"Teacher, Captain Hu Xiang can testify. Not only that, he found Zhou Xian's insider within the City Patrol Guard. He is currently under strict guard," Su Chen explained.
Yuan Chenyang gave him a deep look. He had been looking for the thief's insider, and now one had practically delivered himself to his doorstep?
Hu Xiang snapped out of his daze and could not help sighing. Brother Su was truly generous—even at a time like this, he had not forgotten to share some credit with him.
He immediately said, "That's right. Tang Chen has already been detained by me. On the night Zhou Zong died, he searched through Zhou Zong's corpse."
"Oh." Zhang Hongbo's tone was unreadable. "Bring him here."
"Framed! This is a malicious false accusation!" Zhou Xian roared angrily.
Hu Xiang jogged over and brought Tang Chen in under escort. Tang Chen was bound tightly, with his mouth stuffed shut. At the sight of these important figures, his eyes were filled with terror.
"C-City Lord..."
The moment the metal gag was removed, Tang Chen's legs gave out. He wailed, "You have to uphold justice for me! I don't know why Captain Hu Xiang—"
Before he could finish, Zhang Hongbo walked over and placed a hand on Tang Chen's head.
Tang Chen's eyes rolled back, and his expression went blank.
"Did you search Zhou Zong's corpse?" Zhang Hongbo asked.
"Yes." Tang Chen's voice was utterly flat.
Su Chen felt a chill run down his spine. What kind of profession was this? It was so twisted.
"Who ordered you to do it?"
"It was..." Tang Chen had just begun to speak when his face suddenly twisted viciously. Black patterns emerged across his cheeks, his hair fused together like snow, and a black vertical eye appeared atop his bald scalp.
"Black Pagoda!"
Zhang Hongbo's expression changed, and he abruptly retreated.
Bang! Tang Chen's head exploded, red and white matter splattering across the ground as cries of alarm erupted all around.
"The Cult of the Strange Gods..." Zhang Hongbo stood with his back to the crowd, his voice grave.
Black Pagoda Believers... Yuan Chenyang's gaze darkened as it settled on Zhou Xian.
Zhou Xian's expression turned ugly as he hurriedly explained, "A setup. It must be a setup. Zhou Zong himself definitely didn't know either. Otherwise, he would have handed the thing over to that guy long ago. Why would he wait until after he died and have someone search his corpse?"
"That's right. Zhou Zong himself probably didn't know." Yuan Chenyang nodded, then added pointedly, "But others may not have been so ignorant."
Yuan Chenyang's voice turned icy. "Hu Xiang, how did Zhou Zong manage to bring the item out? When you left the school that day, didn't you inspect him?"
Cold sweat covered Hu Xiang's forehead. He now realized that he had fallen into some enormous pit.
He carefully said, "That day, the Inspection Guard was going to conduct an inspection, but we had been standing right under their noses the whole time. I thought they were targeting..."
"What about these students?" Yuan Chenyang frowned. The grievances between the three major agencies ran deep, and Zhang Hongbo seemed to be involved as well. This matter was not easy to investigate further.
"Later, Director Zhou arrived and tried to smooth things over from both sides. The Inspection Guard's inspection ended up being just a formality."
"Ah..." Yuan Chenyang understood.
"I was merely trying to calm things down. How was I supposed to know... how was I supposed to know Zhou Zong had that thing on him?" Zhou Xian retorted darkly.
Yuan Chenyang bellowed, "How were you supposed to know? You knew!"
The theft of the Holy Word Stone had left him overwhelmed with frustration. He wished he could cut the culprit into a thousand pieces.
"Let's wait until the matter has been thoroughly investigated," Zhang Hongbo said. Rather than pursue the issue, he put an end to it.
"Also, your team should return as soon as possible." Zhang Hongbo pondered briefly. "We'll head back together as well."
Someone from the Exploration Guard at his side asked, "What about the ruins...?"
Zhang Hongbo waved a hand. "I'll bring another group out later. It won't delay things by more than a few days. That's settled."
The many students were still somewhat confused and had no idea what had happened, but someone still gathered the courage to ask, "P-Principal, then our city patrol this time..."
Zhang Hongbo's attitude toward the students was surprisingly kind. "You experienced two attacks, far more intense than what the other batches faced. This counts as completion."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him repeatedly.
They were going back!
All told, they had been out for less than three days.
After that, no one mentioned the Holy Word Stone or Zhou Zong's death again.
With a grief-stricken expression, Zhou Xian opened the body bag. His trembling hand stroked the cold corpse, and when he saw those mangled shoes, his cheeks trembled even more violently.
Tears poured from his eyes, and his wailing could be heard throughout the entire camp. Those who heard it grieved; those who listened wept.
"He's putting on a pitiful act now. What an old fox. He's even using his own son's corpse."
Inside the tent, Yuan Chenyang listened to the sounds outside and spoke disdainfully.
Then his gaze fell on the boy before him, his expression turning unfriendly.
"You..." He wanted to speak, only to realize that he did not even know the boy's name. They had talked for so long outside, yet no one had mentioned it.
"What's your name?" he asked irritably.
"Su Chen," Su Chen answered honestly.
"Su Chen?" Yuan Chenyang was stunned. "You're Su Chen?"
He looked at Bai Fengxi beside him again. "He's Su Chen?"
"Mm." Bai Fengxi nodded.
Yuan Chenyang had not expected that his connection with this kid had begun long ago.
"Really..." He found it difficult to describe, then frowned, his gaze filled with scrutiny and vigilance. "Aren't you a refugee? How did you know Zhou Xian had the Holy Word Stone? And you're even a professional..."
"It's a complicated story..." Su Chen had already prepared an excuse. "Actually, I've always been rather thoughtful since I was young..."
"...My profession, Sky-Rending Warrior, was left to me by my parents. For years, I carefully worked toward meeting its requirements..."
"...Recently, I was only one step away. I had no choice but to contact Jiang He and seek resources... Who could have known..."
Su Chen explained a great deal, and he did so in meticulous detail. He attributed his profession to parents he had never met. Since he had migrated here, it would be difficult to verify.
He also recounted everything involving Jiang He, including the assassination attempt that night.
"..."
"You fought that thief?" Yuan Chenyang was extremely shocked. "And you discovered the Holy Word Stone then?"
"Why didn't you report it?"
Su Chen shook his head. "There was no evidence. And even if the thief had been seriously injured, he could probably still deal with me. I could only leave that thing behind. But if I didn't have it, how was I supposed to explain myself?"
"Indeed..." Yuan Chenyang could not help nodding, though his gaze toward Su Chen still held scrutiny.
"Do you really want to become my student?" As he said this, he glanced at Bai Fengxi, a strange look flickering across his face.
"Mm." Su Chen nodded solemnly. After all that maneuvering, he was waiting to latch onto this powerful backer.
"Since that's the case, I'll accept you as my student." Yuan Chenyang had already agreed outside, so he naturally would not go back on his word now. After pondering for a moment, he said:
"The fact that you managed to take up a profession so quickly may be due to years of effort, but your physical talent must be quite good as well. We'll test you when we return. You're probably at least Brilliant Silver, and you may even have a chance at a higher rank."
"By the way, what level is your Sky-Rending Warrior profession?" he asked casually.
"First-tier top grade," Su Chen replied.
Yuan Chenyang's smile froze on his face. Bai Fengxi also looked over, a flash of astonishment passing through her eyes.
"First-tier... top grade?" Yuan Chenyang swallowed, heavy suspicion filling his eyes once more.
"Mm. Do you need it? I can tell you," Su Chen said, as though he had been prepared for this all along. After his profession devouring had been completed, he had learned its requirements.
Yuan Chenyang gave Su Chen a complicated look and hesitated. "But that was left by your parents..."
"My parents would be glad to see it," Su Chen said without hesitation, his expression sincere.
Yuan Chenyang paused, then laughed and scolded, "You brat."
"Don't worry, I won't take your things for nothing." Then his expression turned serious again. "Remember, don't reveal this matter to anyone else. If you absolutely must, say that I gave you the profession."
He knew Su Chen had not told the whole truth. Could a first-tier top-grade profession really be encountered so casually? But he had no intention of digging deeper now.
Su Chen also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had passed the first hurdle. He had originally planned to approach Yuan Chenyang after returning to the city normally.
With this sudden development, even Old Bai's guarantee would have had difficulty dispelling Yuan Chenyang's scrutiny and suspicion. Sky-Rending Warrior could at least serve as visible leverage to build a foundation of mutual trust.
The only thing that surprised him was that the value of a first-tier top-grade profession was much higher than he had imagined, greatly changing Yuan Chenyang's attitude.
At that moment, a figure flickered outside the tent. The three of them fell silent at once, and an Exploration Guard called loudly from outside:
"Minister Yuan, to avoid hidden injuries, the City Lord will conduct detailed physical examinations on everyone from the City Patrol Guard and all students."
Before you continue