Living Long Is What Matters

Astrology Tower.

After a month of incubation, the Mermaid Egg finally hatched into a little Mermaid.

Last night, Furia had habitually hugged the egg to sleep. But when she squeezed too hard, the entire egg shattered. The egg liquid soaked the whole bed, and inside the shell floated a little Mermaid with a fish's lower body and a human upper body.

Furia frantically called Hekate over.

Only after asking Star did Hekate learn that a newborn Mermaid Baby needed to stay in water. She immediately brought over a large fish tank and tossed her inside.

After entering the water, the Mermaid Baby struggled at the surface a few times, then instinctively learned how to swim and breathe. Her round eyes darted everywhere, filled with curiosity.

Natasha gasped in amazement. "Wow, that's incredible."

"Furia, you're the Sea Witch, and you hatched her. She sees you as her mother now, so you need to take good care of her." Hekate patted Furia on the shoulder.

Furia was dumbfounded. She was still a child herself.

"Teacher Hekate, I don't really understand. How am I supposed to take care of her?"

"Change her water once a day, then catch some shrimp for her to eat. Once she grows up, you can feed her fish, snails, shellfish, and things like that..."

Furia nodded repeatedly, committing Hekate's words to memory.

Natasha said enviously, "I can help too, Furia. If you get too busy, just call me."

Furia nodded again and again.

Although the Mermaid Baby was not as fragile as a human baby after being born, she still could not speak and had to be taught slowly.

The next morning.

Puli came to visit.

When she saw the Mermaid Baby in the room, she pressed her face to the fish tank in delight and observed her. At the same time, the Mermaid Baby widened her eyes and stared curiously at Puli.

"Hekate! Hekate! What is this? It's so cute!" Puli asked with great interest.

Hekate smiled. "A Legendary Bloodline—a Mermaid. Don't tell anyone, or it'll be troublesome."

"Okay, okay. It's actually a Legendary Bloodline. Of course I won't tell anyone!" Puli said excitedly. Then she dipped a finger into the water. The Mermaid Baby bit her finger and sucked on it a few times, then, realizing it was not food, swam away in disgust.

Hekate said helplessly, "Watch out for the bacteria on your hand. If you make her sick, I won't even know who to find to treat her."

"Fine." Only then did Puli stop teasing the Mermaid Baby. She walked over to Hekate, then asked in confusion, "Hekate, have you stopped growing? Why does it seem like you haven't changed at all?"

She compared their heights and realized that she was actually a whole head taller than Hekate!

She had never noticed it before. She had only suddenly realized it now!

"Ahem. Being taller is useless. Living longer is what matters most."

"Huh?"

Puli tilted her head. What did height have to do with living longer?

"Alright, what did you come to see me for today?"

"Hehe, can't I come play with you if there's nothing wrong?"

Puli grinned, then began sharing amusing stories about becoming an upperclassman.

Hekate listened patiently. It did not interfere with her cultivation anyway. But halfway through Puli's story, Star suddenly sent her a warning.

A strange staff was approaching Lundria. It seemed to be looking for you, and it meant no good.

Hekate raised an eyebrow. "We'll talk next time. I have something to take care of."

"Eh, I don't have anything to do today anyway. Can I wait here until you come back?" Puli's eyes shifted as she asked.

"That's fine, but don't touch the Mermaid Baby carelessly."

"Okay." Puli grinned.

Hekate stepped out onto the balcony and, following Star's instructions, flew to the battlefield on the outskirts of Lundria.

The previous war had left the place a wasteland. Traces of magical bombardment covered the ground. She waited quietly for the other party to arrive.

Before long.

A staff covered in blood-red, slender tentacles floated over. Wild animals, humans, and drained corpses hung from those tentacles, which it casually tossed onto the ground.

"Oh, an intermediate mage. Not bad."

A scarlet tentacle shot toward Hekate at once.

Hekate casually grabbed it and squeezed.

Snap!

The tentacle broke.

The Flesh Staff froze for a moment, then trembled. "Aah! That hurts like hell!"

"You potato-looking human, how dare you snap off my tentacle! Damn you!"

Hekate was speechless. "And you think you're good-looking?"

The Flesh Staff snorted. "Die!"

Several tentacles immediately stabbed toward Hekate.

Thunder Fire Tribulation!

Hekate pointed at the Flesh Staff and unleashed the improved spell!

Thunder Fire Tribulation had once been a curse, but now it could not only be used as a curse—it could also be used as a frontal attack spell!

Single-target lock-on!

Fiery red lightning struck down from thin air.

Boom!

The Flesh Staff sneered. So she had been hiding her strength. But even the magic power of a Grand Magus could not break through its defenses!

It confidently took the strike!

Then...

"AAAHHH~~"

The scent of cooked meat instantly filled the air.

Countless small arcs of lightning flickered over the Flesh Staff, shocking black smoke from its body and curling all its tentacles tight.

"No... no... impossible. Wh... why... can magic of this level hurt me?!"

The Flesh Staff's voice trembled from the electricity as it spoke in disbelief.

Heh. Did it not understand what ignoring defense meant?

Hekate looked at it indifferently.

"Who exactly are you?!" it asked through gritted teeth.

"Who I am is none of your business. In any case, you're not allowed to come to this country!" Hekate said, casually summoning another ten Thunder Fire Tribulations that struck directly onto the Flesh Staff.

"You!"

Another ten!

"No!"

Another ten!

"Stop!"

A hundred more!

The white clouds across the sky were dyed red by the fiery lightning. Smoke poured from the Flesh Staff's body, and its tentacles crackled and sizzled.

"This is too much!" The Flesh Staff was furious and in pain.

Hekate frowned, continuing to summon lightning without pause.

Although the staff had been struck miserably, it did not seem to have suffered any substantial damage.

Back then, the Corpse King's body had begun to rot after only a few strikes. Yet after more than a hundred Fire Thunders, the Flesh Staff merely had smoking tentacles that sizzled and leaked oil.

It definitely had not been shocked enough.

Hekate frantically drained her lifespan in exchange for magic power, summoning thousands more bolts of lightning.

The thunder rumbled without end, and nearly everyone in Lundria heard it.

"You... win..."

Unable to endure the strikes any longer, the Flesh Staff hurriedly fled, dragging the unceasing lightning with it.

At that moment, teachers from Grants Academy also arrived. All they saw were fiery red bolts of lightning rapidly moving away from Lundria, striking something unknown.

Dean Ornis asked in confusion, "Teacher Hekate, what is this...?"

"Nothing. Just some strange thing came here to make trouble."