Eldritch Horror Theatre

In the silent room, Jia Yi watched Lanaya and her companion leave.

Faced with Fu Qian’s naked threat, the regional head backed down once again.

He was completely bewildered by how viciously this Academy instructor behaved, but he clearly didn’t dare gamble his life to find out why.

The killer’s corpse was right here, and the Academy had backed the kill. Once the identity was confirmed, he just needed to carefully phrase his report; smoothing things over wouldn’t be hard.

He could report the man to the Academy to stir up a little trouble, but he highly doubted it would have much effect.

”A pleasure doing business with you.”

Fu Qian took one last look at Ruan Shuo’s corpse and rolled up the car window.

Because swiftness is precious in warfare, he had no time to waste tangling with Jia Yi here.

In contrast to his own shift in strategy from the physical to the mental, ”it” was clearly moving from the mental to the physical.

First came a massive bombardment of sword intent, followed by directly manipulating Ruan Shuo to switch targets and eliminate him physically.He could well imagine that once he returned to the Academy, even more exciting surprises would be waiting.

But that was exactly why he had to hurry back.

He couldn’t give ”it” time to lay its traps at leisure.

After all, Li Weixuan could emerge from seclusion in the Demigod Realm at any moment. When that happened, ”it” would gain a top-tier enforcer.

On the drive back, Lanaya remained silent for a long time.

Resolving the matter with such efficiency was naturally good for her, but Fu Qian’s behavior had been far too extreme.

He had practically forced Jia Yi to swallow his doubts, making the Academy look like a criminal syndicate.

However, she had to admit that seeing Jia Yi like that gave her an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

On the other hand, while the killer’s identity hadn’t been officially confirmed, he was clearly young and a practitioner of the sword path.

If he truly turned out to be from the Sword Comprehension Institute, it would be bad news for the Academy.

”Do you think he might be—”

”Yes.”

Lanaya only got half her question out before Fu Qian answered.

”How can you be so sure?”

Lanaya looked surprised.

”A swordsman’s intuition!”

What the fuck—

For a brief moment, Lanaya had the overwhelming urge to hit him.

How had she never noticed just how obnoxious this guy was?

Indignant, she couldn’t resist turning around to glare at him.

In the backseat, Fu Qian was already resting his eyes.

...

”Instructor Lanaya, what exactly is going on?”

Lanaya was someone of swift and resolute action. The moment they arrived back at the Academy, she marched Fu Qian straight to the Sword Comprehension Institute without stopping for a breath.

An impeccably dressed Jian Jingzheng was already waiting for them. The moment he saw the pair walk in, he asked for an explanation.

Lanaya had notified the Sword Comprehension Institute on their way back.

”I need your help confirming some information.”

Without wasting words, Lanaya tossed her files over to him.

Jian Jingzheng clearly recognized Ruan Shuo. After a single glance, his expression turned serious.

”Are you saying this person attacked the Warehouse and murdered the guards?”

”You know him?”

Lanaya had a remarkably sharp eye and instantly picked up on Jian Jingzheng’s reaction.

He gave her a strange look and pulled a sheet of paper from the files.

”I recognize him, but according to the information you provided, there was even a Tier 5 Transcendent among the murdered guards... This is absolutely impossible.

His name is Ruan Shuo, and he is only a student. While he’s generally hardworking, as far as I know, he hasn’t even advanced to the Mid Tier yet.

Don’t you think it defies logic for him to kill all those people single-handedly?”

This...

When Lanaya arrived to deliver the final blow, Ruan Shuo was already plastered against the wall. Since she hadn’t witnessed the battle, the question was difficult to answer.

”Perfectly logical.”

Seeing Lanaya look to him for help, Fu Qian stepped forward and casually dropped two words.

...

Hey, you’re not going to cause trouble here too, are you?

Lanaya looked at Fu Qian nervously, terrified he might issue another death sentence and create an unmanageable mess.

”Who is this?”

Fu Qian’s tone clearly displeased Jian Jingzheng.

”Fu Qian of the Apocalypse Branch. He’s handling this incident with me.”

Lanaya hurriedly jumped in to introduce him.

Apocalypse...

Jian Jingzheng scoffed, making no attempt to hide his contempt. Then he suddenly remembered something.

”Fu Qian... I received a report today that someone trespassed in the Sword Pavilion, and I believe that was the name...”

”That was me.”

Fu Qian admitted it openly.

”That is an absolute violation of the rules. If you cannot provide a reasonable explanation, I am afraid I will have to report it and request disciplinary action.”

Jian Jingzheng narrowed his eyes and stared at Fu Qian.

”I am Fated with the sword path. As I passed by the Sword Pavilion, I felt a sudden inspiration and couldn’t stop myself from going up. Is that explanation sufficient?”

”Couldn’t stop yourself?”

Jian Jingzheng was astounded by the excuse, then scoffed.

”You claim you’re Fated, and that makes it so? Who do you think would believe such nonsense?”

”I believe it.”

Before he even finished speaking, a voice rang out from outside.

That voice?

Jian Jingzheng frowned at first, then realized who it was. He snapped his head up to stare at the person walking through the door.

”Dean, you’ve come out of seclusion? Could it be that you have already...”

”Not yet.”

Li Weixuan waved a hand dismissively. He did not look entirely well.

”I suddenly felt restless, and my sword heart fell into disarray. Meditating any further would only do more harm than good, so I decided to come out and have a look.”

It really is desperate!

Just to get rid of me as quickly as possible, it actually dragged Li Weixuan out right on the verge of his breakthrough?

Fu Qian studied Li Weixuan. While the man’s aura was as sharp as ever, it still fundamentally fell short of the Demigod Realm.

”It” was in such a rush that it couldn’t even bear to wait half a day!

If his guess was right, Li Weixuan was about to find an excuse to eliminate him right now.

”I sense the presence of sword intent on this man.”

Li Weixuan looked Fu Qian up and down before speaking in a measured tone.

Sword intent?

Jian Jingzheng stared at Fu Qian in utter disbelief, unable to trust his ears.

Comprehending sword intent was practically a heaven-sent miracle. Even within the Sword Comprehension Institute, very few ever achieved it.

He was a prime example. Despite years of grueling cultivation and successfully breaking through to the Mid Tier, he still hadn’t grasped even a sliver of that inspiration.

Now you were telling him that a complete layman had simply sat in the Sword Pavilion for a little while and awakened sword intent?

”This... that’s impossible, right?”

He blurted out subconsciously.

Li Weixuan completely ignored his doubt. Instead, he took two steps forward, locking his aura onto Fu Qian.

A moment later, his hand rested on his waist. His sword intent instantly surged like a mighty flood, and under that stimulation, Fu Qian felt the sword intent within his own body flare to life, rising up to meet the challenge without warning.

An aura steeped in tyrannical slaughter erupted, and a bone-chilling killing intent instantly filled the room.

It really is sword intent... Jian Jingzheng was completely stunned.

He knew enough to recognize the real thing. No matter how reluctant he was, he had to accept the reality right in front of him.

It was just far too murderous!

And this bloodthirsty sword intent felt seemingly familiar!

At that moment, Fu Qian harbored the exact same doubt.

If he remembered correctly, he had seen this very same Slaughter Sword Intent on Ruan Shuo not long ago.

Right as Li Weixuan moved to test him, the sword intent that had been instilled into his body morphed into this exact one.

It practically reeked of a setup!