"So they did notice..." From the shadows, those eyes grew razor-sharp.
Spatial Storage Adept?
Su Chen was reeling from the sudden flood of information when a chill swept over him. He snapped back to his senses.
'This... seems incredibly valuable?'
A special class involving spatial properties — even if the name didn't sound all that impressive, for a place like Nanfeng City, it had to be priceless beyond measure.
Why was it hidden on Zhou Zong?
The object in his hands was rapidly becoming a hot potato. Su Chen knew he couldn't take it. Pilfering a few potions was one thing, but this would bring catastrophic trouble.
He stuffed it back where he'd found it. He'd been careful when opening the hidden compartment, but some traces were inevitable. He then dressed Zhou Zong again.
"I'll let you off today." Su Chen retreated two steps.
'He put it back...' In the darkness, the hidden figure's eyes flashed cold. Killing intent spread like a slow tide. Su Chen was now a witness.
But in the next instant, the lurker's heart nearly seized. The young man suddenly whipped his head around and stared dead at the spot where he was concealed.
Boom!
The ground erupted beneath Su Chen's feet. Dead leaves scattered. His speed was staggering — enough to startle even the hiding figure — crossing the distance in practically a blink.
Su Chen's expression was grave. Thanks to the Candlelight Mental Forging Method, his mental acuity had sharpened considerably. The moment he'd pulled that thin sheet from the coat, he'd felt something was off.
And then he'd confirmed it — someone was lurking in the shadows, watching. It made his skin crawl.
Wind Erosion activated. His heart hammered a single powerful beat. His right arm's muscles clenched taut, veins bulging. He coiled back, a faint green cyclone swirling around his fist.
His body was a drawn bow, his arm and fist the arrow — and he loosed it straight at the target.
But the other party reacted just as fast. From the seemingly empty patch of shadow, a withered arm shot out — looking soft and powerless.
Boom!
Like a muffled cannon blast. The instant their fists met, both disengaged. Su Chen rode the momentum of being blown backwards, and with Wind Walk boosting him along the breeze, he drifted away like a sheet of paper, disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye.
'Incredible force. This has to be the attacker...' Su Chen's arm tingled and shook. From that brief exchange, he knew he was outmatched.
'Not a second-tier professional, but possessing elemental power. That bizarre movement pattern and speed — a pinnacle first-tier class? Nanfeng City actually has someone with a class like that hiding away!'
The lurker was even more astonished, staring fixedly at Su Chen's retreating form.
Under normal circumstances, he absolutely would have given chase.
But now, the sounds of approaching commotion drifted from nearby. His gaze could only fall back to Zhou Zong.
He had to retrieve the item first.
Shortly after, a wail pierced the forest.
"My Blood-Activating Potions, my Rejuvenation Potions — Zhang Hengyu, I'll f*ing kill you!"
......
The Supervision guards who'd rushed over lost all interest once they learned that this type of "attack" had already happened before, even prior to the academy break-in.
They had no desire to wade into squabbles between students.
"That guy was fierce — no idea what tier he's at..." Back in his dorm, Su Chen shook out his arm. His knuckles throbbed.
"So that thin sheet with the class inscription — that's what the attacker stole from the academy?" Su Chen mulled it over. "But the academy seemed desperate to get it back. Can't the text on it be copied? There must be more to it. I'll ask Bai Fengxi next time."
Then, with renewed excitement, he opened his panel. "Special class — Spatial Storage Adept..."
The name didn't sound like much, but anything even tangentially related to space had to be extraordinary. The initiation requirements, however, were brutally steep.
This "spatial crystallization" — he'd never even heard of it. He also needed to pass through a spatial rift, and be at least a pinnacle second-tier mental-type professional.
"And transmigrating didn't count as passing through a spatial rift?" Su Chen scrolled through the panel. "Strange. Maybe the threshold is higher?"
The scavenging run had yielded decent results. Su Chen didn't dwell on the special class and turned his attention to the potions.
Compared to that far-off special class, these were what he could actually use right now.
"The Void-Rending Warrior really is fierce — leagues beyond the Strongman..." Real combat had driven the point home. Under equal conditions, the Void-Rending Warrior would absolutely crush the Strongman.
This only deepened his anticipation for the Mystic Artificer.
The Candlelight Mental Forging Method wasn't far from the master stage.
With these two Rejuvenation Potions, the process would be even faster.
He uncorked a vial and drank. The Rejuvenation Potion tasted cool and refreshing on the tongue — quite different from the Blood-Activating Potion.
Su Chen could clearly feel the icy liquid slide down his throat and into his stomach. A jolt surged through his brain, and his mind blazed to life.
Recognizing the potion taking effect, Su Chen immediately began sketching the candlelight visualization in his mind. The speed climbed noticeably.
Proficiency started its slow ascent.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, in a lavishly decorated room bathed in dim light.
Qi Chuan was reporting in a hushed voice: "Director, this patrol outside the walls is being led by the City Patrol Department's Second Patrol Captain — Hu Xiang."
"He's a second-tier professional. I've already reached an arrangement with him. At certain moments, he'll look the other way."
"Hu Xiang is a stubborn one. How did you get him to cooperate?" The man behind the desk was visibly surprised.
Qi Chuan smiled faintly. "Even stubborn men have things they care about. Besides, it's just a trade. One refugee — he won't lose sleep over it."
"Good..." The man nodded approvingly.
Qi Chuan continued immediately: "I'm planning to send two first-tier professionals to handle it discreetly."
"Professionals? For a refugee?" The director frowned. "Is that really necessary for such a nobody?"
"It's outside the walls, after all. Better safe than sorry." Qi Chuan used the wilderness as his justification, though in truth, he simply didn't want to leave anything to chance.
The man grudgingly agreed, adding a warning: "This Su Chen is small fry. The important thing is Yuan Chenyang. Make it clean — no traces."
"From what I've gathered through multiple channels, Yuan Chenyang seems indifferent to Su Chen. The whole arrangement was casually delegated to a subordinate." Qi Chuan hesitated, then added:
"However, Zhou Zong also appears to be targeting Su Chen. He seems to be planning something."
"What?" The man's expression turned sharp. "How did Zhou Zong get mixed up in this?"
Qi Chuan explained: "Because of Bai Fengxi. I've confirmed that Zhou Zong wasn't originally on the patrol roster, but he inserted himself into it. Bai Fengxi is on it too."
"That imbecile!" The man shot to his feet, face thunderous. "What an absolute imbecile!"
Once a name was on the roster, removing it required the City Lord's approval. An extremely cumbersome process.
After cursing for a moment, he drew a deep breath and said through clenched teeth: "This time — he must not be caught in the crossfire."
Qi Chuan nodded. "Understood."
......
Three days before the patrol deployment, Su Chen officially received notification from the City Patrol Department, informing him of the assembly point and time.
"Failure to appear will be treated as desertion!"
The notification officer's expression was stone-cold as he stressed the consequences.
Su Chen accepted the notice with a silent nod. They were to accompany the city patrol squad on a fifteen-day patrol — departing from the South Gate, concluding at the East Gate.
A minor patrol. The full patrol took at least a month and didn't require their participation.
This kind of patrol was mainly about broadening their horizons and toughening them up.
"Beyond the walls..." Su Chen exhaled slowly. Records he'd read surged through his mind.
Within the boundless fog lay too many secrets, brimming with dangers and opportunities that defied all reason.
This time, he might get a glimpse of a small piece of it.
He glanced at the panel. [Candlelight Mental Forging Method — Proficient: 95%]
'After I become a Mystic Artificer, I'll probably need a new mental training method...' Su Chen rubbed his temples, thinking ahead.
Days of relentless mental training had left him with a fatigue that was hard to describe.
His first thought was Jiang He — time to freeload off the teacher again.
Come to think of it, ever since joining the Elite Training Class, his contact with Jiang He had thinned. She hadn't reached out either.
It was as if everything that had happened between them had simply been erased.
Checking the time — still only mid-afternoon — Su Chen left the dormitory and headed for Jiang He's office. The door was locked. Nobody home.
"Sigh... this is what not having each other's contact info gets you..." Su Chen sighed, then thought of Bai Fengxi.
This "big shot" had Yuan Chenyang as her teacher — she definitely had access to advanced mental training methods. A perfect chance to ask about the academy attack too.
'But it'd be hard to bring it up directly...' After a moment's thought, he decided that since he was already out, he might as well swing by and build some goodwill.
He pulled out the Spiritual Comlink and fired off a message. No reply came.
He thought for a second, then sent another: "I have your money."
Still nothing. He was fairly certain Bai Fengxi wasn't ignoring him on purpose.
"Busy?" Su Chen recalled the mental training class schedule. There was one in session right now. "Wonder if Bai's there."
Mental training was even more exclusive than physical training. The price gap between Blood-Activating Potions and Rejuvenation Potions said it all. The students who qualified for mental training were few, and every one of them was exceptional.
......
Before long, Su Chen walked out from beneath a building marked "Meditation," looking defeated.
He'd tried to sneak into the mental training session, but his credentials only covered the physical track. He could only wait outside.
With zero regard for appearances, he plopped down on the steps, leaned back on his hands, and tilted his head toward the artificial light source high above.
"What kind of world is this, really..." Su Chen had been here for a while now, and everything still felt vaguely wrong.
He chuckled to himself. "It seems weird to me, but everyone else takes it for granted."
His gaze drifted out of focus. His thoughts wandered — perhaps it was the mental exhaustion — and he could almost see a massive shadow forming on the ceiling of the sky above, as if something enormous was about to come crashing down.
"...Holy shit!!" Su Chen's pupils contracted to pinpoints. He leaped to his feet, eyes locked on the sky. It wasn't an illusion. There really was a shadow up there.
Above the artificial light source, the true sky was simply a hazy white — but one distinct area had clearly darkened, and it was slowly moving.
At the same time, an indescribable suffocating pressure closed in from all directions, like the sensation of drowning.
All around, students were collapsing to the ground, unable to withstand the crushing sensation.
The feeling — simultaneously familiar and alien — triggered something buried deep in his predecessor's memories. The original owner of this body had experienced it twice before.
"This is... a powerful professional, passing overhead!"