Chapter 320: 320

Seeing that she had been seen through, Michelle sighed. She knew that trying to convince them she really was Ana would be pointless. Facts were against her. “He knows…” she nodded.

Since she was found out, she might as well tell the truth.

“Then why are you staging as Ana? Where is she?” Marcus found something about Michelle unsettling. Her presence spelled bad news.

Michelle sat down on the stone stool opposite Marcus. “She died. Vincent found her drowned in a lake. I took on Ana’s identity so the culprit would panic, thinking he failed to kill her. Then there would be a higher possibility of him slipping up and revealing himself.”

Marcus’ eyes narrowed. “So Vincent asked you to step in as his daughter? Or did you volunteer? Did you want to avenge Ana, too?”

Michelle shook her head. “I didn’t even know Vincent when he asked for my help. He saw that I had a presence similar to his daughter, so he asked me for help.”

After listening to Michelle, Marcus went silent. Instead, Antony spoke. “Since you didn’t know Vincent nor Ana, you must have made some kind of deal. What did he promise you in exchange for helping him take revenge?”

Michelle looked at Antony, not really wanting to answer that. Saying that she wanted to cultivate in the Ostrich Academy because of the artifact that sped up cultivation would very easily let them guess she had Spirit Soul Blood.

Especially since they already knew that her spirit and blood veins were merged.

Seeing Michelle’s hesitation, Antony lifted a brow. “Is it some kind of secret?” he asked. “You know, when Vincent sent you here, he must have known Marcus and I would figure you out. So he also knew your deal with him wouldn’t be kept a secret.”

Michelle cringed a bit. “I wanted to get into this academy,” she finally said.

Antony was confused. “With your talent, you could easily get in. You are already a Monarch ranker at a young age, so the academy would naturally accept you. Why would you need Vincent’s help to get in?”

Michelle shook her head. “I can’t freely show my spirit energy to others. It would be much more convenient if others viewed me as a cultivation cripple.”

Antony thought about what Michelle said for a while, trying to figure out why being seen as a cripple would be better for her. His thoughts wandered back to the fact that her spirit and blood veins were merged. “But you don’t really possess Spirit Soul Blood. Your merged veins wouldn’t show in the tests. So why pretend to be a cripple?”

He couldn’t understand the situation.

“That’s only partly true…” Michelle summoned her spirit energy.

Antony wasn’t trained in detection, but Marcus’ eyes instantly widened in disbelief. “How is that possible?” he frowned. “When I checked, you clearly didn’t have Spirit Soul Blood. So how come your spirit energy is that of someone possessing it?”

Michelle smiled. “Teacher, do you know how the Heavenly Law views those with Spirit Soul Blood?”

Marcus knew. “It’s not rare for it to mix them up with beasts or monsters.”

Michelle nodded. “And Spirit Soul Blood is something reserved solely for humans. So what do you think will happen if someone born a human, with Spirit Soul Blood, does something the Heavenly Law considers inhuman?”

Marcus frowned. “Nothing much. From the start, the Heavenly Law is viewing them as an inhuman creature.”

“That’s where you are wrong,” Michelle shook her head. “The Heavenly Law will notice the change in the person’s state. It will see that a monster or a beast did something it shouldn’t have been able to.”

With that, Marcus finally understood. “So what are you if not human?” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

A smile spread across Michelle’s lips. “The Heavenly Law rejects my existence. So there’s no answer to what I am. Possessing Life Stones, I should be a monster, but monsters only have one Life Stone. I have three. And monsters are within the understanding of the Heavenly Law.”

Staring at Michelle, Marcus felt that he wanted to understand her existence even more. The only reason he could see her at the moment was because she was doing something that let her be visible. She was pushing herself into the world. But he wanted to reach the point when he would be able to sense her even when she wasn’t doing anything.

Once again, he started entertaining the thought of taking the girl in front of him as his disciple.

When he said it, Michelle raised a brow. “Teacher, I plan to soon kill this identity. If I become your disciple, you will end up greatly ashamed if I go through with the plan.”

Marcus shook his head. “I don’t mean to take you as Ana as my disciple. I mean the real you.”

Michelle understood that much, but she still thought it was reckless. And another thing was bothering her.

She was the daughter of Philip Grace. And Philip Grace was closely related to the 1st academy of the upper realm. They were basically rivals with the Ostrich Academy. It would cause quite some drama if she became the disciple of someone from the Ostrich Academy, the 2nd academy of the upper realm.

But Marcus, nor Antony, who also wanted to take Michelle as his disciple, didn’t know that. In their stubbornness to take Michelle as their disciple, they forgot to even ask her real name.

Well, that could be excused since they were discussing a lot of things, and Michelle’s name was the last thing on their mind.

“Teacher, I can’t become your disciple.” Michelle remained firm, though she really would like to learn a thing or two from the two brothers.

“Why is that?” Marcus seemed like he would soon throw a tantrum. Out of the two brothers, he was clearly the more egocentric one when he wasn’t dabbling in detection.

On the other hand, Antony was always calm, but turned maniac when something involved concealment.

Michelle sighed. It seemed she wouldn’t be able to convince the brothers unless she showed her real identity.

Reaching to her face, she took off the disguise mask.

Instantly, her hair turned silver and her eyes purple. Her height also returned to normal. “Teacher, don’t I resemble someone?” she asked with a tilt of her head.

Narrowing his eyes, Marcus stared at Michelle for a moment before nearly cursing out. “Why do you resemble that Grace bastard’s wife so much?” he exclaimed.

Michelle couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “Teacher, you forgot to ask my name!” she reminded him.

“What is it?” Marcus asked, a bad premonition rising in his chest.

Michelle grinned before bowing her head. “Michelle Grace greets teacher.”

“No! No!” Marcus was clearly unhappy. “You can’t be that bastard’s daughter!”

Michelle raised a brow. “Teacher, do you dislike my father?”

If expressions could kill, Michelle would have dropped dead on the spot. “That bastard’s just way too spiteful!”

Standing at the side, Antony couldn’t bear to watch the way his older brother was acting. Raising his hand, he landed a slap on the back of Marcus’ head. “Marcus lost a bet to your father, so he had to hand over his space library.”

Michelle raised a brow. As far as she knew, back in the Archduchy in the Land of Exile, the library there was clearly not from that place. It was made of materials that couldn’t have been gathered anywhere in the lower or middle realm.

So it was something her father had won in a bet.

“Anyway, teacher,” Michelle decided to bring the conversation back a bit. “Since you now know my father is Philip Grace, you know why I can’t be your disciple.”

Marcus’ eyes narrowed. “Quite the opposite, actually!” he shook his head. “Exactly because of that, you should become my disciple.”

Michelle raised a brow. “Why? Teacher, I doubt you want to show that you are now back on good terms with him. What is it you want to achieve by that?”

Marcus didn’t conceal his intention. “If you become my disciple, I will be able to flaunt it in his face!”

Michelle shook her head. “Teacher, my father is closely related to the 1st academy. I shouldn’t become your disciple.”

“But you are here, at the Ostrich Academy!” Marcus didn’t take no for an answer.

Michelle felt the corner of her mouth twitch. The man in front of her was much older than her, but she felt like punching him. He was like an annoying little brat, refusing to leave her alone. “I’m here as Ana Ostrich, not Michelle Grace.”

Seeing that his brother was going on a stubborn streak, Antony shook his head. Many had folded under that stubbornness.

But Michelle was different. She kept arguing with Marcus, completely forgetting that he was basically her teacher and that she should be respectful.

After a long time, they were both silently sitting on the stone stools, staring at each other.

The staring contest continued until Michelle sensed someone approaching the courtyard. Marcus noticed it too and turned to look at Michelle.

She already had her disguise mask back on, transformed into Ana Ostrich.

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