A soft chuckle came from the corridor.
"Aren't you so clever?"
"Guess which one I am."
The voice drew closer and closer, as though Qin Ran only had to round the corner between the hall and the corridor to see its owner.
"You're the one who swooped in to reap the benefits."
Qin Ran spoke with absolute certainty. At the same time, he pressed himself against the wall and edged toward the corner with tiny, silent movements, raising the longsword in his left hand.
Then he continued.
"Am I right?"
"A remnant of the Dragon School."
At those words, the breathing around the corner suddenly caught.
"How did you..."
The other man demanded an answer from Qin Ran.
But before he could finish, Qin Ran lunged around the corner and brought his blade straight down.
Clang!
Amid the clash of metal, the longsword bore down on the submachine gun, its edge already leaving a clear mark on the weapon. Although the other man's body hovered in midair, he gripped the gun by its handle and muzzle, firmly resisting the Slash.
A spotless mask concealed his face, but the surprise in his eyes was impossible to hide. Qin Ran, mere inches away, saw it clearly.
More than Qin Ran's discovery of his true identity, it was his decisive attack that astonished him now.
After all, although his voice had been drawing closer, it could still have been a trap.
He had already demonstrated abilities from the mystery side.
Something like an Illusory Voice Technique would have been child's play.
By his reckoning, Qin Ran should have tested the waters cautiously.
And the moment he did, Qin Ran would fall into his carefully laid trap, be pressured step by step, and finally see the scales of victory tip against him.
He would