After they came out, Lin Qiufeng asked Bai Ling, “Xiao Ling, what should we do now?”
“Emm, how about we go shopping, or maybe try taking on a quest to get some practice?” Bai Ling replied tentatively.
“Shopping sounds good, but as for quests, let’s forget it for now.
I haven’t even fully mastered magic yet!” Lin Qiufeng wanted to do quests, but she just didn’t have the ability.
Still, quests could earn some money and even credits.
“Alright, let’s just go shopping then!” Bai Ling also thought it would be too much to drag this girl along for a quest right now.
She’d wait until Lin Qiufeng had mastered magic, maybe learned a magic array or two, and then they could go together.
With her by her side, she wouldn’t have to worry about her getting hurt.
“Let’s go then!” It seemed they’d already forgotten about Qiao Shan, who was still following behind them.
Qiao Shan didn’t say anything, just followed along.
He wanted to speak up, but found he couldn’t get a word in at all, so he just quietly tagged along.
Maybe this wasn’t so bad—one day she’d notice his charm.
In the principal’s office.
“Pharaoh Ang, that little girl has left campus.
She’s one of the students our academy is focusing on, and her abilities are really strong.
She’s a future top-tier mage.” Li Yue spoke earnestly to the elderly man with a long beard in front of him.
“Tch, if you want me to protect her, just say it.
Why beat around the bush?” The old man called Pharaoh looked a bit helpless.
“Hehe, I was just worried you wouldn’t want to go yourself!” Li Yue immediately put on a cheeky grin.
“Sigh, she really is worth nurturing.
That kind of ability only appears once in a thousand years.
Not to mention her powerful magic element, just her A-rank awakening is enough for us to protect her.” Pharaoh sighed first, then agreed with Li Yue.
“Mm, I’m really glad you think so.” Li Yue looked at Pharaoh with hope.
“Alright, alright, I’ll go myself, okay?” Pharaoh couldn’t take it anymore.
Li Yue was great at everything, except he was a bit too jumpy.
“Hehe, then I’ll leave it to you!” Seeing Pharaoh nod in agreement, Li Yue was overjoyed.
Finally, he didn’t have to do it himself, and he didn’t have to worry about her safety anymore.
Bai Ling and Lin Qiufeng, plus their little tagalong, the three of them arrived at the street outside the academy.
Beneath their feet was a street paved with bluestone, lined with all kinds of shops.
The street was bustling with people, vendors shouting everywhere, lively as could be.
Bai Ling didn’t like noisy environments, and in this kind of place she didn’t feel like talking.
She just quietly followed beside Lin Qiufeng, letting the girl drag her around shopping.
Lin Qiufeng, on the other hand, was excited, looking at this and that, but only looking, not buying—she had no money, so window shopping was enough.
Turning a corner, Bai Ling saw a huge shop at the end of the street, much bigger than the others and lavishly decorated—a place for the rich, clearly.
On the signboard above the door were the words “Magic Mall.”
Bai Ling reached out and patted Lin Qiufeng on the shoulder.
When Lin Qiufeng turned to look at her, she pointed at the Magic Mall across the street.
Lin Qiufeng followed her gaze and saw it too.
To Lin Qiufeng, that was a place for rich people.
She was so broke she jingled, so there was no way she could shop there.
Besides, things for mages were even more expensive than normal goods.
“You want to go to the Magic Mall?” Lin Qiufeng looked confused.
Bai Ling nodded.
In the noisy, bustling street, she didn’t want to speak.
Getting confirmation, Lin Qiufeng was a bit stunned.
What did Xiao Ling want to do there? “You want to buy something?” she asked Bai Ling.
Bai Ling nodded again.
“But the stuff in there is really expensive!” Lin Qiufeng felt a bit self-conscious.
With how poor she looked, would she get laughed at if she went in?
“It’s fine.” Bai Ling said her first words since coming out, but she spoke in her usual volume.
In the crowded, noisy street, Lin Qiufeng didn’t hear her at all.
“What did you say?” Bai Ling didn’t answer, just took Lin Qiufeng’s hand and led her toward the Magic Mall.
Inside the Magic Mall, the noise of the street was gone.
It felt like a secret realm, cut off from the outside world.
Looking around, the floor was paved with white jade, covered with a red carpet leading into the shop.
Screens made of fine sandalwood gave off a refreshing fragrance, and the pillars were made of purple wood, carved with dragons and phoenixes, lifelike and vivid.
In the main hall, there were shelves all around, made of the best wood, displaying all kinds of dazzling items—tools, weapons, armor, potions.
There were all sorts of magical items, and even some weapon blanks—just the shape, no magic yet.
These weapon blanks and some refined iron were for inscriptionists, who could carve magic arrays onto the blanks, making them not only boost magic power but also fight alongside mages.
The refined iron was for blacksmiths, who could forge whatever weapon a mage wanted, then hand it to an inscriptionist to add a magic array.
It was a hassle, but weapons were essential for mages in battle.
Of course, some mages were also blacksmiths or inscriptionists themselves, so they could make their own custom weapons.
There were even some monster bones, still carrying the magical energy of the beast.
Weapons made from these bones were tougher than those made from refined iron.
The bones already had a magical aura, and with a magic array, their power would multiply.
Bai Ling came here to see if there was a good weapon for that girl to use—she herself didn’t need one.
“Qiufeng, what kind of weapon do you like?” Bai Ling asked casually.
“Emm, a sword, I guess! Lots of people use swords, so I figure they must be good.
I want to try one too.” Lin Qiufeng thought for a bit before answering.
Alright, that’s pretty random! “Oh!” Just then, someone who looked like a shop assistant walked over.
“Welcome, what can I help you with?” The assistant smiled professionally.
“Do you have any top-quality weapons here?” Bai Ling asked, surprisingly proactive this time.
“We do, but they’re all upstairs.
The ones up there are much more expensive than the ones down here.
Would you like to take a look?” The assistant kept smiling.
Weapons were forged into blanks by blacksmiths, then high-level inscriptionists carved magic arrays onto them to make them true magic weapons.
“Yeah, let’s go take a look.”
“Alright, please follow me upstairs.” The assistant pointed to a staircase in the corner.
“Let’s go!” Bai Ling didn’t know why, but she felt like a different person since coming here, suddenly so proactive.
Lin Qiufeng couldn’t figure her out.
