Su Zhan walked slowly along the main road paved with bluestone slabs.
Lush trees lined both sides of the path.
He passed through the central square.
The towering Vermilion Bird sculpture bathed in the morning light, wings spread as if about to take flight, symbolizing the academy's will and glory.
Many students were practicing morning exercises or sparring on the square, with flashes of spiritual energy collisions and shouts rising and falling, filled with youthful vitality.
Su Zhan only glanced from afar before continuing on his way.
He passed through a teaching area.
Through the bright windows, he could see students attending classes inside, with the lecturer's voice faintly audible, teaching about Life Soul applications.
There was a ti when he had been one of them, eagerly absorbing knowledge like a thirsty man drinking water.
But now, all of this felt so distant.
Su Zhan walked onto the rainbow bridge connecting different mountain peaks, with a babbling stream flowing beneath the bridge.
Standing on the bridge, he could overlook part of the academy's scenery.
In the distance was the egg-shaped comprehensive training hall, and further away on the mountainside, the faintly visible dormitory area.
Su Zhan wandered to the relatively remote garden area of the academy.
This place was rarely visited by people, with denser vegetation.
The surveillance here seed sparser...
Su Zhan stopped by a secluded Mirror Lake.
The lake water was clear as a mirror, reflecting the blue sky, white clouds, and distant mountains, peaceful and beautiful.
Standing by the lake, he looked at his own reflection in the water.
It was a young face that didn't match his age.
The academy's grandeur, advancent, and power only highlighted his own insignificance and powerlessness at this mont.
Trying to disappear without a trace from such a place was more difficult than he could imagine.
Su Zhan looked at his reflection in the water, then neatly took off his upper garnt, revealing his well-muscled upper body.
With a leap, he plunged into the clear, cold lake water with a splash!
The lake water instantly enveloped him, bringing a piercing chill.
Su Zhan swam freely in the lake, his arms cutting through the water, splashing waves.
It seed he wanted to wash away all the depression.
After swimming for ten minutes.
Su Zhan took a deep breath and dove down, his figure completely disappearing beneath the shimring ripples.
The lake surface only left behind expanding circles of ripples.
Ti passed minute by minute.
The lake surface gradually returned to calm.
After about a minute.
Qin Bai, hidden in the distant tree shade, couldn't sit still any longer.
The prolonged silence made a strong unease rise in his heart.
"Damn!"
He cursed under his breath.
Instantly appearing at the lakeside where Su Zhan had entered the water.
He extended his spiritual sense into the lake bottom, urgently scanning every inch of the water.
However, the feedback from his spiritual sense made his heart sink heavily.
No one there!
Besides aquatic plants, gravel, and so ordinary swimming fish, there was no trace of Su Zhan at the lake bottom.
Qin Bai's expression changed instantly, a trace of panic uncontrollably creeping into his heart.
How could soone disappear right under his nose!?
Did this kid have so hidden trump card?
Or was there an undercurrent or secret passage in this lake?
Impossible! Su Zhan must still be nearby!
Just as Qin Bai was about to jump into the lake for a thorough search.
A sowhat teasing voice lazily sounded from the opposite shore:
"Commander Qin, looking for ?"
Qin Bai's body stiffened abruptly, whirling around.
On the opposite shore.
Su Zhan stood with his hair dripping wet, a faint smile on his face, looking at him.
As it turned out.
Su Zhan had swum underwater for a distance, using the visual blind spots at the lake bottom and his excellent swimming skills to quietly circle to the opposite shore.
And when Qin Bai's attention was completely focused on the lake center, he had quietly surfaced.
Qin Bai's expression froze.
He had actually been fooled by such a kid.
Only then did Qin Bai realize that due to excessive tension and preconceived judgnts, he hadn't even noticed the sounds of Su Zhan surfacing for air or coming ashore.
He had been too concerned about losing his target, leading to this oversight.
Su Zhan just smiled, slowly walked to his side, picked up his upper garnt from the shore, wrung out the water from the clothes, and unhurriedly walked back in the direction he ca from.
"Kids showing off."
Qin Bai's voice was flat and unemotional, yet carried a bone-chilling coldness, "Had enough fun? I think your Teacher Wang has probably told you everything.
Seven days, cherish your final ti."
Su Zhan's movents didn't pause in the slightest, thodically straightening his clothes, smoothing back his wet hair.
From beginning to end, he gave Qin Bai no response whatsoever.
This disregard.
Made Qin Bai feel an unpleasant sense of being looked down upon.
He stared at Su Zhan's gradually receding back, his eyes gloomy and cold.
"Let's see how long you can remain calm."
...
Su Zhan's act of jumping into the lake was only to confirm that Qin Bai had been following him all along.
The result was obvious.
He had been following him all along, and probably still was now.
Too dedicated.
Moreover, that lake was a dead lake with no other exits whatsoever.
And he still had to avoid the surveillance along the way.
With all these factors combined, escape was impossible.
Qin Bai's strength far exceeded his and Wang Mingyuan's.
His vigilance and professional abilities were extrely strong, making it almost impossible to disappear under the comprehensive surveillance of such an opponent.
Ti, only less than seven days remained.
"I must have a perfect, unexpected thod that no one anticipates..."
Su Zhan's brain operated at an unprecedented speed, countless ideas rising and being rejected.
He needed an opportunity.
An opportunity that could reasonably divert Qin Bai's attention, or make him misjudge the situation.
This required precise calculation, understanding of Qin Bai's psychology, and a bit of... luck.
Su Zhan forced himself to calm down.
Anxiety and panic wouldn't solve any problems.
Returning to the dormitory building.
He stepped inside.
...
The next day.
During breakfast.
Wang Mingyuan happened to appear in the cafeteria.
Carrying his tray, he naturally sat at Su Zhan's table, casually chatting with Feng Jue and the others about the academy's daily arrangents.
Then as if casually ntioning: "I heard the border area has beco unstable again recently, with increased frequency and intensity of mist activity. Several outposts are under great pressure.
Dean Ye departed urgently early this morning, rushing back to the border garrison. They need her presence there."
Waves of turmoil rose in Su Zhan's heart.
Dean Ye Hongyu had left.
This ant that the highest-ranking person in the academy was temporarily absent.
Dean Ye had clearly stated she couldn't provide help.
But her re presence itself was an invisible constraint.
Now even this layer of constraint had disappeared, and Qin Bai's actions would likely beco even more unrestrained.
After speaking, Wang Mingyuan continued eating as if nothing had happened.
Su Zhan lowered his head, silently chewing his food, while his mind was in complete turmoil.
The urgency of ti, along with changes in the external environnt,
Forced him to make decisions more quickly.
Dean Ye's departure was a crisis, but it could also be... a variable.
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