The University's Plan

Early in the morning, Cheng Xiaoyu completed his [Daily Task] in the park as usual. Once he was done, he sat down on a bench to rest and checked today's reward.

[Reward delivered. Check now?]

It seemed that ever since the last hidden quest, the number of times he exceeded the task requirements no longer counted?

In other words, he could not get the hidden quest reward from before anymore. That Random Treasure Chest with the special bonus was gone...

He leaned back against the bench, took a gulp of warm water, looked up at the blue sky, and sighed softly.

Ah, I thought I might get another item on the same level as the [Demon City Key]. Looks like that's not happening.

No, even if it's an ordinary Random Treasure Chest, there's still a chance it could give me something decent like last time. It just depends on luck...

Thinking this, Cheng Xiaoyu immediately claimed today's [Random Treasure Chest]. After the box in his hand gave off a flash of light, a lottery ticket appeared in his hand, showing that he had won three hundred yuan.

Heh, that figures. How could I be that lucky? Still, I made today's meal money...

What had been worth celebrating recently, though, was that after going through the last [Job Change Quest], he had already become an Intermediate Level mage of the Shadow Element.

He had previously gone to the Magic Association to pay for an Awakening, and without the help of a Guiding Stone, he had unexpectedly awakened the Space Element among dimensional magic. That had genuinely left Cheng Xiaoyu excited for quite a while.

It was said that the Space Element only had a chance of awakening at High Level, a magic element even rarer than the Lightning Element, the head of all elements. He had actually been lucky enough to awaken it!

However, in order to hide his newly acquired ability, he had to publicly claim that he had awakened the Undead Element...

Cheng Xiaoyu lowered his eyes, looking at the shadow cast by the sunlight, and in his mind he recalled the warrior who had seemed like a god of slaughter in the wilderness a few days ago.

After the [Job Change Quest] was completed, he gained an ability called the [Shadow King] title, which allowed him to summon Shadow Soldiers to help him fight—especially a Knight Commander like Yegelite.

Right now, every Shadow Soldier was roughly at Servant Class strength, and according to the system, they could grow stronger along with him. That was the most terrifying part!

The strongest fighting force was naturally Yegelite. Even now, he still could not forget how the other party had needed only three strikes to cut down a Commander Level magic wolf on the spot.

Based on his judgment, Yegelite's strength should be among the top of Commander Level demons, perhaps even at the Great General tier.

With Yegelite at his side, Cheng Xiaoyu felt that he had no opponents below the ruler level. After this, he could go Outside Safe Zone to level up and exchange those demons for Gold Coins. It was almost too satisfying!

Mm, I still have to go to my younger sister's school for the parent-teacher meeting today. I should head back and get ready...

"Uh... no, it's not that I think it's strange..."

Looking at the handsome young man before her in a gray shirt and black slacks, Ye Xinxia stared at him with stars in her eyes, a hint of surprise and joy showing at the corners of her eyes.

"I figured I couldn't exactly attend a parent-teacher meeting in ordinary clothes. Your brother's almost an adult now too. This is called getting used to it early. I can't embarrass my younger sister."

Cheng Xiaoyu straightened his collar and spoke in a calm tone.

Mingwen Girls' High School was a local private girls' high school, and those who studied there were all children from wealthy families. He had earned money to send Ye Xinxia here precisely so his younger sister could receive a high-quality education.

Besides, now that Ye Xinxia had awakened the Healing Element, she had gained a bit of fame. It was inevitable that some people would be jealous. He absolutely could not embarrass his younger sister!

"Wow..."

"He's so handsome. Who is that?"

"I know! Could he be Ye Xinxia's older brother?"

"I'm not jealous of her anymore. Now I want to be her sister-in-law..."

Hearing the amazed gazes and chatter along the way, Ye Xinxia felt a little uncomfortable. She suddenly wished her brother had not come dressed so handsomely. She turned her head and looked teasingly at Cheng Xiaoyu, saying with a smile, "Older Brother, with so many girls noticing you, are you secretly really happy?"

Hearing this, Cheng Xiaoyu glanced at Ye Xinxia indifferently, reached out, and tugged at her soft cheek with his finger, saying irritably, "Stop talking nonsense."

"Brother, that hurts..."

Sitting in his seat, Cheng Xiaoyu looked at the parents, all dressed rather casually, and understood that he had made a mistake. Now he had become the odd one out instead.

After the parent-teacher meeting ended, the Homeroom Teacher kept Cheng Xiaoyu for a while longer to talk. She had always been especially concerned about this pair of siblings from a difficult family background, particularly after Ye Xinxia awakened the Healing Element.

Cheng Xiaoyu listened to the Homeroom Teacher praise his younger sister and nodded with a smile from time to time. He was very pleased to hear those words.

Ye Xinxia was now in her second year of high school, exactly the time when she needed to improve her cultivation. Building a solid foundation from the beginning was extremely important. For this reason, Cheng Xiaoyu often went Outside Safe Zone to take missions, while also leveling up and earning Gold Coins. With Iglit around, there was not much danger.

As the college entrance exam approached, he learned that the school had arranged a contest related to the Earth Saint Spring. He heard that it seemed to be a secret realm in Bo City, and after entering it, one's cultivation could receive a major boost.

Apparently, the school would send out one student, who would then have a magical duel with a disciple of the Mu family, ultimately deciding who would receive the quota to enter the Earth Saint Spring.

Originally, the strongest person in the school should have been Cheng Xiaoyu. However, considering that he was away from school for long periods, and that Mu Bai was originally a disciple of the Mu family, the next choice in line was Mo Fan. As for the Mu family, they sent a guy called Mu Yuang.

On the night before the Quota Battle, Cheng Xiaoyu received an invitation from someone and once again came to the Back Mountain.

That beautiful silver figure was already sitting there early again. She turned her head and looked gently at the approaching Cheng Xiaoyu, her fair hand lightly patting the empty space beside her.

"Come here."

"Can't you choose a more normal place to meet?"

After sitting down, Cheng Xiaoyu could not help complaining helplessly. Every time he came back to meet her, they had to meet first on the Back Mountain. It made the two of them seem like they were conducting some underground deal or something.

"Then... do you dare come straight home with me?"

Mu Ningxue tilted her head and stared at Cheng Xiaoyu, a playful glint flashing through her beautiful eyes. That look made him shudder all over.

"I don't want to go over there and have your dad staring at me the whole time, and then have to listen to those lectures every now and then."

"Then... I can go to your place too."

Hearing that, Cheng Xiaoyu looked at Mu Ningxue's utterly serious expression and couldn't help coughing dryly, then turning his head away.

It was only Mu Ningxue. Since when had she become so forward? I was actually a little tempted...

"Don't tell me you're tempted?"

The next second, a soft, cool little hand quietly slipped into his, her slender fingertips interlacing with his, making Cheng Xiaoyu tighten his grip a little.

He caught Mu Ningxue's gaze from the side and put on an unaffected look, while inwardly thinking about how to respond.

"You..."

"Xiaoyu, which university are you planning to apply to?"

Hearing the question, Cheng Xiaoyu came back to himself and looked at Mu Ningxue in confusion. Realizing that she wanted him to get into Imperial Capital Academy, he said, "I actually..."

"I don't want you to go to Imperial Capital Academy."

"Huh?"

Mu Ningxue held Cheng Xiaoyu's large hand tightly. Seeing the confusion on his face, she explained, "There are a lot of scions from noble families in the capital, and the class divisions are quite severe. There's no shortage of spoiled young masters. Although this kind of thing happens at other academies too, Imperial Capital Academy is especially bad. I'm afraid..."

"You're afraid I won't be able to adapt to that kind of environment, right?"

Without Mu Ningxue needing to say it, Cheng Xiaoyu knew what she wanted to say next, and he couldn't help smiling as he said, "Sigh, Xiaoxue, I didn't expect you to care about me so much."

"I... I'm just stating the facts. I know you don't like that kind of atmosphere."

Mu Ningxue's ears reddened slightly. She pressed her red lips together and spoke in a stiff tone.

Seeing the girl look so adorable, Cheng Xiaoyu couldn't help laughing. He reached out and pulled her soft, delicate body into his arms, breathing in the faint fragrance at the tip of his nose as he said gently, "Thank you, but I'm not as fragile as you imagine."

Mu Ningxue wrapped her arms around Cheng Xiaoyu's waist, somewhat greedily breathing in the young man's scent as she said in a muffled voice, "I just don't want you to be put in a difficult position. Once I graduate, everything will get better."

Under the moonlight, the two held each other tightly, enjoying the peace of that moment.

"Come on, I'll go walk around with you."

"To my place?"

"Xiaoxue, you're being a little naughty."

"Mm-hmm~"

I've been testing the waters this past week. I hope everyone can help out and try to read the latest chapters as much as possible. As long as it counts as follow-up reading, that's enough. Thank you, everyone!