After enduring the sweltering heat of midsummer, September arrived, and the maple leaves along the tree-lined road had turned a slight shade of red, drifting gently onto the shoulders of passersby.
Leaving the manor, Kelu and I slowly walked along the path back to school.
Kelu helped brush the leaves off my shoulder.
“Um… I…”
I pursed my lips, tilting my head away, unwilling to meet Kelu’s gaze.
Used to being a lone wolf who never accepted help from others, I had already forgotten how to properly say thank you.
“I… um… thanks…”
“What’s the matter?” Kelu naturally hooked her arm around mine, letting us walk side by side. “For the mighty Yun Xianzun to be troubled by saying thanks?”
“Ugh… hmph!” I bit my lip tightly. “Anyway! Thank you!”
Saying those two words made me feel much lighter.
Wait, wouldn’t she take advantage of this moment to say something like, “Since you’re so grateful, you should marry me”?
That really sounds like Kelu’s style.
However.
“It’s just allies helping each other,” Kelu said softly.
Hmm.
I let out a sigh of relief.
That’s good.
“Since you’re so grateful, then marry me,” Kelu added.
“…” I knew it—no wisdom comes from a dog’s mouth.
I pretended not to hear and kept walking ahead.
“You never told me any of this before,” Kelu said quietly after a while. “You can tell me. We’re allies; we’re supposed to share information, right?”
“No need. Besides, aren’t you… the same?”
Silence.
A leaf landed on Kelu’s head, and I reached out to brush it off.
“Better get back to class early.”
“Okay.”
We seemed to forget everything just now—at least I quickly did.
Hmph~ The mentality of Yun Xianzun is incredibly strong!
“Milk! Milk! Milk~! Having a Milk Station at the school gate is just awesome~!”
I clenched today’s third pack of milk between my teeth and swaggered into the campus with Kelu.
But after returning to school, we found the freshman teaching area completely deserted—barely a student in sight.
“Where did everyone go?”
“The first class is street combat, and all the cars have left,” a security guard at the gate said, holding a thermos cup and glancing at us. “You’re not skipping the first class of the semester, are you?”
Uh…
“Kids these days, after the college entrance exam, they just let loose,” the old security guard shook his head repeatedly. “If you don’t want to lose points for attendance, you better catch a taxi and follow them. They’re heading to the Bridge over the River. I heard there’s a traffic jam there because of a malevolent spirit.”
Upon hearing this, we hurriedly flagged down a nearby taxi and rushed toward the Bridge over the River.
The Bridge over the River is located on the G40 Expressway, a crucial hub connecting two cities. The bridge’s closure would severely disrupt traffic in Tianhai City.
A malevolent spirit powerful enough to shut down this bridge must be formidable.
I couldn’t quite understand why such an important mission was handed over to first-year Freshmen.
“Let’s stop here.”
At the bridge entrance, the road ahead was packed with vehicles bumper to bumper. No matter how skilled the driver was, there was no passing through.
So Kelu and I continued on foot, making every effort to reach the incident site quickly.
.
“These Freshmen are really… hard to describe.”
The Freshmen from the Four Houses, each led by one of the Four Instructors, were gathered on the bridge.
A Pink Barrier blocked the north and south passage of the bridge. Inside the barrier, a student was battling a White-headed Blue Monkey.
Unfortunately, that Freshman didn’t last long—soon kicked out of the barrier by the monkey’s powerful kick.
The battling student wasn’t in mortal danger but had several broken bones.
The opponent showed no murderous intent; if it did, the student would have been dead already.
“This is the seventeenth one. Hasn’t anyone broken through this little Wuzhiqi’s defense yet?” The female instructor leading the Xuanwu House rubbed her tired eyes, her tone lethargic and dispirited. “Weren’t there supposed to be quite a few top scorers among this year’s Freshmen?”
“It’s not their fault. After all, this is a descendant of Wuzhiqi,” the male instructor from Qinglong House spoke calmly. “According to historical records, Wuzhiqi was born on Huaguo Mountain in Tongbai of southern Yu province, a naturally gifted divine monkey with fiery golden eyes. He married a dragon maiden and had three sons, all powerful demons. This one is a few generations removed, but still carries Wuzhiqi’s bloodline.”
“Nonsense! Housui is the original species of that divine monkey; it’s no wonder they’re tough to deal with!” The male instructor of Baihu House was much more hot-tempered. “Inside the Barrier, this creature grows stronger when facing stronger opponents. If it weren’t for the fear of it smashing the bridge, I’d have gone in and taken it down already.”
“Quiet.” The mature female instructor of Zhuque House frowned and scolded softly, “Have you analyzed Wuzhiqi’s attack patterns clearly?”
“We have battle experience, so yes. But how can students remember? These inexperienced rookies panic during fights; they don’t even know how to dodge,” the Baihu instructor grumbled irritably.
“Blaming the students is pointless,” the Qinglong instructor pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up his nose. “The key is how to solve this problem. We can’t just ask for Draconic Foreign Aid—that would be humiliating.”
“Wuzhiqi is a legendary celestial spirit. Though this one’s bloodline is diluted and below legendary level, it’s close to quasi-legendary,” the Xuanwu female instructor yawned wearily. “Hurry up and call that dragon. I’m eager to get back to my Instance. My Guild’s Touch Expert, Evil God Lulu, hasn’t logged on for three months. For the past two days, I’ve been soloing the raid. I’ve smashed my mouse twice.”
No one paid attention to Xuanwu instructor’s complaints.
“Hey, look! That student looks interesting. Seems to be from your Baihu faction.”
A wheelchair rolled slowly into the Barrier.
Xinyue slowly stood up from the wheelchair, her aura swelling. The Stone Plasters on her arms and legs cracked slightly.
Then, as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted, she rose lightly.
Her eyes began to show the fierce spirit of a Bifang bird, a fiery phoenix, which then merged with her soul.
“Please guide me!”
The Firewing Queen’s battle experience was unquestionable.
She had only been observing the White-headed Blue Monkey’s attack moves so far.
Now that she understood its patterns, it was time to strike.
“Hey? This little girl is pretty good.” Even the weary Xuanwu instructor perked up, showing a hint of admiration. “Her moves are steady, precise, and ruthless; her dodges swift and agile. She’s calm in battle, with a mature rhythm. Definitely someone with practical combat experience.”
“Not bad, not bad,” the Baihu instructor grinned proudly. “And the reason she didn’t attack earlier was to observe! Watch closely—this girl has already figured out Wuzhiqi’s attack rhythm.”
“Can you express that differently? Stop with the ‘watch closely, this xxxx’ nonsense…” the Qinglong instructor said disdainfully. “Is your brain as simple as a clickbait account?”
“I’m praising my student, mind your own business! Jealous?” Baihu instructor crossed his arms provocatively.
“Hmph.”
The Four Instructors focused intently on the battle.
Xinyue delivered an impressive fight.
Her style was dazzling and elegant; her fiery red feathers whipped up a fierce wind with every wingbeat, like a cascading waterfall.
Wuzhiqi blocked and dodged; the tense and thrilling pace excited even him, who emitted a satisfied chitter.
Boom! Collision!
Unfortunately, still limited by the recently removed Stone Plasters, Xinyue wasn’t quite at full strength and lost by half a move.
She was elbowed out of the Barrier by Wuzhiqi.
At the same moment she flew out, Wuzhiqi flipped its hand and threw a beam of light that fused into Xinyue’s fiery phoenix form.
“Blessing of Wuzhiqi?!” The Four Instructors exclaimed in unison.
“That thing actually has such a blessing after a successful hit?!”
A quasi-legendary blessing!
Who wouldn’t be tempted by that?
“It’s time! I’ve figured out its routine!”
“I’ll go first!”
“I’ll go first!”
At the mention of a reward, the students immediately rushed to enter the Barrier in a mad scramble.
Only one person can enter the Barrier at a time. Once someone is inside, the Barrier only allows exit, no entry. No one wanted to miss this challenge.
Who knew when the monkey would finally be defeated?
“Hu—ha—hu—ha—hu—”
Panting, I squatted by the edge of the bridge, gripping the railing, gasping for breath.
Why is this damn bridge so long?!
For the first time, I truly realized how wide the Changjiang was. I had thought it was just a river on land—how wide could it really be? It’s not the sea.
But after sprinting myself half to death and barely covering a quarter of the distance, staring at the seemingly endless road ahead, I was stunned.
Ugh, little lolis’ bodies are just too fragile!
“As an ally, I think you should turn me into the Nine-tailed Fox’s long-legged queen,” I weakly suggested to Kelu. “That way, my combat power would increase tenfold.”
“No way, all in your head.”
“Yes, yes, it would!”
“Stop dreaming.”
Wuwuwu—!
Exhausted, I collapsed and rolled around on the bridge, throwing a tantrum.
Kelu sighed and grabbed my ankle with her tentacle, hoisting me up and marching forward at a brisk pace.
She showed no sign of fatigue.
Damn it! We’re both little lolis—how do you have so much more stamina than me?!
The power you gave me must have been watered down!
.
Meanwhile, at the center of the bridge.
As one student after another fell, the mood among the Four Instructors grew worse.
“Are we really going to ask for outside help? With the Lancelot family’s little princess’s personality, she’d definitely mock us hard.”
“If it comes to that, call the upperclassmen.”
“No, that would damage the bridge… If the bridge breaks, not only traffic but the economy will be blocked during repairs!”
There were two hundred Freshmen this year; one hundred seventy had already failed.
If the remaining thirty failed as well, they’d have no choice but to seek help from senior students.
Those upperclassmen, having trained for at least a year at the academy, had much higher reserves of celestial spirit power.
If they entered the Barrier, influenced by this special scenario, Wuzhiqi would become stronger accordingly. One punch might destroy the bridge.
“In Tianhai City, among those with low celestial spirit ranks but extremely strong combat power, there’s only that little princess from the Lancelot family.”
“Forget it. Even if we’re looked down upon, we have no choice but to seek her help.”
“Zhuque Instructor, you’re familiar with her. Make the call.”
“Alright.”
The call was placed.