CH 113

Chapter 113: He's Really Lucky

"By the way, Aze, what is the inter school competition you mentioned earlier?" Xiao Qingyang said he suddenly remembered what Long Jingze had said in the office.

"It's an inter school exchange competition organized between major universities in the Empire and the Federation. Its main purpose is to promote interaction and foster relationships among students from different universities," explained Long Jingze.

Indeed, the initial purpose of the inter school competition was to facilitate mutual understanding and exchange among students from various universities. However, it gradually evolved into a stage for each university to showcase their abilities.

Every edition of the inter school competition is highly regarded by each university, especially the one that wins the championship. The following three years will see a surge in admissions, and the victorious university can proudly hold its head high when facing other institutions.

Hence, every university attaches great importance to the inter school competition.

Naturally, the most formidable university in the Empire was their Royal Military Academy, while on the Federation's side, it was the Federation Military University.

Almost every edition of the inter school competition produced a champion from one of these two institutions, with comparable strengths and an equal number of victories.

In the previous edition, the championship was claimed by the Federation Military University as Long Jingze didn't lead the team. That was why the teachers were extremely surprised and excited when Long Jingze expressed his intention to participate in this edition.

If Long Jingze lead the team this time, the championship in this competition was practically assured.

"Aze, are you going to participate?" Xiao Qingyang asked. He remembered that Aze mentioned training for this competition in the office earlier.

"Do you want to participate?" Long Jingze asked Xiao Qingyang.

If Yangyang wanted to participate, he would naturally accompany him. If Yangyang was unwilling, then he would have to consider it. As for what he said to the teacher in the office earlier, it was just a temporary excuse.

"It sounds interesting, but there will probably be many talented individuals participating. I'm not sure if my physique will recover before the competition," Xiao Qingyang said, feeling somewhat down.

In reality, Xiao Qingyang was quite interested in a contest of this nature, where strong individuals compete. However, his strength hadn't fully recovered yet, so if he could recover before the competition, he would definitely participate.

"As long as you want to participate, I'll accompany you," Long Jingze said earnestly, looking at Xiao Qingyang.

Under Long Jingze's gaze, Xiao Qingyang suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, and his heart rate began to accelerate, as if it wanted to jump out.

It's strange. Lately, the sudden acceleration of my heart rate and the palpitations have become more frequent, especially when Aze is around. What's happening to me? Am I sick? Xiao Qingyang was puzzled, but he didn't seek help. 

The main reason was that whenever he saw Long Jingze, his heart couldn't help but race, and he felt nervous, making it impossible to express the problem clearly.

"I-I don't know either. I still have some potions to refine. I-I'll go first," Xiao Qingyang nervously stammered and hurriedly ran towards the dormitory.

Long Jingze continued to gaze deeply at Xiao Qingyang's retreating figure until he disappeared from sight before returning his attention.

Back in the dormitory, Xiao Qingyang couldn't calm his mind enough to continue refining potions. Eventually, with a downturned face, he gave up and threw himself onto the bed, not thinking about anything.

But sometimes thoughts are unpredictable. The more you try not to think about something, the more it occupies your mind. Images related to that person kept appearing in his mind.

From the day he met Long Jingze until now, all those moments replayed in his mind. And it was only now that Xiao Qingyang realized they had only known each other for a few months, yet the feeling of being together felt like they had known each other for a long, long time.

Xiao Qingyang could hardly imagine a scenario where Long Jingze would no longer be by his side. He wanted to be with him constantly, not because Long Jingze was a "demon cultivator" who made him feel accompanied in a strange world, but simply because Long Jingze was Long Jingze.

...

"Qingyang, Qingyang, are you there?" The door was knocked, and Xiao Qingyang, lying on the bed, groggily woke up, his head still a bit foggy.

He didn't know when he fell asleep. Looking at the window, he noticed that it was already completely dark outside.

"Qingyang seems to be not here," Xu Kaiyang's voice came from outside the door.

"His shoes are still outside, so he should have already returned," Lin Weiran's voice followed closely.

Upon hearing this, Xu Kaiyang asked with concern, "But why is there no sign of him? Do you think something happened to him?"

"I'm here," Xiao Qingyang hurriedly responded, so his dormmates wouldn't continue worrying about him.

He patted his cheeks to wake himself up a bit and then walked over to open the door.

"What were you doing inside? Why didn't you respond when we called you?" Xu Kaiyang immediately scrutinized Xiao Qingyang from head to toe as soon as the door opened. When he saw that Xiao Qingyang wasn't injured, he felt relieved.

"I fell asleep just now and didn't hear anything," Xiao Qingyang said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Good thing you're okay. We came back after class and saw that you had already returned, but no matter how we knocked, there was no response. We were worried that something might have happened to you," Xu Kaiyang said, hugging Xiao Qingyang's neck and smiling. "Xiaotian has prepared dinner for you. If you don't come out soon, I might have to take care of your portion as well."

"After Xiaotian has prepared so much food, you're still not satisfied, and you're thinking about Qingyang's portion," Lin Weiran said with a hint of annoyance, glaring at Xu Kaiyang.

"You can never have too much delicious food," Xu Kaiyang replied with a playful grin.

After dinner, the four of them gathered in the living room as usual to relax. Apart from dinner time, it was the best time for them to bond and communicate with each other throughout the day.

"Kaiyang, how can we apply to enter that secret realm you mentioned last time?" Xiao Qingyang suddenly asked.

"You want to go to the secret realm?" Xu Kaiyang asked in surprise. The gazes of the other two also turned towards Xiao Qingyang.

They had previously obtained the qualification to enter the secret realm by ranking first in the freshman experience, but at that time, they had agreed to go together.

However, back then, no one had plans to enter the secret realm in the short term. They only intended to go before the inter school competition. It was unexpected that Xiao Qingyang would be the first to propose going to the secret realm.

"Well, I want to improve myself," Xiao Qingyang replied earnestly.

Actually, he didn't have such a thought initially. He just thought that whenever his roommates were ready to go, he would join them.

But since Aze included him in the inter school competition and formed a team with him, Xiao Qingyang wanted to enhance his strength as soon as possible, ideally taking a significant step forward before the competition.

During the time in the office, although Xiao Honghui's words were harsh, he wasn't entirely wrong. With his current status as part of Aze's team, he would only be a burden to them.

That was why he needed to focus on training now and recover his strength as soon as possible.

However, relying solely on cultivation, his spiritual power and magical power were growing too slowly. At this moment, Xiao Qingyang remembered the opportunity to enter the secret realm as part of the rewards for the freshman experience.

It was said that the secret realm contained many treasures that were not found in the outside world. Perhaps among these treasures, there were things that could quickly enhance his spiritual power or physique.

Moreover, it was said that there were many opportunities in the secret realm. Once encountered, rapid progress in strength wouldn't be a problem.

Therefore, Xiao Qingyang wanted to try entering the secret realm.

"The procedures to apply for entry into the secret realm are not difficult. You just need to get a stamp from the principal and obtain the key to open the secret realm. But with our current strength, the treasures we can obtain in the secret realm wouldn't be that good," Xu Kaiyang advised, trying to dissuade Xiao Qingyang from entering the secret realm at this moment.

Usually, the top three students in the freshman experience would apply to enter the secret realm only after a period of training.

Because the opportunity to enter the secret realm was rare and the more powerful and scarce the treasures within, the greater the difficulty in obtaining them.

Therefore, many freshmen would strive to become stronger before applying to enter the secret realm, which would enable them to acquire better and more treasures.

"It's okay, I'm not afraid. It's just that I promised to enter the secret realm with you all before, and now... I might have to break my promise," Xiao Qingyang said with some guilt.

They had all agreed to enter the secret realm together, but now he was eager to improve himself.

"What are you talking about? We can't let you go into the secret realm alone," Xu Kaiyang immediately said.

"If you want to enter the secret realm now, then we'll go with you. After all, we're going to go sooner or later," Lin Weiran added.

Gu Xiaotian also quickly expressed his support, saying that he wanted to go as well.

Hearing this, Xiao Qingyang suddenly looked up at his three roommates and felt warm and touched. But...

"It's not necessary. I'll go in by myself. I'll be fine," Xiao Qingyang politely declined his roommates' suggestion.

He also understood that the higher his strength, the better the chance of obtaining superior treasures once he entered the secret realm. He didn't want to change the plans of the others.

This time, it was because of his personal reasons that he wanted to enter the secret realm ahead of time, but it had nothing to do with the other three. He didn't want them to enter early with him.

However, Xu Kaiyang, Lin Weiran, and Gu Xiaotian strongly disagreed with Xiao Qingyang's words.

"We're all roommates, and we were in the same team during the experience. How can we let you go into the secret realm alone? If you take away all the good things, what will we get? We have to go together," Xu Kaiyang teased jokingly.

Xiao Qingyang knew that he was intentionally saying this just to accompany him.

Although the other two didn't speak, their attitude was clear and resolute—they wanted to accompany him into the secret realm.

These three people, besides Long Jingze and the old housekeeper, were the first friends Xiao Qingyang made in this world.

He was truly lucky!