The more one endured in the moment, the more furious one grew in hindsight.
So Lianshan Xin took a step back and planted his foot squarely on Mingren's face.
He erupted in feigned outrage, "What are you doing blocking my path?"
Lying on the ground coughing up blood, Mingren was thoroughly bewildered.
He wanted to curse his mother, but every time he opened his mouth, all that came out was blood.
He could also tell that Lianshan Xin's vicious temper was not truly aimed at him.
Thus, he could only lie there on the ground, glaring cross-eyed at Zeng Ningbing, hoping that this Miss Zeng—whom he and his sister had tried to defend against injustice—would step forward and say something on their behalf.
Zeng Ningbing did not step forward, but she did speak up: "As expected of the legendary Chosen Son of Heaven."
The more she saw, the more frightened she became.
Having grown up showered with thousands of affections within the Golden Scale Alliance, Zeng Ningbing considered herself quite courageous.
Yet confronted with a fabled Chosen Son of Heaven, she felt utterly humbled.
Lianshan Xin's way of doing things was, if not an exact copy of Qi Shiyun's style as described by the Second Prince, at least seventy or eighty percent identical.
At most, Lianshan Xin had not yet offended the Crown Prince.
What Zeng Ningbing did not know was that Lianshan Xin had already offended the Crown Prince to the point of no return.
"Young Master Xin, can we call a truce?"
Despise He Ruoyu, become He Ruoyu.
At this moment, Zeng Ningbing made the exact same plea He Ruoyu had made.
Lianshan Xin gave the exact same answer: "At a time like this, are you joking?"
Zeng Ningbing's gaze gradually turned cold. "Lianshan Xin, do you know that in Qi Shiyun's cohort, out of thirty-six Chosen Sons of Heaven, she was the only one who survived?"
"You sure know a lot," Lianshan Xin remarked.
Zeng Ningbing said in a low voice, "The Second Prince told me."
It was a threat.
Lianshan Xin understood it perfectly well.
And he called it out directly: "Threatening me with the Second Prince?"
Zeng Ningbing did not answer his question. Instead, she raised the longsword in her hand and spoke again: "This sword was a sixteenth-birthday gift given to me by the Second Prince."
"You were the one who took the initiative to trouble me, the one who acted flirtatious, and the one who cut ties with me."
Lianshan Xin looked at Zeng Ningbing with a tranquil smile, yet it sent a bone-chilling dread straight through her.
"I am very sorry that you did not give yourself another chance."
With that, Lianshan Xin shook his head, turned around, and walked away from the student dormitory.
This was Bailudong Academy; attempting to kill Zeng Ningbing here was nowhere near as simple as killing Dai Yueying had been.
He also hadn't gathered enough intelligence on Zeng Ningbing yet.
Truth be told, however, Lianshan Xin didn't think killing her would be all that difficult.
He merely needed a justifiable excuse—and confirmation on whether anyone currently knew her true background.
Therefore, he had essentially handed Zeng Ningbing a suspended death sentence.
"Wait!"
Lianshan Xin had only taken two steps when someone called after him.
Looking back, he saw Mingren, who had nearly been trampled flat beneath his boot.
Catching Lianshan Xin's puzzled gaze, Mingren scrambled up from the ground, fuming with rage. "A gentleman may be killed, but not humiliated! You disgraced me today, but once I achieve success in my studies at the academy, I will surely settle this score with you!"
One might lose a fight, but one must never lose face.
Back in the Sakura Kingdom, Mingren had never suffered such humiliation, so he felt compelled to toss out a few harsh words.
Lianshan Xin sized Mingren up with a strange look, latching onto his key phrase:
"A gentleman may be killed, but not humiliated? All right, noted."
Nodding at Mingren, Lianshan Xin wasted no further breath on him.
Being at Bailudong Academy had this singular downside: one couldn't execute fellow students on the spot.
After all, an academy was supposed to be a relatively pure place of learning.
He would first have to secure sufficient proof that these students were colluding with the Demon Cult; only then could he bypass humiliating them and proceed straight to killing them.
It would also grant Mingren his wish.
Lianshan Xin felt that he truly possessed a commendable spirit of internationalism.
Fortunately, proving Mingren's collusion with the Demon Cult would be far simpler than proving Zeng Ningbing's.
A prince hailing from a tiny, insignificant barbarian realm, yet daring to step out the door with his left foot first?
If he wasn't colluding with the Demon Cult, who was?
***
Only after Lianshan Xin departed did Mingren rush over to help his sister to her feet.
"Baihezi, are you all right?"
Baihezi was visibly shaken, her wits barely returned. "Brother, Great Yu truly conceals dragons and crouches tigers. A youth we randomly crossed paths with turned out to be so formidable."
While she and Mingren couldn't claim to be entirely invincible among the younger generation in the Sakura Kingdom, they rarely met their match.
Never did they expect that in their very first clash upon entering Great Yu, they would be floored by a single palm strike.
To them, it was an immense blow.
Mingren refused to accept this reality. "We both held back our strength and didn't use our most powerful..."
"Mind your words, Brother! Father said that technique must never be exposed, or the consequences will be unimaginable," Baihezi quickly interrupted.
Mingren nodded and drew a deep breath. "Let him act arrogant for two more days. Once we fully master that divine technique, we will make him kneel at our feet and beg for mercy."
"We must be prudent. Even if we lose face, we must never let the people of Great Yu discover that we are cultivating that technique."
"I know. It's just a pity. We originally intended to take the Vice Headmaster as our master, but now we'll have to grope in the dark on our own."
"Good things never come easily, Brother. Don't be discouraged. Father is still waiting for us to return home in glory."
Mingren nodded heavily once more. "Swearing by the honor of the Sakura royal family, we will return home draped in glory."
"Draped in glory."
The two exchanged glances, their fighting spirit rekindled.
"Baihezi, go make friends with that Miss Zeng. Father has business dealings with the Golden Scale Alliance, and we also need to build some connections within the academy."
"I understand, Brother. Go back and rest. We'll meet again tomorrow."
"All right, see you tomorrow."
The brother and sister parted ways.
Mingren also departed the women's dormitory.
Just as he rounded the corner, a palm strike came crashing down from the heavens.
*Bang!*
Cleanly and decisively, Mingren was suppressed by a single palm strike once more.
This time was even more wretched than before; earlier, he had merely been slapped onto the dirt.
This time, Mingren was knocked out cold.
Lianshan Xin looked down at Mingren on the ground, taking in the murmurs and pointing fingers of the surrounding students while his mind raced:
Five minutes ago, Lianshan Xin had deduced that Mingren was colluding with the Demon Cult, but because he hadn't yet secured evidence of the collusion, he hadn't arrested him on the spot.
Yet after taking a few paces, Lianshan Xin thought to himself: what if releasing the tiger back to the mountain allowed Mingren to destroy the evidence?
The man was, after all, a prince of the Sakura Kingdom. If he truly destroyed the evidence and sought diplomatic asylum, a newly inducted Chosen Son of Heaven of the Nine Heavens might not be able to do anything to him.
Guided by the principle of serving his country faithfully and never letting a single Demon Cult heretic slip away, Lianshan Xin decided to strike first and take the initiative.
As for the evidence? He would find it eventually.
"Fellow classmates, while exchanging blows with him just now, I discovered that he employed a secret cultivation technique of the Demon Cult. I suspect he is colluding with them. If anyone has relevant leads, you are welcome to report them to the Nine Heavens."
Lianshan Xin cupped his hands toward the onlookers, his expression utterly composed.
Having just regained consciousness, Mingren happened to hear Lianshan Xin's announcement, and his face turned deathly pale in an instant.
Great Yu truly did crouch dragons and conceal tigers... He had hidden it so well; could it be that it had leaked when he circulated his qi?
Chapter 62