On his way back, Su Chen turned things over in his head. 'Even with the Blood Oath, I'm still at a disadvantage against Jiang He.'
'If I could find a way out — or find a backer of my own — things would be a lot simpler... The elite training program...'
'If I revealed that I've already taken a class... no, there's too much I can't explain. It might just bring more trouble.'
Jiang He moved quickly. By the ti Su Chen reached the cafeteria, he found that his student ID already had funds loaded — a hundred gold coins.
Not a small sum. In Su Chen's old life, ten days of work earned him a single gold coin.
But it wasn't exactly generous, either. A single vial of concentrated nutrient fluid cost fifteen gold.
"That's ridiculously expensive... Bai Fengxi was actually pretty generous..." Su Chen wavered. Under high-intensity training, the stuff only kept his hunger at bay for a day or two.
'Oh well. The whole point was just to keep from starving.' Su Chen made up his mind without further hesitation. He paid at the counter, pocketed six vials, and headed straight back to the dorm.
He had no intention of attending classes. According to Nanfeng Academy's rules, becoming a professional was enough to qualify for early graduation — and by that standard, he was already graduate-level.
He drank a vial of nutrient fluid, then crushed the token Qi Chuan had given him.
After that, he launched straight into training — pushing himself to the brink, then switching to ntal developnt when his body gave out. He cranked the intensity to maximum and collapsed onto his bed, unwilling to twitch a muscle.
......
"He really does know sothing."
In a sumptuously furnished room, Qi Chuan examined the matching cracked card in his hand. A strange smile crossed his face.
"What's your plan? You're actually going to put him on the elite training roster?" A deep, resonant voice filled the room. Qi Chuan composed himself and turned to the imposing middle-aged man before him, giving a slight nod. "That would be giving him too much credit. He's just a bottom-rung refugee."
"My arrangents that day should have been flawless. Until I understand exactly what happened, I can't make further plans. Since he almost certainly knows sothing, the simplest and most direct approach is to grab him and force it out of him."
"He's inside the academy," the other man pointed out.
"In just over ten days, he'll have to leave the city." Qi Chuan smiled.
"Seems you've had this figured out for a while." The man nodded slowly, his voice growing weighty. "Get it done quickly. Nanfeng only gets one slot per year. There's half a year left before the deadline. I don't want any surprises."
"You have my word..." Qi Chuan hastened to say.
......
Three days flew by. Su Chen had crushed Qi Chuan's token long ago, yet the man had never co looking for him.
"Just four more breakthroughs and the Strongman loan is paid off..." Su Chen exhaled in relief and checked his panel.
[Strongman: 6%]
[Candlelight ntal Forging thod — Mastery: 25%]
The Scholar's ti requirent had shrunk to just one year. A few more days and he'd be able to take the special class.
'Less than ten days until I have to leave the city...' Su Chen counted the days. 'What's the deal with the creditor? Is he just going to leave alone, or...'
Knock! Knock! Knock!
A rapping at the door. Su Chen raised an eyebrow — what timing. Speak of the devil?
The face at the door looked vaguely familiar. Chin tilted slightly upward, decent-looking.
"Soone downstairs looking for ?" he ventured.
Zhou Zong frowned slightly and corrected him. "I'm here for you."
"You?" Su Chen was surprised. He studied the man more carefully. "Have we t sowhere before?"
Zhou Zong spoke evenly. "I've seen your file. Bottom-rung refugee. Stumbled your way into Jiang He's bed and got into Nanfeng Academy on luck alone."
"How long do you think Jiang He's novelty with you will last?"
"Oh — now I rember. You know Bai Fengxi, right?" It finally clicked for Su Chen.
Apparently not one of Qi Chuan's people, then. So what was this guy here for?
"Aren't you going to invite in?" Zhou Zong said mildly.
"The room's a ss. Say whatever you ca to say right here." Su Chen shook his head.
Zhou Zong looked displeased. "I'm here to give you an opportunity."
"What opportunity?" Su Chen eyed him.
"A real chance to change your fate." Zhou Zong smiled. "All you have to do is tell everything you know about Bai Fengxi..."
Slam!
The door swung shut in his face. Zhou Zong's smile froze. Faintly, from behind the door, he could hear: "...what kind of moron..."
Veins bulged at Zhou Zong's temples. His face went black.
'Soone's after Bai Fengxi?' Su Chen muttered to himself. 'Trying to court her, or plotting against her?'
'Forget it. I'll give her a heads-up next ti I run into her.'
Su Chen didn't dwell on it. He went back to mulling over the creditor situation while resuming his training.
By mid-afternoon, soone knocked on his door again — this ti it was Jiang He.
"Isn't this the n's dormitory?" Su Chen ushered her inside. She was in her signature sexy-teacher ensemble.
"Is there anyone here who wouldn't welco ?" Jiang He shot back. She scanned the room, then perched casually on the bed, legs crossed. "Has Qi Chuan contacted you?"
"Not yet." Su Chen shook his head.
"It's been three days already." Jiang He looked at Su Chen with suspicion.
"I crushed the token ages ago." Su Chen produced the card fragnts, still wrapped in tissue.
"A Wind-Signal Card..." Jiang He nodded, but puzzlent lingered. "If that's the case, why hasn't he co? Sothing holding him up?"
"No idea." Su Chen shrugged, extending his hand. "The thing I asked for."
Jiang He hesitated for a beat, then drew a slim booklet from her shoulder bag and handed it over. "F-grade training thod. It'll serve you well enough."
The Molten Stone Forging thod. The bold characters on the cover made Su Chen's pulse quicken.
Training thods were ranked by grade — F, E, and upward. Though F was the lowest, it was still designed for professionals.
Sothing like the Candlelight thod didn't even qualify for a rank.
"Wait for him to co to you." Jiang He was about to leave when Su Chen stopped her. "Load more money onto my account."
He said it without a shred of sha. Jiang He scowled. "You're actually getting addicted to mooching? I'll add another hundred. After that, figure it out yourself."
"Or..." A coquettish smile blood on her face. "You could beg ?"
"Please." Su Chen's expression didn't waver.
Jiang He's face stiffened. "You're no fun," she said coldly.
She didn't return to her office. Instead, braving the gazes that followed her every step, she left the academy and headed deeper into the city.
......
"Father..." Jiang He approached a white-haired elder, confusion in her voice. "Qi Chuan hasn't contacted Su Chen since that first ti. What do you make of it?"
The old man's face was etched with deep lines, but his eyes were sharp and spirited. They flickered briefly. "Hasn't contacted him?"
After a mont's silence, he let out an admiring chuckle. "Worthy of being my son-in-law. We wanted to fish for him, but he's the one fishing for us."
"What do you an?" Jiang He didn't follow.
"In Qi Chuan's eyes, what kind of person is Su Chen?" the elder asked in return.
Jiang He hesitated. The old man answered his own question: "A bottom-rung refugee. A lucky fool who stumbled into his wife's bed. Perhaps a little clever. That's all."
"For soone like that, if Qi Chuan wants to extract information, why would he bother putting the boy on the elite training list? Once he's confird the boy knows sothing, brute force is the simplest approach."
"Su Chen has to leave the city in ten days."
Jiang He mulled it over and paled slightly. "He planned this from the start. The initial approach was just him testing the waters."
"Then... then everything I gave Su Chen was for nothing."
The elder sighed. "Don't fixate on those trifles. The pressing issue is Su Chen leaving the city. There's no way to block it. Your Blood Oath Contract is still active. You have ten days — you need to advance to Mystic Scholar as quickly as possible."
Jiang He's face drained of color, but she countered: "Qi Chuan doesn't know Su Chen is already a Strongman."
The elder shook his head. "A first-tier Strongman is nothing. Knowing Qi Chuan, he'll have contingencies upon contingencies."
He paused, then added: "Still, this may not be without opportunity."
......
In his dorm room, Su Chen was poring over the Molten Stone Forging thod.
The technique wasn't overly complex — it used specialized thods to accelerate blood circulation, thereby stimulating the body's internal systems and achieving a tempering effect.
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