282: Chapter 283 Su Qing's Secrets

That same night.

Longya Academy, back mountain.

Instructor Su Qing sat alone on a giant boulder, a ball of silver light cradled in her palm.

Sword Saint Ye Qingtian's Sword Intent seed.

She had been contemplating its contents for the past ten-odd days.

Sword Saint Ye Qingtian had practiced the sword for a lifetime; his insights into the Sword Dao were as vast as the sea. A normal person might take years or even decades to digest even a small portion.

But Instructor Su Qing was no normal person.

She was a retired Level 60 Third-Turn Shadow Dancer.

The core of the Shadow Dancer class wasn't strength, but comprehension. You had to understand your opponent's attack patterns, movement habits, and psychological state in an extremely short time, then find the optimal Breakthrough point.

This long-term training in superb information processing gave her an Innate advantage when reading Sword Saint Ye Qingtian's Sword Intent.

She didn't need to understand everything.

She only needed to find the parts relevant to her.

Within Sword Saint Ye Qingtian's Sword Dao, a small portion concerned techniques for using spatial Laws—how to use "folds" in space while moving to increase suddenness, and how to bypass defenses by fine-tuning the spatial dimensions of an attack path.

These techniques were highly compatible with a Shadow Dancer's combat style.

What Instructor Su Qing was doing now was "translating" these techniques into a version usable by a Shadow Dancer.

The silver light pulsed in her palm.

A brand-new movement technique concept took shape in her mind.

It wasn't a Shadow Dancer's standard dodge, nor was it Sword Saint Ye Qingtian's swordsman footwork.

It was something entirely new, a Fusion of the two.

If she succeeded, her close-quarters speed would reach a whole new level.

Although her Rank was locked by a curse, Rank did not equal combat power. Lin Qi had already proven this—a Blank Slate with all stats at 5 had beaten the top Prodigies of the entire Federation into the ground.

Rank was just a number.

Instructor Su Qing suddenly understood Lin Qi's disdain for data.

"I'm starting to get the hang of it."

She murmured to herself.

This was the message she had asked Zhang Wei to pass on to Lin Qi.

The silver light withdrew as she tucked the Sword Intent seed away again.

As she stood up to leave, she sensed something.

Footsteps.

Very light, with traces of deliberately concealed presence.

Instructor Su Qing's body instantly entered a combat-ready state, though she remained calm on the surface.

"Who's there?"

Three seconds of silence.

A figure emerged from the shadows of the woods.

It was the Vice Dean of Longya Academy, Zhao Shouzhen.

A scrawny old man who looked to be in his sixties, wearing the standard academy uniform, with gray hair combed neatly.

Rank 5.

One of the three existing Rank 5s in the Federation.

"Instructor Su Qing, still working hard on the back mountain so late?" Zhao Shouzhen's tone was easygoing.

Instructor Su Qing's vigilance did not waver.

"Does the Vice Dean have some business?"

"Nothing major." Zhao Shouzhen stopped three meters in front of her. "I just wanted to chat."

"About what?"

"About your student."

Instructor Su Qing's hand tightened slightly inside her sleeve.

"Which student?"

"Instructor Su, are you playing dumb with me?" Zhao Shouzhen smiled. "The Tianhai No. 3 High School Special Training Class, the overall champion of the Federal Prodigy Tournament, the Blank Slate with all stats at 5—Lin Qi."

Instructor Su Qing remained silent.

Zhao Shouzhen wasn't in a hurry either, standing there with his hands behind his back as if taking a stroll.

"The incident at the S-rank Forbidden Zone—I know he did it."

Instructor Su Qing's breathing hitched for a beat.

"Do you have proof?"

"I don't need proof." Zhao Shouzhen shook his head. "The residual Law traces, the energy signature of the Sealing Technique on Sword Saint Ye Qingtian, the shattered legendary longsword in the secret room—piecing these together, there are no more than five people in the Federation capable of such a thing. After ruling out the impossible ones, what remains is the answer."

Instructor Su Qing said nothing.

"But rest assured, I'm not here to settle scores." Zhao Shouzhen's tone changed, losing its casualness and gaining something Instructor Su Qing couldn't quite define.

"I've returned from the Capital."

"I know."

"Do you know what I was doing in the Capital?"

"Attending a meeting."

"Correct, a very important meeting." Zhao Shouzhen looked at her. "The meeting's contents are top secret, but I can tell you one thing—regarding Lin Qi, the high-ranking military officials currently have two opinions."

Instructor Su Qing waited for him to continue.

"The first: he is an uncontrollable, uncertain factor who should be incorporated or suppressed before he grows beyond control."

"And the second?"

"The second—" Zhao Shouzhen's gaze shifted slightly. "Is my opinion."

"What opinion?"

"He might be our only chance."

Instructor Su Qing's brow twitched.

"What do you mean?"

Zhao Shouzhen didn't answer immediately. He walked to the giant boulder Instructor Su Qing had been sitting on, patted the surface, and sat down.

A Rank 5 Expert sat on a rock, his posture as casual as a retired old man out for a walk.

"Su Qing, you know something happened at the Rift Zone recently, right?"

"I've heard."

"The reconnaissance team losing contact is just a surface phenomenon." Zhao Shouzhen lowered his voice. "The real problem is—the Rift Zone is expanding."

Instructor Su Qing's heart tightened.

"When did it start?"

"Three months ago. The expansion rate is very slow, averaging two to three meters outward per day. The military has been suppressing the news."

"Three months—" Instructor Su Qing calculated quickly. "That's around the time of the Prodigy Championship."

"Exactly. The timeline coincides perfectly with when Lin Qi first demonstrated his abilities on a large scale in public."

Instructor Su Qing's fist tightened.

"Are you saying the Rift Zone's expansion is related to Lin Qi?"

"I didn't say it was related." Zhao Shouzhen corrected. "I said the timing coincides. But some within the Federation's high command have already begun thinking in that direction."

"So that's why there's an agenda for a 'Disposal Plan'."

"You're quite well-informed." Zhao Shouzhen glanced at her.

"Vice Dean, what exactly are you trying to tell me?"

Zhao Shouzhen was silent for a moment.

"I cast a dissenting vote at that meeting."

"Why?"

"Because I've seen it too many times in my life—whenever the Federation encounters something it doesn't understand, its first instinct is to seize it for research. In the history of Awakeners, this has happened more than once. Every time, the result is the same—it triggers an even greater disaster."

"You think taking action against Lin Qi will trigger a disaster?"

"You saw him in action at the Convention Center." Zhao Shouzhen looked at her. "Do you think you can catch someone who can create independent world Laws?"

Instructor Su Qing did not answer.

"I want to meet him." Zhao Shouzhen said.

Instructor Su Qing didn't move.

"He's in seclusion."

"I know. I'll wait until he emerges."

"Can you guarantee that this meeting isn't a trap?"

Zhao Shouzhen smiled, a smile filled with an old man's helplessness.

"Su Qing, if I wanted to take action, I wouldn't need a meeting."

This was the truth.

Instructor Su Qing was well aware of a Rank 5's capabilities.

"I mean no harm." Zhao Shouzhen stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes. "I just want to talk to this young man before those idiots make an irreversible decision."

He turned and walked into the depths of the woods.

After a few steps, he stopped again.

"One more thing. I can't maintain Sword Saint Ye Qingtian's state for much longer; that Sealing Technique on him can only hold for five more months at most. If that boy really has a way to save him..."

Zhao Shouzhen didn't look back.

"Pass on a message for me: Old Zhao owes Sword Saint Ye Qingtian a life; I can repay it to his student."

His figure vanished into the shadows of the trees.

Instructor Su Qing stood where she was, her hand gripping the Sword Intent seed a bit tighter.