Night fell over the back hills of Blue Tyrant Academy.
Liu Erlong sat boldly on the third-floor windowsill, gazing out at the deep blue sky as stars sprang up one after another like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
She clutched a one-liter bottle of liquor, taking several hearty swigs now and then. Her expression was even more wooden than the untouched side dishes on the table.
She didn't show the slightest change in emotion, even after she'd finished the bottle. She was calmer than the still waters of the pool below.
She was feeling depressed.
She had no need to worry about money, and power wasn't something she sought. Fate had toyed with her feelings, and as for strength, no matter how powerful she became, she still couldn't defeat that woman from Spirit Hall.
She couldn't find meaning in life. Whatever she did felt like drawing water with a bamboo basket, and she didn't know why she was alive.
It wasn't until the moon climbed above the treetops that the alcohol finally made her gaze grow hazy. She didn't resist the drowsiness creeping over her, nor did she try to use Soul Power to burn off the alcohol.
Just as her consciousness was about to shut down, a scene suddenly flashed through her mind.
It was unlike any ordinary dream, clear enough for every detail to stand out in perfect clarity.
"This dream... is so unusual."
She could clearly sense that something was off, but since there was no apparent danger, instinct told her not to think too much about it.
After all, thinking was a dangerous thing for someone with a heavy heart.
The dream began with Flender, Yu Xiaogang, Yu Xiaogang's disciple Tang San, and Dai Mubai, one of Flender's former students.
One after another, the four