Chapter 23 0023: Tomorrow, come to the academy for an assessment.

In a single moment, everything was etched into memory—a vivid, uninterrupted drama unfolding.

Chu Yun gazed coldly at the group sprawled across the ground, utterly ignoring Fan Zhiming’s desperate pleas for mercy. Instead, he turned to Hou Manman and her companion, asking, “Are you truly not with them?”

Hou Manman rolled her eyes, too annoyed to bother with a reply.

The old steward nodded. “We’re not.”

Without further hesitation, Chu Yun stepped forward. Dismissing Fan Zhiming’s whimpering, he suddenly reached out, seized his throat, and with a sharp twist, snapped his neck.

Fan Zhiming’s body crumpled, limp and lifeless. Hou Manman was momentarily stunned.

“That settles it—definitely not something Madam orchestrated,” the steward remarked with a faint smile.

At this, the five hired thugs blanched in terror, never expecting Chu Yun would actually kill Fan Zhiming. “Do you have any idea who he is? The second son of the Fan family’s third generation!”

Chu Yun responded with indifference, “Even if the head of the Fan family himself were here, I’d kill him just the same.”

With those words, he flashed to the nearest thug. The man tried to flee, but in an instant, Chu Yun struck him down from behind with a single blow.

The remaining thugs bolted, but Chu Yun was intent on leaving no witnesses. Before Hou Manman’s very eyes, he eliminated them one by one.

At first, Hou Manman had thought these men were merely actors in some elaborate play set up by Chu Yun. But as she watched him kill, her assumptions were shattered.

She hurried to Fan Zhiming’s side, checking his condition. Confirming his death, she realized it was already too late to stop Chu Yun from killing the others—he had already finished the job.

“To be able to hire such men, this person must have a considerable background. Did you not think about the consequences of killing him?” Hou Manman frowned, looking up at Chu Yun.

Dragging the corpses, Chu Yun replied, “I already gave him a chance. He just didn’t value it.”

He had indeed shown mercy when Fan Zhiming first kicked him out of the martial academy. But the man had only escalated his provocations—he could hardly blame anyone else for what followed.

Though Hou Manman’s concerns were valid, Chu Yun’s pride and temperament would never let him swallow his anger. He cultivated the Path of Defiance; if he cowered and hesitated, how could he ever defy fate? That would violate the very foundation of his practice.

Hou Manman then asked, “If I’d said I was with them just now, what would you have done?”

“Kill,” Chu Yun answered flatly, not even raising his head as he moved the bodies.

The old steward moved protectively to Hou Manman’s side. Hearing Chu Yun’s answer, he remarked, “And do you think you could kill me?”

No sooner had he finished speaking than he felt a sudden, fierce wind. Chu Yun’s fist shot toward him.

Even with his ninth-rank warrior’s strength, the steward was caught off guard. He managed to raise his arms in time to block the blow, but the force drove him back three steps.

Hou Manman stared at Chu Yun in astonishment, his green academy uniform suddenly looking remarkably striking.

The steward shook out his tingling arms, eyeing Chu Yun warily. Afraid he might harm Hou Manman, he hurried to clarify, “We’re not with them.”

Chu Yun made no move to attack further. Instead, he turned away, intent on hiding the six corpses.

Hou Manman stood in place, her chest rising and falling rapidly, still shaken by Chu Yun’s display of power.

Seeing him preparing to conceal the bodies, she took out a small vial. “You’ll need this to destroy all traces.”

Chu Yun, unfamiliar with such things, glanced at the liquid and asked, “What is it?”

“A dissolving agent—an essential for travel and assassination. You won’t be able to hide the bodies otherwise. With today’s forensic technology, they’d be found easily. You need to use this to dissolve them completely.”

He took the vial and dripped it onto Fan Zhiming’s corpse. The solution quickly soaked through the skin, mixing with the blood, and soon the body began to dissolve rapidly, melting into a puddle that seeped into the sand.

Impressed, Chu Yun applied the same treatment to the other bodies, efficiently disposing of all six.

When he was done, he stood up, ready to leave.

“Hey, aren’t you going to say thank you?” Hou Manman called after him as he walked away. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll turn you in? His family would pay me at least several hundred thousand gold coins.”

Without looking back, Chu Yun replied, “The one beside you won’t let you report anything.”

With that, he walked off into the distance.

Hou Manman watched his retreating figure, biting her lip with a sense of defeat.

“No wonder Second Master holds him in such high esteem,” the old steward said admiringly as he gazed after Chu Yun.

Even Hou Manman had to admit now that this man, dressed in the academy’s most basic uniform, was far from simple.

“Steward, why didn’t you fight back and subdue him just now?” Hou Manman asked. “You gave in after just one blow!”

The steward forced a bitter smile. “Miss, I couldn’t fight back. In that situation, I wasn’t confident I could take him down. If I’d lost, you’d have been in grave danger.”

“You weren’t confident you could beat him?” Hou Manman was incredulous. “Then his strength must be…”

The steward nodded. “He’s definitely an extraordinary genius, one who’s slipped through the cracks of the ranking authorities. Fortunately, Second Master discovered him. No wonder you were sent to approach him—he’s worthy of you.”

But Hou Manman replied, “Didn’t you notice? The way he looks at me is so indifferent. Not like other men, whose eyes burn with passion. Honestly, I hate that look.”

The steward smiled. “That’s to be expected. Madam said he intends to marry into a little-known family in Watchtower City—apparently, he’s engaged to Ye Linglong.”

“Ye Linglong!” Hou Manman exclaimed. “My archrival?”

The steward chuckled and corrected her, “Miss, you see her as your rival, but it seems she doesn’t pay you much mind.”

Hou Manman shot him a glare, annoyed. “So he likes women like Ye Linglong? No way! I won’t allow it. Ye Linglong always outranks me on the women’s leaderboard, and now this rare genius also favors her? In what way am I inferior?”

The steward gave a warm smile. “Miss, it’s late. If we hurry, we can still catch the last subway back to River City. Since you’ve seen him and don’t like him, let’s return.”

“Wait,” Hou Manman said, hesitating, torn by inner conflict. “It’s only a year, isn’t it? Even if I don’t like him, I can’t let Ye Linglong have him either! I’ve decided—I’m staying.”

The steward asked slyly, “And why are you staying?”

“Why do you ask so many questions?” Hou Manman rolled her eyes, then turned and left.

When Chu Yun arrived home, he received a callback regarding the application he’d submitted earlier that morning.

As expected, his academic record had led many martial academies to reject him.

However, the call was from Stormwind Martial Academy, once the top academy in Watchtower City, now a controversial and declining institution.

Stormwind had once been the city’s premier martial academy, but after a period of unchecked expansion, mismanagement and policy chaos ruined its reputation, and it was replaced at the top.

“Mr. Chu, can you come to the academy tomorrow? We’d like to assess you before approving your enrollment.”

“All right,” Chu Yun agreed.

Stormwind it was. All he needed was for his mother to know he was attending a martial academy.