After geniuses from all over the world arrived at the Elite Camp, their talents were reassessed using the latest classification system. Among them, three with S-class talent were the most dazzling.
Vale was one of them.
She came from the Western Divine Church and was known as the Chosen One, the selected representative of the ancient God of Strength.
Generally, when girls are associated with ‘strength’, words like ‘tomboy’ or ‘muscular Barbie’ come to mind. Yet, she was exceptionally beautiful, considered a goddess by many male trainees in the Elite Camp.
Even among female trainees, most looked up to her as an idol, finding it impossible to feel jealous of her.
Therefore, her appearance always caused a huge stir.
Su Mo looked at the approaching white girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, and his eyes lit up.
She possessed a face that could enchant any man yet made most feel too intimidated to approach, combined with a figure of perfect golden ratio proportions.
One could say that God not only left all doors and windows open for her but even tore the roof off her house, making everything exceptionally bright and open.
Finally, she stopped beside Yang Jie and said in standard Chinese, “Instructor Yang, when will their training be over? I’d like to have a few words with Su Mo.”
The onlookers who understood Chinese were collectively stunned, exclaiming variations of “Oh my god!”, and even those who didn’t understand joined in after seeing the reactions.
Yang Jie’s expression shifted slightly. He glanced at Ye Qingyi, who was still training on the field, and said, “According to the rules, there’s still half an hour left. You can wait if you don’t mind the trouble.”
Vale nodded. “Okay, I’ll wait.”
She found a spot with a raised platform, sat down, and waited quietly until she saw Su Mo and the others finish their training, then she walked over again.
Many onlookers remained, curious to see what would happen next.
Su Mo was no exception; he wanted to see what business this talented girl had with Ye Qingyi.
Under Su Mo’s gaze, Vale approached Ye Qingyi, stopping about a meter away from her.
She didn’t speak, just stared quietly into Ye Qingyi’s eyes, her intense gaze making Ye Qingyi feel increasingly awkward.
Vale spoke first, “Is she the one you like?”
As she said this, her gaze shifted towards Su Mo.
Su Mo met her eyes and found them incredibly pure, without a trace of malice. Being looked at by them felt like a breath of fresh spring air.
Ye Qingyi coughed, her expression somewhat uncomfortable. “No, he’s just an ordinary friend.”
“Ordinary friend?” Vale looked puzzled, a flicker of hurt passing through her eyes. “We are ordinary friends too, and I like you as well. Why do you always keep your distance from me, while she can be so close to you?”
“Ooooh~!” The roar of the crowd was deafening.
Su Mo suppressed a smile at the corner of his mouth, silently enjoying the drama, wanting to see how this would play out.
Xia Qingqing and Huo Jingshu also looked confused, clearly unaware of the history between these two.
Ye Qingyi was momentarily speechless. She instinctively glanced at Su Mo for help, only to see him standing off to the side, looking amused, which immediately annoyed her.
She gathered her thoughts and replied, “It’s all misunderstandings. Things got twisted as rumors spread.”
“I see…” Vale blinked, thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled. “I believe you.”
Su Mo: Huh? (Shocked)
She believes that?
Then he heard her continue, “Su Mo, I know you don’t like me, but that’s okay. I still like you. If possible, we can be friends, just like you are with them.”
The ‘them’ she referred to were Xia Qingqing, Huo Jingshu, and… Lin Qianye.
Ye Qingyi smiled generously. “We are already friends.”
Vale shook her head. “It’s not the same. I can feel you deliberately avoiding me. It’s different with them; you can talk openly with them, but not with me.”
Su Mo stepped in at this point. “In our Xia Country, friendship has many definitions. It’s not just about those you share everything with. Some friends might only exchange a few words normally, but they can offer help at critical times. That kind of friend is also precious.”
Vale’s eyes lit up. “That… makes some sense.”
This girl seemed adorably naive. Su Mo didn’t understand how she had cultivated to her current level; probably she had been overly protected by her family.
As she left, she was muttering to herself, “I was too impulsive today, making so many people watch him become a spectacle. I should find a way to make it up to him.”
…
Back in his apartment that night, Su Mo couldn’t help but think about the earlier events again, feeling he hadn’t been cautious enough, actually falling for two older women’s trap.
Although he had ultimately made them pay a bloody price, if Ye Qingyi hadn’t coincidentally appeared, he probably would have… Well, even though that female rascal might have done something to him too, the nature of it was different after all.
If it was her… it wasn’t completely unacceptable.
Before starting his cultivation, he received a notification about the assessment in one week. Anyone who failed would be expelled from the Elite Camp.
Su Mo was quite confident about this because Lin Qianye’s profile was set as having just broken through to C-class, and he was exactly at that stage. Even if he deliberately hid his true strength, he wasn’t someone an ordinary person could handle.
As the night deepened, Su Mo’s breathing gradually steadied. The Quenching Flame Art continuously refined the Yin fire in his second energy sea. Its overall color had already changed noticeably, becoming deeper.
After practicing the Quenching Flame Art for a while, he began practicing the use of spell techniques.
He wasn’t actually casting them, but rather going through the details mentally via visualization.
He was in the middle of this practice when his door was knocked on, using a specific, patterned sequence.
Su Mo ended his practice, narrowing his eyes slightly. He knew his ‘real business’ was about to begin.
He opened the door, and a figure slipped inside. Because the person wore a mask, his face was unclear, but Su Mo could tell it was a man.
The two exchanged code phrases, confirmed they were correct, and began their communication.
“Tofu, I’m Seagull, the person in charge of Starry Sky Island.” The masked man said calmly, then handed a small bottle to Su Mo. “Now, I’m giving you your first mission.”
Su Mo’s expression turned serious. “What’s the mission?”
“Gain Su Mo’s trust. Use necessary means if required. You’re not unfamiliar with it, since it’s already happened once.” As he spoke, he shook the bottle in his hand. “Take this. It might come in handy at a critical moment.”
“Understood!” Su Mo took the bottle and wanted to ask something more, but the other man had already vanished.
Ensuring the man had left, Su Mo finally opened the bottle and took a look. A familiar fragrance wafted out.
You’ve got to be kidding me, this drug again? Is it really that effective?
While mentally complain, Su Mo also began to suspect: could those two older women have been acting under Seagull’s orders when they drugged and sold him?
If so, what was his goal?
Just to make him lose his ‘first time’?
Or was it so that Ye Qingyi would coincidentally find him drugged and then…
If that were truly the case, it would explain how Ye Qingyi managed to arrive just in time.