Chapter 324

He was genuinely shocked. Only three people knew about this: him, Ye Lin, and his father. It was impossible for him or his father to leak this information, so theoretically, only Ye Lin could have said it.

But the question was, why would Ye Lin tell Su Bei any of this? Their private cooperation… no matter how he thought about it, there was no need to tell Su Bei!

“I have my own intelligence channels,” Su Bei replied casually, then waved his hand, not lingering any longer. Having gotten the answer he wanted, there was naturally no need to waste any more of Li Shu’s time.

If Li Shu knew what he was thinking, he would probably laugh in anger. He didn’t feel sorry for interrupting him earlier, but now that he had piqued his curiosity, he suddenly felt sorry and turned to leave.

How could someone be so infuriating?

The police and government personnel arrived quickly, and there was no longer any need for Meng Huai to stay. He summoned another silver dragon, letting Mu Tieren and Qi Huang sit on the back of the black dragon he was on, while Su Bei’s group of four sat on the silver dragon.

The dragon’s back was very wide, more than enough for the four of them as long as they didn’t roll around. Of course, they had to maintain their own balance. After all, it was a creature flying in the sky. No matter how smoothly it flew, the people on its back could easily be blown about by the wind without any cover.

However, this was nothing for Ability users, and it wasn’t the first time Su Bei and the others had ridden a dragon. But it was their first time seeing the city’s nightscape from a dragon’s back.

The city below was brightly lit. A major characteristic of modernization was the ever-present light pollution. Even from high up, the city lights were dazzling.

But the feeling was strange. Below was a metropolis brimming with modern atmosphere, yet they were riding dragons through the night sky. The interweaving of reality and fantasy made them momentarily wonder if they were in a dream.

Back at Endless Ability Academy, because it was already very late, or rather, almost dawn, Meng Huai didn’t criticize them right away. With a cigarette dangling from his lips, he waved his hand dismissively as if shooing away flies. “Go back to sleep. After school tomorrow, everyone except Li Shu, come to my office. Don’t forget to bring your 1000-word self-criticisms.”

One thousand words!

Hearing that last sentence, everyone looked as if they’d been struck by a bolt from the blue, their expressions utterly despairing. However, Meng Huai’s attitude was clearly firm, and he didn’t look like he would change his mind just because they begged.

After a long silence, Mu Tieren was the first to speak sensibly, “We understand, teacher.”

Meng Huai nodded in satisfaction and left on his own, ignoring them. The moment he was gone, Lan Subing was the first to let out a desperate cry, “A thousand words… Help… I’m going to die…”

“I haven’t written a self-criticism this long in my entire fifteen years,” Qi Huang said through gritted teeth. “No, wait, I’ve never written a self-criticism at all!”

Such a perfect person she was, and she had broken her streak at this blasted school.

Mu Tieren sighed. “It’s fine, we still have a whole day tomorrow. We only have to hand it in after school.”

“That’s right, we have plenty of time to find a template,” Su Bei agreed with a nod, already searching for the self-criticism template he needed on his phone.

Although what they did was not something ordinary students would do, the essence was the same: they disobeyed the teacher, with maybe a hint of truancy. Searching in those two directions would definitely yield useful results.

“Send me a copy of the template when you find it,” Wu Mingbai said, trying to copy the homework.

Su Bei was not the helpful type. He immediately refused, “No way. If the teacher actually reads them, we’ll all be screwed together.”

Jiang Tianming was smarter and immediately came up with a good idea. “It’s fine. Just send us the material, we’ll rearrange the order, so they look roughly different. The teacher definitely won’t read them carefully.”

“What’s in it for me?” Su Bei asked leisurely. “For example, I send you the material, and you guys help me write my thousand words?”

Hearing such a shameless proposal, Qi Huang was speechless. “There’s a limit to dreaming.”

“I can help too~” Li Shu said to Jiang Tianming with a smile. “As long as you…”

“No need.” Before he could finish, Jiang Tianming decisively refused, then turned to Su Bei. “Let’s discuss your plan again.”

Bantering all the way back to the dormitory, they finally quieted down and went to their respective rooms. It was already four or five in the morning, and they had school tomorrow. Honestly, if this wasn’t Meng Huai’s punishment, they would have definitely taken a day off.

But unfortunately, taking a day off was out of the question now. They could only seize the last three hours to get some sleep. Fortunately, Ability users were generally energetic, so three hours was enough for them to recover.

It wasn’t until school the next day, after using the morning reading session to catch up on sleep, that Su Bei took out his phone to check this week’s manga update.

The manga started with the beginning of the new semester. Zhou Min, as a small easter egg, had indeed sparked a lot of discussion among readers. Then, in the classroom, Meng Huai dropped two bombshells in the first class. One was a foreshadowing for the next event—the S-Class would be downsized. The other was the start of the current incident—Li Shu was dropping out.

“Why downsize?”

“You’re keeping this setting? Damned author, curse you!”

“Ahhhh, I don’t want anyone to leave!”

“Wait, is this still a shonen manga? What kind of shonen manga cuts characters for a reason like this?”

“Why is Li Shu dropping out?”

“Looks like the focus this time is on Li Shu dropping out! After all, the other thing is a month away.”

Since he had participated in the entire following plot, Su Bei quickly flipped through the pages.

[After Jiang Tianming’s group of three went off on their own, they quickly ran into Li Shu. Li Shu was surprised to see them, not expecting them to make it to Li Family Island in the dark when he had already asked Meng Huai to stop them.

Before they were discovered, Li Shu wanted them to turn back. So when Jiang Tianming asked why he was dropping out, he answered heartlessly: “Because you guys are so annoying. That’s why I’m dropping out.”]

When he saw this, the bullet comments exploded. One group of people felt he wasn’t being truthful, arguing that he was so clingy with Jiang Tianming before the school year started, how could his attitude change completely over one summer break?

The other group, although they knew he didn’t mean it, couldn’t help but get angry. As the protagonist, Jiang Tianming was very popular in ‘King of Abilities,’ so of course, some fans couldn’t stand their favorite being talked to like that.

[As the rational protagonist, Jiang Tianming didn’t stage a soap opera scene where characters refuse to communicate. He saw through Li Shu’s lie at a glance and calmly persuaded him: “We’re already here, so we won’t go back easily. You should know you can’t fool me. It’s better to be honest and tell us the real reason you’re dropping out so we can help.”

Beside him, Wu Mingbai chimed in: “If you don’t give us some direction on how to help, we’ll have to improvise.”

At this moment, Lan Subing also showed the protagonist group’s unified “mischievous” nature, saying softly: “Li Shu, you know, if you let them run wild on their own, who knows what kind of trouble they’ll stir up.”

“Wow, you naturally excluded yourself, didn’t you,” Wu Mingbai sneered, hooking an arm around Lan Subing’s neck. “When have we ever caused trouble without you being involved?”

Unable to hold back a laugh, Jiang Tianming quickly coughed to regain his composure and looked at Li Shu seriously again: “So, will you tell us the truth?”]

While watching this scene, Su Bei’s eyes were filled with appreciation. He had to admit, he really liked a straightforward personality. This kind of behavior, which didn’t allow for information gaps between parties, could effectively avoid many misunderstandings.

In the end, Li Shu compromised and told them the truth. To put it simply, he knew his family was involved in some disgusting trades. The family head used the [Eight Treasures Per Birth] ability to make the clan members have more children.

Then, they treated the children as tradable commodities, selling their human rights, organs, flesh, and blood… As long as enough money was paid, one could completely own a child who wasn’t even registered, a child whose death would go unnoticed.

Now, he wanted to bring them to justice. So, he told Meng Huai, asking him to find Ability users to gather evidence remotely while he personally went to Li Family Island to find proof. The reason he didn’t want Jiang Tianming and the others to come was that he didn’t want to involve them in his family’s troubles.

Obviously, his version of the truth was watered down, at least in Su Bei’s opinion. He didn’t mention Ye Lin’s role at all, nor did he explain why he suddenly decided to turn against his family. He only mentioned the superficial details.

But this was enough for the protagonist group. They didn’t mind if Li Shu hid a few minor details, as long as the general direction was correct.

Jiang Tianming and the others wanted to start with the children to get more witnesses. Under the effect of the protagonist’s halo, they met a little girl and learned that her brother was having surgery that day.

In the little girl’s and her brother’s perception, it was a great honor to contribute an organ to the Li family. After all, the Li family had raised them for so many years; it was impossible not to expect something in return.

Once chosen to contribute an organ, they could take a large sum of money and leave Li Family Island to live outside. The children could attend a private school funded by the Li family, and adults were guaranteed job placements. Their after-sales service was maxed out.

Having learned the Li family’s secrets, the group certainly didn’t believe the family was so kind. Jiang Tianming immediately called Si Zhaohua and asked for his help in looking up the school and company the little girl mentioned.

The answer, without a doubt, was that neither existed. Si Zhaohua couldn’t find any record of them.

Meanwhile, Mu Tieren and Qi Huang were in a miserable state. Just as Su Bei had analyzed, if Jiang Tianming’s side was taking a gentle approach, their side was a full-blown action movie set.

Qi Huang’s ability determined that once her location was discovered, it was impossible to hide. To repel enemies, she had to use her ability, and the brilliant flames would attract more enemies, creating a vicious cycle.

Finally, the scene shifted to Su Bei. In the manga, he was humming a tune, leisurely arriving at the operating room to set up the camera, then going to the older brother’s room to look at the photo, then accurately finding the family head’s room and using his ability to drive him out, and finally finding the ledger in the room.

The whole sequence was as smooth as flowing water, as if everything was under his control.

Su Bei: “…”

Was he that cool at the time?

Obviously, the author had slightly trimmed and altered his actions for the sake of the plot and characterization, making it seem as if he really knew the Li family’s secrets all along.

And the readers, unaware of the truth, would naturally follow the author’s lead.

“Su Bei clearly knew about the Li family’s affairs from the start. His evidence-gathering was so smooth…”

“If I had a teammate like this, I’d wake up laughing from my dreams.”

“He’s so reliable…”

“The ledger was found that easily?”

“Brother Bei must also really disapprove of what the Li family is doing.”

The scene of Su Bei going back to retrieve the recording was also drawn by the author. When they saw Li Shu say he had a healing ability, the readers’ reaction was the same as Su Bei’s at the time—utter shock.

When did Li Shu get a healing ability? How did they not know?

Seeing this, a dark glint flashed in Su Bei’s eyes. Although he couldn’t use the Oracle Account to talk about himself, he could still stir up some presence.

Next came the most important part for him. Su Bei turned to the next page, to the part where he “showed off his skills.”

Earlier, when he wasn’t even that impressive, the author was willing to craft a cool image for him for the plot’s sake. Now that he was genuinely being cool, the author naturally wouldn’t deliberately suppress him.

In the manga, he moved effortlessly among the enemies, a perfect example of “passing through a field of flowers without a single petal touching him.” He even occasionally teased the people trying to catch him with the ledger, his chaos-seeker state at maximum.

And the ledger remained in his hands from beginning to end. Although it brushed past several others, no one managed to grab it, and during this time, Su Bei made no evasive maneuvers.

All the readers could tell that this was definitely the work of his ability.

“Destiny-type abilities are really amazing.”

“Can I say it? So cool, ahhhhhh!”

“What ability is this? Has Su Bei used it before?”

“Other people’s progress is obvious, but Su Bei’s progress is silent.”

“So annoying, Brother Bei. You’ve already teased at least five people.”

Next, Su Bei naturally revealed the new ability he had fabricated. In the manga, it didn’t feel out of place at all. At most, it just made people feel he was a bit more honest than usual, actually stating his ability directly instead of being mysterious.

Seeing a bullet comment saying this, Su Bei couldn’t help but smile wryly. It was all because he had messed around too much before, frequently giving perfunctory answers to people’s questions, so that now when he wanted to give a real answer, no one would dig deeper.

Su Bei was certain that if he had tried to be mysterious, Jiang Tianming and the others would have immediately given up trying to get an answer from him. How would he have explained it then?

Their perceptiveness was usually very pleasing to Su Bei, but at a time like this, he could only reap what he sowed.

Talk about the tables turning, he thought, leaning back.

For now, it seemed the readers didn’t suspect him, which was good news. Although Su Bei had anticipated this, his heart had been hanging in suspense until things were settled. Now, seeing the readers’ good reception, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He quickly skimmed through the ending. The author didn’t mention anything related to Ye Lin in the manga. This was probably foreshadowing, set to explode when Ye Lin betrayed them again.

But it shouldn’t be a problem if he dropped a small spoiler in advance, right?

Su Bei closed the manga and opened the forum, immediately searching for posts about himself. As he had hoped, as a popular character in ‘King of Abilities’ who had just revealed a new ability, there were naturally many threads discussing him.

He first glanced over the titles of several posts and saw none that questioned him. His mind at ease, Su Bei randomly clicked on a related topic.

《Great News! Su Bei’s Ability Profile has been updated. What an amazing ability, it feels like it’ll be invincible once fully developed.》

[Old-time Relic No.0: Although it can only be used in passive forms like defense and support, you can tell from this chapter that this skill is practically invincible, okay? Installing a good fate on yourself in advance means you don’t have to worry about anything. Because fate is already decided, the process is just a formality.

If he develops an active mode, I can’t even imagine how strong it would be. As long as the user has enough Mental Energy, this is a completely invincible skill. And the user of this ability is Su Bei, who has Advanced Mental Energy.

Honestly, I seriously suspect the only reason this skill can only be used for passive defense is that the author is limiting Su Bei’s potential. After all, a chaos-seeker with an invincible ability would be a bit terrifying.]

[No.1: It’s really strong, especially what Jiang Jiang said after hearing about this ability from Su Bei. That’s the ultimate form of this ability.]

[No.2: Even though this ability can’t be used for active actions, I still think it’s so OP. How can it be so strong?]

[No.3 reply to No.2:

It’s actually not that strong. This time it was purely because the opponents were all weak. If you put him against someone stronger, you’ll see. Su Bei definitely wouldn’t be able to use this ability so easily.]

[No.4 reply to No.3:

I agree. The reason Su Bei is strong with this ability is that his Mental Energy is strong and his control over his ability is strong. I can’t imagine anyone else using it; it would probably be hard just to activate.]

[No.5: It feels a bit like Bingbing’s [Word Spirit]. First, in terms of the ability itself, isn’t destiny also a form of speaking? Secondly, back when Bingbing was weak, she couldn’t use many words even without her social anxiety getting in the way. But now it’s different. With increased experience and Mental Energy, Bingbing can use [Word Spirit] to assist in combat. This ability should be similar.]

[No.6: OP, but not completely.]

[…]

[No.42: When do you guys think Su Bei got this ability?]

[No.43 reply to No.42:

He’s always had it.]

[No.44 reply to No.43:

Impossible, he’s only 15 now. Even if he’s a genius, he can’t be that strong.]

[No.45: To the poster above, although I don’t know when he got this ability, Su Bei has indeed been strong from the beginning. Don’t forget, he was able to easily handle an enemy that even Jiang Jiang and Zhaohua working together couldn’t defeat during the first monthly exam.]

[No.46: Su Bei has never used this ability before, but he also often pops up with a new ability, so it’s really hard to tell if he just learned it or just revealed it.]

[No.47: To each their own, I guess. For those who think Su Bei has been secretly improving, this ability is newly learned. For those who think Su Bei has always been invincible, this ability is one he’s had for a long time.]

[No.48 reply to No.47:

Seems like no matter which possibility, he’s amazing.]

[No.49 reply to No.48:

Well, it’s Su Bei, after all.]

[…]

[No.95: I support the OP! Damned author, don’t you dare nerf Su Bei!]

[No.96: I don’t think the author is nerfing Su Bei. It’s purely for power balancing.]

[No.97: Su Bei’s ability is already very strong, and he’s constantly developing it. I’m afraid one day he’ll defeat the principal and become the number one in the Ability World.]

[No.98 reply to No.97:

Hahahahaha, although I look forward to that scene, I don’t think it’s very likely. Su Bei is strong, but I feel he’s more of the unorthodox type (tries to gesture).

Like, his isn’t the conventionally powerful, highly destructive ability that could make him the strongest. It’s not that he isn’t worthy, but that he doesn’t need that title. It feels like Destiny-types don’t participate in competitions. Not within the Five Elements, outside the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

Here, I have to say he’s a really good match for his ability. Both are third parties ().]

[No.99 reply to No.98:

A strange evaluation, but I somehow get it.]

[No.100: The author’s characterization for him is really good. Whether Su Bei becomes a villain, stays a good guy, or becomes an undercover agent, it all feels weird to me. Being a third party is truly his best, or rather, most suitable choice. He should be a third party that doesn’t belong to anyone.]

[No.101: Who can control destiny?]

[…]

[No.158: By the way, does no one suspect if what Su Bei said is true? I’m not doubting if he’s really that strong, since the facts speak for themselves. I’m suspecting that he didn’t mention the drawbacks of this ability.

From him saying he’ll improve in the future, you can tell this ability is still in the development stage. There must be drawbacks during development. Su Bei only answered one drawback when Jiang Tianming asked. So, are there others? For example, as mentioned before, maybe this ability consumes a lot of Mental Energy?]

[No.159: There must be, but Su Bei would never voluntarily reveal his weaknesses unless someone asks the right question.]

[No.160 reply to No.159:

Exactly. Who would be idle enough to expose their own weaknesses?]

[No.161 reply to No.160:

Our understanding is different. I don’t think Su Bei minds making his weaknesses public; he can handle it anyway. He doesn’t say it simply because no one asked.

Just like when Jiang Jiang asked him, he answered. That should have been a weakness worth hiding too.]