“The Hall of the Gods?”
Kaka exclaimed in surprise.
“Sounds so high-class!”
Evangel couldn’t help but give him a glare.
This idiot.
“How many people are in the Hall of the Gods? Do we even know much about them?”
Meini shook her head heavily.
“We only know some of the Judicators who are active in the public eye. Apollo, whom you met this time, is one of them.”
She paused briefly.
“But most of the Judicators hide in the shadows. Even the forces of Lingyu Academy find it difficult to interfere with them.”
“Are all the members of the Hall of the Gods ‘gods’?”
Quinn hesitated as he asked.
“Of course not,” Meini chuckled.
“They’re just more powerful Grand Illusionists.”
Kaka’s curious eyes widened.
“So do they all use divine titles as their names?”
When it came to this question, Meini’s expression turned a bit odd—she looked like she wanted to laugh but dared not.
“Hey… actually, according to one of the Judicators, only people with extreme delusions of grandeur would truly give themselves names like Apollo.”
Su Xing and the others couldn’t help but chuckle.
The majestic image of Apollo instantly shattered into thin air.
“That…”
Seeing Kaka about to ask more, Meini made a stopping gesture and smiled gently, “Some things aren’t for you to worry about, at least not for you right now.”
Suddenly, Su Xing remembered something.
“Oh right, there’s something weird.”
She furrowed her brow, clearly puzzled.
“That Apollo seemed to recognize us and even knew about our illusion abilities. He didn’t even seem surprised that Feng Jun could unleash a tornado.”
Not many people in this world knew about Feng Jun’s ability to summon a tornado.
After all, she had only used it once so far.
How did Apollo know?
At this, Teacher Meini’s expression turned serious as well.
“That is indeed a problem. The Hall of the Gods’ spies are everywhere. Perhaps we can take this opportunity to uncover something.”
After they finished chatting, Quinn stammered, “Teacher, when… when can we return to school?”
The midterm exams were coming soon—there were martial and cultural tests.
Top students had never allowed themselves to make mistakes due to lack of preparation.
Meini thought for a moment.
“The day after tomorrow. The people responsible for negotiations should arrive then. We’ll bring you all back together to avoid the Hall of the Gods’ people striking back.”
Kaka recalled Apollo’s overwhelming power, shivering slightly, then looked at Meini with admiration.
“Teacher Meini, do you and Teacher Norman stand a chance against Apollo if you team up?”
Meini hesitated for a moment.
“…We haven’t fought him. Who can be sure? Alright, you guys continue resting. We’ll leave first.”
“Eh? Why are you leaving already?”
Kaka asked in confusion.
“At least give us a rough answer!”
Su Xing looked at Meini and Norman hurriedly leaving and smiled faintly to herself.
Looks like they can’t win, huh?
After smiling, her heart sank again.
If two of Lingyu Academy’s strongest teachers combined still couldn’t beat Apollo, then just how powerful was Apollo?
“Wait!”
Su Xing suddenly called out to Meini, who was about to close the door.
Sitting upright, she pleaded, “Regarding the Federation and the Linggan Pen, we hope to get some results.”
They had been unexpectedly dragged into this long-standing major conspiracy and had almost been wiped out because of it.
If there were no conclusions, she would really be unwilling to let it go.
Meini nodded solemnly.
“Rest assured, Lingyu Academy will never tolerate any evil deeds!”
Her words were firm, without a trace of hesitation.
As if this was a matter of course, an unquestionable principle.
That was the confidence of Lingyu Academy.
Two days later, Su Xing and the others, laden with packages, boarded a giant crane specially used to transport people.
To avoid unnecessary troubles, the Academy had sent this kind of illusion creature that was both fast and safe to escort them back.
Seeing them carrying so many things, even Meini couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth.
Norman’s face darkened outright.
“What are you all trying to do? Move the entire commercial street of the City of Arts back with you?”
Su Xing grinned.
Most of these things were her personal purchases, the rest were bought by Kaka.
Although the City of Arts had some places that were nothing but scams, it did attract many skilled craftsmen.
With the classmates’ lists as reference, Kaka only bought top-quality items.
Logically, Su Xing should have used sweet talk to stop Kaka—after all, she knew they were carrying too much and might trouble the teachers.
But the items she brought back were meant to earn money, so sacrificing Kaka was natural.
Besides, many of the things Kaka bought were gifts for them.
Su Xing insisted on bringing Kaka’s things back together no matter what.
Hence, the current scene.
Norman looked quite displeased at them but in the end didn’t make them unload the goods.
Back at school, Su Xing received an unprecedentedly warm welcome.
The girls who ordered from her surrounded her, exchanging money and goods hand in hand.
The last to come was Ai Wei’er, who sneaked into Su Xing’s dorm after dark to pick up her purchase.
Because she was a big customer buying a lot, Su Xing’s attitude was very good.
She sat cross-legged on the bed lazily, watching Ai Wei’er count her items and nitpick at them.
“This square scarf is all wrinkled. Don’t you know how to store goods properly?”
“The clay sculpture I saw didn’t look like this. Did you get a fake?”
“You bought so many things and didn’t even use gift boxes, just these crude bags. Such a waste!”
Su Xing propped her chin on her knee with one hand, half-listening to Ai Wei’er’s nagging, occasionally responding with a few words.
The customer is always right.
The atmosphere between them was oddly harmonious despite its strangeness.
After Ai Wei’er finished checking everything, she didn’t leave but casually asked, “You do know the midterms are coming soon, right?”
Su Xing obviously knew this, but she was curious why Ai Wei’er brought it up.
After all, on every level, they were rivals.
Ai Wei’er cleared her throat.
“If you split up from Kaka, maybe I could cut you some slack.”
Su Xing’s eyes narrowed immediately, guessing the meaning.
The martial test at midterms was a solo arena match, mainly to test the students’ skills, so opponents were usually matched evenly.
Ai Wei’er’s words clearly meant she was sure she and Su Xing would be paired together.
Going deeper, Ai Wei’er implied that if she and Kaka weren’t on the same team, she wouldn’t make things difficult for Su Xing.
Meaning the main conflict between Ai Wei’er and Su Xing currently was Kaka.
Ai Wei’er had no real conflict with Kaka; the real antagonist was Victor.
Since Ai Wei’er could so “conveniently” be teamed with Su Xing, it was possible for Victor to be teamed with Kaka.
After all, Victor was the eldest son of the Parker Group.
Changing something small like this shouldn’t be a problem.
Thinking this through, Su Xing inhaled sharply.
She knew Kaka’s skills well—his damage to people and illusions was negligible.
Victor’s illusions were attack-type; if they collided, Kaka definitely wouldn’t win.
Moreover, from Ai Wei’er’s tone, Victor intended to utterly humiliate the four of them.
Kaka, who couldn’t win against him, certainly wouldn’t have a good time.
What to do?
She had to find a way to help Kaka avoid this disaster.
Her mind spinning, Su Xing kept her expression unchanged and smiled gently.
“Thank you for the reminder. But Kaka and I are comrades in misery—we can’t be separated.”
Ai Wei’er misunderstood Su Xing’s words as meaning they were the lowest-ranked and had no choice but to pair up.
So she acted arrogantly.
“If you’re afraid you won’t find teammates after midterms, I can help arrange something for you later. You know, after midterms, there will be a chance to re-form teams.”
Su Xing’s gaze softened a little, though she didn’t understand why this big sister suddenly showed such kindness.
But since it was genuine, she wouldn’t respond harshly.
“No thanks, Big Sister Ai Wei’er. My teammates and I get along well and have no intention to switch for now. Thanks for the reminder, but I’ve made quite some progress recently. If you don’t give it your all during midterms, victory will be difficult.”
Su Xing didn’t reveal that she had already mastered a new skill but gave a subtle warning.
Ai Wei’er clearly didn’t see it that way.
She glared at Su Xing angrily.
“Ungrateful! Fine, whatever!”
Saying that, she got up and left, not forgetting to carry away that huge pile of items.
Seeing Ai Wei’er struggling with the load, Su Xing kindly asked, “Need help?”
Ai Wei’er gritted her teeth.
“No!”
Then she summoned her illusion: a single Blue-Tail Butterfly.
This kind of butterfly was known for its long, beautiful tail feathers and had a variety of abilities.
To identify the main skill, one had to look at the wing patterns.
Ai Wei’er’s Blue-Tail Butterfly had gray little butterfly patterns on its wings, and her innate skill was cloning.
Not very damaging early on, but quite formidable later.
Still, without Su Xing having grasped her new skill, she’d probably get thoroughly beaten.
Quantity matters, and Ai Wei’er was no pushover.
“Feathers, transform!”
Ai Wei’er gave the order.
The Blue-Tail Butterfly continuously cloned itself into several butterflies of the same size, then carried the smaller goods and flew after its owner.
After Ai Wei’er left, Su Xing lay on her bed lost in thought.
Judging by the skillful speed with which the Blue-Tail Butterfly’s feathers transformed into clones, Ai Wei’er’s progress had been significant.
She was no longer a novice who just awakened her illusion.
If that was the case, Su Xing’s midterm exam might indeed be a bit dangerous.
After all, the four of them had mastered their own skills, but Feng Jun’s innate skill was unusable!
In other words, she was only just standing on the same starting line as the others.
The Gale Blade was powerful but had obvious flaws—it had a long cooldown in battle.
If the Blue-Tail Butterfly’s clones tangled her and Feng Jun, once her attack failed, she’d definitely be in a passive situation.
She still needed to carefully think through tactics…
Su Xing covered her eyes with the back of her hand and closed them, turning her thoughts to another matter.
They needed to discuss Kaka’s situation with the others tomorrow.
If it didn’t work out, they might have to get Kaka’s parents involved.
After all, Victor wasn’t the only eldest son.
Kaka was one too.
But that would be tantamount to indirectly showing weakness.
Su Xing estimated that, given Kaka’s personality, there was no way he’d do that.
Looks like special training was in order for Kaka.
He might not surpass Victor, the top of the attack ranking, but at least he had to save face.
“Ah! That’s right!”
Su Xing bounced up from the bed.
She hadn’t written her self-criticism yet!
Tomorrow, the class teacher would definitely criticize them, so she had to prepare her attitude in advance.
As for the class teacher’s anger, she decided to let Kaka take full responsibility.
Su Xing smiled warmly to herself.