CH 40

Chapter 40

Long Shiyan inclined her head and glanced at Zi Linglong. She knew that Zi Linglong was worried, so she gently grabbed her hand and silently comforted her as Zi Linglong clenched her hand tightly in return.

“This little Long girl is pretty good. Unexpectedly, she possesses the strength of a legendary swordsman or magician. Although she barely grazes the legendary realm, she possesses the strength of a Sky realm fighter. She’s already pretty good.” The middle-aged man could not help but sigh as he inspected her battle scenes, which have been repeated several times.

“But, I almost lost.”

The middle-aged man smiled faintly and continued, “Very good, that on-the-spot counter is a skill that a powerful warrior must master. It is a great survival weapon for both magicians and swordsmen. With this, you can avoid being fatally injured. By surviving under their pursuit, you were able to utilize and master your powerful abilities. The position as the head of the group is rightfully yours, and the title isn’t just for show. But now, I believe that you might have some lingering fears spawned from this incident?”

“Yeah, at the time, I thought I wouldn’t be able to survive.”

“Hahaha, you’re right.”

“It’s very good.” The white-haired old man nodded gently, stroking his beard with one hand and narrowing his eyes. “But this could also be considered fortunate since you were able to meet someone who could save you.” Whether it was good or bad luck, she was able to benefit from this incident.

Long Shiyan nodded and continued to recount her experiences, but she did not reveal the identity of the Sword Saint Clifford. She generally talked about some true yet negligible events.

Zi Linglong was silent. She waited for Long Shiyan to begin talking about when she encountered her teammates before snapping back to reality. When Long Shiyan reached that point, they both gradually explained what happened after their re-encounter. Finally, after finishing the story, they completed their mission.

“Good, your mission should end here. Now, you both should go help the other students. The news about the appointment of your official position will be notified to the entire school.” After the middle-aged man’s words, Long Shiyan pulled Zi Linglong, who had been silent for a while, out of the earthen house as they disappeared at the end of the door.

The white-haired old man looked at the direction of their departure. He smiled and narrowed his eyes, nonchalantly saying, “You, how do you feel about this little girl?”

The middle-aged man spoke with a deep voice, “Indeed, it’s not bad to have this kind of life and death awareness. I think there is absolutely no stronger fighting awareness among the students of the entire Holy Spirit Magic School.” He paused and resumed, “This little girl is formidable!”

“Formidable?” The old man smiled. “Is that your evaluation of her?”

“Her physique is very special; it can be said that it’s unheard of. I have checked many ancient collections and asked many old folks like you. But even now, I still draw up a blank.” The middle-aged man gently shook his head and sighed. “It’s always dangerous if people cannot grasp the unknown.”

“And…” He frowned and said in a low voice, “The person beside her is likewise very peculiar. You and I have both never seen anyone that had similar eyes to Zi Linglong’s blood-red eyes. I’m not sure if leaving these two together is a good idea or not.”

“What are you going to do next?”

The middle-aged man fell silent.

“If you can’t make up your mind, you can let me arrange it.”

“What are you going to do?” The middle-aged man exchanged gazes with the old man.

“Hehe, you always say that it’s dangerous, but you still can’t bear to give her to me.” The old man sighed and drank a cup of tea before continuing, “This world will always be chaotic, and the people who will change the future generations will soon be born. If you or I destroy our ancestors’ foundations, then it will truly be a reprehensible sin.”

The middle-aged man grew silent.

“I don’t think that you or anyone else could truly destroy the school,” he said.

“The Endless Abyss is about to open, are you sure we should still remain here?”

The middle-aged man’s face froze.

“We have given up three consecutive opportunities to enter the Endless Abyss, and this time, do you intend to choose the school once again?” The white-haired old man paused. “The beastman high priest predicted that something that can defy the natural order of the world will come, and its appearance will change the structure of our entire continent. It can even affect us. Whether this will be a disaster or blessing, only time can tell. I, nevertheless, still prefer to settle whatever that happens in the most peaceful and safest way possible.” When he said this, a flash of light flickered within his eyes.

The middle-aged frowned and asked,  “How can you be sure that this girl is the so-called heaven defier?”

“I can’t be sure.”

“…in that case, you should go watch over them.”

The old man shook his head and said in a deep voice, “Although I wasn’t sure before, after this assessment, the idea that she is the one who will defy the natural order is already plausible. The fact that she can defy the natural order of this world will cause turmoil. A few days ago, she even managed to trigger a rare ant wave and was attacked by a high-level magical beast. This is already proof that she is the heaven defier.

With her talent and fighting sense, if she were to grow up, I am afraid that you and I won’t be her only opponents.”

“Old Codger, I understand what you are saying.” The middle-aged man raised his hand to stop him. “Her nature is not bad, and she is dedicated to her work. I think it is necessary to continue observing more.”

“It is obvious that she is very dangerous, but you still choose to wait. Why?”

“If she isn’t a bad person, she might prove to be beneficial to us.”

The old man was silent.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“What you said makes sense, but rather than sitting and waiting for death, I think we are better off striking first and gaining the upper hand.”

“You…what are you thinking?”

……

Long Shiyan took Zi Linglong as they walked quickly to the base of the Alchemy Research Society. She thought about how the affairs regarding Coron could not be easily solved. But unexpectedly, the three men played an important role by taking on the task.

In this way, they also saved her the trouble of dealing with the matter.

The next task was to help other students, but because Long Shiyan’s current combat power wasn’t high, she planned to rest for now and begin tomorrow.

As a leader of the Student Holy Spirit Group, Long Shiyan still retained a certain amount of authority, so her residence was pretty good. Although there were only earthen houses in the village, there was quite a lot of furniture in hers despite how she was living alone.

Unlike others, she had to sleep.

At night, the air in the jungle cooled down. Long Shiyan closed her eyes and fell asleep on the bed. Zi Linglong also ran to her, laid beside her, and fell asleep as well. System Qian Qian flew up and hurled herself onto Long Shiyan’s face.

“Is anything the matter?”

“Yes, there was a major event.”

“We need to alter our plans.”

“Why?” Long Shiyan opened her eyes but did not speak at all. Zi Linglong fell into a deep sleep as System Qian Qian laid down on the pit of Long Shiyan’s stomach.

“How should I put it, we are in a very dangerous situation right now. If you can’t succeed, then you might die. I don’t know why. Recently, your destiny has become worse and worse. I thought it was normal, but now there are signs that indicate that something is not alright.” System Qian Qian transmitted.

Long Shiyan frowned.

Destiny. Long Shiyan certainly did not completely understand this illusory concept, but she often heard about it from the system’s mouth. She knew too little about it. To put it bluntly, it was related to having fortune and misfortune.

Usually, this kind of thing was related to Long Aotian. This time it was unexpectedly related to herself. Her destiny was getting worse. Was she getting more and more feeble?

“You mean someone wants to get rid of me?”

“Yes, and they aren’t ordinary people. One is your superior, Moss, Head of the Holy Spirit Group, and the other is the dean of the Holy Spirit Magic School,” System Qian Qian said with a grave expression.

Long Shiyan’s expression changed greatly.

These two people could simply kill her with a single finger. But Long Shiyan never expected for them to be targeting her.

“When you spoke with them, I felt some killing intent. Later, I went to check on them. I secretly hid and overheard them. Only then did I know their true intentions.” System Qian Qian narrated her secret eavesdropping experience in detail.

After listening to her, Long Shiyan became completely silent.

She originally wanted to rely on the Holy Spirit Magic School, but she did not expect this outcome. Didn’t she work hard enough for them in the past few years? If these two people really wanted to kill her, how could she survive?

“When there’s life, then there is hope. The host should flee to the Beastman Empire with Zi Linglong. Once your strength increases, we can come back to kill them,” System Qian Qian suggested.

Long Shiyan took a deep breath and said, “Don’t worry, they didn’t plan to kill me, and I am not a bad person. If I pass their so-called test, then there should be no problem.”

“Host…” System Qian Qian wanted to say something but hesitated.

Long Shiyan looked at her appearance, and her heart could not help but sink. “Are you going to tell me that I really am the so-called heaven defier?”

“Host is really smart!”

Long Shiyan: “…”

“Host, you entered the world (book) to destroy the original story. Now, you will certainly be subjected to the order of this world’s rules. At first, it was okay since you didn’t alter much of the plot but now that you entered the Holy Spirit Magic School, you modified too much of the fate of mankind. These so-called world’s rules will try to constrain your actions,” System Qian Qian profoundly explained.

“Wait,” Long Shiyan raised her hand to stop her from speaking, “Long Aotian also entered this world, causing this world’s rules to change. How come he’s fine but I’m not?”

System Qian Qian said, “Long Aotian is the protagonist of this world. The rules of the world will naturally defend him. How should I put it? Any world that Long Aotian crosses into would normally make the rules of the world naturally exclude him. However, his destiny is too formidable and whichever world he enters will become his. In this world, it’s you who had crossed into Long Aotian’s world as a foreign entity. The rules of the world will, of course, go against you. You should also understand that the rules of the world will be changed by Long Aotian’s protagonist halo.”

Long Shiyan fell silent, and after half a sigh, she finally digested the system’s words. “You mean because I was trying to destroy the plot, Long Aotian’s protagonist halo had begun to counter-attack? Basically, his halo can make the whole world my enemy, correct?”

“The biggest problem is precisely that. You can modify the story during the blank period of the plot, which was created by his secluded cultivation. However, since your actions will have an impact on his subsequent growth, the world’s rules will naturally try to obstruct you.” System Qian Qian paused and said, “So you may not understand this, but you have to understand that the prophecy of the beastman high priest stated that someone with an aptitude that defies the natural order will appear. So, unknowingly, your unlucky constitution will naturally attract the attention of others.”

“The rules of the world will not kill you. After all, it’s also restricted by laws and other reasons. Furthermore, there is my existence. So, the world’s rules will only help him and bring disaster to you, or rather, it should hinder you to protect his halo.”

“Therefore, it can’t be helped that you will be the only one affected by the rules.”