Even Su Bai was a little baffled by Honedge's sudden reaction.
And when Pei Jingguo suddenly shouted in urgency—a rare show of emotion from him—Su Bai didn't poke fun.
Instead, he responded seriously, "Ask away. If I can answer it, I will."
Pei Jingguo's voice was solemn.
"Ever since I stepped into this Pokémon House… I've felt something wasn't quite right."
"The students from Haicheng No. 1 High who were 'injured'—none of the damage was real."
"The one who got electrocuted just had their hair frizzed up. Not even a scratch."
"Even Xiao Zhang, who got blasted away, didn't suffer any injuries at all."
"Doesn't that mean… we're all being protected by something inside this place?!"
It was clear Pei Jingguo was surprised by his own deduction.
But Su Bai had so many secrets around him, at this point, Pei Jingguo had grown numb to it.
Besides, Su Bai was a friend. So what if he had secrets?
In the world of Awakened beings, there were artifacts and tools that could manipulate reality. Even though such tools were out of reach for student-level Awakened, their existence wasn't unheard of.
"Right!" Liu Yunlan suddenly clapped her hands in realization. "He's right!"
Wang Tao rolled his eyes. "You guys just realized that? I figured it out when that Squirtle blasted me."
That Water Gun?
A single shot from a Piplup in the wild could pierce steel. These seemingly cute Pokémon?
Far more dangerous than they looked.
Su Bai furrowed his brows tightly.
"Yes… you're being protected. But what exactly are you—"
Before he could finish, Pei Jingguo suddenly cut him off.
"Exactly. That's why I'm asking you, Su Bai—please, disable all protective measures on me!"
"This Honedge… it wants to test my worth!"
As if it had understood his words, Honedge—which had begun to float away—suddenly froze.
Then slowly, it turned back around.
Its icy blue eye flickered with a strange glimmer—part amusement, part admiration.
Su Bai remained silent.
As the owner of the Pokémon House, he did indeed have the authority to enable or disable the protective field around customers.
But… was he really going to allow this?
The stories surrounding Honedge were not mere superstition.
And clearly, Honedge wasn't giving him any time to hesitate.
Seeing that Su Bai hadn't acted, the ghost sword's eye shimmered with mocking disdain.
It turned and began to leave again—without hesitation.
"Su Bai! Boss Su!!"
"Please! This is important to me!"
Pei Jingguo, usually the image of calm focus and unwavering discipline, suddenly roared with emotion.
"If I walk away from this today, then even if I lived a hundred lifetimes—I, Pei Jingguo, would never reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship!"
What the hell?!
The crowd, previously whispering among themselves, immediately fell silent.
Wang Tao stared in stunned silence at the contrast between the calm Su Bai and the now sweat-drenched Pei Jingguo.
"Holy crap… he's serious serious now… even the art style's changed…"
He always thought only the dramatic Liu Yunlan would say lines like that.
It was like everyone was sketched in simple lines, and then Pei Jingguo suddenly entered in full JOJO shading with thunder and shadows crackling around him.
It didn't match the scene at all!
And yet, Su Bai didn't joke. Didn't mock. Didn't even blink.
Because he felt it too.
He could feel the sheer determination radiating off Pei Jingguo like heat from a blade straight from the forge.
"…Sigh."
Su Bai sighed and lifted a finger.
"If it means that much to you… then I'll let you have your way."
Pei Jingguo was like a sword himself.
Straight, unyielding, forged by hardship and fire.
Even in this world, there was a saying—a sword has its own heart.
And if this moment crushed the heart of such a genius… Su Bai knew he would never forgive himself.
"At worst… I'll re-enable the protection at the last second."
"So long as there's a flicker of life, there's still hope."
He was prepared for the worst.
Pokémon were far more mysterious than they appeared.
And compared to the eerie power of the Ghost-type, the mythical Ho-Oh—rumored to command life and death itself—was even more miraculous.
The strange exchange between Su Bai and Pei Jingguo had left everyone confused.
Just as someone was about to ask what was going on—
Honedge moved.
Floating silently, it suddenly emitted a burst of chilling aura.
The long, blue ribbon on its hilt danced wildly, and in the blink of an eye, it wrapped itself around its scabbard.
The sword… was drawn.
Its gleaming blade flashed in the light—and with terrifying speed, it lunged straight at Pei Jingguo's forehead!
"AHHH!"
"Pei Jingguo!!"
"Oh god—it's trying to kill him!!"
"He's got no protection! He's going to die!!"
Panic erupted.
No one had expected something like this to actually happen.
And at that distance—at that speed—no one could stop it.
Struck by that kind of attack, there was no way Pei Jingguo could survive.
Even Su Bai held his breath, sweat forming on his brow.
And yet—
Pei Jingguo showed no fear.
Instead, he laughed.
Laughed!
And spread his arms wide.
"Yes!! That's it!!"
"This is what you wanted, right? Then witness my spirit!"
His eyes burned with fervor, like a blazing blade.
In the next instant—
The roaring Honedge suddenly halted, its blade stopping just a hair's width from Pei Jingguo's forehead!
The sharp tip had pierced his skin.
A single drop of crimson trickled down his face.
Then—
Honedge spun in midair, flipping so its hilt pointed toward Pei Jingguo.
"He did it?! Did he… tame it?!"
Even Murong Nan gasped, clutching her chest.
For a moment there, she truly believed that the top swordsman of Haicheng High was about to die at the hands of this terrifying Pokémon.
"He must have succeeded—look, it turned its hilt toward him!"
"That was insane…"
Ding Yue trembled, clutching her newly bonded Nidoran tightly.
She was lucky her own capture had gone smoothly.
Nidoran had practically leapt into her arms, like Eevee had earlier. No terror. No trial. No blood.
Wang Tao wiped the sweat from his brow and was just about to step forward to congratulate Pei Jingguo…
When Su Bai's heavy voice rang out behind them.
"No… it's not over."
"Honedge's true trial… is only just beginning."
Everyone froze.
As Su Bai spoke, Pei Jingguo calmly smiled.
His right hand reached out and firmly grasped Honedge's hilt.
"As expected of Boss Su…"
"You're right. I can feel it—our battle isn't over."
"Come, then! Let's see whether I can tame you…"
"Or whether you'll cut me down!"
As his words echoed through the room, a surge of chilling killing intent exploded from Honedge's blade.
As if it intended to devour Pei Jingguo whole—body and soul!