Chapter 62: Right and Wrong
Jin Datong stepped forward, channeling his power from his feet to his fists, exerting all his strength as he struck towards Su Hao.
However, to his surprise, his stepping foot missed, causing him to lose his balance in an instant.
"What?!" Jin Datong was shocked, immediately realizing that he had fallen into a trap. His scalp went numb in an instant.
Su Hao had been running around earlier, not just running, but he had found the hard ground beneath his feet. He infused his blood energy into his feet, leaving countless deep pits on the ground. In this dark night, without careful observation, it was impossible to detect them. He had been waiting for this moment.
These pits were not of much use, but it only took a split second to make Jin Datong lose his balance.
In the moment Jin Datong lost his balance, Su Hao made his move.
"Shadow Step!"
He circled around to the side where Jin Datong's severed arm was, sweeping his blade with the intention of decapitating him.
Jin Datong suddenly burst into a sinister smile, using his stepping foot that missed to accelerate and regain his balance. The originally flaccid severed arm unexpectedly rose and blocked the blade before him.
"Ha!"
He shouted loudly as he adjusted the direction of his right fist, aiming to strike Su Hao.
"Bone Crusher!"
In his view, this punch would be Su Hao's death sentence.
"Swish!" His arm was once again severed and sent flying by a slash.
"Bang!" Su Hao was struck in the left chest by another punch.
The same arm was exchanged for another punch.
But this time, Su Hao wasn't sent flying. His feet firmly planted on the ground, he remained stable, and he turned the blade that had severed his arm.
"Puff!"
Jin Datong's head was thrown high up.
"Barrier!!!"
Jin Datong's gaze rose inexplicably. His throat, which remained unharmed, emitted a strange piercing screech.
As his head fell heavily to the ground, his eyes were plunged into darkness. He couldn't understand why the other side was able to use two barriers.
Preparing two runes in advance? It was impossible. Who could do that? Even the most powerful runemasters couldn't accomplish it, so why?
In his final moments, Jin Datong silently thought to himself, "Damn you..."
...
After clearing the scene, Su Hao went to the Jin family, handled the scene, and retrieved his own longsword.
After scanning it with a small light to confirm no abnormalities, he returned to the academy.
Su Hao lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
He had obtained tremendous power, enough to defeat Jin Datong, who ranked second in the academy's hierarchy. In the entire Lingyun Town, his combat prowess was considered top-notch.
But along with his strength came bloodshed. Familiar faces like Jin Datong also died by his blade.
Suddenly, he didn't know if what he was doing was right.
He thought that he had a tough heart, able to crush any obstacles before him without hesitation.
He believed that human life was not important because a human life was just a fleeting moment in the vast timeline of the universe. In the face of time, everything would eventually disappear.
He believed that the world was also unimportant. Each world was just a possibility in the evolution of the universe, and various phenomena were just incidental manifestations of the universal rules—technology, blood energy, runes... Perhaps his existence was also just one possibility of the universe.
He believed that he himself was not important either. He should have died long ago; he was just an ordinary person who happened to be lucky.
Su Hao's mind was in chaos at this moment.
He suddenly asked himself a question, "Is it right? Is it wrong?"
After a long time, he reached out and reached into the night sky.
Then he smiled, "Where is there right or wrong? Everyone is just pursuing what they want!"
Since there were desires, there would always be a price to pay in the pursuit of those desires—money, emotions, life, or something else.
All actions in life were bound by the circle of cost.
Not doing anything meant that one couldn't bear the cost. Doing it despite being unable to bear the cost would only result in self-destruction. What's right, what's wrong, in the laws of the universe, it simply didn't exist.
As long as he was ready to pursue his desires and give up everything, that was enough.
Wasn't every life like this?
For Su Hao, an ordinary life was too short.
He didn't know if one day he would close his eyes and never wake up again. Just like Schrödinger's cat, before an event occurred, one would never know the result or gamble on it.
So, cherish every day!
When he opened his eyes, he would explore the unknown, explore the secrets of the universe! There were so many unknown things.
All confusion, all doubts, were simply due to a lack of sufficient knowledge and not having stood at a high enough height.
Su Hao murmured to himself, "What you think is right may not necessarily be right. What you think is impossible may not necessarily be impossible. What you think is abnormal may not necessarily be abnormal..."
Su Hao took a deep breath, got up, and went to the rooftop, lying down and gazing up at the night sky.
Countless stars, so distant...
...
Lingyun Town's Guard Headquarters.
The bodies of Jin Datong and Jin Damo were laid out in the main hall. Jin Yanyan and Jin Xiaohan knelt beside them, their eyes devoid of life, unable to shed tears.
Also present were the major figures of Lingyun Town.
The elusive Martial Academy's dean, the Grandmaster-level Martial Artist Xiao Jixuan.
The chief captain of the Guard, the Grandmaster-level Martial Artist Hua Hongyi.
The mayor of Lingyun Town, the Grandmaster-level Martial Artist Lü Luyun.
The three powerhouses gathered.
"Did you find anything?" Mayor Lü Luyun was a tall and burly middle-aged man, dressed immaculately. His hair and beard were long, but well-groomed.
Someone immediately reported, "We can only determine the approximate figure of the perpetrator through eyewitness accounts. It was a small person around 1.5 meters tall. However, we have searched through all the records in Lingyun Town, and we couldn't find any higher-ranking martial artists who match that description. Currently, we are sending people to investigate in the main city and Ancheng. We expect results in about five days."
"Before that, we have used the Breath Locking technique, but too much time has passed since the discovery of the bodies, rendering it ineffective. There were no traces found at the scene, and all the hairs and bloodstains found belonged to Jin Datong."
Mayor Lü Luyun turned his head to Chief Captain Hua Hongyi and Dean Xiao Jixuan, asking for their opinions.
Xiao Jixuan shook his head.
Hua Hongyi, a well-proportioned, handsome young man, said, "It couldn't have been any of our martial artists from Lingyun Town. Not to boast, but within Lingyun Town, except for the three of us, no one else is a match for Jin Datong
. To be able to decapitate him..."
He shook his head and continued, "It must be a top-notch Grandmaster-level martial artist, most likely from the main city or Ancheng."
Lü Luyun said calmly, "Then let's wait! The Guard will be on high alert for a month, and we will offer a reward to the major exploration teams for information about the murderer. As for the matter of the killer, we will publicly announce that the killer has been executed. That will be all."
He then turned to Xiao Jixuan and Hua Hongyi, saying, "I will trouble the two of you to stay in the town for the next month."
Both nodded and bowed.
...
After this incident, Su Hao temporarily gave up on using the beast patterns to exchange for money. It would be easy to attract attention if he flaunted such things now.
There was only 1 gold yuan and 68 silver yuan left in his bag, and Su Hao exuded a sense of embarrassment due to his empty pockets.
As for making money, he couldn't be bothered as long as he had something to eat.
Three days later, school started again, and Su Hao saw Xiaopang and He Qingqing once more.
The two hadn't changed much, but as soon as they saw him, their eyes lit up like light bulbs.
He Qingqing suddenly said, "Xiangwu, why do you feel different now!"
Su Hao looked at himself in confusion, "Different? I don't think so. Did I grow taller? Is that it?"
Xiaopang nodded, "Yeah, now that you mention it, I feel the same way. There's something different."
He Qingqing nodded, "That's right, but it's hard to describe the feeling. It's like you took a bath? Feeling refreshed?"
Speaking of which, He Qingqing shook her head, "It's hard to explain."
Su Hao laughed, "Maybe! I did take a bath last night. Let's go, it's time to report!"
A moment later, Su Hao's disbelieving voice came, "What? We need to pay tuition fees? 1 gold yuan? Forget it, forget it, I'm not going to study."
(translated by begs)