In the end, Qu Weichen still didn’t get to go up.
Even though she was ready to fight the giantkin, the giantkin classmate from Class Seven clearly didn’t want to give her the chance.
By the time Teacher Xu finally strolled in and the battle for the training field was over, Qu Weichen still hadn’t gotten a single fight in.
Of course, there was some good news—she now knew most of her classmates’ names, and had interacted with them while fighting for a spot, so she’d at least gotten to know them a little.
Just as Qu Weichen was settling into her new life at the academy, something ridiculous happened again in Uweino City.
He Muman was taken home by that general—embarrassing, sure, but she was still studying at the academy, and it seemed like the whole thing had blown over.
Until the day the Warden Hall’s head took people out of the city to hunt monsters.
Before they’d even left Uweino, the son of General Pingyuan—He Muman’s brother—suddenly lost his mind and stopped the hunting convoy right in front of everyone.
What happened next was so absurd it felt like a dream.
This “brother” actually stood at the city gate, pointed at the Warden Hall’s head, and started cursing him out with the filthiest language imaginable.
The head didn’t have his people take him down right away, but waited until he’d finished his rant before having him dragged off to the Warden Hall’s prison.
The news spread like wildfire.
People wondered if General Pingyuan had gone mad, or if it was all just a show, or even if the Warden Hall had made the whole thing up.
But plenty of people had seen it happen, so it couldn’t have been faked.
As for the general’s eldest son who got locked up, of course General Pingyuan had to grit his teeth and take him home.
Outside the academy, the news was everywhere, but inside, Qu Weichen’s life was as regular as ever.
She was basically “deaf to the world outside her window”—training, theory class, lunch break, practical class, more training, sleep.
Her routine couldn’t have been more regular, and Tu Weierxi was amazed.
As for the rumors about General Pingyuan’s whole family going crazy, Qu Weichen had heard them too, but when she thought about how He Muman’s group had tried to intimidate her, she figured it was understandable if the whole family was like that.
But if that was really the case, how did the general even get his job? She was more inclined to think the whole thing was orchestrated by the Warden Hall’s head.
The only real effect this news had on her academy life was that some people looked at her with obvious dislike and tried to trip her up, but her peers couldn’t beat her, and the upperclassmen didn’t dare challenge her openly.
Sparring matches? Qu Weichen wasn’t stupid—she focused on her training and refused all challenges from higher levels.
If nothing else, she could now even practice her breathing techniques while holding a horse stance during theory class, all while taking notes and absorbing knowledge—multitasking without a hitch.
Her attitude even made Tu Weierxi feel a bit of a crisis, and she started taking training seriously too.
“Why are you working so hard?”
“Being a first-rank martial artist at fourteen isn’t falling behind! Even the upperclassmen are about the same as you.” Tu Weierxi knew Qu Weichen had had it rough before, but she still couldn’t really understand.
It was like how she could dream of guarding the passage, but she’d never seen real slaughter or an undead invasion.
“I’m way behind.” Qu Weichen didn’t explain much.
“Anyway, do you still want my notes? Let’s go to the cafeteria and get some fried chicken?”
“Yes!” Tu Weierxi agreed right away and didn’t bring up the previous topic again.
She carefully put away Qu Weichen’s notes and happily went to the cafeteria with her.
……
Days passed like this, and all the news from Uweino finally reached the imperial capital.
While many people were secretly guessing what the Third Prince would do, they found that the prince didn’t make any moves at all.
At least, not on the surface.
……
“That’s enough, isn’t it?”
No one knew how the man got into the Warden Hall, and no one saw his movements.
In the blink of an eye, the sofa by the desk sank down, and the man lounged back lazily, frowning slightly.
“Put away your useless tricks.”
The head of the hall kept reading, wisps of steam rising from the tea at her hand.
Someone suddenly appearing in her room didn’t seem to affect her at all.
“Isn’t this just a little gift in return? Compared to the big present you gave me, this is nothing.
The real gift hasn’t even arrived yet.”
“……” The man pressed his tongue to his back teeth, clearly holding back.
“It’s not time for war yet.
Why tear things up with me now?”
“Tear things up?” The head of the hall snorted, gently closed her book, leaned back, and took a sip of tea.
“I just don’t like conquest.
So, do you think I’m all talk? Can’t wait to test my strength?”
“Fine, didn’t I just let you try? I can always change my face again, but your identity won’t be so easy to replace, will it?” Her tone was gentle and soft, the smile never leaving her lips.
She set her teacup down lightly.
“Idiot.”
The man’s face darkened instantly, his eyes bloodshot, veins bulging on the back of his hand—he looked like a beast about to eat someone.
But after a few breaths, it all faded away like the tide.
His expression went cold.
“Name your price.”
“Uweino is my turf.” The head of the hall smiled.
“Since you chose the imperial palace, don’t stretch your hand so far.”
“Keep your identity covered.” She hinted meaningfully, then finally opened a drawer and took out a map, as if she’d prepared it long ago, and handed it over.
“The space at Beastcall Mountain is about to stabilize.
Pull your people out.”
“Ha.” The man sneered, wanting to mock her for being so greedy, but after a moment’s thought, he took the map anyway.
“Even if I pull out, others will still go.”
“Then don’t trouble yourself about it.”
Once the man vanished into thin air, the head of the hall chuckled, tapping her finger on the table, her light brown eyes unfocused, as if plotting something new.
So, after that day, Qu Weichen’s academy life suddenly became peaceful.
Those people who always tried to cause trouble but kept making fools of themselves seemed to wake up all at once and stopped doing those things.
“What’s going on? Did the Warden Hall do something big lately?” Back in the dorm that day, Qu Weichen finished washing up and flopped onto her bed, suddenly puzzled.
Her life was regular, but ever since He Muman’s incident, her schedule had been controlled by others—whether in the cafeteria or the training ground, someone would always come over to glare at her or bump into her on purpose.
But suddenly, all those people started acting normal.
Qu Weichen had asked around—some were nobles, some were trying to curry favor with nobles, all of them hoping to slap her down to please someone else.
Too bad none of them succeeded.
She thought she’d have to deal with this mess until next year—she’d planned to drag them all onto the sparring stage once her basics were solid.
But unexpectedly, those people just started acting normal.
She even checked, and Tu Weierxi helped her ask around, but it seemed like they’d all suddenly come to their senses, and even their fear of the Warden Hall had come rushing back.
Too weird.
Qu Weichen couldn’t help but ask, “Since I can have a system bound to me, could other people have one too?”
[……Systems can sense each other, and each system has its own mission.
Usually, they won’t be on the same plane.] Number Nine answered.
It was the Necromancer Growth System, and usually its kind of system would take over an entire plane, never cooperating with other systems.
Otherwise, if you’re bound to a Necromancer Growth system, someone else has a Dragon Protagonist system, and another has a Mage God system—where would all the resources come from? Wouldn’t that just be competition? Unless—
[Unless it’s a system from another faction, but they’re not our match.] Number Nine recalled the time it encountered that “Heartthrob System” and couldn’t help but sneer.
Just a simple “charm aura” and it dares call itself a system? How embarrassing.
Qu Weichen let go of that thought and started thinking about today’s history lesson.
They’d learned about the Abyssal Passage—the one Tu Weierxi wanted to guard.
“Do you think I have a chance to guard the passage?” As soon as she asked, Qu Weichen felt a little down.
Even if she could go, she’d probably only be there as a martial artist.
[The Warden Hall doesn’t have a passage to guard.
Those are usually in the center of each race’s territory, guarded by their own people.
The human passage is in the imperial capital.] It was the most dangerous place, but also the most central and safest.
There weren’t many passages now, but there were places with spatial chaos that might form new Abyssal Passages in the future, though it wasn’t guaranteed.
The space might just stay chaotic and eventually turn to nothing, never stabilizing.
There’s one at the elves, one at Dragon Island, one at the imperial capital, and one at the beastkin grasslands.
Only four passages have appeared so far.
But all the places with spatial chaos are guarded by various races, and the abyss should be the same.
After all, when these passages were stable back then, the abyssal undead broke through and slaughtered at will, giving the whole Floating Continent a bloody lesson.
[Instead of worrying about the future, you should think about how to stop your elf friend from trying to teach you magic.] Number Nine said bluntly.
[Even though your talent is locked, you can still learn, and you can chant and cast, but what comes out won’t be magic—it’ll be an explosion.
The kind that blows you up with it.]
Qu Weichen: “……”
Yeah, ever since she’d played up her uselessness in magic class, the thoughtful and enthusiastic Tu Weierxi suddenly developed a sense of mission.
Just thinking about all the magic tips and elemental communication notes Tu Weierxi had written for her, Qu Weichen had no idea what to do.
Especially since Tu Weierxi actually said she wanted to tutor her! Qu Weichen tried to scare her off by saying she trained every morning, but after staring at her in shock and silence for a long time, Tu Weierxi actually insisted on training with her—and even wanted to bring her elf girlfriends along.
An elf who barely made it to class at 7:30 was actually willing to get up at five to run laps with her? Just thinking about it gave Qu Weichen a headache.
She wanted to work hard, sure, but she didn’t want to drag her friends into it too.
