The mercenary guild hall was bustling with noise, the clamor from the downstairs lobby constantly drifting up.
Su Cheng followed Guildmaster Kai down the stairs and came face to face with a group ascending them. They were arguing over how to split the pay from some job, their blood-stained iron boots thudding heavily on the wooden steps.
One of them was about to speak but, upon turning his head and catching sight of Kai, abruptly fell silent. The other mercenaries around him also stopped talking.
The two groups passed each other. Only after they had moved some distance away did Su Cheng hear them resume cursing at each other, each claiming they had contributed more to the mission.
"...Do you know them?" she asked, glancing at the guildmaster beside her. "They seemed... afraid of you?"
"We had a minor conflict when we first arrived the day before yesterday," Kai said casually. "Just a misunderstanding."
The two continued discussing her mission.
The matter of the curse was now a transaction between her and Camus, no longer connected to the Black Flame Mercenary Group.
Therefore, the task they wanted her to undertake would have to be accounted for separately.
He briefly explained. "That mage assembly begins next month. It requires traveling to the Imperial Capital."
Jinpo City was located in the southern part of the empire, while the Imperial Capital was in the central region. Even riding magical beasts, let alone ordinary horses, it wasn't a journey that could be completed in just two or three days.
Many mercenaries were unwilling to travel that far, so it was normal they couldn't recruit anyone on short notice.
Kai looked at her. "If you don't wish to—"
"I'm willing," Su Cheng said hurriedly. "I actually wanted to go out and make my way in the world anyway. It's just that my abilities are limited. I can only promise I'll do my very best."
He nodded. "I'll give you more details later. For now, I need to withdraw the invitation notice."
They parted ways then. Su Cheng went to the lobby counter to register her mercenary identity.
The Mercenary's Log was a small, thick book. Because it was embedded with magic, it cost two silver coins.
She had brought her citizen identification—it even belonged to the cannon-fodder Su Cheng. Anyway, it didn't list parents' names, only information like gender and age.
It could be used directly.
The guild employee verified the document was authentic, then asked if she was a mage or a warrior.
She revealed the rank insignia on her chest, immediately drawing several gazes.
Most mercenaries here were first rank, with a minority at second rank, but they were all considerably older. Someone as young as her was rare.
The guild employee nodded, asking her to casually cast a second-circle spell. Su Cheng formed a Wind Blade, eliciting another wave of low, envious murmurs.
"...Instant cast? She's almost at third circle, isn't she?"
There were eleven ranks for mages in total.
Apprentice Mage, Novice Mage, Junior Mage, Intermediate Mage, Advanced Mage, Archmage, Magus, Archmagus, Magister, Archmagister, Saint Magister.
For mages at ranks like first-circle Apprentice or second-circle Novice, their rank advancement was determined by whether they could successfully cast a spell of the corresponding circle.
The so-called 'casting' referred to chanting the entire incantation.
That is to say, a typical Novice Mage, if they wanted to cast a second-circle spell like Wind Blade, required at least five to ten seconds of incantation, depending on speech speed.
With higher proficiency, one could cast spells without speaking aloud, known as Silent Casting, chanting internally.
A step further, omitting the chant entirely, was called Instant Casting.
"...Is she even eighteen?" someone muttered under their breath, while others began to take action.
"Hey, Mage! Are you looking to join a mercenary group?"
Su Cheng had just taken the small, newly registered logbook from the employee when she was nearly hit in the face with a recruitment flyer from some mercenary group, the person enthusiastically waving the paper slip.
"We're always recruiting elemental mages here, and wind affinity is particularly—"
The surrounding mercenaries snapped to attention and began crowding around.
Just as Su Cheng was thinking of making an escape, a commotion suddenly arose at the entrance.
A group of people appeared at the lobby entrance.
They were all young, dressed in splendid, rich attire, with an extraordinary bearing. They all wore similar academy insignias. The leading youth was exceptionally handsome; dressed in white, he appeared even more aloof and cold.
The surrounding mercenaries made way, their attitudes even bordering on respectful.
Some had already recognized that these mercenaries were from a rather renowned team, all experts who lived by the blade. It was rare to see them acting so tense.
"...A nine-star Battle Master!"
Someone suddenly exclaimed.
They had recognized the rank insignia on the white-clothed youth's attire.
He was actually a fifth-circle warrior!
Only one step away from the sixth circle!
In Jinpo City, there were indeed experts close to his rank, but they were all well-known local figures, and every one of them was over forty years old.
Due to their battle aura, those people might not look old, but this youth's face still held a touch of boyishness. His clothes also bore the emblem of Nanhe Academy.
From the academy emblem, one could also tell his year of enrollment. Considering the school's age requirement for admission—
"This one can't be more than twenty, right?" someone gasped. "And he's already on the verge of the sixth circle!"
"That's not necessarily guaranteed. For some people, going from five-star ninth rank to the sixth circle might be impossible in a lifetime!"
"The 'some people' you're talking about definitely aren't the kind who can achieve this level of strength by twenty, right?"
"This is just too young..."
Amidst the hushed discussions, the group from Nanhe Academy had already entered the lobby. Murong Yue's expression was cool and detached, paying no mind to the attention from others.
He suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure in the crowd, his expression stiffening slightly.
His classmates beside him noticed this and followed his gaze.
They hadn't all gone to the Lin family estate together and didn't recognize Su Cheng, so they were puzzled.
"...Just second circle," someone muttered. "Not that impressive, right?"
Another, better-informed student suddenly drew a sharp breath. "I heard Senior Murong's fiancée looked like that—"
"Former fiancée!" Murong Yue, who had been momentarily dazed, immediately interrupted her, almost as if triggered. "Please don't get it wrong."
That classmate was stunned on the spot. "Oh, oh—right."
Murong Yue had always been aloof and proud. When had they ever seen him react like this?
Just how much did he hate that fiancée?
Although they had heard she was originally a good-for-nothing, unable to condense battle aura even at sixteen or seventeen, it made sense if he despised the marriage arrangement.
...But the person standing over there was a Novice Mage, wasn't she?
While second circle wasn't considered particularly powerful in their eyes, it was still decent.
And it had absolutely nothing to do with being a 'good-for-nothing.'
Could it be that Murong Yue simply hated mages? Or that anyone who didn't train in battle aura was trash?
Everyone felt utterly bewildered.
Mutual disdain between warriors and mages was a longstanding tradition, but wasn't this a bit extreme?
While the Nanhe Academy students were still speculating, the young girl in the crowd merely glanced in their direction before ignoring them completely.
She was looking up, talking to the tall swordsman beside her, showing him her Mercenary's Log and even raising the small book a little higher.
Murong Yue frowned slightly.
He recalled how actively Su Cheng had pursued the annulment of their engagement. Though she seemed motivated by self-interest, it also suggested she was equally dissatisfied with the marriage arrangement.
... Did she already have someone she favored in her heart?
"Hmph, just a mere second-tier elemental mage—never worthy of you in the first place!"
A young man dressed in lavish robes lifted his chin, his face full of disdain.
She was a junior student of Murong Yue, who usually held great admiration for this senior and regarded him as a role model.
As soon as the words fell, a dark-haired girl not far away suddenly turned her head, revealing a smile like a fox spotting a chick.
Murong Yue: "..."
Before he could speak, Su Cheng had already walked over with a beaming smile.
"Well, hello," she first looked at the junior student beside Murong Yue. "May I ask your surname?"
That junior student sneered, "You're not worthy of knowing."
Su Cheng observed her thoughtfully.
In the original story, Murong Yue had a junior male student by his side, also from a noble family and quite talented. He was one of Murong Yue's admirers and therefore held a strong dislike for Lin Yun.
The junior had said many harsh things to Lin Yun, including but not limited to belittling him as a low-born good-for-nothing, saying he wasn't worthy of Murong Yue, and calling him a toad lusting after swan meat.
Later, he was brutally humiliated and eventually even tortured and killed by Lin Yun.
Now—
With Murong Yue becoming a man, perhaps the malicious junior had also turned into a malicious junior girl?
Of course, it might not be the same person.
Given Murong Yue's status, he certainly wouldn't lack people trying to curry favor with him. Those jumping out to attack her might not genuinely like him.
She thought about it; anyway, she couldn't remember the malicious junior's name. Even if the junior girl introduced herself now, it wouldn't ring a bell.
"... Well, if you won't say, then you won't. But Mr. Murong and I were originally strangers. Now that the engagement is dissolved, we're no different from passing strangers."
Su Cheng paused. "What does 'worthy' or 'unworthy' matter between two strangers? Are you implying our engagement still exists?"
"Pah!" The junior girl sneered. "Why don't you look in the mirror? What are you? You just got lucky to have been engaged to Senior Murong—"
Su Cheng: "..."
The lines were quite similar to the malicious junior's.
Both were like deaf people, not listening, just spewing their own narrative.
"Enough!" Murong Yue suddenly cut off the junior girl. "Miss Su and I have no connection anymore. Don't speak such words again."
The latter looked at him in surprise.
"Let's go," Murong Yue turned his head. "The Silver Wing members should have arrived by now."
Nearby mercenaries who had been listening to them collectively drew sharp breaths.
Silver Wing was one of the famous medium-sized S-class mercenary groups in the empire, boasting many experts and even having some cooperative ties with the royal family.
Advancing a mercenary group's rank was no easy feat; the higher the rank, the more stringent the requirements.
Even across the northern and southern continents, the number of S-class mercenary groups was not large.
Su Cheng, however, knew what was happening.
Among Silver Wing's members was a very young, exceptionally talented individual. Nanhe Academy wanted to invite her to study in their Sword Martial Arts Department.
This wasn't poaching, as an academy wasn't a mercenary group, and being a mercenary didn't necessarily conflict with studying.
Mercenaries weren't on missions every single day, and attending school didn't require constant presence at the academy either.
Especially for such highly capable students, the academy granted them considerable freedom.
That person hadn't rejected the invitation outright but had requested to meet Murong Yue, wanting to see the academy's youngest genius for herself.
Since she expressed no desire to meet academy teachers, Murong Yue had only brought along some junior students.
Su Cheng couldn't help but glance at Murong Yue, thinking, Now you're being obedient? Why did you have to bring a bunch of old fogies when you came to break off the engagement with me?
The junior girl noticed her look and couldn't resist another sneer. "Silver Wing's Xiao Lan is even a few months younger than you, yet she's already a sixth-tier—"
Su Cheng remained silent.
In the original story, Xiao Lan was also a great beauty who became Murong Yue's close friend and confidante. Later, she met Lin Yun, leading to some episodes of rivalry with Murong Yue over his affections.
However, Lin Yun wasn't present for this first meeting between Xiao Lan and Murong Yue.
He should have been taking an entrance exam for some academy at this time.
Su Cheng turned to Murong Yue. "Did you tell her about the contract? If you didn't, you're in breach. If you did, then I'll just collect the money from her."
The junior girl clearly knew nothing of any contract, and most of the other students also looked utterly confused.
However, two individuals wore expressions of fear.
They had accompanied Murong Yue to the Lin residence and witnessed Elder Li's death. Because it involved a deity, they hadn't dared to speak of it recklessly.
This left the others completely in the dark; they didn't even know Elder Li was gone.
"What nonsense are you spouting?!" the junior girl said, bewildered. "What contract?"
Just as Murong Yue was about to speak,
Su Cheng had already pulled a stack of papers from her pocket, waving them nonchalantly. "Yes, a contract. Black and white, clear as day."
"Oh really?!"
The junior girl abruptly reached out, snatched the papers from Su Cheng's hand, tore them to pieces, and then used her battle aura to shatter the fragments into powder.
As a War General, a fourth-tier warrior, her movements were incredibly swift. At such close range, an ordinary mage wouldn't have been able to dodge in time.
Having done this, the junior girl looked triumphant. "I don't care what contract it was. Now it's gone—"
Her words cut off abruptly.
Because there wasn't a trace of panic on Su Cheng's face.
Su Cheng sighed. "While I don't understand why you'd tear up someone's mercenary group recruitment flyer, such behavior is condemned by the deities."
Her palm began to grow warm.
Even without rolling up her sleeve to check, she knew the symbol of the Scales of Contract had manifested.
—What was happening now had trespassed into the domain related to divine authority.
Just as suspected.
Certain conjectures were confirmed once again.
The Contract Deity might tolerate, or even take pleasure in, people playing tricks within the wording of contracts—whether mutually scheming or one-sided deception.
But such a crude and direct act as tearing up a contract was clearly not acknowledged by Him.
Or rather, it violated His taboo.
Therefore, even if the destroyed document wasn't the actual contract, the person committing the act would face punishment.
And moreover—
A Divine Favored One could initiate the punishment.
Su Cheng took two steps back. "Lord Contract God despises those... foolish people without any sense of contractual spirit. Well, that seems rather understandable, doesn't it?"
The junior girl's expression froze.
Her hands began to turn translucent, her skin surfacing with dense, spreading lines—like the irregular, jagged tears of paper being ripped apart.
"No!"
The young woman's arm flesh started to peel away, muscle fibers scattering like shredded paper scraps, mingling with splashes of red that drifted in the air.
"Save me—"
She staggered backward, each step causing more fragments to fall. Her chest cavity seemed crushed by an invisible force, completely collapsing inward. Ribs snapped one by one, emitting a grating, sickening crackle.
