The trial’s invitation rules meant nearly everyone present was young and relatively new. Their amazement focused mostly on Han Qingyu’s raw strength, his composure, and his decisiveness.

Had there been a few more experienced veterans in the crowd, they would have noticed something else entirely. Han Qingyu had been manipulating the entire scene from the moment he arrived, steering everyone to serve his ambush and rescue. The people he’d manipulated included even Yin Caixin herself, the hostage.

As for his brazen looting of the bodies in front of everyone afterward… The calm way he sheathed his blade, crouched down, and got to work resembled a seasoned hunter lowering his rifle and blowing the smoke from the barrel.

***

It did not snow in Nepor that night. Despite this, it felt as if the mountainside hotel the Alphonse family used to host young talents from around the world had just survived a blizzard.

An invisible layer of snow seemed to blanket the entire building. Some rooms, however, seemed to crackle with blazing flames.

That was the atmosphere in the hotel after the battle. The occupants had returned to their quarters. There...