A Word from the Author

They arrived safely inside the Safe Barrier. Cheng Xiaoyu settled Ye Chang and Ye Xinxia in, then happened to spot Mu Bai sitting in a corner, so he walked over and sat down beside him.

When Mu Bai saw Cheng Xiaoyu appear, he seemed to let out a breath of relief and said softly, "I knew you'd be fine."

"Where are your dad and your sister? Why haven't I seen them?"

At that, Mu Bai's eyes filled with worry. He lowered his head and said helplessly, "I still haven't found them. I'm afraid..."

Seeing this, Cheng Xiaoyu patted Mu Bai on the shoulder and said in a firm tone, "Don't worry. Uncle and Sister Yanqiu are both powerful mages. They'll definitely be fine!"

"Mm."

"Hey, Xiao Bai, were you cursing me just now?"

Suddenly, Mu Yanqiu's voice came over. Mu Bai looked up in surprise, and sure enough, his sister was standing there alive and well.

"Sis, what about Dad?"

"Don't worry. Dad is inside the Safe Barrier too. You don't need to worry."

Mu Yanqiu ignored her relieved younger brother and instead looked at Cheng Xiaoyu beside him, asking with a bright smile, "Xiaoyu, I heard that once the disaster is over, they'll arrange resettlement locations. Where are you planning to go?"

"I'll take Mom and my younger sister to Modu afterward. I probably won't be coming back to Bo City for the next few years."

"Okay, got it. When I'm free, Sister will go to Modu to visit you."

The Bo City disaster finally ended when the Demon Beast hordes left. Support from various regions had already arrived in time; otherwise, this disaster would have continued.

After going through this destruction, Bo City would have to be rebuilt. Its former brilliance would no longer exist.

Mu Ningxue called to ask about Cheng Xiaoyu's safety, and the disappointment and confusion in her voice were hard to hide.

She had originally planned to return to Bo City after graduating from university and live a peaceful, steady life from then on. Who would have thought even this plain, simple expectation would be shattered?

Mu Zhuoyun, once the glorious local tycoon, had also fallen to rock bottom. Bo City had been his foundation, and now it was gone. Fortunately, his daughter seemed to have drawn the attention of the main family in the Imperial Capital, so perhaps things would get better in the future.

Some people followed Mu Zhuoyun to the Imperial Capital, while another group followed Mu He to the Ancient Capital. They split up so they could make a better comeback.

Cheng Xiaoyu did not stay long. He directly took Mom and his younger sister to Modu. A teenage boy with a mother and daughter pair in wheelchairs drew quite a few looks.

After arriving at the arranged resettlement housing, he immediately decided to rent a place in the urban area. The environment here was truly too poor—not only was it in the suburbs, but transportation was inconvenient as well.

In just two days, Cheng Xiaoyu found an apartment near Mingzhu University. It also happened to be very close to Modu Hospital and Modu Magic High School, satisfying all their needs.

When handling Ye Chang's hospitalization procedures, Cheng Xiaoyu looked at a familiar face in surprise.

"Sister Tian, why are you here?"

Nurse Tian looked at Cheng Xiaoyu's stunned expression, a faint smile appearing on her face as she explained, "My relative is the Vice President of this hospital. I reported in directly yesterday. I'll keep taking good care of your mom, so don't worry."

Cheng Xiaoyu was surprised, but surprised or not, at least Mom had someone familiar looking after her in the hospital. That eased his mind considerably.

The Bo City disaster cast a shadow over everyone and also halted the college entrance examination process. Many people temporarily had no mind to take university exams. After all, after experiencing something like this, who could accept it? Some students had even lost their families and homes.

Cheng Xiaoyu was different, however. He learned that Mingzhu University's special admissions for this year had not begun yet, so he planned to get in through that route.

On the day of special admissions, faced with the assessment of five teachers, Cheng Xiaoyu displayed the strength of an Intermediate Level Shadow Element mage and passed the examination very smoothly.

"Student Cheng Xiaoyu, you're from Bo City?"

President Xiao, seated in the middle of the five, slowly took off his glasses and looked deeply at Cheng Xiaoyu, a hint of surprise flashing through his eyes.

President Xiao noticed that this student's file was registered in Bo City. After experiencing such a tremendous disaster, he could still have the mindset to take the university examination. More than that, he had already reached Intermediate Level cultivation upon graduating from high school. He could absolutely be called a genius!

"Very good. I don't see the slightest weak shadow left by disaster on you. From now on, you are a student of Mingzhu University."

President Xiao smiled faintly, becked to Cheng Xiaoyu, and said, "Student Cheng Xiaoyu, come with me for a moment. There are some things I'd like to tell you."

Hearing this, the four teachers present were all slightly stunned. They had not expected President Xiao to value this student so much that he even planned to speak with him privately.

Cheng Xiaoyu had not expected it either, but he still followed President Xiao out of the place with questions in his heart.

When they arrived at a corner, silver light suddenly shimmered around President Xiao. In the next instant, Cheng Xiaoyu's vision blurred, and he appeared inside an office.

"This is High Level magic of the Space Element. You'll be able to do it in the future too."

Hearing this, Cheng Xiaoyu's pupils contracted. He instantly understood the implication in President Xiao's words: he had seen through his Space Element.

President Xiao sat behind the desk, poured a cup of tea, and placed it in front of him, then beckoned to the dazed Cheng Xiaoyu.

Cheng Xiaoyu came back to his senses. After sitting down, he took a sip of tea and asked, "President Xiao, did you bring me here for something?"

"Student Cheng Xiaoyu, I can sense a dense Dark Aura hidden on your body. Your Shadow Element is very unusual. Can you tell me about it?"

From the very first moment he saw Cheng Xiaoyu, President Xiao had noticed this, which was why he asked him alone.

Hearing this, Cheng Xiaoyu knew he could not hide it anymore, but he was still somewhat wary. He did not want to casually tell someone else this secret.

As if he had seen through Cheng Xiaoyu's concerns, and seeing that there was no panic in his eyes, only confliction, President Xiao let out a breath of relief inwardly and said solemnly, "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. I swear it on my magic!"

Since President Xiao had already said as much, if Cheng Xiaoyu refused again, he might be misunderstood. Besides, the other party was a highly respected president...

"All right... stand up."

The next second, the shadow behind Cheng Xiaoyu suddenly stretched out. Several Shadow Soldiers slowly rose from within it, along with the Shadow Demon Wolves he had extracted earlier, and stood respectfully behind him.

Seeing this, President Xiao could not help standing up, his eyes filled with shock as he stared at those Shadow Soldiers in disbelief.

"This... this is the first time I've ever seen creatures like these!"

They were closer to Undead Creatures, yet their bodies gave off a dense aura of shadow. It was truly strange...

Cheng Xiaoyu briefly explained his ability. More or less, after killing Demon Beasts, he could turn them into his Taxi Soldiers and have them obey his commands.

After a long while, President Xiao finally eased the shock in his heart. His expression turned serious as he looked at Cheng Xiaoyu and asked, "Student Cheng Xiaoyu, have you let anyone else know about this ability of yours?"

"No. Aside from my younger sister, you're the second. I don't want to be treated like some kind of heretic."

Hearing Cheng Xiaoyu say this, President Xiao nodded with relief. This student's temperament was indeed quite good.

"Speaking of heretics... do you know about Calamity Users?"

"Calamity Users?"

Cheng Xiaoyu's face was full of confusion, and he shook his head.

"You can think of them as people who possess terrifying magical potential, but cannot control the powerful strength within themselves, so they are regarded as heretics."

"So that's how it is."

"Then... what do you think of people like Calamity Users?"

Hearing this, Cheng Xiaoyu lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then slowly voiced his thoughts.

"I actually don't know much about Calamity Users, but they definitely don't want to become heretics either. If they could be accepted and given help, they would surely become a huge combat strength in the fight against Demon Beasts."

Hearing these words, President Xiao nodded in satisfaction, while sighing inwardly.

This world was often not so harmonious. There were always those in high positions who clung greedily to power, yet even so, there was no way to bring these people down. After all, this world needed them to maintain it...

He opened his eyes, and the more he looked at Cheng Xiaoyu, the more satisfied he became. Then he said, "Cheng Xiaoyu, do you want to take me as your master?"