Fanli froze like a stone statue. Liuxiang lowered her head, pretending to fix her hair. Feisi and Lansi shared a textbook, focusing with such intensity it looked as if they had been studying for hours. Finally, the little angel You Can broke the bizarre silence.
"Xinghai!" He waved at Xinghai. Seeing Xinghai look up, he beamed. "Hello! Forgive me for not swimming over to shake your hand—certain control freaks would yell at me for blocking their view. So, let’s talk across the gap! I’m You Can, from Lier City First High. I’m eighty-three this year, I love eating and gaming, and it’s great to meet you!"
As he spoke, several Predators in the back row glared at him, but he treated them as if they were invisible.
"Hello. I’m Xinghai. Eighty-five."
"Then you’re my big brother!" You Can leaned forward against the table like a little fanboy. "Brother Xinghai! I just wanted to say, you’re so handsome! If I had your face, I wouldn't have been dumped seventeen times in high school!"
Liuxiang let out a snort of laughter but instantly masked it with a cough to clear her throat.
With You Can leading the way, the atmosphere softened considerably.
The professor for Arcane Studies was a middle-aged, portly man of the Flag race. His teaching style was conventional and his demeanor overly conservative, but he was rumored to be an academic fanatic who had published seventeen papers in sea-wide journals last year.
Based on Fanli’s past observations of teachers, these traditional types usually had one advantage: they didn't like interaction. Listening to his hypnotic introduction and theoretical overview, she happily slumped down, preparing for a peaceful nap.
However, in her groggy state, she vaguely heard the professor say, "Alright, next we have a fun little question. Let’s have our top-scoring student answer it."
A chill ran down Fanli’s spine. She had a bad feeling.
"Fanli." The professor paused. "Is Fanli here?"
Liuxiang nudged her. "Li-zi, wake up! You can’t sleep through this one..."
Not just Liuxiang, but everyone around her turned to look—including her new friends.
She was dead meat.
Failing to answer and losing face was one thing. But if people started doubting her grades, and by extension her past, they might investigate her. That was the real danger. Luoya University had seen students who violated the criminal laws regarding forbidden arts. If she showed too many flaws, the police would surely interrogate her.
But constantly defying the teachers wouldn't end well either.
Fanli bit her lip hard and stood up. "I’m here."
The entire classroom turned toward her.
"Very good." The professor looked at her surroundings, noting she was only with Oceanic and mixed-blood students. "We have always advocated for peaceful coexistence among students; do not form cliques based on race. Only then can you cooperate better after graduation and contribute more to the Light Sea. Now, Fanli, as an Oceanic, you must have some understanding of the gap between you and the Predators, yes?"
"Yes, a little."
"Then, focusing on the topic of Arcanum, analyze for us..." The professor looked at Xinghai beside her. "Analyze the natural advantages of the Shark race, specifically in the field of Arcanum."
Fanli looked down at Xinghai, wanting to ask for help, but with the whole class watching, she couldn't communicate. This was a conceptual question—no calculations required, and impossible to convey through writing. She knew she couldn't answer, and Xinghai seemed to realize it too. Both were helpless.
Even as a layman, she knew this wasn't a difficult question. The professor just wanted to interact.
If she couldn't answer this, or if her answer was too elementary, she would become a suspect.
In that moment, she wished he had asked a high-difficulty question like the Dean had; at least then she could excuse herself...
As three hundred students watched her, the classroom became as silent as an interrogation room. She could hear her heart pounding against her ribs. *It’s over, it’s really over...*
But suddenly, a flood of information surfaced in her mind.
"The Shark race has a muscle content of over eighty percent," she said, pausing for a second. "Their short-distance sprint can reach 20.92 meters per second. Their single-handed grip strength is 1.2 tons, and their bone density is four times ours. The average Arcane potential for top-tier Sharks is 24,834, capable of reaching SS-rank, second only to the 3S of the Sea God race."
"Very precise! Excellent answer!" The professor gave her a thumbs-up.
The students turned back, expressions of admiration on their faces.
Normally, providing such precise data would be seen as a sign of excellence but wouldn't elicit such a reaction. However, when the person answering was the "Double S" Fanli, the answer seemed exceptionally brilliant.
Fanli sat back down, her heart still racing.
"Hey, why didn't he ask me? I could have answered that too!" You Can said piteously. "But... wow, the Goddess and I were thinking the exact same thing!"
Lansi patted his shoulder. "If we could think of it, of course Fanli could. I’ve read her papers. The gap between us and her is about this big." He held one hand high and the other near the floor.
Fanli was the one truly stunned. She had felt that copying You Can’s answer exactly was a bad idea, so that brief pause was actually her considering whether to change the units. She hadn't expected her brain to naturally convert "100 meters in 4.78 seconds" to "20.92 meters per second" in less than a heartbeat.
She had done well academically on land, but her memory and mental calculation had never been this powerful. She was just quick-witted, focused, and logical, and through hard work, she had achieved her results.
*What is with this memory...*
Just as she was feeling pleasantly surprised, she heard You Can say lazily, "What are you guys planning to eat tonight? The soup in the cafeteria at lunch made me feel sick. I still feel like I have acid in my throat."
Lunch cafeteria soup?
Fanli was certain she had soup at lunch, and it indeed hadn't tasted great. But no matter how hard she tried to remember, she couldn't recall what kind of soup it was.
Feisi nodded vigorously. "Right, right! Flying fish roe and kelp soup... my least favorite. They packed it so poorly too; it almost leaked into the seawater. So gross."
Oh, right. It was flying fish roe and kelp soup.
Well, it seemed the improved memory was just an illusion. Her brain must have just had a sudden spark of inspiration earlier...
Sitting with Xinghai during class was fine; with You Can acting as a buffer, it just looked like Xinghai was hanging out with their group. But after class, being alone would be awkward.
As soon as class was dismissed and the students began to stand, Fanli used the excuse of an urgent matter to swim upward, bypassing Xinghai and heading for the back door.
Unfortunately, she was blocked by Lina and a group of Predator girls and led into a corner once again.
"Alright. We’re all adults; let’s not waste time." Lina crossed her arms and gestured with an open palm. "Fanli, what is your answer?"
Under the pressure of so many people, Fanli remained calm and gave the answer she had prepared. "I can give up the first-place spot, but I can’t guarantee I can help you pass the Double S rank."
"Why?" Lina frowned.
"Because I’m not even sure I can pass it myself. I can only say I’ll try my best."
Lina let out a soft laugh. "Fanli, you’re too modest. Do you know how the Dean described you? He said if there were a 3S rank, they wouldn't have given you a Double S. Still, if you can achieve Double S, there’s no reason for you to fail on purpose. So, your response is reasonable. I accept. Starting from the next class, you can sit with us in the Black Coral Goddess Gang."
"Also..."
"Speak."
"I might not be able to help you every single class. I’m afraid the teacher will notice something is wrong, and I’m afraid it might eventually affect you. So, there’s no need for me to sit with you."
"That point..." Lina pondered for a moment. "We’ll discuss it later."
After Lina and the others left, Fanli breathed a sigh of relief and swam toward a less crowded area.
The next morning’s Sea Race Language class was much more interesting than Fanli had expected.
"Federal Language" was the official language of the Light Sea, so what was commonly called "Sea Race Language" referred to Federal. However, because the Light Sea was so vast, it was difficult to popularize Federal in every corner. In many remote villages and tribes, the sea folk still used their own languages; their accents were non-standard, and some even learned Federal as a foreign language.
The class included students from other colleges and even self-funded students from outside the university, with Oceanic students making up over seventy percent. The outside students looked up to the Luoya locals, so the atmosphere was friendly and the interactions harmonious. Half the time was spent on cultural exchange between students and the teacher, making it very lively.
Thanks to the good learning environment, the lower difficulty level, and the help of her conscious dictionary, Fanli felt she could definitely pass this course with a high score—though she hoped she wouldn't be around for the exam day.
Police were still patrolling the school. Fanli kept her head down as she passed them, and no one called her in for questioning again.
On the night of the incident, she had thought she was doomed. She hadn't expected to slip through the cracks—because Liuxiang had exposed the Seaweed Senior, the investigation into her had been bundled with his, and no one had called her out individually for questioning.
The police also required faculty who attended the wedding to cooperate. Fanli didn't know if Professor Yinbeier had mentioned her, but even after all the faculty had been questioned, no one came looking for her.
*Have I escaped the disaster?*
Until the killer was found, Fanli couldn't feel truly at ease.
At six o'clock sharp was the Arcane History seminar, followed an hour later by the lecture. Scheduling the seminar before the lecture was already a strange move, and the seminar tutor’s absence was even more baffling.
Coincidentally, Fanli and Xinghai were in the same seminar group. They sat in the same row, chatting across the aisle. Some history students who had taken Arcane History as an elective sat behind them, excitedly discussing current politics:
"The Dictator has been using the Winter Sea to pressure the Storm Sea recently. It’s very much in line with his usual style."
"Who do you think will win in the end?"
"Is there even a question? The Dictator, obviously. St. Yegana inherited the Arcane Core of the Lord of the Endless Ocean, after all. It’s the City of Miracles for the entire Light Sea. Honestly, even if the Seven Seas united against the Holy Capital, they might not win."
Over the past two days, Fanli had learned from the news that the Light Sea was divided into two factions: the "Holy Capital Party" centered around Su Shiye’s government in St. Yegana, and the "Storm Party" centered around the Gath Clan of the Storm Sea. The two were mortal enemies. The
