"Need something else?" Bai Fengxi asked, puzzled, as she came downstairs and ran right into Su Chen, who had turned back.
"I need to borrow some money…" Su Chen was a little embarrassed.
Bai Fengxi's brow furrowed slightly. "You're so capable. Didn't Jiang He give you any money?"
'That "capable" is a bit ambiguous,' Su Chen thought. He kept his reply simple and direct: "Not enough."
"Uh, I don't have much on me either." Feeling a sharp pain in her shoulder, Bai Fengxi found her trust in Su Chen had nonetheless increased quite a bit.
She fumbled for a small, pale green cloth pouch. "I've only got twenty or thirty on me…"
"I'll take it all," Su Chen said, holding out his hand.
Bai Fengxi looked up at him. 'When I dealt with him before, this guy wasn't so shameless, was he?'
"I'll pay you back." Su Chen took it smoothly and turned to leave.
'Plus what the victim gave me last time, I can scrape together seventy or eighty…' Su Chen looked down and sent a message to Wei Zhigao.
"I want to buy a Blood Circulation Potion."
Wei Zhigao responded quickly—"500 Gold Coins."
"I only have 70…"
"…500 is the discounted price."
Su Chen thought of a compromise. "How about this? I'll forfeit this week's Nutrient Liquid, and next week's too. Can you give me another discount?"
Normally, proficiency in the Molten Stone Refining Technique increased slowly. To meet the promotion requirements as quickly as possible, he had to rely on external aids.
After a long pause, Wei Zhigao finally replied. "…This one time only. I'll have someone send it to you."
"Old Wei really has the demeanor of a true teacher," Su Chen remarked with a sigh.
Not long after he returned to his dorm, the person Wei Zhigao sent arrived in a hurry. It was a member of the school's Ministry of Internal Affairs. The person was curt and businesslike—an exchange of money for goods.
The person counted the Gold Coins, gave Su Chen a speechless look, and left.
Downing the Blood Circulation Potion in one gulp, Su Chen felt his body swell as he began to push himself through a grueling training session.
The progress of his [Molten Stone Refining Technique] slowly climbed. Spurred on by the Blood Circulation Potion and aided by [Scholar], it increased at a visible rate.
「Early the next morning」
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Su Chen's eyes snapped open. A slip of paper had been pushed under his door.
He opened the door and only caught a glimpse of a fleeting figure disappearing around the corner of the stairwell.
'A note?' Su Chen looked down at it. After closing the door, he wrapped his hand with the Shadow-avoiding Robe, held his breath, and carefully unfolded it. A line of small text was written on it—
"If you don't want Bai Fengxi's secret to be exposed, come find me behind the Bright Light Building."
???
Su Chen was stunned. 'Bai Fengxi's secret? Why threaten me instead of her?'
'Younger Brother Zhou, this has to be you.' Su Chen burned the note and continued his training.
'Since he's already resorting to threats, he must be the one who's anxious. I'm in no rush.'
'Besides, Old Bai doesn't seem to care much about this matter anyway.'
As it turned out, two hours later, there was another knock on the door. It was another note, this time with different words—
"We can talk. It wasn't easy for you to get this far. It's not worth throwing it all away for someone else."
'What a psycho…' Su Chen couldn't be bothered to respond.
Late in the afternoon, Su Chen's body began to tremble. His heart rate suddenly accelerated, and molten-gold patterns began to spread across the surface of his crimson skin. His sweat evaporated into a white mist, and the temperature in the entire room rose.
[Molten Stone Refining Technique—Skilled: 1%]
"Whoo, finally…" Su Chen let out a long breath. The increase in proficiency brought a noticeable change. The training intensity had risen sharply, which also meant his profession development efficiency had improved.
[Sky Splitter Warrior: 28%]
Su Chen clenched his fists, in high spirits.
The promotion requirements had been met, and the second ability of the [Sky Splitter Warrior] appeared.
[Wind Walk (Passive): Move with the wind. The faster the wind, the higher your movement speed.]
'Move with the wind?' Su Chen mulled over the words. He walked to the window and opened it. The moment the breeze brushed past his body, the feeling of almost being able to fly grew even stronger.
'I really want to just bolt out there…' Su Chen stared out the window, his legs itching to move.
...…
The artificial lights gradually turned a dull yellow and began to dim. Due to the recent special circumstances, few students were wandering the academy grounds after six in the evening.
「In the small grove behind the Bright Light Building.」
"Brother Zhou, that kid isn't coming out at all. We've already sent three notes." A few guys stood before Zhou Zhong with wry smiles. "He must have guessed there'd be trouble waiting for him here."
Zhou Zhong's expression shifted, and he said coldly, "That idiot Bai Fengxi. Su Chen doesn't care about her at all."
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but touch the item in his coat. It had been difficult to obtain, and he had originally planned to use it to get closer to Bai Fengxi. Instead, he had been told to "get lost" twice that morning.
"That kid really has his methods. First, he used Jiang He to get into Southwind Academy, and now he's hooked up with Bai Fengxi," one of the young men lamented. "Being handsome really does…"
Before he could finish, he felt Zhou Zhong's murderous gaze and quickly shut his mouth.
"Maybe our message was too subtle," someone said, changing the subject. "Brother Zhou, should we add a little more spice?"
Zhou Zhong frowned and waved them away coldly. "All of you, leave."
The men exchanged glances and left. He couldn't be bothered to talk to them any further.
'A refugee. That identity is a huge potential weakness. As long as I have that, Bai Fengxi will always have a soft spot I can exploit,' Zhou Zhong murmured, his eyes glinting. His father was also one of the academy's vice principals and knew that Bai Fengxi's identity was far from simple.
His expression grew vicious. "Su Chen, I refuse to believe…"
Before he could finish, a familiar, sharp pain exploded at the back of his head. His vision went black, and he lost consciousness.
'Who was that?' In the distance, a pair of eyes narrowed instantly, staring intently at the target lying on the ground.
This was the target he had carefully selected. The man had a notable background, and the observer had already hidden the item on him, planning to make his escape today.
But late in the afternoon, this guy had snuck into this desolate area. A few Inspector Guards had even come over to ask questions, but he had driven them away.
He didn't know what the guy was planning, so to avoid any surprises, he could only follow from a distance.
But then, he saw someone knock the guy out from behind. A blurry silhouette gradually emerged from the shadows.
'Are my injuries that severe? I didn't even notice when they got close.' His expression turned ugly as he touched his chest, which throbbed with a dull pain.
"My dear younger brother…" Su Chen arrived as if riding the wind, staring down at Zhou Zhong on the ground. "Don't you dare disappoint me."
He hadn't originally planned on coming, but then he remembered the haul from his last robbery. Acting on the principle of 'might as well take a shot, whether I hit anything or not,' he came here.
[Sky Splitter Warrior] was truly impressive. His speed had increased two- or threefold, and when combined with the [Shadow-avoiding Robe], he could come and go without a trace.
But Su Chen still moved quickly, looting him with practiced ease.
"Hm?" He was quite surprised, looking at the four potion vials in his hand—two red, two blue.
He was very familiar with the red ones. Crimson like blood, they were Blood Circulation Potions.
'Radiance Potions? How did he get his hands on these?' Su Chen recalled that they were used to stimulate spiritual activity. They were even more expensive than Blood Circulation Potions, costing seven hundred Gold Coins a bottle even after a discount.
'I'll pocket them for now…' Su Chen stuffed the items into his coat.
He expertly stripped off the man's clothes. As he was bundling them up, however, something suddenly felt off.
'Why does it feel like these clothes…' Su Chen rubbed the clothes in his hands. As he was folding them, he had clearly felt that something was wrong.
He quickly found the source: there seemed to be something in a hidden layer of the clothing, near the right abdomen.
'Hidden this deep, it must be something good.' Su Chen's interest was piqued. He carefully tore it open and found a palm-sized, cicada-wing-thin… metal sheet?
It was smooth and warm to the touch, engraved with rows of complex symbols that were constantly shifting and changing. Just one glance made Su Chen feel dizzy.
But his panel reacted—
[Special Profession discovered—Space Storer. You can assume this profession after meeting the requirements.]
[Requirement 1: One Spatial Precipitation Crystal]
[Requirement 2: Pass through one Spatial Rift.]
[Requirement 3: Must be at least a Spiritual Side Tier Two Top Professional.]