Chapter 165: This is just the beginning

Su Zhan opened his phone.What greeted his eyes was a notification from Vermilion Bird Academy.

[This semester's final assessment for first-year students of Vermilion Bird Academy is: Independently find solo missions to kill Aberrants of the same rank and minor realm. Three kills qualify as passing, five kills achieve full marks. If killing targets above your level, it will be counted according to the academy's evaluation.]

[Warning: You must kill the Aberrants using your own strength. If discovered using external assistance, your results will be invalidated.]

[Time limit: 30 days.]

[Note: For those with Life Souls without combat functions, the academy has assigned special missions. Please check your personal homepage.]

[For those not assigned special missions, the task remains the unified mission issued by the academy.]

The final assessment... had arrived.

Su Zhan silently calculated.

Killing three Aberrants of the same rank and minor realm would qualify as passing.

The mission difficulty wasn't too high, even rather simple for him.

And it was a solo mission.

This would allow him to operate even more covertly.

Most importantly, he just happened to need to take on solo missions anyway.

This timing was perfect.

It seemed tailor-made for him.

Liu Ziming was the first to slam his phone on the table: "These assessment standards are quite interesting."

Xu Hao scratched his head: "Three of the same rank... feels quite stressful."

"What stress?"

Liu Ziming waved his hand dismissively: "It's nothing for me, but... isn't this assessment a bit too easy?"

Xie Xi slowly put down her chopsticks: "You think it's easy?"

"Of course!"

Liu Ziming puffed out his chest: "I'm not boasting, but missions of this level..."

Feng Jue interrupted without looking up: "Keep boasting then."

"Hey!"

Liu Ziming slapped the table indignantly: "Feng Jue, what do you mean by that?"

Xu Hao quickly tried to mediate: "Alright alright, everyone should think about how to prepare."

Su Zhan silently ate his meal, listening to their argument.

He had grown accustomed to Liu Ziming's boastful remarks.

He couldn't be bothered to discuss this topic with him anymore.

The more you engaged, the more energized he became.

Liu Ziming leaned over: "Brother Su, how are you planning to handle this?"

"Normally."

Su Zhan answered briefly.

"See! This is what a true expert looks like!"

Liu Ziming gave a thumbs up: "But seriously, want to exchange some intelligence?"

Xie Xi chuckled lightly: "You should keep that intelligence to yourself."

Liu Ziming frowned: "Hey, you..."

Feng Jue stood up: "Since it's solo missions, everyone should make their own preparations. I'm leaving."

Watching Feng Jue's retreating back.

Liu Ziming pursed his lips: "Is he in such a hurry? Couldn't he wait until we finished eating?"

Xu Hao asked hesitantly: "Could there be any hidden rules in this assessment?"

Xie Xi seemed thoughtful: "Who knows..."

Su Zhan finished his last mouthful of soup, stood up and said: "I'm leaving to accept missions. A month is more than enough time."

...

Vermilion Bird Academy.

In the Hunting Team commander's room.

Qin Bai stood alone by the window of the Hunting Team command room, his face frosty: "Three months already..."

"Ye Hongyu..."

Qin Bai stared at his reflection in the glass, his lips curling into a cold smile: "What a fine dean of Vermilion Bird Academy."

He turned and walked toward the desk.

His fingers picked up the rejected application document on the desktop.

"Do you think you can protect him like this?"

Qin Bai raised his hand, executing a knife-hand strike toward the corner of the desk.

At the moment before touching the wood, he forcefully stopped.

Only a gust of sharp wind swept the pen off the desk.

Qin Bai took a deep breath, slowly withdrawing his hand.

Calm.

He couldn't let anger affect his thinking.

"Since official channels won't work..."

Qin Bai pulled open the bottom drawer, taking out an encrypted communicator: "Then let higher authorities judge this matter."

He skillfully entered a string of code.

"A student suspected of being an Aberrant, freely roaming under the protection of Vermilion Bird Academy's dean..."

Qin Bai muttered to himself, his fingers tapping on the keyboard: "Such news should greatly appeal to certain influential figures."

The communication prompt showed a secure connection being established.

Qin Bai stared at the blinking progress bar on the screen, his eyes sinister.

"Ye Hongyu, you think you're the only one who can play delaying tactics? Wait until higher authorities send personnel to the academy, let's see what excuses you can use then.

Su Zhan... enjoy your triumph for a few more days."

The communicator lit up with a green light, indicating the connection was established.

Qin Bai straightened his collar, bringing the communicator to his ear: "This is Hunting Team's Qin Bai, requesting access... I have important intelligence about Vermilion Bird Academy that needs to be directly reported to..."

But the other side showed no response.

Qin Bai picked up the communicator to look - the signal showed red.

No signal!

This was Vermilion Bird Academy, and his special communicator shouldn't be blocked by ordinary signal jammers.

How could there be no signal?

The next second.

Qin Bai immediately realized it was Ye Hongyu's doing and stopped immediately.

"Knock knock—"

The office door was gently knocked.

Before Qin Bai could respond.

Ye Hongyu had already pushed the door open.

Today she wore a deep red dean's uniform, her hair meticulously coiled at the back of her head.

"Bypassing the chain of command?"

Ye Hongyu closed the door behind her, her voice terrifyingly calm: "Commander Qin, what's the first rule in the Hunting Team's discipline regulations?"

Qin Bai stood straight, his jawline tense: "Major threat intelligence can be reported bypassing regular channels!"

"Oh?"

Ye Hongyu walked slowly to stand before him: "Then tell me, what kind of major threat does Su Zhan constitute?"

"You know perfectly well what I'm investigating."

Qin Bai retorted without hesitation.

"Evidence?"

Ye Hongyu interrupted him: "In your so-called investigation report, which point can directly prove Su Zhan is an Aberrant?"

Qin Bai took a deep breath: "Dean Ye, you know perfectly well such investigations require formal authorization to proceed deeply, and you've repeatedly rejected my applications—"

"Because your investigation direction is fundamentally wrong!"

Ye Hongyu suddenly slammed the table, causing the pen on the desk to jump up: "Qin Bai, I appreciate your work attitude. Over the years, I've remembered all the threats you've eliminated for the academy. But this time, you've greatly disappointed me."

She slowly paced around the desk.

"You think I haven't been monitoring Su Zhan? I personally examined that child, tested his spiritual energy purity, even secretly observed his three months of training—and the result?"

Ye Hongyu stopped before Qin Bai, looking directly at him: "Aside from exceptional talent, I found no issues whatsoever."

"I can only be completely assured about Su Zhan after conducting my own personal investigation."

Qin Bai sneered: "Dean Ye, are you truly willing to gamble with Daxia to protect a highly suspicious student?"

"Commander Qin, you're an intelligent man."

Ye Hongyu's eyes suddenly turned cold: "But sometimes, being too intelligent isn't a good thing. Remember, in Vermilion Bird Academy, I am the one who makes the rules."

After speaking, she took a step back.

Resuming her official tone: "Starting next week, you'll be responsible for the Aberrant hazard lectures for new students. The matter of Su Zhan ends here. I'll overlook this chain of command violation incident, but if there's a next time..."

Ye Hongyu's eyes narrowed slightly: "Then you'll be forced to guard the border for several years before returning."

Qin Bai stood in place, watching Ye Hongyu turn and leave.

The office door closed.

3 minutes later.

Qin Bai suddenly punched the wall.

"Boom!"

The entire wall was shattered to pieces.

Startling the Hunting Team member next door into a shudder.

"Ends here?"

Qin Bai muttered to himself: "No, this is only just beginning..."