Chapter 206 – Did I Get the Protagonist's Script?

It took a while before Su Ming felt the soreness throughout his body begin to fade away. Even the magic power consumed by using the [Silver Arm] gradually recovered, allowing him to no longer lean against the corner, gasping for breath.

The female Hunters’ conditions had also improved significantly, proving that Su Ming’s efforts had not been in vain.

Even so, the way the women looked at Su Ming had changed. It was no longer just the respect they held for an Upper-Rank Professional; there was now a trace of fear and admiration for his power.

As members of a prominent Family, the female Hunters present were no strangers to Upper-Rank Professionals, nor had they never witnessed one in action.

However, among all the Upper-Rank Professionals they had encountered so far, they had never seen anyone capable of unleashing such astonishing power.

The force released by Su Ming’s [Silver Arm], with just that single strike, had nearly convinced them that the world was ending.

The exaggerated might, the earth-shattering destructive power—if they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed that a Hunter could wield such strength.

Rather than attributing it to a Move an Upper-Rank Hunter could unleash, they would sooner believe it was a Sorcerer unit concentrating fire with Spirit Arts for a bombardment, or an Upper-Rank Sorcerer employing an Advanced Spirit Art.

At the very least, in their understanding, Hunters were incapable of possessing such power. Only Sorcerers, through Spirit Arts, could deliver such awe-inspiring attacks. Hunters excelled in close-quarters combat, not in unleashing overwhelming force.

Yet Su Ming had shattered their perceptions.

Thus, the women were left with a sense of astonishment, a profound realization: “Ah, so Hunters can possess such power too.”

As a result, the way the female Hunters looked at Su Ming shifted, becoming akin to gazing up at a towering mountain.

This included both Bai Ruxiang and Wang Yihan.

Only Xu Yanyan, who had previously witnessed Su Ming using this power to repel Gao Xu and thwart their plot to harm Xu Qianqian, felt a complex mix of emotions.

Seeing this power again, Xu Yanyan remained deeply shaken and couldn’t help but feel even more envious.

“Why must such power belong to Xu Qianqian’s side and not ours?”

If she could possess such strength, why would she need to resort to underhanded schemes and murderous plots?

With this power, no matter which Family she belonged to, she would receive the utmost attention, wouldn’t she?

Then, her grandfather wouldn’t look away from her, her father wouldn’t be disappointed in her, and even with Xu Qianqian’s superior Bloodline talent, she wouldn’t be able to shake Xu Yanyan’s position.

Unfortunately, this power wasn’t hers, nor did it belong to her side. Instead, it was the possession of an opponent she had to surpass.

What a threat this was!

Every time Xu Yanyan thought about this, she felt an urge and restlessness to quickly devise a way to eliminate this hidden danger.

Of course, Xu Yanyan had no intention of harming Su Ming.

She had no desire to provoke the hostility of the Yun Family Estate.

If she moved against Su Ming and angered the Yun Family Estate, Xu Yongfeng’s faction would surely seize the opportunity to capitalize on the situation.

In that case, provoking the Yun Family Estate wouldn’t be about eliminating a future threat—it would be a loss outweighing any gain.

Xu Yanyan only wanted to deal with Xu Qianqian as quickly as possible.Only by eliminating Xu Qianqian would the Yun Family cease to intervene in the conflict between the two factions of the Xu Family.

Su Ming’s assistance was solely due to Xu Qianqian, or rather, his connection to the man who had enlisted the help of the Yun Family’s Young Miss.

If Xu Qianqian were dealt with, that man should no longer involve himself in the Xu Family’s internal strife, right?

As for whether the man would fly into a rage after Xu Qianqian’s elimination and have the Yun Family target her side, Xu Yanyan wasn’t particularly concerned.

Or rather, Xu Yanyan didn’t believe Yun Langyue would go to such lengths for a man who wanted to avenge another woman.

At this thought, Xu Yanyan couldn’t help but recall that man.

He was rather unremarkable, utterly ordinary—neither possessing any outstanding reputation nor any noteworthy potential. Even within the Demon Hunter Academy, he could only be described as barely passable.

Initially, Xu Yanyan had taken notice of him only because she’d heard he was unusually close to Xu Qianqian.

After learning more about him, Xu Yanyan had privately mocked Xu Qianqian on multiple occasions.

“Calling herself a genius, yet she’s taken a fancy to such an ordinary man. That’s all you’re worth.”

Clearly, Xu Yanyan held a very dim view of the relationship between Su Ming and Xu Qianqian.

If nothing else, given the Xu Family’s status, Xu Qianqian could never have a future with an ordinary Sorcerer.

Xu Qianqian’s future would either involve recruiting a man with an excellent Bloodline into the Xu Family or marrying someone so exceptionally gifted that the Xu Family would be willing to offer their most talented descendant for an alliance marriage.

This was the destiny of Xu Qianqian, the most outstanding genius among the younger generation of the Family. There was no third possibility, and it was the ultimate fate of all women born into Hunter Families.

And Su Ming?

He was just an ordinary Sorcerer, not even considered an elite student before this. No matter what, the Xu Family would never marry their most proud genius to someone like him.

Unless Su Ming were to become a powerful Sorcerer so formidable that even the Xu Family wouldn’t dare provoke him.

How powerful would that be?

Seven-Star!

Yes! Seven-Star!

Even if he were only Six-Star, the Family would still prefer to expand their lineage and enhance their Bloodline descendants over recruiting a Sorcerer.

This was the most deeply ingrained belief in all Hunter Families.

Therefore, unless a figure standing at the pinnacle of the Sorcerer world—one whose power far surpassed the combined strength of the entire Xu Family—wished to marry Xu Qianqian, the Family would never consider marrying off such an outstanding Bloodline descendant to a Sorcerer who couldn’t enhance their Bloodline.

Su Ming and Xu Qianqian—there was simply no future for these two.

Xu Yanyan had even planned to use this point to undermine Xu Qianqian, provoke her, and even threaten her, forcing her to hesitate and fall under her control.

Who would have thought that such an ordinary student Sorcerer would be the man favored by the Yun Family’s Young Miss?

And not only that—she was actually willing to dispatch an Upper-Rank Professional of such power from her Family to protect Xu Qianqian, all for the sake of this man?When Xu Yanyan learned about this matter, she almost wanted to curse at Yun Langyue and ask if she had been kicked in the head by a donkey—otherwise, how could she do something as foolish as funding her love rival?

If it were her, and a man she fancied dared to ask her to send people to protect another woman for his sake, she would absolutely throw such a two-timing, disloyal man into the wilderness danger zone to feed the Phantom Demons.

Wasn’t this simply being ungrateful and unreasonable?

If the man had some capability and could make her submit, then fine—but this man was so ordinary. Where did he get the audacity to make such a demand of a woman he could never hope to match?

Yet Yun Langyue actually agreed.

Xu Yanyan was truly baffled by this and couldn’t understand what charm a man—whom she had only met once and who, at their first meeting, hadn’t hesitated to rely on a woman to back him up—could possibly possess.

Both Yun Langyue and Xu Qianqian were like the most unattainable flowers on the highest peaks—how could they take a liking to such a man?

Xu Yanyan had even heard that at the Demon Hunter Academy, there was a popular junior who was deeply infatuated with that man, sticking to him all day long, never leaving his side—almost to the point of pulling out a marriage registration form to trick him into signing it. (Su Ming silently gave a thumbs-down.)

What was wrong with the world these days?

Had her own aesthetic sense fallen behind, or was the public’s view on choosing partners just off?

In any case, Xu Yanyan couldn’t make sense of any of it.

But no matter what, the facts were the facts. Even if she couldn’t understand it, she couldn’t change the situation.

So, the urgent task now was to find a way to resolve this.

Having witnessed that power once again, Xu Yanyan grew all the more impatient to act.

However, there was no way Xu Yanyan could know that the person she feared and the person she looked down on were actually one and the same.

All her views were wrong, her perceptions mistaken—this destined her to drift further and further from the truth, making it increasingly impossible for her to find the real solution.

Su Ming, too, had no idea that after witnessing the power of the 【Silver Arm】 again, Xu Yanyan was already itching to stir up trouble.

Right now, he was thinking about solving another matter.

This was something Wang Yihan was also anxious to resolve.

Because the source of the problem was the Sword she had been cradling so preciously.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz…!”

The Sword that Wang Yihan had been holding tightly in her arms trembled incessantly, as if trying to break free from her grasp.

“H-How come it’s acting up again?”

Wang Yihan cried out in distress.

Originally, the Sword had no sheath, and holding it against her body was truly uncomfortable.

On top of that, the Sword was so restless that Wang Yihan had to hold it even tighter. If she weren’t a Hunter herself, her most treasured areas would have been cut countless times by now.

Even Bai Ruxiang and the others winced just watching and could only try to persuade her.

“You should put that Sword down quickly, Young Miss Wang,” Bai Ruxiang urged.

“Be careful not to get hurt again.”

Several female Hunters from the Bai Family said the same.

But Wang Yihan wouldn’t listen.

“No!”

Not only did the Wang Family’s only direct descendant refuse to listen, she hugged the Sword in her arms even tighter. Even though it was uncomfortable and sharp, she refused to let go—or perhaps, didn’t dare to let go.This finally gave Su Ming the chance to voice the questions in his heart.

“What exactly is this sword? Some kind of alchemical weapon?” Su Ming asked: “Why does it feel like it’s alive?”

This was already an undeniable fact.

If this sword weren’t alive, how could it possibly move like this?

But Su Ming had only ever encountered living swords in novels, never in reality—not even in this world where supernatural powers were commonplace.

He had also never heard of anyone creating living alchemical weapons.

Could it be that this alchemical weapon contained something like an artifact spirit?

Su Ming wanted to say that he wasn’t opposed to such a classic Xuanhuan trope.

However, this sword, which seemed to possess an artifact spirit, appeared to have formed some kind of connection with his right hand.

Recalling how the sword had dragged Wang Yihan down from the sky, landing not anywhere else but right on him, Su Ming felt a sense of déjà vu.

Could it be that instead of being an extra, he had triggered the protagonist’s Luck?

This situation—this was clearly a Spiritual Artifact choosing its master, and it had chosen him, right?

Just by running a dungeon instance, a Spiritual Artifact had come to him on its own—wasn’t this exactly like getting the protagonist’s script?

But he was determined to be an extra!

Su Ming shifted his gaze to the sword in Wang Yihan’s arms, his eyes filled with caution, afraid that it would suddenly leap toward him.

In fact, Su Ming felt that the sword did want to leap onto him.

Especially after he had used the power of the [Silver Arm], the sword had become even more restless, as if it were about to manifest an artifact spirit calling “Master, master!” and rush over to offer itself freely.

Wang Yihan had no idea what Su Ming was thinking, but upon hearing his question, her pretty face changed slightly.

“D-don’t overthink it!”

Wang Yihan stammered, speaking nervously.

“This… this is just an ordinary sword! Nothing special about it!”

As soon as she said this, before anyone present could react, the sword in Wang Yihan’s arms did.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz!”

The sword grew even more restless, almost as if it were protesting.

Su Ming: “…”

Bai Ruxiang, Xu Yanyan: “…”

The women of the Bai Family: “…”

An ordinary sword?

If this were an ordinary sword, they would swallow it on the spot!

“Really! You have to believe me… Ah!”

Seeing everyone’s speechless reaction, perhaps to sound more convincing, Wang Yihan quickly tried to play the sympathy card.

But before she could finish, she let out a startled cry.

Because the sword in her arms exerted its greatest force yet, abruptly breaking free from Wang Yihan’s grasp.

“My sword!”

Wang Yihan cried out in alarm, rushing forward to grab it.

But the sword, now free from her hold, deftly avoided her and hovered in the air.

Then, with a shift of its tip, it swiftly shot forward.

Yes, straight toward Su Ming.

Su Ming’s expression instantly changed.

“I knew it!”

Realizing that he had indeed gotten the protagonist’s script and was drifting further and further from his role as an extra, Su Ming didn’t hesitate. He immediately turned and ran without looking back.

“Whoosh!”

The sword relentlessly pursued him, like a young swallow returning to its nest.

“Come back quickly!”Wang Yihan was so anxious that tears welled up in her eyes, and she quickly chased after them.

“This…”

Bai Ruxiang, Xu Yanyan, and everyone present were dumbfounded, momentarily at a loss, unsure of what to do.

However, soon enough, their exclamations of surprise rose one after another.

Because Su Ming, seeing the situation turning unfavorable, dashed into the crowd.

The Sword immediately pursued without pause.

At that point, the cries of alarm became unstoppable.

“Don’t… don’t come over here!”

“Ah! It cut my hand!”

“So dangerous!”

“Run quickly!”

“Even my clothes got torn!”

In an instant, the entire Shelter descended into chaos.

(End of Chapter)