ASER - Chapter 97
Chapter 97: Brutal
After the call ended, the three of them didn't think investigating Chen A'Diao would be too difficult, just a bit dissatisfied.
"It's just a Cui Liang. There are so many young talents in Kyoto, why does Second Miss Baili value him so much?"
"Indeed, that Cui Liang is passable in Danzhou, but what does he count for in Kyoto? He didn't even make it into the top hundred freshmen at Kyoto University. Second Miss Baili, after all, is…"
"What do you all understand."
One of them said casually: "Second Miss Baili wants a plaything, not a real partner. A plaything can be played with however she wants, making him bow and scrape like a dog. But peerless geniuses of similar caliber, even without a prominent background, have their own pride and confidence. Second Miss Baili might not be able to handle them. So, naturally, this Cui Liang is more fun to play with."
The others: "Since he's a plaything, if he's dead, he's dead. Why make such a big fuss."
The Song and Chen families weren't pushovers now either. Although the gap with the Baili Family is huge, families ultimately consider the pros and cons. Acting recklessly and wantonly without reason will lead to ruin sooner or later.
"It's probably because she feels she's lost face. That Cui Liang could die in a duel, or die from her toying with him, but he can't die in this small place, and not in this manner—because everyone knows Cui Liang is associated with her name. Killing Cui Liang is tantamount to damaging her reputation."
That made sense. The three of them figured it out. In any case, that Chen A'Diao was just a little girl; investigating her would be simple enough.
This investigation…
The next day in Lingcheng, the three reported back to the Baili Family's Second Miss Baili.
Far away in Kyoto, at the Thousand-Acre Villa, spiritual energy was abundant. Waterside pavilions and lakes surrounded gazebos, and sprawling forests formed their own little world. In the morning light, on the vast flatlands, beasts were hunted in battle, and the imposing aura of disciples cultivating was unceasing.
Within the villa, the spiritual energy in the immensely large spirit-gathering arrays was visible to the naked eye, manifesting as coiling pythons. And these were just the external spirit-gathering arrays. What about the Small Spirit Gate cultivation grounds?
Unimaginable.
The heritage of a prominent family was fully displayed here.
And among these disciples, the noble Baili Xianyun, currently in her pajamas, had just finished cultivating. After bathing, her stunning beauty was like a thorny rose, nurtured by blood, exquisite and delicate. She unhurriedly had her optical computer connect the call and play the voice message.
"Second Miss Baili, the results are in. That Chen A'Diao was indeed targeted for assassination by Cui Yong that day. But she was cunning, arranged several decoys, and managed to escape like a cicada shedding its shell. She went to Quxian County to collect her relative's ashes. The vehicle registration office has evidence, and the authorities have also investigated this matter, confirmed the results, and even notified Chen Ran. We don't know how Chen Ran will react."
Baili Xianyun frowned upon hearing this and said flatly: "Dispose of her."
Her tone was very casual.
As if shooing away cats or dogs.
"Second Miss Baili, I'm afraid that won't do. The repercussions would be significant, not worth the cost."
"Then let it be a loss."
"…"
The three experts were helpless. One of them had to contact the family. Soon, the family's response came—go check on Chen A'Diao's situation and assess it.
It was true that the family doted on and valued Second Miss Baili, but not to the extent of being muddle-headed and reckless.
Meaning, they would consider just how great the loss of interest would be in this 'not worth the cost' scenario.
"I'll go to the Chen family and take a look."
As a result, upon arriving at the Chen family…
She was long gone, having left for the academy yesterday.
Because she had classes today. Calculating the time, it was Qu Jiangnan's class today.
This woman was no pushover.
After discussing, the three unanimously decided to return to Kyoto.
Just a little girl, not worth the risk.
At Shanzhu Ju in the academy, A'Diao had returned before dawn yesterday, even before the chickens were up. The Small Spirit Gate at home accumulated spiritual energy daily, so there was no fear of depletion, but A'Diao's return to the academy was purely out of caution.
According to her worst-case scenario, even if she filled in all the details to leave no loopholes, the premise was that she was already playing dumb to avoid suspicion. The disadvantage of playing dumb was that if that noble lady took the route of a foolish, savage, and vicious villain from a storybook, insisting on treating her like a pig to be slaughtered at will, then she would have to quickly find a backer to make the other party dare not slaughter her so casually.
She had to return to Jinling Academy.
But returning directly would seem too deliberate. So A'Diao compromised, first returning to the Chen family, then returning to the academy using the excuse of needing to attend classes just in time.
Things in Jinxiang Area were almost wrapped up. It was said there was a Medium Spirit Gate beneath the catacombs, and participants were being rewarded based on merit. Tuoba and the others hadn't returned yet; they were still finishing up in Jinxiang Area. However, early in the morning, they heard from other classmates that Chen A'Diao was attending classes today.
How to put it? After several days of fighting and obtaining a large amount of resources, everyone's ego had inflated, and they even felt confident enough to compare themselves to Chen A'Diao.
Classes? What's the use of classes? Are they as effective as actual combat? Besides, they had abundant resources and had also befriended many wilderness cultivators.
The benefits were too great.
She must be very frustrated. Her cultivation progress these past few days definitely hasn't been as great as ours.
But no matter how inflated their egos were, none of them, including Zhongchuan Mingxiu, dared to step forward and challenge A'Diao to a battle.
They had matured. They were adults now, and had learned to deal with enemies in a mature way.
Alright, mainly because they were afraid of being rebuked.
Other students in Class 1 of Jinling Academy observed that Chen A'Diao seemed listless and pale. It was unclear whether they thought she was now at a disadvantage, or if this 'battle-worn' look enhanced her appearance, but many clearly felt—had Chen A'Diao grown taller and prettier? She was becoming fairer, with an increasingly refined charm. Coupled with her unique features and temperament, she was quite eye-catching.
It had only been two months in total. Was the change so obvious compared to when she first enrolled? She looked quite… attractive?
Good heavens, has my brain gone haywire?
To actually have such a thought?!!1
During mealtime in the cafeteria, everyone's appetite had increased significantly, while Chen A'Diao, for a change, had a poor appetite and left directly.
As soon as she left, many people started whispering.
What happened to her?
Chen A'Diao actually didn't eat three bowls of rice? Is the sky falling?
This news later reached Jinxiang Area. Bai He and the others became thoughtful… A strong notion arose: She's failing, is it our turn to rise?
Suddenly!
Ding dong, a message arrived in the class group chat.
Just as everyone in Jinxiang Area was eating their boxed meals, they casually glanced at it, and a mouthful of rice got stuck in their throats.
A'Diao: "While my classmates were fighting day and night in Jinxiang Area, I could only face the most painful event of my life alone. An inexplicable, bone-deep loneliness overcame me, so I went to the Clearance Points Tower. Facing death, I realized that all pain is temporary, and one must look forward. So… I passed the third level."
"Are you all happy? "
She casually @mentioned everyone, especially @mentioning Tuoba twice, and added, "I'm finally shoulder to shoulder with you. I no longer have to humbly gaze at your imposing figure from afar. As they say, a good match, an opportunity not to be missed. You must be secretly happy right now, right?"
It was hard to tell if she was playing out a love-struck drama or a sarcastic villain arc from a power-struggle novel.
Am I being targeted by her to vigorously attack my state of mind? She must be doing it on purpose, just to make my mental state collapse so she can win without a fight.
Truly a shameless green tea demoness causing trouble!!
No, I absolutely cannot yield!
From Tuoba +18888! (However, his Mental Power still exploded)
From…
Perhaps Tuoba and the others reacted too strongly, attracting the attention of some cultivators nearby. When asked, most people were evasive and unwilling to talk, but Tian Zhongye, with his big mouth, directly chuckled and boasted about how amazing his captain was, passing the third level and so on.
Many cultivators outwardly looked down on the academy, but secretly, they were envious, jealous, and hateful, and naturally, they knew about the Clearance Points Tower.
Yang Xinling: "Wow, so amazing! How many people in your class have passed the third level now?"
Tian Zhongye: "Her plus Tuoba, so only two."
Yang Xinling 'wow'ed again and cheered: "Truly amazing! Worthy of being second… no, wait, so they're both at the third level now, right? There's no first or second anymore?"
Tian Zhongye: "That's right!"
From Tuoba +14444!
Look at my face, a shoehorn face.
After Ying Da coughed, Yang Xinling realized something, glanced at the others' expressions, and quickly tried to remedy the situation: "It's alright, you don't need to be sad. Anyway, you were originally ranked behind her, so it's expected that you're not as good as her."
From…
Just as a huge wave of Mental Power erupted, someone's phone, with the group chat still open, suddenly replayed the voice message A'Diao had just sent.
"But there's nothing to be happy about just passing the third level. You all are still in Jinxiang Area, and I don't know how things are. I couldn't sleep all last night, always worried you might get hurt. At this moment, I finally realize my heart has feelings; it can ache, it can grieve… And those brave wilderness cultivators, they are truly admirable. I hope you are all well. If you are well, it is a sunny day for me. If you are not well, I wish to transform into a butterfly with the wind and linger with you tenderly."
Holy crap!!
Your black heart can actually ache? That's terrifying!
Tuoba and the others all turned off their phones in unison.
Their actions were perfectly synchronized, but they couldn't eat anymore.
Only Song Ling and a few others calmly ate their boxed meals, already used to it.
Many cultivators were nearby. Hearing this gentle, delicate, and deeply affectionate voice message, they were instantly moved. After asking around, everyone found out. Praise and favorable impressions spread like a plague. No one remembered any other students anymore, while the students of Class 01 were filled with resentment.
Damn A'Diao!
But the Mental Power belonging to damn A'Diao surged wildly.
In the Principal's office, after seeing the group administrator send another gossipy message, the Principal accessed the Clearance Points Tower's system to check. She had passed the third level long ago. This time, she was actually challenging the fourth level, wasn't she?
Still fighting. It was unknown if she could pass, but even if she could, she would probably only deliberately show her third-level results.
Taking one cautious step at a time.
But if she really could pass, then her rate of progress would be terrifying, stronger than Tuoba.
The Principal got up to make coffee. After the coffee was ready, he learned the result even faster than the administrator.
Fourth level… failed.
She came out.
But having been inside for so long, she was probably close to clearing it.
The Principal wasn't disappointed; on the contrary, he was quite optimistic about her. At least his expectations had risen somewhat compared to before: because he knew very well that there was a reason why this Chen A'Diao had missed the Jinxiang Area opportunity this time.
Collecting a relative's remains—this was an unforeseen loss, but also understandable. She just needed to continue working hard.
However…
The Principal suddenly frowned. The coffee cup he had raised didn't touch his lips. He turned his head to look out the window, towards the location of the Clearance Points Tower.
An expert had entered the academy and was approaching Chen A'Diao, who was just coming out of the Clearance Points Tower.
When A'Diao came out of the Clearance Points Tower, she was chatting with Sparrow.
Sparrow: "You didn't even pass the fourth level this time. It seems you don't even trust the Principal."
It estimated that this person could even beat the sixth level, but she didn't, precisely because she had to deal with the current threat from Kyoto.
A'Diao: "I'm just afraid that if the noble lady from Kyoto really loses her mind and insists on coming after me, then even if this family's expert doesn't kill me directly at Jinling Academy, they might try to make a deal with the Principal, for example, to determine through him whether I'm hiding my strength to make those plans."
She wasn't sure if the Principal would make a deal with the other party; after all, they were a powerful family from Kyoto. Rather than letting the Principal also be unsure of her strength and then personally test her, it was better for her to go to the Clearance Points Tower herself and create some data for him to use in his reply.
But… she still felt a little uneasy.
She always felt something was wrong.
Suddenly, just as A'Diao finished saying the above to Sparrow, her gaze swept casually, and her pupils suddenly trembled slightly. She took a large sip from the milk tea straw in her hand, walked a couple of steps, and sat down on a bench around the square. Using the 'ding dong' of messages on her phone, she once again engaged in 'green tea talk' in the group chat to provoke her classmates, but in her heart, there was only one thought: Damn it, what noble lady from this family has really lost her mind, arranging for an A-rank to lie in wait for me in the bamboo forest a hundred meters away? What does this mean!
Assassinate me? This is too brutal and wild!
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
Comments
Post a Comment