Su Chen woke refreshed and invigorated.
[Candlefire Mental Training Method—Proficient: 50%]
His progress toward becoming a [Mystic Artificer] was advancing steadily.
After washing up, he did not continue the tedious training. Instead, he prepared to head to the cafeteria and buy a few more nutrient potions.
However, the moment he stepped out of the dormitory building, he sensed that something was off. There were far more patrol guards on the academy's internal roads.
Moreover, they were not the academy's security personnel. Every one of them was broad and sturdy, clad in dark-blue form-fitting combat suits with thick metal armor over their shoulders, chests, and thighs, carrying black assault rifles.
Their expressions were cold and severe, and they radiated danger. Su Chen could even sense quite a few Professionals mixed among them.
"Why are there so many Inspection Guards? What happened?"
Many students along the way had the same question.
"I don't know. People came yesterday afternoon. I heard they took over all the school's security work," a student said quietly.
"Yesterday afternoon?" Su Chen's expression shifted slightly. Could this be because of Zhou Zong?
"I heard the school was attacked."
A mysterious voice suddenly came from behind him, and Su Chen immediately slowed his pace.
"Attacked? Really?"
The students gathering around them cried out in surprise.
"Of course it's true. Otherwise, why would they make such a huge fuss?"
Su Chen pricked up his ears to listen, only to be abruptly stopped by a dark-skinned Inspection Guard. The man said nothing, merely grabbed Su Chen's student card and scanned it with the device in his hand.
Then he reached out and rubbed Su Chen's cheek, only waving him through after confirming there was no problem.
Although a Tier 1 Strongman strengthened the body, it did not exceed human limits overall. Such a simple inspection could not reveal anything unusual.
"Those behind him, don't spread rumors..." he warned again.
Su Chen looked back. The academy had been attacked? Was that true?
On the way to the cafeteria, he heard even more news. Some said the school had been robbed, while others claimed several senior instructors had died—and that they had all been Tier 2 Professionals.
All kinds of rumors were flying everywhere.
"Bai Fengxi?" After buying his nutrient solution, Su Chen turned and saw Bai Fengxi coming up the stairs.
Zhou Zong was probably still nursing a headache over whoever had knocked him out yesterday, so he was not beside Bai Fengxi.
Su Chen thought for a moment, then walked straight over.
"Old Bai..." he called.
What kind of address was that? Several girls nearby looked utterly confused.
"Ah, it's him—Jiang He's little white... um... handsome guy..."
Su Chen's face was quite memorable, and a girl immediately recognized him.
Bai Fengxi's gaze fell on the small bag in Su Chen's hand.
He had money so quickly. Teacher Jiang He really was generous.
She hesitated, while Su Chen said bluntly, "I have something to tell you."
After thinking it over, Bai Fengxi followed Su Chen to a seat in the corner.
"Zhou Zong has his eye on you. He asked me about your identity," Su Chen said in a low voice. "He seems not to know your background."
"Zhou Zong..." Bai Fengxi frowned and nodded softly. "Mm. Teacher Yuan altered my records. I'm now the orphaned child of one of his friends."
As she spoke, Bai Fengxi did not look embarrassed in the slightest.
"No wonder. He probably wants to use your background to control you," Su Chen said in realization.
Normally, after an ugly duckling became a swan, she would not want to be associated with her former self anymore.
For example: "Bai Fengxi, you wouldn't want your friends to know that you're actually an inferior drifter, would you?"
"You should be careful, then," Su Chen reminded her. He seemed ready to stand, but sat back down and asked curiously, "Who is your teacher?"
"Teacher Yuan. Yuan Chenyang." Bai Fengxi's phrasing was somewhat strange.
"The vice principal? The head of the Inspection Department?" Su Chen froze and looked Bai Fengxi up and down. Where had she gotten such absurdly good luck?
Southern Academy had several vice principals, but Yuan Chenyang was undoubtedly a powerful figure. He controlled one of the city's violent enforcement branches, the Inspection Department, which was responsible for internal city security.
"What are his requirements for taking students?" Su Chen asked curiously. "How did he take a liking to you?"
"I don't know..." Bai Fengxi glanced at him, seeming troubled. "I'm not entirely sure either."
"You should be careful. You might have run into a pervert," Su Chen said "jealously."
Bai Fengxi gave an "oh," unconcerned by the joke. Then she said, "Don't worry about Zhou Zong. I'll warn him."
"Besides, he won't have time to worry about anything else for now. Zhang Hengyu is watching him."
"Hmm?" Su Chen raised a brow.
Bai Fengxi whispered, "Yesterday, Zhang Hengyu played dirty and stole Zhou Zong's Blood-Activating Potion. He was furious."
"Zhang Hengyu?" Su Chen's expression became unreadable. "Why does he think it was Zhang Hengyu?"
"Because of a quota. A quota to go to Yingfeng Megacity..." Bai Fengxi did not seem to care much.
A quota? Yingfeng Megacity?
Su Chen was surprised. He had not expected such a misunderstanding.
Bai Fengxi's eyes burned with restrained gossip. "I heard they even stripped him naked, and someone recorded it with an imaging device. He's been warning people everywhere."
Why were you so excited?
Su Chen's expression turned strange as he asked, "How is Little Pigeon?"
Bai Fengxi's expression softened. "She's doing quite well. I've already arranged basic education for her, and she mentions you often."
"That's good." Su Chen stood to take his leave.
"You... want to become Yuan Chenyang's student?" Bai Fengxi asked hesitantly.
"Mm." Su Chen sat back down and sighed. "Jiang He isn't a long-term solution."
"Right. Sooner or later, she'll get tired of playing with you." Bai Fengxi nodded. She was no naive, innocent girl; she had crawled through the mud herself.
Su Chen did not explain further. Bai Fengxi said, "Yuan Chenyang looks at talent."
"Talent?"
Didn't you say you didn't know why he took you on?
Su Chen could tell that Old Bai was highly guarded. Her attitude toward him could only be called slightly better than before. She probably had not planned to mention this at all, but for some reason, she had changed her mind.
"Physical talent, mental talent. If you have talent, you can go farther and improve faster than others," Bai Fengxi explained.
Su Chen fell into thought. So he had learned the Candlefire Mental Training Method quickly... because he possessed mental talent?
"Hmm..." He looked at Bai Fengxi and said solemnly, "I feel like I have talent too."
"You?" Bai Fengxi instinctively sized him up, hesitating to speak.
"Can you help?" Su Chen asked.
"Hard to say. I can only mention it to him, but he..." Bai Fengxi hesitated.
Su Chen noticed that the way she referred to Yuan Chenyang was strange, but he did not ask. He merely said, "Alright. No matter what, thank you."
"If I could get connected to Yuan Chenyang, that would be great..." Even after returning to his dormitory, Su Chen was still considering it.
In that case, Jiang He would not be a problem, Qi Chuan would not be a problem, and he would not have to stay cooped up in the dormitory all day worrying about his next meal.
Deep within Southwind Academy, in a high-level office, Bai Fengxi silently walked in.
Yuan Chenyang was rubbing his brow. His bald head gleamed brightly as he spotted Bai Fengxi. "You're here."
"How did the investigation go?" Bai Fengxi asked.
"There are no clues at all. The person who acted was very experienced, but I've trapped him inside the academy..." Yuan Chenyang opened his eyes, and a sharp glint flashed through them. "I suspect someone is working with him from the inside."
"...The item was only half deciphered when it was snatched away. Yingfeng has already questioned us, and they will probably send someone over."
Bai Fengxi could not help asking, "What exactly was stolen?"
Yuan Chenyang's face was tense. "An undeciphered special profession..."
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