A New Alias and an Old Acquaintance

“Who are you?!”

Hoshino shook his hand, the searing pain in his chest nearly shattering his composure.

However, far more pressing was the identity of this unknown… black-clad girl?

Despite the element of surprise, to repel two senior combat-class students in an instant was a feat only achievable by someone wielding a completed armament.

There were only a handful of individuals in the academy capable of such a feat, and none of them were this black-clad girl.

This could only mean she was an outsider.

Considering this, Hoshino secretly raised his guard, his gaze fixed warily on the black-clad girl’s every move.

Unlike the relatively composed Hoshino,

Xiang Wu, on the other side, was in a far more wretched state.

Struck by Liu Yu’s heavy punch, he had been sent flying like a football, rolling and scraping uncontrollably across the ground, his angry roars faintly audible:

“You… bas-bas-bas-tard!”

Befitting his sorry state, his curses lacked any real force, and some busybodies were even filming the spectacle.

‘Perhaps this humiliating display will spread throughout the academy today,’ Liu Yu mused inwardly.

‘This is what you get for running your mouth, classmate Xiang Wu.’

Liu Yu mocked him internally with a wry amusement, yet not a hint of emotion flickered across her face.

To answer Hoshino’s question, she was now racking her brain, trying to concoct a suitable identity for herself.

Renowned powerhouses became legends not only due to their inherent strength but also because of one crucial element…

Their appellation!

A popular and domineering title could undeniably enhance one’s oppressive aura.

Conversely, an utterly pathetic title would only diminish one’s presence and invite contempt.

‘So, what alias should I choose to intimidate them?’

‘Sword Immortal, Sword Saint, Heavenly Venerate, Demon Lord, Ascendant…’

A flurry of bizarre terms whirled through her mind, making it impossible for her to settle on one.

“Go to hell!!”

A punch, brimming with furious intent, swept in from behind, interrupting Liu Yu’s thoughts.

She tilted her head to look.

As expected, it was Xiang Wu, who had recovered from his rolling, groaning state.

His once-handsome face was now twisted into a demonic visage by his boiling killing intent, as if he yearned to devour her whole.

‘Isn’t it just a bit of public embarrassment? Why act as if we have some deep-seated grudge?’

Liu Yu grumbled inwardly, then lifted her right leg and delivered a light kick to his terrifying, odious face.

“Ahhhhh!”

Like a shooting star, a figure streaked across the air.

By the time the students present regained their senses, Xiang Wu had vanished without a trace, his trajectory only confirmable by the gaping hole in the protective glass.

“CRASH!”

After a brief silence, the quiet venue erupted like boiling water, students excitedly encircling the girl in the center, their discussions filling the classroom with a cacophony of voices.

Mysterious, powerful, elegant.

The black-clad girl’s performance had utterly redefined their perceptions.

The aggressive senior student was nothing more than mere dough in her hands, easily kneaded and reshaped.

From her overwhelming strength that completely crushed a senior student to the enigmatic face hidden beneath her black cloak, every aspect stoked the crowd’s curiosity and desire to uncover her secrets.

‘Who could she be?’

‘A senior student from the academy, unwilling to reveal her name?’

‘Or an outsider who simply couldn’t stand by?’

Questions took root and blossomed in everyone’s minds.

‘Utterly, utterly, utterly doomed.’

At the center of all eyes, Liu Yu’s legs trembled, her face flushed, and the earlobes concealed by her black cloak turned crimson.

The fervent gazes of the crowd felt as though they were stripping away her clothes, eager to uncover the truth, compounding the social anxiety of the already introverted girl.

“I-I-I… I am…”

The intimidating title she intended to use caught in her throat, choked by embarrassment.

Her reluctance to speak, however, was misinterpreted by outsiders as the aloofness of a formidable, elegant flower, sparking even greater enthusiasm and cheers from her classmates.

Liu Yu’s face beneath the black mist grew even more mortified.

‘…No, why don’t you just slip away? Is this idiot too scared to move?’

Villy slapped her forehead, wanting to rescue the little fool, but she feared that any overly intimate gesture might expose Liu Yu’s identity.

After much deliberation, she could only push through the crowd and frantically wink at the frozen girl.

[The door isn’t going anywhere; do you not have hands and feet?]

[Stop staring, you utterly useless Villy!]

Whether they had coincidentally thought of the same thing, or if their minds were so in sync they could communicate through glances, the black-clad girl, who had been standing still in a daze, finally made a move.

She walked directly towards the door, her slow steps like those of an elder, unhurried and deliberate.

Like a celebrity being seen off, the crowd on her path instinctively parted into two streams, and from that angle, one could still discern the lingering excitement on the faces of the boys and girls.

‘What the hell are you so happy about?’

Too bothered to pay attention to these inexplicable people, Liu Yu had reached a point only a few meters from the door.

‘Just a little further…’

With a surge of excitement, she was about to step out of the classroom when she was met by three “acquaintances” – no, four, to be precise, as there was also a man being carried by Chen Gu.

That miserable figure was none other than classmate Xiang Wu, who had just performed his aerial acrobatics.

‘Damn it, damn it, how is he here?’

Seeing someone who shouldn’t have been there, Liu Yu silently retracted her foot, which had been poised to step out, and turned to retreat back into the classroom.

However, it was clear someone had no intention of letting her go.

The man trailing at the very end, with sharp eyes, spotted her and called out in surprise:

“Hey, Liu Yu, you’re here too? Are you in class?”

The loud voice echoed into the classroom, immediately sparking another round of lively discussion.

“So her name is Liu Yu.”

“Sounds like she’s a combat-class student, probably a senior.”

“I wonder what her hidden face looks like…”

The discussions emanating from the classroom naturally didn’t escape Liu Yu’s ears.

Her true name exposed, her face was mortified.

She lashed out with a punch at the man who had approached her.

“Ouch!”

The man was inexplicably punched, yet not a hint of displeasure crossed his face.

Clutching his chest, he said:

“What’s wrong now, My Lady Liu Yu? Could your lowly subordinate be informed of my latest transgression?”

That sincere attitude actually quelled most of Liu Yu’s anger.

She lowered her voice and asked, “Wu Liyun! What are you doing at school, and following behind Old Chen and the old principal?”

Having spoken, she furtively glanced at the old principal trailing behind Chen Gu, only relaxing once she was certain she hadn’t been overheard.

“I’m here to help out. They said the combat department at the school is short on teachers and often can’t schedule classes.

Brother Yao saw I was too idle at home, so he contacted the principal and asked me to come assist.

By the way, are you taking classes here?”

The faint ache in Wu Liyun’s chest did not dampen his spirits.

Having known Liu Yu for so long, he couldn’t claim to understand her twisted personality perfectly, but he certainly knew a thing or two.

If it were someone she didn’t want to see, let alone strike, she would have dodged them entirely.

In a way, that punch was proof that her anger had subsided.

“I’m not taking classes here, nor am I a student at this school.”

Liu Yu stated each word distinctly.

She had no desire for another person to disrupt her easygoing campus life; Miss Villy, who clung to her like glue, was already more than enough.

She needed to find a reason to send Old Wu back as soon as possible.

‘Or… I could just break his legs.’

With a palpable malevolence, Liu Yu’s gaze fixed menacingly on Old Wu’s legs, her hand gesturing angles, aiming for a single, decisive blow.

It was strange, though; while she couldn’t bring herself to inflict serious harm on ordinary people, with Old Wu, she felt no psychological burden whatsoever.

‘Could he be a born punching bag saint?’

“Wait, wait, wait…”

As Liu Yu’s mood shifted, [Shadow] also changed its mode, the thick killing intent solidifying, prickling Wu Liyun’s skin.

Though he desperately wanted to complain about her unpredictable emotions, he knew perfectly well that this little rascal, with her lack of restraint, would genuinely strike hard.

Poor Mo Zhixing was a cautionary tale.

“I can help you skip class.”

Wu Liyun threw out a heavy bargaining chip.

The dense killing intent instantly vanished, and the gray-haired girl timidly asked, “Really, truly? If you lie to me, I-I’ll break both your legs, you know.”

Her soft voice delivering such menacing lines created a peculiar sense of contrast that made Wu Liyun feel as though he was caught between fire and ice, alternately hot and cold.

He quickly patted his chest and guaranteed, “Of course it’s true!

As long as I’m a teacher, you can attend class whenever you want, and take holidays whenever you want.

How about that!”