79: Chapter 79: Does the Su family want a knight, or a groom?

Ji Shuyue threw the file back into Si Qingyun's hands.

"Just a mediocre nobody; he was probably stripped of his Opportunity by the Su Family and sent to our school as compensation. Tell me, Principal Si, are you so bored lately that you're suffering from blue balls? Is this trivial matter really worth making such a fuss over?"

"Making a fuss?" Si Qingyun raised an eyebrow and tapped the file with his fingertip. "Did you notice that kid's War Princess—surname Su, given name Qingyuan."

"Where is her file?"

"It doesn't exist; that's exactly what I find strange."

"There are countless people with the surname Su in this world; you don't actually think he's part of the Su Family, do you? Though, the name does sound a bit familiar?"

Ji Shuyue thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped her forehead. "Right! There's a teaching assistant in the Remote Department named Su Qingtang. I knew it sounded familiar."

"I heard she's taking on the role of freshman counselor this year as well," Si Qingyun added.

"Taking on the role of counselor too? Managing both teaching and administration—the Su Family certainly knows how to keep a tight grip on things, don't they?"

Si Qingyun suddenly laughed. "Done pretending?"

"Hmph!" Ji Shuyue rolled her eyes at him, twisting a lock of her hair with her fingertip. Her tone finally turned serious. "I have heard that Su Jingzhou has two daughters: the older one is Su Qingtang, and the younger one is Su Qingyuan."

As she spoke, she cast a sidelong glance with her alluring, fox-like eyes. The light purple eyeshadow on the corners of her eyes made Si Qingyun's heart tremble, nearly causing him to lose his composure.

Seeing Si Qingyun's awkwardness, her red lips curled into a cunning arc, and her tone carried a hint of probing. "You suspect that this Su Qingyuan is the younger daughter Su Jingzhou has been hiding all along?"

Si Qingyun cleared his throat. "It's not impossible. You're in charge of the Remote Department; have you noticed any issues with Su Qingtang?"

Ji Shuyue shook her head.

Si Qingyun's tone became firm. "Then the problem must lie with this younger daughter."

"You're that sure? And why have you always been suspicious of the Su Family? Did Qiu Jie really go to the Su Family back then?"

"No, but eighteen years ago, someone saw her appear in the Su Family's Tianting City. You know the rest; by the time our people arrived, she had already vanished. But this time, as long as we can find evidence on Su Qingyuan, we can force the Su Family to hand over the technology."

Ji Shuyue smiled slightly. "Then I wish you success."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm saying, Principal Si, just think about it. If Su Qingyuan really had issues, would the Su Family send her to the Imperial Capital Academy? Su Qingtang is the perfect example. With so many of you investigating for so long, have you found a single damn thing on her?"

Si Qingyun fell into deep thought.

Ji Shuyue laughed. "I think the Su Family just wants to manipulate that kid, using our school to break his pride so he'll crawl back and beg to be their dog."

"Do you have proof?"

"Isn't the evidence obvious? The reason Su Jingzhou has been hiding his younger daughter is because she's trash. I even heard last year he was planning to arrange a marriage between this younger daughter and the Sima Family. And that kid named Yun Zhuo, his Awakening of Taming Mastery seems quite extraordinary; it should be able to significantly develop a War Princess's potential and improve her talent. Think about it: a Heaven Rank High Grade War Spirit Master—would he bind himself to trash as his War Princess? This way, both of the Su Family's daughters would become Geniuses, so naturally, they'd have to stay at home. But having a steed isn't enough; you also need a knight to ride it."

Si Qingyun continued, "So Su Jingzhou wants to recruit that kid as a son-in-law? But since that kid is clearly a nobody yet has ambitions higher than the sky, he sent him to our school to use the noble students here to break his pride. To make him understand that a Genius without the support of a noble family is just garbage?"

"You only got half of it right. In my opinion, what Su Jingzhou wants isn't a son-in-law, but a groom. Have you forgotten that kid's innate skill? To put it bluntly, this is a male version of Qiu Jie. The difference is that Qiu Jie relied on biotechnology, which allowed for mass production. Whereas he relies on skills, which can only turn trash into treasure, and can only be applied to War Princesses."

Si Qingyun nodded. "Being able to mass-produce Heaven Rank High Grade War Princesses is good too. With the strength of your family and mine, are we afraid of not being able to find Heaven Rank War Spirit Masters?"

"Are you sure?"

"Well... isn't there still azure essence stone? If there aren't enough War Spirit Masters, we'll just make up for it with azure essence stone. Haven't you noticed that there were more War Princesses acting as wingmen last year than the year before? And there will probably be even more this year."

"That only proves that the gender ratio of newborns in the Federation has started to become unbalanced. We are entering the era of multiple War Princesses. By then, War Princesses like us will become less and less valuable."

"Don't say that. High-rank War Princesses are still rare; otherwise, the Su Family wouldn't have sent that kid to our school."

...

"Are you sure we don't need azure essence stone?" Teacher Su looked at the rune in Yun Zhuo's hand with some worry.

This was one he had just synthesized, a rune that increased Corrosion Energy absorption by 50%. This increase in Corrosion Energy absorption was 5% higher than the 45% S-grade refining potion currently on the market. And this was the limit of the potion, not the limit of Yun Zhuo.

Yun Zhuo had one more rune like this. Once both were inlaid for Teacher Su, the Corrosion Energy absorption rate would increase by 100%. This was equivalent to Yun Zhuo's corrosion energy furnace having to handle the Corrosion Energy conversion of two Imperial Rank War Princesses. That was why Teacher Su was a bit worried about whether they should get an azure essence stone first.

"At the end of the day, you still don't trust me." Yun Zhuo said, feigning disappointment.

"No, I don't not trust you. Isn't it better to be safe than sorry? There are no Suppression Collars prepared for Imperial Rank War Princesses in this world."

"Please, it's not like runes can't be removed once they're inlaid. If we find it doesn't work, won't it be fine if we just take them off?"

"But the way one looks during distortion is so ugly. Look at that girl from No. 3 Middle School yesterday."

"Didn't that girl from No. 3 Middle School not actually suffer a distortion?"

"But it's so ugly, I don't want you to see me like that."

"Don't worry. Once I notice it's not working, I'll take the runes off immediately. You saw it yesterday too; that woman didn't show signs of distortion immediately either."

"That still won't do. What if you do it on purpose to mess with me?"

"Hmm? Are you not listening to me now?"

"No, I'm listening, but you can't..."

"Hmm?"

"Fine, fine, then hurry up. Don't mess with me, otherwise, you can go sleep on the sofa from now on."

"Sleep on the sofa, then. Who's afraid of whom?"

"You... where are the runes in your hand?" Teacher Su was startled.

"They're already inlaid. How does it feel?"

At the moment he inlaid the runes, Yun Zhuo felt the Corrosion Energy transmitting from Teacher Su surge like a flood peak. After being impacted, his own corrosion energy furnace was instantly strengthened twofold. Looking at it now, the System was still a conscientious merchant—a one-time purchase was valid forever. He wondered how much azure essence stone this would save him in the future.

After sensing for a moment, Teacher Su said blankly, "It doesn't feel like anything. Did you really inlay the runes?"

"Nonsense, let's inlay another one."

Hum. A soft light instantly lit up on the two of them. They leveled up; level seventeen.

"We leveled up!" Teacher Su's eyes lit up.

"I told you it would be fine, but you didn't believe me."

"Are there any more? Let's try inlaying a few more."

"None left. Including the one we originally had, we only synthesized these two."

"But I still have so many inlay slots; don't you think that's a waste?"