It was already ten in the morning when Qin Yu opened her sleepy eyes.
Her sapphire-blue gaze was heavy with drowsiness, and her white hair spread out, covering most of her face, topped with a stubborn cowlick standing upright.
A week had passed since the assessment ended, and because Qin Yu had passed, she was granted a month-long holiday.
Naturally, she had spent the past week blissfully happy.
Of course, just sleeping, reading comics, novels, watching plays, and going on spring outings without attending classes—how could she not enjoy that?
You say she’s upset because she can’t play video games?
That’s not a problem at all!
At least, not yet in the future…
From what Qin Yu knew, the scholars of the National Academy of Research had developed “Magitech Products”: using base-state mana to drive optical materials that display real-life images, completing complex logical calculations with specialized Magic Conduit Arrays, and transmitting information through mana resonance with special ore materials…
Isn’t that basically a cellphone!
Though some components had already been put to use—like the Elite Warrior Automaton she encountered during the assessment, powered by a specialized Magic Conduit Array—the assembly and mass production of all parts still required time, so “cellphones” were only in the trial stage.
Suddenly, the sharp sound of hurried footsteps interrupted Qin Yu’s thoughts.
It had to be Grand Tutor Yin.
Aside from the Emperor, Grand Tutor Yin was the only person allowed to freely enter and leave the Eastern Palace.
This was mainly because of Qin Yu’s trust in him.
Her closeness to Grand Tutor Yin even surpassed that with her own father.
Qin Yu’s father—Qin Ling—was a typical tyrant, indulging in luxury, debauchery, and decadence.
He stayed holed up in the harem, never came out, and didn’t bother to understand his own children.
During the entire week, Qin Yu had seen her father no more than three times at court meetings.
If it weren’t for the Prime Ministers’ efforts to maintain the country, the Chengji Empire would have long since fallen apart.
However, with uneven levels among the Prime Ministers and the sheer number of them, infighting was inevitable, leaving the nation riddled with wounds.
But the one thing Qin Ling did right was appointing Yin An as the Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, to teach Qin Yu.
Qin Yu trusted Grand Tutor Yin deeply, not just because of his unwavering loyalty, but also because he had been by her side since the moment she transmigrated into this fantasy world.
Her understanding of magic, magical enlightenment, and close combat skills were all taught by Grand Tutor Yin himself.
As the footsteps drew nearer, Grand Tutor Yin suddenly appeared from behind a folding screen.
He wasn’t wearing official robes, and his hurried demeanor made him look like a grumpy old man rushing to the market for groceries.
Grand Tutor Yin urged, “Hey, we must depart quickly, there’s an urgent matter!”
Three minutes later, Qin Yu and Grand Tutor Yin rushed out of the Eastern Palace and boarded a carriage.
The carriage moved through the capital of the Chengji Empire—Yongan City—with a shielding Magic Array inside, preventing sound leakage so their conversation remained private.
Inside the carriage, Grand Tutor Yin enthusiastically explained, “According to reliable inside information, the magic staff created by the legendary magician Merlin from the Mythical Era is located at a mysterious ‘wild spot’ somewhere in Yongan City. Since your staff was damaged during your assessment, I decided to purchase this as a gift for your advancement. It’s said this staff is of ultra-rare quality…”
The more Qin Yu heard, the more excited she became—an ultra-rare quality weapon!
The carriage stopped at a bustling street corner.
Qin Yu and Grand Tutor Yin got off and walked deeper into the street.
Curious, Qin Yu asked, “Grand Tutor Yin, where exactly is this mysterious wild spot?”
Before she finished speaking, Grand Tutor Yin suddenly stopped at the entrance of a small shop and instructed, “You stay right here and don’t move.”
Then he turned and entered the store.
“Could this mysterious wild spot really be here? Isn’t this just a bun shop?” Qin Yu wondered in confusion, just as Grand Tutor Yin emerged carrying a basket of steamed buns.
Qin Yu had been hungry since getting up and couldn’t resist; she devoured all six buns in the basket right then and there.
“So delicious! But, Grand Tutor Yin, shouldn’t we get to the real matter first?” Seeing Qin Yu enjoying herself, Grand Tutor Yin smiled with satisfaction.
Feeding the little princess, truly a joy.
After Qin Yu finished eating, they continued forward and soon stopped in front of a dessert shop.
Grand Tutor Yin came out holding a cheesecake.
Qin Yu was about to complain about wasting time but was immediately silenced by the sight of the cheesecake.
“The staff may be important, but this is cheesecake! (๑>Ø‚<๑)”
Cheesecake was Qin Yu’s favorite treat; she had zero resistance to it.
After finishing the cake, they pressed on.
Even though Qin Yu wore ordinary clothes, her dazzling white hair and clear eyes radiated youthful vitality, attracting the attention of passersby.
When they stopped again, it was in front of a bar.
“Grand Tutor Yin, I’m only fourteen; I can’t drink alcohol!”
“We’re not here to drink. We’ve arrived,” Grand Tutor Yin said as he pulled Qin Yu inside.
“A bar is the mysterious wild spot? Could it be like Diagon Alley?” Qin Yu couldn’t help but think of a famous magical novel from her “previous life.”
Grand Tutor Yin reached out his right hand and grabbed Qin Yu’s left, whispering, “Your Highness, forgive the intrusion.”
Qin Yu felt the warmth of his wrinkled hand—something she hadn’t experienced since transmigrating here.
Being an only child with no siblings, having a father who indulged in the harem and rarely interacted with her, a mother who died in childbirth, and as the Crown Princess’s heir with servants too intimidated to get close, Qin Yu had no close friends.
The only person she could truly trust and be close to was Grand Tutor Yin.
‘I need to find a friend,’ Qin Yu thought to herself as they passed through the entire bar.
Luckily, both wore common clothes and attracted little attention.
Soon, they reached the bathroom at the far end of the bar.
Grand Tutor Yin stopped abruptly and, scanning the surroundings, warned, “Hold my hand tight.”
Qin Yu nodded just as Grand Tutor Yin pulled her inside and pushed her into a stall.
As Qin Yu tried to speak out in surprise, he quickly shushed her with his left hand.
He entered the stall as well, closed the door, summoned a Magic Staff with his left hand, and lightly tapped the empty space.
Instantly, a suction force pulled Qin Yu down into the toilet bowl.
Spinning, she grumbled, “Why do all these mysterious wild spots in the magical world use toilets as entrances?”
When her feet touched the ground again, she found herself in a vast market.
Grand Tutor Yin explained in time, “This is Beiers Market, established two hundred years ago by the eighth-rank quasi-god-level magician Beiers. To maintain spatial stability here, he used nearly a hundred S-Rank Magic Arrays and five Pseudo-Divine Technique Magic Arrays. Since then, this place has been the hub for trading mysterious magical materials, magic weapons, magitech products, and magical knowledge. The entrance we came through is just one of many.”
Qin Yu wandered through the market, curiously inspecting every stall: some sold remnants of catastrophe-level magical beasts, others sold forbidden tomes—the Book of the Dead, no less—and the most shocking was a brain slice of Legendary Magician Merlin, rumored to increase one’s mana capacity limit.
Isn’t this basically the black market?
Grand Tutor Yin suddenly stopped and said, “We’re here!”
The two halted in front of a stall.
Grand Tutor Yin led Qin Yu to a middle-aged man behind the counter.
A circle of base-state mana enveloped the three of them.
“Old An, the item is still here. Most likely the real deal,” the man said first.
Grand Tutor Yin patted his shoulder in thanks and introduced him to Qin Yu, “This is Kong Shuo, Principal of Ji Xia Academy. While browsing here, he discovered Merlin’s staff and happened to learn your staff was damaged, so he notified me to come quickly and keep watch.”
“Ha ha, it’s an honor to serve the Crown Princess,” Kong Shuo said shyly.
“Thank you, Principal Kong!” Qin Yu bowed gratefully.
The Crown Princess bowing to him startled Kong Shuo.
Though Qin Yu had been transmigrated as a Crown Princess for some time, she still maintained the humility and manners from her previous life—she thanked servants who poured water for her, let alone Principal Kong, who had found such a treasure for her.
What puzzled Qin Yu most was how Principal Kong could find such a treasure among so many shops.
Grand Tutor Yin seemed to read her mind and explained, “This guy is usually idle, slacking off and dragging his feet. If he can’t find it, it’d be surprising.”
Principal Kong laughed awkwardly and whispered, “Old An, don’t embarrass me in front of the Crown Princess!”
Seeing Kong Shuo’s embarrassment, Qin Yu stepped in to help, “Principal Kong, which staff exactly is Merlin’s work?”
Relieved, Kong Shuo turned to the counter behind him and pointed to a disorganized pile of staffs.
“That one. This batch just arrived at 5 a.m. The shopkeeper probably hasn’t examined them carefully and might not recognize it. We might snag a bargain and get it for a very low price.”
Qin Yu looked where he pointed and picked up the staff.
It was nearly two meters long, taller than her by a good stretch when stood upright.
At fourteen years old and only about 1.5 meters tall, Qin Yu’s small stature made her holding the staff somewhat comical.
Kong Shuo barely held back laughter at the sight.
Feeling awkward, Qin Yu quickly laid the staff flat and examined it carefully.
The staff was about two meters long, made of yuzu wood—both tough and strong.
Despite its age, the shaft remained upright.
About one quarter down from the head was a hollow wooden ring enclosing a large blue magical crystal.
Inside the crystal, complex Magic Conduit Arrays were etched on the inner walls.
Both ends of the staff were rounded, with a diameter of five centimeters.
The head tapered to nearly three centimeters and was inset with a gem faintly shimmering with multicolored light.
“Looks legit,” Kong Shuo explained, “This staff is called the Staff of Dominion. Its name comes from its ability to help magicians convert magical attributes faster, easier, and more efficiently, thus mastering the elements. Your Highness, try inputting a certain attribute of mana and use the staff to convert it into spatial attribute mana.”
Converting other mana into spatial magic was notoriously difficult, requiring significant insight from the magician.
So using spatial magic conversion as a test was a relatively scientific standard.
Grand Tutor Yin stepped forward, quietly chanting a spell and setting a magical ward to conceal their actions.
To outsiders, it looked like three people merely shopping.
Yin An was a seventh-rank quasi-god-level magician, with few human rivals of his level.
Unless examined by someone of equal strength or a weaker person using special instruments, no one could detect the ward’s contents.
Qin Yu inputted mana from the Water Source Book, attempting to convert it into spatial mana.
Instantly, the Magic Conduit Array inside the blue crystal lit up, and a trace of spatial energy gathered at the staff’s head.
Both Yin An and Kong Shuo’s eyes widened as they felt the array’s fluctuations.
The array seemed to record its creator’s insight into space—only Legendary Magician Merlin could have achieved that.
As Qin Yu infused mana, spatial energy overflowed from the staff at a power level comparable to an A-Rank Combat Technique.
Qin Yu had never come into contact with spatial magic before yet could convert such a large volume of spatial attribute mana.
Now, the three could be absolutely certain this was Merlin’s genuine work.
Grand Tutor Yin waved his right hand, dispelling the ward and absorbing the spatial magic Qin Yu had just condensed.
He took the staff from her hand and approached the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper, a middle-aged man, greeted him enthusiastically, “Everything here comes from special channels—the Adventurer Association’s unclaimed or stored goods, or items found in ruins that the Association deems worthless…”
“Good stuff,” usually meant items adventurers failed to claim on time, or items left in the Association’s care but forgotten, or things discovered in ruins that the Association considered valueless.
This staff was found by the Adventurer Association in a very ordinary ruin.
Judging by the scene, it belonged to an adventurer who died there.
The Association assumed this adventurer was a weak, reckless magician and didn’t expect his weapon to be so advanced, so they paid it no mind.
That’s how the staff slipped into the market, giving Qin Yu this lucky chance.
After some negotiation, Grand Tutor Yin successfully purchased the staff at the price of an ordinary staff.
Once the deal was done, they wasted no time lingering, fearing the shopkeeper might change his mind.
At the tavern entrance, Kong Shuo parted ways with Qin Yu and Grand Tutor Yin.
Walking through the bustling streets, Qin Yu once again felt the urge to find a true friend.
They boarded a carriage and sped toward the palace.
On the way, Grand Tutor Yin suddenly spoke, “Your Highness, after your assessment you mentioned wanting to add guards. I have already submitted a memorial to the Emperor, who agreed to your request. Here is the official decree.”
Qin Yu thought: ‘I only mentioned it casually, and Grand Tutor Yin actually remembered. Truly a great teacher! Even more surprising, my eternal absentee father actually agreed.’
Qin Yu took the decree and read it.
It was personally issued by her father.
It first congratulated her on passing the assessment, then mentioned that in three days, someone would deliver a selection plan and candidate list for the new guards.
“Picking guards, huh? This is a great opportunity to make friends!”
Folding the decree, Qin Yu gazed out the carriage window at the rapidly passing scenery, her heart filled with eager anticipation for the upcoming guard selection.
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