City Lord’s Study.

Song Dugu stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing out the window at the night. Darknight and Bai Yan stood behind him.

“Darknight,” Song Dugu’s voice was low, “how did that Azure Spirit Academy student get inside?”

Darknight clasped his fists, his tone oddly flat. “Reporting, my lord—he claims he jumped straight over the city wall from outside.”

*Hmph.* Song Dugu’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Cautious. Avoiding the main gate… and clearing a hundreds-of-meters-high wall? His Body Cultivation Rank must be formidable.”

Darknight hesitated. “My lord, his physique is strong—I won’t deny that. But cautious? Hardly. He jumped the wall… to avoid paying the security inspection fee.”

“Security fee?” Song Dugu blinked, momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected anyone stingy enough to skip it. “Are you certain?”

“…Yes.” Darknight nodded awkwardly.

“How could anyone be that cheap? Darknight, do you have proof?” Bai Yan cut in.

“I do. Azure Spirit Academy keeps student records sealed, but this Lin Ming… he’s infamous.”

“Oh?” Song Dugu’s eyebrow lifted. “Infamous how?”

Darknight rushed to explain. “While pulling the duel records between Rosen and Lin Ming, I looked him up. And damn—it’s all bad press.” He’d checked out of spite after Lin Ming called him “effeminate man.” What he found shocked him: a trail of scandals proving Lin Ming’s utter lack of scruples.

“Continue.”

“Lin Ming. Second-year at Azure Spirit Academy. Once slipped a bottle of menthol oil into a male teacher’s underwear during a mission. Landed the teacher in the hospital the next day—nearly caused impotence. When the teacher confronted him, Lin Ming demanded payment, then ratted out the client without hesitation. Got the client punished with a month in Monster Park, sharing a cage with the foulest magic ferrets.” Darknight’s voice grew bitter. “Another time, he stole most of the girls’ underwear from the dorms to sell for cash. When caught, he exposed every buyer and vanished. Stories like this are endless. The academy calls him the Profit Seeker—a man who sees only gain.”

Bai Yan and Song Dugu stared, speechless.

“Darknight,” Song Dugu finally pressed, “if he’s done all this… why hasn’t he been punished?”

“My lord, he *has* been punished—but lightly. He’s got dirt on everyone. No one dares report him.” Darknight sighed. Reading those files had chilled him. He’d never met someone so… shameless. No loyalty to clients. None.

“…Hmph.” Song Dugu fell silent, at a loss for words.

“About that duel with Rosen,” he shifted focus, “what happened?”

“I overheard guests discussing it before reaching their quarters. I copied the footage.” Darknight pulled a small disc from his robe.

“Play it.”

“Yes.”

Darknight tapped the disc. A 360-degree holographic light screen flared above it, projecting Lin Ming and Rosen locked in combat. The three watched intently. When it ended, Song Dugu stroked his chin. “Your thoughts.”

“They held back. Only testing each other,” Darknight said.

“Everything but the final move was half-hearted,” Bai Yan added bluntly.

“Go on, Bai Yan.”

“Yes, City Lord.” Bai Yan straightened. “Rosen used only blade techniques against Lin Ming—except for those two blade auras. But that last strike… terrifyingly strong.”

“Terrifying? I don’t see it.” Darknight replayed the clip, scowling.

Bai Yan shot him a contemptuous glance. “You wouldn’t understand. That blade’s power—even without Spirit Energy—could split the Duel Arena in half if fully drawn.”

“What’s that look for—wait!” Darknight’s eyes widened. “If Rosen’s that strong… then Lin Ming must be—”

“Not entirely stupid, are you?” Bai Yan smirked.

“You—!”

Bai Yan’s voice dropped low. “Lin Ming’s physical strength is monstrous. The speed and power he used to block Rosen’s final strike… and the punch he took from me. My Body Cultivation Rank is B. My Qi Cultivation Rank matches it due to my physique. Yet he deflected me effortlessly.” He took a sharp breath. “His Body Cultivation Rank is A.”

“A Rank!” both Song Dugu and Darknight gasped.

Song Dugu’s face darkened. “If his body cultivation is A Rank… his auxiliary paths can’t be weak.”

*Hehehe…*

A tinkling laugh echoed through the room. A shadowy figure materialized near the bookshelf.

Neither Darknight nor Bai Yan flinched. They dropped to one knee. “Envoy.”

“Your analysis is sharp,” the Black Cloaked Figure purred, “but I’ll tell you this: only his body cultivation is A Rank. The rest? *Tsk tsk…*”

Song Dugu’s eyes gleamed. “So his Spirit Power and Spirit Energy are weak? Just a brute with muscle?”

“My words end here.” The figure vanished.

Song Dugu’s lips curled into a faint smile. *Confirmed.* “If that’s true… this just became simple.”

Only after the Envoy left did Darknight and Bai Yan rise. Darknight grinned eagerly. “If that’s all he is? I can take him out myself. Just a brute—weak Spirit Energy, weaker Spirit Power.”

Bai Yan shot him a withering look. “Don’t get cocky. One solid hit from him, and you’ll meet your end in the Underworld.”

“If he could even land a hit,” Darknight scoffed, waving a dismissive hand.