“Wait.” An angry voice rang out in everyone’s ears.
Zhou Tong, who had been interrupted, was clearly annoyed.
She glared with wide eyes in the direction the voice had come from.
Because the tone was so different from usual, Zhou Tong didn’t recognize it as her archrival’s voice.
But when she looked toward the door and saw a familiar face, her annoyance vanished, replaced by a look of amusement.
The person stormed into the hall, practically shouting at Zhou Tong, “Zhou Tong, who did this?” He was so angry he didn’t care about appearances anymore.
Zhou Tong knew exactly what the old guy was asking about, and her playful smile grew even wider.
She didn’t plan to gossip with him.
“Someone you can’t afford to mess with.”
The man was named Chen Feng, a clan uncle of Chen Jianlin, and often the one cleaning up Chen Jianlin’s messes.
Chen Feng was also fiercely protective.
He had no choice—it was his family’s assignment.
Since Chen Jianlin had become a pill-grade alchemist, the family decided to go all-in on nurturing him, so they gave Chen Feng the job of making sure nothing got in the way of Chen Jianlin’s growth, no matter the cost.
Normally, Zhou Tong would have argued with him a bit, but today she just answered directly.
But Chen Feng was too angry to notice the difference.
When he heard Zhou Tong’s words, he exploded, “Someone I can’t afford to mess with? I want to see who in this world the Chen family can’t afford to mess with!”
He was so furious that the magical elements around him started to go wild, dazzling lights flaring and spreading out, bringing with them a wave of magical pressure.
Zhou Tong sighed helplessly.
This guy had let his anger get the better of him—he was completely out of it.
“Who was it?” Chen Feng didn’t care who it was—someone had nearly crippled the Chen family’s future hope, and someone had to pay for that! “Calm down.
Don’t let your impulsiveness destroy your family.” Even though they were rivals, Zhou Tong didn’t want to see his family wiped out just because he messed with the wrong person, so she offered a kind warning.
“Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down after something like this?” Chen Feng was in a terrible mood.
It was like someone had slapped you, and then someone else told you to chill out—could you take that? “Hey, are you sure you want to know?” Zhou Tong was out of words.
If this idiot didn’t suffer a little, he’d never learn what pain was.
“Cut the crap, just say it!” Chen Feng couldn’t stand Zhou Tong’s calm, watching-the-show expression anymore.
“There!” Zhou Tong jerked her chin in Bai Ling’s direction.
Chen Feng looked where Zhou Tong indicated and saw a somewhat familiar face, but in his rage, he didn’t care who it was.
He unleashed a wave of magical pressure straight at Bai Ling.
Bai Ling just stood there.
Chen Feng’s A-rank mage pressure didn’t faze her at all.
She looked at Chen Feng with a proud expression.
She didn’t want trouble, but she wasn’t afraid of it either.
If someone wanted to act tough in front of her, she didn’t mind showing them who was boss.
Chen Feng was a little surprised—why was this girl still standing under his pressure? She must have some skill, but she was probably just holding out.
Chen Feng walked up to Bai Ling, looking down at her like she was a criminal.
“So you’re the one who hurt Chen Jianlin?” Chen Feng’s harsh tone made Bai Ling think he was just as annoying as that fly from earlier.
“You mean that fly from before?” Bai Ling replied impatiently.
She found even saying one more word a chore.
“Fly?” Chen Feng didn’t get what she meant by “fly.” What did a fly have to do with this? Suddenly, something clicked for Chen Feng, and his face darkened.
“You’ve got some nerve, talking to me like that.
Do you believe I can make sure you don’t live past today?”
Chen Feng had completely lost it.
This person dared talk to him like that? Even some teachers wouldn’t dare.
If he didn’t teach her a lesson, she’d never know her place.
“I don’t believe you.” Bai Ling’s face was blank.
She really didn’t believe he could kill her today, and she was curious to see how he’d try.
“Oh? Chen, if you lay a finger on her today, your whole family will probably regret it!” Zhou Tong stepped in front of Bai Ling, giving Chen Feng a “friendly” warning.
Bai Ling looked at Zhou Tong, a little amused.
Did Zhou Tong really think she couldn’t handle an A-rank nobody? Still, it made Bai Ling like Zhou Tong a bit more—at least she wasn’t annoying.
“Hmph, the only ones who could make the Chen family regret anything are those few families.” Chen Feng wasn’t stupid.
He knew only a handful of families were out of his league, but their kids were all arrogant—none of them would act like Bai Ling.
“???” Suddenly, Chen Feng looked at Zhou Tong in shock.
“That’s right, her name is Bai Ling.
Now you get it, right?” Zhou Tong’s lips curled into a beautiful smile.
“Hm?” When Chen Feng heard the name Bai Ling, he looked at her again, and after a moment, her face matched his memory.
“….” He stared at Bai Ling, stunned, unable to speak for a long time.
“So? Are you sure you want to keep going? If this gets back to the headmaster, then…” Zhou Tong grinned wickedly at the dazed Chen Feng.
“Hmph, looks like the Chen family’s just unlucky today.
Next time, we won’t be so easy on you.” Chen Feng snapped back to reality at Zhou Tong’s words, snorted coldly, left a harsh warning, and walked away.
He had no intention of making things worse.
Even the academy’s attitude toward Bai Ling was more than the Chen family could handle, not to mention the forces behind her were way stronger than his family.
With the troublemaker gone, Zhou Tong turned to Bai Ling and asked, “You okay?”
“I’m fine! Thank you, Teacher Zhou Tong.” Bai Ling smiled back.
She was never cold to people who helped her.
“Good, as long as you’re okay.”
“Alright, alright, no one’s going to cause trouble now.
I’ll announce the test results.
The successful candidate is Bai Ling.
From now on, she’s a member of my Alchemy Hall.” Zhou Tong said excitedly, then handed Bai Ling a small badge engraved with a drop of water and a bottle—the exclusive badge of the Alchemy Hall.
The crowd was stunned.
The scene they’d just witnessed would be burned into their memories forever.
One hit to take down a B-rank mage, and even when a family elder showed up, he couldn’t do anything to her.
Everyone thought, this is a real boss—you’d better protect her at all costs.
As for trying to recruit her into their own families, that idea had long since vanished.
If she’s even interested, then maybe.
