The Indifference of Those at the Top

Bocheng Hospital.

"Brother Lin seems to have opened his eyes."

"That's great, Lanzi finally woke up."

"As long as you're okay, that's all that matters."

Lin Lan slowly woke from his coma. The moment he opened his eyes, a dense cluster of faces crowded right up to him.

"Fuck! Don't scare me like that. I thought I'd been arrested and was about to get dissected. So many faces nearly scared the hell out of me."

Lin Lan sat straight up in bed. Just now, he had thought the Black Vatican had captured him for research and scared the life out of him. Waking up to more than a dozen faces pressed in front of him—who could take that? Looking closer, he saw Mo Fan, Tang Yue, Zhang Xiaohou, Yang Zuohe, Principal Zhu, Zhan Kong, Xue Sheng, and several students from his class. Wait... was that Xin Xia beside them?!

"It's good that you're fine. You're one lucky kid. The moment I received a report about mages fighting, I rushed over. When I arrived, I found you lying there, along with three others not far away," Yang Zuohe said gravely, without mentioning that the other three had died.

"You were badly hurt. Luckily, you were brought to the hospital in time. It took three Healing Mages to treat you before you recovered," Tang Yue said gently.

"Lanzi, I'm so happy you're okay. Dinner's on me tonight," Mo Fan declared generously. "Now that Brother Lan is fine, Brother Fan and I can finally relax," Zhang Xiaohou said with a grin.

"Principal Zhu, I don't think I need that Earth Sacred Spring competition slot anymore. Give it to Mo Fan."

Lin Lan spoke to Principal Zhu. The reason he had been hunted these past days was simply because the Black Vatican saw him as a thorn in their side, someone who had interfered with their plans. This time, he had nearly lost his life. Now that he had broken through to Intermediate Mage, the Earth Sacred Spring of Bocheng was no longer useful to him.

"Have you thought this through?" Principal Zhu asked Lin Lan again. After all, this was a rare opportunity, and Lin Lan was exceptionally talented. Lin Lan nodded without hesitation.

"Hahaha... Lanzi, you really are my best brother." Mo Fan laughed and patted Lin Lan's shoulder. Everyone immediately turned to look at Mo Fan, making him awkwardly scratch his head.

"I think I can be discharged now. I'm full of energy."

Lin Lan moved around and felt incredibly good. The magic world really was great—get injured, receive a healing spell, and you were mostly recovered.

"You're quite something, kid. Your body recovered so quickly—far faster than ordinary mages. Want to join my Military Mages? I'll give you an official post," Zhan Kong said, squeezing Lin Lan's shoulder.

"I'll pass, Boss Zhan Kong. I'm not used to living out in the wilderness. For now, I'd better focus on being a student," Lin Lan said with a smile, declining the offer. Being a Military Mage truly did not suit him. Once he had grown strong enough, he would have better ways to gain power and remove those rotten people at the top.

By the time they left the hospital, it was night again. Lin Lan and the other two returned to the barbecue stand for some skewers.

"Lanzi, how did you get hurt so badly? Xin Xia and I rushed to the hospital the second we heard. My dad wanted to come too, but he was driving his cab, so I told him not to," Mo Fan said, deeply puzzled. Lin Lan was already so strong—someone capable of beating him into that state had to be incredibly formidable.

"Yeah, Brother Lan, you're the strongest in our school. You have no idea—Teacher Tang Yue was still teaching when Principal Zhu told her you'd been seriously hurt and hospitalized. She immediately rushed over with him."

Zhang Xiaohou was confused as well, though from their words, it was clear they truly cared about Lin Lan.

"Well~ three guys came looking to beat me up, and they made the first move. So I went in with two kicks, then gave them a big hook kick. They got pissed and started using magic, so then..." Lin Lan told the story vividly. Of course, the reason it ended that way was because he had not wanted to use magic to hurt them. The two listened in stunned disbelief.

"But I heard those three guys seem to have died. It's being talked about all over Bocheng," Zhang Xiaohou said.

"Fuck... fine, I might as well tell you. You'll have to face it sooner or later anyway~" After thinking it over, Lin Lan decided to tell the two about the Black Vatican's sinister nature. They would have to face it eventually, whether sooner or later...

Lin Lan told them that the Black Vatican intended to wreak havoc in Bocheng and that they had been hunting him. The two were enraged.

"You're saying the Black Vatican has been plotting something in Bocheng all this time, and they've been trying to kill you? Those bastards." Mo Fan could no longer stay calm. If Bocheng really faced a crisis, he would definitely dig out the Black Vatican and grind them to dust.

"The Black Vatican really is a pack of animals..." Even Zhang Xiaohou, with his usual temperament, burst into curses.

"I actually wanted to wait until you were stronger before telling you. Don't even think about going after them right now. If you do go, take me with you."

After returning to Tang Yue's home, Tang Yue began asking Lin Lan about the details.

"Teacher Tang Yue, there were three Intermediate Mages. They were all Black-robed Scholars. If one idiot hadn't used Lightning Magic on me, letting my Lightning Element absorb and convert it so that it broke through to the intermediate level, I'd have been dead."

Thinking back on it, Lin Lan still felt a lingering chill. If that Lightning Mage had used his second element instead, Lin Lan might truly have died. Still, he now understood why his Lightning Element was so violent—it loved devouring other lightning to strengthen itself. It could probably devour spirit seeds too.

"You really are blessed with good fortune. Your Lightning Element's spirit seed is far too unusual, one in ten thousand. As long as it's lightning you can withstand, it likely won't hurt you at all. Instead, you'll be able to convert and absorb it."

Tang Yue felt that Lin Lan's talent was becoming more absurd by the day. Someone like him would be fought over wherever he went.

"Don't be too happy yet. There's something else I need to tell you."

Tang Yue furrowed her brows, and her expression shifted slightly. What came next was clearly not good news.

"Go ahead, Teacher Tang Yue," Lin Lan said.

"The Arbitration Council doesn't believe our account. And even if your suspicions are correct, they won't station people in Bocheng every day based on nothing but a theory."

"Even if the rain really contains Frenzied Spring, unless someone has reached the Super level, there's no way to stop it."

"So the Arbitration Council only sent a few more adjudicators to investigate. Lin Lan, I'm sorry~"

Tang Yue felt somewhat guilty. She had watched all the effort Lin Lan, a student who had not even graduated, had put in for Bocheng. If that day truly came, Lin Lan would have no reason to feel he had failed anyone. It was merely that the Arbitration Council owed him far too much.

"Teacher Tang Yue, I only hope that when the time comes, those parasites sitting in high places won't keep acting like idiots. Once I reach the High level and then the Super level, we'll see how they get kicked out of their positions. They think sending a few adjudicators is enough to brush me off? They can ignore an entire city like it means nothing."

Lin Lan was helpless and furious. He had done everything he could. Short of running to the Arbitration Council and announcing that he was a transmigrator, that Bocheng was in danger, that the Ancient Capital was in danger... If he said that, the grass on his grave would be three meters tall by next year.

"The Arbitration Council is always short-staffed. There's nothing that can be done about it." Seeing how angry Lin Lan was, Tang Yue hurried to comfort him. Then her beautiful eyes shifted as she thought of something that would surely improve his mood.

"I've arranged your magic awakening for next month. When the time comes, you can go directly to the Magic Association to awaken."

"Really? Then thank you, Teacher Tang Yue." Only then did Lin Lan's expression ease somewhat.

I plan to write this book to around a million words, so the story will be long and the pace will be relatively slow. Thank you all as well for reading and staying with me.