“Lin Xing!”
After the two finished washing up and stepped out of their dorm room, ready to go to class, they were immediately greeted by Zhao Kai from across the hall, looking utterly shocked as he exclaimed,
“Is this even legal? Where did she come from! Lin Xing, I never expected you—someone with such honest eyes—to be this kind of person. I must have judged you wrong!”
“Get lost, this is Lumiya!”
Lin Xing was full of black lines.
Their “dorm” was more like a high-class apartment with two bedrooms and a living room.
As the City of Línchéng branch of the Advanced Beastmaster Vocational High School Main Campus, the school was stingy in some areas, but when it came to the basic facilities, they were generous.
With Zhao Kai’s racket echoing, the group walked out of the dormitory building.
Suddenly, light footsteps approached, accompanied by a soft and sweet greeting.
“Lin Xing!”
They turned to look and saw Little White hugging Snowball, hurrying over.
Today she wore a creamy white knitted sweater, the collar trimmed with a circle of fluffy rabbit fur, paired with a pale gray pleated skirt.
The skirt swayed gently with her steps, revealing a glimpse of fair, slender legs.
Her hair was styled into playful twin ponytails, tied at the ends with pink ribbons.
As she ran, the ribbons drew cute arcs in the air. Her cheeks, flushed from hurrying over, looked like ripe peaches.
“Ah, Zhao Kai’s here too.”
Little White spotted Zhao Kai and politely curved her eyes in greeting.
But as soon as her gaze landed on Lumiya beside Lin Xing, her steps halted abruptly, almost losing her hold on Snowball.
“What an adorable little loli—is this Lumiya?”
Unable to help herself, she stepped closer, twisting her sweater hem with her fingertips as her eyes fixed on Lumiya’s pink skirt, her tone full of admiration.
“This pink looks way too cute on her! So soft and cuddly!”
Then, as if suddenly reminded of something, she enviously patted Snowball’s head at her feet, adding in a small voice,
“My Snowball still can’t talk yet. Lumiya really is worthy of being an SSS-grade Beastmaster—she’s amazing!”
Being praised so openly, Lumiya’s ears turned a faint pink as she hurriedly shrank behind Lin Xing, her little head tucked near his elbow, with only her fluffy golden tail happily swaying behind her.
When she heard Little White’s envious words, she poked half her face out from behind Lin Xing, humming in a childish voice,
“Of course. No matter what this dragon wears, it always looks good!” Her soft voice carried a hint of pride.
“We should hurry—today’s class is Elemental Application in Combat. Don’t be late.”
At some point, Zhao Kai had already left to be with his girlfriend.
Lin Xing muttered under his breath, “Ditching friends for love.”
He looked down at Lumiya, his face full of anticipation.
“Lumiya, is there anything else you want to eat~? After class, I’ll take you to get some~”
?
Lumiya looked at Lin Xing’s unusually attentive face, golden pupils full of confusion.
What’s up with him today? Could it be that touching her dragon horns yesterday had some lingering side effects?
She quietly took half a step back, her tail tip swaying warily.
The classroom for Elemental Control was in a specialized training building.
It was spacious and bright, the floor covered with anti-slip Magic Crystal Tiles, and various Elemental Sensing Devices were placed all around.
Just as the class bell rang, Teacher Li walked in.
He wore a deep blue uniform, a longsword at his waist, and his expression was stern.
“Today, we’ll be learning about cooperation between the main body and the Beastmaster!”
Teacher Li drew the longsword at his waist, his voice spreading through the classroom via magic.
“A true Beastmaster must master command! But if you spend your whole life hiding behind your beast like a turtle, only shouting orders, then you’re just a Beast Tamer!”
“Want to be a real Beastmaster? Then engrave ‘fighting side by side’ into your bones! Your beast is your comrade, not your shield! Your blades and elemental power must merge seamlessly with your beast’s fangs and magic—that’s what it means to be a Beastmaster!”
He paused, tracing his fingertip across the Elemental Atlas on the desk.
“And Elemental Control is the foundation of all this. Mastering the elements not only lets you complement your beast’s firepower on the battlefield, but can turn the tide when it matters most!”
Teacher Li paused, then continued,
“Everyone, start with basic Elemental Sensing practice. Close your eyes and focus, feel the elemental particles around you, and try to use your Spirit Power to gather them in your palm.”
Lin Xing closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and concentrated.
He could feel countless tiny motes of light floating in the air—red for fire, blue for water, yellow for earth…
He tried using his Spirit Power to pull the red fire particles, and soon, a warm sensation formed in his palm.
Lumiya sat in the chair next to Lin Xing, swinging her little legs, golden pupils full of confusion.
Elemental Sensing? Guiding?
Lumiya merely thought about it, and the surrounding fire particles rushed toward her as if summoned, gathering at her fingertip into a tiny golden flame.
The flame spun in the air, then scattered into specks of gold light.
Lumiya felt completely lost.
Little White, however, found it much easier than Lin Xing.
She’d always been good at manipulating ice elements, and her family’s generations of Inheritance Secret Technique helped as well.
A cluster of crystalline cold quickly formed in her palm.
With a gentle twist of her finger, the chill condensed into a delicate Ice Crystal Petal, the edges shimmering with tiny ice patterns that refracted the light into sparkling brilliance.
As she gazed at the petal, the corners of her mouth curled up in a subtle smile.
After the basic practice ended, Teacher Li announced the start of actual combat training.
“Pair up in twos for Beastmaster main body and beast joint combat. Only go as far as necessary—don’t injure your classmates.”
Lin Xing was just about to find a partner when Little White, cheeks flushed, came over shyly.
“Lin Xing, shall we be a team?”
Lin Xing froze for a moment, then nodded.
The combat arena was at the center stage. Lin Xing and Little White stood at opposite ends.
“Ready—begin!”
As soon as he finished, Snowball launched the first attack, opening its mouth to fire a shard of ice at Lin Xing.
Lin Xing was prepared, dodging to the side while commanding Lumiya,
“Lumiya!”
Lumiya opened her mouth and spat a golden fireball at Snowball.
Little White hurriedly called out,
“Snowball, Ice Shield!”
An Ice Shield instantly formed in front of Snowball.
The fireball struck the shield with a “sizzle” and dissolved into steam.
Seizing the opportunity, Lin Xing launched an attack himself, gathering fire particles in his palm and shooting a fireball at Little White.
Little White tried to dodge in a panic but accidentally slipped, losing her balance and tumbling toward the ground.
Seeing this, Lin Xing rushed over, reaching out to catch her.
In an instant, the distance between them closed.
Lumiya grinned mischievously. Kid? Want to be a manga protagonist?
She discreetly waved her little paw, gently nudging Little White in a different direction—of course, supporting her as she did, since Little White had always been kind to her.
She couldn’t let a lovely girl get hurt.
Lumiya hadn’t expected what would happen next.
Given her status, since she had intervened to prevent Little White from falling,
That act itself was also a kind of blessing upon Little White’s fate, greatly boosting her “luck.”
Simply put, if Little White tripped on the street and hoped to pick up 100 yuan after falling,
After Lumiya’s light touch, not only would she not fall, she’d pick up 1,000 yuan instead!
In other words,
If, as she was about to fall, Little White hoped Lin Xing would catch her.
Then the result……
Lin Xing’s hand, which was meant to support her waist, missed its target and instead, his fingertips first touched something soft.
Before he realized what had happened, he couldn’t pull back in time and could only watch as his palm landed squarely on that tender fruit.
“!!!”
Little White froze, the warm touch on her chest like a scorching brand, instantly turning her mind blank.
Her face flushed a deep red, ears burning, and her breath, which had been panicked before, suddenly halted.
She stood rigid before Lin Xing, unable to move, as if someone had pressed a pause button.
Lumiya had just withdrawn her paw when she saw this scene and her golden eyes widened in shock.
Did I overdo it? How is this even more exciting than I thought?
Snowball cocked its head, its ice-blue eyes full of confusion, holding an icicle in its paw midair, totally baffled as to why the fighting had stopped.
“Are…are you alright?”
Lin Xing jerked his hand back as if burned, the lingering softness still on his fingertips.
He stumbled back half a step, stammering.
Little White finally caught her breath, but still didn’t dare look up at him, her head almost buried in her chest.
Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s, with a barely noticeable tremor at the end.
“I-I’m fine…”
For the rest of the class, both of them were distracted.
Little White kept stealing glances at Lin Xing, and every time their eyes met, she quickly looked away, her cheeks pink.
Lin Xing was flustered as well, the feeling from earlier seeming to still linger in his palm.