His consciousness returned to reality.
"Blargh-!"
Qing Xuanzi suddenly spat out blood and flew backward some distance before crashing heavily to the ground.
"Master!"
At the sight, the Gao family's elderly representative could no longer pretend to be composed. He hurried through the door and helped Qing Xuanzi up.
"Master, are you all right?"
Qing Xuanzi did not answer immediately. He merely pressed a trembling hand against the old man's shoulder and forced himself to his feet.
But just as he was about to say something, he realized he did not know anything at all.
H-how... how is this possible? I clearly glimpsed that person through the karmic thread, and I was attacked... my soul altar should have recorded it, so why can't I remember a thing?
At that thought, a chill ran down Qing Xuanzi's spine.
Every cultivator knew that a soul detached from its body generally had a poor memory. Only those who practiced dual cultivation of life and nature, or cultivated the Soul Projection Technique as he did, possessed a soul altar with a memory far beyond that of the human brain.
It was said that the soul altar of someone who had attained mastery could remember everything in the world.
Yet even he, a practitioner of soul projection, had had his memories stolen without noticing a thing. His opponent's cultivation was probably even higher than his master's!
"Master? Master... did you find that person?"
Seeing Qing Xuanzi muttering under his breath, the Gao family's elderly representative thought he had regained his senses and hurriedly asked.
"Cough, cough... no. I was gravely wounded before I could even see them. Cough, cough... I fear this injury will take half a year of rest to heal."
That was a lie!
Although his soul really had been injured, it was nowhere near as serious as he made it seem. A week of quiet rest would be enough for him to recover.
But if Qing Xuanzi did not play up his suffering, that old man from the Gao family probably would not pay him.
After all, he had been injured this badly. Whether he had completed the assignment was beside the point; surely they had to cover his medical expenses.
"Hiss... is that superpower user really that terrifying?"
Unaware of the truth, Liu Yaowen was startled.
Then he sighed helplessly.
Now the higher-ups would be tearing their hair out again. First there had been Black Rock Shooter, whose origins were unknown, and now a mysterious mental-type superpower user had appeared.
Were these all signs of an impending catastrophe?
He really has no shame...
Although Huang Qingque saw through his act and inwardly looked down on him, she did not expose Qing Xuanzi's "money-grubbing" scheme.
After seeing Qing Xuanzi out of the Anomalous Incident Management Bureau, the elderly representative sent by the Gao family did not leave immediately. Instead, he continued investigating what had happened before Gao Chen was attacked, particularly who had been in the places Gao Chen had visited at the time.
Apparently, he believed that no matter how powerful the attacker was, they were still flesh and blood. As long as he found his target, he could figure out a way to retaliate.
He has no idea what he's up against...
Liu Yaowen could not help scoffing inwardly.
Any normal person would have backed down by now. Only nouveau riche families like the Gao family, incapable of judging their own strength, would think they still stood a chance.
Soon, the old man uncovered a lead: Gao Chen had used True Magic to control rats and have them chew through the sound equipment's cables.
"Catnip... Ding Jiafang. He had several clashes with Gao Chen online. Could it be him... oh, he's an incoming student at Nova Academy. Never mind, then."
Even though Ding Jiafang came from an unremarkable background and was an insignificant nobody.
Once the Shenzhou Nova Academy had reserved a place for him, the Gao family could not touch him.
Besides, his recent mental-value test results displayed on the screen showed that he had not even awakened a superpower yet.
So he could not be the culprit.
"Chen Xiao? The Chen family of Min Province... and he's the eldest young master's cousin!"
At this point, Chen Xiao's information caught the Gao family elder's attention.
But after looking it over briefly, he dismissed it.
"His aptitude was insufficient, so he neither practiced his family's cultivation method nor awakened a superpower? Although his recent mental-value test met the standard, he chose not to enroll... does he think he has no prospects? Looks like it isn't him either."
Next, he opened the information on Nijika Ijichi and her three companions.
He discovered that although they had caused quite a stir at the Comic Exhibition, they were merely ordinary people who had moved over from Yingzhou Province. They had not even passed the mental-value test, so they clearly could not be responsible either.
The old man therefore gave their information only a cursory glance before clicking his mouse to move on to the next person.
And he cast aside the information closest to the truth.
Hm?
You wanted to know how Ikuyo Kita and the others had gotten their identities sorted out?
For that, we would have to turn the clock back a few days, to when Chen Xiao had just returned home.
The moment he pushed open the door, a blonde "little" girl threw herself at him!
"A-Xiao~~~~!!!"
The materialized Shokuhou Misaki clung to Chen Xiao with her whole body. At just 168 centimeters tall, she was practically an oversized koala to him.
According to her character setting, Shokuhou Misaki suffered from chronic laziness and was always slacking off, leaving her with soft flab all over, particularly around her belly and thighs.
But it had not reached the point of obesity. Instead, it had become a perfectly balanced part of her charm.
It also let Chen Xiao feel, with absolute clarity, the extra softness of Shokuhou Misaki's chest, lower belly, and thighs pressing against him. That soft weight enveloping his body was enough to make any man lose his reason.
"Mmm~~~~ you actually abused my ability like that! I'm angry~! Really, really angry~! I won't calm down unless you give me a kiss~!"
Although that was what she said, there was not a trace of anger in Shokuhou Misaki's voice. Instead, it was full of playful petulance.
Her constant squirming also left her already tight Tokiwadai uniform disheveled and dangerously askew!
Not only her gloves and thigh-high socks, but even her bra pads and panties had a white lace spiderweb design, making one wonder whether those things-her panties-could really cover the important parts.
"Miss Shokuhou, this is far too improper... get down! You're making things difficult for A-Xiao."
Behind her, Orihime Inoue, dressed in stylish loungewear, instantly flushed at the sight. It was hard to tell whether the look in her eyes was envy or panic.
(Her appearance is the Thousand-Year Blood War version. That's my favorite.)
"Shokuhou...? Shokuhou Misaki!"
Dazed by the embrace, Chen Xiao finally broke free of the sensation of her soft little rolls and recognized the starry-eyed girl right in front of him.
"Yeees~~! The Queen of Tokiwadai, yours and yours alone~! Academy City's level 5 Mental Out-Shokuhou Misaki~!"
Unlike the Shokuhou Misaki in the original story, who had already lost the courage to introduce herself to Touma Kamijou, this materialized Shokuhou Misaki did not have to worry about Chen Xiao forgetting her. Naturally, she went all out on the offensive.
Could I hold back in a situation like this?
Chen Xiao searched his heart.
The next moment, his instincts gave him an answer.
I'm not a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle!
To hell with holding back!
"Now~ it's time to pay the price... mmmph!"
Shokuhou Misaki's eyes suddenly widened.
Chen Xiao had not even waited for her to finish before lowering his head and pressing his lips to hers!
It was another French kiss.
Saliva dripped...
Some landed on their clothes, and some on the floor.
Clearly, an ordinary kiss was no longer enough to pay the price. Only a deep mingling of saliva would do!
What Shokuhou Misaki had never anticipated was that Kalifa had already teased Chen Xiao before he came home.
Even though the drive back, with its The Fast and the Furious-style racing, had left him somewhat mentally drained, that did not mean he had entered a state of post-release serenity.
On the contrary, Chen Xiao had merely suppressed his urges to keep himself from losing composure. Then, the moment he walked through the door, Shokuhou Misaki had leaped into his arms with her legs wrapped around him.
Now, even the faintest spark would instantly erupt into a raging blaze!
"Mmm..."
Her initially wide starry eyes gradually grew hazy, then went from half-lidded to closed in pleasure.
In the end, Shokuhou Misaki surrendered completely, paying no heed to the dumbstruck Orihime Inoue behind her, or to Kalifa, Nijika Ijichi, and the others at the door.
She had already lost all awareness of the world around her!
Before you continue