Chapter 42 – Su Ming Targeted by the Junior Girls

Jiang Wanyu had known about Su Ming for a long time.

No, it wasn’t just Jiang Wanyu—Yao Beibei was the same.

Because of An Zijin, both Yao Beibei and Jiang Wanyu were quite familiar with this childhood friend who had a significant relationship with their “person to protect.”

At the very least, Jiang Wanyu believed she had a certain level of understanding of Su Ming.

And when she first learned of Su Ming’s existence, her impression of him was only one thing.

That was—”ordinary.”

An ordinary background.

An ordinary life.

Ordinary talent.

Ordinary strength.

Perhaps, in the eyes of ordinary people, Su Ming, as a Sorcerer, might be considered quite special. But in the professional world, and at the Demon Hunter Academy, Su Ming’s performance and abilities were far from remarkable—the word “ordinary” defined everything about him.

For someone whose presence wasn’t even particularly notable at the Academy, imagining the limits of his future was all too easy.

Jiang Wanyu thought that even if Su Ming successfully graduated from the Demon Hunter Academy and became a Professional-level Sorcerer, his greatest achievement in life would likely only reach Three-Star Rank.

Out of a total of seven Ranks, reaching Three-Star might sound decent, but at best, it would only make him a lower-rank Professional.

Only by reaching Four-Star could a Professional become an upper echelon among Professionals, that is, an Upper-Rank Professional.

The gap between Upper-Rank and lower-rank Professionals was comparable to the gap between upper and lower Phantom Demons—the two were simply incomparable.

Given this, what could possibly be remarkable about someone whose potential maxed out at Three-Star and who would remain a lower-rank Professional for their entire life?

With this mindset, although Jiang Wanyu didn’t look down on Su Ming, she still couldn’t understand why An Zijin remained so fixated on such an ordinary person.

In Jiang Wanyu’s view, given An Zijin’s uniqueness and her unparalleled appearance, even if it was hard to imagine anyone in the world truly deserving of her, if she were to have a partner someday, it would inevitably have to be someone truly great.

Yet, An Zijin had always been fixated on Su Ming. For his sake, she even gave up the superior conditions for development in Yinze City to return to Longyao City, where she had lived during her childhood. This caught Yao Beibei and Jiang Wanyu completely off guard, forcing them to rush to Longyao City as well. They enrolled in the Demon Hunter Academy alongside An Zijin and, through deliberate arrangements, became her roommates to keep a close watch on her.

Thus, Jiang Wanyu’s initial impression of Su Ming wasn’t favorable. She felt that An Zijin’s obsession with him was somewhat undeserved.

However, very suddenly, Su Ming became a prominent figure at the Academy.

The Young Miss of the Xu Family—a top Hunter Family in Longyao City—had unexpectedly approached Su Ming and seemed to have some private connection with him. This genuinely shocked Jiang Wanyu.

In Jiang Wanyu’s eyes, Xu Qianqian’s qualities were in no way inferior to An Zijin’s; she was absolutely a heaven-blessed prodigy.

Even if Xu Qianqian were placed in Yinze City, where talents abounded, this Young Miss would still secure a place for herself.Such an unattainable flower actually having connections with Su Ming left Jiang Wanyu utterly perplexed.

“Young Miss An Zijin is one thing, given their childhood bond, but why would the Young Miss of the Xu Family interact with someone so ordinary?”

The famously aloof Xu Qianqian showing unique regard for Su Ming definitely wasn’t without reason.

This line of thought made Jiang Wanyu somewhat realize that An Zijin’s childhood playmate might be different from what she had perceived.

Of course, initially, Jiang Wanyu didn’t pay much attention to this matter.

She merely thought that even if Su Ming had crossed paths with Xu Qianqian, he was just clinging to the coattails of a top Hunter Family.

Perhaps Xu Qianqian had suddenly become enlightened and decided to keep a young admirer around.

Maybe Su Ming possessed some exceptional flirting skills that had pleased the Academy Beauty, allowing him to latch onto this rather substantial connection.

If An Zijin could see Su Ming’s “true nature” through this and become disillusioned with him, that would be for the best.

That was simply Jiang Wanyu’s view of Su Ming.

Until…

“On the train, when Senior Su Ming suddenly lost his temper, Senior Xu also seemed startled and, like Zijin, appeared very concerned about his reaction.”

Jiang Wanyu found herself murmuring these words almost unconsciously.

“Our Zijin is one thing—she’s always cherished this senior—but for Xu Qianqian to react the same way hardly seems like she views him as just an ordinary friend.”

Jiang Wanyu truly hadn’t expected that Su Ming would dare to openly lose his temper in front of two Academy jewels, berating them mercilessly.

It wasn’t an outburst of self-abandonment but rather a sense of confidence to resist even when facing two universally admired prodigies.

Coupled with Xu Qianqian’s behavior that completely contradicted the rumors, Jiang Wanyu began to feel somewhat intrigued by the matter.

And Yao Beibei bringing up Su Ming’s name certainly wasn’t without reason.

“Actually, there’s one thing Senior Xu Qianqian said that I deeply relate to.”

Yao Beibei spoke up.

“What?”

Jiang Wanyu was slightly taken aback.

Yao Beibei wore a serious expression.

“Senior Su Ming seems… different from before in some way.”

Yao Beibei’s words made Jiang Wanyu’s furrowed brows tighten even more.

She didn’t doubt Yao Beibei’s claim.

Because Yao Beibei possessed a little-known sixth sense that was sometimes remarkably accurate.

It wasn’t some mystical power like a Sorcerer’s spiritual sensitivity but rather a sensory instinct akin to that of a wild beast.

Yao Beibei had this ability due to her excessively high compatibility with the Phantom Demon blood within her, which resulted in her developing traits leaning towards Phantom Demons.

Yes.

Yao Beibei, like Xu Qianqian, was one of those variant Hunters.

Xu Qianqian’s mutation caused her to exhibit a bloodthirsty side similar to Phantom Demons.

Yao Beibei’s mutation granted her special senses closely resembling those of Phantom Demon creatures.

As a result, Yao Beibei often noticed things others easily overlooked and could even detect unexpected dangers, allowing her to avoid them in time.It was precisely for this reason that Yao Beibei had been noticed by “Madam” and subsequently assigned to An Zijin’s side.

For this reason, Jiang Wanyu did not doubt Yao Beibei’s intuition.

“A bit different from before…?”

Jiang Wanyu muttered to herself, not asking Yao Beibei exactly what was different.

If Yao Beibei knew, she wouldn’t have spoken so ambiguously.

Clearly, what Yao Beibei had perceived was limited.

If Su Ming were to learn of this matter, he would certainly realize what the “changes” perceived by Xu Qianqian and Yao Beibei actually were.

In truth, it was because Su Ming had opened 147 packages and obtained numerous items that boosted Spirit Power, causing his own Spirit Power to surge explosively. His spiritual nature had similarly skyrocketed, which allowed special Hunters like Xu Qianqian and Yao Beibei to vaguely sense the changes in their Spirit Constitution.

The only difference was that Xu Qianqian manifested this as an increased craving for Su Ming’s blood, while Yao Beibei felt an uncertain sensation.

Under these circumstances, Yao Beibei couldn’t help but ask Jiang Wanyu:

“Shouldn’t we investigate this?” Yao Beibei said seriously: “That senior’s importance to little Zijin is obvious. He’s the person she’s closest to and trusts the most. Now that he’s displaying behaviors and changes inconsistent with what we know, whether he might negatively impact little Zijin has become uncertain.”

“So…” Jiang Wanyu nodded thoughtfully: “You think we should investigate Senior Su Ming ourselves?”

“Yes.” Yao Beibei’s expression turned grave: “Little Zijin has nearly let ‘that’ emerge several times already because of that senior. This proves how much influence he holds over her.”

“But how should we investigate?” Jiang Wanyu didn’t oppose Yao Beibei’s suggestion, but pointed out: “We’re not skilled at investigation or infiltration.”

“Ah, this…” Yao Beibei was left speechless.

The two young girls looked at each other, eventually both showing expressions of frustration.

“Maybe we should consult Madam.”

“No, this is ultimately Longyao City. If Madam’s forces become too deeply involved here, it will inevitably alert the Base City’s higher-ups.”

“Then ask our families for help?”

“No, your family has just been liberated from dire straits and is currently rebuilding. Mine has already declined—they can offer very limited assistance.”

“Then… what if we anonymously post a mission and have professional Hunters or Sorcerers investigate?”

“No, Senior is so close to Xu Qianqian. If we hire Professionals, given the Xu Family’s influence in Longyao City’s Professional circles, it wouldn’t be surprising if they discovered us and reported our actions to Xu Qianqian.”

“……”

“……”

Yao Beibei and Jiang Wanyu discussed one plan after another, only to reject them one by one.

In the end, they realized they had few ways to handle this situation.

“…Can we really protect little Zijin from any malice like this?”

Yao Beibei fell into deep self-doubt.”There’s no other way. Madam can’t openly send people to protect Zijing, so she has to choose companions of the same age like us to keep an eye on her discreetly.”

Jiang Wanyu also felt somewhat helpless.

One of them possessed a unique ability to evade danger, while the other had a trump card to use in critical moments—yet neither had any investigative skills.

“Forget it, let’s not dwell on it.” Jiang Wanyu shook her long hair and said, “We’ll just have to play it by ear and secretly keep an eye on that senior later.”

“Guess we have no choice.” Yao Beibei reluctantly nodded.

……

“Ugh…”

Meanwhile, Su Ming, lying on his bed, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

“Why does it feel like someone’s watching me?”

Su Ming muttered to himself.

(End of Chapter)