Your Name

He deliberately shrugged with an air of magnanimity, then turned to issue orders to his teammates. “Get ready. We’re going in on our own.”

“Captain!”

The members of North City Academy looked at Bai Huanran in surprise and alarm.

“What are you afraid of?” Bai Huanran barked, a confident smile spreading across his face. “Fortune favors the bold.”

“Once we’ve claimed all the hidden points, I hope none of you from Huaqing will regret the decision you’ve made today.”

With that, he led the way toward the charred stretch of ground.

Qin Wu’s brow furrowed deeply.

If Bai Huanran was telling the truth and there really were a huge number of hidden points, then even if they won the battle this time, North City Academy might still overtake them in the overall score.

A victory like that would be utterly meaningless.

Qin Wu drew a deep breath and clenched his fist. It looked as though he was about to strike down with it and make his decision.

“Senior Qin Wu, don’t listen to him.”

An Changqing’s voice was not loud, yet it clearly overpowered every other discussion on the field. His gaze, sharp as a blade, fell upon Bai Huanran, who had just raised his foot to leave.

“There’s never been any such thing as hidden points in the rules of this competition.”

The Four-Academy League was held every year under an established set of rules. No such mechanism had ever existed.

“That’s only because no one discovered it before.”

Bai Huanran stopped and spread his hands. The seductive edge in his smile grew even stronger. “The first person to eat a crab always gets to taste the freshest meat, don’t they?”

He took two steps forward, calmly approaching the edge of the scorched earth. Then his tone shifted, and he aimed his words directly at Qin Wu.

“Or are you saying that the dignified student council president of Huaqing, the captain of the defending champions, doesn’t even have that much courage?”

“Captain, we can’t let him look down on us. If North City Academy dares to go in, why shouldn’t we?”

A fourth-year student behind Qin Wu instantly lost face and growled under his breath.

“Exactly, Captain. At worst, we fight them. We have so many people—are we really afraid of those few idiots from North City?”

Voices of agreement rose one after another, and the pride of the defending champions was thoroughly ignited.

Qin Wu’s knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists. He stared at Bai Huanran’s smug, detestable face as the scales in his mind swung violently back and forth.

An Changqing’s caution was the wisest course of action, but the team’s sense of honor was an equally powerful drumbeat urging them forward—especially in front of their old rivals from North City Academy.

“Captain Qin Wu, go ahead and keep waiting.”

Bai Huanran sounded as though he had seen straight through Qin Wu’s thoughts. His voice drifted over, carrying a teasing smile.

“If you wait any longer, all the benefits will be ours.”

After saying that, he did not even bother looking at Qin Wu again. He turned and waved to his teammates.

“Let’s go.”

The members of North City Academy did not hesitate in the slightest. Following their captain, they stepped firmly into the charred region that radiated an unknown danger.

“Captain!”

Hearing the voices around him, Qin Wu suddenly drew in a sharp breath. The struggle in his eyes was about to harden into a decision.

Just as he was about to give the order, a somewhat timid voice came from the back of the formation.

“Wait.”

Everyone’s eyes instantly converged on the speaker.

It was Shan Heng.

He pushed up the black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose and stepped out from behind the towering figure of Chen Guan. Facing dozens of astonished gazes, he appeared somewhat awkward, yet the eyes behind his lenses shone with startling brightness.

Bai Huanran stopped and turned back, studying this inconspicuous first-year student with interest.

“Oh? What brilliant idea does this junior have?”

Shan Heng ignored the sarcasm. Instead, he looked straight at his captain, Qin Wu. His voice trembled slightly with nervousness, but his reasoning was perfectly clear.

“Captain, there’s something wrong with North City Academy’s formation.”

“What?”

Qin Wu froze.

“There are too few of them here.”

Shan Heng’s gaze swept across North City Academy’s ranks.

“Back outside, I had already read the abilities of every first-year student. Among them, North City has one of the most outstanding stealth users in all four academies—and he isn’t here.”

Since they were bound to face these people sooner or later, Shan Heng had prepared in advance. As luck would have it, none of the first-year students had been able to detect his probing.

The plaza fell utterly silent.

Long Ao’s eyes widened. He looked from Shan Heng to Bai Huanran, his mind unable to process the situation for a moment.

A sharp glint suddenly flashed through An Changqing’s eyes. He instantly grasped the chilling implication behind Shan Heng’s words.

Shan Heng’s chest heaved violently once, but his voice grew steadier and louder with every word.

“From the beginning of the competition until now, that person has never appeared. With his ability to hide, he wouldn’t have been eliminated so easily.”

“Senior Bai’s real objective has nothing to do with hidden points.”

He raised a hand, his index finger like a sword, pointing straight at the strange charred region.

“He wants to trick all of us into going inside—ideally, so that we’re eliminated together.”

“That way, the stealth user outside can remain safely hidden until the competition ends.”

Shan Heng’s voice rang across the entire plaza. Watching the smile gradually disappear from Bai Huanran’s face, he exposed the final piece of the puzzle word by word.

“And then they can use the rules to secure second place while contending for first—or even… win the championship!”

The moment his words fell, the atmosphere across the plaza froze solid.

The faces of Qin Wu and the Huaqing team members shifted from red to green, then from green to black. When they looked at Bai Huanran now, there was no hesitation left in their eyes—only the furious glare of people who had realized they had been deceived.

The carefree smile on Bai Huanran’s face vanished completely.

Ignoring Qin Wu’s livid expression, he looked past him and fixed his gaze on the first-year student who had ruined his entire plan.

“Interesting.”

His lips moved slightly. “What’s your name, junior?”

Bai Huanran’s gaze seemed almost tangible as it pinned Shan Heng in place. Every muscle in Shan Heng’s body tensed instantly, as though an invisible blade had been pressed against his throat.

“I—I’m Shan Heng.” He adjusted his glasses, but his timid nature once again gained the upper hand.

Qin Wu stepped forward. His tall, iron-tower-like body completely shielded Shan Heng from view, and his face, twisted with fury, turned squarely toward Bai Huanran.

“Bai Huanran, we’re your opponents.”

Qin Wu spoke with unusual sternness. He had known all along that Bai Huanran was up to no good.

“Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.”

Bai Huanran’s gaze passed over Qin Wu and locked onto Shan Heng, filled with undisguised appreciation.

“Junior Shan Heng, I’ll remember you. To possess a mind like that in your first year… Huaqing really does have plenty of promising talent.”