Su Chen woke up feeling refreshed and energized.
[Candlelight Mental Forging Method — Mastery: 50%]
Progress toward initiating as a Mystic Artificer was advancing steadily.
After freshening up, he decided to skip the monotonous training for once and head to the cafeteria to buy a few more vials of nutrient fluid.
However, the moment he stepped out of the dormitory building, he sensed something was off. The academy's internal roads were lined with far more patrol guards than usual.
And these weren't the academy's own security. Every one of them was powerfully built, clad in deep blue form-fitting tactical suits with thick metal armor plating on their shoulders, chests, and thighs. They carried black assault rifles.
Their expressions were hard, their presence radiating danger. Su Chen could even sense that quite a few of them were professionals.
"Why are there so many Supervision guards? What happened?"
Along the way, plenty of students shared the same question.
"No idea. They showed up yesterday afternoon. I heard they took over all of the academy's security operations," one student whispered.
"Yesterday afternoon?" Su Chen's expression shifted. He muttered to himself, 'This can't be about Zhou Zong, can it?'
"Apparently, the academy was attacked."
A mysterious voice drifted from behind. Su Chen's pace slowed.
"Attacked? Are you serious?"
A cluster of students gathered, gasps erupting left and right.
"Of course it's real. Why else would they mobilize this heavily?"
Su Chen tilted his ear to listen, but was abruptly intercepted. A dark-skinned Supervision guard said nothing — just grabbed Su Chen's student ID and scanned it on a handheld device.
The guard then reached out and rubbed Su Chen's cheek, checking for disguises. Only after confirming everything was in order did he wave him through.
A first-tier Strongman's body was enhanced, but still fell within the normal human range. A cursory check like this wouldn't raise any flags.
"You in the back — stop spreading rumors," the guard warned.
Su Chen glanced over his shoulder. The academy had been attacked? Really?
On his way to the cafeteria, he caught more snippets — some said the academy had been robbed, others claimed several senior teachers had been killed, all of them second-tier professionals.
Rumors flew in every direction.
"Bai Fengxi?" Su Chen had just finished buying nutrient fluid when he spotted her ascending the staircase.
Zhou Zong was probably still nursing a headache over who'd knocked him out, so he was nowhere near Bai Fengxi today.
Su Chen considered for a moment, then walked straight over.
"Hey, Bai..." he called.
'What kind of nickname is that?' The girls beside her looked bewildered.
"Oh, it's him — Jiang He's little pret— uh... handsome guy..."
Su Chen's face was memorable enough that recognition came instantly.
Bai Fengxi's gaze, however, had landed on the small bag in Su Chen's hand.
'He's already got money? Teacher Jiang He sure is generous.'
She seemed about to say something but held back. Su Chen was more direct. "There's something I need to tell you."
Bai Fengxi thought for a moment, then followed him to a corner table.
"Zhou Zong has his sights on you. He tried pumping me for information about your background," Su Chen said quietly. "He doesn't seem to know your real history."
"Zhou Zong..." Bai Fengxi frowned, then nodded and murmured, "Right. Teacher Yuan altered my records. Officially, I'm the orphan of one of his friends."
She said it without a trace of embarrassment.
"That explains it. He's probably looking to use your real origins as leverage." Su Chen nodded in understanding.
Under normal circumstances, a Cinderella-turned-princess wouldn't want any ties to her former life.
Something like: "Bai Fengxi, you wouldn't want your friends finding out you're actually a bottom-rung refugee, would you?"
"Be careful around him," Su Chen cautioned. He started to stand, then sat back down, curiosity getting the better of him. "Your teacher — who is it?"
"Teacher Yuan. Yuan Chenyang," Bai Fengxi said, with an oddly particular choice of words.
"The Vice-Principal? The Supervision Department chief?" Su Chen froze, looking Bai Fengxi up and down. How the hell did she land that kind of luck?
Nanfeng Academy had several vice-principals, but Yuan Chenyang was unquestionably the most powerful — he commanded the Supervision Department, one of the city's enforcement arms, responsible for internal security.
"What are his requirements for taking students?" Su Chen asked, genuinely curious. "How'd he pick you?"
"I don't know..." Bai Fengxi glanced at him, looking slightly troubled. "I'm not really sure myself."
"Watch yourself. You might have stumbled into a weirdo," Su Chen remarked with mock jealousy.
Bai Fengxi let out a flat "oh," unbothered by the joke. She changed the subject. "Don't worry about Zhou Zong's end. I'll give him a warning."
"Besides, he's got bigger problems right now. Zhang Hengyu is on his case."
"Oh?" Su Chen's brow lifted.
Bai Fengxi lowered her voice. "Yesterday, Zhang Hengyu jumped Zhou Zong and stole his Blood-Activating Potions. He's absolutely livid."
"Zhang Hengyu?" Su Chen's expression was unreadable. "What makes him think it was Zhang Hengyu?"
"A quota. The slot to transfer to Yingfeng..." Bai Fengxi didn't seem to think much of it.
A quota? Yingfeng?
Su Chen was taken aback. He hadn't expected this kind of misunderstanding.
A barely contained gossip fire burned in Bai Fengxi's eyes. "Word is, the attacker stripped him completely naked. Someone recorded the whole thing with a recording device. He's running around campus trying to suppress it."
'Why are you so excited about this?'
Su Chen's expression turned peculiar. He asked, "How's Little Pigeon doing?"
Bai Fengxi's face softened. "She's doing well. I've enrolled her in basic education. She mentions you a lot."
"Good to hear." Su Chen rose and prepared to leave.
"You... want to become Yuan Chenyang's student?" Bai Fengxi asked hesitantly.
"Yeah." Su Chen sat back down and sighed. "Jiang He isn't a long-term solution."
"True. She'll lose interest sooner or later." Bai Fengxi nodded. She was no naive princess — she'd grown up scraping by in the mud.
Su Chen didn't elaborate further. Bai Fengxi offered: "Yuan Chenyang values talent."
"Talent?"
'Didn't you just say you had no idea why he picked you?'
Su Chen could tell Bai Fengxi kept her guard up. Her attitude toward him was only marginally warmer than toward anyone else. She'd probably had no intention of mentioning this at all, but for some reason had changed her mind.
"Physical talent, mental talent. If you have talent, you can go further and faster than others." Bai Fengxi explained.
Su Chen mulled that over. So his rapid progress with the Candlelight Mental Forging Method... was it because he had mental talent?
"Hmm..." He met Bai Fengxi's gaze, his face serious. "I think I have talent too."
"You?" Bai Fengxi instinctively looked him up and down, as if wanting to say something but thinking better of it.
"Can you help?" Su Chen asked.
"Hard to say. I can put in a word, but he..." Bai Fengxi trailed off uncertainly.
Su Chen noticed her oddly formed references to Yuan Chenyang but didn't press the point. "That's fine. Either way, thank you."
......
'If I could get a connection to Yuan Chenyang, that would change everything...' Su Chen was still scheming as he returned to the dorm.
In that case, Jiang He would no longer be a problem. Qi Chuan would no longer be a problem. And he wouldn't have to spend every day holed up in his room worrying about his next meal.
......
Deep within Nanfeng Academy, inside a high-level office, Bai Fengxi slipped inside without a sound.
Yuan Chenyang was massaging his temples. His shaved head gleamed. He noticed Bai Fengxi and looked up. "There you are."
"Any leads?" Bai Fengxi asked.
"Nothing. Whoever did this was extremely experienced. But I've locked down the academy — the thief is trapped inside..." Yuan Chenyang's eyes snapped open, a flash of razor-sharp light passing through them. "I suspect someone on the inside helped from the outside."
"...We'd only cracked half of it before it was stolen. Yingfeng has already sent an inquiry. They'll probably dispatch people."
"What exactly was taken?" Bai Fengxi couldn't help asking.
Yuan Chenyang's face was taut. "An undeciphered special class..."