Chapter 18: People come in wavers
Knock, knock.
A sound came from the door.
Bai Ci frowned.
She was almost asleep during her lunch break—who was knocking now?
“Sorry to disturb you.”
An old man with silver hair stepped in, his face tinged with apology.
“Principal?”
Bai Ci was slightly surprised.
Why would the principal come to see her?
The room fell into an odd silence.
After a long pause, Anghot spoke first, his tone carrying a hint of exasperation and a faint smile.
“Students these days really keep us on our toes.
Is a Dragon King so easy to handle?
You rushed in like a madwoman, even using Bloodrage…”
“Bloodrage?”
“You don’t know?”
Anghot paused, studying her clear, bright black eyes.
She wasn’t lying.
He shook his head, explaining slowly.
“It’s a technique that suppresses human will to amplify draconic genes.
In simple terms, it boosts bloodline purity.
But it’s considered a forbidden art now.”
“You should know Cassell College’s Bloodline Code, Article One: Any method, physical or mental, to enhance hybrid bloodline purity is strictly forbidden.
It’s believed to lead to unpredictable consequences.
Per the Secret Party’s [Abraham Blood Covenant], if you dragonize further, you’d be sent to an island in the South Pacific, monitored for life.”
Seeing the confusion in Bai Ci’s eyes, Anghot smiled again.
“I never expected our new S-rank to independently master Bloodrage.
That’s quite a surprising talent.”
It made sense.
Bloodrage wasn’t easily achieved, especially for an S-rank.
An S-rank pursuing bloodline refinement would be heavily monitored.
After all, the higher the bloodline, the closer to the critical blood limit.
S-ranks, the highest hybrid rating, were far more likely to be consumed by dragon blood and turn into dangerous Deadpool if they used Bloodrage.
“Sorry… Principal…”
Bai Ci looked at his smile, feeling like she was being gently guided by a kind elder.
“Why apologize?”
The principal patted her lowered head.
“You threw yourself at Constantine to stop his rampage on campus.
That’s worthy of praise.
Without your quick action, our losses could’ve been far worse.”
Bai Ci froze.
She’d thought the principal was here to scold her recklessness, but he was praising her?
“Willing to sacrifice yourself for dragon-slaying—that’s rare conviction.”
Bai Ci felt a bit guilty.
Honestly, she didn’t have such noble motives.
She stopped Constantine to protect Lu Mingfei…
People always have a bit of selfishness, right?
If it was someone else, she might not have rushed in so fearlessly.
“I’ll keep your Bloodrage a secret.
Besides me, only one place in the college can teach you about it—Lionheart Society.
You can check it out later.
For now, I have one question: Was it worth it?”
Anghot’s gaze was intense, as if piercing her soul.
Bai Ci pursed her lips.
Worth it?
She was an S-rank, but she’d been at the college less than a week.
No classes, no dragon-slaying training.
No one would’ve blamed her for staying back.
She could’ve hidden in the dark, followed orders, and fired with the others…
Doing nothing wouldn’t have mattered…
But… what would’ve happened if she didn’t act?
Watch Constantine get to Lu Mingfei?
“I just… didn’t want to regret it after the fact…”
“Not wanting to regret after the fact—that’s something only a passionate young person would say.”
Anghot seemed moved.
“I thought you’d say something more dramatic, like ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’”
Bai Ci would never say something that embarrassing…
“Be confident, Bai Ci.”
Anghot smiled.
“You’re an S-rank who held off the Bronze and Fire King.”
To be precise, she lasted two minutes and thirty seconds…
Anghot poured a cup of black tea and handed it to her.
“Rest well.”
*
Shortly after the principal left, a sharp-looking boy with a cold aura sat by her bed, accompanied by a capable girl with a ponytail—Chu Zihang and Susie.
They brought a pile of gifts: apples, bananas, even pigeon soup…
It looked lavish.
Honestly, Bai Ci wanted to devour everything they brought…
But she wasn’t close to these two from Lionheart Society.
She’d only heard of Chu Zihang through Lu Mingfei a few times.
“Feeling better?”
Susie asked, her eyes full of concern.
“Yeah.”
Bai Ci nodded.
She was mostly fine.
When Lu Mingfei shouted [Don’t die], her injuries miraculously healed.
If not for the hospital observation, she’d have left this disinfectant-reeking place already.
“You were fierce yesterday.”
Chu Zihang didn’t hold back praise, though his face stayed expressionless.
Susie’s mouth twitched.
Her president was great, but his emotional intelligence was lacking.
Was it really okay to call a girl “fierce” right off the bat?
“Thanks.”
Bai Ci nodded, accepting the compliment.
Susie looked at Bai Ci’s calm reaction and gave up saying more.
Maybe these two were a good match?
Put them in a classroom together, and they might not speak all day…
“Uh, junior, we’re here to check on you, but we also have another purpose.”
Susie paused, watching Bai Ci’s unchanged expression before continuing.
“We’d like you to join—”
“I’ll join Lionheart Society.”
Bai Ci opened the pigeon soup and started drinking.
She was pretty curious about this Bloodrage thing.