Fate Trading System – Chapter 102

Plan A

Rise in Another World 14

Marriage Engagement

Su Xin began investigating the matter concerning Yu Man, spending each day either practicing or tailing her target.

As an assassin, the art of concealment was naturally an essential course in her training.

It wasn’t like the ancient secret guards who would shrink themselves into hiding spots, but rather about lowering one’s presence and blending into the crowd.

Su Xin changed her clothes, no longer wearing the eye-catching black and red attire.

She followed for a long time, eventually locking onto one person as her target.

One of Yu Man’s good friends, Shen Linglong.

If a person harbors inner disgust towards another, no matter how brilliant their smile, something still feels off.

Su Xin observed more than once the change in Shen Linglong’s expression after Yu Man turned away.

Yu Man herself seemed unaware, linking arms and shoulders with Shen Linglong, appearing very intimate.

Su Xin remembered that it was this Shen Linglong who said she saw a fast-moving white animal commit the crime.

Su Xin wiggled her fingers and quietly slipped away from the crowd.

On a certain day later, Yu Si called Yu Man out.

Yu Si stood at the doorway of Yu Man’s dormitory room, knocked on the door, and when someone came to open it, the three girls in the room immediately fell silent upon seeing who it was.

All three of them were very afraid of Yu Si, with Yu Man being especially so.

“Come out.”

Yu Man didn’t ask what it was about, but she was very puzzled in her heart.

Why would Yu Si suddenly look for her? Although they were of the same clan, they had no interaction.

Su Xin had originally planned to find Yu Man herself, but she didn’t have a good reason, and Yu Man might not necessarily follow her out. It might also attract Shen Linglong’s attention.

She decided to let Yu Si go find the person. After all, she didn’t need a reason. Just standing there, her intimidating presence was very strong.

Yu Si didn’t ask for a reason and directly went downstairs to find the person.

Yu Man didn’t ask why either, and followed upstairs trembling with fear.

Only Su Xin was in the dormitory; Li Xiuxiu had gone out.

Yu Man averted her eyes upon seeing Su Xin. She still remembered that incident – this person had defeated her with just three moves, which was a severe blow to her self-esteem.

“Don’t look at her, I’m the one who wants to talk to you.”

“You want to talk to me?”

Yu Man’s eyes widened, looking furtive and suspicious. If Su Xin wanted to find her, why didn’t she approach her directly? Why did she have Yu Si come instead?

“I want to tell you something. Please don’t interrupt me before I finish. I hope you can analyze this very rationally.”

When Su Xin mentioned who she thought was behind that incident from before, Yu Man couldn’t help but interrupt.

“That’s impossible. I don’t want to pursue this matter anymore.”

“You might not want to pursue it, but I want to clear my name. Why should I let others put a hat on me (falsely accuse)? Don’t you agree?”

“She’s my good friend. That kind of thing is impossible.”

“What if it’s related to He Lan?”

He Lan was also a freshman this year, a standout in the wood element system, a refined young gentleman type, very popular among the girls.

He possessed a clever and adaptable heart, naturally charming, and somehow managed to navigate relationships with various girls without incident. He always knew where to draw the line, never doing anything inappropriate. This led many girls to secretly admire him, but no one claimed to have been in a relationship with him.

He particularly enjoyed playing ambiguous flirtation with people, and had even flitted around Su Xin a few times, but was ignored by her.

It was common knowledge that Yu Man and He Lan were close. They regarded each other as soulmates, their relationship seemingly only separated by a thin window paper that neither had broken through.

However, only they knew the true nature of their feelings. Many envied Yu Man, and far from feeling troubled by this, she seemed to relish it. She never hesitated to speak about her good relationship with He Lan.

Yu Man was very sensitive to matters concerning He Lan; she could quickly sense whenever anyone mentioned him.

“What are you trying to say?”

“It’s just as I said earlier. I think that person is Shen Linglong. As for why she would frame my cat, that I don’t know. You should observe carefully yourself.”

Yu Man’s expression was uncertain, which Su Xin found amusing.

Friendship is truly a mysterious thing. Like other emotions, it can sometimes be as solid as metal and boiling water, and at other times, fragile enough to crumble at the slightest touch. It seems that just a tiny seed of doubt can make their friendship collapse in an instant.

Earlier, when Su Xin pointed out many suspicious things about Shen Linglong, Yu Man had an expression of angry disbelief, as if their friendship would last as long as the sky and earth. But when Su Xin mentioned a man, that feeling changed.

How ironic.

Su Xin wasn’t simply talking nonsense to drive a wedge between them; her words were well-reasoned and evidenced.

Yu Man returned with her thoughts in disarray. Su Xin didn’t continue to observe, but quietly waited for what would happen next.

The Academy’s Grand Competition was about to begin. This annual contest tested how much progress students had made over the year. Prizes were set for the top three places, and many were rubbing their fists and palms in eager anticipation.

Of course, the competition was between those of equal rank. It would be absurd to have senior students who had been cultivating for years compete against those with vastly different abilities.

Therefore, each Academy Grand Competition was a very grand affair that lasted a long time.

The later stages of the competition took even longer, as they involved experts engaging in back-and-forth battles, not easily defeated.

An interesting event occurred before the Academy Grand Competition: Yu Man and Shen Linglong had a falling out.

This incident provided a month’s worth of conversation material for all the students at the Magic Academy. Shen Linglong and Yu Man had torn into each other.

Su Xin stroked her chin, deciding to let the two of them make a fuss on their own.

The story was still the same old cliché: good close female friends turning against each other because of a boy.

What had scratched Yu Man’s face wasn’t a cat, but a type of mythical beast called Gu Luo.

It was a small mythical beast, even smaller than a cat, with claws very similar to a cat’s.

As for why Yu Man’s face had burn marks, that was because Shen Linglong was a fire-system magic user.

Su Xin naturally participated in the Academy Grand Competition.

She needed to prove her excellence to gain the qualification to enter the Sky-reaching Tower.

Su Xin still pretended to chant incantations before defeating her opponents.

She had changed back into her distinctive personal attire, giving a very special performance in the matches on the arena stage.

Generally, before a match, opponents exchange pleasantries, then begin the battle, taking turns to make their moves.

Su Xin never bothered with pleasantries or dawdling. Instead, she defeated her opponents in one move, as swiftly as possible, saving a lot of time.

Her style lacked any spectacle, but was extremely fast.

The audience below barely had time to feel the excitement of the match before it was over.

Of course, this one-move strategy had a very high level of coolness, because if it failed to defeat the opponent, it would be extremely awkward.

Yu Si, having truly inherited Su Xin’s style, seemed to find this approach of not wasting words or time very appealing, so her moves were equally clean and decisive.

Mu Yao was the same. Although he was a gentle and refined as jade young master, he had a coldness that kept people at a distance. Before each match, he would politely bow, then send his opponent flying.

It could be said to be extremely brutal and very ungentlemanly.

These three were like a mudslide in the competition, and they were all at the same level. This meant that these three would definitely have a match against each other in the end, which was the highlight everyone was waiting for.

In the end, only four people remained in their level’s competition arena: the “mudslide trio” and a young man from the earth element system.

The young man scratched his head, not wanting to fight any of these three. After all, two were rather brutal beauties, and the other was a peer he admired.

Moreover, it seemed he couldn’t defeat them anyway.

The order of matches was decided by drawing lots: Su Xin versus Mu Yao, Yu Si versus that young man.

Mu Yao nodded to Su Xin, and Su Xin politely returned the gesture.

This time, neither of them chose the initial one-hit kill strategy, knowing they couldn’t defeat each other in a single move.

Mu Yao was of the wood element, which meant Su Xin had the upper hand in terms of elemental attributes.

The mudslide trio had a mutual restraining relationship: Yu Si was water, Su Xin was fire, and Mu Yao was wood.

Su Xin wouldn’t show mercy just because this person was her former fiancé. After all, they didn’t really know each other, and giving one’s all in a competition was the greatest respect for an opponent.

Of course, Su Xin wouldn’t use her full strength, as she wanted to conceal her weapon skills. In terms of magic, however, she would go all out.

They exchanged blows, with magic exploding in the air, red and green light shining brilliantly together.

Su Xin’s expression was solemn. This person’s reputation as the most formidable among their peers was not undeserved. When they first entered the school, Mu Yao had ranked above her, and over the past year, they had each made their own progress.

Su Xin possessed dual-system magical powers, but she usually only displayed her fire element. Whenever she used wind magic, the fire element would throw a tantrum, greatly reducing its power.

Su Xin felt that the fire element was like a violent, easily provoked, and bristling tsundere, while the wind element always maintained a calm and composed appearance, ignoring the fire element’s antics.

Of course, these two elements didn’t dare to act up within Su Xin’s body. In Su Xin’s meditation world, however, they were quite unruly.

While cultivating fire magic, Su Xin hadn’t neglected her wind element. There was no need to reveal all her trump cards to everyone, as they might be necessary to save her life one day.

In the end, Su Xin emerged victorious, winning narrowly by suppressing Mu Yao with her magic.

“Thank you for your graciousness. If I weren’t a fire user, I might not have been able to defeat you,” Su Xin said sincerely. Mu Yao said nothing, maintaining his usual calm demeanor.

However, after leaving the arena, he sought her out for a private conversation.

“What is it?” Su Xin’s fighting spirit was roused by Mu Yao. Could he want another match? She would oblige, of course, though the finals were tomorrow.

“Are you willing to continue fulfilling our marriage engagement?”

“What?”

“Become my wife.”

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