Chapter 45: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes

"Little thief, stop right there!"

Seeing his clansman being subjected to such torment, Yu Tianheng, who had initially stood aside in silent observation, could no longer maintain his facade. With his martial soul incarnated, two yellow and one purple spirit rings emerged around him.

As his first spirit ring flashed, lightning surged across Yu Tianheng's body, and a lightning dragon claw lunged fiercely toward Chen Ming.

The spirit skills of major clans were usually the result of generations of selection and experimentation; the first three spirit skills were almost invariably fixed, and one could only begin exploring their own path after the fourth ring.

The lightning dragon claw was the optimal first spirit skill determined by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family through thousands of years of trial. Usable in both ranged and melee combat, it consumed little energy while delivering formidable power. Among first spirit rings, it was considered a top-tier skill.

The violent surge of lightning was something even Chen Ming dared not underestimate.

Chen Ming quickly released the cannon fodder he had pinned to the ground, kicking him fiercely. This was done partly to send the lackey flying out of the way to prevent the situation from escalating into a fatal incident, and partly to leverage the force to evade swiftly.

Yu Tianheng was standing about twenty paces away from Chen Ming. The lightning dragon claw came swiftly, but after all, it lacked the true speed of natural lightning, and Chen Ming nimbly managed to dodge it.

Seeing someone employ a spirit skill, the students in the cafeteria broke into an uproar.

Unrestrictedly summoning martial souls and using spirit skills to attack students outside of designated arenas was a major taboo at the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. It was one thing if it went unnoticed, but once exposed, it would lead to immense trouble.

To pull such a stunt in full view of the public—not even spoiled scions possessed that kind of audacity.

Unlike newcomers such as Chen Ming and Dugu Yan, Yu Tianheng had enrolled two years prior and was considered a prominent figure in the academy. His background and strength elicited envy from many, and plenty of people harbored secret jealousy toward him.

Yet, truth be told, prior to this, everyone's impression of Yu Tianheng was that although he was aloof and looked down on others, he was generally the type who followed the rules at the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. No one expected Yu Tianheng to act so impulsively today, directly using a spirit skill to assault a fellow student right inside the cafeteria.

After dodging the lightning dragon claw, Chen Ming quickly steadied his stance, his eyes fixed on Yu Tianheng, who had summoned his martial soul. Deep green spirit power flickered around him, and a faint layer of dark green poisonous mist enveloped his form.

"Launching a sneak attack on a classmate with a spirit skill at the slightest disagreement—is this what they call a senior? The pride of the so-called number one beast martial soul under heaven? Or perhaps you harbor some unspeakable motive and wish to silence witnesses by taking advantage of this opportunity?"

Although he only possessed two spirit rings, the shock value of Chen Ming's yellow-and-purple ring configuration before the crowd was no less than Yu Tianheng's public display of a spirit skill.

Seeing this, even though Yu Tianheng's heart was filled with rage, he could not help but fall slightly silent. His reptile-like pupils scrutinized Chen Ming up and down, repeatedly confirming that Chen Ming was merely a rank-two Great Spirit Master, with no hidden white or yellow spirit rings tucked away.

"Hmph! You injured my clansman first, yet you dare question me like this? Using potent poison to harm others in broad daylight—such ruthlessness hardly resembles the behavior of a good person."

Looking at the lackey who had been kicked aside and lay unconscious on the ground, a flash of ruthlessness crossed Yu Tianheng's eyes as he turned the blame back onto Chen Ming.

Though his righteous demeanor made him look almost like an agent of justice, in reality, all of this was intimately connected to him.

Ever since Dugu Yan entered the academy, Yu Tianheng had paid her the utmost attention.

However, hindered by his status originating from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Yu Tianheng disdained to act with the fanaticism displayed by those trash-tier students. Thus, he had his underlings execute his will from the shadows.

Most of the matters concerning Dugu Yan in the academy recently bore his shadow.

As a scion of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, his status within the clan, though inferior to his cousin Yu Tianxin, was still exceptionally noble. Although he appeared to have enrolled alone, he never lacked lackeys at his beck and call.

The cannon fodder Chen Ming had just taken down in an instant was a distant relative of Yu Tianheng. Although not a formal member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and possessing a mutated Thunder Dragon martial soul rather than the pure Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, he had nevertheless followed Yu Tianheng's lead blindly ever since Yu Tianheng entered the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, serving as his absolute right-hand man.

Tasks inconvenient for Yu Tianheng to handle himself—such as gathering information, keeping tabs on certain individuals, or disciplining others, which might ruin his image—were all undertaken and managed by this underling on Yu Tianheng's behalf.

Though he did not say it aloud, Yu Tianheng was quite satisfied with this underling who acted as his proxy. He had even promised that if he became the young sect master, he would arrange for the man to marry a wife possessing the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul.

Just moments ago, Yu Tianheng and his underling had come to the cafeteria for a meal as usual. However, agitated by rumors circulating in the academy concerning Dugu Yan and other wild men, Yu Tianheng's mind was in a turmoil, and he had stood in the cafeteria for a long time without ordering any food.

While the fanaticism toward Dugu Yan within the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy was largely instigated by Yu Tianheng himself—intended to make a favorable impression by stepping over this group of good-for-nothings in front of Dugu Yan—rumors were not something anyone could easily control.

Though the academy indeed housed elites, it was populated by even more vermin. Whenever someone assumed these vermin had brains, they would prove through their actions what it meant for humanoid creatures to lack a cerebrum.

Although Yu Tianheng was one of the masterminds behind the scenes, he clearly lacked the ability to control every single rumor.

Originally, Yu Tianheng had merely prepared this stepping stone for himself to draw closer to Dugu Yan. Yet no one expected that the stepping stone would evolve into a stumbling block.

Just as the underling noticed Yu Tianheng's foul mood and suggested heading into Heaven Dou City together that evening to unwind, a henchman whose name Yu Tianheng could not recall caught sight of Chen Ming hurriedly entering the cafeteria and immediately reported it to him.

Upon learning that Chen Ming was the rumored wild man, Yu Tianheng's heart churned violently, and he grew eager to teach a lesson to the fellow who dared contend with him for Dugu Yan.

Regarding such matters, Yu Tianheng merely glanced at the underling beside him and gave a slight nod, whereupon the underling instantly grasped his intent and swaggered toward Chen Ming to bump into him.

This lackey's martial soul was the Thunder Dragon, a mutated variant originating from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon lineage.

This martial soul was a subspecies of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Although diminished in various aspects compared to the true Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and lacking the principal dragon-transformation ability, it remained a top-tier true dragon martial soul.

Even though he was merely a twenty-eighth-rank Great Spirit Master, ordinary Spirit Elders who had just acquired their third spirit ring might not necessarily be his match.

Moreover, even within the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, the level of a Great Spirit Master could hardly be considered weak; his strength could readily be called outstanding.

In Yu Tianheng's eyes, this underling was more than capable of teaching Chen Ming a harsh lesson, making this bumpkin from the boondocks who dabbled in poison understand the ways of Heaven Dou City and the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.

Yet the underling upon whom he had pinned his hopes was knocked flat by Chen Ming in a single round, his skin even corroded by the mere poison of a Green Phosphor Scorpion after summoning his martial soul.

Anyone who had been in the academy for a few months knew that this person was Yu Tianheng's lackey, his personal henchman.

Was Chen Ming's action here spanking his underling's bottom?

No, this was slapping Yu Tianheng across the face!

It was slapping the face of the future young sect master of the future number one sect under heaven!

By extension, this was an act of provocation against the future number one sect under heaven!