Chapter Two: A Night of Madness (Part One)-My Body Houses a Divine Beast(The Grass Beneath the Crimson Blossoms)

After Crazy-Eater’s father and Zi Xia finished discussing the wedding date, he left the conference room in high spirits, not even looking back. The wedding was scheduled for three months later—a timeframe that might suffice for ordinary families, but for a venerable aristocratic clan like the Crazies, or for a historic sect such as Sword Gate, it was far too rushed. Some guests, no matter how hard they tried, would never make it in time for the ceremony.

Seated inside the Imperial Academy’s airship, Crazy-Eater gazed at Zi Xia’s lonely, distracted face, pondering deeply before speaking softly, “Zi Xia, do you not want to marry me either?”

Zi Xia was startled for a long moment before recovering, exclaiming, “No, you’re overthinking it. I just feel the timing is a bit too abrupt.”

Crazy-Eater sighed inwardly, but said nothing more.

Returning to their quarters at the Imperial Academy, Zi Xia silently retreated to her own room. Crazy-Eater sighed again, then left through the door with the four sisters from the You family in tow.

In truth, it wasn’t only Zi Xia who felt overwhelmed by the suddenness of marriage; even Crazy-Eater found it hard to accept the reality that he was about to wed.

Unconsciously, the five found themselves at the site of Crazy-Eater’s last battle with Pierre. To his surprise, Crazy-Eater saw two familiar figures—the beautiful Phoebe Karachi and that pale-faced Pierre—sitting together in the restored pavilion.

Phoebe and Pierre quickly noticed Crazy-Eater’s arrival. Because many people were already watching Crazy-Eater or secretly following him, the whole area fell silent at the sight, and Phoebe and Pierre could hardly miss the change.

Phoebe Karachi’s lovely face shifted noticeably as she met Crazy-Eater’s gaze, brimming with murderous intent.

Crazy-Eater strode slowly to the pavilion, standing quietly before Phoebe and observing her unnaturally tense expression. After a while, he said, “Phoebe, it seems we’ve never gone on a date, never spent time alone together. If I’m not mistaken, we haven’t even met more than ten times. It’s almost lunchtime—may I have the honor of inviting you to lunch with me?”

Pierre Hyde, standing nearby, suddenly interjected, “Phoebe will have lunch with me later—”

Before he could finish, a black dragon-shaped shadow appeared before Crazy-Eater. He summoned his battle dragon, and with a sharp roar, the dragon lunged straight for Pierre’s handsome face.

With the murderous intent honed on the battlefield and the fierce reputation of the Crazy Clan’s battle dragon, Pierre, caught unprepared, was forced to retreat from Phoebe’s side.

Seeing Pierre leap from the pavilion, Phoebe quickly shouted at Crazy-Eater, “This is the Imperial Academy! Haven’t you caused enough trouble? Do you intend to flout the academy rules again?”

Crazy-Eater’s whip appeared in his right hand as he coldly replied, “I’ve caused plenty of trouble already, and I’m not afraid to add another.”

He moved as if to attack Pierre Hyde, who was trapped by the battle dragon. The Crazy Clan’s battle dragons were bred for combat, each equaling a divine beast—a fact acknowledged for tens of thousands of years.

Phoebe, seeing Crazy-Eater’s aggressive stance and Pierre’s predicament, hesitated. Crazy-Eater had spent years on the battlefield, not in vain. Rumors about him circulated widely among the nobility. Pierre had also improved greatly in recent years, but compared to Crazy-Eater, he still lagged far behind in both aura and cultivation—a fact plain to any observer.

Phoebe hurriedly tried to restrain Crazy-Eater, but before she could speak, Pierre Hyde shouted, “You butcher! What right do you have to marry Phoebe? Do you know anything besides killing?”

Just as Crazy-Eater was about to advance again, a powerful voice boomed from outside, “Crazy-Eater, stand down!”

Several professors swiftly arrived at his side. Crazy-Eater glanced at them; one was among the three guest professors from last time. This time, they had come quickly.

Seeing Pierre’s situation, the guest professor waved his hand, instructing another to intercept the battle dragon’s assault. He then addressed Crazy-Eater, “Student Crazy-Eater, academy rules strictly prohibit private duels. Put your battle dragon away.”

Crazy-Eater snorted coldly, but obediently absorbed the battle dragon back into his body. Once it was gone, he said icily, “Professor, I didn’t attack anyone—I was just letting my dragon breathe.”

The guest professor clearly held a poor opinion of Crazy-Eater, snorting again, “Everyone knows whether you attacked or not. The academy won’t interfere in your personal affairs, but you must obey the rules—no fighting within the academy.”

Crazy-Eater snorted again, then turned to Phoebe, “Miss Phoebe, may I have the honor of inviting you to lunch?”

Phoebe lowered her head, thinking for a long while before finally nodding.

Seeing Phoebe’s agreement, Crazy-Eater turned to Pierre Hyde, whose expression was somewhat odd, and said, “I believe we ought to duel again.”

Before Pierre could reply, Phoebe spoke up, “Pierre doesn’t have time. He sneaked out from his family and must return immediately.”

That his fiancée answered for Pierre infuriated Crazy-Eater. There was even a smattering of laughter from the crowd, prompting him to glare coldly at Phoebe Karachi and sweep his gaze around menacingly.

He then addressed Pierre, “You Hyde family—better be careful in the future.”

Pierre sneered, “Careful? What could you do to our family? Seems someone killed tens of thousands of elite soldiers and is about to be exiled.”

Crazy-Eater snorted coldly, grabbed Phoebe’s hand, ignoring both Pierre Hyde’s taunts and Phoebe’s struggles, and forcefully led her toward the academy gates.

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