Return Of The SSS-Class Hunter-Chapter 138: A Name

For several long seconds, Emma, Eva, Henry, and Art could only stare at Derek. Their minds were still trying to process what they had just heard.

They had passed. Not barely. Not by luck.

They had actually made it into the top five teams.

After that insane stunt Derek had pulled… they still passed. It felt unreal to the highest possible limit.

"This…" Henry swallowed. "This is… this is crazy…" He looked at Derek like he was looking at a monster. "H... how?"

Derek glanced at the four of them, then let out a small sigh. "First," he said calmly, "I knocked you all out because if you stayed conscious, you would've gotten seriously hurt."

Emma opened her mouth to protest, but Derek continued. "That battlefield was chaotic. Everyone was desperate. And in that kind of situation, if any of you were caught in a crossfire, there was no way you could remain fit for the next trials."

Their expressions stiffened a bit.

"Second," Derek went on, "once you were out, I became the only target."

Art frowned. "Isn't that… worse?"

"No," Derek said. "It's better." He raised a hand slightly. There were many. I was one. But that also meant they were divided. No one wanted to be the first to charge. No one wanted to be the one who took the risk."

His eyes flickered with a faint arc of lightning.

"With my speed and Lightning Pace, I could decide when to engage and when to retreat. I controlled the tempo."

Henry's mouth slowly fell open. "So you… You just kept running and continued taking out one at a time?"

"More or less," Derek said.

Eva hesitated. "But… there were still too many of them…"

"At the end," Derek said calmly, "I didn't even have to fight them all."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked.

Derek's lips curved slightly. "The ones who were left at the end… their egos were too big."

He shrugged. "They all wanted to fight one-on-one. And by the end, I was the only one left standing."

Silence filled that space again.

Henry finally broke it. "That's… that's insane…"

Emma looked at him for a long moment. Then she suddenly punched his shoulder.

"Idiot," she said, her voice trembling. "You could've at least told us beforehand…"

But there was no real anger in her eyes anymore. Only lingering shock… and something close to awe.

Meanwhile…

High above, in the main viewing area reserved for the academy's upper echelons, the headmistress was staring at the arena with narrowed eyes.

Her curiosity had finally reached its limit. She turned to the instructor beside her. "Go. Call Yami."

The instructor nodded and immediately left.

Yami, who was resting in another section, noticed the approaching instructor before the man even reached him.

He stood up with a small, helpless chuckle.

"Let me guess," Yami said. "The headmistress called for me?"

The instructor stopped in front of him, his expression clearly displeased. "So you knew exactly what you were doing?" the instructor said coldly. "Do you think this is funny?"

Yami raised an eyebrow.

"You should have informed the headmistress about Derek long ago," the instructor continued. "What if he faced real danger? He could've ended up in a life-threatening situation!"

"I had my reasons," Yami replied calmly.

"Whatever your reasons are," the instructor said, turning around, "you can explain them yourself."

He started walking back. Yami followed behind him, his expression no longer fully relaxed.

Cultivators were always neglected. That was the truth. But Derek's talent… his growth… it was already far beyond what could be ignored.

The instructor couldn't help but think that if Derek's existence had been reported earlier, he would've received more protection. More resources. More safety.

What he didn't know was that even Yami himself had never expected Derek's progress to explode like this.

Soon, they arrived before the headmistress.

Yami bowed deeply. "Good afternoon, Master."

"Yami, you punk," the headmistress said with a smile. "What were you planning, hiding that boy from me?"

"It's not like that, Master," Yami said quickly. "When I first learned about him, I was also shocked. But at that time, his level wasn't high enough to warrant reporting directly to you. So I tried to help him in my own way. Gave him what I could."

He hesitated for a moment. "But the speed at which he improved…" Yami shook his head. "Even I was left stunned."

The headmistress looked at him. "Then why keep hiding him?"

Yami fell silent. Then he leaned closer and whispered into her ear.

As she continued to listen...

Her playful expression vanished. Her eyes narrowed sharply. "Seriously!? You aren't joking with me, right?" she asked slowly.

Yami nodded.

The air around them seemed to grow heavier.

While Yami was busy explaining the headmistress....

In the gallery, the discussions were still raging.

It was as if everyone had just witnessed a legend being born. Or as if they had been visualizing a mythical story.

"That boy will definitely take first place this time."

"Yeah. Damn it… which legacy family is he from? His surname is Hale, right?"

Even the visiting family heads were no longer calm.

Among them, a middle-aged man with a well-groomed mustache chuckled softly.

William Bernard.

Head of the Bernard family, one of the legacy families.

"That boy is impressive," he said with a grin. "And if I'm not mistaken, he's not from any legacy family. Not even from the three Titan families."

His wife, who was sitting beside him, looked surprised. "Are you sure? That doesn't sound possible."

William laughed. "Legends never follow common rules. He might be from an ordinary family. He might just be a cultivator. But his existence alone is already a treasure. If he's given the chance, he won't just shine. He'll make everyone else's progress look pathetic."

His eyes gleamed. "If we can tie him to our family… we could rise to the top. Maybe even become a Titan family."

His wife frowned. "You're not thinking of… adopting him, are you?"

"Pft!" William laughed. "That would look terrible. He's not an orphan."

"Then what?" she asked. "How do you plan to tie him to us?"

William's smile widened. "What if we marry him to our daughter, Linda?"

His wife's eyes widened. "Are you insane? He's at least five years younger than her! And they're still kids!"

William waved his hand dismissively. "What does age matter in cultivation? It's just a number. Yes, they're too young to talk about marriage now. But don't you understand? He's a once-in-a-lifetime treasure. A rare diamond. Do you think other families will wait? No. They'll all think of ways to secure him."

His gaze turned sharp. "We can't afford to be slow."

His wife fell silent and looked toward the arena. Her eyes followed the boy.... The talk of the show... A name that was about to carve itself in the pages of history.

Derek Hale.