is something about to happen?"

Lu Zicheng raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know?"

Gu Jianlin looked around, his eyes flickering.

"One."

"Three."

"Seven."

"Nine."

He muttered under his breath, "I can see nine people on this floor alone pretending to be students. If I'm not mistaken, they're all from the Association, right?"

Lu Zicheng was startled. He had no idea how the kid had noticed. "Shh."

Seeing his reaction, Gu Jianlin understood.

Lu Zicheng was silent for a moment. "Just focus on your studies. Don't worry about anything else. How much have you accumulated in spirituality?"

Gu Jianlin hesitated for a second. "Twenty-five percent."

Lu Zicheng frowned. "That's all after three vials? Your absorption rate is pretty average. After this hunt for Joker, you should get a share of the merit points. You can use them to exchange for more Spirit Potions."

At that, Gu Jianlin asked, "Is Joker coming after me?"

"More or less," Lu Zicheng said with a shrug.

"Study Joker's file carefully. You won't be on your own for this mission. Just make sure we kill him in the end. In any case, if you sense danger, tell me right away. I won't be leaving the school for a while."

He patted the boy on the shoulder. "Take care."

Then he turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Gu Jianlin fell silent for a long time.

He'd read Joker's file.

Apparently, Joker was one of the survivors of the Blood Moon Massacre. He'd been corrupted while the Kirin Immortal Palace was being excavated, and his father had nearly killed him.

In other words, this guy would come after him for revenge, too.

That might be why the Ether Association had assigned him this assessment mission.

"I can only wait."

Gu Jianlin let out a long breath and walked out of the school building.

For most high school boys, a school's teaching staff wasn't the only important factor. There were two other things that mattered a lot.

One was how many pretty girls it had.

The other was whether the cafeteria food tasted good.

Fengcheng No. 2 High School was famous throughout the city for its terrible food.

So after evening study, students always rushed to the food street by the entrance before the school gates were locked.

As for the cafeteria, nobody in their right mind ate there.

One time, he'd heard they were serving seafood for a change, including hairy crabs.

He'd gone that day, too, and waited in a long line, only to end up with a crab smaller than his palm.

Well, small was better than nothing.

Until his chopsticks reached out and the crab's claw snapped shut on them...

Sometimes the cafeteria worried that the students weren't getting enough nutrition. They'd come up with the novel idea of adding special insect dishes to the white rice.

High-end ingredients only needed simple cooking. After a quick deep-fry, ordinary flies turned a delicious golden brown.

Rich in protein, clean and hygienic.

Gu Jianlin didn't plan on eating in the cafeteria. He was going to pick up something from the food street and bring a little back for his adopted little sister, too.

But just after he left the sports field, he spotted a familiar figure curled up on a bench by the school gate.

Her short hair fluttered in the wind. Her shoulders were narrow, her back lonely.

"What are you sitting here for?"

Gu Jianlin walked over and asked suspiciously.

"Hm?"

Su Youzhu lifted her head, revealing a pale little face utterly drained of color.

Seeing her expression, Gu Jianlin understood.

"Your period?"

Su Youzhu kept her pretty face stern and nodded.

"You stay up late every day and have such an irregular schedule. Of course it's going to hurt."

Gu Jianlin shook his head, pulled a thermos from his bag, and handed it to her. "Brown sugar water."

Su Youzhu froze. "Where'd you get this?"

"I made it at home ahead of time," Gu Jianlin said.

Su Youzhu hesitated again. "For... me?"

Gu Jianlin nodded.

It wasn't right to keep letting her take care of him. Besides, he'd used Life Perception last night and realized she was about to get her period, so he'd prepared in advance.

But Su Youzhu was stunned. Her period hadn't even started yet, and he'd already prepared the brown sugar water.

There was only one possibility.

—This boy knew her cycle.

Gu Jianlin noticed the strange, hard-to-read look in her eyes.

"I see."

Su Youzhu seemed to ponder this, then said expressionlessly, "Could it be that after using that thing, you decided the real thing would feel better, so now you're trying to win me over?"

Four thousand seven hundred words. Damn it, I overslept...