Since the day his skills books proliferated in De Yuan, Chen An had sensed the atmosphere around him becoming increasingly mysterious and strange.
He could still hear a few discussions about him in the past, and most of them were trivial matters.
But now, he could no longer hear a single noise. It was not that no one was talking about him. It was just that people had become more secretive.
Behind those fake smiles were needles and knives.
Li Danming was the most sensitive one, and he felt timider after sensing the change. When he could no longer hold himself back, he asked Chen An, "Did I do anything wrong? Why do I feel that everyone is behaving very strangely? It is as if they can't wait to kill me."
"No, it's not because of you." Chen An was aware that they were targeting him. "Also, no one did anything wrong."
"I often do wrong things…" Li Danming said timidly.
"There is no right or wrong. It is because some people's interests have been affected. Therefore, these things are falsely labeled as right and wrong." Chen An smiled.
The current him was an example. He had not conformed to the norms, so others saw him as a wrongdoer and opponent.
It was up to them what they wanted to do. Chen An had made up his mind firmly. No matter what they did, it would not hinder him from advancing rapidly.
Now, he had already been through close to 30 battles without suffering a single defeat and had grown quite powerful. In particular, although Dou Buxiang's entrapment during his battle with Feng Ling had been part of his strategy, he had already sensed an unprecedented… resonance.
Li Danming was still pondering over Chen An's earlier words about right and wrong.
At that moment, Liu Ran ran to them from afar. "Chen An! At last, I understand why you said that earlier!"
"Said what?" Chen An had said many things, so he could not remember which one Liu Ran was referring to.
"What you said about Duan Pingchao. I asked you why you had to do that. You said it's necessary and that I would understand in the future." Liu Ran was panting heavily. "I… finally know why now."
"Do you want to catch your breath before you continue talking?"
"N-no… Listen to me. Duan Pingchao has gotten into a brawl with someone because of you."
"With who?" Chen An could sense that Duan Pingchao was a temperamental person, but he did not expect him to be that impulsive.
"He fought with others despite his circumstances… Wouldn't that…" Li Danming felt worried.
On the other hand, Liu Ran did not seem anxious. "It's only right that he does that. You have not seen Chen An battling with that lady called Feng Ling. My heart almost jumped out then."
"Can you tell me what is happening first?" Chen An did not want to go into detail about the rights or wrongs.
"That man who came to the ranking battle stage and challenged you. That's right. He's the one. He had a conflict with Duan Pingchao. They have just started fighting, and most probably, it has not ended yet. The outcome is unknown."
It was Zheng Qing. It seemed that he was the first one that could not endure it any longer.
He was ranked 98th and could challenge anyone who ranked above him.
But why had he chosen Duan Pingchao and not him?
Chen An furrowed his brows. "Let's go and take a look!"
Liu Ran and Li Danming quickened their pace and caught up with Chen An. They did not understand why Chen An was that anxious. "Why are you anxious? Duan Pingchao is quite powerful, right? I don't believe that he can't beat Zheng Qing."
In actual fact, Duan Pingchao had lost, and it was a very miserable defeat.
A few days back, in a very cold place in the south…
Under a faint blue glow, silence prevailed. Everything was sealed in the deep and thick cold ice.
It was the Icicles River Carp family clan.
Zheng Qing was walking on the ice and going through many enormous ice doors. Looking at the ferocious and dangerous-looking icicles above his crown, he had a complicated feeling.
If he were to move forward further, he would reach the house of Zheng Jinyue, the clan leader of the Icicles River Carp clan, and also his father.
He could no longer hide what had happened in De Yuan. He had initially thought that he could deal with the situation himself, but now…
Zheng Qing braced himself as he stepped into the house.
A middle-aged man clad in a dark blue robe was sitting in a prim and proper way at the higher altitude. He had a kingly and dignified aura.
"Clan Leader." Zheng Qing would not address him as Father even in private. In the honorable beast clan, the clan leader had a very high and respectable status.
"How long has it been since the Icicles River Carp clan captured and tamed this beast?"
"It has been 300 years," Zheng Qing replied clearly with a humble attitude.
"During these 300 years, our clan has had countless talents. Even those with lesser talent had some achievements. At the very least, they were not as embarrassing as you!" Zheng Jinyue sounded quite calm initially, but his tone turned harsher later on.
He slapped his chair's arm, stood up, and pointed his finger at Zheng Qing, who was below the platform. "You have brought shame to us. How can you face the clan? Ever since you were a child, the clan firmly believed that you have extraordinary talent and are a genius who is hard to come by. How are you going to fulfill the high hopes your clan has placed on you now?"
The Icicles River Carp clan had invested massive resources and money in Zheng Qing. They hoped that he could surpass the past generations, become the most powerful Beast Tamer, and bring more glory to the clan.
Everything had been going according to the plan, and Zheng Qing had gotten into De Yuan College. Then, this unpredictable incident occurred.
The bowing Zheng Qing listened to the reproaching obediently.
"I've already investigated this. Is that man called Chen An?" Zheng Jinyue looked thoughtful when he said Chen An's name.
"It's him. Is Clan Leader going to…"
"No matter what, my Icicles River Carp clan is noble, and no one can humiliate us. Chen An, I have to teach him a lesson." Zheng Jinyue had a grave expression. He had always prioritized the clan. "Also, what is his skills book creation about?"
"Skills book creation?" Zheng Qing recalled carefully. "There seems to be such a thing. I heard many people in De Yuan talking about this. But you don't need to worry, Clan Leader. He can only create other kinds of beast skills books. It is a big impact for others but for us—"
"You lost because you underestimated your opponent, but you have not learned from it!" Zheng Jinyue interrupted his foolish son. "Since you already know that he is different from others, you can't treat him like an ordinary person."
"Is Clan Leader saying that… Chen An can also create the skills of our Icicles River Carp clan? This is unbelievable!"
"Although we can't verify this now, we can't rule out this possibility."
Zheng Qing trembled just at the thought of this possibility. "I understand now. I will definitely try to fight with him as fast as I can. I will definitely win this time!"
This was not what Zheng Jinyue wanted. "It's not enough to win. Ruthlessness is the trait of a truly great man. Qing'er, you're not young anymore. You don't need to have reservations when you do certain things."
Zheng Qing understood his words very quickly, and his expression turned insidious. "Yes, Clan Leader!"
At the same time, Zheng Qing also made a resolution in his heart.