Chapter 23: Lie Detection (1/2)

Chapter 23: Lie Detection

From that day onwards, Su Chen attended his classes during the day and studied the Origin Talisman Energy Formation with Shi Kaihuang during the night. His days were once again filled with furious studying and experimentation. Thankfully, Su Chen had one less task at hand after he completed the Clear Wind Net, allowing him to deal with the extra workload.

His busy schedule tormented those who wanted to find an opportunity to teach him a lesson.

Su Chen never went anywhere apart from the Institute. Every day, he was either at a lecture hall, the Origin Energy Tower, or his dorm. If he had any free time, he would wander around the library, looking for certain information. His days were simple yet full.

However, to those who wanted to deal with him, the more low-profile Su Chen was, the less opportunities they could find.

Today was no exception. Immediately after class, Su Chen was planning on returning to his dorm.

A student hurriedly ran over. “Su Chen!”

Su Chen recognized the student. His name was Tang Ling and he was a student from the Magnificent Jade Region. They could be considered acquaintances, and he was also a student without a bloodline.

There were not many students in the Institute without a bloodline. They comprised probably only around ten percent of all students, and this only because the Hidden Dragon Institute accepted students by dividing up the regions. This reflected the Hidden Dragon Institute’s reputation for being a school for those from Bloodline Nobility Clans.

Because of this, students without bloodlines usually gravitated towards each other inside the Institute.

An organization known as the Flying Snow Guild had tried to recruit Su Chen not long after he had entered the Hidden Dragon Institute. Those of Flying Snow were all without bloodlines. They were an organization formed by and made up of students within the Hidden Dragon Institute without bloodlines.

As someone who had reached the top ten of the Three Mountains Region exam, Su Chen had naturally been valued by the Flying Snow Guild. Tang Ling had been responsible for recruiting him at the time. However, Su Chen’s ambitions laid elsewhere and he had no interest in participating in a highly political organization, so he had turned them down. The Flying Snow Guild had been unwilling to let him go, and so they had tried to recruit him many more times. Thus, he and Tang Ling had become somewhat familiar with each other.

Upon seeing him come, Su Chen laughed, “Brother Tang, why have you come to find me again today? It’s not for guild matters again, is it?”

Tang Ling laughed, “It’s impossible to move you, so I’ve already given up. Don’t worry, I’m not here today to ask you to join our guild. However, I really don’t understand why you are so unwilling to enter the Flying Snow Guild even though it’s so good.”

“Everyone has their own ambitions,” Su Chen faintly replied. “So why are you looking for me?”

“Nothing much. Today is my birthday, and I want to find a few friends that I can talk to and have a get-together with. How does tonight at the Virtue Celebration Tower sound?”

“So that’s why.” Su Chen thought for a moment, then shook his head. “I’m sorry, I’ve been pretty busy lately. I don’t think I’ll be able to come.”

Tang Ling’s expression changed. “Brother Su, that’s not very friendly, is it? I invited you with good intentions, but you turned me down? What are you trying to say?”

“I’m sorry. I really have no way of making it. Please forgive me, Brother Tang,” Su Chen replied unhurriedly.

“What could you possibly be busy with? Isn’t it just a little bit of cultivation? One less day shouldn’t be a big deal.”

Su Chen corrected him. “One less day is one less day, ten less days is ten less days. If I can make an exception for Brother Tang, I can make an exception tomorrow for Brother Li, Zhang, or Wang. I can have countless friends, but I only have a limited number of days I can spend in the Institute. As someone without a bloodline, I am already behind those from Bloodline Nobility Clans. If I don’t put in the effort, what is the point of attending this Institute? Just so I can have an empty status when I leave and gain some temporary glory? Sorry, that’s not what I’m after.”

Tang Ling was so angry that he laughed. “You, you, you! I asked you to accompany me with kind intentions, but you lectured me instead, as if I came here with harmful intentions. Forget about it. It was my fault that I asked you to come hang out and waste your time when you only have a heart for studying and cultivation. In the future, I won’t inconvenience you anymore.”

As he spoke, he waved his sleeves and then left..

Su Chen shook his head as he watched Tang Ling depart. He waved his hand, soundlessly dispersing an Origin Skill.

Tang Ling didn’t know, but Su Chen had applied an Origin Skill on him while he was speaking.

Lie detection.

The lie detection skill sensed the target’s thoughts and fluctuations from their state of mind to determine whether he or she was speaking the truth. Of course, it was not 100% accurate. Genuinely powerful individuals could control their own mental state and heartbeat, allowing their heart to remain steady no matter what kind of lie they told. However, this kind of artificial control would also leave behind clues that the lie detection skill could somewhat sense, though the user would have to possess a high sensitivity towards Origin Energy.

Because of this, the lie detection skill was only really useful for bullying weaker students. If the user was much more powerful than the target, the success rate was much higher. If the opposite was true, failure was basically guaranteed.

Tang Ling’s strength was an entire level lower than Su Chen’s and he didn’t know that Su Chen possessed a lie detection skill. He was completely defenseless. Thus, Su Chen was easily able to reach a conclusion.

He was lying!

He didn’t interrogate Tang Ling about what his motivation was. Su Chen had already pretty much figured out what it was, so he had directly turned him down.

In fact, even if Tang Ling hadn’t lied, Su Chen would’ve turned him down.

The path of a scholar overlord was lonely in the first place. Being social was not necessary for him.