Emphasizing It Again

Su Mu watched the scene and slowly came back to his senses.

He had just finished cursing Wang Hao out when Ye Qingxue picked up where he left off.

And her words hit much harder than his had.

Wang Hao's lips trembled, and his face turned green, then white, then red. He looked as though someone had pinned him to the ground, slapped him several times, and given him a couple of kicks for good measure.

He could tolerate Su Mu cursing him and turn his anger into a challenge. He believed he was stronger than Su Mu, who was only taking pleasure in running his mouth.

But Ye Qingxue cursing him was another matter entirely.

Wang Hao stood rooted to the spot, feeling all the blood in his body rush to his face. Anger, humiliation, resentment-all these emotions churned and boiled like lava in his chest.

Why?

Why Su Mu?

His grades had been worse than Su Mu's before, and teachers had used him as a negative example for comparison. Su Mu had kept him down for three years.

He had swallowed that resentment. He had told himself that grades weren't everything, and that on the day of the awakening ceremony, he would prove who was truly talented.

He had waited for that day, and it had finally come.

An S-rank core card, the Chaotic Hair Cloak Hammer, and a martial soul theme. Only a handful of people in the entire school could surpass him.

And Su Mu?

F-rank.

A lousy stone.

He had fallen from the clouds into the mud, without even the chance to turn things around.

Yet even with Su Mu in that state, Ye Qingxue had still taken his side.

Wang Hao's gaze was nailed to Su Mu's face.

That face was so calm it drove him mad.

Why?

Why should an F-rank piece of trash make Ye Qingxue curse me out in public?

She had actually cursed him out for someone like that.

Suddenly, Wang Hao understood.

Ye Qingxue must think he was still inferior to Su Mu.

That had to be it.

She still remembered how Su Mu's grades had kept him down. She still thought he was inferior to Su Mu, still thought he was the same piece of trash Su Mu had trampled underfoot.

Wang Hao's nails dug into his palms.

He needed to prove himself.

He needed to trample Su Mu completely underfoot in front of everyone.

He needed to make Ye Qingxue see who the true powerhouse was.

Once he was countless times stronger than Su Mu, Ye Qingxue would naturally understand. Then she would know that the person she had defended today was nothing compared to him, Wang Hao.

As for challenging Su Mu, he couldn't bring himself to say it now.

Because Ye Qingxue had cursed him out too.

If he challenged only Su Mu, what if someone accused him of bullying the weak and fearing the strong?

So he couldn't say it.

At least, not now.

Wang Hao took a deep breath and suppressed all his anger and resentment. He straightened his collar, turned around, and walked toward the door.

After two steps, he looked back at Su Mu.

That look was filled with deep venom.

Su Mu, just wait.

We'll see about that in the trial later.

When the time comes, I'll show you just how wide the gap between S-rank and F-rank really is.

He stood in the office, his fists creaking and his lips trembling for a long while. In the end, he said nothing, turned, and strode out of the office.

The door slammed shut with a bang.

Su Mu looked at the closed door, remembering Wang Hao's undisguised gaze.

A curse rose in his mind.

Fuck.

Ye Qingxue cursed you out, and you're taking it out on me too?

He felt even more wronged than Dou E.

Worse still, the duck that was about to be cooked had flown away.

Teacher Chen shook his head and looked back at Su Mu. "All right, take this to the storeroom to collect your card. It's already been registered in the system, so just give them your name when you get there."

Su Mu nodded. "Thank you, Teacher Chen."

As he turned to leave, Ye Qingxue had also finished her paperwork, and the two walked out of the academic affairs office one after the other.

The hallway was quiet.

Su Mu and Ye Qingxue walked side by side, neither saying a word.

After they had walked a little way, Su Mu turned to look at her.

Ye Qingxue looked straight ahead, her profile seemingly gilded with pale gold in the sunlight. A faint blush that had yet to fade completely lingered on her cool, fair skin.

"Thanks for earlier," Su Mu said.

The resources he could originally have obtained by going along with the situation had gone up in smoke.

But from Ye Qingxue's perspective, his core card was just an F-rank stone, and he was bound to lose a dungeon battle against Wang Hao and his S-rank theme.

Wang Hao's reason for challenging him was that he had cursed him out.

Once Ye Qingxue cursed Wang Hao out too, he had no grounds left to challenge Su Mu.

Unless he challenged Ye Qingxue as well.

She had meant well, and Su Mu could naturally tell the difference.

"Don't get the wrong idea." Ye Qingxue's voice was devoid of emotion. "I just can't stand someone yapping away beside me. It has nothing to do with you."

Su Mu smiled.

The two continued walking.

A few minutes later, Su Mu spoke again. "How many cards did you pick? Your Ice and Snow World build isn't finished yet, right?"

Ye Qingxue was silent for a moment before replying evenly, "Two trap cards and one element card."

"Oh." Su Mu nodded. "That really is a better fit. Early on, Ice and Snow World relies on traps and domains to control the field. They work better than playing creature cards. You should score well on the exam."

Ye Qingxue said nothing more.

At the storeroom entrance, the security staff verified their identities and system registration details, then let them in.

Su Mu found the physical card for the Mountain-Patrolling Lesser Yaoguai in the E-rank section.

The card was dark cyan. It depicted a short yaoguai with a pointed muzzle and monkey-like cheeks, a short blade tucked into its belt and straw sandals on its feet. It didn't look particularly fierce; if anything, it was a little comical.

But Su Mu knew the card was worth far more than it appeared.

Ye Qingxue found her own cards at a rack on the other side. She slipped the three ice-blue cards into her card box with quick, neat movements.

After each collecting their cards, the two left the storeroom.

They still said nothing.

At a fork in the path, Su Mu needed to return to the teaching building, while Ye Qingxue was heading toward the training grounds.

Su Mu stopped and nodded to her. "See you."

Ye Qingxue stopped as well. After two seconds of silence, she suddenly said, "I invited you to join my team before because of your dungeon design skills. Special dungeons play an irreplaceable role in cooperative battle mode. If you think I meant anything else, you're flattering yourself."

Su Mu: "..."

He sighed inwardly.

Young lady, that's the second time you've emphasized it.

"I know," Su Mu said seriously. "Don't worry, I won't read too much into it."

Ye Qingxue glanced at him and seemed fairly satisfied with his answer.

Then she gave a soft huff and turned to leave, her ponytail swaying behind her as she strode off briskly.

Su Mu watched her retreating figure and smiled helplessly.