After class ended this time, Professor Enlaisi didn’t keep Xia Lun behind.
He seemed to have something urgent to attend to, leaving in a hurry as soon as the bell rang.
Xia Lun watched Professor Enlaisi’s retreating figure, lost in thought.
If the Twilight Apostle who attacked the manor wasn’t Enlaisi, then who could it be?
"Xia Lun? Hey, Xia Lun." Liyana patted Xia Lun’s shoulder. "So, how long are you planning to stay here?"
Xia Lun: "Getting restless already?"
"Yeah, staying in the academy every day is honestly a bit boring. Life here is just too dull." Liyana shrugged, then flashed an eager grin. "When are we going on an adventure?"
"I remember you used to always want to stay peacefully in town and never go out. What’s with the sudden enthusiasm?" Xia Lun chuckled, recalling the Liyana of the past.
"Come on, that was ages ago, Xia Lun!" Liyana sighed. "And while you were gone, I’ve already lived over a thousand years of peaceful life. Now, I just want some excitement."
Xia Lun pressed further: "What about Delyan? Isn’t she your girlfriend? What’s your plan—just leave her behind?"
Liyana smacked her forehead. "Oh right! If I go adventuring, what about Delyan? She’s busy with her studies—no way she’d come along."
Xia Lun: "…"
She actually forgot. So much for her girlfriend’s importance in her heart.
"It’s fine, she’ll understand," Liyana waved it off. "A heart yearning for freedom and unrestraint… That’s probably why she fell for me in the first place."
Xia Lun stayed silent.
He figured Delyan was more likely just into her looks.
Still, Liyana’s suggestion did stir something in him.
"Xia Lun, do you want to leave?" Aina asked softly.
"It’s about time we set out," Xia Lun stretched lazily.
Originally, coming to Olifendor was just to follow Aina’s advice—to secure a student’s identity. But thanks to Wolund’s hospitality, they’d ended up staying for a while.
Plenty had happened since then, keeping Xia Lun tied down.
As for the Twilight Apostle hiding in the academy, they were too deeply concealed to root out anytime soon.
But with Wolund stationed here, there wasn’t much to worry about.
Xia Lun also planned to leave Yisi behind. If Wolund ran into something he couldn’t handle, he could always ask for her help.
Xia Lun had also asked Wolund to keep an eye on Professor Enlaisi’s movements. Something about him still felt off.
According to Aina, there was a woman’s corpse hidden in Enlaisi’s home… Having Aina handle this was practically overkill.
Xia Lun guessed it was the woman from the portrait—Enlaisi’s former lover.
Enlaisi wasn’t a necromancer, so the only reason he’d hide a corpse was… to resurrect her.
The Twilight Cult’s goal was to revive the Hero. If they had the means to bring back the dead… then the chances of Enlaisi collaborating with them were high.
Of course, this was all just speculation. How things would unfold remained to be seen.
…
Manor, living room.
"Eh… Eh?… EHHH?!"
Mo Lini stared in disbelief at the dismissal letter in her hands.
Due to low enrollment in her music class… she’d been fired by the headmaster.
"No! Why is this happening? What am I supposed to do now? Ugh… I’m doomed…" Mo Lini wailed, tears streaming down her face.
Without Olifendor’s protection, she was just a helpless little lamb—easy prey for the Twilight Apostles.
Xia Lun sipped his coffee calmly.
Mo Lini’s dismissal… was entirely his doing.
Liyana, meanwhile, was struggling to hold back laughter, her hand clamped over her mouth.
Xia Lun’s reasoning was simple: he wanted Mo Lini to join their party.
Their current team’s strength was overkill for most places. What they needed now was a mascot—someone to raise the difficulty level.
The adorable Mo Lini fit the bill perfectly.
Plus, she bore a resemblance to Moke, which helped Xia Lun recapture the feeling of their past adventures.
More than anything, it was about what Xia Lun called "ceremony."
"What am I going to do… Ugh…" Mo Lini slumped onto the sofa in despair.
Liyana figured it was time.
Ahem. "Mo Lini, we’re actually planning to leave the academy soon," Liyana cleared her throat. "We’re heading out to explore cities and dungeons—going on an adventure."
Mo Lini was still wallowing in visions of her bleak future, barely registering Liyana’s words. She lifted her head slightly. "Oh… really? Well, take care. Thanks for everything these past days. If I get the chance, I’ll repay your kindness someday."
Liyana: "…"
Why was this girl as dense as Yisi?
"What I mean is—do you want to join us, Mo Lini?" Liyana cut straight to the point.
"Eh? Me? Join your party? But I’m not an adventurer! I’m weak, I can’t do anything… You’d get no benefit from having me around," Mo Lini mumbled timidly.
"We don’t mind," Xia Lun downed his coffee in one go. Aina refilled his cup—tonight, she wouldn’t let him use sleepiness as an excuse to escape.
"You’re serious? You’re inviting me to join your team?" Mo Lini was stunned.
Xia Lun nodded. "Yeah. You’re being targeted by Twilight Apostles, right? It’s dangerous out there alone. Stick with us—at least you’ll be safe."
"R-really? Then I’ll really join you?"
"Don’t worry, I’ll protect you," Liyana thumped her chest, putting on her most reliable face.
"You won’t abandon me for being weak? Or sell me to slavers?" Mo Lini looked up pitifully. "Or use me as bait for monsters? I’m not even strong enough to carry luggage…"
Liyana patted her shoulder. "A mascot just needs to be cute… and you can sing. That’s more than enough."
"Sing… sing too?"
Unpleasant memories flashed through the minds of all three present.
Aina: "No."
Liyana: "Absolutely not."
Xia Lun: "Let’s not."
Mo Lini tilted her head, confused.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
