Lightning-type E-rank? My Space-time-type S-rank can't be hidden anymore!

Shen Man returned ten minutes later.

Lin Yuan was still leaning against the wall, his right hand pressing against the wound on his right shoulder, where the bleeding had stopped.

The nine rounds of bone tempering bring not only strength and endurance, but also a recovery speed far exceeding that of ordinary people.

A thin layer of scab has formed on the surface of the wound. Although it still hurts when I move it, at least I don't have to worry about losing too much blood.

He heard footsteps and looked up.

Shen Man walked back from the end of the street, her dark red hoodie's hood askew to one side, the drawstring swaying back and forth.

With her right hand holding the half-spilled cup of milk tea, her left hand was empty; the Blood Eye Cult's runemaster hadn't been brought back by her.

"Dead." She stopped in front of Lin Yuan, her tone flat.

Lin Yuan did not show any surprise.

He had already guessed this outcome when the runemaster was laughing maniacally.

A cult of the Blood Eye Cult's stature would never allow captured members to leak information while still alive.

It's either some kind of remotely triggered restriction, or a suicide mechanism pre-implanted in the body; in any case, no survivors will be left.

"How did he die?" he asked.

Shen Man took a sip of milk tea, her cheeks puffing out slightly.

"Just like all the Blood Eye Cult members who were captured before."

"My blood flowed backward, my heart stopped, and the bloodshot mark in my left eye was destroyed."

The entire process took no more than three seconds; no treatment could intervene in time.

She paused, and the pearls made a gurgling sound in the straw.

"It's no use. You'll die when the time comes, like a switch has been flipped."

Lin Yuan remained silent for a few seconds.

An organization that can "shut down" its members at any time has a far more terrifying level of brainwashing and control than an ordinary cult.

The Blood Eye Cult had been lurking in Donghai City for three years, setting up runes to target Su Qingyue, and even had the ability to launch an attack in the presence of teachers from the Magic City Academy.

The runemaster who was captured today was merely a pawn in the entire plan.

"What about Su Qingyue?" he asked.

"It's all done." Shen Man handed the milk tea cup to him.

"You just said he planted runes underground, heading towards the Su residence. When I got there, three Blood Eye Cult tracking runes had already been activated around the Su residence. However..."

She smiled slightly, a hint of smugness in her expression.

"Now that we know your Blood Eye Cult has taken action, how can we remain indifferent? Those people you mentioned have already been captured."

Lin Yuan leaned against the wall, and upon hearing these words, his tense shoulders finally relaxed.

It wasn't because he was worried about Su Qingyue, but with a fifth-tier lightning-type like Shen Man around, those few rabble from the Blood Eye Sect couldn't cause any trouble.

Rather, it's because this statement implies that the entire matter was under the control of the Shanghai University from the very beginning.

He wasn't fighting alone; he wasn't the only one who discovered the cult's activities and dealt with them alone.

From the moment he erased those runes outside the arena, or even earlier, the Magic City Academy had already set its sights on the Blood Eye Cult.

He remembered what Shen Man had said to him at the admissions office yesterday.

"Things have been a bit unsettled in Donghai City these past few days, be careful." At the time, he thought it was just a casual reminder.

Now I understand, it was telling him: We already know, we're already taking action, just take care of yourself.

"So you've been keeping an eye on them for a while now?" Lin Yuan asked.

"It's not too early." Shen Man switched the milk tea cup to her left hand, rummaged in her hoodie pocket with her right hand, and pulled out a crumpled tissue to hand to him.

"About the day before you brought that rune stone back from the wasteland, the intelligence network of the Magic City Academy had already detected the Blood Eye Cult's unusual activities around Donghai City."

I initially thought they were just passing by, but it turns out their target was the Su family's S-rank.

Lin Yuan took the tissue and pressed it against the wound on his right shoulder. A small patch of the tissue was stained red with residual blood.

"And then you went along with it, using my match with Su Qingyue as bait to lure out the Blood Eye Sect members?"

"It's not 'you,' it's 'we,'" Shen Man corrected him, pointing the straw at his nose.

"You filled out the form yesterday, so you're now a student at Shanghai University. Be precise with your wording."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yuan's lips twitched slightly, and he gave an awkward smile, saying, "...Okay, we will."

Shen Man nodded in satisfaction, sucked up the last bit of liquid from the milk tea cup, and casually threw the empty cup into a trash can on the street.

"Actually, it wasn't really bait. The Blood Eye Cult was going to make a move against Su Qingyue anyway. They would have found an opportunity regardless of whether there was a competition or not."

Shen Man looked down at him, a hint of a smile in her eyes.

"Unfortunately, they made a fatal mistake."

"What?"

"They've also set their sights on you," Shen Man said.

"If they only focus on Su Qingyue, it may take us even longer to find them all."

But they were greedy and, after seeing your performance, wanted to take you with them.

One S-rank Ice Phoenix isn't enough; they also want a lightning-type with nine-stage bone tempering.

She smiled, a smile completely different from her usual lazy demeanor, carrying the sharpness of a hunter pulling in his net.

"The greedy die the fastest."

Lin Yuan did not respond.

He was silent for a moment, then used his hands to support himself on the ground and lifted his upper body off the wall.

The wound on his right shoulder was aggravated, causing him to wince in pain.

"So the whole thing, from beginning to end, was part of your plan," he said, his tone devoid of blame or dissatisfaction, simply confirming a fact.

"The Blood Eye Cult thought they were in the shadows, but in reality, they were the ones being observed. They thought today was an ambush against me, but in fact, it was your operation to capture them."

"almost."

"That runemaster never knew until his death that the reason he was able to trap me in that gray mist space was because you deliberately let him in."

Shen Man did not deny it.

Lin Yuan took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly.

After exhaling the breath from his chest, he felt as if his bones had been removed, and he slid down the wall and landed on his bottom.

Leaning against the wall, legs stretched out, head resting on rough bricks, eyes looking up at the sky.

The sky was blue, the clouds were white, and the sunlight felt warm on my face.

Compared to the enclosed space shrouded in gray fog ten minutes ago, it felt like two different worlds.

"Teacher Shen," he said, his voice hoarse with the lingering pain of someone who had survived a disaster.

"Um?"

He turned to look at her, forcing a weak smile: "If you had come any later..."

"I'm really dead. I can only dodge two more of those red-haired orbs at most, the third one will definitely hit. If it hits, I'm done for. Even the Nine-Round Bone Tempering technique can't withstand it."

Shen Man looked down at him.

The black-haired boy sat on the ground, his black clothes covered in dust and bloodstains. Although the bleeding from the wound on his right shoulder had stopped, a large part of his clothes was charred, revealing the reddened skin underneath.

The spear lay across his leg, bearing several fresh battle marks.

His face was pale, and his lips were a little chapped, but his eyes were still bright.