12: Chapter 12 Strange

The next morning, a faint floral scent filled the air.

At the dining table, Su Wu said nonchalantly, "By the way, I've already spoken directly with the school's top brass. From today on, you only need to attend the morning theory classes and basic combat demonstrations. As for those time-wasting routine training sessions in the afternoon, you don't need to participate anymore."

Su Yu was slightly stunned upon hearing this. "Not going to school for training? Then what will I do?"

Su Wu wiped his mouth with a napkin, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.

"Come straight home after school, or I'll send you a location. Your body is now a 'Chaos Body,' and the school's child's-play sparring drills can no longer satisfy you. From now on, your old man will personally take charge in the afternoons and give you private lessons."

"Personally... special training?" Su Yu looked at his father's unfathomable smile, and an inexplicable chill ran down his spine. "Alright! I'll listen to you, Dad!"

He knew that his father was already a super powerhouse in the Martial King Realm. To receive personal guidance from a Martial King was an Opportunity countless people wouldn't even dare to dream of.

...

6:00 AM, Canglan First Middle School.

The moment Su Yu stepped through the school gates with his backpack, the originally noisy campus seemed to have its mute button pressed.

In the past, due to his poor family background and Wang Tai's suppression, Su Yu was like an invisible man at school, occasionally subjected to the sneers and sarcasm of some snobs.

But today, everything had changed.

"Look! It's Su Yu!"

"Shh! Be quiet! Do you want to die? I heard the Wang family was wiped out a few days ago precisely because they provoked him!"

"My God, I never realized he was this kind of elite scion? I heard even the City Lord has to bow when he sees his father..."

Countless gazes hit Su Yu like spotlights.

There was envy and jealousy, but more than that, there was a deep-seated reverence.

Those students who used to act tough under Wang Tai's influence were now shrinking their necks, not even daring to look Su Yu in the eye, for fear that this 'Crown Prince' would settle scores with them later.

Su Yu's expression was calm, and his steps were steady.

Having experienced a brush with death and his martial Awakening, the childish gazes of these peers could no longer cause even a ripple in his heart.

Would an eagle care about the chatter of sparrows? Obviously not.

"Blockhead! You finally decided to show up at school!"

Just then, a crisp and pleasant shout came from behind, breaking the oppressive atmosphere.

Su Yu stopped and looked back.

He saw Xu Lele running over, carrying a pink bag and her hair tied in a high ponytail.

The boys nearby felt their hearts shatter at the sight, yet no one dared to step forward and strike up a conversation.

To them, the current Su Yu was a terrifying existence with a 'keep away' label stuck to him.

"You have no idea, the school has been buzzing these past few days!" Xu Lele ran to Su Yu's side, her large eyes blinking. "Everyone is talking about what happened that day, saying your dad is a peerless expert living in seclusion who crushed that bully from the Wang family with one foot, and even the City Lord had to apologize. Everyone is calling you 'Young Master Su' now!"

Su Yu smiled helplessly and shook his head. "What 'Young Master Su'? Don't listen to their nonsense, I'm still just me."

"Hmph, keep pretending." Xu Lele leaned in closer and lowered her voice, asking curiously, "But seriously, are those resources your dad got for you really that powerful? I feel like your current aura... seems even deeper than it was that day in the combat room."

As one of the few people in class who truly cared about Su Yu, she could keenly sense his changes.

That change wasn't just in strength, but a kind of settled temperament—like a sharp blade hidden in its sheath, its edge restrained.

Su Yu thought of the tearing pain he felt in the Gravity Room over the past few days, and a confident glint flashed in his eyes.

"There has indeed been some improvement. If it were the current me, I'm confident I could finish Wang Heng within three moves."

"Wow!" Xu Lele covered her mouth in admiration. "You're bragging! Wang Heng is in the Middle Stage of the Qi and Blood Realm! But... this young lady believes you! Then doesn't that mean you can easily get into top institutions like Beijing Martial Arts University or Magic Martial Arts University now?"

"Beijing Martial Arts University is only one of my goals." Su Yu looked into the distance, his voice flat yet firm. "My goal is to be the National Top Scholar."

"Tsk tsk, three days away and you've developed quite the ego." Xu Lele curled her lip, but her eyes held unmistakable amusement. "By the way, the first period is Combat Simulation Class, and the teacher said we're doing group sparring. How about we pair up? It'll give me a chance to see just how strong the future 'National Top Scholar' really is."

"Sure, as long as you aren't afraid of losing too embarrassingly."

"Hmph, who wins and who loses isn't certain yet! This lady hasn't been slacking off these past few days either!"

The two bickered as they walked toward the teaching building.

...

Meanwhile.

Dozens of kilometers outside Canglan Base City.

This was a forbidden zone for human civilization, a wasteland where Vicious Beasts ran rampant.

The dilapidated highways of the old era lay across the overgrown wilderness like a broken spine. Collapsed skyscrapers were draped in giant vines, becoming nests for birds and beasts.

In the sky above this land of danger and slaughter, a figure stood with hands behind his back, treading on the Void Realm.

Su Wu.

He wore an inconspicuous set of grey casual clothes, but the fierce astral winds would automatically part three feet before him, unable to even rustle his clothes.

Martial King Realm experts were already capable of Mental Projection, although it only covered a radius of one kilometer.

"Strange..."

Su Wu frowned slightly and muttered to himself.

Normally, the area thirty to fifty kilometers outside the base city was the most active zone for low-level Vicious Beasts.

In the past, there should have been wolf packs and herds of mutant boars, and one might even occasionally see F-rank or E-rank Vicious Beasts fighting for territory.

Although humanity had stepped into the stars, they had not adopted an extermination policy for Earth's native ecology.

On one hand, it was to preserve ecological diversity; more importantly, it was to use these Vicious Beasts as natural whetstones to temper generation after generation of martial arts students.

But now...

Su Wu looked out, and the wilderness below was eerily quiet.

Aside from a few scattered Iron-skinned Boars and Gale Rabbits foraging, the packs of 'Bloodthirsty Demonic Wolves' that used to occupy the abandoned industrial park were gone; the 'Armored Crocodiles' that lived by the old riverbed were also nowhere to be found.

"Too quiet."

Su Wu's figure slowly descended, landing on the top of a broken bridge.

He could sense a faint, unsettling aura lingering in the air.

That wasn't the scent left by ordinary Vicious Beasts, but a higher-level, more organized... pressure.

"Could a high-level Vicious Beast have passed through and scared away all these low-level brutes?"

Su Wu crouched down to examine a set of claw marks on the bridge surface.

The marks were fresh, likely left not long ago, but the strange thing was that the marks were all oriented in the same direction—all the Vicious Beasts were migrating toward the same place.

That direction... was north, away from Canglan Base City, and deeper into the wilderness forbidden zone—the 'Death Grand Canyon'.

"A large-scale Vicious Beast migration? Or some kind of gathering?"

A sharp glint flashed in Su Wu's eyes.

As a seasoned veteran who had weathered this world for decades, combined with the insights from his past life, he instinctively smelled a conspiracy.

Normally, Vicious Beasts would only act this abnormally under two conditions:

First, an impending natural disaster like an earthquake or tsunami.

Second... the birth of a 'Beast King' capable of commanding the beasts, who was currently rallying its forces!

"If it's the latter, then Canglan City might be in for some trouble."

Su Wu stood up and brushed the dust off his hands.

Su Wu didn't feel fear like an ordinary person; his strength in the Martial King Realm gave him absolute confidence. His purpose for coming out this time was originally to find combat practice targets for Su Yu.

"Since they aren't here, I'll head deeper."

Su Wu looked toward the deep mountains and old forests to the north, shrouded in black mist.

"I don't believe I can't catch a few decent sparring partners."

Before his voice had even faded, his figure vanished instantly, leaving behind only a trail of shredded clouds from the sonic boom.

Whoosh!

A second later, he had already appeared ten li away.

His goal was clear: catch a few Peak E-rank or even Early D-rank Vicious Beasts and throw them into the back mountains of Cloud Peak Manor to give Su Yu a real taste of 'Wilderness Survival'.

As for the threat of a Beast Tide?

When the sky falls, those taller will hold it up. If it truly comes to the point of threatening his son's life, it won't be too late for Su Wu to act.