128: Chapter 128 Kagemaru's Fear

The morning sunlight didn't bring any warmth to the Tianjiao Camp; the atmosphere on the training ground was suffocatingly oppressive.

Over a hundred students stood in neat ranks, their faces etched with tension and unease.

Between last night's attempted bombing and the subsequent overnight purge...

...these once-arrogant geniuses had become as jittery as birds startled by a bowstring.

Around the training ground...

...armed soldiers stood every five meters. Though their dark muzzles weren't pointed directly at the students, the invisible pressure was omnipresent.

In the back row of the formation, an unremarkable, thin boy kept his head low.

His name was Wang Chenguang. His file showed him as a commoner genius from a small border city.

He possessed the A-rank Talent "Shadow Stealth."

With a solitary and introverted personality, he was practically invisible in the camp.

But no one knew that his true code name was "Shadow Circle." He was a top-tier spy meticulously trained for ten years by Sakura Country's Tokko.

At this moment...

Shadow Circle's palms were slick with cold sweat, and his heart hammered wildly in his chest, but he had to do his utmost to suppress these physiological reactions.

Because any slight abnormality could lead to his absolute ruin.

Too fast—the Huaxia military's reaction was simply too fast.

As soon as that fool Wang Gang was exposed last night, a full-scale bloodline test began this morning.

It was a top-tier S-rank test. The specialized equipment could not only detect the beastification genes unique to the Beast God Cult...

...but could even analyze bone age and spiritual energy fluctuations to uncover any traces of disguise.

Shadow Circle glanced at the podium out of the corner of his eye, where two people stood.

One was the chief instructor, Lei Zhan, who was currently staring down at the group with a murderous expression.

The other was none other than Lin Fan.

A youth who appeared harmless but was actually more terrifying than a demon.

Shadow Circle's pupils contracted slightly.

Everything that had transpired in the banquet hall last night...

...although he hadn't witnessed it personally, he had learned the general gist through special channels.

Wang Gang had lost—that madman with Grandmaster Level combat power who had gone as far as burning his essence blood to transform into a Demonic Ape.

To have fallen at the hands of a mere student in the Martial Master Realm was simply unheard of.

Yet the facts were right there: Lin Fan was not only alive but had become an honored guest in this purge.

"Next."

"Wang Chenguang."

The cold voice of the military doctor in charge of the testing rang out.

Shadow Circle's body stiffened momentarily, but he quickly adjusted his state.

He stepped out of the formation with slightly stiff strides.

He tried his best to display the nervousness and awkwardness expected of a commoner student who hadn't seen much of the world.

He walked up to the massive testing device.

A probe on the machine emitted a blue light screen.

It scanned him from head to toe.

Shadow Circle held his breath, circulating the spiritual energy within his body along an extremely eerie route.

This was a secret technique called "Turtle Breath Spirit Lock," which could completely disguise one's aura and vital signs as another person's.

This was his final trump card and the foundation that had allowed him to remain undercover in Huaxia for so many years.

"Beep." The machine made a soft sound.

A green light flickered on. "Passed."

"Return to the ranks."

The military doctor waved him away.

Shadow Circle's heart finally settled.

Lowering his head, he walked quickly back to the formation.

However...

...the very moment he turned around...

...he felt a gaze, one as sharp as an X-ray, landing on his back.

It was Lin Fan. Shadow Circle didn't look back, but he could clearly sense the scrutinizing intent within that gaze.

Could he have discovered something?

Impossible.

Even the military's S-rank detector had been fooled.

How could a mere student in the Martial Master Realm see through it?

Shadow Circle forced himself to stay calm.

Back in the ranks, he continued to observe his surroundings from the corner of his eye, discovering a phenomenon that caused him even more panic.

The students who had participated in the "gang-beating" of the Beast God Cultists last night...

...all seemed to have undergone subtle changes in their auras.

Although these geniuses were exceptionally gifted, most were like flowers in a greenhouse, lacking the grit that comes from truly experiencing life-and-death combat.

But now...

...Qin Feng, Iron Pillar Zhao, and the others standing in the front row had much sharper gazes.

A faint murderous aura emanated from them—a temperament that only appears after one has seen blood and taken a life.

What was even more terrifying...

...was that their strength also seemed to have increased to varying degrees.

Especially that Iron Pillar Zhao, who was originally only at the early stage of the Martial Master Realm.

He now showed signs of breaking through to the mid-stage. It was rumored to be because he had taken a detoxification pill given by Lin Fan and snatched resources from the Beast God Cultists.

Lin Fan.

Lin Fan again.

This name was like a curse, changing the entire Tianjiao Camp at an incredible speed.

It was even changing the future of Huaxia.

A sense of crisis unlike anything he'd felt before rose in Shadow Circle's heart.

If this person wasn't eliminated...

...at this rate of growth...

...in less than ten years, perhaps even five...

...Lin Fan would become a nightmare for Sakura Country and the entire Myriad Races Alliance.

That fool Wang Gang might have failed, but his judgment was correct.

Lin Fan must die, and as soon as possible.

Using the motion of lowering his head to adjust his collar...

...Shadow Circle lightly pressed a miniature transmitter hidden in his cuff.

It was the highest emergency contact code for Sakura Country's Tokko.

The message had only one meaning:

"Target threat level upgraded to SS-rank."

"Requesting activation of the 'Shadow Kill' plan."

"At all costs."

"Eliminate Lin Fan."

After sending the signal, Shadow Circle looked up.

He looked at the youth on the podium once more.

His eyes were still dull, but beneath that dull disguise...

...lay a cold, viper-like killing intent.

Lin Fan was drinking from a bottle of water.

Suddenly...

...as if sensing something, he snapped his head around, his gaze piercing accurately through the crowd.

It collided with Shadow Circle's gaze in mid-air.

Shadow Circle's heart skipped a beat.

He quickly looked away.

He pretended to look at the surrounding scenery.

Damn it.

How could this guy's intuition be so sharp?

Is this what they call a "Son of National Destiny"?

On the podium...

...Lin Fan set down his water bottle, a meaningful smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

"Instructor."

Lin Fan turned his head and spoke to Lei Zhan beside him.

"That student named Wang Chenguang."

"Give me a copy of his file later."

Lei Zhan was somewhat surprised.

"Wang Chenguang?"

"That kid with the A-rank Shadow Talent?"

"His test results were fine."

"His background is clean, too."

"You suspect him?"

Lin Fan shook his head and didn't answer directly.

"It's nothing."

"I just think he's a bit interesting."

"His eyes are quite special."

"Like a..."

"...rat hiding in the gutter."

Lin Fan's voice was very soft.

But it was exceptionally clear in the cold wind. Since Wang Gang, the target in the open, was gone...

...it was time to clean out these rats hiding in the shadows, one by one.