Chapter 316

As the Earth Element light orbs continuously flowed into his body, Wu Mingbai understood what the Guardian Deity’s “final blessing” was. It was, admittedly, a moving and thrilling gift. He could clearly feel himself growing progressively stronger.

Just as he was explaining what had happened to Ai Baozhu and the others, Su Bei, who had been missing for a long time, finally reappeared. Seeing the message from “East South West” in the comic, the readers instantly grew excited.

However, what truly made the bullet comments explode was the moment Su Bei appeared with the king.

“The king isn’t dead!”

“I knew you had a reason for disappearing for so long, Su Bei!”

“Wow, did anyone notice Mingbai’s eyes are red?”

“I thought Mingbai was going to lose the family he just found, but Su Bei actually saved him.”

“Who understands the greatness of showing up at such a critical moment?”

“Su Bei, you’re the coolest!”

Seeing the reactions in the bullet comments, Su Bei was finally relieved. He had indeed appeared very little in this chapter of the comic. But as long as it was an effective appearance, once was enough.

What followed was the back-and-forth between Wu Mingbai, the king, and the queen. The queen, who had rushed over after getting the news, also joined in trying to persuade Wu Mingbai to stay.

Firstly, he was the prince of the Afei Nation; it made no sense for him to return to school after learning his identity. Secondly, he now possessed the full power of the Guardian Deity, making him a new Guardian Deity in essence. Letting him go back would be a huge loss for the Afei Nation, whether he died midway or simply lacked a sense of belonging to the country.

However, Wu Mingbai’s attitude was firm, and he gave them a reason they couldn’t refuse: “If I stay in the Afei Nation, I won’t be able to completely absorb the energy the Guardian Deity gave me. You would never let me experience a true crisis.”

Su Bei, having read the comic, naturally knew that Wu Mingbai’s words were complete nonsense. The Guardian Deity never said he had to experience a life-or-death crisis to absorb the energy. While fighting more Nightmare Beasts and using his ability would accelerate the absorption, he would eventually absorb it all even if he did nothing.

But in this comic world, no one besides Wu Mingbai and Su Bei knew the contents of this conversation. Therefore, although the king and queen were doubtful and reluctant, they had to let Wu Mingbai leave.

From both his own perspective and the nation’s, it was imperative for Wu Mingbai to fully receive the energy.

After discussing this, Wu Mingbai asked with concern why the king had been missing all this time. The comic then showed the scene of Su Bei saving the king from a flashback perspective.

One part of this scene that sparked a lot of discussion was the moment he knocked out the king, who had wanted to rush out and save Wu Mingbai when he was in danger. There were many different opinions in the bullet comments.

“Su Bei is truly a hardcore chaos enthusiast.”

“The king is a pretty good father. I’m happy for Mingbai.”

“He just knocked him out like that? That’s the king!”

“This is really a great opportunity for Wu Mingbai.”

“For a moment, I couldn’t tell if Su Bei knocked out the king for Mingbai’s own good or if he just wanted to watch the show.”

Logically, his actions should have been controversial, but basically, no one in the bullet comments said what he did was wrong. After all, Wu Mingbai himself would definitely prefer to become stronger rather than lose the chance under the guise of it being “for his own good.”

Personal safety was, of course, important, but the individual’s own wishes shouldn’t be ignored. Especially since Su Bei had already called it an “opportunity.” Although opportunities are often accompanied by danger, it is an absolutely positive term.

In the subsequent plot, after Su Bei left, the conspiracy against Wu Mingbai finally began. The Nightmare Beasts and the Black Flash Organization acted together, though not under the same banner. The former was naturally seeking revenge, while the latter’s excuse was for research purposes.

Of course, the Black Flash Organization’s excuse was currently only circulating within the organization. They had no intention of revealing that they knew Wu Mingbai had absorbed the Guardian Deity’s energy. After all, their mole in the Afei Nation’s royal guard was planted with great difficulty. Rashly exposing this mole before the matter was completely over would be detrimental to their future operations.

As for why this excuse was still being circulated, it was because the leader of the Black Flash Organization was worried that some members might think they were allied with the Nightmare Beasts for targeting Wu Mingbai together, so he had deliberately spread this explanation.

Their plan wasn’t just to send a few Advanced Nightmare Beasts to hunt down Jiang Tianming and the others. Not to mention the many powerful Ability users nearby, even luring them into a corner wouldn’t delay them for long. Jiang Tianming’s group was strong enough to eliminate Advanced Nightmare Beasts on their own. Sending one or two over was purely serving them up on a platter.

Their real plan was to use these Advanced Nightmare Beasts targeting Wu Mingbai to draw away their protectors. Then, members of the Black Flash Organization would make a move and take Wu Mingbai away.

The plan went smoothly. With the Nightmare Beasts deliberately revealing an opening, the Ability users, mistakenly believing they could find their lair, indeed followed them. Of course, they weren’t completely brainless; they left a few defense-type Ability users behind to protect Jiang Tianming and the others.

Unfortunately, this step was also within the Black Flash Organization’s calculations. They brought an Ability user whose power was specifically targeted against defense-types. The ability was simple, called [Defense Prohibition]. As the name implied, within the ability’s range, any defensive action was impossible.

With this Ability user, the unprotected main group naturally couldn’t escape. They were taken away by Gong Yuzhi, who made a grand entrance in a gorgeous purple qipao and used her hypnotism ability.

This was the end of the chapter.

“They got taken away just like that? The Afei Nation is more of a hindrance than a help, huh.”

“Gong Yuzhi is the classic beautiful villainess.”

“Hypnotism is so terrifying.”

“Wait, didn’t Si Zhaohua say they had defensive items? How did they all get controlled?”

“Where’s Jiang Jiang’s nullification ability?”

No wonder the main group was suddenly quiet in the group chat today. So they’d already been captured. Su Bei had a sudden realization, and his suspicions were finally confirmed.

But he also noticed a detail. Unlike the others who were hypnotized and had vacant, lightless eyes, Jiang Tianming and Wu Jin’s eyes clearly had a gleam in them.

If he wasn’t mistaken, the two of them probably hadn’t been hypnotized at all. Jiang Tianming had his ability nullification power; as long as he used it in time, he wouldn’t be hypnotized by Gong Yuzhi’s ability. As for Wu Jin’s [Succubus] ability, it was, in a sense, the ancestor of [Hypnotism], so he could also achieve a certain degree of immunity.

However, Jiang Tianming didn’t show any signs of not being controlled. With this information advantage, he pretended to be hypnotized like the others and obediently followed Gong Yuzhi. Wu Jin, on the other hand, first pretended to be hypnotized and walked at the back of the group, then found the right opportunity to use his extremely low presence to quietly slip away from the team and successfully escape.

Of course, the Black Flash Organization was no pushover. Less than a minute after he escaped, Gong Yuzhi realized it and immediately sent people to hunt him down.

Calculating the time, Wu Jin should have already clashed with the pursuers by now.

I can go save him. Su Bei quickly made a decision. Wu Jin escaped alone and wasn’t part of the main plot, so saving him wouldn’t affect the story’s development. It was highly likely he could be saved.

And his act of saving someone wouldn’t be too OOC, because his warning was very timely. What did ‘timely’ mean? It meant he knew exactly what was happening to Jiang Tianming’s group, yet he didn’t warn Meng Huai to save them before or during the event. Instead, he only saved Wu Jin, who had escaped alone.

This point alone was enough of a chaos enthusiast move.

After some thought, Su Bei didn’t call Wu Jin. Instead, he contacted Meng Huai. “Hello? Teacher, have you discovered that Jiang Tianming and the others are missing yet?”

“Yes,” Meng Huai replied in a deep voice, then astutely asked, “What do you know?”

As their homeroom teacher, he undoubtedly knew Su Bei very well. For him to call at this time, he must have foreseen their disappearance and had something to tell him.

And that was indeed the case. Su Bei glanced at the escape route shown in the comic and said directly, “Teacher, you can activate your ability and head east to rendezvous with Wu Jin. He should be hiding from the Black Flash Organization’s pursuers right now.”

The reason he called Meng Huai and told him to use his ability to pick someone up was naturally to make a show of force as a warning. With him riding his dragon and circling the sky, the pursuers would surely leave quickly unless they wanted to perish along with Wu Jin.

Understanding his meaning, Meng Huai immediately summoned his usual black dragon. Clad in the black armor that came with his ability, he soared majestically into the air.

Hearing the dragon’s roar from the other end of the phone, Su Bei felt relieved. Just as he was about to hang up, he heard Meng Huai ask, “Since you know where Wu Jin is, you should also know where the others are, right?”

Sorry, but he didn’t. Su Bei replied with righteous conviction, “Even a Destiny-type isn’t omnipotent.”

Seeing that he wouldn’t get an answer, Meng Huai, who was long used to this, didn’t press him further. Instead, he gave a concise order: “Go contact Old Lei and tell him to prepare a Teleportation Array.”

Su Bei was happy to help with such a small matter. After hanging up, he immediately called Lei Ze’en and briefly explained the situation.

Lei Ze’en hadn’t expected the Black Flash Organization to be involved this time. He sighed and began setting up the Teleportation Array with a sense of weary duty. He then asked, “By the way, did your Teacher Meng tell you that we’re cutting five students at the start of this semester?”

It had to be said that Lei Ze’en was a bit more polite than Meng Huai. In front of the students, Meng Huai called him “Old Lei,” whereas Lei Ze’en was more considerate of Meng Huai’s image, calling him “your Teacher Meng.”

However, Su Bei was in no mood to pay attention to this right now. His mind was filled with what Lei Ze’en had just said.

They were cutting students?

His memory resurfaced. Su Bei remembered what the Dean of Students had said when they first entered the S-Class. The dean had indeed announced that the S-Class would ultimately only have ten students.

At the time, he had assumed that some people in the class would naturally drop out, like Zhao Xiaoyu, Mu Tieren, Zhou Renjie, Mo Xiaotian, and others… so he hadn’t given it much thought.

But the subsequent plot developments had led Su Bei to believe that this rule had been altered by the butterfly effect.

Needless to say, Zhao Xiaoyu’s [Happiness] ability was a superweapon against Nightmare Beasts. Even if it wasn’t very powerful against humans, it was more than enough for her to stay in the S-Class.

As for Mu Tieren, although his combat power hadn’t been specifically measured since that incident, Su Bei once saw him transform his arm directly into a machine gun that could eliminate Nightmare Beasts.

It seemed similar to Senior Wei Yuexi’s [Arms Dealer] ability. He had been learning from her frequently recently. Being able to learn from an Ability user who could participate in the World Competition was proof enough of his strength.

As for Zhou Renjie, he was qualified to be in the S-Class in the first place, and he wasn’t a real traitor, so there was no problem with him staying.

He had thought that since everyone had undergone changes sufficient to stay, the S-Class wouldn’t be downsized. But now it seemed the academy had no intention of changing its mind. So which five people would leave?

After a moment of shock, he asked with a slightly dry voice, “He hasn’t mentioned it. Can I get any inside information from you, teacher?”

If five people really left the class, the friendships between them and the others would be affected no matter what, right? Even the most magnanimous person would find it hard not to hold a grudge in this situation. Moreover, once they were in different classes, they would inevitably have fewer interactions.

Although Su Bei’s friendships with the S-Class members weren’t extremely deep, he truly considered them friends. Facing something like this, he naturally felt uncomfortable.

“What inside information is there?” Lei Ze’en said with a laugh. “It’ll just be based on strength. You probably have some candidates in mind, don’t you?”

Hearing his words, Su Bei’s eyebrows shot up. His previous mood vanished, and he said meaningfully, “You’ve given yourself away, teacher…”

The voice on the other end paused for a moment before Lei Ze’en’s slightly helpless voice sounded, “Is my acting that bad? Where did I give it away?”

Getting a definitive answer, Su Bei relaxed. “With your personality, teacher, you definitely wouldn’t be so relaxed knowing we’re about to lose five people over something like this.”

Lei Ze’en himself was a person who valued relationships and loyalty. Seeing five students who had been classmates for a year get kicked out, no matter whose shoes he put himself in, or even just from a teacher’s standpoint, he would inevitably feel down.

Yet he was able to say those words with a smile just now, which was obviously problematic. Forget Su Bei; anyone else in their class would probably notice something was wrong. The only difference would be how soon they figured it out.

Lei Ze’en humbly accepted his point. “I’ll be more careful next time. But please don’t reveal our conversation today to the other students. If the academy’s plan is exposed, your Teacher Meng will laugh at me again.”

“Of course,” Su Bei nodded, in a good mood. “I want to watch this good show too.”

Thanks to the intel from Teacher Meng, if nothing unexpected happened, the ‘Oracle’ account could make some waves on the forum during the next one or two comic updates.

An hour later, Su Bei received a message from Wu Jin.

[Endless Silence: Thanks, I’m home now.]

[East South West: If you really want to thank me, help me write the 2,000-word summer homework the teacher assigned.]

[Endless Silence: …]

[Endless Silence: Well, I’m not that grateful.]

Seeing the last message, Su Bei sent a speechless emoji and closed the chat window.

Everything that needed to be done was done. The rest had nothing to do with him. Su Bei stretched and opened the forum. He had contacted Meng Huai to save Wu Jin right after reading the comic and hadn’t had a chance to check the forum yet.

Because he had very little screen time in this comic update, there were very few useful posts on the forum. He only found one.

《What’s the deeper meaning behind Su Bei saving the king?》

[Flying Mother Cockroach No.0: I feel like Su Bei only does things that either benefit him or provide him with a good show. The king being alive isn’t much of a show. Although watching him discipline his son is fun, none of the other princes and princesses are the evil type, so it’s just a bit comical.

In my opinion, if the king died and the Afei Nation fell into chaos, that would be a much better show. So when I first saw Su Bei appear with the king, I thought he wanted to get on good terms with him.

But then I saw the flashback where Su Bei knocked the king out, completely going against his wishes. And he left right after, probably returning to his own country, showing no intention of befriending the king.

So what does he gain from all this?]

[No.1: A perspective I never considered.]

[No.2: Right, why did Su Bei save him? He didn’t even save Jiang Jiang and the others.]

[No.3 replied to No.2:

Hahahahahaha, that sounds a bit like jealousy.]

[No.4: Hasn’t Su Bei always done as he pleases? Saving someone doesn’t seem that OOC.]

[No.5 replied to No.4:

Real life can be illogical, but comics usually have logic. A character’s actions follow their established personality. While it doesn’t seem OOC, where’s the logic? Why did Su Bei save the king?! It can’t be that he felt sorry for Mingbai losing a dad right after finding him, right?]

[No.6: It’s definitely not for the sake of the people of the Afei Nation.]

[…]

[No.41: I think it might have been a mission from the ‘Destiny’ organization. For someone of the Afei King’s status, it’s possible he posted a permanent distress mission with ‘Destiny.’ Whoever saves him at a critical moment can complete a mission and get huge rewards.]

[No.42 replied to No.41:

That makes so much sense, I believe it.]

[No.43 replied to No.41:

Thinking about it from the ‘Destiny’ organization’s angle is genius. I really didn’t think of that.]

[No.44: That’s totally possible. Floor 41 is a talent.]

[…]

[No.68: Actually, there is a benefit for Su Bei, right? With the king alive and the country not in civil war, he can leave smoothly. If the king had died and the Afei Nation was plunged into a succession crisis, plus with the Nightmare Beasts and the ‘Black Flash’ Organization causing trouble, could he have left the Afei Nation so easily?]

[No.69 replied to No.68:

True, at that point, he and the others, as friends brought by Wu Mingbai, would probably be detained immediately to be used as threats against Wu Mingbai.]

[No.70: Su Bei figures a small favor can prevent a bigger trouble, so why not?]

[No.71: There’s another benefit. Su Bei is on good terms (relatively speaking) with Wu Mingbai. As long as Wu Mingbai’s status in the Afei Nation remains unchanged, he won’t have to worry about not getting help from the Afei Nation when he needs it. And Wu Mingbai’s status is completely different when his father is king compared to when his younger siblings are king. So for this reason, the king should be saved.]

[No.72 replied to No.71:

Nah, that feels like overthinking it.]

[No.73 replied to No.71:

Why would Su Bei need help from the Afei Nation? He doesn’t even care about the king. If he really wanted the Afei Nation’s help, instead of pinning his hopes on Wu Mingbai, wouldn’t it be better to leverage his status as the king’s savior?]

[No.74 replied to No.73:

Exactly. Su Bei doesn’t care about that stuff. Does he really need others’ help? Especially the king of the Afei Nation, who is so far away. The author might not even write another plotline here.]

[…]

[No.102: Don’t you all think the ‘opportunity’ Su Bei mentioned is also a key part of why he chose to save the king? If the king had died, given the situation at the time, Wu Mingbai would have been completely unable to finish absorbing the energy from the Guardian Deity. It was the king who stopped Andrew’s attack, allowing Wu Mingbai to securely obtain the full opportunity.

To ensure Wu Mingbai got this opportunity, Su Bei first saved the king, then didn’t hesitate to knock him out, and finally brought him out at the critical moment to save the day.

Looking at his actions alone, it seems like Su Bei really cares about whether Wu Mingbai can obtain this opportunity.]

[No.103 replied to No.102:

Though it seems that way, Su Bei’s character isn’t someone who cares if his companions get stronger, is he?]

[No.105 replied to No.103:

That’s why I think something is strange.]

[No.106 replied to No.105:

Maybe he saw something in the future, like if Wu Mingbai doesn’t absorb the energy properly, it would be bad for him or something.]

It had to be said that some people had wild imaginations, while others made pretty accurate guesses. However, they lacked key information, so it didn’t matter how accurate their guesses were.

After reading the forum, Su Bei was bored and didn’t want to study, so he lazily sat in his chair and summarized the recent events.

Up to this point in the comic, besides the main group, there were three factions driving the plot: the righteous faction, the Black Flash Organization, and the Nightmare Beasts.

From the information within the ‘Destiny’ organization, it was clear that some in the righteous faction were beginning to suspect that the Black Flash Organization was collaborating with the Nightmare Beasts, which meant they were about to start investigating. And with a focused investigation, the Black Flash Organization wouldn’t be able to hide for long.

On the Black Flash Organization’s side, due to their leader’s descent into darkness, their ultimate goal had shifted from eliminating Nightmare Beasts to eliminating humanity, even to the point of cooperating with Nightmare Beasts to achieve it.

However, Su Bei was currently unsure how many people within the organization knew about this. Judging from the news circulating within the Black Flash Organization, the majority were likely still in the dark.

Finally, there were the Nightmare Beasts. The changes in the Nightmare Beast World had a direct impact on them, which was why they had suddenly targeted the Earth Element’s Guardian Deity.

The changes in the Nightmare Beast World were definitely related to the righteous faction. Just as the ‘Manga Consciousness’ had said, the author had indeed begun preparing for the complete eradication of the Nightmare Beasts.

He had always been following the Nightmare Beast plotline. Although he knew the Black Flash Organization also had the potential to destroy the world, they were already part of the author’s original plot, and the author must have already thought of a solution. The real headache was the Nightmare Beast problem, which was something the author hadn’t anticipated.

Although the ‘Manga Consciousness’ had said the author was determined to solve this problem, it had been his mission all along, so Su Bei couldn’t help but be concerned.