Red Gold... Beside them, Bai Fengxi froze mid-motion, her teacup suspended in the air, eyes filled with astonishment.
"Red Gold! Red Gold!"
"If Zhang Hongbo and the others found out, the looks on their faces would be priceless!" Yuan Chenyang shot to his feet, face flushed, arms waving as he paced back and forth. He seemed on the verge of losing his mind.
"Teacher..." Su Chen called out.
"Oh, right..." Yuan Chenyang finally noticed his outburst and composed himself, only to say, "No — this can't be revealed just yet."
"The conniving old foxes in this city won't necessarily welcome the appearance of someone with Red Gold talent."
Yuan Chenyang's emotions were still churning as he organized his thoughts. "Yingfeng — you have to get to Yingfeng. Wasting even a single year on a Red Gold mental talent is a sin."
"But no, the refugee background is still a liability."
Bai Fengxi couldn't help but interject, "A Red Gold talent still can't outweigh the refugee issue?"
"You don't understand." Yuan Chenyang shook his head. "The vast majority of refugees have no ties, no attachments. And because of what they've been through growing up, they carry resentment buried so deep it can never fully be erased. They're easy targets for the Evil God Cults to manipulate — some even seek the cults out on their own."
"Take this kid, for example." Yuan Chenyang pointed at Su Chen, his tone half-joking, half-serious. "I can't read what's going on in his head. For all I know, he might dream of razing Nanfeng City to the ground someday."
"I'm not a lunatic," Su Chen shook his head.
"I'm just saying..." Yuan Chenyang brushed past the topic as if it were nothing. "History has taught hard lessons. If you don't cultivate them from childhood, six or seven out of ten adults end up going wrong."
"Even if they fast-tracked him based on his Red Gold talent, the Adjudication Court would never let him hold any critical positions in the future."
Su Chen understood this phenomenon. Refugees had their own group peculiarities. Having survived harsh lives from a young age, most lacked parental bonds, and their worldview was already set.
Investing halfway through was a poor return on investment.
If he hadn't offered a peak 1st-tier class to Yuan Chenyang, it was anyone's guess whether the man would have shown this much enthusiasm.
"Unfortunately, his records are already filed at Nanfeng Academy. Any changes would have to go through Zhang Hongbo."
Yuan Chenyang's expression shifted through several emotions. "To change them this year, we'd need someone powerful enough to override Zhang Hongbo — someone who could rewrite the records from the root and eliminate any future problems."
"But to contact Yingfeng, you have to go through Zhang Hongbo. And the envoy they sent this time isn't our teacher."
Due to the fog's interference, long-distance communication and travel came at a steep cost.
"Hmm, there's still a chance..." Yuan Chenyang clapped his hands together, struck by a sudden thought. "The Ruins!"
"The Ruins should be equipped with high-grade communication devices. Once the rotation shifts us out there, I can use them to contact our teacher and get him to come in person."
"Let's see Zhang Hongbo try anything then."
The lengthy delay after their return hadn't been entirely because of Su Chen — the Ruins were the bigger reason.
The suspicion surrounding Zhou Xian meant he couldn't be taken outside the city, so Zhang Hongbo had kept both Zhou Xian and Yuan Chenyang behind while he himself took the City Patrol Department head to inspect the Ruins.
But they couldn't stay out there indefinitely. Eventually, there would be a rotation.
"Teacher, there's no rush. At worst, we wait a year. Stability is more important — there's no such thing as wasted time," Su Chen reassured him.
He had the panel. A steady, methodical approach was the winning strategy. One year was nothing.
Yuan Chenyang paused, looked at Su Chen, and let out a rueful chuckle. "I can't believe you're calmer about this than I am. You're right — there's no need to rush."
Inwardly, his satisfaction grew.
"This must stay secret. Your Brilliant Silver physical talent can leak — that's fine. But your Red Gold mental talent must remain absolutely confidential." His expression turned grave as he emphasized the point once more. "I won't lie to you — there may be a serious problem lurking in this city."
"Black Buddha cultists have infiltrated the City Patrol. The cockroaches are everywhere in Nanfeng City, and high-level mental talent is exactly what the Evil Gods covet most."
Both Su Chen and Bai Fengxi nodded. Yuan Chenyang trusted them deeply — his emphatic warnings were merely a precaution against the unlikely.
"The best mental class I have on hand right now is just the Mystic Apprentice..." Yuan Chenyang mused.
"Teacher, I've already taken the Mystic Apprentice class," Su Chen interrupted.
Bai Fengxi's lips pressed together slightly. 'Su Chen... just how many secrets are you hiding?'
"Already?" Yuan Chenyang faltered briefly, but wasn't too surprised. "That explains why you asked for a meditation method."
"Got it. I'll find one of each for you." Yuan Chenyang began planning. "However, the 2nd-tier class data for Mystic Scholar is in the Research Department. The department head is Jiang He's father, so getting it won't be easy in the short term."
"If you're going to dual-cultivate, though, there might be one auxiliary class that's perfect for you."
Before he could finish, Yuan Chenyang was already rushing off in a whirlwind of energy.
Su Chen couldn't help but sigh. 'Having a backer feels incredible.'
"Hey, Bai..." Su Chen turned abruptly and found himself meeting Bai Fengxi's gaze head-on. "You're staring at me again."
Bai Fengxi rose to her feet as if nothing had happened and retreated to her room.
............
"If the skull were intact, there'd still be hope. But shattered like this? Resurrection is impossible."
In a sealed chamber, Zhou Xian's pupils were threaded with blood-red veins. Before him floated a black vertical eye, from which a halting voice emerged.
"Zhou Zong didn't just have the Saint Word Stone on him — he had a Spatial Crystal too. Things like that don't just vanish!" Zhou Xian looked haggard, noticeably thinner. "I should never have used Zhou Zong as a vessel!"
The voice from the vertical pupil was flat. "If Zhou Zong hadn't been the vessel, the suspicion on you would have been far greater."
"Yuan Chenyang!" Zhou Xian hissed through clenched teeth. "That old beast — I want him dead. And the little beast too!"
"Of course..." The voice from the black pupil remained dispassionate. "But I suggest you first find out every detail of what happened that day. Locate the Spatial Crystal."
............
[Void-Rending Warrior class development has reached 50%. Awakened class ability — Wind Armor: The power of gales, shielding my body.]
Su Chen relaxed from his peculiar training posture, feeling as though his entire body had been torn apart. A small pool of sweat had formed beneath him. He studied the new line of text on his panel.
'A new class ability...'
Nearly ten days had passed since his return from beyond the city, and Void-Rending Warrior's development had reached 50%.
He took a breath, and with a flicker of intent, the air in the room stirred on its own. Currents converged around him, forming a ceaselessly swirling blue-green barrier over the surface of his body.
'This should be enough to stop small-caliber firearms.' Su Chen prodded the barrier experimentally. It was surprisingly solid.
'So this is what a peak-tier class feels like — speed, strength, and defense, all covered...' He marveled at it.
The Strongman specialized purely in raw power. Even the Swift Sky Walker leaned toward speed with a touch of strength, but offered no defense. Void-Rending Warrior was comprehensive.
'According to the records, the next ability awakening is a critical milestone. As the body's baseline rises, development efficiency drops significantly.'
'Maybe switching tempering methods will help — constant fresh stimulation to forge the body.'
Su Chen opened his panel. A new body-tempering method had arrived two days ago, handpicked by Yuan Chenyang.
[Body Sharpening Forging Method — Proficiency: 2%]
[Hellfire Meditation Method — Proficiency: 6%]
Both were F-grade. F-grade was the ceiling for what a 1st-tier professional could train with, and even the overwhelming majority of 2nd-tier professionals used F-grade methods. Anything higher was exceedingly rare.
Mystic Artificer's development had finally advanced too, reaching 10%.
Some credit went to the Rejuvenation Potions — he'd nearly exhausted Bai Fengxi's entire stockpile.
As for the auxiliary class Yuan Chenyang had mentioned, the paperwork was still being processed.
He took a swig of the Blood-Activating Potion he'd "borrowed" from Bai Fengxi. Sure enough, its effect had weakened considerably — the stimulating impact was drastically reduced.
'No wonder the back half of class development requires supplementary Black Flame Potions.' He pondered silently.
Beep-beep—
His Spiritual Comlink chimed. He opened it to find a message from Old Yuan:
"The paperwork's done. Your file has been sealed — no one can access it. Report to the Supervision Department. I've arranged everything; it's just a formality. I'll also hand over the Gale Hunter data."
"On it." Su Chen replied.
Nanfeng Academy only held 1st-tier class data. Nearly all 2nd-tier information was stored within Nanfeng City's major institutions.