Chapter 219
Chapter 219
Chapter 219
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 219: Lan Qi’s Theory of Evolution
2024-05-22 | Author: 可怜的夕夕
Mid-November—it was already essentially winter.
The academic exchange visit from the Royal Yaloran Academy had begun two Sundays ago.
Two weeks had been scheduled, and now ten days had passed.
In Ikerite, the weather was rainy and unpredictable. On campus, a strong wind had returned after a long absence, and the drop in temperature was especially sharp.
“So noisy, this weather.”
On Wednesday, after class, almost no students lingered on the lawn to picnic or read. Everyone wrapped themselves tightly in coats and hurried by, wanting only to get back to their dormitories as quickly as possible—away from the wind that tangled their hair, and the skies that threatened to rain at any moment.
At the end of the pathway the students passed, a large grove of greenery and trees huddled together against the wind, their leaves trembling. In their midst, the old Liberal Arts building stood firm.
Student Council Room, 3rd floor.
Outside, the cold wind moved freely, brushing against the walls, seeking any crack along the window to invade.
But inside, the heavy curtains and solid walls kept all of it out, leaving only warmth and a comfortable, homelike quiet.
Vice President Asina was leisurely organizing documents by the bookshelf. The president, however, was nowhere in sight.
The exchange visit was nearing its end, so the student council’s work had eased up as well.
After these peaceful days, Dean Loren could finally relax—once the remaining Yaloran students were safely sent home three days later, all would be settled.
On the sofa in the lounge area sat two others. On the coffee table in front of them, a cup of hot tea and a cup of hot cocoa gave the air of cozy calm.
“If that’s the case, why don’t you just send in your ace, Zirvini?!”“Impossible! We’d never disturb Big Sis during her bar exam prep!”“Then just enjoy yourselves while you can!”“Aaaaahhh!”
“……”
Huperion rested her chin on her hand, frowning slightly in confusion, eyes fixed on the magical screen hanging on the student council wall.
The screen was projecting scenes from the Artificial Shadow World activity taking place on campus.
This particular shadow world appeared as a laboratory. Inside transparent bio-pods were grotesque sights: humans and demons restrained, their limbs cruelly torn apart, twisted, then sewn back together—becoming abominations unfit to be named.
At the center, the floor sank into a circular coliseum. Chains hung from the walls, ending in mangled corpses, some rotted down to bare bones—a grim reminder of the losers’ fate.
Here in this inescapable arena, under cold light that made every muscle line glint metallic, ten fighters were clashing in a five-on-five team battle.
There was no sound of weapons clashing—only the oppressive impact of bodies colliding. The thunder of bones and muscles struck against each other, booming like muffled explosions.
Yet, it wasn’t a balanced fight.
It was a one-sided slaughter.
The stronger side’s fighters pounced like tigers, dodging attacks with skill and flexibility, then using sheer force to seize opportunities—slamming their opponents to the ground, stomping them down with brutal kicks, shattering the floor with spiderweb cracks.
Each brutal impact made Huperion’s brow twitch.
The weaker side had no chance to resist, their faces twisted with pain and terror.
After a while, the scene cut away, switching to another shadow world.
“That was completely one-sided bullying.”
Huperion took a sip of cocoa, then shook her head with pity.
Even though her demonic bloodline gave her a faint instinct for battle, the fight just now still felt too cruel.
Sitting beside her on the same sofa, Lan Qi had been quietly reading a book, though he too had raised his eyes to watch for a moment.
“Why do people like to fight?”
Lan Qi sighed in his usual detached, peaceful way.
“Well, sometimes a little purposeful conflict isn’t bad—like motivation. For example, in school, if there were no competition at all, maybe everyone would just get lazy.”
Huperion always felt Lan Qi treated victory and defeat far too lightly.
Maybe if he had just a bit more drive to win, he’d seem more normal?
“……”
Lan Qi pondered, then glanced again at the book in his hands.“So education is the same, too?”He murmured.
Her eyes widened.
Huperion leaned over and peeked at the book cover.
It was one Lan Qi had borrowed from the Sage’s Tower Library last weekend.
The title read: “On the Origin of Species and the Theory of Evolution.”
Huperion: “……”
“It says here, natural selection, survival of the fittest.” Lan Qi explained.
“…I don’t think it’s that cruel here, though…”
Huperion finally spoke after a long pause, her voice stuck in her throat.
She suspected Lan Qi still couldn’t let go of his Infernal Corridor Academy days—his educational philosophy was more than a little tainted by demonic influence.
Compared to the harsh, competitive north, the southern continent was far more peaceful. Rich resources, smooth trade and transport, and none of the ninth-rank shadow world disasters had left scarred lands behind here.
She had heard that in the giant northern empire, the Protos Empire, the Ministry of Education oversaw huge schools where hierarchy was strict and survival of the fittest was brutally enforced. Students competed viciously—even with dark, destructive rivalries between schools themselves.
By contrast, the orderly, friendly campus life in the south was paradise.
Naturally, people adapted differently depending on environment. Maybe that was why, on his very first day at Ikerite Academy, Lan Qi had suffered during the day, yet at night in the Infernal Corridor he’d immediately mastered thunder and lightning.
Who could say—perhaps the northern continent would be a more fitting soil for Lan Qi after all.
Huperion was just struggling to figure out how to guide him through this “misunderstanding,” when the door to the student council opened.
President Monast walked in, chestnut hair smooth and elegant, his approachable aura tinged with authority.
Following behind him was Frey.
Clearly, the two had just returned from the Knight Academy.
Monast only ever brought Frey along when it was knight-related troubles.