Chapter 12 – I Just Want to Be a Minor Character

Demon Hunter Academy, Male Dormitory.

Night had fallen, but the noise and liveliness in the male dormitory showed no signs of subsiding.

“Su Ming! Come out!”

“You have the guts to spread rumors with Xu Qianqian, but not the guts to open the door?”

“Open up, let us admire your remains… I mean, admire your honorable face!”

“Don’t be scared! We just want to have a chat with you!”

“Yeah! Just a chat!” (This was accompanied by the sound of swords being sharpened.)

Outside Su Ming’s dormitory door, such shouts came one after another, and the door was being pounded so hard it nearly shattered.

Lei Hao and Ye Bai, who were barricading the door, trembled with fear.

“Damn! These guys really won’t give up, huh?”

“If damaging dormitory property didn’t come with penalties, this flimsy door would’ve been torn down by those muscleheads by now, right?”

By this point, even Lei Hao and Ye Bai were starting to shiver.

“……”

Su Ming hid under his blanket, listening to the relentless banging from the door direction, his composure long gone.

“For fuck’s sake…”

He wanted to curse but found he no longer had the energy.

Especially since his two so-called friends in the dorm were still making sarcastic remarks.

“Hey, Su Ming, why don’t you just go out and accept your punishment? Otherwise, none of us will get any sleep tonight.”

Lei Hao gloomily suggested to Su Ming.

“Piss off!”

Su Ming enunciated the word clearly and sharply.

Ye Bai, however, spoke up for Su Ming.

“If he goes out now, it won’t be for a game of stacking anymore—he’ll genuinely get tied up and face swordplay, right?” Ye Bai retorted. “We can’t sell out our brother to that extent, Young Master Lei!”

Though the tone sounded chivalrous and righteous, the content made Su Ming want to punch someone.

Moreover, Su Ming suspected that the only reason this guy was defending him was that he hadn’t given up on his scheme to make Su Ming deliver a letter for him.

If it weren’t for the fact that when Su Ming was surrounded by burly men, pressed shoulder-to-shoulder, this guy had diverted the roughnecks’ attention, allowing Su Ming to escape and hide in the dormitory, avoiding unimaginable consequences, Su Ming would have put the slender, flexible steel sword he’d secretly hidden to use.

For that reason, he’d let it slide for now.

Yeah, for now…

Ye Bai, who was wholeheartedly blocking the door, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

As for Lei Hao, his attitude while barricading the door seemed somewhat casual.

No helping it.

“Who told you to flirt with our goddess?”

Lei Hao wore an indignant expression.

“Who flirted with her?” Su Ming retorted through gritted teeth. “I’d rather stay as far away from her as possible!”

“Then give me the note.” Lei Hao’s eyes shifted, and he suddenly said, “I’ll go to the meeting in your place, how about that?”

“Take it.” Su Ming tossed the note to Lei Hao without hesitation, even egging him on. “Go tonight, and I guarantee you’ll win the beauty.”

“I don’t believe a word of it!” Lei Hao caught the note but didn’t open it, instead cursing.

He was just talking nonsense—or maybe he did have such delusions but didn’t dare act on them.

After all, Xu Qianqian had invited Su Ming, not him, Lei Hao.

If he really went to the meeting, Xu Qianqian would probably give him the cold shoulder.Lei Hao obviously didn’t dare to provoke Xu Qianqian’s wrath.

He had no intention of joining the ranks of those brave souls who had been verbally demolished by Xu Qianqian.

“You should go to the appointment yourself,” Lei Hao reluctantly tossed the note back to Su Ming, sighing as if lamenting the decline of public morals. “For Senior Qianqian to seek out someone as inconspicuous as you in the Academy, it must be something important. I really don’t know what she sees in you.”

At this point, Lei Hao’s tone inevitably turned somewhat sour.

“Do you think I actually want this?”

Su Ming crawled out from under his blankets, sighing dejectedly.

He had always just wanted to be an extra, and had been doing perfectly fine until now—why was he suddenly facing such troublesome matters?

Could this be a trial imposed on me by the World Will?

Was it unwilling to watch me effortlessly achieve peerless prowess while lying low until invincible, and thus deliberately creating obstacles?

It must be!

“Damn heavens, don’t forget—the so-called protagonist is someone ruthless enough to defy even the World Will!”

In a foul mood, Su Ming looked down at the note in his hand.

He needed to carefully consider whether he should accept Xu Qianqian’s invitation.

Under normal circumstances, Su Ming would definitely not go.

You, Xu Qianqian, issue an invitation and expect me to just show up?

What gives?

We haven’t even settled our grudges yet, and you want me to be nice to you?

Are you dreaming!

I, Su Ming, love saying no when people make demands from their high horses with absolute confidence!

But while Su Ming could ignore Xu Qianqian’s charm, he couldn’t disregard her influence.

“I’ve had my eyes on you for a long time.”

That was exactly what Xu Qianqian had said at the time.

Su Ming felt he absolutely needed to understand what those words meant.

The commotion today had certainly angered him, but it was ultimately just gossip—it wouldn’t affect his plan to secretly develop his skills and become the Sword God of Shili Slope.

Just because he’d had some contact with the campus goddess and sparked some rumors, would the Academy and Base City suddenly send Su Ming on dangerous missions to fight Phantom Demons?

Definitely not.

As long as his true strength remained hidden, neither the Academy nor Base City would push him into the spotlight—at most, he’d become entertainment material for others.

So while this incident had caused him some personal inconvenience, it didn’t really interfere with his plans, just added some minor troubles.

But Xu Qianqian’s statement was something Su Ming couldn’t ignore.

“Has that crazy woman really been watching me for a long time?”

If true, why would she be paying attention to him?

Had he exposed himself somewhere? Or had she discovered something?

If that were the case, Su Ming would have to confront Xu Qianqian face-to-face.

Not for any other reason—just to eliminate potential risks.

“If that crazy woman reveals my strength to the Academy or Base City leadership, that would truly jeopardize my plans.”

Especially considering Xu Qianqian’s exceptionally prominent status.

As mentioned earlier, so-called Hunters are actually humans who have acquired Phantom Demon Power.Since Phantom Demons are creatures that feed on blood, for them, blood is the source of power. Therefore, if one obtains the blood essence of a Phantom Demon and refines it into a Phantom Demon Potion, the person who consumes it has a certain probability of inheriting that Phantom Demon’s bloodline, becoming a Hunter who gains Phantom Demon Power.

Although factors like post-consumption adaptation and success rates must be considered, this remains the only path for ordinary people who cannot awaken a Spirit Constitution and become Sorcerers to obtain supernatural abilities.

Moreover, bloodlines are entirely hereditary.

In other words, the descendants of Hunters will inherit their ancestors’ bloodlines, naturally possessing Phantom Demon Power from birth.

Thanks to this, there are actually many Hunter Families in this world.

Why do Su Ming and Ye Bai occasionally refer to Lei Hao as “Young Master”?

Because Lei Hao is a Hunter who inherited his ancestors’ bloodline and was born with Phantom Demon Power.

Of course, judging by Lei Hao’s mediocre academic performance—enough to make him an extra—his bloodline isn’t particularly remarkable.

While bloodlines are indeed hereditary, they can become diluted or even completely disappear over generations, which is hardly surprising.

Lei Hao’s family is a minor clan with a relatively thin Hunter bloodline. Even the ancestral founder who consumed the Phantom Demon Potion didn’t possess an Advanced bloodline, so it’s natural for it to diminish over generations.

But Xu Qianqian is different.

Xu Qianqian also comes from a Hunter Family, but her family is incomparably stronger than Lei Hao’s.

It’s said that for generations, Xu Qianqian’s family has only married powerful Hunters with Hunter bloodlines, maintaining their bloodline this way and preventing it from diluting.

There are many Hunter Families like Xu Qianqian’s, and they generally place extreme importance on bloodlines, going to great lengths to prevent their bloodline from weakening—even resorting to consanguineous marriages if necessary.

This is why rumors circulate in the Academy that Xu Qianqian is already betrothed, arranged by her family for a political marriage.

Under such circumstances, while expanding their lineage, Xu Qianqian’s family continuously maintains their bloodline and amplifies their influence in human society, eventually becoming one of the strongest Hunter Families in Longyao City.

Even in other Base Cities, few are unaware of the Xu Family of Longyao City.

The Xu Family possesses numerous powerful Hunters, with members holding positions in the upper echelons of the Base City. While not dominating half of Longyao City, their words and actions significantly influence the city’s policies and directives.

Moreover, Xu Qianqian’s father is the second son of the current Family Head of the Xu Family in Longyao City.

In other words, Xu Qianqian’s grandfather is the primary leader of the Xu Family, and her father holds a position in the Base City’s upper ranks, making him one of the highest-status figures in the entire Longyao Base City.

This is why Xu Qianqian is consistently described as coming from a noble lineage, possessing an esteemed bloodline, and being regarded as a future supernova of Longyao City.

Even if her abilities were lacking, her influence would still be considerable—let alone the fact that her strength is far from weak.

If Xu Qianqian were to truly expose Su Ming’s capabilities, both the Academy and the Base City’s upper echelons would inevitably take notice.

Should that happen, it would become a truly major complication.”Putting aside everything else, I must thoroughly investigate how Xu Qianqian came to notice and pay attention to me.”

Under these circumstances, Su Ming had no choice but to attend the appointment.

Of course, Su Ming was well aware that Xu Qianqian must have some purpose for suddenly showing up at his door to invite him.

She mentioned that night’s incident, suggesting she intended to take some action regarding what happened that evening.

“What exactly is she planning?”

Su Ming couldn’t quite figure out Xu Qianqian’s intentions.

This person originally existed in a completely different world from Su Ming, and they had never had any interaction before this. Naturally, Su Ming couldn’t guess what Xu Qianqian was thinking.

“Never mind.”

Su Ming unfolded the note.

“Let me see what you’re really planning to do.”

(End of Chapter)