Chapter 12
Sunlight shattered the dust and rubbed it into Su Jiu’s still-sleepy eyes. At that moment, she looked like some kind of invertebrate with all four limbs pointing backward, her torso clasped tightly in Bai Qianyu’s arms.
Opening her mouth, Su Jiu’s dead-fish eyes suddenly sharpened. She slipped free like a catfish. Ever since Bai Qianyu discovered her true identity, she seemed to have become even more brazen.
She’d actually used Su Jiu as a giant doll while she slept. Su Jiu was only barely putting up with it, though. After all, Bai Qianyu was so big, so fair... No, this was about nurturing her friendship with Bai Qianyu! If she got into trouble later, surely Bai Ming would help her out big-time?
Su Jiu nodded to herself, secretly patting herself on the back for her cleverness...
“Big Sister Jiu, are you awake?”
Bai Qianyu rubbed her eyes and sat up. The thin blanket slid off her shoulders, revealing clothes even thinner than the blanket. Su Jiu’s thoughts immediately ran wild.
“Little Bai, you have your attribute test soon. Get up.”
She silently recited the Three Character Classic, then adjusted her expression to make herself look a little more serious.
“Mm? Big Sister Jiu, I didn’t mean to hug you while we were sleeping last night...”
Remembering how the strange aura around Su Jiu had drawn her in last night, Bai Qianyu felt her face flush. Big Sister Jiu was sure to think she was a lesbian, wasn’t she?
“Mm-hmm, I understand...”
Su Jiu waved a hand. As she spoke, she had already changed into a short-skirted Japanese-style schoolgirl outfit, the sort worn by a delinquent girl.
“...”
Bai Qianyu wanted to say something, but couldn’t get the words out. Seeing how accustomed Su Jiu looked to it, she wanted the floor to swallow her up.
Su Jiu must think she’s the kind of girl who likes to cuddle up to other girls... It wasn’t that Bai Qianyu wanted to do it. That strange, chilly yet faintly warm aura was simply impossible to resist.
For a while, she’d wondered if it was an effect of awakening her bloodline. But hadn’t Su Jiu awakened an Ice Chi? By rights, a lower-ranked bloodline shouldn’t be able to affect a higher-ranked one.
Bai Qianyu knew her bloodline wasn’t the Black Dragon bloodline the school had told everyone about, but the Ancient Black Dragon. Two words’ difference, yet worlds apart. The Ancient Black Dragon was practically the royal bloodline of the Black Dragon clan.
If it wasn’t her bloodline, what was affecting her...? Bai Qianyu’s gaze fell on Su Jiu’s doll-like face. Her heart gave a strange little flutter, and she quickly shook her head wildly, trying to cast away that terrifying thought.
Absolutely not!
...
The two soon arrived at the strength testing room at the time Lu Nan had specified. Unlike Bai Qianyu, who often came here and was perfectly calm, Su Jiu was visiting for the first time. She looked around at the metal equipment like a curious child.
In front of the crowd,
“Su Jiu? Why do I keep running into you everywhere?”
Lu Ke’s displeased voice came from nearby. She folded her arms, her eyes full of ill luck, and continued sarcastically, “You don’t think that just because you awakened your bloodline successfully, you’ll do well at the punching test too, do you? Without martial techniques or any knack for building power, you’ve got nothing but brute strength. I doubt you can even hit the 1,200-catties baseline for a low-tier Warrior.”
Su Jiu expressionlessly raised a middle finger in her direction, then mouthed the word “dumbass.”
Lu Ke gave a huff and turned toward the testing platforms. Students assigned by the school were helping test and score the various lines, and among them was someone she couldn’t afford to ignore.
A few minutes later,
“Lin Lie, why are you here helping test everyone’s scores?” Lu Ke walked over, put on some protective gear, then called out to the buzz-cut young man nearby.
Their fathers had dealings with each other, so the two of them knew each other fairly well.
“I got in trouble, so Old Huang dragged me here for some hard labor.” Lin Lie had thought a pretty girl was coming over. When he took a closer look and saw it was his childhood friend, he rolled his eyes.
“Then you’d better give me a little special treatment.” Lu Ke joked. She didn’t really care about getting any favors, though. The passing score was 1,000 catties, and 2,000 earned full marks. She could probably get a perfect score herself.
“I don’t want Old Huang to chew me out.” Lin Lie gave Lu Ke a disdainful look and shrugged, making it clear that he was a fair and honest man.
“Tch!”
Lu Ke rolled her eyes. A burst of fiery energy surged from her body, and her tall frame suddenly became as imposing as a female superhero’s. If her clothes hadn’t been specially made for the Lu family, the boys would’ve gotten quite a sight.
She lightly stamped her foot. The ground around her seemed to ripple in waves as her fist came down on the weighing plate like a roaring, furious dragon.
The numbers on the display flickered rapidly.
1,000!
1,600!
1,900!
Only then did the numbers begin to slow, settling at 1,963. The aura around Lu Ke gradually receded. She frowned slightly, seeming less than satisfied with her result.
But Lin Lie shouted as if possessed, “Lu Ke, 1,963 catties! Ninety-eight points!”
“1,963 catties?! I saw the Chongming Bird’s result earlier, and it barely hit 1,300! How can the gap be so huge?” One of the onlookers was stunned. How were those of them who’d only managed 1,000 catties supposed to compete?
“Pfft, Lu Ke used a martial technique. It makes sense that she did better than you. She’s been learning her family’s techniques since childhood. That Great Strength Fist of hers has probably already reached minor mastery.”
Lin Lie suddenly laughed. His childhood friend’s impressive showing made him feel like he could brag a little, too.
“Minor mastery?! How is that possible? We haven’t even learned any martial techniques, and she’s already reached minor mastery? How can the gap be this big?” Someone looked utterly dejected.
“People’s constitutions differ. Martial techniques require you to reach a certain level of physical fitness before you can learn them, so it’s normal that we can’t yet.” Someone behind him patted his shoulder, then added, “Tomorrow we start our official Warrior-level classes. The teacher will explain all of this.”
Lu Ke surveyed the crowd, thoroughly enjoying their gasps and praise. When she turned to look at Su Jiu, however, she found that the same irritating middle finger was waiting for her. It drove her nearly mad.
Seriously? Someone who’s never even touched a martial technique—what gives her the right to act so cocky?
Lu Ke figured Su Jiu hadn’t secretly worked hard all night at all. Maybe her successful awakening had a lot to do with the things her father had prepared for her.
She stayed right beside Su Jiu, standing like a wooden post and staring at her. Persistence paid off: after more than ten minutes, Su Jiu’s turn finally came.
“Name...”
Lin Lie had just handed over the protective gear when he looked up and saw the face that had been haunting his nightmares for days. His voice trembled as he spoke.
“S-Sis... What brings you here? I’m a law-abiding citizen now.” Apparently worried that Su Jiu, that violent maniac, might start something, he hurriedly raised both hands and repeated himself in a small voice.
“A really, really good citizen.”
Everyone there was dumbfounded. Whenever Lin Lie ran into a girl who was even a little pretty, he’d usually make some lewd remark. So why was he acting like this around this little delinquent?