Vol 4. Chapter 125: A Little Commotion in Class
While Miss Yumo was diligently teaching her lesson,
Apart from Mengxi, who was happily staring at her beloved older sister without taking her eyes off her, the students listening most attentively were probably Buqieke, the son of the Dragon King, and Shaina, the Elven Princess.
During ordinary classes, these two rather arrogant heirs of powerful races were usually completely absent-minded.
After all, their fundamental reason for attending Yexinlian Royal Academy wasn't to study, but rather because of certain political considerations.
As far as they were concerned, they had already mastered the knowledge taught at the academy, so there was absolutely no need to pay attention during lessons.
If these two little tyrants could simply refrain from causing trouble during class, many teachers would already be thanking the heavens.
However,
If the teachers whose blood pressure regularly skyrocketed because of these two little troublemakers were present today and witnessed their current behavior, they would probably rub their eyes repeatedly and start doubting their own vision.
Because at this very moment,
The Dragon King's son and the Elven Princess were eagerly following behind the black-haired girl, listening attentively to her every word and concentrating on taking notes.
At the same time, to liven up the classroom atmosphere, these two little tyrants occasionally raised all sorts of questions and even volunteered to answer the questions Miss Yumo posed.
Under their enthusiastic leadership, several of their followers also displayed considerable enthusiasm.
Buqieke and Shaina's behavior would have astonished not only their teachers but also their fellow classmates, who couldn't help showing puzzled expressions upon witnessing such an unusual change in their conduct.
"Did those two... take the wrong medicine or something??"
...
...
Of course, how could Buqieke possibly be unaware of what the other students were thinking?
Faced with the puzzled and peculiar gazes coming at him from every direction, Buqieke merely let out a disdainful sneer.
"Tch..."
What's so confusing about this? Seriously.
How could you little brats possibly understand my grand plan?
This is all for the greater good!
It's about seeing the bigger picture, understand?!
It's for the future of our dragon race, damn it!
You ignorant fools with no vision or perspective, stop spouting nonsense over there...
After casting a disdainful glance at his classmates and their strange expressions, Buqieke once again focused his attention on the incomparably beautiful black-haired girl ahead.
Although learning about Abyss Demons was indeed quite important, Buqieke's extraordinary concentration and overflowing enthusiasm clearly weren't motivated solely by a desire for knowledge.
His primary objective was to do everything in his power to curry favor with this young lady of the Black Rose Family.
When he first met Teacher Yu, his rebellious attitude might have left her with a rather unfavorable impression.
This had been weighing heavily on Buqieke's mind ever since...
Considering what his mother had told him about the Black Rose Family's supposedly "broad-minded" nature, Buqieke was constantly worried that they might settle accounts with him someday...
To prevent such a thing from happening, and to avoid ending up like his uncles, who had been pinned to the ground and had their scales forcibly plucked out, Buqieke intended to do everything possible to establish a good relationship with Teacher Yu.
Moreover,
Building a good relationship wasn't just for his own sake!
It was also for the sake of the entire dragon race!
Apparently, Teacher Yu was the older sister of Duke Xiao, wasn't she?
If this esteemed lady developed a favorable impression of him, and by extension, a favorable impression of the entire dragon race, perhaps she might put in a few good words for them in front of Duke Xiao someday?
If that happened, perhaps the miserable days of the dragon race would finally come to an end?
And even if they didn't end completely,
Surely their circumstances would improve considerably, right?!
At this thought, Buqieke's vertical dragon pupils suddenly contracted, and his eyes blazed with intense fighting spirit.
"Keep it up! This is all for the future of our dragon race! For the revival of our dragon race!"
Buqieke encouraged himself inwardly, convinced that he was acting with remarkable foresight.
While motivating himself,
Buqieke couldn't help glancing sideways at the Elven Princess Shaina, whose behavior was remarkably similar to his own.
Come to think of it,
This girl's behavior... seems pretty strange too...
And somehow, it feels rather familiar?
Recalling the series of unusual actions Shaina had displayed earlier, which were practically identical to his own, Buqieke couldn't help frowning.
Wait a minute?!
I remember Mother mentioning something before...
Apparently, the relationship between the Black Rose Family and the elves is also quite "friendly"...
Friendly.
Friendly?
Friendly???!!!
As this thought crossed his mind, Buqieke narrowed his eyes slightly, a thoughtful gleam flashing within them.
Meanwhile, sensing Buqieke's gaze, Shaina slowly turned her head and met the Dragon King's son's eyes.
And once their eyes met,
Both of them immediately detected a sense of mutual understanding in the other's gaze.
It was almost as though they were fellow sufferers who had endured similar hardships...
For a moment,
The dragon and the elf simply stared silently at each other, falling into an extremely peculiar atmosphere of silence.
Gradually,
Both of them even felt an urge to burst into tears.
This bizarre scene caused Ye Ze, who was standing nearby, to twitch his eyebrows uncontrollably before blurting out a complaint.
"Didn't you two used to argue all the time? Why are you suddenly looking at each other like you've found your soulmates? What the hell is going on??"
?!
"Hm?!"
Hearing Ye Ze's remark, Buqieke and Shaina immediately snapped back to their senses.
Then, they abruptly turned their heads away in opposite directions, refusing to make any further eye contact.
"N-nothing!"
The elf and dragon answered in perfect unison.
"..."
After witnessing this scene, Ye Ze's expression became even more complicated.
"Forget it. Whatever. Do what you want... I still need to pay attention to the lesson."
Shaking his head helplessly, Ye Ze tightened his grip on his pen once more, eagerly awaiting Teacher Yu's next topic.
By now, Ye Ze was genuinely looking forward to discovering which type of Abyss Demon Teacher Yu would introduce next.
Would it be a wyvern-type?
Or perhaps a tiger-type?
Or maybe... a snake-type?
...
"Hm??"
However, just as Ye Ze was speculating inwardly while following the beautiful black-haired figure toward the next Abyss Demon specimen, a strange, faint growling sound suddenly reached his ears.
The student, who had been in such an excited mood, abruptly trembled.
He looked around, his brows tightly furrowed and his expression turning solemn.
"Wh-what's that sound?... Is some kind of ferocious beast growling?"
An ominous premonition immediately arose in Ye Ze's heart.
And when he followed the source of the sound, along with the strange vibrations, toward the enormous tunnel leading underground not far away, his eyes suddenly contracted.
A look of panic and uneasiness abruptly appeared in his brown pupils.
"Hey?! You've gotta be kidding me!!!"
At this moment,
It wasn't just Ye Ze. Buqieke, Shaina, and the other students all turned their attention toward the enormous tunnel almost simultaneously.
And in the very next instant,
Ye Ze's ominous premonition was suddenly confirmed.
"AWOOOOOO!!!! ROOOOAAARRRR!!!!"
Accompanied by one bloodcurdling roar after another, filled with savagery and bloodlust, an oppressive surge of terrifying Shadow of Silence Power, carrying a foul, corrosive stench, suddenly erupted from within the tunnel.
Like a violent gale, it swept across everyone in the open-air plaza, instantly causing the expressions of almost everyone present to change drastically.
Immediately afterward,
Under the somewhat panic-stricken gazes of Ye Ze and the others, a gigantic Abyss Demon radiating the formidable aura of a Peak Sixth-Tier existence tore through the tunnel entrance with a terrifying roar and crawled out.
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Its entire body was covered in foul-smelling black sludge, and its appearance resembled a grotesque mixture of a fish and a lizard.
With terrifying bloodlust emanating from its body, the monster charged toward the crowd with a deafening roar.
An... Abyss Demon?!
What the hell is going on?!
"HOW THE HELL DID THAT THING GET OUT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
In an instant,
Terrified screams echoed throughout the plaza.
The peaceful atmosphere from just moments earlier vanished completely, and this sudden development plunged almost everyone into panic.
Seeing the hideous monster rapidly charging toward the black-haired girl at the very front of the group, Ye Ze hurriedly shouted toward her in extreme anxiety.
"TEACHER YU!! WATCH OUUUUUUUUUT!!!"
...
...
"Hehehe... That's it! Yes! Hurry up and charge!!"
Meanwhile,
At another tunnel entrance, Bakade, who was hiding and silently observing the chaotic scene, couldn't help revealing a cruel smile.
Clearly, he was the one who had temporarily released the Abyss Demon imprisoned underground, intending to expose the black-haired girl's lies.
Hehehe.
Didn't you say earlier that this fishman-type Abyss Demon was easy to deal with?
Then why don't you show us how to deal with it?!
Go ahead and try using the methods you taught us!
Enough with your empty theories. Now you've got an opportunity to put them into practice~
The expression on Bakade's face grew increasingly smug.
He could hardly wait to see her make a fool of herself.
He had never believed that she truly possessed Seventh-Tier strength in the first place.
And even if she did, it was probably a Seventh-Tier cultivation level artificially inflated through all sorts of medicines provided by the Black Rose Family.
She was undoubtedly a complete fraud!
There was no way such a fraud could defeat a ferocious beast at the Peak Sixth Tier!
Once the black-haired girl humiliated herself by proving incapable of defeating this Abyss Demon, he would step in and detonate the bomb implanted inside the monster's body, destroying it.
That way, not only would he earn himself a tremendous achievement, but he would also make the vice principal and those people on the academy's board of directors understand Teacher Yu's true level of ability.
Truly,
Killing two birds with one stone.
The more Bakade thought about it, the more excited he became.
At this moment, Bakade clenched both fists tightly, eagerly anticipating the scene of the Abyss Demon sending the black-haired girl flying with a single slap...
However,
In the very next instant, Bakade discovered something rather embarrassing...
Reality didn't seem to be unfolding quite the way he had predicted??
"Huh??!"
With a startled cry,
Under Bakade's dumbfounded gaze, the Abyss Demon that had been charging forward at full speed suddenly stopped moving for no apparent reason just as it was about to swing its sharp claws and send the black-haired girl flying.
The entire monster seemed to transform into a stone statue in an instant, standing completely motionless right in front of the black-haired girl...
Moreover, Bakade wasn't sure whether it was just his imagination.
But that supposedly emotionless Abyss Demon seemed to have displayed a trace of terror in its eyes just now?
???!!!
Huh??
What the hell?!
For a moment, Bakade couldn't help pinching his own cheek, wondering whether his entire understanding of reality had somehow gone wrong.
...
--
At the same time,
On the elevated platform,
Anmutu, the Second Prince of the Crimson Leaf Empire, who had witnessed the entire scene, narrowed his eyes slightly.
He gazed thoughtfully at the strangely behaving Abyss Demon and the beautiful black-haired girl standing before it.
"Just as I thought..."