You're Strong But Now You're Mine

"Principal Cha, are you afraid of death?"

Cha Huan blew on his teacup and, facing Le Yin's audacious words, didn't even lift an eyebrow: "Afraid, so I broke the necks of everyone who dared to attack me."

"That's still not thorough enough. You say you're a weak and ordinary old man who usually doesn't provoke anyone, yet some people dare to target you. You should strike first and kill the families of those who want to kill you but haven't acted yet." Le Yin coaxed gently, "What do you think, am I right?"

"Makes sense."

"Would you like to do that?"

"Of course I would.

"Then why don't you take a bus over and kill them all? Don't worry, the academy has me. If anything happens to you, I will take care of the Imperial Academy for you."

Cha Huan did not answer, drank a sip of tea leisurely, then raised his sleeve to reveal his muscular left arm.

"What do you think of my left arm?" he asked.

"Just that?" Le Yin raised an eyebrow, "Frankly, if you threw a punch at me, you'd soon be begging me not to kill you."

Joking aside, one must still admit defeat—let's not forget that Cha Huan is the master of the Platinum Tower. Even without this status, he himself is a veteran martial pillar of Yanjing and could indeed flatten Le Yin with one hand.

Cha Huan's resume has one line that Le Yin found unforgettable: Cha Huan graduated from the Imperial Academy at 24, and in the same year, reached the Peak of Perfection realm, accumulating decades of experience in the highest level of martial arts.

What does this mean? Even with the 'Heart of Neisser' cheat, and practicing Forbidden Battle Techniques, Qin Le Yin tried all sorts of orthodox and unorthodox methods, yet at 24, he was still a mere Integration and Mastery realm, unable to punch through a steel door as thick as a fist.

Compared to Cha Huan, who had near-negative asset educational conditions, the privileged learning resources Qin Le Yin had would shame anyone.

Borrowing from the evaluation of the Radiant Four Guardians, Cha Huan is a once-in-a-century genius. In fact, this is the truth: after Cha Huan, throughout Radiant, hardly anyone could match his abilities...

Except for Le Yin's old rival.

Speaking of which, Le Yin never knew the realm of Blue Flame, nor his age. After all, he seemed about twenty-something but had the maturity of someone thirty or forty. Although Blue Flame's Peak of Perfection realm was known, when he served as the Director of the Statistical Department, he didn't display world-altering strength.

Yet Blue Flame had never lost, always handling any adversary with ease...that's all.

"Look more closely," Cha Huan said casually.

Le Yin restrained his playful thoughts, stared for a while, and soon noticed something: "The skin tone of your forearm and upper arm are different. The forearm looks older, while the upper arm is whiter and softer, with a faint dividing line... Your hand was broken?"

Cha Huan nodded, lowering his sleeve: "It was forcefully broken."

"Someone could actually break your arm?" Le Yin asked in surprise.

"It wasn't just one person but three," Cha Huan said calmly, "Thirty years ago, I did what you suggested—for a full moonless night, dressed in semi-dark clothes, wore a mask purely for decoration, and spent three and a half hours wiping out the family giving me trouble, leaving only four children under ten unharmed."

"Even you took three and a half hours; it doesn't seem like a small family," Le Yin said.

"In Yanjing, it was only a nouveau riche family of the last century, producing two Ministers, three Assistant Ministers, and one cabinet Grand Scholar."

As Cha Huan spoke of this past, his tone was like a player gloating over an achievement: "Unlike now, back then the massacre involving the purple-clad operatives shocked Yanjing, everyone discussing my deeds."

Le Yin raised an eyebrow: "Was it exhilarating?"

"Absolutely exhilarating!" Cha Huan said decisively, "In these decades, I haven't regretted that night of massacre for even a day. That family was really annoying, plotting against my career, sending assassins to chase me, targeting my friends. Damn it, really thought their power could block my sword!?"

"I remember killing that Grand Scholar; he actually said my refusal to serve as his son's lackey led to this carrot-and-stick approach—making me feel threatened first, then offering goodwill. They'd even marry me to his daughter... I just said fine, go explain to your daughter!"

Le Yin said, "Actually, targeting only the main wrongdoer might have worked...?"

"But they didn't only bug me," Cha Huan snorted, "Have you met Xie Liting?"

Le Yin: "Manager Xie is a very interesting person."

"Back then, he was framed, shut in a narrow sealed box for three days, still scared to enter any toilet less than ten square meters, avoiding small boxes like the plague."

The old man spoke slowly, "If they only troubled me, I might have some interest in playing with them."

"However, since their play was this thrilling, I was bound to keep them entertained. Besides, targeting only the main wrongdoers is too troublesome; I was lazy to verify who had targeted me and who was innocent. As long as they messed with me, no one stood for my justice, so I unreasonably killed them all, quite reasonable."

"I'm not a god, don't need to be that fair, as long as I'm satisfied. If I did kill the wrong person, maybe years later, I'll go down and apologize~"

"Speaking of, there's a small episode," Cha Huan chuckled, "I did treat those three main wrongdoers differently. I tied the intestines of the Grand Scholar and his two sons around their necks, then hung them at the mansion gate, facing the Imperial Court, blood all over."

"To this day, that scene is still my fourth favorite view."

Le Yin decided not to ask his top three favorite views, instead asked, "Is your broken hand related to this?"

"Yes, since such massacres are rare across centuries, and I didn't hide it much; everyone knew I did it and called for my execution. The then Emperor Xianzong was an idiot, far worse than his son, actually sending three martial pillars to hunt me."

"I escaped from Yanjing to the ancient tree forest in Canglan District, changed identity and joined the Hunter exam in Canglan District. Ironically, greatness led me to become the top Hunter of that year, earning the 'Cyan Star' title, naturally discovered by the three martial pillars chasing me. As I fled and counterattacked, in the end, I still couldn't win, severely injured one, but my left arm was torn off."

"Although my arm was ripped, the three martial pillars had what they needed to report, eventually stopped hunting me. I spent half a year recovering in Canglan District, until my left hand grew back and then sneaked back to Yanjing, to find my mentor, the then Principal Dou Jincheng."

Speaking of this, Cha Huan couldn't help but sigh: "Actually, I simply wanted him to write a letter of recommendation, and to take that boy Xie Liting along to become a General fighting against the Barbarian Race at the border, didn't expect that old fool...old Principal Dou wouldn't write it, offering protection and absolution for me, but with a price."

"The price was for you to become the Principal?" Le Yin guessed.

"I was definitely unwilling; Old Dou said I only needed to require ten years, within which I was to train the next Principal, then I could leave." Cha Huan said this without sparing his mentor's dignity, directly calling 'Old Dou': "Old Dou tearfully begged, flattered, reasoned, I couldn't refuse, so I agreed."

"Turns out one term lasted thirty years."

Cha Huan sighed, "How many thirty years do we have in life..."