Dixie

The next day, Lin Feng arrived early for his second-year Wind Magic class. Since he had shown the strength of a fourth-level mage at the end of the previous term, he had skipped straight from first year to fourth year, putting him in the same year as Delia's older brother, Dixie. But he had never attended a fourth-year class; instead, he still went to second-year Wind Magic with Delia.

As soon as Delia entered the classroom, she looked around for Lin Feng. Then she walked over and sat beside him, smiling at him.

But today, Lin Feng had decided to confess his feelings to Delia and tear down the wall between them. As soon as she arrived, he took her little hand and led her up to the podium. Then, in front of their classmates, most of whom had already arrived, he dropped to one knee and took a stone carving from his belt pouch. Holding it out to her, he declared, "Delia, will you be my girlfriend?"

Silence. An extraordinary silence. The noisy classroom fell completely quiet in an instant. Everyone stared at Lin Feng and Delia on the podium in disbelief, unable to speak. Lin Feng and Delia's relationship had been an open secret, and everyone had silently understood what was going on. But no one had expected Lin Feng to confess to Delia in front of them all. After all, they were only children of about ten. How many of them were as precocious as Yale?

Delia, one of the two people at the center of it all, was also stunned by Lin Feng's sudden confession. Once her initial shock wore off, her pretty face was covered in a blush, and she looked so enticing that Lin Feng wanted to pounce on her and take a bite.

"Say yes!"

Someone shouted, breaking the silence. The other students snapped out of their stunned stupor and began chanting, "Say yes! Say yes!"

Cheers, shouts, and screams rose one after another, deafening the classroom and even drawing the attention of students in the class next door.

With everyone shouting, Delia realized that Lin Feng was waiting for her answer. But his sudden confession had left her flustered. She had no idea how to respond.

Torn with indecision

What should I do? Say yes? Isn't that what I've always wanted? No, he's so mean, making me look bad in front of everyone. How will I face our classmates afterward? Should I turn him down? But, but what if I hurt his feelings? Oh, this is so hard!

When Delia still hadn't answered, Lin Feng grew anxious. He stood up, wrapped his arms around Delia, who was half a head shorter than him, and kissed her sweet red lips.

The classroom, already in an uproar, exploded at Lin Feng's kiss. The geniuses of Ernst Institute grew wild with excitement. They had never seen anything like it. It was so thrilling, so sensual, so—

Lin Feng pulled away almost immediately. It was his first kiss with a girl in either of his two lives, but he had no intention of turning it into a long French kiss. His chauvinistic streak reared its head; he didn't want anyone else seeing his future wife's shy expression.

But even that brief, feather-light kiss left Delia, still frozen in shock, completely dazed.

"Will you?" Lin Feng asked again, his voice gentle.

Delia no longer knew what to say. She simply nodded without thinking. She was so embarrassed that she wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground.

When Lin Feng saw that Delia had agreed, he pulled her into his arms and announced to the entire class, "From now on, Delia is my woman, Lin Feng Baruch's! If anyone dares bully her, I'll beat them so badly even their own mothers won't recognize them."

"Pfft!"

Delia had been terribly embarrassed, but when she heard Lin Feng's domineering declaration, she couldn't help laughing.

That evening, at Dormitory 1987.

"Third Brother, you've got some nerve. I never knew you had it in you."

Lin Feng had just returned from training in the hills behind the school. Before he could even get inside, he heard George, the second oldest, teasing him.

"I've made up my mind. You can have my spot as the dorm leader. You're incredible, kid. You're a legend in Dormitory 1987—no, in the whole Ernst Institute!" Yale, the dorm leader, said even more dramatically.

"Third Brother, I'm sticking with you from now on. Wherever you say, I'll go. If you say we should have sex, I won't settle for jerking off." The youngest, Reynolds, chimed in.

"Have sex? Jerking off?" Lin Feng's expression turned complicated. He looked at the innocent-faced little Reynolds, unable to believe that those words had come from him. Then he glanced at Yale and understood.

"Fourth Brother, don't hang around with the dorm leader anymore. You'll learn bad habits."

"Give me a break. I'm still a better choice than you. I'm only at the theoretical stage, while you've already put it into practice. You even got up close and personal today, making a public spectacle of yourself. Compared to you, I'm a pure little baby," Yale said with disdain.

Lin Feng:

"Third Brother, don't worry. I won't hang around with the dorm leader anymore. I've decided that from now on, I'll stick with you and learn from your practical experience."

Lin Feng nearly collapsed.

After joking around for a while, Yale, the dorm's resident know-it-all, spoke earnestly to Lin Feng. "Third Brother, do you know that your girlfriend's older brother is Dixie?"

"Of course!" Lin Feng had no idea why Yale looked so serious. Yale liked to joke around, and rarely got serious, but when he did, there was always a reason.

"You put on quite a show today, and you left your girlfriend all flustered. But you made such a spectacle of it that even Dixie, who's always absorbed in cultivation, heard about it. According to the gossip, Dixie is going to come after you. I've heard he's already at the peak of the fourth-level mage stage and could break through at any moment. I'm worried you might get the short end of the stick."

Lin Feng felt touched. He hadn't expected Yale, who was usually so carefree, to be so thoughtful and concerned about him.

But Lin Feng had the mind of a man in his twenties, after all, and quickly collected himself. Smiling confidently, he said, "Don't worry, Dorm Leader. I managed to win your sister-in-law over. One little Dixie won't be a problem."

The next day, Lin Feng was walking along a path on campus with Delia.

"Delia, I'm going to apply to the institute tomorrow to train in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Will you come with me?"

"Dorm Leader, you've finally decided to go to the Magical Beast Mountain Range! I'm so excited! I'm a magical beast, but I've never been to the Magical Beast Forest. It's so sad!" Beibei, tucked inside Lin Feng's sleeve, heard that he planned to set off for the Magical Beast Mountain Range the next day and immediately grew excited, communicating with Lin Feng through their souls.

"Quiet. If you make another sound, I won't roast meat for you today." At Lin Feng's words, Beibei immediately fell silent.

Hearing that her sweetheart would soon be going to train in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Delia felt a pang of sadness and worried about his safety. But when she heard Lin Feng invite her to go with him, she was delighted. That joy, however, didn't last long before her expression fell.

"Lin Feng, I'm so weak. I'd only be a burden if I went. I..."

Of course Delia wanted to go with Lin Feng to train in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. After all, she and Lin Feng were practically newlyweds, and she didn't want to be apart from him. But reason told her she couldn't go. The Magical Beast Mountain Range was too dangerous, and she was too weak. She wouldn't be able to help; she would only hold her sweetheart back. For the first time, Delia, a heaven-blessed genius, began to doubt her own talent. She even felt that she might not be good enough for Lin Feng.

But her self-doubt didn't last long before Lin Feng's tender words swept it away.

"Don't worry. I'll be there, and we'll only train along the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range this time. It won't be dangerous." Lin Feng held Delia's hand and spoke with earnest affection.

"But, but..." Delia didn't answer right away. Instead, she faltered, leaving Lin Feng puzzled.

"Delia, what are you worried about?" Lin Feng asked.

"I'm afraid my brother won't let me go. And he, he..."

Before Delia could finish, Lin Feng felt a chill run down his spine. He turned around and saw Delia's older brother, Dixie, standing behind him and glaring coldly at him.

"Dixie!" Seeing the worried look on Delia's face, Lin Feng smiled at her, silently telling her not to worry.

"Lin Feng Baruch," Dixie said coldly.

"What can I do for you?" Lin Feng replied nonchalantly.

"Fight me. If you beat me, I won't stop you from going with my sister to train in the Magical Beast Mountain Range tomorrow. If you lose, you leave, and she stays."

Dixie didn't waste any words. He stated his purpose plainly and concisely.

"Fine!" Lin Feng readily agreed.

Delia panicked. One was her brother, and the other was her sweetheart, but now they were going to fight. She would be heartbroken if either of them got hurt.

"Brother, Lin Feng, please don't fight!" Delia's pretty face flushed, and her palms grew sweaty. They were both men she cared about, but both were stubborn and evenly matched in strength. If they really fought, it would be an epic battle.

Lin Feng shrugged and pointed at Dixie.

"Little sister, if he can't even beat me, how can he protect you? How could I trust him to take care of you?" Dixie's voice softened as he spoke to his sister. He didn't say much, but that one sentence made it clear how much he cherished and cared for Delia.

"But, but..." Delia was only nine years old, after all. She didn't want Lin Feng and her brother to fight, but when her brother put it that way, she didn't know how to argue.

"Don't worry, Delia. I'll go easy on him. I won't hurt your brother." Lin Feng smiled at Delia, ignoring her astonished look, then turned and headed toward the dueling arena on campus.

Hearing Lin Feng say he would go easy on him made Dixie's expression even colder. But with his pride, he disdained arguing with Lin Feng. Only a real fight could settle who was stronger; actions spoke louder than words.