Chapter 256 – Understand If You Can, Nothing to Be Done If You Can't

In that instant, An Zijin’s mind was occupied by several thoughts.

Dark night and gusty wind—alone—approaching from behind—a knock on the head with a staff—being tied up—taken away—marriage registration office—signing—going home—sharing a blanket—intimate affection—deep love—living together as a couple—little Su Ming and little Zijin…

What a perfect plan!

What a flawless process!

Those who understood would understand. For those who didn’t, there was nothing she could do. She could only say the story was long and the plot quite complex. She couldn’t explain it clearly in a short time; it had to be comprehended through personal insight.

Only this way would her Su Ming gege never leave her and always belong to her alone.

By then, forget about graduating—even settling down and starting a family would be possible!

As for that Xu Qianqian senior, she would have to step aside, not even allowed through the door!

No, she could still invite her to the wedding to give blessings to the bride and groom, letting her know just how “happy” she and Su Ming gege were.

Thinking of this, An Zijin couldn’t help but laugh.

“Hehe… hehehe…”

The sudden laughter sounded sweet and pleasant, yet it sent an involuntary shiver down the spines of everyone present.

“Um… An junior?”

“What… what are you laughing at?”

Lei Hao and Ye Bai asked timidly.

Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei even took a step back simultaneously, as if they had seen something terrifying.

Su Ming nearly fled in panic.

His outstanding Spirit Sense was telling him that something dreadful was about to happen.

If he didn’t stop it, the consequences would be extremely, extremely severe!

Immediately, Su Ming forced a dry smile.

“Calm down, just calm down and listen to me, okay?”

Su Ming shook An Zijin, successfully pulling her out of her dangerous fantasy.

“Go ahead, Su Ming gege.”

An Zijin nodded obediently but unconsciously wiped the corner of her mouth, as if something crystal clear had uncontrollably dribbled out.

Lei Hao, Ye Bai: “∑(っ°Д°;)っ”

Jiang Wanyu, Yao Beibei: “o((⊙﹏⊙))o”

Su Ming: “(;???;)”

The group fell silent in unison, breaking out in a sweat.

“Mi-ling?”

Only Little Hai’er, who was in her invisible state, tilted her head, looking at the suddenly quiet scene and the group whose expressions had become complex and vivid for some reason, appearing utterly puzzled.

“Ahem…”

Su Ming could only clear his throat dryly, wisely choosing to move past the topic and pretend he hadn’t seen anything.

“Actually, there’s a reason I’m graduating early.”

Su Ming began explaining with a serious expression.

“You’ve probably heard that many unfamiliar strong individuals from other cities have recently arrived in Longyao City.”

Hearing this, everyone nodded in turn.

This was currently a hot topic, so naturally, they had all heard about it.

Especially Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei, who subtly exchanged a glance.

They weren’t ordinary students; they were here with a mission.

The “Madam” behind them had contacted them not long ago, revealing some unknown secrets.

So, although not in detail, Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei already knew what situation Longyao City was facing and why so many strong individuals from other cities had come.

However, their knowledge was limited. They only knew that a very important Ruins had appeared in Longyao City, and it seemed there was something crucial inside that needed guarding, not to be lost, which had caused a stir among the upper echelons of humanity.

As for what exactly was in the Ruins or what would happen if something went wrong, they had no idea.

In any case, the “Madam” hadn’t fully disclosed the details of the matter, only telling them to be cautious and to maintain contact with her at all times.

From the “Madam’s” tone, it seemed she also planned to come to Longyao City.

This surprised and intrigued Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei, who couldn’t fathom what in the so-called Ruins could prompt even that “Madam” to take action.

Now, with Su Ming suddenly bringing this up, Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei grew even more curious about how his early graduation related to this.

Under these circumstances, Su Ming spoke.

“Actually, it’s not hard to understand. I was noticed by a strong individual from another city and am currently learning under him.”

Su Ming very seriously gave this reason.

“That Senior believes I should go into the industry to gain experience rather than continue growing within the ivory tower of the Academy. So, following his instructions, I’m preparing to graduate early and learn from him wholeheartedly.”

Yes, Su Ming was making it up.

He had no intention of telling his friends about going to Tianfeng City.

They were still students at the Academy, trainee Professionals, and all lower-year students—either first-years who had just enrolled or second-years who had only studied for a year. Their paths no longer intersected with Su Ming’s level.

If Su Ming told them he planned to go to Tianfeng City, the Holy Land for Professionals and the center of humanity, to train and improve himself, nine times out of ten, they would try to stop him.

It was no joke—the wilderness danger zones were terrifying and perilous. How could a small second-year student like Su Ming cross such a hell and successfully reach Tianfeng City?

And Su Ming couldn’t explain to them that he wasn’t an ordinary student, that he was already an Upper-Rank Professional, as that could lead to his “Ming Wang” alias being exposed, causing a series of troublesome consequences.

He had considered mentioning the recommendation, lying that he had received one and would be escorted by envoys from Tianfeng City, avoiding danger.

But with Longyao City now filled with strong individuals and Professionals from outside, and the matter of the Tianfeng City envoys not being a big secret, if his friends investigated, his lie would likely be exposed.

So, Su Ming decided not to be too specific, fabricating a non-existent opportunity and a non-existent teacher.

This might be more convincing.

Sure enough, after hearing Su Ming’s words, everyone was stunned.

“There’s actually such a thing?”

“You’re so lucky!”

Lei Hao and Ye Bai looked incredulous.

“Teacher…”

An Zijin, however, frowned, starting to wonder whether the teacher was male or female, and if female, how old, how pretty, and whether she might steal her Su Ming gege.

She had heard that adolescent boys had little resistance to older sisters. Could Su Ming gege have fallen for some older woman?

Alert.ing.

Meanwhile, Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei grew concerned.

“Are you sure someone wants you to study under them, Su Ming senior?” Jiang Wanyu spoke up, saying, “They’re a Professional from another city, right? Are they trustworthy?”

“Right.” Yao Beibei also nodded repeatedly, reminding him, “Some Professionals aren’t kind enough to casually nurture juniors, even Sorcerers who aren’t involved in family lineage issues.”

Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei weren’t naive girls.

On the contrary, due to past experiences, both had seen some dark sides.

So, they knew well that some Professionals weren’t as well-intentioned or considerate of the human race as one might think.

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many Underground Professionals or underground organizations like 『Sin』 in the world.

As for nurturing juniors, in the Professional circle, this usually only happened with Sorcerers.

Because Hunters mostly had their own Families and Bloodlines, they were already busy enough teaching their descendants and rarely taught outsiders without blood relations.

Unless, like Gao Xu, who was recruited by the Xu Family, they would nurture talents for the Xu Family.

Otherwise, only in facilities like the Demon Hunter Academy, dedicated to cultivating talent, could one see the selfless nurturing of juniors.

Sorcerers were a different case.

Because a Sorcerer’s power couldn’t be inherited; it could only be Awakened through one’s own Spirit Constitution, having no relation to bloodline descendants.

A Sorcerer’s offspring might be ordinary people, and ordinary people’s descendants might Awaken a Spirit Constitution, making the Sorcerer profession full of uncertainty.

Thus, the Sorcerer Guild came into existence to gather Sorcerers from various places for collective discussion and learning.

For Sorcerers, suddenly taking a liking to a junior and wanting to nurture them was relatively common.

But there were also many Sorcerers with ill intentions—either wanting to perform some evil ritual requiring assistance or even sacrifices, or wanting to conduct research, especially Alchemists. Some methods of creating alchemical weapons or potions were quite bloody and cruel, making it possible for dangerous individuals among Sorcerers to approach people with bad intentions.

Wasn’t An Zijin like that?

Although the “Madam” didn’t have evil intentions toward her, she did have some plans that required An Zijin to complete, which was why she was so concerned about An Zijin’s safety, sending Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei here to keep an eye on her.

Knowing this, Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei were somewhat worried that Su Ming might have been targeted by someone with ill intentions.

Su Ming could somewhat guess Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei’s thoughts, giving them a rather surprised look.

He hadn’t expected these two juniors to be so wary about such matters; it seemed they had some stories.

Su Ming thought this but didn’t dwell on it.

Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei had always been somewhat mysterious, so Su Ming wasn’t surprised.

If there was a chance in the future, Su Ming would try to uncover those secrets, but for now, he let it be.

He could tell whether the two were sincere toward An Zijin.

Given this, Su Ming felt quite at ease.

“I have a good idea of what I’m doing.”

Su Ming didn’t explain too much, just smiled and said,

“Don’t worry.”

Hearing this and seeing the smile on Su Ming’s face, everyone knew he had already made up his mind.

Immediately, they fell silent one after another.

(End of Chapter)