Chapter 74

 Princess Heath noticed the abnormality and promptly brought people to the rescue. Most of the students participating in the test were saved. Two died, and more than a dozen were injured.

The subsequent investigation revealed that the Second Prince had bribed two of the hunting grounds’ keepers. The purpose was to assassinate Crown Prince Sykes. The emperor was furious and had the Second Prince Raymond imprisoned, awaiting trial.

As the victim of this incident, the Crown Prince received a large amount of rewards and appeasement from the emperor. Beyond that, there was no other indication.

Ye Zheng found the emperor’s attitude toward this matter quite intriguing as well. Gold, silver, and treasures were the most useless things to Sykes. His treasury already overflowed with them. If the emperor truly wanted to comfort this repeatedly startled son, he should give something more practical, such as real command authority over the royal knight orders, for example.

When the incident occurred in the hunting grounds, Ye Zheng had acted together with the knight order that came to the rescue. She mainly focused on providing timely healing to the injured. However, during the rescue, she deliberately paid attention to the scene of the incident and discovered some interesting things there: traces of high-temperature scorching, metal fragments, and so on.

Soon, she thought of one person. So that person had also been secretly fanning the flames behind the scenes. She could not help but sigh at how truly complicated the relationships within the imperial family were.

After quietly erasing those traces, Ye Zheng left the hunting grounds unhurriedly.

This matter had nothing to do with her. It was an internal conflict within the imperial family. She seemed merely to have been reluctantly dragged into it, yet Sykes clearly knew Raymond had tampered with things and still chose this timing to meet her. What exactly was he thinking?

Ye Zheng pondered for a moment and roughly deduced Sykes’s intentions. Even though his current intellect slightly surpassed Raymond’s.

Sykes merely wanted to tell her, to demonstrate a fact right before her eyes: he was no longer the former Sykes, no longer someone who could be manipulated at will. He was warning her, yet at the same time, he was also trying to win her over.

Winning someone over was a concept that had never existed for the old Sykes. Yet now he had quickly mastered the methods of eliminating dissidents and combining kindness with authority.

What value did she possess that was worth winning over at this moment? From an outsider’s perspective, Ye Zheng was still merely the church’s mascot Saintess, without any real power. Only her ability was somewhat noteworthy.

Sykes needed her ability, the ability to heal and repair some kind of defect within him.

Ye Zheng could not help lowering her head to look at her own hands. When she was twelve years old, she had secretly tested her talent in the black market ahead of time. After learning that she was SS-Class, during the official test she had played some tricks and turned her talent result into A-Class.

The imperial family’s strict requirement for the Empress was S-Class or higher talent. Only that could guarantee the imperial family’s powerful bloodline. Ye Zheng had no intention of being packaged off by her family to the imperial house.

Sykes said she had helped him recover some memories. Could her Stream have some undeveloped potential? Not only the body, but even abstract things like memories could be unconsciously repaired. No, perhaps it was the Dragon Bone at work. Before this, she had always worked hard to develop her ability. If there were any additional effects, it was unlikely she would have overlooked them.

“System, I remember you said before that Sykes had a tragic background, immense power, and in the original plot he became an extremely popular character later on, with countless readers feeling sorry for him?”

When she had first heard the system say this, Ye Zheng had found it very strange. Apart from his powerful ability and vase-like metal appearance, where did Sykes get any tragedy or depth to deserve the super-popularity the system described?

『It's like this. On the forums, people say he and Pei Xi are the protagonists of two parallel bright and dark lines. To some extent, that's not wrong. He and Pei Xi are fated archenemies, representing the two sides of the same coin.』

The system spoke euphemistically. It could not violate the rules by revealing too much.

“So, in the original plot, the Saintess Ye Zheng also accidentally triggered some kind of switch for Sykes?”

『That is how it developed in the original plot. As I said before, the plot has gravitational pull. No matter how much it deviates, key nodes are hard to change.』

“Sykes’s awakening is an important, hard-to-change node. The Saintess Ye Zheng’s death is one too.”

Ye Zheng said thoughtfully.

『As long as you accumulate enough popularity points and action points, you can change your own fate!』

The system hurriedly comforted her.

Ye Zheng was not worried. She was only thinking that since even her death could be changed through action points, if she learned the plot related to Sykes in advance, perhaps she could suppress his awakening. The information she held was still too little. The spoilers in her phone were also extremely limited.

“System, I previously relied on Sykes’s stupidity and toyed with him without restraint. Now he might already harbor deep resentment toward me, perhaps even more intent on killing me than in the original plot.”

Ye Zheng let out a long sigh. The system recalled what Ye Zheng had done to Sykes and was greatly alarmed.

『You make a good point! Now that his intelligence is online, if he recalls everything you did before...』

“My survival difficulty has increased. It is not impossible that he might send assassins to my door tomorrow.”

『You know it too!』

“So I need more safeguards. That way, both your work and my life can be protected.”

The Saintess’s large, deep black pupils blinked. A trace of cunning amusement flashed through them.

『Alright. Regarding the authority issue, I have always been reporting upward. Perhaps I need to go urge them again...』

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Ye Zheng was not particularly worried that Sykes would make a move against her.

She was almost certain that Sykes had some desire for her, for her ability. Therefore, she took his words “if you have any requests, go to Yu Tianming” completely at face value and went straight to Yu Tianming to state her demands.

“Your younger brother wanting to gain some experience by Sykes’s side is not difficult. However, as for your father, that is not something I can guarantee.”

Yu Tianming pushed up his glasses. He was somewhat surprised by Ye Zheng’s straightforward request. She did not seem like the type to use favors to demand repayment.

Considering the recent situation of the church and the Saintess, Yu Tianming felt it was nothing unusual. Even a naive and kind young girl would know to seek more protection for herself in such chaotic times. A powerful family was the most stable support.

“No matter. My father’s affairs are not something us children can interfere in. We can only do our best.”

The Saintess tucked her hair behind her ear. Today her small gestures were a bit frequent. One could see her unease from the details.

Yu Tianming strangely felt a sense of relief. Lately he had encountered too many uncontrollable people: Pei Xi whose strength had suddenly skyrocketed, Zhao Mei who threatened him, and even Sykes, whom he knew best, had become unfamiliar.

Damn it! Had Sykes suddenly grown a brain, or had someone else instructed him? That incident had not been reported to him at all.

Seeing Ye Zheng today, he actually felt a sense of reassurance, like there were still normal people around.

“Rest assured. The Ye family’s loyalty is clear to us all. I will properly explain it to Father.”

Originally, Yu Tianming had only intended to brush off the Saintess’s request. He had enough troubles lately.

But considering the recent turbulent changes, he felt he needed to win over some people for himself, not for the Yu family or for Sykes, but for himself.

Pleasing those two was utterly useless! They would not even grant him the most basic trust.

Rather than offering his heart and begging for pity from the stronger ones, it was better to grasp everything in his own hands. This was something Zhao Mei, that mysterious and ruthless figure, had awakened him to.

Right now, because Sela had publicly exposed the Pope’s scandal on the spot, the church’s attitude toward Ye Zheng had become ambiguous. Sykes had always disliked her. This was the perfect opportunity for him to reach out and win her over, to win over the Ye family. Even if they might not bring him much benefit, he still had to take this step.

He was only one year away from adulthood. He had to adjust his mindset, completely shed his student mentality, and prepare to truly throw himself into the empire’s turbulent affairs.

While the young man was immersed in surging emotions and fantasies about the future, another young person in the room folded his arms, no longer fiddling with his hair. A faint, almost imperceptible spark of interest appeared in her eyes.

Noticing that Yu Tianming’s face gradually flushed and his hand unconsciously adjusted his glasses, Ye Zheng knew her goal had been achieved.

Yu Tianming would handle things well for her.

When dealing with smart people, all you needed was to let them feel that they were very clever.

“Additionally, I need a venue in the lower district, a proper training ground, at least on the same level as the knight order stationed in the lower district.”

Yu Tianming’s gaze flickered with doubt. “You are the church’s Saintess. Do the church knights still need a training ground in the lower district?”

“The Pope already agreed to it before. I can form a knight order exclusive to the Saintess. After all, there have been too many dangerous incidents lately.”

“But as the church’s Saintess, bypassing the church to seek assistance from the Crown Prince’s people might displease His Holiness the Pope. It could be disadvantageous for you.”

To this, Saintess Ye Zheng showed a slightly bitter smile. “His Holiness has too many worries lately. I really do not want to add to his troubles by approaching him...”

A knowing look flashed behind the lenses. Yu Tianming understood again. Ye Zheng had probably already been disliked by the Pope because of that incident and had no choice but to side with the imperial family.

Speaking of which, he also found the relationship between the imperial family and the church somewhat incomprehensible. Although the two had always maintained a delicate balance of checks and balances, this time the emperor seemed to have broken that balance and was openly targeting Pope Wen Jian, not even trying to hide it.

Yu Tianming let out a soft snort. Wen Jian had originally come from a minor noble background. Reaching his current position was already an enormous honor. Yet he still seemed unsatisfied, causing even more trouble than the previous Pope. Things like Peace Coupons engraved with his own portrait, when the empire’s currency featured the God of Hope!

Ye Zheng could be considered unlucky. Wen Jian had brought disaster upon himself by being exposed by a thug, and she had merely stumbled into it by chance, only to be innocently implicated.

Building a training ground in the lower district was probably also to avoid the church’s spotlight in the upper district and to reduce her presence in the Pope’s eyes.

“Alright. I will arrange it for you as soon as possible. The Saintess’s safety is no small matter.”

Both of them got what they wanted. After exchanging smiles, Ye Zheng left the Yu residence and got into the car.

She closed her eyes and rested in the seat for a while before speaking to the driver in front. “Please turn around. I am going to visit Duke Qin Lu.”

✧✧✧✧✧

Ye Zheng actually rarely visited Qin Lu’s residence. As a teacher at the Royal Academy, she usually met her in the school’s laboratory or library.

But she guessed that Qin Lu was definitely at home right now. Truly important experiments or materials would not be kept at the school. After that incident failed, Qin Lu would not give up. She would only continue her research.

Qin Lu did not live in the standard grand manor for great nobles. Her residence was neither too big nor too small: a small garden plus a three-story villa that one person could manage perfectly.

She liked solitude and always kept her rooms in a mess. Ye Zheng was accustomed to Qin Lu’s style and quickly found a suitable spot to stand in the cluttered room.

“Why do you suddenly feel like visiting your teacher?”

Qin Lu smiled, her expression as carefree and enthusiastic as ever.

“I wanted to ask how Heath is doing under your guidance. I am a bit worried about her.”

Heath had led people into the hunting grounds to rescue them, offending both her blood brother the Second Prince and the already-prepared Sykes. After thinking it over, Ye Zheng had simply handed Heath over to Qin Lu.

Like Qin Lu, Heath enjoyed studying knowledge outside of supernatural abilities. Qin Lu loved tinkering with substances that produced strange reactions, while Heath preferred things like literature and art.

More importantly, Qin Lu’s peculiar status could protect Heath.

“You really know how to bring me trouble.”

Qin Lu lightly rapped her knuckles against the girl’s forehead, applying quite a bit of force.

Ye Zheng rubbed her forehead. Before her teacher, she revealed a somewhat childish smile, her voice carrying a faint trace of coquettishness.

“Teacher always helps me.”

“Besides, this matter with Heath is also closely related to you, Teacher.”

Looking at Ye Zheng’s smile that carried deep implications, Qin Lu’s expression cooled.

The woman’s pupils were small, and her long, upturned eyes showed an excess of white, resembling the gaze of a snake.

Especially when she was expressionless and her eyes locked onto someone, the oppressive aura of a cold-blooded creature surged forward.

Yet Ye Zheng, right before those eyes, took out a piece of metal fragment from her clothing pocket. She carefully pinched the fragment between her fingers and waved it in front of Qin Lu.

“Teacher, tell me. Tell me everything you know about Sykes.”

Why did the naturally free-spirited Qin Lu harbor such intense hatred toward the imperial family, the church, and Sykes?

They had clearly coexisted peacefully for so many years. Why did Qin Lu suddenly choose this moment, using Raymond’s move against Sykes, to take action?

The greatest possibility was that Qin Lu had noticed a change in Sykes. That made it impossible for her to endure any longer. Even if the plan was crude, she could no longer restrain herself from acting.

“You are asking about Sykes? Ha.”

Qin Lu let out a cold laugh. She placed both hands on the table and slammed the desktop hard.

“He is a monster. A complete and utter monster!”

“Is it because he awakened 【Destruction】 at birth and took away your older sister?”

Qin Lu did not answer immediately. She adjusted her emotions and looked again at her clever and quick-witted student.

She suddenly changed the topic.

“How much do you know about the Pope’s ability?”