The shouts of the big, burly men from the security department erupted behind them. Clearly, both Qing Linyun and Gu Yue heard them.
Without looking back, Qing Linyun knew the men behind him must be itching to take him down. But they had actually dared to call him a lunatic. It was an insult to his name.
Gu Yue turned slightly and took several steps back, quickly putting some distance between herself and Qing Linyun.
Her actions said one thing: I don't know you.
She stood there without a trace of panic, even folding her arms as she leisurely turned her head to watch Qing Linyun.
Her cool eyes plainly said: Let's see what you do now.
Clearly, she was the sort who enjoyed watching the fun and didn't mind how big the commotion got.
...Interesting.
She pondered it to herself.
Qing Linyun, weren't you pretty capable just now? Didn't you swagger right in with your arm around me? And now they're chasing you and calling you a lunatic.
Gu Yue was even a little eager to see how he would get himself out of this.
She couldn't say why she felt that way herself.
It was like a free show. She might as well watch.
The corner of Qing Linyun's mouth twitched.
He turned his head and glanced at Gu Yue beside him, who had a "sitting back and waiting for the show" look on her face, and cursed inwardly.
You little ingrate. Who was it that brought you in just now? And now look at you, standing there laughing at me.
Uh... of course, Qing Linyun wouldn't admit that Gu Yue could have gotten in without him, and without being treated like a criminal.
...But now wasn't the time to think about that.
The thudding footsteps behind him were drawing closer and closer, mingled with the security department's shouts as they ran.
Qing Linyun's mind raced.
It wasn't as if he had no options.
On the surface, there were two paths before him.
The first was to fight.
With his current strength, never mind a few security guards-even if every teacher at Eastsea Academy came at him, he could deal with them all and guarantee they'd be lying flat.
But he immediately ruled that path out.
What had he come to Eastsea Academy for?
He had come to settle down peacefully and slowly make contact with the protagonist group.
Qing Linyun had come to fish. Who smashed the fishpond as soon as they arrived?
If he beat up the entire security department right off the bat, how was that any different from streaking through the streets? By the next day, the whole Federation would know a little lunatic had come out of Shrek and caused trouble at Eastsea Academy.
After all, quite a few people within the Federation were keeping an eye on him. Though his identity hadn't been exposed yet, and the vast majority still didn't know he was the boss of Qingyuan Company.
But he would be a public figure eventually, so he had to be mindful of his image.
Besides, Qing Linyun had come intending to stay in Eastsea City and keep an eye on Gu Yue and Tang Wulin. Naturally, he couldn't go too far. It wouldn't do to disrupt this peaceful life.
So the best approach now was to find Wu Changkong directly, tell him who he was, and have him step in to resolve the matter.
Actually, there was a third path, and it was the simplest of all.
He could take out his soul communicator right now and send Ye Lingling a message, saying there was a small matter in Eastsea City.
Have a business partner put in a word, and in less than ten minutes, the security department would have to escort him out politely and even bow.
That was the power of money.
As he recalled, they did have business partners here in Eastsea City.
There seemed to be a family surnamed Xu, and another surnamed Xie...
What were they called again?
...Qing Linyun frowned.
As a boss, he really was a little unqualified.
He had dumped almost all the company's affairs on Ye Lingling, and he really couldn't remember the names of their business partners.
Forget it.
Let's go with the second option.
The footsteps behind him were practically at his ears now, and a huge character for "danger" had appeared above Qing Linyun's head.
Qing Linyun abruptly turned his head toward Gu Yue.
He gave her a smile.
Mm, it was a very friendly smile.
Gu Yue's expression changed in an instant.
That smile...
She knew that smile all too well.
Although the memories she shared were Na'er's, she knew perfectly well how many times Na'er had been tricked by this little bastard as a child.
Whenever this man wore that expression, nothing good ever followed. Whenever Na'er saw him smile like that as a child, she knew she was in for it.
Sure enough.
Qing Linyun grabbed Gu Yue by the wrist.
"Let's go!"
Before Gu Yue could react, he yanked her off balance and dragged her along as he charged toward the field.
The shouts behind them grew louder.
"That's them! Don't let them get away!"
"Stop them!"
Gu Yue ran as he pulled her along, the wind whistling past her ears.
As she ran, she cursed inwardly: Qing Linyun, you bastard! If you want to run, run by yourself! Why drag me along?
At the edge of the field.
Wu Changkong stood with his arms folded, his ice-blue eyes sweeping indifferently over the students running laps.
His mood today was neither good nor bad; it was the same coldness that never changed year after year. But he kept feeling as though something bad was going to happen today. The feeling was strange, yet he couldn't quite put it into words.
Then he saw two figures charging straight toward him from the direction of the academy gates.
A man and a woman.
The man ran in front, dragging the woman along. She looked as though she had nothing left to live for.
Wu Changkong frowned.
...What are those two idiots doing?
He unconsciously straightened up a little, wanting to see where the two were running.
The students running laps on the field also stopped one after another.
"Hey, hey, look over there."
"Who's that? Why is the security department chasing them?"
"Are they looking to get themselves killed, barging into Eastsea Academy..."
A buzz of discussion rose, but it didn't travel far. It was just a group of students standing to the side, watching the commotion.
At the edge of the group, two heads drew together.
Xie Xie nudged Tang Wulin beside him with his elbow, lowered his voice, and waggled his brows.
"Hey, Wulin, look at those two. I bet two class-A meals they've done something wrong. Otherwise, would the security department be chasing them like that?"
Tang Wulin shook his head honestly.
"I don't know."
"But can I have the class-A meals?"
Seeing Tang Wulin's innocently blank expression, Xie Xie held his head helplessly.
"You glutton. All you ever think about is food."
Wu Changkong watched the two draw closer and closer.
He realized the man was coming straight for him.
Charging straight at him like that, it was hard not to notice.
Wu Changkong's frown deepened.
Such nerve. He dares to attack me?
He raised his hand instinctively. Soul Power gathered in his palm.
The Heavenly Frost Sword appeared in his hand out of thin air, its blade gleaming with a faint, cold light.
He didn't release his Soul Rings or summon his Battle Armor. He merely raised his hand and sent a streak of the most basic ice sword Qi sweeping toward Qing Linyun.
That would be enough to force the two of them to stop.
Mm... or so he thought.
Qing Linyun watched the cold Qi sweeping across toward him. He didn't even slow his steps, nor did he release his Martial Soul.
He simply raised one hand and casually grasped at the air in front of him.
Just a light squeeze.
The visible streak of ice sword Qi seemed to be pinched by some invisible force in midair, and then... it dispersed.
It shattered into specks of cold light that drifted to the ground.
Qing Linyun even had the leisure to pull Gu Yue, whom he was dragging along, behind him. The movement was perfectly natural.
Pulled behind him, Gu Yue was stunned.
She had seen it all clearly.
He hadn't released his Martial Soul.
He hadn't used his Soul Rings.
He had just... casually squeezed.
And crushed Wu Changkong's sword Qi?
Who was Wu Changkong?
He was a Six-Ring Soul Emperor.
Although he had only used the most basic sword Qi just now, it was still Soul Emperor-level power.
Has this little bastard of a human child really grown so much stronger? Are humans truly so favored by heaven?
Gu Yue frowned.
Wu Changkong was stunned too.
He looked down at his empty palm. The sword Qi he had just sent out... had been crushed.
And it had been done with just a hand. His opponent hadn't even released his Martial Soul.
Above all, Wu Changkong hadn't expected that the child before him, who looked to be in his teens, could do it so easily.
Wu Changkong's brows drew together tightly.
He realized that the young man charging toward him was no ordinary student, nor was he some hoodlum here to cause trouble.
This fellow had real ability.
He had come with ill intent.
Wu Changkong was just about to draw on his Soul Power and prepare to release a Soul Skill.
Just then.
The youth who had rushed up to him suddenly stopped and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Senior brother!!"
Wu Changkong: "..."
"I'm your junior brother!! I've come to join you!!"
Qing Linyun stood before him, gasping for breath, but his shout was full of vigor. "Master sent me to bring you back! My master is Zhuo Shi!!"
Wu Changkong froze on the spot.
Zhuo Shi.
That was his master's name.
When the name reached his ears again, Wu Changkong's head buzzed.
A line from a song would have made the moment more fitting.
"When I hear a familiar name, I remember those things again..."
He stood there, the hand holding the Heavenly Frost Sword trembling slightly of its own accord. In a daze, he stared at the sweat-soaked youth before him for several seconds.
...What did this kid just shout?
Zhuo Shi? His master?
In that moment of hesitation, Qing Linyun had already moved right up to him.
He wiped the sweat from his face, and a smile immediately spread across it, as sincere as could be.
"Senior brother."
"Master misses you. He talks about you every day."
"Senior sister misses you too."
"Although I've never met you, I've long admired your great name, senior brother. Now that I've met you, your bearing is indeed extraordinary..."
He rattled it all off in a torrent.
Wu Changkong stood there, listening without moving.
Zhuo Shi. Junior brother.
...It matched up.
His master really had taken on another disciple in recent years. He vaguely recalled his junior sister mentioning it, but he had never met the disciple.
But he really hadn't expected his master's new disciple to be so... irrepressible.
And what he had just done.
The strength it took to casually crush his sword Qi...
Wu Changkong took another look at the young man before him.
He had strength.
But his personality... was a little too high-spirited.
Where on earth had his master picked up a disciple like this?
Wu Changkong could hardly believe it. After all, what kind of person was Zhuo Shi? The old man was stubborn to the bone.
He was also rigid and stern. It was hard to believe he would have such an irrepressible disciple.
After rattling off that long string of words, Qing Linyun caught his breath.
Then, perfectly naturally, he jerked his chin toward the group from the security department chasing after him.
He flashed Wu Changkong a flawless smile.
"Senior Brother."
"Could you help me deal with this little problem?"