Even when he spoke again, the area around him stayed dead quiet.
Ji Chenxi carefully stretched out his spiritual power to scan the surroundings, and the result came back clean—there really was no one there.
The silver-haired young man frowned toward that direction anyway and took two steps forward on his own. In the end, though, the mess of dusty, tangled branches stopped him from probing any further.
Only after he left did the person hiding in the shadows finally let out a small breath of relief. To avoid being found, he had been holding his breath the whole time, forcing himself to look like the place was completely empty.
He clearly sensed that the other man had already gone far away before he released an extremely soft breath. But at that exact moment, an ice-blue spike formed from spiritual power shot straight at his face. At its icy-blue core hid a deep sea–blue glow, dazzling and beautiful—yet also something that could take a life in an instant.
The guy hiding in the dark faltered in his breathing, and the first thing he saw was a round, chubby recording drone, perfectly capturing the instant his pupils shrank.
In the distance, the silver-haired young man—who should have already left—was smiling brightly at him.
“That trick of fooling spiritual detection is pretty impressive. Not many people can pull that off. Looks like your spiritual form focuses on illusions. Based on what we know about the freshmen from the two academies, you should be the highest-ranked one this year—Lu Jianhan. Spiritual form: Phantom Butterfly.”
Because of the heavy injury to his abdomen, the young man had been forced to find a hidden place to recover. He had short flaxen hair and light tea-colored eyes. Now, he stared warily at the silver-haired youth not far away, his gaze filled with alertness.
“How did Third Highness discover me?”
There hadn’t been the slightest leak of presence. Even spiritual power couldn’t pick up anything—only a trace of blood scent so faint it was almost impossible to find. Anyone else would have thought they were mistaken, chalking it up to paranoia. So how had Ji Chenxi been so sure someone was here, even turning back to strike?
“Hm? Of course I noticed you from the start. Otherwise, why would I have asked?”
“Clearly, you used spiritual power to scan the area.” Lu Jianhan’s voice sped up a little. He knew the points he’d been guarding so carefully were probably about to slip through his fingers. Right now, he just wanted to know where he’d messed up.
Ji Chenxi only smiled at that. “I did scan it. But I never doubt my own judgment.”
So whether there was someone there or not, as long as suspicion crept into his mind, Ji Chenxi would double-check. Who knew—maybe he’d hook a big fish. Turns out, this time, he bet right.
Lu Jianhan was ranked as the male second lead in that black-covered book, the most important character after Chi Zhuo, the main alpha lead.
In the original story, he had way more presence than Bai Anran’s so-called fiance—in name only. This assessment was where the two first met. They were the type who only got to know each other after trading blows, then later, by a twist of fate, became roommates. Over time, Lu Jianhan practically became Bai Anran’s closest alpha friend.
But a book filled with romance was never going to bother writing about pure friendship between an omega and an alpha. Slowly, Lu Jianhan developed feelings that were… different. He never said them out loud. It was the kind of clean, clueless affection a young alpha had—instinctively being good to the person he liked. Much later—so late that Bai Anran had already fallen for Chi Zhuo, after the two went through round after round of emotional mess—Lu Jianhan finally realized those feelings existed. And all he could do was let them go in silence.
The amount of attention the book gave him was something Ji Chenxi couldn’t compare to at all. Having the First Military Academy and the Royal Academy hold a joint freshman trial was already one thing—but now he’d run into Lu Jianhan early, and worse, Lu Jianhan was injured.
Under Lu Jianhan’s guarded stare, Ji Chenxi walked closer.
“Classmate Lu doesn’t look to be in great shape.”
Lu Jianhan’s expression didn’t change, but his body tensed even more.
The Phantom Butterfly could confuse people, and the powder on its wings carried a toxin that numbed the nerves. Ji Chenxi wasn’t stupid enough to approach someone with a dangerous spiritual form without any caution.
After moving a few steps closer, he stopped. “I’ve got something on me—picked it up not long ago. Good stuff. Works great for healing. Want to consider teaming up with me? I won’t ask for much. Half of the points you’re holding right now, plus future cooperation between the two of us. Of course, once we’re partners, any points we earn will be split fifty-fifty. In other words, you’re just using half your current points to buy yourself a strong ally like me.”
Whether Ji Chenxi was really that strong, Lu Jianhan didn’t know. But he did know one thing—if he rejected him now, that dangerous spiritual attack would land on him next, and every last point he had would end up in Ji Chenxi’s pocket.
“Third Highness isn’t just trying to mess with me for fun, is he?”
Ji Chenxi pointed to the recording drone hovering not far from them. “It’s still there. If I really wanted to go back on my word, I wouldn’t have brought it along. After all, it’s pretty easy to leave the school’s higher-ups thinking I’m unreliable, isn’t it?”
It wasn’t exactly a completely convincing excuse, but with Lu Jianhan badly injured and already discovered, he didn’t really have a choice.
“I hope Your Highness is someone who keeps his word.”
After a brief pause to think it over, Lu Jianhan answered in a low voice, tossing his points toward Ji Chenxi.
“Good,” Ji Chenxi said without hesitation. After taking half the points, he handed over the herbs he’d found along with the remaining points to Lu Jianhan, simultaneously dissolving the spiritual spike. “Apply the medicine quickly—we still have follow-up actions.”
“What’s Your Highness’s plan?”
“Simple. Grab as many points as we can in the early stage. Later, during the cooperative competitions, points won’t be so easy to take openly. Rather than snatching from freshmen, it’s better to target older students—especially those with some skill who like to give freshmen trouble.”
“And after that?”
“Head to the West District. The school already told us early on there’s a hidden mission there—basically trying to lure us in. Since we want to fight for first place, we naturally have to go. I’m not aiming for instant fame in this trial, but I do want to put someone firmly in second place.”
“Your rival?” Lu Jianhan guessed.
Ji Chenxi tilted his head and let out a light laugh at the question. “You could say that.”
“Did I say something wrong?”
Ji Chenxi’s eyes curved into a faint smile. “No, it’s just… he’s not only a rival, he’s my lifelong enemy.”
The slight lift at the end of his words carried a subtle, almost unnoticeable hint of playfulness.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
