"Teacher, Captain Hu Xiang can testify to this. Furthermore, he discovered the inside man Zhou Xian planted within the City Patrol guards, who is currently being held under strict guard," Su Chen recounted.
Yuan Chenyang shot him a profound look. He had already been tearing the city apart looking for the thief's inside man, and now they were just hand-delivering him to his doorstep?
As if waking from a dream, Hu Xiang couldn't help but sigh inwardly. 'Brother Su is truly generous. Even at a time like this, he still remembers to toss me a piece of the credit.'
He immediately added, "Indeed. I have already apprehended Tang Chen. He was the one rummaging through Zhou Zong's corpse on the night of his death."
"Oh?" Zhang Hongbo's expression became inscrutable. "Bring him here."
"Slander! This is baseless, malicious slander!" Zhou Xian roared furiously.
Hu Xiang trotted off and returned shortly, hauling Tang Chen over. The man was bound tightly from head to toe, a gag stuffed in his mouth. Seeing the gathering of big shots, his eyes brimmed with sheer terror.
"C-City Lord... sir..."
The moment the metallic gag was removed from his mouth, Tang Chen's legs gave out. He wailed, "You have to seek justice for me, sir! I have no idea why Captain Hu Xiang is—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Zhang Hongbo stepped forward and placed a hand atop Tang Chen's head.
Tang Chen's eyes rolled back in his head, and his expression instantly went completely slack and vacant.
"Did you rummage through Zhou Zong's corpse?" Zhang Hongbo interrogated.
"Yes," Tang Chen replied, his voice completely devoid of emotion.
A chill ran down Su Chen's spine. 'What kind of profession is this? It's terrifying.'
"Who ordered you to do it?"
"It was..." Just as Tang Chen was about to speak, his face suddenly contorted into a hideous, ferocious snarl. Pitch-black lines crawled across his cheeks like living veins, his hair instantly melting away like snow. Emerging from the center of his newly-bald scalp was a single, vertical black pupil.
"Black Buddha!"
Zhang Hongbo's expression changed drastically, and he instantly leaped backward.
Bang! Tang Chen's head exploded violently. Red and white matter splattered across the ground, drawing a chorus of horrified gasps from the surrounding crowd.
"The Evil God Cults..." Standing with his back to the crowd, Zhang Hongbo's tone was incredibly solemn.
'A Believer of Black Buddha...' Yuan Chenyang's gaze grew dark and incredibly scrutinizing as it fell upon Zhou Xian.
Zhou Xian's face looked ghastly. He frantically defended himself, "It's a frame-up! It has to be a frame-up! I'm certain Zhou Zong himself had no idea about this either. If he did, he would have handed the item over to this guy ages ago! Why would they wait until after he died to try and strip it from his corpse?!"
"True, Zhou Zong himself likely didn't know," Yuan Chenyang nodded, before adding pointedly, "However, the same cannot necessarily be said for some other people."
His voice turned freezing cold. "Hu Xiang! How was Zhou Zong able to smuggle that item out of the city? Did you not search him before leaving the academy that day?!"
Cold sweat beaded on Hu Xiang's forehead. He finally realized exactly how deep of a pit he had fallen into.
He replied cautiously, "That day, the Supervision Guard was preparing to conduct a search. But we were standing right under their noses the entire time. I thought they were targeting..."
"What about the students?" Yuan Chenyang frowned. The grudges and conflicts between the three major factions ran deep and were vaguely connected to Zhang Hongbo as well. It wouldn't do to dig too deeply into that specific matter right now.
"Later on, Director Zhou arrived. He went around offering advice and smoothing things over, so the Supervision Guard's inspection ultimately became nothing more than a formality."
"Ah..." Realization dawned on Yuan Chenyang.
"I was simply conducting standard consoling procedures! Who would have known... who would have known that Zhou Zong was carrying such an item?!" Zhou Xian retorted darkly.
"Who would have known?!" Yuan Chenyang roared explosively. "You did!"
The theft of the Saint Word Stone had caused him endless grief and sleepless nights. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to slice the mastermind behind it all into a thousand pieces.
"We will investigate this matter thoroughly before reaching any conclusions," Zhang Hongbo interjected, abruptly halting the inquiry right then and there.
"In addition, this patrol squad will return to the city immediately," Zhang Hongbo mused briefly. "We will return with you."
"What about the Ruin...?" an Exploration Guard standing nearby asked.
Zhang Hongbo waved a dismissive hand. "I will lead a fresh squad back out here. A few days' delay won't change anything. It's decided."
The numerous students were still in a daze, entirely unsure of what had just transpired. Finally, one of them gathered the courage to ask, "P-Principal, what about our city patrol evaluation...?"
Zhang Hongbo's attitude toward the students was remarkably gentle. "You all endured two consecutive attacks of an intensity far exceeding any other batch. Your patrol is considered successfully completed."
The crowd let out a collective sigh of relief, offering endless streams of gratitude.
They were heading back!
All things considered, they hadn't even been out of the city for three full days.
Regarding the matter of the Saint Word Stone and Zhou Zong's death, no one dared to bring them up again for the time being.
Wearing an expression of profound grief, Zhou Xian unzipped the body bag, his trembling trembling hand gently stroking his son's cold corpse. Upon seeing the boots that had been destroyed beyond recognition, the muscles in his cheeks twitched even more violently.
Tears spilled from his eyes, and his agonizing wails echoed throughout the entire camp. They were so filled with sorrow that anyone hearing them couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.
"He's starting to play the victim card. What an old fox, using even his own son's corpse to his advantage," Yuan Chenyang scoffed disdainfully from inside the tent.
His gaze then shifted back to the boy in front of him, his expression turning unfriendly once more.
"You..." He was about to speak when he suddenly realized he didn't even know the kid's name. They had bantered outside for so long, yet no one had actually mentioned his name.
"What's your name?" he asked, displeased.
"Su Chen," Su Chen replied honestly.
"Su Chen?" Yuan Chenyang was taken aback. "You're Su Chen?!"
He shot a look at Bai Fengxi next to him. "He's Su Chen?"
"Mn," Bai Fengxi nodded.
Yuan Chenyang hadn't expected right his intersection with this kid had actually started much earlier than this.
"You really are..." He couldn't quite find the right words to describe the feeling. His brow furrowed in scrutiny and wariness. "Aren't you... a refugee? How could you possibly know Zhou Xian was carrying the Saint Word Stone? Furthermore, you're already a Professional..."
"It's a very complicated story..." Su Chen had prepared his excuse long ago. "Actually, I've always been a deeply cautious and calculating person since I was young..."
"...The 【Void-Rending Warrior】 profession was an inheritance left to me by my parents. For many years, I've been carefully and painstakingly accumulating the necessary conditions to advance..."
"...A while ago, I was just one tiny step away from success, so I had no choice but to reach out to Jiang He in search of resources... Who would have known..."
Su Chen spoke at length and in great detail. He conveniently pinned the origin of his profession on his absent parents. Since he was a migrant from the outer settlements anyway, it would be nearly impossible to verify.
He also recounted his interactions with Jiang He, including the assassination attempt that night, omitting no details.
"..."
"You actually fought that thief?" Yuan Chenyang was incredibly astonished. "Did you discover the Saint Word Stone then?"
"Why didn't you report it?"
Su Chen shook his head. "I had no evidence. Moreover, even gravely injured, the thief probably possessed the strength to kill me. I could only leave the item behind. But without the item as proof, how could I possibly explain myself?"
"True..." Yuan Chenyang nodded slowly, though his gaze upon Su Chen remained appraising.
"Do you really want to be my student?" At this point, he cast a glance at Bai Fengxi, a weird look flashing across his face.
"Yes." Su Chen nodded solemnly. He had gone through all this trouble precisely to cling to this thick thigh.
"If that's the case, then I will accept you as my student." Since he had already effectively agreed in front of everyone outside, he wasn't going to go back on his word now. Pondering for a moment, he said, "To be able to advance to a Professional so quickly... even with years of preparation, your innate physical talent must be quite decent. Once we return, I'll have you tested. I reckon you're at least a Bronze, with a hopeful chance at Brilliant Silver."
"By the way, what quality ranking is your 【Void-Rending Warrior】 profession?" he asked casually.
"Top-tier 1st-tier," Su Chen replied.
The smile froze on Yuan Chenyang's face, and Bai Fengxi couldn't help but look over, a flash of astonishment in her eyes.
"A top-tier... 1st-tier?!" Yuan Chenyang swallowed hard, a heavy layer of suspicion coating his eyes once more.
"Yes. Do you need it? I can tell you the requirements," Su Chen offered, seemingly fully prepared for this. He had learned the advancement requirements the moment his profession had finished assimilating the new abilities.
Yuan Chenyang gave Su Chen a complicated look, hesitating. "That was, after all, left to you by your parents..."
"My parents would be delighted to see it put to good use," Su Chen replied without the slightest hesitation, his expression earnest.
Yuan Chenyang paused for a moment before laughing and scolding playfully, "Good boy."
"Don't worry, I won't take your things for nothing." However, he quickly grew serious again. "Remember this: do not reveal this matter to anyone else. If you are ever forced into a corner, say that I was the one who gave you the profession."
He knew full well that Su Chen wasn't telling the whole truth. Were top-tier 1st-tier professions something one could just stumble across? But he also wasn't planning to dig any deeper right now.
Su Chen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally passed the first hurdle. He had originally planned to wait until they safely returned to the city to establish ties with Yuan Chenyang.
However, given the sudden escalation of events, even with Old Bai vouching for him, it would have been incredibly difficult to dispel Yuan Chenyang's scrutiny and suspicion. The 【Void-Rending Warrior】 knowledge served as a tangible benefit to establish a foundation of mutual trust.
The only thing that surprised him was that the value of a top-tier 1st-tier profession was evidently far higher than he had anticipated, vastly shifting Yuan Chenyang's attitude.
At that moment, shadows flickered outside the tent, and the three of them immediately fell silent. An Exploration Guard called out loudly from outside, "Director Yuan! In order to rule out any hidden injuries, the City Lord has ordered a thorough physical examination for all City Patrol guards and students."