96 Leaving the Hotel

As night fell, Yuan Chen quietly left the Rose Hotel along with the departing crowd.

Inside the hotel, the Road Protector were performing a spell. Not to mention the mages of Piltover, even Ionia cultivators would be completely baffled once the spell's defensive perimeter was completed.

While the upper limit of the Yuan Chu Axiom may not reach the level of transcendence that the Spirit Theory can achieve by borrowing the power of the universe, it possesses a stability and precision far exceeding almost all other schools of thought in situations similar to the construction of fortifications.

And... Piltover doesn't really welcome mages.

Walking among the crowd, his long robe had been transformed into Piltover- style aristocratic attire. Simply put, it was a Baroque-style formal dress, complemented by a large number of Hextech gadgets resembling brass circuitry, assistive hands, multi-functional lenses, and prosthetics.

As sheriff, Caitlyn guards the area above the Rose Hotel, while Vi, recovering from her injuries, stands watch at the entrance.

Vi's personality goes without saying. For this girl from Zaun, the only person Vi can truly care about is Caitlyn. As for the other women, Piltover? They're just putting on an act.

Sitting on the motorcycle, Wei didn't even bother to get off and inspect the items herself, simply having the enforcement officer beside her count them. She, meanwhile, leaned back, counting the stars in the sky, a blade of grass dangling from her mouth, lost in thought.

In the past, complaints would already be being sent to Piltover Enforcers's headquarters. However, this time is different, as scholars and businessmen are exchanging ideas.

Scholars excitedly exchanged ideas about the new insights that the Yuan Chu Axiom brought to Hextech, while businessmen discussed potential new business opportunities with their family advisors...

Yes, scholars and businessmen do exchange ideas. The former do so to secure more sponsorship, while the latter seek greater returns.

Located on the second-floor balcony of the Rose Hotel, Caitlyn knew Wei's personality well, so she did not relax her observation of the departing people.

When Caitlyn saw Yuan Chen, she instinctively felt that his back looked somewhat familiar. But before she could look closely, her vision blurred. She rubbed her eyes, and when her eyes cleared again, the inexplicably familiar figure had already vanished.

She had some doubts, but Caitlyn didn't dwell on it. She simply checked the others and, after confirming there were no other oddities, nodded before continuing her patrol and scan of the surrounding area.

Before leaving, Yuan Chen cast a small spell on the Fire Dragon Leather Armor, similar to a cognitive barrier.

This magic isn't particularly advanced; any mage could immediately detect something amiss through unusual magical energy fluctuations. Ordinary people, on the other hand, could sense it through magical equipment—unfortunately, Caitlyn herself wasn't a mage.

At Qiyana's request, any Hextech equipment with magical aura is prohibited from appearing in the vicinity of the Rose Hotel. If it does appear, it will be regarded as an enemy by the Road Protector and attacked immediately.

Thanks to Yuan Chen's speech in the Great Hall during the day, at least so far, no fool has tried to provoke Qiyana.

"Your Concealment Spell is so clumsy that even an ordinary person without Magic Talent or Magic Item can detect you."

After leaving the Rose Hotel and entering an alley, Qiyana's somewhat speechless voice rang out behind Yuan Chen:

"If the masters of Yishuaoken knew this, they would be utterly astonished... that the person who was leading the revolution was only at this level of Spellcasting."

"My Main Profession is dancer, and then mage." Yuan Chen wasn't surprised by Qiyana's arrival. From the beginning, Qiyana hadn't hidden her presence. And Yuan Chen seemed quite unfazed by Qiyana's speechless reaction.

"To be precise, I've only mastered the Water Element for less than three months now, and that was only through a lot of coincidences."

"Really?"

Upon hearing Yuan Chen's words, Qiyana seemed somewhat surprised— Qiyana knew that Yuan Chen's time as a mage was short, but less than two months was simply too extraordinary.

Putting everything else aside, even Qiyana herself would be roughly equal in terms of Water Flow manipulation if she didn't focus on controlling the Water Element.

Have I ever lied to you?

"Hmph, who knows?" Upon hearing Yuan Chen's words, Qiyana remained silent for a moment, then a look of disdain appeared on her face.

She hadn't forgotten what Yuan Chen had told her in the hotel—that she had no worries about lies, and even hoped that the other party would expose her lies so that she could broaden her perspective.

For a guy like that...

"Perhaps I'm trapped in an undeniable lie right now?"

"For example?" Yuan Chen raised an eyebrow, sensing that Qiyana's words had a hidden meaning.

"Like demons or something." Qiyana tossed her hair, shook her head, and said nonchalantly.

"But there's nothing to worry about, because I'll expose you in a way you can't escape. They're just demons; they can't stop Qiyana's path!"

"Your pride truly runs deep in your bones."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chen chuckled – "Miss, you probably have no idea what kind of demon I've messed with."

Don't even mention you, Camavor's progenitor of the dragon race, a pure-blooded dragon at the level of a high-ranking demigod.

Judging by the time, it should be close to mailing it now~

Sensing Yuan Chen's indifference, Qiyana didn't bother to argue. She simply snorted, her resolve to expose the truth about demons growing stronger.

It's not that I believe the story of Yuan Chen being targeted by a demon is a lie; it's purely that I want to use my studies to find a way to break free from the demon's anchor. I want to expose this excuse with force, in a way that Yuan Chen, with his sharp tongue, can't refute...

Yuan Chen has a sharp tongue, something Qiyana knows all too well.

This has been proven countless times at the Elemental Festival, in the Royal Archives, and in the Great Hall of Piltover.

Being able to see the future, who knows how many more informational gaps Yuan Chen still has to exploit to convince himself...

Therefore, don't try to out-argue him with words.

This elemental genius from Yishuaoken was determined to find a way to expose this excuse using his most proficient methods.

Unfortunately, she didn't know that what awaited her was not a piece of paper, but a mountain of damning obstacles.

Thinking about this, Yuan Chen felt a pang of emotion—he didn't really want to see Qiyana, this proud girl, suffer a setback. But for such a strong-willed child, a certain amount of setback might actually accelerate her growth.

After all, his steps would not stop at Yishuaoken.

Now that we're outside, we don't need to be as wary as before.

Qiyana took out a hair tie, gestured with her chin towards Yuan Chen, and then turned her back to Yuan Chen. Yuan Chen didn't mind, but skillfully combed his long hair and tied it up properly.

As a dancer, taking good care of oneself is the most basic thing. And things like tying hair—back in Ionia, Yuan Chen, as a senior, had helped people tie their hair countless times...

"I wonder how that little girl Irelia is doing," Yuan Chen couldn't help but think.

Irelia used to come to Yuan Chen for help with her hair when she was feeling lazy. Now that he's left Ionia, he wonders how much his junior schoolmate's dancing skills have improved.

At least, until her departure, Irelia remained innocent and lively, yearning for the rhythm of dance and the harmony of nature.

Instead of the Blade's Will in the game constantly spouting resolute phrases like "Grandma said," "Leave no one alive!" and "Expel them all!"

Drive out every single Noxians, leave none alive!!! -- Irelia Jaeger

Thinking this, a playful smile appeared on Yuan Chen's lips.

Sensing Yuan Chen's relaxed demeanor behind her, Qiyana raised an eyebrow. "What are you thinking about? Why are you so happy?"

"Nothing much, just some things about my hometown."

"Tch, Ixialia is beautiful too, you'll like her."

Even when she wanted Yuan Chen to realize the beauty of Ixialia, Qiyana would use an unusually forceful way to hint at it.

However, it's clear that Qiyana herself didn't realize it.

With a wave of her hand, a water mirror formed in the girl's palm. Shaking her head twice, looking at her simple yet elegant ponytail, Qiyana nodded in satisfaction.

"Still as good as ever... I don't know how you managed to train like that."

"Demeanor is part of dance, and even more so, part of ritual, just as important as the Axiom Constraint in the Yuan Chu Axiom."

"Alright." Qiyana accepted Yuan Chen's explanation and then walked towards the dazzling night streets of Piltover —it was eight o'clock at night, just as Piltover's nightlife was beginning.

"However, your Spellcasting technique is indeed too clumsy. If others knew that you Yishuaoken with such a level of casting, it would definitely tarnish the reputation of the entire Yuentar class."

So what should I do?

"I have plenty of free time in the evenings; I can make time to teach you."

"But I am your teacher... Your father, King Yuen, has already confirmed this."

"Don't try to intimidate me with my father! You know I don't like that! And these outdated traditions are completely irrelevant; they can't bind me because I'm going to be the Queen of Ixialia! That's against tradition!"

After a pause, Qiyana's eyes lit up and she said decisively:

"Just like you said before. You don't follow the rules that are unfavorable to you, and as your student, it's reasonable for me to do the same, right?"

Is this reasonable?

That makes perfect sense.