Chapter 7 – This Young Master Won't Serve You Anymore

From a third-party perspective, Su Ming’s direct charge was undoubtedly unwise.

After all, Su Ming was merely a Sorcerer. Rushing to grapple with Xu Qianqian, a Hunter, would clearly end poorly for him.

Yet not only did Su Ming charge forward, he quickly gained the upper hand.

The reason was simple.

“Mmm…”

Xu Qianqian suddenly let out a pained groan, her struggling strength noticeably weakening.

Seizing the opportunity, Su Ming swiftly subdued her. Gazing into her eyes while gauging her strength, he couldn’t help but remark.

“As I thought, your condition isn’t right.”

As if sensing something, Su Ming abruptly reached out and lifted the clothing covering Xu Qianqian’s abdomen.

There, a horrifyingly large wound stared back – a grievous injury where a Sharp Weapon had completely pierced through her abdomen.

This was clearly not Su Ming’s doing.

Meaning Xu Qianqian had already been severely wounded when she appeared here.

“No wonder your performance in the earlier fight was so off.”

Su Ming had confirmed the source of the incongruity he’d felt earlier.

He’d noticed Xu Qianqian’s unusual behavior from the start.

For one, as someone ranked among the top three in the Hunter Department of the entire Demon Hunter Academy – a powerhouse comparable to professional Hunters – her displayed combat prowess severely mismatched the rumors Su Ming had heard.

Facing simple misdirection techniques, Xu Qianqian had reacted with exaggerated surprise, failed to see through Su Ming’s feints, and been completely toyed with. Such performance hardly lived up to the reputation of a professional-level Hunter.

Moreover, her emotional state had been excessively abnormal throughout – overly impatient and impulsive.

This bore no resemblance to the Xu Qianqian Su Ming knew.

According to his knowledge, the Academy’s Xu Qianqian was exceptionally calm and composed, even described as aloofly elegant. She would never charge at someone without warning as she had today, with every movement radiating impatience and impulsiveness, as if determined to either kill her opponent or get herself killed.

Combined with her mismatched combat ability, Su Ming had suspected something was wrong with this Hunter Department superstar.

But he never imagined Xu Qianqian would appear here bearing such severe injuries.

“What exactly happened to you?”

Su Ming frowned deeply.

But Xu Qianqian seemed beyond listening.

“Let me go…!”

As if vehemently protesting Su Ming lifting her clothes, Xu Qianqian struggled fiercely despite her grave injury.

“Tch!”

Su Ming hissed in pain.

Xu Qianqian had bitten his wrist, breaking skin and drawing blood.

Left with no choice, Su Ming released her.

With blood staining her lips, Xu Qianqian struggled to rise while clutching her abdomen, breathing heavily with a pale face.

Su Ming watched her, then glanced at his bleeding wrist.

This madwoman…!”If you’re so high-strung, Young Miss, then you can stay here and wait for death by yourself.” Su Ming said coldly: “I’m not going to serve you anymore.”

With that, Su Ming turned around and directly left the place.

Xu Qianqian stared at Su Ming’s retreating back, the Killing Intent reappearing in her eyes as if she wanted to charge forward again.

But, subconsciously, Xu Qianqian licked the blood at the corner of her mouth and swallowed it down.

With this swallow, Xu Qianqian’s delicate body trembled slightly, and the Killing Intent in her eyes actually receded rapidly like a tide.

“This is…?”

Xu Qianqian’s eyes began to regain clarity.

Within them, the impatience and impulsiveness had already disappeared, replaced by composure and calmness.

Not only that, but the severe injury at Xu Qianqian’s abdomen was actually recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Feeling all this, Xu Qianqian couldn’t help but raise her head to look in Su Ming’s direction.

But by now, Su Ming had long since left, not even his retreating figure visible anymore.

Xu Qianqian’s eyes flickered slightly, as if thinking about something.

After a while, Xu Qianqian turned her head to look in another direction.

“Boom…”

Violent explosions continuously sounded from that direction, telling others that the conflict there hadn’t ended yet.

Xu Qianqian struggled for a moment, but ultimately let out a sigh.

“The mission only asked me to investigate this Suspicious Group’s purpose and origins, it didn’t require me to stop them or engage in conflict with them.”

Having regained her calm, Xu Qianqian could finally make wise judgments.

Mainly, having tracked this group for some time, Xu Qianqian clearly understood that with her individual strength, trying to oppose this Suspicious Group with twenty to thirty Hunters and Sorcerers would be extremely overconfident.

Earlier, because she was severely injured, the brutality of the “blood” within her was stimulated, leading her to impulsively choose to follow them regardless of consequences.

Now, having regained her calm, Xu Qianqian naturally wouldn’t do such foolish things anymore.

Moreover, she had more important matters to investigate.

“Don’t let me find out who deliberately harmed me in the shadows.”

Xu Qianqian clenched her small white teeth.

Immediately after, Xu Qianqian turned around and left the scene.

……

On the other side.

After leaving the suburbs, Su Ming deliberately took a longer roundabout route to disrupt his movement patterns, confirming he wouldn’t be tracked, before finally taking off his combat suit and mask, returning to the Academy.

By now, the sky was beginning to brighten.

“Damn it.”

Realizing he probably wouldn’t be able to catch up on sleep, Su Ming’s mood became extremely foul.

Needless to say, there were classes today.

If he had a mission, he could get approval from the Academy for leave, but Su Ming’s mission had been completed yesterday and was already recorded. If he didn’t attend class, the attendance rate issue would seriously affect him.

The Demon Hunter Academy had very strict attendance requirements.

If the attendance rate didn’t meet requirements, the Academy would assign mandatory missions for students to execute.

If they didn’t carry out the missions, expulsion would become the only outcome.

And if expelled, they wouldn’t be able to obtain a Sorcerer license and become professional Sorcerers.

This way, Su Ming would no longer be able to enjoy various privileges specifically available to Hunters and Sorcerers.For instance, they would be unable to purchase alchemical potions, Phantom Demon materials, access official markets and training facilities, etc., all of which would hinder Su Ming’s development.

Additionally, those holding a Sorcerer license or Hunter license could exercise the right to cause legitimate damage or even kill in emergency situations.

It was precisely because of this that no one held Su Ming and the others accountable for the public property damage caused by their confrontation with the Phantom Demon on the street yesterday. In fact, people even voluntarily helped clean up the aftermath, even though they were still students without formal licenses.

These were the privileges of Sorcerers and Hunters.

Humanity needed Sorcerers and Hunters to risk their lives against Phantom Demons and resist the invasion from the Spirit Demon Abyss, so naturally, they were granted privileges to the greatest extent possible.

Therefore, Su Ming placed considerable importance on obtaining a formal license.

What Su Ming valued most was the privilege that the families of professional Hunters and Sorcerers would receive special protection from the Base City authorities. They could reside in key protected areas in the city center, guarded by numerous professionals, thereby staying as far away as possible from the threat of Phantom Demons.

This privilege directly resolved Su Ming’s worries about his family’s safety, eliminating his fear that they might be attacked by Phantom Demons at any time.

In light of this, whether considering his own future development or his family’s safety—or even just for the sake of those enticing privileges—Su Ming did not want to be expelled from the Demon Hunter Academy.

“It seems there’s no other choice today.”

Su Ming resigned himself to his fate and trudged heavily back toward the dormitory.

When he returned to the dormitory, Lei Hao and Ye Bai were still fast asleep, snoring loudly, which made Su Ming feel a mix of envy and resentment.

Su Ming could only lie down as quickly as possible, forcing himself to sleep for as long as he could.

In the end, however, Su Ming had slept for less than two hours before he was awakened.

“Get up for morning training, Su Ming, Ye Bai!”

Lei Hao was already full of energy early in the morning, shouting loudly and causing both Su Ming and Ye Bai to feel utterly defeated.

“Have mercy on me, Brother Lei, Dad Lei! Can’t you just go train by yourself?”

Ye Bai clung to his blanket, bleary-eyed, pleading pitifully.

“No way!” Lei Hao declared righteously. “Whether you’re a Hunter or a Sorcerer, you need to train your physical fitness and learn combat techniques. This is the Academy’s rule. Do you want to fail the next test?”

“Why?” Ye Bai cried out in despair. “Why do Sorcerers have to learn both Spirit Arts and combat techniques, while Hunters only need to learn combat techniques?”

“It’s simple,” Lei Hao stated bluntly. “Because no matter what, we Hunters can’t use Spirit Arts, but you Sorcerers can use combat techniques.”

That was exactly how it was.

The combat techniques of Hunters were, essentially, skills used in battle.

Whether it was martial arts or weapon techniques, these combat skills were no joke when wielded by Hunters with their formidable physiques.

Although Sorcerers didn’t possess the same robust physiques as Hunters, in critical situations—such as when their Spirit Power was depleted—they could still struggle using their physical strength and combat skills.

After all, physical training was something everyone could do, and it only brought benefits with no downsides. It could even save lives in crucial moments, which was why the Demon Hunter Academy required Sorcerers from the Sorcerer Department to participate as well.

“Anyway, hurry up and get out of bed. It’s already bustling outside.”Ignoring Ye Bai’s utterly despondent expression, Lei Hao directly hauled him out from under the covers.

Though Su Ming also wore a look of complete resignation, he offered no resistance and obediently got out of bed.

After all, learning combat techniques was something Su Ming genuinely desired.

While the Hunter’s combat arts might serve merely as physical conditioning for other Sorcerers, for Su Ming, they were far more than that.

His ambitions ran far deeper than anyone could imagine.

……

The Demon Hunter Academy’s training ground sat squarely at the center of the campus, sprawling across a vast expanse.

At this hour, groups of Hunters and Sorcerers had already emerged from their dormitories, bustling about as they engaged in morning runs.

Su Ming and Ye Bai, yawning incessantly, blended into the crowd, jogging at a sluggish pace that resembled two snails.

They weren’t alone in this state—most students from the Sorcerer Department shared the same weariness.

Clearly, the Sorcerers found this physical exertion rather tedious.

In contrast, the Hunters were bursting with energy, sprinting at breakneck speeds while whooping and shouting loudly enough to make one mistake the scene for military training.

Just then, a slight commotion arose on the field.

Ye Bai gave Su Ming a sharp slap on the shoulder.

“Look over there.”

Following the direction Ye Bai pointed, Su Ming’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

(End of Chapter)