Chapter 176: The throne of Karma
Moments earlier, Yang Chen had felt as though he was being seen through, and it didn't take long to realize that Han Zhenya had used her abilities on him.
'What did she see?' he wondered, unnerved by her reaction. If she had used her eyes, then she must have seen his karma.
For her to call him a monster, Yang Chen couldn't help but question how much karma he had accumulated.
'Master, what did you do?' Nyx's surprised voice echoed in his mind as he began to reflect.
Unlike him, Nyx had immediately noticed when Han Zhenya activated her eyes. She had been curious about her reaction, but seeing the fear on Han Zhenya's face, Nyx couldn't help but wonder what kind of crimes her master might have committed.
As far as Nyx remembered, Yang Chen had no criminal record before entering the underworld.
'How would I know?' he responded with a bewildered look.
'Can't you tell that I'm the most confused one here?'
To his knowledge, he hadn't committed any major crimes, certainly not enough to warrant such fear from the former gangster queen. Yang Chen knew he wasn't exactly a saint, but Han Zhenya's reaction seemed wildly exaggerated.
Yang Chen stood up and approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked.
After receiving no response, he grew irritated and bent forward to meet her eyes.
"That's why you shouldn't recklessly peek at someone's karma," he said with a sigh.
Hearing his words, Han Zhenya looked at him in shock and grabbed his shirt collar, asking, "Y-you... how do you know?"
At the same time, she felt a deep sense of shame for revealing her weak side to a stranger—especially a man.
But anyone would be shaken after seeing what she had just witnessed. Her eyes reflected a mix of wonder, disbelief, shock, and even fear as she looked at Yang Chen.
She couldn't comprehend how someone could accumulate so much karma.
'What on earth did he do in his past lives?' she wondered, trying to regain her composure.
It seemed impossible for someone to amass that amount of karma unless they had lived through multiple lifetimes.
The image of the black karmic throne, connected to countless threads of karma, still sent chills down her spine. Each thread was as thick as tree branches, and she couldn't distinguish between positive and negative karma. She also couldn't see where the threads ended or who they were connected to.
Han Zhenya was in utter disbelief.
She had never encountered anything so overwhelming.
She had once taken pride in awakening her eyes and gaining control over her destiny, but after seeing the karmic throne behind Yang Chen, her self-assurance felt laughable.
She wasn't sure if she could survive under the weight of the karma Yang Chen carried, and she was confident that even the queens would feel the same way.
There was still one thing that Han Zhenya didn't get to see. It was the pink of karmic threads hidden within some branches of karma and what's interesting is that one of them was connected to her.
...…
"Before I tell you that, how about you tell me what you saw with those eyes of yours?" Yang Chen asked, grabbing her hands with a smile.
Seeing that he had no intention of revealing anything, Han Zhenya let go of his collar and pushed him away. There was no way she could tell him what she had seen—revealing it would come with consequences she wasn't willing to face.
They both reached a stalemate, neither willing to share their secrets.
Yang Chen sighed, giving up after seeing the stubborn expression on her face.
In the regression and reincarnation novels he had read, this kind of reaction was typical when someone uncovered the protagonist's karma or past lives.
He never thought it would happen to him, especially since he hadn't done anything extraordinary in his past life. He had been an orphan, abandoned by parents he never even saw, living an unremarkable life just trying to survive.
This was why he sympathized with Jin Roulan, who was also an orphan.
Now that he had somehow accumulated so much karma, his goal was clear: get strong enough to sever it and take control of his fate.
Fortunately, he had met Han Zhenya, who possessed the eyes of karma. His plan was simple—leave here and use his eyes to copy her talent.
Having made up his mind, Yang Chen returned to his seat and looked at Han Zhenya with a mischievous smile. The arrogance and contempt she had shown earlier was gone.
"You asked what I wanted with Fu Shi, right?" Yang Chen said with a grin.
Han Zhenya glared at him, waiting for his answer.
"That's... none of your business," he replied, barely suppressing his laughter as her face flushed with anger.
Although he had no idea what kind of connection she and Fu Shi shared, it didn't stop him from wanting to help Fu Shi.
Han Zhenya resisted the urge to punch him, her forehead veins bulging with frustration.
"If you have no business with me, then get out of here," she snapped.
*Cough* Yang Chen quickly stopped laughing as he felt the intense aura radiating from Han Zhenya.
"I'll leave if you promise to help me." Sensing her rising anger, Yang Chen decided it was best to finish this quickly.
"What do you want? Speak clearly." After discovering his karmic burden, Han Zhenya no longer cared about his connection to Tang Bingyin.
"I need you to keep an eye on the newly formed gangs. They're being controlled by Ken Tao, a high-ranking official of the Abyssal Fiends."
"Also, I want you to search for his clone in the surrounding cities and villages."
The mention of the Abyssal Fiends made Han Zhenya's expression darken. Those vicious bastards were partly responsible for her current state.
She had already discovered their involvement through her powers, but she couldn't figure out how they managed to control people from such a great distance. She could see the karma threads of the gang leaders stretching to the northern border, thousands of miles from Thunder Tide City.
'The thread connects to his main body, not the clone?' Han Zhenya was stunned, realizing they had found a way to bypass her eye prowess.
"Oh, and one more thing—I want you to help me when they attack the academy," Yang Chen added, interrupting her thoughts. His casual tone made her clench her teeth in anger. He spoke as if her help was already guaranteed.
'Who does he think he is? Especially that smug look on his face.'
"I'll also help you break the restrictions of your soul contract," Yang Chen continued, his voice pulling her out of her thoughts.
"What did you just say?" she asked, startled.
"I said, I'll help you break the soul contract. What do you say?" He grinned, knowing full well she couldn't resist such an offer.
...…..
A short while later, Yang Chen walked out of the shop carrying a bouquet of roses, having achieved his goal. He had wanted to stay a bit longer and tease the former gangster queen, but she had issued an eviction order after agreeing to help.
As he stepped outside, he spotted Fu Shi standing near the door, looking flustered.
"Were you trying to eavesdrop?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
Fu Shi's face turned crimson with embarrassment after getting caught. "I-I don't know what you're talking about." She averted her gaze, trying to deny his accusation.
"Sure, I'll believe you," Yang Chen said with a smirk, clearly amused by her reaction.
"Let's meet again sometime, just the two of us." He handed her the bouquet, leaning in to whisper in her ear.
Before Fu Shi could react, Yang Chen had already left, heading back toward the academy.
In addition to securing Han Zhenya's help, he had also offered to help Fu Shi recover the origin of her unique physique.
Somehow, he had the feeling that his meeting with Fu Shi wasn't just a coincidence…
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A/N: The illustrations for Zhu Shenyi, Rin Roulan, Zhang Yufei and Fu Ting has been uploaded in the discord! Be sure to check them out!