Zuo Tian’s words were vague, but they were nothing like what he was really thinking.

It has to be me.

Is she hinting again that I should make the first move?

Does Su Yingsnow want to force a public reveal in front of the whole school?

Make it a fact that she’s with me, then keep me all to herself?

Sigh. Why go that far?

Zuo Tian lightly shook his head. He was actually so pleased with himself that he almost laughed out loud.

Seeing his low-key humblebragging, Yang Jin clicked his tongue twice, full of envy.

“Then it’s definitely you. Su Yingsnow used to come to our class all the time to see you. You two are childhood sweethearts. Other than you, she doesn’t even look at anyone else. I seriously don’t know what’s so great about you.”

Zuo Tian smiled faintly, as if he carried an endless calm within him.

What’s so great about me?

Everything.

I’m great in every way, hehe.

Was Su Yingsnow mad last night?

No idea what she wanted from me either. It was already so late.

Well, I guess girls just like getting emotional out of nowhere late at night.

The black-haired boy picked up his phone with a bit of helplessness, planning to chat with Su Yingsnow.

That woman, after all, would always come running back to him no matter how coldly he treated her.

As if it were fate.

As if it had already been decided.

Even if she was angry, a few nice words would be enough.

She was easy to coax.

But...

Zuo Tian’s finger swiped back and forth across the screen.

No matter what, he just couldn’t find Su Yingsnow’s account.

His long brows slowly drew together.

He typed in a search.

Still nothing.

The boy’s finger froze in midair.

Looking at the empty search results, his narrowed eyes opened slightly. A trace of cold light flashed inside them.

Bitch.

She blocked me?

A sharp, vicious aura flickered past in an instant.

Yang Jin suddenly felt like his friend had become a stranger.

This wasn’t like him.

No matter when, Zuo Tian always stayed calm. He handled everything with ease, as if even a mountain collapsing before him wouldn’t change his expression.

Could it be... the school belle’s boyfriend was someone else?

“I’m heading out for a bit.”

Zuo Tian smoothed down his messy hair and rose to his feet.

Women needed coaxing. If they got too upset, they’d start acting up. Otherwise, they’d put on this front like they didn’t like you, or even hated you.

Girls who say no but mean yes were seriously such a pain.

Really, if I just nodded once, Su Yingsnow would definitely strip eagerly and do whatever I wanted.

What era is this?

And she’s still playing tsundere?

Isn’t that outdated?

Zuo Tian lazily narrowed his eyes. A gentle smile appeared on his refined face.

With both hands in his pockets, he strolled casually down the hallway, often drawing shy side glances from the girls around him.

A modest gentleman, warm and polished like jade.

But Zuo Tian was restless inside.

Hidden within his mind was a mysterious and extraordinary Golden Tower, as if it had come from the ancient Primordial Chaos.

Unfortunately, its gates were still shut.

It had already been nine months since the spiritual resurgence began, yet the little tower’s doors had only opened by a narrow crack.

Tomorrow was the Pathseeker Class aptitude test. No matter how he thought about it, poor students wouldn’t be treated well...

He kept saying he’d given up, but in truth, Zuo Tian hadn’t slept all night. He had spent the whole night trying to push open that gate.

It should be tonight, he thought.

If it drags on any longer, I won’t be able to hold out.

...

...

...

Luo Qingchuan slipped his phone back into his pocket. Watching those Pathseeker Class students chatting away in the group, he suddenly formed a plan for what he should do tonight.

His expression was a little gloomy, which only made his already fox-like, delicate features look colder and fiercer.

The girls walking in twos and threes across the field all gave him a wide berth.

“Sage System, if I do good deeds, I’ll get rewards, right?” Luo Qingchuan asked silently in his heart.

That emotionless loli voice rang out, carrying a faint trace of delight.

[Sage Points can be exchanged for items in the shop, and the shop can also be refreshed.]

[When your accumulated total passes certain thresholds, better items will be unlocked.]

[Also, Sage Points can increase the experience of righteous-path cultivation arts... provided the host has cultivated righteous-path arts.]

The Scripture of Calamitous Chaos naturally didn’t count.

Most of the techniques inside it were bizarre beyond belief, with countless methods that defied common sense.

Some attack arts could condense blades into swords. Others could turn shadows into a hundred ghosts.

“If I kill bad people, does that count as doing good?”

[Enforcing justice on behalf of heaven naturally counts.]

“Got it.”

Luo Qingchuan was going to kill someone tonight.

He had no choice.

After the spiritual resurgence, students weren’t the only ones who had gained supernatural powers.

School was just a small society.

The real world was vast and boundless, full of every kind of wonder, every kind of person...

Some chased after the illusory dream of immortality.

Some gave up cultivation and kept getting dragged along by reality.

Some roamed freely, feeling like the whole world was theirs to go anywhere.

Some, driven by desire and selfishness, would stop at nothing. They harmed the innocent and stained their hands with blood.

The one Luo Qingchuan was going to kill was one such supernatural criminal.

Codename: Peony.

He was a man. A baby-faced man who used to be timid as a mouse, working in a factory printing newspapers.

Peony had already committed several bloody massacres and carried dozens of lives on his back.

The two major supernatural enforcement agencies, Evilbane and Demoncleave, had rarely joined forces, yet still failed to catch him.

And his future crimes would be even more horrifying.

In one of those atrocities, Su Yingsnow fought him and nearly died. She had also nearly been violated by him.

The one who killed him was the child of destiny, Zuo Tian. He punished evil, eliminated wickedness, and saved the beauty in distress.

Peony cultivated the Blood Demon Spirit Refinement Art.

It devoured human souls and drank human blood. Put simply—

He ate people.

That was why Peony’s cultivation advanced so quickly. By now, he was probably at the eighth layer of Qi Refining.

If he was allowed to eat a few more people...

Then an entire bar full of customers would be reduced to piles of white bones, causing a massive sensation in the news.

And Peony would successfully break through into the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Tonight.

The very night before the aptitude test.

Qinggang Bar.

23:19:12.

Seventy-three lives, erased in an instant.

Luo Qingchuan remembered that he had one friend on his phone.

A little dragon girl overflowing with justice. She was currently at the third layer of Foundation Establishment.

Maybe he could act with her tonight and lean on a powerhouse a little.

A battle between supernaturals would definitely drag innocent people into it, especially in a packed place like a bar.

Chen Yanyu was in the Foundation Establishment stage. She was also a dragon. And if I support her from the side, it should be a sure thing.

End the fight as fast as possible, earn Sage Points, and avoid casualties as much as he could.

If Chen Yanyu had something to do and couldn’t come...

Then Luo Qingchuan was prepared to fight alone.

In that case, he’d have to use the 500 Fate-Defying Points he had deliberately kept in reserve.

Doing good deeds deducts Fate-Defying Points... what happens if it goes negative?

Would I... die?

Luo Qingchuan shook his head and finally walked into the teaching building.

Su Yingsnow had said she was at the Literature Club, so the unfamiliar Luo Qingchuan had to ask another student before he found the place.

But when he arrived, he was surprised to find no one there.

Strange. Su Yingsnow had said she’d wait for him here.

“Did she step out for something?”

Luo Qingchuan decided to wait a little. He sat down on the sofa by the wall and placed the gift box he had brought for Su Yingsnow on the table.

He had just picked up his phone, planning to check the dumb chatter in his meme-filled group chat, when he suddenly heard footsteps.

Click.

The doorknob slowly turned.

Then—

The door opened.

Luo Qingchuan looked up. In his pupils was reflected a lovely figure.

A girl.

Her hair curled slightly. Her figure was slender and graceful. She wore soft, delicate makeup, and a pair of round glasses that added a pure top-student air to her whole face.

She smiled slightly, youthful and charming.

Luo Qingchuan recognized her at once, and panic stirred in his heart.

The student council president... Gao Rongrong.

A bad woman.