Chapter 150
Chapter 150
Wait.
Qin Lan smelled a conspiracy.
“Sister Yin…” Qin Lan narrowed his eyes at the combat uniform spread before him. “You aren’t some evil mental cultivator, are you? Planning to trick me into practicing some special technique so you can possess my body?”
“I’ve seen this exact plot in at least twenty novels. Don’t try fooling me.”
Qin Lan warily retreated two steps.
“You should keep those advanced mental techniques for yourself…”
Yin Manqing nearly laughed from anger at his caution.
“Me?”
“Possess you?”
“Do you even understand what you’re saying?”
Though she couldn’t form a physical body, the anger in her voice was unmistakable.
“Countless people wanted to become my disciples and begged me to teach them those techniques. I couldn’t even be bothered looking at them…”
“They could beg their entire lives and never receive such an opportunity!”
“If your mental Talent weren’t extraordinary, do you think such good fortune would fall into your lap?!”
Qin Lan stared at the combat uniform for a long while, but his suspicions didn’t fade.
Everything Yin Manqing had said sounded reasonable so far, but none of it had been verified…
Moreover, Qin Lan had studied mental power only superficially and couldn’t judge whether her techniques were genuine.
If they concealed a trap… he would be in serious trouble.
“Something this good falls into my lap for no reason?”
Qin Lan sneered. “Do you think I’m an idiot?”
Yin Manqing was furious but powerless against him. She could only answer aggrievedly,
“I thought… you might avenge me…”
“Your mental power ranks among the top three I’ve ever encountered, especially at such a young age…”
“If you achieve Ascension, perhaps you can kill the United Government expert who attacked me…”
Only then did Qin Lan relax slightly.
That explanation was barely credible.
But Qin Lan still didn’t trust her.
“Sounds good, but I don’t believe you.”
Qin Lan smiled, grabbed the combat uniform, and stuffed it into his storage bracelet.
“Stay inside for now. Once I’ve confirmed your claims, we can continue this conversation.”
The newly awakened Yin Manqing was only an illusory mental entity and couldn’t resist.
Even as she transmitted continuous resistance, Qin Lan never hesitated.
Only when the storage bracelet isolated her mental fluctuations did he release a long breath.
Their conversation had been truly earth-shattering.
“Stairway to Godhood, Ascendants… Everyone below Ascension is mortal?”
Qin Lan rubbed his temples in distress. “I feel like I’ve stumbled into some bizarre cultivation novel… Will people genuinely start flying on swords later…?”
That thought reminded him of Li Jianxing, the “Golden Core cultivator” from the Nine Academies Tournament.
“Flying on a sword really does look cool, though… I still can’t fight in the air. Every time I need to get airborne, I have to perform some explosive standing jump. That’s pathetic by comparison…”
Qin Lan felt rather regretful.
If he could fly too, perhaps he would have his own fan club.
“Next time I copy a skill, I should find an opportunity to acquire some flashy means of flight…”
“Even Su Xiaoyue can use shadows to remain airborne. She looks pretty impressive too…”
“Su Xiaoyue…”
“Oh, shit!”
Qin Lan abruptly jolted awake, realizing an extremely serious problem.
Did anyone truly need to win the championship of the Nine Academies Tournament, a competition created to select geniuses?
For most people, perhaps it meant greater attention, broader prospects, and richer resources…
But after hearing Yin Manqing’s revelations, Qin Lan suddenly saw things differently.
“The United Government provides all these rewards partly to cultivate more tier-four experts, but also to reasonably monitor geniuses with ‘the potential to break through to tier five’…”
“People like Su Xiaoyue and Li Fengyun.”
A chill crawled across Qin Lan’s back.
The United Government’s presence ran through this tournament from beginning to end.
For them, it truly was a perfect opportunity to control those “unstable factors.”
“With Su Xiaoyue’s aptitude, reaching tier five is only a matter of time… If she ends up on the United Government’s watchlist this early, then…”
Qin Lan no longer dared continue the thought.
He swiftly opened his communicator and called Su Xiaoyue.
“Hello?” Su Xiaoyue’s confused voice sounded. She had clearly fallen asleep only recently. Her voice held a kitten-like laziness tinged with bewilderment.
“Xiaoyue, do you trust me?”
Qin Lan’s tone was extremely grave. Without wasting a single word, he went directly to the point.
“Qin Lan? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Su Xiaoyue immediately woke fully. She heard many things within the weight of his tone.
“Do you trust me?” Qin Lan repeated. “No matter what I say, will you trust my decision?”
Though confused, Su Xiaoyue answered earnestly,
“I trust you. No matter what happens, I’ll trust you unconditionally.”
“But what happened? Why did you contact me so urgently?”
“Can you tell me? Perhaps I can help.”
Qin Lan took a deep breath and spoke one word at a time. “You have to lose this Nine Academies Tournament.”
“Anyone else can win the championship, but it absolutely cannot be you.”
“You must lose.”
Su Xiaoyue was deeply surprised.
She didn’t understand why Qin Lan would make such a demand at this particular moment.
“Qin Lan, do you need the prize for a particular rank?”
Su Xiaoyue’s reasoning was simple. She said gently, “You can tell me directly. The championship title means nothing to me.”
She had entered the Nine Academies Tournament in the first place to win the championship prize as Qin Lan’s birthday present.
As for academy ranking or personal glory?
She didn’t care at all.
“It has nothing to do with the prizes. I’ll explain the details at an appropriate time.”
Qin Lan hesitated but ultimately revealed nothing.
“Su Xiaoyue, I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Su Xiaoyue froze.
Holding her phone, her gaze changed. This was the first time she had heard Qin Lan say so directly that he didn’t want anything to happen to her.
She had witnessed Qin Lan’s strength personally.
Even in the Central Region, he ranked above average and could perhaps rival the top monsters who had become famous long ago.
Qin Lan didn’t take the Nine Academies’ mentors seriously. He had even arrogantly extorted items from them–a certain Professor Lu was still too angry to sleep.
Yet now, deep concern saturated his voice.
What could place him under such enormous pressure?
“It’s all right. I trust you.”
“No matter what happens, I’ll stand beside you this time.”
“We’ll face it together.”
Su Xiaoyue spoke softly.