The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

Amidst the frenzy of comments, Chen Guan raised the trophy that belonged to the champion.

Flashbulbs went off like crazy, capturing the moment.

However, there was no joy on Chen Guan's face as one would expect from a victor.

He was still pondering what Su Jin meant.

……

Half an hour later, in the lounge of Huaqing College.

"Um, well... we're the champions!"

Qin Wu tried to break the strange atmosphere by slapping Chen Guan on the shoulder and grinning dryly.

"Little Coffin Bro, your last move was too fierce! You just... you know, did that to Yuehe? Is she alright?"

"I've already gone to check it out."

An Changqing walked in from outside: "The doctor said that Yuehe just suffered from excessive mental exhaustion and a severe mental shock, causing her to fall into a self-protective coma. She will be fine after a few days of rest."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good, that's good."

Qin Wu nodded repeatedly, then moved closer to Chen Guan and asked in a low voice with a gossipy look.

"Hey Old Coffin, tell me honestly, what did you do in the end? How did she just collapse like that? Was it some kind of profound illusion?"

Everyone's ears perked up, ready to hear Chen Guan impart the Burning Technique.

They also wanted to know what had happened in that silent duel.

"Hmm, a very complex illusion."

Chen Guan's words were concise and to the point, without much explanation.

An Changqing didn't press further, but simply sighed, "Speaker, she has already taken Yuehe back."

He walked up to Chen Guan, his expression more solemn than ever before: "However, she asked me to give you a message."

"What did you say?"

"She said she didn't want to see you on the opposite side of humanity on future battlefields."

An Changqing repeated it word by word.

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Wu's smile visibly faded, and Long Ao's brows furrowed tightly.

No one present could fail to grasp the weight of those words.

"What...what does this mean?"

Qin Wu looked puzzled. Why would someone suddenly make such a threat?

This certainly couldn't be because of Su Yuehe's matter; the Speaker wouldn't go so far as to settle a personal score over a mere competition.

An Changqing shook his head, his expression becoming serious.

"I don't know. She didn't say anything more, she just asked me to pass on the message."

He looked at Chen Guan, his eyes filled with unconcealed worry: "Chen Guan, it's not appropriate for me to say this, but I still want to remind you that the Speaker never makes empty promises."

"Your power may have encountered some kind of taboo."

Chen Guan didn't speak, but just looked down at the championship medal around his neck, his fingers gently stroking the cold metal surface.

Taboo.

He knew, of course, that he was taboo.

Su Jin could sense that this was unexpected, but strangely, she only warned him and didn't kill him on the spot.

"What's there to be afraid of?" Chen Guan stopped thinking and finally spoke: "I have no intention of destroying the world, nor do I have the ability to do so."

He looked up, glanced at the various expressions on everyone's faces in the lounge, and suddenly tugged at the corner of his mouth, feigning nonchalance: "I'm the champion, what are you all so nervous about?"

"I……"

Qin Wu opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Yes, Chen Guan is the one who has been targeted by the Speaker, but he himself seems more relaxed than anyone else.

This carefree calmness only made those around him feel more uncertain.

"Alright, the competition is over. Pack your things and get ready to go home. The school should be giving out prizes, which is what I'm most interested in."

His money-grubbing demeanor at least eased the somber atmosphere somewhat.

An Changqing shook his head with a wry smile and didn't try to persuade him any further.

He knew that once Chen Guan made up his mind, no one could persuade him otherwise.

We can only wait until we get back to school and see how things go.

There was supposed to be a third round, but because there were too many injured people and everyone was short-handed, An Changsong decided to cancel the third round and use the results of the first two rounds as the final score.

The results were as expected: Huaqing came in first, Taipei was second as always, Zero was third, and Kamiya was last.

Nighttime, the dormitory building of Huaqing College.

Chen Guan returned to his single room and casually tossed the championship medal onto the table.

Qin Wu and the others were still downstairs arguing about going to the second round of celebration banquet. An Changqing didn't go, saying he wanted to be alone. Chen Guan knew that he was probably worried about Su Yuehe going.

He walked to the window, looked at the figures below, and used the White Tiger Summoning Device.

Before long, Baihu’s signature lazy voice came over.

"Hey, Mr. Champion, what brings you to call me? I thought you were too busy with flowers and applause to talk to us shady colleagues."

Chen Guan ignored the teasing: "I won the championship."

"Okay, okay." Baihu yawned, sounding completely unconcerned about the outcome. "I watched the process too. It was as expected, nothing special."

After the brief introduction, Chen Guan got to the point.

"Speaker Su Jin came to see me last time."

The white tiger on the other end of the phone paused noticeably, its lazy demeanor lessening considerably: "Oh? What did she say? Threatened you? Or did she say she was going to represent human justice and eliminate you on the spot?"

"No, not at all." Chen Guan recalled Su Jin's emotionless eyes: "She asked An Changqing to pass on a message to me."

"She said she didn't want to see me standing on the opposite side of humanity on future battlefields."

After saying this, the relaxed and teasing atmosphere vanished without a trace, and Chen Guan could not even hear Bai Hu's breathing.

After a full half minute, the white tiger's voice rang out again, its languidness completely gone, replaced by an unprecedented seriousness.

"Now, tell me everything you used in the final, especially the one that made Su Yuehe faint."

Chen Guan raised an eyebrow, but did as instructed.

He briefly described how he summoned the resentment of the defeated, and finally, with the help of Baal's power, used a flood of memories to break down Su Yuehe's mental defenses.

"...That's roughly it. I used an illusion to confuse her with a massive amount of information. Her mind couldn't handle it, so she fainted."

"Oh."

White Tiger let out a dry laugh: "Kid, you're pretty arrogant."

"Forget about An Changsong, and don't worry about the others, but you really need to be careful with Su Jin."

"This woman is extremely sensitive to demons, to a terrifying degree."

"She's not touching you right now for three reasons: first, you're still Chen Guan, a genius of Huaqing, and the future of humanity, so she has no reason to touch you; second, she's not confident she can completely resolve the issue with Baal; and third, your interpersonal relationships are too complicated and troublesome."

"So she gave you a warning, but also a choice."