An Unexpected Encounter

Over the next few days, Xǔ Tiānlí frequently heard his classmates discussing the same topic at school.

Like this morning’s 8 a.m. class.

Most of the students looked half-asleep, and quite a few hadn’t even brought their materials.

After arriving, they simply laid their heads on their desks and continued sleeping.

The professor didn’t seem to care anyway.

Xǔ Tiānlí was still sitting beside his roommates, but unlike everyone else, he didn’t feel sleepy at all.

Ever since advancing to Tier-1, he had clearly noticed that his energy and vitality far exceeded those of ordinary people.

While everyone else was struggling to survive their early-morning classes, he could remain completely focused.

Because of that, he accidentally overheard a conversation from the students sitting in front of him.

“I heard someone spotted Yan Xingke again last night.”

“Oh? Seriously? Let me see.”

“Did she secretly go fight crime again?”

“Damn, that’s so cool.”

That name again.

Xǔ Tiānlí spun the quick-drying pen in his hand and thought to himself.

Back then, neither he nor Song Hai could have imagined that right after they left the auction house, a mysterious individual would cause such a huge disturbance there.

The figure in white robes and a black mask had been photographed gliding through the air like a swallow.

Because of that photo, citizens had given her the nickname “Yan Xingke”—the Swallow Traveler.

News of the auction house incident quickly spread throughout Danfeng City.

Although the auction house was an important venue for Spirit Wielders, public opinion had taken a rather unexpected direction.

“Well done!”

“I’ve wanted someone to do that for ages!”

“The auction house gets worse every year.”

“Exactly.”

“Last time I spent a fortune winning an item, and that little bastard surnamed Chen just took it from me. Disgusting.”

The people loudly cheering online generally fell into two groups.

The first were those who had previously been cheated by the auction house.

The second were those who had suffered under the oppression of Young Master Chen from the Chen Family of Danfeng City.

Not only had Yan Xingke exposed the auction house’s corruption and illegal activities that night, she had also severely injured that dog-abusing Young Master Chen.

Rumor had it that he was still hospitalized and unable to leave his bed.

Many people had long hated both the auction house and Young Master Chen, but they had only dared to be angry in silence.

Yan Xingke’s actions had vented everyone’s frustrations for them.

As a result, she enjoyed tremendous popularity among the citizens, with many seeing her as a masked hero straight out of an animated series.

“So that person was actually this impressive?”

Xǔ Tiānlí clicked through one so-called exclusive photo of Yan Xingke after another, marveling at them.

At the auction house, he had noticed the woman in the white robe multiple times and had never understood why she attracted his attention so strongly.

Now he had finally found a reasonable explanation.

Like him, Yan Xingke was a good person with a passionate sense of justice.

If Xǔ Tiānlí had been in her shoes, he would also have tried to expose the auction house’s crimes and make them pay for their wrongdoing.

“If I ever get the chance, I’d like to have a proper conversation with her.”

Online discussions about Yan Xingke’s true identity were all over the place.

Some claimed she was simply a kind-hearted vigilante.

Others said she had emerged from the Heaven’s Will Bureau.

Some even believed she was an executioner working for a mysterious organization.

However, there was one peculiar detail that everyone found especially noteworthy:

The attitude of the Alchemical Pact.

The auction house had always clung tightly to that powerful organization.

Even with its various “unequal agreements,” nobody could deny that it only possessed a legitimate business license in Danfeng City because of the Alchemical Pact’s support.

If the auction house had truly become useless, perhaps the Alchemical Pact would have dealt with it themselves.

Yet now that Yan Xingke had suddenly appeared, the Alchemical Pact had remained completely silent.

To this day, they had not released a single statement.

Their cold, hands-off response surprised many people.

Could it be that they were protecting Yan Xingke?

Some people even reached a firm conclusion:

Yan Xingke must be a member of the Alchemical Pact, and the entire incident had been orchestrated by the organization itself.

After browsing several posts confidently presenting various theories, Xǔ Tiānlí heard the bell signaling the end of class.

Before the professor could even dismiss everyone, students were already standing up.

Yan Xingke?

She doesn’t even compare to my amazing master.

Xǔ Tiānlí was certain that if his master had handled the situation, she would have done it even more cleanly and efficiently.

Stretching lazily, he stood up and headed for the restroom.

Today was Friday.

He hadn’t seen Qín Yuè for several days.

After school this afternoon, he planned to visit his master.

New lessons would begin over the weekend.

I wonder what Master’s been doing these past few days.

Probably handling a lot of important matters, right?

Suddenly, an image flashed through Xǔ Tiānlí’s mind:

Qín Yuè wearing pajamas, sprawled across a bed in every direction, sleeping lazily.

The moment the thought appeared, he shuddered.

How could Master possibly be that kind of person?

While Xǔ Tiānlí desperately reassured himself—

Elsewhere in Danfeng City, inside a rented apartment.

After sleeping through the entire night, Mù Qīngyǔ had rolled from one end of the bed to the other.

The hem of her pajamas had ridden up, exposing her fair, flat stomach and cute navel.

Although she looked like she was practically about to drool, she merely turned over and continued enjoying her utterly unrealistic dream.

In the dream, three years had passed.

She stood triumphantly over Xǔ Tiānlí, crushing him beneath her feet while listening to his remorseful confession and enjoying a lavish feast.

The wonderful dream continued all morning.

Only when the excessive fruit juice she had consumed in the dream transformed into a pressing need to use the bathroom in reality did she finally wake up.

“Sleeping until I wake up naturally feels so good.”

The white-haired girl stretched lazily on the bed and let out a long, contented groan before finally sitting up.

It was nearly lunchtime.

Still, this feeling was wonderful.

In her previous life, she had spent all her time running around trying to survive.

There had never been an opportunity to sleep in.

After transmigrating, she had been busy acting as Xǔ Tiānlí’s teacher, forcing herself to wake up early on a regular basis.

But now?

She had neither a job nor a troublesome student.

She could sleep for as long as she wanted!

In an excellent mood, the girl hopped out of bed, slipped on her slippers, and hummed cheerfully as she walked into the bathroom.

If she didn’t have something important to do today, she could have slept until the afternoon.

While brushing her teeth, she checked her phone.

The attention surrounding the incident she had caused was finally beginning to die down.

At first, she had been somewhat nervous, worried that her enemies would come looking for her.

As a result, she had spent several days on edge.

But so much time had passed already.

It should be fine now.

The Heaven’s Will Bureau had entered the scene.

The Alchemical Pact was pretending nothing had happened.

And because the Chen Family was deeply entangled with the auction house, they were being heavily restrained and had no spare energy to focus on Mù Qīngyǔ.

“Then it’s time for me to begin.”

After wiping her face with a towel and tying up her messy white hair into a high ponytail that swayed behind her head, Mù Qīngyǔ turned around and walked back to her bed.

She pulled a box out from beneath it.

With a sharp click, she opened the lid.

The Purple Lightning Thunder Pearl was still resting safely inside.

Arcs of electricity danced across its surface, and merely looking at it allowed one to feel the immense power contained within.

“It’s time to begin.”

“My path to becoming stronger.”