How Could Lanqi Harbor Any Ill Intent?

Doubt crept like sprawling vines into every corner of the painting classroom, plunging the previously murmurous art space into sudden silence. Every eye turned toward a single target—Lanqi. It was as though they were desperate to find an explanation on his naturally innocent face. And yet, his face was like a painting even harder to decipher than the one in the professor's hands, defying all attempts to read it. Four consecutive instant answers had struck the correct choices like lightning bolts. It was simply impossible to dismiss as coincidence; not a single demon doubted anymore whether Lanqi was relying on luck. Even so, none of them could fathom what bizarre magic this Glow Demon had used to analyze and deduce the answers with such speed and precision... "..." Sitting there, the hawk-eyed demon had fallen into deep contemplation precisely because of Lanqi's prompt, his gaze tinged with vexation and conflict. He knew it would only be natural for Lanqi to seek retaliation. Therefore, it was entirely possible that Lanqi had deliberately fed correct answers to the others, only to give the hawk-eyed demon a wrong one to mislead him! However... It was also possible that Lanqi had anticipated he would see through the trap, and thus gave the right answer anyway to bait him into choosing the opposite. After cycling through his deductions, the hawk-eyed demon wound himself in knots, utterly unable to determine just how many layers deep Lanqi was playing. He began to suspect that Lanqi was doing nothing more than deliberately messing with his head! At last, after mulling it over for a while longer, the hawk-eyed demon curled the corners of his mouth into a slow smirk, as if he had caught onto a crucial clue. It seemed he had figured out what to do. "You're clever, but you overlooked one thing..." The hawk-eyed demon glared at Lanqi, like an investigator who had just uncovered a criminal's trail. Specializing in mental magic, he could discern the psychic fluctuations of another demon with exceptional clarity. When Lanqi had given him the answer just moments ago, there had been virtually no complex thoughts. His tone had been too calm, his gaze too pure. In the Demon Realm, no demon could ever do such a thing—earnestly telling an enemy the correct answer without a single selfish thought! That was the sole flaw in the trap this Glow Demon had attempted to lay! He had surely harbored the demon race's most instinctual malice and spoken a false answer. "It was painted by a student." Rejecting Lanqi's answer, the hawk-eyed demon spoke with unwavering resolve, his voice echoing through the open classroom. Then, he cast a sneering glance at Lanqi. It was as though he were mocking Lanqi's futile trick—not only had it failed to harm him, but it had worked in his favor instead! "..." Professor Mogute remained silent for a moment, then shook his head. "Incorrect. I painted this." There was a hint of displeasure in the professor's voice. Full of regret, Lanqi looked at the hawk-eyed demon as if looking at a fool. "I already told you the right answer. Why didn't you believe me...?" He seemed completely devoid of ill intent, genuinely wanting to help a classmate to the best of his ability. "..." Beside him, Hyperion stared at Lanqi's face. She had known all along that he was telling the truth; pity the hawk-eyed demon simply refused to believe it. Upon reflection, Hyperion realized that another demon had been toyed with effortlessly by Lanqi. Regardless of whether the hawk-eyed demon believed him or not, Lanqi's revelation had thrown his thoughts into disarray. Without even realizing it, the demon had shifted his entire focus away from the painting and squarely onto Lanqi. "What's wrong?" Seeming to sense Hyperion watching him, Lanqi turned his head and smiled at her, his voice clear as spring water. "...Nothing." Hyperion did not say more to him. She knew that even if she asked, Lanqi would only put on an innocent face and give her excuses like "I had no idea," "He was just measuring the stature of a gentleman by the yardstick of a petty scoundrel," or "How could I ever harm a fellow classmate?" His naivety and dark cunning were so seamlessly integrated that she couldn't tell whether he was doing good or committing villainy—he had practically developed a duality of nature... ... The entire right side of the classroom sank into a bone-chilling silence. "Ah... ah..." Terror washed over the hawk-eyed demon's face. His eyes reflected the interplay of light and shadow behind Lanqi, as if a twisted demonic visage were cast against the darkness. His features contorted with resentment and helplessness. Watching the approaching professor, the once-sharp hawk-like eyes were quickly swallowed by bottomless despair. Even now, he could not comprehend how that Glow Demon could display "goodwill"—a concept alien to the demon race—with such pure, flawless perfection! Professor Mogute's footsteps were steady and heavy, each step sounding like a death knell tolling against the hawk-eyed demon's heart, stirring his final terror. Before long, Professor Mogute slowly placed a hand against the hawk-eyed demon's head. The demon's skin withered, his blood evaporated, and his flesh shriveled away until he turned into a sunken mummy, the light in his eyes slowly dying out. The expression of fear and despair was frozen forever upon the hawk-eyed demon's face. "Allow me to store his corpse. Next will be the open buzzer round." Before bringing out the next painting, Professor Mogute held up the corpse and cast a deep, searching look at Lanqi. He felt the nature of this class might have fundamentally changed. For the other students, this classroom might be Difficulty 3. Yet for this Glow Demon, the difficulty felt more like negative three. ... More than an hour later. The melodious chime rang out once more, penetrating the walls like an invisible wave of tension and soaking into every corner of the classroom. Professor Mogute stood at one end of the round table, his brow furrowed, his gaze filled with a complete crisis of demonic existence. He had switched through painting after painting, trying to ramp up the difficulty and test Lanqi's connoisseurship. The result, however, was that Lanqi hadn't found a single one even remotely challenging. Professor Mogute was now second-guessing himself: how on earth had this turned into him challenging a student? Mogute was certain that while Lanqi was evaluating the paintings, the mana in his body hadn't fluctuated in the slightest; he had relied purely on his keen eyes to scrutinize every detail. It was inconceivable that this academy could harbor a student with such terrifying mastery of painting appreciation, as if possessed by the god of art itself! "Just what kind of being are you...?" Professor Mogute stared at Lanqi, profoundly shaken by him. In the eyes of Mogute, a senior professor of the fine arts department, Lanqi had become an unfathomable grandmaster of art. Professor Mogute could not help but wonder: if a paintbrush were placed into this Glow Demon's hand, what caliber of artwork would he produce if he painted something himself...? "So, Professor, could you first tell me what the reward is for two hundred and sixty-three points?" Lanqi merely rested his cheek leisurely against the back of his hand, leaning back in his chair with a smile as he asked.