Zhou Min's Request

After the field training, it was the winter break of sophomore year.

The break flew by, and before he knew it, Jiang Yuan was back in the classroom.

That's just how student life was—two fixed long holidays every year, a time countless working adults missed dearly.

Jiang Yuan spent his break still cultivating and doing missions.

Lately, demon sightings had increased.

With combat and cultivation going hand in hand, his Stardust grew faster.

So during this period, Jiang Yuan had pushed his Water element to level three, fully trained, and could attempt a breakthrough to the intermediate tier.

If he had enough Soul Essences, he'd also reinforce all his magic to level five or above, but that was clearly not something he could consider right now.

On top of that, his Undead element was on the verge of a breakthrough too.

"I wonder if my next awakening will give me two magic systems," Jiang Yuan mused in the classroom.

He had no idea when he'd break through to intermediate—maybe tonight, maybe during a mission. Anytime was possible.

After all, his Stardust had reached saturation; breaking through the intermediate barrier wouldn't be too hard.

School life was the same as before.

But maybe because of the field training, the usually lazy students in the training grounds had all started training seriously.

If you couldn't even use magic, what kind of mage were you?

Jiang Yuan didn't need to go to the training grounds anymore.

Fighting humanoid dummies was a waste of time. He didn't do pointless things, and the training from hunting demons was far more effective.

"Jiang Yuan... do you... do you have time tonight?" Zhou Min shuffled over, her voice as faint as a mosquito.

Seeing her hesitant little look, anyone would think she was about to confess to Jiang Yuan.

"What's going on?" Mo Fan was stunned. Could it be that his handsome face wasn't a match for Jiang Yuan?

Jiang Yuan looked up at Zhou Min.

He was handsome, sure, and it was normal for girls to like him, but Zhou Min didn't seem like the type to confess like this.

There had to be something.

So Jiang Yuan nodded. "I have time tonight."

Zhou Min immediately beamed. "Then wait for me at the school gate after class. This matter is really important, and I'll tell you then."

"Okay." Jiang Yuan nodded, already guessing the reason in his head.

Once Zhou Min walked away, Mo Fan blurted out in shock, "She's not going to confess to you, is she?"

That whole speech sounded just like the prelude to a confession.

Even he, Mo Fan, had never been confessed to by a girl.

Mo Fan lamented, "No woman has ever noticed the charm of a handsome guy like me. It's really heartbreaking!"

"Go play somewhere else. You're disturbing my meditation," Jiang Yuan said flatly.

"OK, being this cold to me, huh?"

"Jiang Yuan, you're not even bothering to be salty anymore!"

When school let out, Zhou Min was waiting for Jiang Yuan at the gate.

As soon as he came over, she lit up with a smile. But when she saw someone behind him, her face fell. "Mo Fan, why are you following him?"

"Whoa, what?" Mo Fan pointed at himself, laughing in disbelief. "I walk home with Jiang Yuan every single day, okay!?"

"Oh, oh. I never noticed you before. Sorry."

That only made Mo Fan more upset.

Seeing this, Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Class monitor, you said you had something important to tell me. What is it?"

"It's like this," Zhou Min said. "I'm not sure if I should even bring it up, but my grandma lives on Banyan Tree Street. It's an old district."

Jiang Yuan listened and thought, Just as I expected.

It was the incident where Mo Fan first encountered the One-eyed Magic Wolf.

He'd guessed as much, but the person she was asking for help had changed from Mo Fan to him.

"Could it be a Giant-eyed Stinky Rat?" Mo Fan chimed in.

"How is that possible? How could there be a demon like that in Bocheng?" Zhou Min's mouth fell open in surprise.

The fear from facing a demon last time still lingered in her mind.

Jiang Yuan pretended to think it over. "Even though it's inside the city, we can't rule out a Giant-eyed Stinky Rat. It's their breeding season, and they might crawl out of the sewers. Mo Fan, come with me."

Mo Fan nodded. "No problem."

The three moved quickly and soon arrived at the old district of Banyan Tree Street, an area that had undergone demolition and was now in shambles.

Among the crumbling walls and broken ruins, there was hardly any space for people to live, but some nostalgic souls refused to leave.

People like that were the best prey for demons lurking in the shadows.

"The place where my grandmother lives is over there, and it's always shaking," Zhou Min said, pointing to an old house, then to a ruined square.

From the outside, the ruins showed nothing unusual. But at night, the distant lights contrasted with the broken darkness here, giving off a creepy, eerie feeling.

Jiang Yuan led the two toward the ruined square, moving nimbly—a few leaps and he was on a flat patch of ground.

He then took out a packet of demon-tracking powder and scattered it into the air.

Mo Fan wasn't idle either; he also pulled out demon-tracking powder and sprinkled it around.

Seeing this, Zhou Min was stunned inside. Why would an ordinary student carry something like that?

Could there really be demons inside the city?

Her doubts were soon answered.

The demon-tracking powder fell to the ground and quickly clung to the traces of a demon's path.

Several demon footprints suddenly emerged.

Zhou Min's face went pale with fear: "There really are demons here! What do we do?"

"It's fine, Mo Fan and I will follow the footprints and check it out first," Jiang Yuan reassured her.

Just a Servant level demon—he could handle it alone.

"We... we should call the Demon Hunting Squad right away," Zhou Min said, her heart turning cold with panic, her mind flashing back to the terrifying fangs of the Ghost Wolf Beast.

"It's okay, don't forget how we completed the training," Jiang Yuan comforted her again. He exchanged a glance with Mo Fan, then headed toward the direction of the demon footprints.

Zhou Min cautiously followed.

"It's hiding in that unfinished building ahead," Jiang Yuan said, his eyes fixed on the half-built structure not far away.

"At this distance, it should have caught our scent," Mo Fan said, his tone unusually serious, completely different from his usual self.

On the second floor of the unfinished building, something seemed to rise from the shadowy darkness against the sunlight—a massive figure like a small tower.

Zhou Min almost screamed in terror.

There really were demons inside the city!

When the demon's form fully emerged from the shadows, they could see a one-eyed wolf head, a single eerie eye staring straight at the three of them.

This One-eyed Magic Wolf's body was two or three times larger than an ordinary wolf. Most people, seeing such a size difference, would have fled in panic.

Instead, Jiang Yuan met its gaze calmly.

"Jiang Yuan, let's run!" Zhou Min hissed in a low voice.

He signaled for her to stay safe, then leaped forward with Mo Fan.

"Awooo!!!"

Hearing the wolf's howl, Zhou Min felt like she was losing her mind.

She pulled out her communication device and frantically sent a distress signal to the Demon Hunting Squad.