Leaving the Sea God Pavilion and walking beneath the golden giant tree that shimmered with a faint radiance, the young man moved forward quietly and alone.
Sunlight filtered through gaps in the pale golden leaves, scattering seeds of light on the ground, blooming into tiny white flowers that swayed gently across the emerald grass.
The young man could vaguely recall that day. It seemed to have been during a "stance-expressing" meeting. He had stepped out alone, standing beneath a large apple tree, wondering if an apple might fall on his head to give him sudden enlightenment. At that moment, a girl had abruptly entered his world and asked:
"If such a big apple falls on you, it'll knock you stupid. If you do get stupid, come find me,I study the brain. (＞＜)☆"
Chen Fu remembered it clearly: the hottest day of summer, at two fifty-one in the afternoon. The sky was a pure, translucent blue, with a few fluffy cotton-like clouds drifting about. On the lush branches of the apple tree perched a pair of snowy fat sparrows huddling together for shade; he even remembered one of them scooting aside in distaste, only for the other to insist on squeezing closer.
He remembered the girl's appearance…
"Chen Fu, what are you daydreaming about?"
Like a lively flame, an energetic girl full of youthful vigor waved her hand vigorously in front of his eyes.
He reached out and caught the hand she was waving. According to its preset protocols, Blueveil would never issue warnings regarding the Scarlet Phoenix. Looking at Ma Xiaotao, Chen Fu's eyes showed a trace of puzzlement.
Her interruption caused his memories to overlap. For a moment, he could no longer recall Jiang Nan's face.
Forget it. Remembering the good was enough; forgetting the unpleasant for now was also fine. After all, that person always said she approached him for "brain research material."
Returning to himself, Chen Fu took a good look at Ma Xiaotao. In her clear orange eyes, he saw his own reflection.
"It's nothing. I just remembered some things from the past."
Rustle, rustle…
A breeze stirred the rich foliage of the giant tree, and mottled glimmers of light pierced through the layers of leaves, draping the girl in a veil of pale gold. Her long, smooth, red hair was blown into the air like a dandelion scattering into a sky full of stars.
"Walk a lap around Sea God Lake with me."
Chen Fu lifted his hand to smooth her wind-tousled hair. His fingertip brushed her flushed cheek as he tucked her hair behind her ear.
He watched as the girl's ears turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye, and he couldn't help pinching her pretty cheeks with a smile.
Evil Fire Phoenix? No. This girl would always be the purest holy phoenix,past, present, and future.
As for the deeds of that famous ancestor of the Ma family,let those remain exclusive to history.
"Okay!"
The girl joyfully grabbed Chen Fu's hand. The phoenix wings behind her spread open, ready to take him for a flight.
Element Suppression.
Blueveil's azure data halo flickered, dissolving the fiery wings on Ma Xiaotao's back.
"We're not in a hurry. Let's just walk."
The combined form of the Technological Throne and the data halo,Blueveil,was beginning to affect reality more and more clearly.
"Fine!"
Feeling the sudden thinning of fire elements in the air and the forced dissolution of her wings, Ma Xiaotao grew annoyed and stomped hard on Chen Fu's shoe, leaving a mark before pulling him toward the lake.
The smooth, mirror-like surface of the lake did not ripple under the girl's feet.
She seemed to have discovered something fun. Letting go of his hand, she began sliding across the lake's surface,smooth as a floor,changing speed at random. As she sped up, small ripples finally appeared.
Like a pebble thrown into a mirror-still lake, she kicked up layers of spreading rings.
Chen Fu walked quietly behind her, feeling the sudden spike in Blueveil's computations. A long-lost sense of peace rose within him.
How long had it been? Perhaps eighteen years. After all, he was only eighteen in this life.
Under the clear sunlight, the girl spread her wings and seemed to dance between fire and water. Hazy mist wrapped around her like a thin veil, while the gentle light colored her dress with shimmering hues.
Graceful as a startled swan? Elegant as a swimming dragon?
Maybe, perhaps, probably, possibly.
"Does it look good?"
"…Where did you learn to dance?"
After tearing through Blueveil's database in three seconds, Chen Fu still couldn't find a word that matched what he wanted to express.
"I asked you if it looks good or not!"
The girl grew slightly annoyed at his evasive answer.
He smiled for no reason. This was the Ma Xiaotao he knew.
"It looks good."
Chen Fu gave an answer filled with conviction.
Ma Xiaotao rolled her eyes at him. She was not someone who could be easily discouraged!
Watching the girl stomp away in anger again, a faint smile appeared in Chen Fu's ink-dark eyes.
This once fierce, cultivation-obsessed girl had "fallen." She had begun "wasting time" learning everything related to beauty.
"Blueveil, is she pretty?"
Based on the current definitions of beauty stored in the database, she is a very pretty girl.
"I see…"
Walking quietly behind Ma Xiaotao, Chen Fu finally understood.
Pretty or not didn't matter. What mattered was how much space someone occupied in your life.
…
"Yuhao, hurry up! Let's go check out the big project over at Sea God Lake!"
"That place is off-limits now! If we get caught, we'll be expelled!"
The boy behind wanted to stop, but he couldn't pull back Wang Dong, who was running ahead.
"Relax. As long as we don't cross the warning line, it's fine. You guys are all just repeating rumors. You don't know anything."
Wang Dong shared the intel he'd gotten with Huo Yuhao,intel he had paid a great price to obtain!
Everyone in the world knew Shrek Academy was doing a massive project, especially its students. But so many had been expelled that most avoided the lake, especially new students.
"I asked Ning Tian. As long as you don't cross the line, you can watch as much as you want."
Ning Tian had joined the academy with them, but she was a soul-tool teacher while they were students.
As for Lin Pavilion,sorry, the teachers there were part-time. Everything was training and cultivation.
Huo Yuhao doubted intel obtained through Wang Dong's charm, but with Ning Tian's name attached, he felt it was probably reliable.
"We can take a look. This city feels oppressive. All the fluctuations seem to be coming from up ahead."
A voice echoed quietly in his mind. Huo Yuhao remained expressionless, but inside, he was shocked.
Back when he entered the outskirts of the city, Brother Tianmeng had already urged him to leave immediately and avoid heading into the city. But where could he go? He had only been able to follow Sister Xiaoya into Shrek Academy.
Since entering the academy, Tianmeng had stayed extremely low-key. Their communication was short and infrequent.
Finally, after being pestered with endless questions like a curious child, Tianmeng spent an entire day, speaking intermittently, to deliver one complete message:
"A vast net covers the entire sky above this city. At its core lies a cold, unfathomable, indescribable demon that feeds on essence and breath!"
"And use the battle soul device as little as possible!"
Huo Yuhao carried a first-generation battle soul device, a gift from Tang Ya, perfectly compatible with his Spirit Eyes martial soul and his spirit skills.
His spirit skills took on much of the computational load of the soul-core, letting the device simply reference the beginner knowledge base using the results his spirit skills provided,massively improving efficiency.
In Huo Yuhao's hands, the same device performed at least five times better.
It was practically tailor-made for him. And now he was being told not to use it?
So Tianmeng only asked him to limit its use until they understood the soul-core's owner and intentions.
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