Chapter 25: Venting Frustration

Chapter 25: Venting Frustration

Shen Tingyu barely opened his eyes again.

After a few breaths, he finally answered Xu Qingran's question: "You already know, right?"

"My spiritual pool has trauma, left from when I struggled to escape Building 1 of the Tower of Evil."

There are two types of spiritual pool trauma.

The first type is congenital weakness or damage.

For example, Xu Qingran originally had similar symptoms, but he wasn't severe enough to suffer from mental disorders, only emotionally fragile and overly sensitive. If the condition isn’t too severe, it won't be classified as a disability, requiring childhood medication and conditioning until the pool stabilizes.

The second is acquired trauma.

This can result from sudden, drastic changes in one's environment, leading to mental and psychological breakdown, ultimately causing internal damage and mental disorder. Or it could be due to external factors like attacks, resulting in direct harm. There’s currently no complete treatment for this type of trauma; one either endures it or, if they can’t bear it, is exiled to the Tower of Evil.

Xu Qingran frowned, deep in thought as he listened: "What exactly is the Tower of Evil?"

When he entered before, he found the staff, including the supervisors and the Tower Master, to be fairly normal. But beyond that, the entire environment felt eerie and irrational, whether it was the detention system, the punishment rules, or the bloodstained arena.

"Tower of Evil."

Shen Tingyu murmured, as if the word itself carried a weight of complex emotions.

After a long while, he continued: "It’s a place that controls evil while also indulging it."

The Tower of Evil was initially established to detain and punish criminals.

But over time, this place, originally meant to uphold justice, began to change without notice. As external threats were gradually neutralized and restrained, those in power began to relax, finding the world boring.

So, they began seeking new thrills.

The punishments meant for criminals turned into excuses for the royal nobility to vent their malice. In public, they were polished gentlemen, paragons of morality and etiquette. In private, they were bloodthirsty demons, channeling their suppressed negativity into blades that pierced the flesh of others.

Later, when there weren't enough criminals for them to vent on, the Tower of Evil began to expand.

Besides Type E heavy criminals, others with varying degrees of crimes were also sent from small prisons to the Tower of Evil. Eventually, even mentally ill patients who could no longer think for themselves were placed under the Tower's jurisdiction.

It is located in the Celestial System, under the direct control of the royal family.

Remote, heavily guarded, inaccessible to ordinary people, and with no visitation services. Most of those sent there had ironclad evidence against them, though some were taken as sacrifices under the guise of authority, either alone or from the slums.

With so many people coming and going daily, who besides themselves could know of their innocence?

Shen Tingyu chuckled lightly, his voice tinged with loneliness: "The so-called evil of the Tower of Evil doesn't just refer to the evil of crimes."

—It also represents evil desires and malice, the evil of human nature.

He had spent a long, long time in that place.

After listening, Xu Qingran silently summarized.

The royal family of this world, at this stage, doesn't seem like a good thing.

"The arena, is that also their form of entertainment?" Xu Qingran asked again.

"Yes," Shen Tingyu replied. "The arena originally had no protective measures. It was only after many Type E users, who were not yet fully formed or had no criminal records, died and word accidentally spread, causing public outrage, that the empire urgently developed defense mechanisms to protect the innocent."

Under the pretext of training.

"The staff inside the Tower of Evil cannot see what happens in the arena, but the royal dignitaries can," Shen Tingyu reminded. "The Grandis Military Academy is also under the royal family, so now you understand why the non-criminals who emerge victorious in the arena have their enrollment procedures completed so quickly."

Xu Qingran shot a cold glance at the person on top of him: "Oh, then why did my examiner send me to such a disgusting place?"

Another prolonged silence followed.

After resting for a while, Shen Tingyu finally regained some ability to move. Before Xu Qingran's clenched fist could strike him again, he raised his hand to stop it.

"I admit, I did have quite a few reservations about you at the time," he confessed.

"I always saw you as a potential Type E user, and you know very well that Type E users can't tolerate even a grain of sand. So, sending you in was mainly to see if it would blunt your edge and clip your wings, or turn you into a formidable adversary for me."

Shen Tingyu was quite shameless.

After confessing his own malicious deeds, he smiled and took credit: "And for you at that time, it was the fastest way to leave the Tower of Evil. You should actually be grateful for my decision."

Xu Qingran forcefully pushed the person off him without a change in expression, sneering: "Had your fill, General Shen?"

Shen Tingyu swayed slightly but steadied himself, nodding in reply: "Enough, thank you, little nephew's spouse."

Xu Qingran didn't respond, turning to leave in the direction from which Shen Tingyu had come.

Seeing this, Shen Tingyu followed, assuming he was heading home.

However, after just two steps, the person in front suddenly turned and swung a kick at his leg. Caught off guard, his leg buckled slightly from the pain, and by the time he regained his composure, he had been thrown heavily to the ground.

The one who had thrown him stepped over him, sitting on him without hesitation, grabbing his collar to force him to look up and meet his gaze.

"You dog, I've been wanting to beat you up for a long time."

Xu Qingran's soft brown curls were tousled by the wind as he looked down at him, his voice lightly rising: "A general of the Golden Wing Battalion—not many get such a chance."

The night cloaked everything around, rendering them dim and indistinct, but it couldn't hide the light and laughter in Xu Qingran's eyes. It was as if one could glimpse through the clarity in his eyes a soul vastly different from his exterior.

Shen Tingyu remained silent.

Being at a disadvantage, he indeed had no choice but to let others do as they pleased, with no room for bargaining. Today was just a moment of carelessness on his part, nothing more to say.

This debt, he would settle it in due time after he officially enrolled.

Xu Qingran looked at him with an appreciative gaze, like a lamb, suddenly asking: "You said you used to see me as a potential Type E user, what about now?"

Shen Tingyu looked at him for a moment, then asked in return: "Now?"

After a moment of thought, he suddenly chuckled: "Now, I see you simply as Xu Qingran."

It was as if he suddenly realized that the type of soul and spirit could no longer define this person.

Xu Qingran's gaze paused, then he smiled, curving his eyes, and punched Shen Tingyu's face without holding back.

Then he nodded, let go, and stood up: "Good, I'm quite satisfied with that answer."

Shen Tingyu: "..."

System: "...??"

"Host! Do you remember your mission is to win over the target, not to kill him?" the system wailed.

"I remember, so I didn't kill him," he thought to himself.

The system fell silent.

But who would like such a rough host? It's impossible to raise favorability this way!

Before Xu Qingran left, he picked up the small device Ming Hai had used against Shen Tingyu. He raised an eyebrow at Shen Tingyu, curious, and pressed the button. This time, Shen Tingyu showed no signs of discomfort.

"This is a one-time-use device," Shen Tingyu explained calmly. "When the button is pressed, it emits a special wave that only affects those with injured spiritual pools. It's a torture tool specifically used by the Tower of Evil to deal with mental patients. He probably stole it during his escape."

Normally, when his spiritual energy was abundant, inhibitors helped form a protective layer over his injuries, shielding him from such devices. But today, everything had gone wrong at once.

"Got it," Xu Qingran said, tossing the object to the ground and crushing it underfoot.

The shuttle was destroyed, but fortunately, Shen Tingyu had another one. In his current condition, driving was out of the question, so he input Xu Qingran's soul information into his exclusive vehicle and let him take the wheel.

Shen Tingyu shifted uneasily in the passenger seat.

For years, he had never sat in this position. Since childhood, anyone who dared to touch his belongings would end up severely beaten. If no one intervened, he might have killed them.

Shen Tingyu admitted he was cold and selfish by nature. Empathy was foreign to him, and he saw no issue in protecting what was his.

With that thought, he glanced at Xu Qingran, who was calmly driving.

Just for today, he would let Xu Qingran's intrusion slide.

·

After Xu Qingran caused a scene at Xu Qingan's promotion banquet, public opinion exploded online. Especially the Star Horizon live post, which had barely any viewers, blew up overnight.

The post shifted from the OP's daily updates, photos, and praise for the hotel to Xu Qingran crashing the event. It detailed the chaos at the engagement banquet and the revelation that Xu Qingan had slept with Lu Cheng before his relationship with Xu Qingran ended—even sending Xu Qingran bed photos.

"OP here: Xu Qingan's mom fainted, the old patriarch had a heart attack, and Lu Cheng blew up at Xu Qingan for the first time. The banquet was over before it began. Ugh, I didn’t even get to try the seven-star hotel’s famous food. Got kicked out hungry. The Xu family is so petty!"

The promotion banquet sparked dozens, even hundreds, of heated discussion threads.

Of course, most were arguments.

Onlookers analyzed and questioned the truth, while the Xu family's PR and Xu Qingan's staunch supporters tried to whitewash it. They brought up Xu Qingran's past record of entering the Tower of Evil, arguing that crashing the banquet was just a ploy to spread rumors and stir up trouble.

The online discourse was a complete mess.

Most were just spectators, but in the Silver Dragon Battalion, Xu Qingan’s supporters still dominated, insisting there was a misunderstanding. Others brought up Xu Qingran’s past brawl at the Grandis University branch, claiming it proved his bad character.

Meanwhile, some defended Xu Qingran, pointing out that his victims were known bullies who terrorized the campus.

The two sides argued fiercely.

Occasionally, comments like this appeared:

"Am I the only one wondering how Young Master Xu, once mocked as weak after those leaked test results, suddenly got so tough?"

And there were posts discussing his promotion.

Main Post:

I remember Xu Qingran was rejected by the medical school of Grandis University due to suspected cheating, right? He said he was also going to promote, but what kind of promotion? The Red Xiang Excavator Institute?

The replies numbered in the thousands.

"3728L: No matter what, none can possibly match the prestige of Grandis University's Medical School."

"5217L: Hahaha, you guys really don't get it. Unless Young Master Xu can be admitted to Grandis's Military Academy, he'll always be overshadowed by Xu Qingan!"

In the midst of the trending posts, there is also a very small portion with weird vibes and quirky styles.

Here's the original post:

Sigh, OP feels like they might be losing it. Ever since I last saw Young Master Xu, I feel off all day without seeing his quirky live streams. I don't care about the drama outside, just wanna ask—Young Master Xu, when are you gonna lose it again... I mean, go live!

"1L: Quietly bumping this post."

"13L: Glad I'm not the only one."

"22L: ...+1"

The thread is blowing up, but one of the main topics of the hype, Xu Qingran himself, slept in until noon. Finally, groggy and bleary-eyed, he sat up in bed.

He was running a fever again.