Perhaps due to the force of gravity, Su Cheng's gaze was immediately drawn to the full curves of the girl's figure when he first saw her.
He could swear to the heavens that he wasn't the type to succumb to temptation.
It was logical to assume that at this age, even with the innate talent of a soul master, a young girl shouldn't have developed so well.
Su Cheng raised his eyes and saw that despite her fiery figure and cute face, Zhu Zhuqing's expression was cold to the point of indifference.
It had been nearly two weeks since the last altercation in the square, and under his leadership, apart from a few limited individuals, most of the freshmen had gathered around him.
Su Cheng raised an eyebrow.
Seeing the other's demeanor, it was likely that she already knew about Dai Mubai's escape from the capital.
Similarly, Zhu Zhuqing noticed Su Cheng sitting in the middle and slightly back of the classroom at first glance.
That was the instinctive connection between the Hell Civet Martial Soul and the White Tiger Martial Soul.
Looking at this young man, she blinked her eyes slightly, feeling strangely familiar.
Not only because of the special martial soul, but also because of his subtle affable demeanor.
Growing up in fear and loneliness, Zhu Zhuqing unconsciously wanted to get close to him, seeking warmth or shelter.
But what Zhu Zhuqing didn't expect was that the person in front of her was unfriendly towards her.
"What are you looking at?"
Su Cheng crossed his arms and looked her up and down.
Lazily, he said, "Dai Mubai abandoned you, so why are you staring at me?"
At the sound of these words, Zhu Zhuqing's face softened slightly, but instantly stiffened.
Zhu Zhuqing felt a chill run down her spine.
The scrutinizing gazes of the surrounding people made her feel like she was in a frozen wasteland.
"How about it, did I hit a sore spot? Do you want to punch me? Well, you must be careful not to miss."
But Su Cheng showed no signs of restraint, continuing to speak.
As his words fell, the room erupted in laughter as if on cue.
Although they didn't know why Su Cheng was targeting this new girl, with his current influence, if they showed such exclusionary attitude, others would naturally follow suit.
Children from noble families had been exposed to far more things since childhood, and their thoughts were much more complicated than ordinary people.
Su Cheng looked around at the crowd laughing and a strange expression crossed his eyes.
Zhu Zhuqing's expression became even more indifferent, her eyes dimming almost to the point of lifelessness.
The mocking and ridiculing gazes around her might not mean much to an ordinary person.
But for her, it was more damaging than physical attacks, sending shivers down her spine.
About how to cultivate Zhu Zhuqing.
Based on his current age and situation, Su Cheng had also formulated a rough plan during this time.
First, he had to harden her heart.
If she were a weak-willed person, he couldn't stimulate her in this way.
Children were prone to extremes, and if she gave up completely, it would be counterproductive.
But Zhu Zhuqing was not that kind of person; she was much stronger than other peers.
However, even though she grew up in such a cruel and bloody family environment and experienced Dai Mubai's betrayal, she was still too naive and too kind.
That wouldn't do.
He had to make her dark, make her fall, make her learn to be ruthless, to do whatever it takes.
Most importantly, he had to make her ambitious.
But ambition required other means to catalyze.
However, forcing her, squeezing her, making her understand reality, he had ways to do it now.
Of course, what Su Cheng was doing now was not without risks.
If from today on, Zhu Zhuqing chose not to come to school, it would be troublesome for him later, and he would have to think of other ways.
But in his expectation, the likelihood of this happening wasn't very high.
Having stayed in the capital for so long, Su Cheng now had quite a bit of understanding about the major families of the Star Luo Empire.
Knowing that the Zhu family was not a peaceful place and that there were also many conflicts within the family.
It made sense; in such a brutal test system, how could there be any scenes of sibling love and deep sisterly affection?
Comparatively, even though being bullied at school was unpleasant, at least it was safe.
Moreover, it was just strangers hurting her, not like the icy exchanges between relatives.
As for today's conflict, Su Cheng had controlled the extent well enough; it wasn't too serious.
These setbacks shouldn't make her back down.
"Sigh, forget it, you probably wouldn't dare to lay a hand on me anyway. But that's normal, maybe you won't live for many more years, waiting for Dai Mubai to come back from his debauchery outside, you can all die together."
As he spoke, Su Cheng suddenly wore a thoughtful expression.
"In fact, you don't need to come to the academy either. It's useless to work hard to cultivate in the end. It's better to run away like Dai Mubai and enjoy life outside, isn't that great—"
Before he could finish his sentence, a gust of wind came towards him.
Zhu Zhuqing finally couldn't bear it any longer.
But what she didn't expect was that Su Cheng showed no intention of dodging at all, still wearing that mocking smile on his face.
Seeing this scene, she couldn't help but exert a bit more force and slightly changed her direction.
Su Cheng's eyes flashed slightly.
He leaned forward slightly, bringing his face closer.
"Smack!"
With the sound of flesh hitting flesh.
This punch landed squarely on Su Cheng's left cheek.
Su Cheng, with blood flowing from his nose and mouth, fell backwards instantly.
Along with the unnoticed soul power fluctuations in his meridians.
He fainted on the spot.
"Oh my God!"
"Quick, go find a teacher!"
"Someone's seriously injured!"
"Su Cheng, are you okay?!"
"..."
Seeing Su Cheng lying on the ground motionless.
Zhu Zhuqing stood still in place, unable to react for a moment.
...
"Zhu Zhuqing! Look at what you've done!"
In the academy's infirmary, a loud rebuke could be heard.
The stern tone made the surrounding students jump in surprise.
The principal of the Junior Royal Academy, who was also a noble and had a cultivation level of 73rd level Soul Saint, Zong Yun, was the one who spoke.
"His soul power went haywire, and his body was almost disabled! If not for timely treatment, his life might have been in danger! You, attacking so viciously at such a young age, do you want to kill someone?!"
Unlike the students who secretly speculated, Zong Yun was one of the few who knew Su Cheng's true identity.
Setting aside the fact that the academy didn't allow such violent incidents resulting in disability, just in terms of identity, Su Cheng couldn't afford such accidents in the academy.
With the White Tiger Martial Soul and seventh-level innate soul power,
his future prospects, in Zong Yun's view, were obviously much higher than ordinary nobles.
As for Zhu Zhuqing, to be honest, he didn't have much faith in this girl's ability to survive in the cruel struggles of the royal family.
After today's incident, his opinion of her worsened even more.
In a stern voice, he reprimanded, "Don't think that just because you're from the Zhu family, you can act lawlessly and recklessly. Let me tell you, in the Royal Academy, even members of the royal family must obey the rules!"
Zhu Zhuqing opened her mouth to say something, but Zong Yun cut her off directly.
"Don't even think about explaining yourself! Other students present have already informed me. It was just a minor verbal altercation, yet it escalated to this extent?!"
Zhu Zhuqing first froze upon hearing this.
Then she looked around at the surrounding students with a somewhat bewildered expression.
But she found that their expressions were either mocking, hostile, or fearful, at best, indifferent.
In her heart, she finally understood what had happened.
She lowered her head in silence.
Zong Yun had indeed learned about the general course of events from the teacher and students who accompanied Su Cheng.
But obviously, he didn't know the details.
Those students who were close to Su Cheng naturally sided with him when describing the incident, simplifying the cause of the conflict and Su Cheng's mockery.
In fact, they didn't think Su Cheng's words were too serious.
On one hand, they couldn't empathize as they weren't the ones involved. On the other hand, they didn't understand what Su Cheng's words meant to Zhu Zhuqing.
When describing what happened, they simply mentioned a minor verbal dispute and Su Cheng's ridicule.
As a result, this new student suddenly resorted to violence and seriously injured Su Cheng.
Even those noble children who were reluctant to associate with him and didn't want to offend Su Cheng in this matter.
They could all see that Zhu Zhuqing was sure to suffer a loss today.
Because even if the situation was fully explained, it wouldn't have any effect on Su Cheng.
On the contrary, he might even retaliate afterward.
They all saw it.
Although they didn't know the reason, Su Cheng obviously didn't like this Zhu family girl, and they didn't want to offend Su Cheng for her sake.
Unless this incident caused him significant harm.
This was obviously impossible because Su Cheng was now the victim.
But it made everyone unable to understand why the force of that punch was so strong.
Was this Zhu family girl really that powerful?
Could she really knock Su Cheng off balance with just one blow?
Zong Yun himself hadn't expected it to be so complicated; the cause was just a minor conflict between children.
Su Cheng's behavior was evident to all.
During these days, both students and teachers had praised him.
If the recognition among students might still be influenced by interests, deception, intimidation, or talent, the teachers' position was much more objective.
And Zong Yun had met Su Cheng a few times and thought he knew him well.
This conflict was originally just a minor verbal disagreement; he wasn't interested in the specifics of what Su Cheng said.
Just looking at the current situation of the two, one was unscathed, and the other was lying unconscious in the infirmary.
Was there a need to ask further questions?
"Zhu Zhuqing, if you continue to act recklessly, don't stay in the academy anymore. This small junior academy can't tolerate a Miss Zhu from your family."
Zong Yun's face was dark as he looked at Zhu Zhuqing coldly.
"If someone really gets killed one day, no one can afford that responsibility!"
Seeing Su Cheng's condition improving, Zong Yun secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
After scolding Zhu Zhuqing angrily, he turned and left the infirmary.
Other students who were close to Su Cheng hurriedly gathered around his bed as soon as Zong Yun left.
But when passing by Zhu Zhuqing, they all showed a cautious attitude, leaving a large space around her.
The cold girl lowered her head slightly, her face pale.
Her pupils were unfocused, staring blankly at the ground, full of confusion.