Ch. 9 - How is Your Father?

Liu Qingfeng's frigid tone resonated through the classroom, leaving the students below pensive and uncertain about how to respond. Observing this scene, Liu Qingfeng's eyes carried a hint of helplessness. He sighed, refrained from speaking further, he wearily turned around to push open the door, eventually leaving the room.Inside the classroom, the chatter erupted once more. A group of students began analyzing the specific purpose of the assessment and speculating about Yusheng's father's profession.

Outside the door, Liu Qingfeng watched the scene with a wry smile. The young are often oblivious to life's hardships. They yearn for the day when they can ascend high on a spirited horse, basking in the world's admiration, or what they often refer to as becoming heroes. Little do they know that the Demon Suppression Pass bears witness to countless lives stained with blood, turning even the greenest leaves into a somber brown. Perhaps, one day, in the face of loss and the passing of lives, they will awaken and mature.

This scene... Liu Qingfeng had witnessed it far too many times. One cannot truly understand the cruelty of war until they experience it firsthand. Only then might they grasp the burdens that those deemed as heroes carry.

Even among the top ten elders of the Mo Pavilion, the strongest force, nine of them remained hidden among the crowd, secretly balancing the power of the demon clan. They might live their entire lives without the world knowing them until the day of their death.

"He is remarkably strong."

Is this what defines a hero? Yes! However, they never consider themselves heroes and instead, they silently fulfill their obligations. In their eyes, what is glamorous and worshiped is not as important as even a small demon.

…

"Yusheng, how is your father?" the principal inquired, hesitating for two seconds before opting for a more tactful approach. "Is he doing alright?"

Yusheng pondered for a moment and replied, "He should be doing fine."

"Wuwotou is quite valuable in Sin City," the principal stated, but then fell silent.

After hearing the first half of the sentence, he initially assumed that Yusheng's father had been released from prison. However, there was a twist. Over the past few days, he had been pondering Yusheng's situation and gathering a lot of information. Sin City was usually reserved for irredeemable criminals after all.

However, Yusheng's father was just an ordinary person without any criminal record. Yusheng himself had been sent to Sin City at a very young age due to a disaster. This seemed unreasonable.

According to the records, when Yusheng was very young, he was mistakenly brought into Sin City due to a disaster. But the city had its own rules, once someone entered the city, regardless of the reason, they could never leave. To depart, one had to secure an annual quota. Sᴇaʀᴄh the ɴovᴇlꜰirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Although awakened individuals couldn't use their abilities in Sin City, their physical strength was much stronger than Yusheng. What puzzled the principal even more was that Yusheng's father had never attempted to rescue his own son in all these years, almost as if he had forgotten about him. This complex relationship left the principal completely at a loss.

But at least one thing was certain, since Yusheng had managed to leave Sin City, even if he was just a harmless child standing in front of him, it would be effortless for him to overpower some students during the assessment, akin to a high-level attack against low-level opponents.

Although the principal had never personally seen the environment within Sin City, he could imagine some aspects of it. In previous years, individuals who emerged from Sin City had gained fame and risen to higher positions.

"This assessment not only evaluates the students but also the school", the principal explained. "Since Desert North City is too small, the significance of the three schools is minimal. So they plan to integrate them, the new school formed after the merger will probably be led by the ranking from this assessment. It's a win-win situation. Don't hold back!"

The principal earnestly instructed Yusheng, concerned that his thought process might be too unique and he could inadvertently cause problems.

Yusheng looked up and glanced at the principal. "The price."

"Huh?" The principal was puzzled for a moment.

Yusheng patiently explained, "In Sin City, if someone does something for you, you have to pay. I won't do it for free."

The principal's face darkened instantly. "But you have already obtained the assessment quota."

Yusheng pondered for a moment and shook his head seriously. "In my understanding, you need me to do something for you, so the assessment quota is the entrance ticket. It's what the benefactor should provide, the reward should be counted separately. In Sin City, those who don't abide by the rules don't last long."

Hearing Yusheng's serious and stern words, the principal felt a headache coming. For a moment, he couldn't fathom what kind of place Sin City truly was. After all, their understanding of Sin City was merely based on rumors from the outside world.

"Alright. Three level-one energy crystals, I'll personally provide them," the principal gritted his teeth and said.

Level-one energy crystals were the same type Yusheng had used before, containing not too much energy, usually taken from low-level demons.

"Deal," Yusheng nodded.

As if suddenly recalling something, Yusheng asked again, "Um... I won't need to kill anyone, right?"

The principal was stunned, looking into Yusheng's eyes, he felt as if he were looking at a monster. At this moment, he regretted letting Yusheng participate in the assessment, wondering if it was the right decision.

"No need! Remember, you must never kill anyone!" the principal hurriedly said.

Yusheng breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good. Killing someone outside of Sin City is against the law so three energy crystals might be a loss."

The principal stared at Yusheng, completely unable to comprehend what to say. According to Yusheng's explanation, it meant that three energy crystals would not be enough to kill someone outside Sin City. At this time, in the assessment, there would be ten students from the other two schools... Three energy crystals, ten lives... The Sin City... What kind of place was it? At this moment, even the principal, who had once been to the Demon Suppression Pass, felt a chill run down his spine. After all, standing here was not a gangster or a thug but only a child who was about to turn 18 years old.

"The school bus is waiting outside, you can rest there. About the other four students... Forget it, you don't need to take care of them", the principal felt a bit overwhelmed. He had originally wanted Yusheng to take care of the other four students during the assessment, but considering Yusheng's way of doing things, he was worried that Yusheng taking care of them might make the other four students eliminate themselves or drive them mad.

If one's own people were fighting each other on the spot, it would indeed be a big joke.

"Remember, don't kill anyone!" As Yusheng had already walked out of the door, the principal couldn't help but remind him again, still feeling uneasy.

Yusheng responded with a bright, even somewhat shy, smile.

Suddenly, the principal seemed to understand something. Perhaps... Yusheng wasn't mentally abnormal, he was merely stating the facts repeatedly. He was being honest, but the facts he stated were something that most people couldn't accept or didn't want to accept. After all, there's such a thing as a well-intentioned lie, this is a part of human communication.