Chapter 248: Victors in the Shadows (2)

Night.

Teacher’s residential area.

The sky had darkened.

On the street.

Su Yu anxiously said, “Brother Lin, is it proper that I visit empty-handed?”

“It’s fine. My teacher isn’t a narrow-minded person. Moreover, you’re a student visiting a teacher. It would be even more inappropriate to bring gifts. My teacher is the head counselor for new students, effectively our first Divine Character teacher. This is a normal visit. Don’t overthink it.”

“But…”

“Brother Su, you weren’t this hesitant before.” Lin Yao teased, “When you called me trash earlier, you sounded truly formidable. Don’t tell me the weight of reality has broken your spirit? Don’t worry so much.”

Su Yu nodded, took a deep breath, and straightened his back.

“Thank you, Brother Lin.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Did you tell Teacher Liu about this?”

Lin Yao smiled, “I called him, but he didn’t answer. He was probably busy. But it doesn’t matter. My teacher is very open-minded. He won’t mind your visit.”

“Then… I can only thank you, Brother Lin. I hope this doesn’t cause you any trouble.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Lin Yao waved his hand dismissively. This was no big deal for him.

As they spoke, they arrived before a small villa.

Not all Skysoars in the academy could live in a villa. But Liu Hong, a brilliant teaching assistant, wasn’t short of money, so he didn’t need an ordinary dormitory.

…

Inside the villa.

Liu Hong was busy calculating his day’s gains. He was in high spirits. He had reaped a rich harvest. He was also considering potential future problems. But they wouldn’t be too serious.

As for the anger Su Yu might feel, well, the kid was free to go find Zhou Pingsheng and confess the whole scam. Liu Hong chuckled. Nobody would believe that kid! By the time his faction finally discovered the data was fake, he’d already reached the Cloudbreach Realm.

At that point, even if they could pin the blame on him, he wouldn’t fear them. What could they do? Kill him? He wasn’t even the one in charge of the transaction. Zhou Pingsheng was the main scapegoat.

While lost in thought, the doorbell rang. When he projected his will, he blanked out.

Su Yu?

No, there was also Lin Yao.

What in the world?

Why were these two together? Weren’t they supposed to be enemies?

Looking at how friendly Lin Yao was with Su Yu, how they were chatting merrily, it didn’t seem like enemies.

Liu Hong was dumbfounded. Why was Su Yu here? And what was going on with these two?

“Is he here because of the transaction?”

Liu Hong was quite surprised. The kid had the audacity to come to his door. He wasn’t worried about Su Yu, but he was curious about Lin Yao. Had that fool forgotten all the pain and humiliation he’d suffered at Su Yu’s hands? How could he accept such a foolish student?

Liu Hong took his time, but eventually opened the door.

The moment the door swung open, Lin Yao hastily said, “Teacher…”

Beside him, Su Yu respectfully said, “Teacher Liu, I apologize for disturbing your rest.”

“Yes?”

Liu Hong’s tone was indifferent. Before Lin Yao could speak, Su Yu earnestly said, “I am here to thank you and apologize, Teacher.”

“…”

Even Liu Hong was starting to feel confused.

Lin Yao thought for a moment and pulled out a bundle from his hand. He opened it, deliberately displaying the contents to Liu Hong.

At first, Liu Hong didn’t care about the bundle. That was until Su Yu spoke, “I shouldn’t have treated Brother Lin that way. I’ve already apologized. Most of the 300 merit points I took from him have been spent. I only have some miscellaneous materials left…”

“Miscellaneous materials?”

Liu Hong blanked slightly. When he focused on the bundle again, his expression changed. Damn it! What does this mean? Why had Su Yu given Lin Yao all those things? Yes, he finally recognized those materials. After all, all those materials had passed through his hands before reaching Su Yu.

Su Yu wasted no time and pulled out another item. He solemnly said, “Teacher, I don’t have much money. Please consider this my gift for our apprenticeship ceremony. I wish to become your student.”

When Liu Hong saw the piece of cloth in Su Yu’s hand, his face turned green.

Skybreak Technique!

Damn it! Would he even dare to accept this? That was supposed to be Zheng Yunhui’s spoils! It might not be a big deal if it reappeared in Su Yu’s hands, but if it appeared in his hands and others discovered it, everything would be over for him.

No, wait. It shouldn’t even be in Su Yu’s hands! His Senior Brother Zhou had personally witnessed Su Yu losing this willpower text.

With the Skybreak Technique in hand, Su Yu said, “Teacher, I am not betraying the Multiple Character faction. But I truly have nowhere else to go. You are my only choice, Teacher. You have shown me great favor. Therefore, I wish to become your student.”

Even Lin Yao was stunned.

Su Yu was going to change teachers? If that happened, things would be very troublesome. From then on, he would become an enemy of the Multiple Character faction.

Liu Hong’s face kept changing. When he saw Su Yu about to kneel, he stepped forward and stopped him, even though he knew the kid probably wouldn’t actually kneel.

“No, there’s no need…”

Su Yu sadly said, “Teacher, are you unwilling to accept me? Is it because you think I lack sincerity? Fine. From tomorrow, I will kneel in the Dao Preaching District until you accept me as your student. I will show my sincerity to the entire academy. I want everyone to see how serious I am about wanting a new teacher!”

Liu Hong: “…”

He finally understood what was happening.

He looked deeply at Su Yu. This kid was setting him up. Changing teachers? What nonsense! If the kid actually knelt in the Dao Preaching District, everything would be over for Liu Hong!

Even Zhou Pingsheng would start doubting the data’s authenticity. And above Zhou Pingsheng were Elder Zheng and Faculty Head Zhou. They weren’t around during the transaction, but the moment they heard about Su Yu joining Liu Hong, they would definitely order a thorough investigation.

Liu Hong hurriedly looked around, his expression changing. He said, “Come in. It would be troublesome if others see this.”

Su Yu quickly asked, “Teacher, are you agreeing to take me as your student? If not, I will spend the night kneeling out here!”

Liu Hong had an unpleasant expression.

Beside him, Lin Yao was dumbfounded. But not completely, as he quickly said, “Su Yu, let’s talk inside. What are you doing? I thought you were here to apologize to Teacher? Why are you suddenly asking to become my teacher’s student instead? Wait, in that case, wouldn’t we be fellow apprentices then?”

At that thought, he looked at Liu Hong expectantly. His eyes were clear. He was basically telling Liu Hong to just say yes.

This guy was too talented! And he was also such a kind person. If he did become Liu Hong’s student, their previous conflict would no longer be a joke. Instead, it would be a story of fate’s twist that could captivate countless people.

It would be a beautiful story of rivals turned friends. Also, their faction was rather weak. If Su Yu joined them, their strength would increase.

Seeing the look in Lin Yao’s eyes, Liu Hong felt like spitting blood. Fool! Idiot! Was this idiot worthy of being his student? Liu Hong cursed inwardly. How blind was he to accept such a student? In the future, he wouldn’t accept such a foolish student no matter how much he was paid.

Just look at Su Yu. That little bastard was clearly here to force Liu Hong into submission. Yet his idiotic student believed Su Yu was genuinely here to become his student?

If he accepted Su Yu today, he would have to return the 40,000 merit points he’d taken earlier the next day. He also needed to pay his faction the other 40,000 merit points taken by Zheng Yunhui. And he also needed to withstand the fury of two Mountainseas and one Cloudbreach.

After all, he had played them all for fools. No, it was more likely he would need to withstand the fury of the entire Single Character faction. He was a traitor who had scammed his own people. And he had scammed such a large amount. They would be after his blood.

While cursing inwardly, Liu Hong maintained the same calm expression as he said, “Come in. If you truly refuse to come in, feel free to kneel outside. If you have something on your mind, we can talk about it. You don’t know who you’ll benefit if you make things too difficult for both of us.”

Those words seemed to hold another meaning. Su Yu thought for a moment and stepped through the door with a nod.