Surveillance Status

Sword Flower University, Combat Hall.

Watching Sonia point her sword at Leonie, the onlookers were left with only one thought:

What is she doing?

Felix, Silia, Ingrid, and the others felt the same:

What is Sonia doing?

Even Sonia herself fell into deep contemplation:

What am I doing?

On the contrary, after a moment of stunned silence, Leonie couldn't help but cover her mouth and stomach, her laughter leaking out from between her teeth and lips; it was clear she was holding it in with great difficulty.

After a long while, she took a deep breath, traces of wild laughter still lingering on her face, and asked as seriously as she could:

"Junior Sonia, are you serious? You want to challenge me, Leonie Victor?"

Fake! It's not serious! The Watcher was controlling me just now!

Watcher, you shameless Little Speaker who controls a young girl's body!

Sonia was practically roaring in her heart, but she couldn't voice this excuse, and she trusted that the Watcher would never appear again—at least not until she finished this combat training.

It was only natural for the crowd to react this way, as the target of Sonia's challenge was Leonie.

At Sword Flower University, Leonie could be considered the most famous student. Her talent, her award history, and her various scandals were all subjects of heated discussion.

On her first day of school, she had beaten all the freshmen in the Swordsmanship Department into submission.

In her second year, she promoted to a One-Winged Silver and was taken as an apprentice by another Sword Saint of Sword Flower University, the "Rhythm Sword Saint" Nidala.

By her third year, she joined an Abyss adventure team, formed a squad with geniuses from Truth University, and achieved many gains and constant fortuitous encounters in the Abyss.

Even Truth University wanted to poach her; Leonie was considered by countless people to be a Sword Saint Seed, a Holy Domain candidate in the making!

More importantly, Leonie had been participating in high-intensity Abyss adventures for half a year, and everyone knew she wanted to break through her Swordsmanship Realm in battle to promote to Two-Winged!

This meant that Leonie had already fully unfurled her Silver Wing and was a fully-fledged One-Winged Arcanist!

By comparison, Sonia and Felix had only entered the Void Realm a few days ago; let alone a Silver Wing, they hadn't even condensed a single silver feather. The gap in their Spell Power was even greater than that between a child and an adult.

Although Spell Power was merely an energy resource and actual combat depended on the Arcanist's skill, no one thought Sonia had even a shred of a chance of winning, and Sonia herself thought the same.

Leonie definitely possessed more Spell Spirits than her, Leonie surely mastered a Swordsmanship Miracle, and on top of that, Leonie had extensive combat experience in the Abyss.

The more she compared, the more desperate Sonia felt—why did the Watcher have to sabotage her like this!

She would have been better off fighting Luo Lian!

Even if she lost to Luo Lian, others would only think Luo Lian was bullying the weak, but losing to Leonie was different; people would think Sonia was arrogant, conceited, and ungrateful!

Not to mention the arrogant words Sonia had just spoken.

If she lost too miserably, she wouldn't even have the face to see Professor Tello Zan.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. It was the same last time; the Watcher had made her challenge Felix for no reason, which was why she was in this mess today. She hadn't expected the Watcher to be back at it, making her provoke Leonie!

However, the Watcher wasn't wrong.

Sonia didn't actually feel unhappy in her heart right now.

Because she was only thinking about going to the Void Realm tonight to strangle the Watcher.

But since the words were already out, there was no way Sonia could take them back. She could only grit her teeth and nod: "That's right."

"Good, your courage is commendable. As a senior in the Swordsmanship Department, I have no reason to refuse your challenge, Junior."

"However," Leonie smiled, "as a member of the Disciplinary Committee, I cannot allow a battle with such a disparity in strength to occur on campus, so..."

She walked to the side, picked up a Training Wooden Sword from the weapon rack, and said, "Although I said I would try to hold back, anything can happen in a fight, so it is better to establish fair rules for victory and defeat."

"In this combat training, if my sword touches your body even once, I lose."

"As long as your sword is knocked out of your hand, I win."

"Of course, if you can knock my sword out of my hand, you win."

Laughter erupted around them; no one believed Sonia could knock Leonie's sword away. Leonie's condition sounded more like an impossible demand.

Leonie looked at Luo Lian and Felix, "This rule applies to you two as well. Luo Lian, you must either guarantee you can defeat Felix without hurting him, or simply give up... As a third-year student, you wouldn't lack even that much confidence, would you?"

"You can make the rules even stricter," Luo Lian said coldly, "I don't mind."

Felix said calmly, "With such easy victory conditions, I have no reason to refuse."

When Leonie looked at her, Sonia suddenly understood the underlying connections.

Leonie didn't appear by coincidence; she and Luo Lian definitely had a premeditated plan, and the incident with Silia was just a convenient catalyst.

Leonie was the apprentice of the Rhythm Sword Saint, and she and Felix were apprentices of the Hidden Hand Sword Saint... Was this a clash between the two Sword Saints of Sword Flower University? Or did Leonie want to test their mettle?

But regardless, Sonia had no reason to back down. Moreover, after Leonie proposed such "generous" rules, a trace of fighting spirit couldn't help but arise in her heart... along with the shame of being looked down upon!

Sonia took a deep breath and gripped the wooden sword in her hand: "I have no objections, Senior Leonie."

"Then I declare, the battle... begins!"

Blood Moon Country, Broken Lake Prison.

Ash looked at the empty Dining Hall, eating his Braised Lala Meat while wondering if today was some kind of holiday.

Why hadn't he seen any other inmates all morning?

The Deathmatch Club, Central Hall, Reading Room, Gymnasium, Audio-Visual Room... there wasn't a soul to be seen anywhere. Only a few guards were idling about, playing with their Light Screens, as if everyone had agreed to stay in their Dormitories all day.

But everyone had to eat, right? It was impossible that everyone was spending Contribution Points to have the Dining Hall deliver food to their rooms.

The sense of unease in his heart grew heavier. Ash felt like a farmer watching animals and plants uproot themselves and flee; he knew a great disaster was coming, but he had no way to stop it, only sit and wait for his end.

Halfway through his meal, Ash's body suddenly stiffened.

A Light Screen popped up automatically, and a cold, red message reflected in Ash's pupils:

"Dear Mr. Ash Hiss, prisoner number 4001623. Broken Lake Prison officially notifies you that you have entered a state of supervision. Please remain calm and comply with the Supervisor's instructions."

He stood up abruptly and walked to the entrance of the Dining Hall, standing perfectly straight without the slightest tremor or deviation, like a statue.

A while later, seven inmates arrived at the entrance one after another. Their movements were identically stiff, like marionettes controlled by strings, and they stood in a row alongside Ash.

There was a fist's width of space between each person, and they stood in a straight line like a military drill formation.

The Elf swordsman Valkas Ul, the "Gourmet" Lang Na's little boyfriend, was among them!

The look in everyone's eyes was incredibly complex—fear, relief, despair, relaxation—but no matter how Ash looked at them, he only saw one message:

Save me!

Another minute passed, and a tall, burly Warden arrived at the entrance of the Dining Hall. He smiled slightly at the inmates, revealing his ferocious, pale fangs.

"Hello everyone, I am your Supervisor for today, Nagu Macmillan. It is a pleasure to meet you. Now, please introduce yourselves by name, from left to right."

"Archibald Harvey."

"Valkas Ul."

"Ronald Wade."

"Rudo Enfield."

When it was Ash's turn, he found he couldn't control his own mouth. It opened mechanically: "Ash Hiss."

After all eight had finished stating their names, Warden Nagu nodded in satisfaction and said, "Then, today's itinerary is to finish lunch first, then in the afternoon, I will take you to watch a film and go to the Sea View Platform to breathe in the sea breeze... Hmm, due to a recent proposal by a human rights organization, we will give you one hour of external contact time, allowing you to reach out to your family and friends outside."

"As for the arrangements after dinner, there isn't much to say. If anyone has any suggestions or questions, you may bring them up now."

Ash immediately raised his hand, and Warden Nagu looked at him: "Please speak."

The restriction on his mouth was lifted. Ash swallowed hard and asked the most important question: "I would like to ask, after dinner... what is the arrangement?"

Although he already had an inkling, he still clung to a shred of hope.

Warden Nagu smiled. He had seen plenty of death row inmates who deceived themselves like this, but he didn't mind crushing their hope with his own hands.

Bestowing despair was the duty of a Supervisor, and it was also a Supervisor's pleasure.

"My dear Ash, as for the arrangements after dinner, that would naturally be taking you to the live broadcast site of Blood Moon Judgment."