As Qin Jian spoke, he glanced up at the sky, but there wasn’t a trace of the Flying Magical Beast to be seen. He couldn’t help but ache with regret. ’A pity about that net, woven from Celestial Silkworm Silk from the northern Land of Extreme Cold. It’s served me so well over the years.’ Qin Jian had lost count of how many Magic Beast Crystal Cores he had obtained with that net.

He silently cursed himself for being too greedy. In the end, the Flying Magical Beast had been incredibly cunning. He hadn’t managed to get so much as a single feather, and he’d even lost a priceless treasure in the process. The Cold Land Celestial Silkworm Silk Net was itself exceedingly rare; in all these years, the entire Qin Family of the Bauhinia Clan only possessed this one.

The man who had lost the net ignored the wound on his leg and walked up to Qin Jian, his face full of shame. Just as he was about to speak, Qin Jian stopped him. "Hurry and get his wound bandaged!"

He then clapped the man on the shoulder. "It’s not your fault. I was the one who got too greedy."

Touched expressions appeared on the faces of Qin Jian’s subordinates, especially the man who had lost the net. His voice choked with emotion. He knew the net’s value better than anyone, as he had been the one using it all these years. Now that it was lost, he felt even more anguish than Qin Jian!

"Captain, I..."

"It’s really not your fault," Qin Jian said gently. He then turned to Ling Xiao and asked again, "You’re the Ling Xiao who beat up my brother?"

"What about it? Looking to get even for your brother?" Ling Xiao said with a faint, frank smile. He couldn’t sense much hostility from Qin Jian.

"I’d like to have a talk with you. Is that all right?" Qin Jian asked, his gaze fixed intently on Ling Xiao.

Shangguan Yutong and Ye Wen Ni looked at Ling Xiao with concern. Ling Xiao smiled. "All right." He then turned to Shangguan Yutong. "Teacher, please take Ye Zi to my place for now. Chunlan and Qiuyue are there; have them tend to her wound again."

Shangguan Yutong looked like she wanted to say something but held her tongue. Although Ling Xiao wasn’t yet of age, he had matured immensely since the whole affair with Xie Xiaoyan. The way he spoke and handled things sometimes made her—his teacher, who was several years his senior—feel inadequate in comparison. ’A man like that probably doesn’t like people meddling.’ With that in mind, Shangguan Yutong simply nodded. "All right. In that case... you be careful."

Li Qiang stood nearby, his expression frigid as he stared at Ling Xiao, Shangguan Yutong, and the others. He wasn’t particularly sad about a subordinate’s death, but the humiliation was immense. He’d already lost face once. Then, when he came back to settle the score, not only did he fail, but he even got himself injured. And the high-level bodyguard he’d hired... had fucking defected to the other side!

Li Qiang couldn’t help but curse furiously in his mind. When he thought of Meng Li, a chill ran down his spine. He glanced at Meng Li trailing behind Ling Xiao and shivered. ’What the hell? Ling Xiao clearly ran Meng Li straight through with his sword... So how is he walking around like nothing happened? Wait, didn’t Ling Xiao give him an Elixir?’

At this thought, a cold smirk touched Li Qiang’s lips. ’So, Ling Xiao, you have such a top-grade Elixir and you didn’t offer it to the Empire first? At the very least, I can have you charged with hoarding it for yourself!’ Li Qiang was very familiar with His Majesty the King’s greedy nature. He was thrilled to have found a perfect excuse to get closer to His Majesty.

Only now did the academy guards dare to approach. The reason was simple: whenever noble students clashed, commoner guards like them never got involved. They couldn’t afford to offend the nobles on either side, and they might even get accidentally injured. So, they would simply watch from a distance as the conflict unfolded and only emerge to clean up the "battlefield" after everything was over. This had practically become a custom at the Noble Academy, one that nobody found strange.

Seeing that there was no more excitement to be had, the crowd of noble students began to disperse. Ling Xiao and Qin Jian walked to one of the academy’s botanical gardens. The garden was vast, filled with all sorts of rare trees and home to many species of birds. Day or night, the area was serene and quiet, with few visitors. It was, however, a popular spot for lovers to come and share their deepest feelings.

Qin Jian had his men wait outside and went into the garden alone with Ling Xiao. He then spoke up. "You must be curious as to why I wanted to talk with you, right? Curious about why I... am here to get revenge for Qin Kang."

"What’s so strange about that?" Ling Xiao replied calmly. "People always have their reasons. Say what you want to say. No one is forcing you."

"Hahaha, well said!" A look of admiration appeared on Qin Jian’s face. "You’re very different from the rumors!"

Ling Xiao smiled. "If all rumors were true, they wouldn’t be called rumors."

"True enough." A fervent light suddenly gleamed in Qin Jian’s eyes. "Ling Xiao, before we continue our conversation, would you grant me a fight?"

Just then, the sounds of a fight suddenly erupted from outside. Both Qin Jian and Ling Xiao looked toward the garden entrance, where Qin Jian’s subordinates were standing guard. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

In the distance, a coarse, angry roar echoed. "Everyone, stand aside! I’ll give you a chance since we’re all soldiers of the Empire. Otherwise... don’t blame me for getting rough!"

Of course, the men on the other side couldn’t let him pass. A soldier’s foremost duty is to obey orders. Qin Jian had commanded them to guard the entrance and let no one in, so they had to execute that command to the letter.

After a brief scuffle, a hearty laugh rang out. "You’re no match for me!" a voice then bellowed toward the garden’s interior. "Qin Jian, don’t you dare bully my little brother! If you do, I, Lingzhi, will fight you to the death!"