He Became A Monstrous Genius After Obtaining A Time Dilation Artifact-Chapter 532. Whispers in the District

The night in the residential district was quiet.

Too quiet.

Rows of villas floated silently above the glowing streets. The lamps cast pale light across the empty walkways. Most students were either cultivating inside their residences or roaming the training grounds deep within the academy. In this area of this residential district, only faint footsteps and low murmurs could be heard from time to time.

At a secluded corner of the district, near one of the teleportation gates, several figures stood frozen in place.

Four corpses lay on the ground.

Their eyes were wide open, lifeless. Their expressions were twisted in pain and shock, as if they had seen something terrifying right before death.

An academy AI bot hovered silently above the bodies.

A beam of scanning light passed over the corpses. Runes flickered across the AI’s surface.

[Identity confirmed. Students: Hanson, Grom, Liria, and Bark.]

[Cause of death: Destruction of consciousness.]

[No violations detected. Combat and death between students permitted in unrestricted zones.]

The AI bot paused for a moment, then activated a spatial storage artifact.

The four corpses vanished.

The streets returned to silence.

But silence never lasted long in a place like the Dao Enlightenment Academy.

Not far from the teleportation gate, a group of students who had been hiding behind a distant building slowly stepped out.

They were a mixed group of races. A human youth with a pale face. A demihuman with trembling claws. A small goblin girl whose eyes were still red from crying. A tall, thin elf who leaned against the wall as if his legs could no longer support him.

Their breathing was heavy.

"They’re... dead?" the human youth muttered.

The goblin girl swallowed. "I felt it... I felt the rune oath break."

Her hands trembled in relief.

The demihuman’s claws dug into the ground. "Mine too. It’s gone. The rune oath is gone."

For a moment, none of them spoke.

Then, suddenly, the elf let out a low, broken laugh.

"Hah... hah... hahaha..."

Tears streamed down his face as he laughed.

"We’re free... We’re actually free..."

The others stared at him in disbelief.

The human youth’s eyes reddened. "Do you know how long... how long I’ve been forced to hand over half my resources to Hanson? Every mission reward. Every cultivation resource. If I resisted, the rune oath would torment me, as if my organs were being crushed into nothing"

The goblin girl hugged herself tightly. "They made me spy on weaker students. If I refused, I would feel pain like my bones were being crushed. They said if I ever betrayed them, I would die."

The demihuman’s voice was hoarse. "They called us lackeys. But we were slaves. Slaves bound by rune oaths."

Silence fell again.

They all looked toward the distance, even though none of them knew who had killed Hanson and his group.

But they all knew one thing.

Whoever did this had shattered the chains that bound them.

"Someone killed them... without witnesses... without leaving traces," the elf said softly. "This person is terrifying."

The goblin girl nodded. "But... I’m grateful."

The human youth clenched his fists. "I don’t care who did it. That person saved us."

They stood there for a long time before quietly dispersing.

None of them dared to speak too loudly about what they had witnessed.

But secrets never stayed secrets for long in the academy.

By the next morning, faint whispers began to circulate within this residential district.

"Did you hear? Hanson’s group disappeared last night."

"I heard they were found dead near one of the teleportation gates."

"Serves them right. Those bastards have been extorting people for months."

"Don’t talk nonsense. Death is normal here. If they died, they were just too weak."

"But something feels strange. Hanson was careful. He usually never acted in places where he could be killed so cleanly."

"Maybe he offended someone he shouldn’t have."

"Heh. That’s the academy for you. If you bully the wrong person, you die."

The news spread slowly, like ripples in still water across the district.

In the Dao Enlightenment Academy, four dead students were nothing worth making a fuss over.

But within this district, people who had suffered under Hanson and his group felt a strange sense of relief.

In hidden corners, whispers of gratitude were exchanged.

"Whoever did it... thank them."

"Those rune oaths... they’re gone. I can finally cultivate freely."

"I don’t have to hand over my mission rewards anymore."

"I don’t have to be afraid of disobeying orders anymore."

Some students remained cautious.

"This means someone powerful is in this district."

"Yeah. Someone who kills without making noise."

"Better not provoke anyone for now."

At the same time, a few more ambitious figures frowned.

"Hanson was trash, but he had backing."

"Someone must have dared to move against that backing."

"Interesting. A new player has appeared."

Within Kailen’s villa, the environment was calm.

The training hall was filled with dense universe energy.

Kailen sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes closed. The special runic formations in the room pulsed faintly, drawing in universe energy from the surroundings and feeding it into his body.

He could faintly sense changes in the district through scanning the emotional expressions on faces through emotional resonance.

Fear.

Relief.

Gratitude.

Curiosity.

Kailen opened his eyes slightly.

"So news is spreading," he muttered.

He did not feel any pride.

Nor did he feel guilt.

To him, those four were nothing more than threats to his life.

it was better to erase them early.

If they had backing, he left no traces behind. Any backing they had could not attack him.

The academy was a place where weakness was a sin.

He had merely adapted faster than others.

Outside, in the district, the name "Hanson" slowly began to fade from conversations.

The academy moved on.

But in the shadows, some students began to take note of the new resident in the district.

The one who had arrived through a special slot.

The one who did not come out of his villa when provoked. He was very strange.

His surroundings suddenly became quieter overnight.

A new, silent danger had appeared.

And though deaths were normal in the Dao Enlightenment Academy, the way Hanson’s group vanished left a faint chill in the hearts of those who paid attention.