Aftershocks

The night in Linhe City was torn to shreds by the howls of gamblers.

The owners of the three largest gambling houses in the eastern part of the city did not even have time to lock their doors before fleeing into the depths of the alleys with their sisters-in-law and their last few chests of Gold Soul Coins.

One to 1.95.

What had originally been considered odds "to send Sky Abyss Academy off" had become the guillotine for every bookmaker that night.

Winners waved banknotes through the streets, while losers smashed cups in taverns.

There was only one point of debate: Was that Su Chen even human?

No one could give a definitive rank.

Shrek Academy's residence, a small courtyard.

Only three oil lamps were lit in the room.

The faint crackle of bursting wicks sounded especially piercing in the deathly still atmosphere.

Dai Mubai sat at the table, his right hand pressed tightly against his knee.

A faint purple mark stretched from the web of his thumb to the base of his fingers, one that could not be washed away.

It was the poison Chu Yao had left behind.

"Twelve minutes."

Dai Mubai spoke.

His voice sounded as though it had been ground over coarse gravel, carrying a physical tremor.

"The seven of us couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes."

No one answered.

Ma Hongjun huddled in the corner, the Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul flickering over his body.

He tried to gather a fireball, but the moment a trace of orange appeared at his fingertips, the poison threads rampaging through his body shattered it.

He lowered his hand in defeat and hid his clenched fist inside his sleeve.

Ning Rongrong hugged her knees as she sat on the floor tiles.

She had stopped crying.

But that look in her eyes was even more unsettling—like an exquisite porcelain doll whose chest had been struck with a crack that could never be repaired.

Ye Linglong's move, All Thoughts Turn to Ash, had drained away all her trust in the world.

Whenever she closed her eyes, she felt that the light of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tower was gray.

Zhu Zhuqing leaned against the window, her fingers unconsciously tracing patterns through the air.

Her movements were extremely slow.

Her right hand rose from her waist, swept in an arc, and turned outward at the heel of her palm.

This was the trajectory Mo Qianye had used to deflect her Netherworld Hundred Claws.

She had analyzed it for three hours.

In the end, she discovered that the movement contained no superfluous lines at all.

It was the ultimate geometry born for killing and defense.

Zhu Zhuqing closed her eyes, her fingertips trembling faintly.

Tang San sat in the center.

Xiao Wu knelt halfway before him, tending to the injury on his right hand with her head lowered.

The Clear Sky Hammer had vanished, but the backlash had cracked three of Tang San's finger bones.

Tang San did not look at his hand. He merely stared into the emptiness beyond the window.

"We lost the team match."

The master's voice came from the doorway, cold and unquestionable.

Yu Xiaogang turned around, and the lamplight outlined his deeply sunken eye sockets.

"But the competition isn't over."

"The individual matches come next. One-on-one, single-match elimination."

The master's gaze swept across every disciple.

"There are no tactics, no coordination. There is only you and Su Chen."

"This is your only chance to turn things around."

Dai Mubai was the first to rise.

He looked at the purpled web of his thumb, cruelty gleaming in his eyes.

"I want Mo Qianye."

Ma Hongjun also steadied himself against the wall. Though his face was deathly pale, his eyes burned red.

"Yan Wuji... I'll burn through that brat's ice no matter what."

Ning Rongrong braced herself against the wall and slowly straightened up.

She said nothing. She only gripped the corner of her clothes so tightly that her nails sank into her flesh.

Zhu Zhuqing opened her eyes, her voice as cold as ice.

"Ling Shuang."

At last, everyone's eyes turned toward Tang San.

Xiao Wu tied the final knot and asked softly, "Third Brother?"

Tang San flexed his right hand, wrapped in strips of cloth.

The piercing pain drilling through the gaps in his bones kept him perfectly clear-headed.

"I'll wait for Su Chen."

Sky Abyss Academy's residence.

The air was filled with the gamey aroma of roast lamb ribs.

Jiang Tieyi clanged and banged around in the kitchen, humming an off-key folk tune.

Yan Wuji stood at the doorway with a teacup in hand, fanning away the oily smoke with a look of disgust.

Mo Qianye had returned to his room to wipe down his blade.

Ling Shuang was trimming her vines in the courtyard.

Ye Linglong sat beneath the long corridor, flipping through an ancient book with a yellowed cover.

This place looked less like a competition venue and more like a vacation estate.

Victory and defeat seemed as natural to them as washing their faces after waking up.

On the third floor, Su Chen leaned against the window, his fingertips brushing over his right cheekbone.

There was an extremely fine scar there, already covered by a thin scab.

Chu Yao pushed open the door. She said nothing, merely staring at the scar.

"Thinking about Tang San's final hammer strike?"

"Yeah."

Su Chen looked at the faint trace of blood on his fingertips, his expression calm.

"He used shattered rocks as hidden weapons, guided them with Blue Silver Grass, and accelerated them with the Clear Sky Hammer."

"Under that kind of pressure, he was able to calculate the flight paths of tens of thousands of fragments in an instant."

Su Chen paused, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

"That was the instinct of a beast driven into a desperate corner."

Chu Yao walked to his side, a rare seriousness in her voice.

"You're praising him."

"I'm assessing the risk."

Su Chen turned his head. Moonlight fell into his pupils, unfathomably deep.

"In the individual matches, he'll be more troublesome."

"Because in the team match, Tang San carried six other people on his back. He had to divide his attention to protect Xiao Wu, coordinate with Dai Mubai, and account for Ning Rongrong."

"He was shackled."

Su Chen extended a finger and lightly tapped the window lattice.

"One-on-one, Tang San will have no burden."

"The Blue Silver Grass will only bind one person, the Purple Demon Eyes will only watch one person, and the Clear Sky Hammer will only strike one person."

"Only then will he count as an opponent."

Chu Yao stared at Su Chen's face and suddenly spoke.

"Medicine. Three days, and that scar will disappear."

"Leave it."

Su Chen turned and walked into the dark room.

"Leave it?"

Chu Yao frowned.

"It is proof that he touched me the one and only time."

Su Chen's voice echoed through the empty room, carrying a chilling composure.

"I want him to look at this scar and understand—that was the highest height he would ever reach in his life."

Chu Yao snorted and slammed the door as she left.

Su Chen sat in the darkness.

Jiang Tieyi's roar came from outside the window.

"Iron Wall! You stole my lamb soup again! Get out here and prepare to die!"

Su Chen rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed helplessly.

Even a god had to clean up after these overly energetic subordinates.