"...That scumbag got beaten up until he was vomiting blood in the afternoon practice class and was taken to the school hospital right away."

"...I heard they were practicing the Thunder Curse in the practice class, and several Thunder Curses got off target, hitting that scumbag."

"...Merlin Above, heaven has eyes, Amen Tofu Akbar!"

"...Let me tell you, chanting like this, if the people from Atlas hear it, you’ll get beaten."

"...A friend told me that when that scum got struck by lightning, the place was filled with applause and cheers, showing that the public’s eyes are ultimately sharp, the Heavenly Dao is evident, and karma never fails!"

"...How come he’s not dead? How come he’s not dead!"

"...It’s the first time I hate our ability to use magic; if it were in the Mortal World, with injuries like that this afternoon, he would’ve been dead by now!"

"...At dinner, those warlocks from Alpha Fortress seemed to have set off a bunch of fireworks in the cafeteria!"

"...It wasn’t just Alpha Fortress, Jiuyou, Starry Sky, Atlas, and even Edge Academy—I heard there were wizards celebrating wildly, cheering for the enduring justice of the world."

"...Saying ’celebrating wildly’ is a bit exaggerated, but indeed, there are many small-scale celebrations tonight... Of course, they might not be solely celebrating him entering the school hospital, it could be related to tomorrow’s weekend."

The black cat flicked its ears, looked grim, and patiently listened to those devils around the conference table exchanging the latest campus gossip—which was mostly mocking someone’s incident of vomiting blood in practice class. This little accident added a lot of fun to the young wizards’ bland campus life.

This made it feel increasingly annoyed.

Finally, it couldn’t help clearing its throat, interrupting the devils’ discussion: "Cough, why do you keep calling him ’scumbag’? Is there a reason? Why don’t I know when that young teaching assistant became a scumbag?" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The beautiful Persian cat tilted her head and glanced at the black cat.

"You actually don’t know?"

Her voice was crisp and melodious, resonating from the bell beneath her chin and eagerly explained, "The witches spread it all around, saying he’s secretly dating that young lady from the Jiang Family behind Councilor Su’s back, and there’s more than one witness... This time after he got struck by lightning, that Jiang Family lady rushed over without any reservation and poured a healing Magic Potion into him, many people saw it."

The black cat was silent upon hearing this.

But its silence didn’t mean others had lost interest in the topic.

"That’s not all!"

The big bat sitting at the end of the conference table folded its wings, sneering, "Do you know the Great Sage from the North District? Things between them aren’t clear either... Definitely not just ordinary relations!"

"I can attest to that, during last year’s Christmas dance, he danced with all three of those witches." The peacock-like parrot lazily raised a wing.

The black mountain goat kneeling beside showing an interested tilt of the head: "I heard when he first entered school as a freshman he dated a Gypsy witch named Yi something, but later? It seems she disappeared starting sophomore year."

"Did she go to nurture a fetus?" The Persian cat blinked.

"It’s a possibility... Absolutely shameless scumbag!" The little pig with white skin and black spots grunted indignantly, its tone revealing some envy: "I’ve seen him at the academy, he doesn’t even look that handsome! Why can he hook up with so many witches!"

"Is he very wealthy?" The red-haired fox couldn’t help licking its lips.

"We don’t know, what we know is mostly about his school-activities... Rarely about his family or background." The big bat answered in a raspy voice: "But at the beginning of freshman year, there were rumors that he’s an heir of the hidden veins of the Taoist Gate, that’s why his Talisman Studies are so good. These rumors shouldn’t be unfounded."

"Humph, that guy looks greedier than me, stuffing his mouth full yet reaching out for more, humph." The spotted pig munched snacks from its plate, grunting, with its big ears flickering: "...He looks more like a pig than me."

"Sorry, sir, but I am the true ’greedy one’." Belfinger clicked his bird’s beak, correcting Beelzebub’s sigh.

"So they say, fat doesn’t grow overnight, nor does a scumbag develop in a day."

The Persian cat crouched at one side of the conference table, coiled her tail gracefully, flicking her ears, she looked toward the black cat, concluding: "That young teaching assistant is probably the same... A little more scumbag every day until one day when others start to look at him with strange eyes, he would be puzzled realizing he has already turned into a scumbag... But it’s too late."

The black cat felt its paws itch, couldn’t help scratching the table.

It knew it couldn’t stay silent any longer.

"I just think, a lot of stories people hear are just chasing shadows." It attempted to calm down, trying to analyze in an objective, unbiased tone: "Speculating about someone based on these rumors seems unwise..."

"Wise?" The always silent big dog chuckled, with its rough, grating voice: "The word ’wise’ doesn’t relate to the group concept... Remember last year’s Halloween parade? Madness within the crowd, anything can be accomplished."

"Speaking of the ’Burn Zheng Qing parade,’ I recall a saying in our school." The Persian cat raised her paw to wipe her whiskers, giggling: "That which can unite the four academies, now it’s five academies—what can unite students from the five academies with no reservations, is perhaps ignorance. Only when you don’t know the academy background of your companion can you cooperate with them seamlessly. This ’ignorance’ probably doesn’t relate to ’wisdom’ either. Of course, now I think this saying can be slightly expanded; what can make the different academies at the First University cooperate smoothly, is also that certain scumbag."

The black cat squinted its eyes, awkwardly alternating its front paws onto the tabletop.

He never realized he could be so grand someday.

"Let’s chat about idle things this far." He said hoarsely, interrupting the devils increasingly philosophical chit-chat, raising a paw to tap the conference table: "Today’s meeting purpose is clear, everyone... Hmm? What’s up?"

The black cat tilted its head looking to the other end of the conference table.

Lucifer raised a wide bat wing, reminiscent of raising a hand before speaking in class, stirring a subtle sense of familiarity deep within.

"Before discussing the task, I’d like to inquire about something." Lucifer folded its wings in front, speaking in a low gravelly voice with eyes avoiding contact with any devils: "Last Monday, the dean of First University Jiuyou Academy vanished during a class for half a period... Does anyone know where he/she went?"

This remark plunged the previously lively conference room into a cold dead silence.