Chapter 67: You Joked First
Chapter 67: You Joked First
Wang Che had seen through it long ago.
To be exact, Wang Che had sensed it the moment this Xue Ling emerged.
“Your terrorist group isn’t very competent.”
Wang Che said slowly, “Acting isn’t your strong suit. You’re full of flaws.”
“Nonsense!” Xue Ling roared angrily, “Every Saint Disciple undergoes extensive professional training! Our acting skills reach Level 10! I’ll admit you’ve got talent spotting me, but don’t you dare insult our professionalism!”
Wang Che: “…”
To other students, Xue Ling’s performance…
Was indeed quite professional.
Hard to spot normally.
When he arrived, he held an officer’s certificate, wore a proper army uniform, had a tall, strong build, and carried himself with authority.
He lacked any trace of terrorist aura and seemed identical to the rescue team members.
Considering Wang Che’s communicator had lost signal, cutting him off from Deputy Officer Li…
And Xue Ling’s report about an attack matched Wang Che’s own suspicions…
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be obvious at all.
“Tell me then.” Xue Ling looked at Wang Che, his voice calming. He didn’t struggle against the white silk binding him. “When exactly did I expose myself?”
“From the very beginning.” Wang Che stated.
“…” Xue Ling felt like his brain was hemorrhaging. His face flushed crimson as he glared at Wang Che:
“Impossible! You’re insulting me! I couldn’t have exposed myself at the start! Your communicator had no signal, I had an officer’s certificate, my appearance, my aura, my power… there’s no way you could have seen anything wrong at first!” This was deeply offensive.
“Your Soul Rings had issues.” Wang Che said. “One of those rings belonged to a Forest Viper, didn’t it? You must be the Soul Pact Master of that Forest Viper that attacked the Yoyo Deer Herd?”
Xue Ling laughed:
“A student who hasn’t even awakened his Martial Soul… you could tell the Soul Pet inside my Soul Ring just by looking at it?”
“How about flying up to the sky next?”
He had considered the Soul Rings.
But sensing the specific Soul Pet from a Soul Ring? That required strength far surpassing his own.
Or the expertise of a world-renowned Soul Pet research professor, analysing faint traces and slight auras.
Or possessing a Spirit or Soul-related Martial Soul, granting Spiritual Power far above peers – even someone weaker could sense it then.
Wang Che possessed none of these.
“I’m a genius.” Wang Che stated. “Didn’t your Forest Viper tell you that?”
His strengthened soul back then, with Spirit Force turning incandescent, had drastically sharpened his perception.
Combined with his vast experience…
He could instantly recognize that familiar aura emanating from the ring.
It was the Forest Viper’s aura, specifically the one injured by the Green Caterpillar.
“…” Xue Ling’s breath hitched, his face flushing crimson again.
He knew Wang Che was a genius. Winning the Dawn Cup with a Green Caterpillar?
Training that Green Caterpillar to use Blazing Charge?
He was a super prodigy.
They had checked his background thoroughly.
But what did that matter?
No matter how gifted, without an awakened Martial Soul, he was just an ordinary person reliant on a Soul Pet.
Slightly better than average, perhaps.
How could he sense it?
“What else? Keep going. What other flaws did I show?” Xue Ling pressed on.
Wang Che paced back and forth unhurriedly. “Many more. When I boarded your Sky-Speed Bird, I vaguely spotted a pattern. The exact pattern I saw when your Forest Viper fled. That was when I could basically confirm you were a fake.”
“That… sounds more acceptable.” Xue Ling breathed a sigh of relief. “Being seen through like that isn’t really my fault.”
Wang Che: “…”
“Siwu?” The Green Caterpillar tilted its head at Wang Che, as if asking, this human seems kinda dumb.
Xue Ling slowly stood up, looking seriously at Wang Che. “I intended to let you die meaningfully as a soldier, sacrificing your life for my people’s great cause. I didn’t expect you’d see through me early.”
“Since that’s the case… no more pretenses. Revealing myself… I am Saint Disciple Xue Batian! A level 32 Soul Pact Master!”
Wang Che: “…”
Green Caterpillar: “⊙０⊙”
The Green Caterpillar looked astonished, then tilted its head again towards Wang Che, seeming to ask:
What does he mean?
“He thinks he’s amazing.” Wang Che explained.
“Hmph.” Xue Batian said slowly, fixing his gaze on Wang Che. “Kid, I admire how calm you remain even now. That’s the makings of achieving great things. How about… I offer you a chance? Join us?”
Wang Che nodded. “Just fulfill one condition for me.”
Xue Batian paused. He’d just thrown it out there… and the kid accepted?
Was this generation really so easily swayed?
Humans were finished indeed?
Xue Batian said, “Name your condition.”
Wang Che stated, “Provide me with a baby Soul Pet capable of growing for a million years. Then I’ll consider joining you.”
Xue Batian frowned instantly. “Spouting nonsense! Do you even know how rare something like that is? State a different condition.”
Wang Che pointed at the Green Caterpillar. “Then, you must assist me in evolving it… into a powerful Dragon-type Soul Pet.”
When he heard that, Xue Batian nearly short-circuited.
The first condition had a shred of possibility…
But turning a Green Caterpillar into a Dragon-type Soul Pet?
“Are you joking with me?” Xue Batian understood – the kid was mocking him!
“You joked first.” Wang Che replied.
“…” Xue Batian choked.
“Well then…” Xue Batian smoothed his qi, his voice turning cold. “I can only send you on your final journey.”
“I don’t believe you’ll manage that.” Wang Che responded.
“Hmm?”
Wang Che smiled faintly. “I believe… you can’t beat me now.”
“You believe?” Xue Batian’s body trembled. A surge of power burst from him, shattering the white silk binding him instantly. “Who fed you such confidence? Me? A level 32 Soul Pact Master? With a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Pet? A Thousand-Year Soul Pet? A Hundred-Year Soul Pet?”
“I can’t beat an unawakened student?”
“Youth these days… getting too big for their boots.”
Wang Che replied methodically: “If you were a Soul Pact Master around level ten, sure, I couldn’t beat you. Sadly… you don’t possess the strength a level 32 Soul Pact Master should have.”
“Your three Soul Rings are dim. Your Forest Viper suffered critical injuries. Mortal wounds. It still hasn’t recovered.”
“Especially that Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Pet of yours, the Sky-Speed Bird. A Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast… but the tremors from earlier fighting sent it spiraling out of control? Couldn’t even fly steady?”
“Pathetic. Worse than my Green Caterpillar.”
“If you truly had the power of a level 32 Soul Pact Master… you wouldn’t have bothered masquerading as a soldier to trick me here.”
“You could have just ridden the Sky-Speed Bird straight over and snatched me.”
“After all, your group attacked the military rescue team. Only one conclusion: you won, but barely. A pyrrhic victory.”
“You personally… took severe blows, didn’t you?”
“A paper tiger, easily blown apart. That’s exactly what you are now.”
Wang Che spoke while walking.
He finished speaking just as he reached the center of the Floating Earth Clod.
Xue Batian’s expression darkened with each word he heard.
He stared at Wang Che, utterly shocked, unable to fathom what mind housed thoughts like this.
Was this really the mind of an eighteen-year-old high school student?
He’d thought seeing through his disguise was impressive.
He never expected such depth.
Because… everything the kid said… was spot on.
His actual combat power? Maybe 1% remained unbroken.
Both his Soul Pets and he himself suffered critical damage. Little real fighting capacity left.
This kid was a monster. And that Green Caterpillar was unsettlingly abnormal.
When he’d come to capture Wang Che, he hadn’t truly been confident of bringing him here safely.
Hence… the soldier disguise.
“But… what does it matter?” Xue Batian said coldly. “You only saw through me midway, right? At the start… you couldn’t be sure of this point, otherwise you would have attacked earlier. You saw my identity, but didn’t see my ruined strength at the time. You feigned ignorance… followed me here.”
“And now… it’s too late. Because you’re already here.”
Wang Che nodded. This guy… was clever too. Very clever.