To Magic City

The New Year's dinner was a delight for hosts and guests alike.

By the end, Zhou Sining couldn't remember how much he'd drunk. All he knew was that he'd had one hell of a New Year's celebration!

He hadn't been this happy in a long time.

But happy days never lasted.

After the New Year, they spent another two or three days together before Zhang Xiaohou and He Yu returned to the Southern Military Department.

Xu Zhaoting took his good friend Wang Sanpang on a trip to Magic City.

The others went home to spend time with their families, leaving Zhou Sining alone again.

Zhou Sining wasn't too disappointed. He'd enjoyed a lively New Year, and now it was time to settle down and train.

The Blazing Flame he'd exchanged for a couple of days earlier was still waiting to be refined.

As the Ancient Capital basked in the festive afterglow of the New Year, Zhou Sining took another assignment on the Outer City Wall and returned to his old ascetic routine.

Every night, he went out to kill Undead. When he ran out of Magic Energy, he trained; once he finished training, he went back to killing Undead.

During that time, he exchanged for a Speed-Control Magic Tool to help him master the Star Map faster.

Day after day, a month and a half flew by. With the holiday nearly over, he'd refined most of the Blazing Flame and could barely link a Star Map when he suddenly realized that, despite breaking through to the Intermediate Level over a month ago, he still hadn't gone to awaken his second element.

He hurried to the Bell Tower Magic Association's website to book an awakening, then remembered one of Gangsha's traits.

--Gangsha Flame burned with fierce killing intent. When awakening an element, there was a chance the awakening would fail.

The system had no reason to lie to him.

But in the original story, Mu Ningxue had also been born with an Innate Spirit Seed in her Ice Element, and she'd successfully awakened her second element all the same.

Her second element, the Wind Element, even had a Spirit Seed by the exchange-student period. It was a powerful element that hadn't been affected by her Ice Element.

Zhou Sining was stumped.

If the awakening failed, he'd lose an entire element for nothing.

Without a second element, his strength would take a serious hit.

The further he progressed, the worse it would get. Zhou Sining didn't want to run into a Demon Beast one day and have nothing but fire to throw at it, with no way to counter it besides Magic Equipment.

Nor did he want to spend his whole life holed up on the Ancient Capital's Outer City Wall, scraping by on the Demon Beasts he killed.

He'd been reborn in another world. If all he could do was scrape by, he'd be a disgrace to transmigrators everywhere.

The world was so big. He truly wanted to see it.

With Mu Ningxue as an example, and the system calling it a matter of "chance," he remained fairly optimistic.

His heart was already racing as he imagined awakening some rare second element and using it to show everyone up.

Zhou Sining opened the system to see if it held any pleasant surprises.

The System Shop had reached level five a couple of days earlier, but he'd been too busy training to check it.

[Zhou Sining]

[Life Points: 3.4 (self)/19632 (Demon Beasts)]

[Fire Element, Intermediate Level One] [Innate Fire Element Devouring Seed]

[Demon-Slaying]

[Level: 5 (645/5000)]

[Current Lottery Draws: 14 (250 Life Points required)]

The level-five system had gained a lot of new items.

Its Magic Artifacts and Magic Equipment covered nearly everything an Intermediate Mage might need, with a few items even suited to Advanced Mages.

Unfortunately, he couldn't sell any of them or give them away with the intention of getting something in return. Otherwise, he'd have made himself rich in no time.

Zhou Sining sighed and flipped through page after page of the shop.

He searched for a long time, but there wasn't even an Awakening Stone, let alone a special item that could improve his chances of awakening.

Unable to find what he wanted, Zhou Sining stopped dwelling on it and picked out a few things he did want.

[Fire Element Spirit Seed: One random Fire Element Spirit Seed. Required Life Points: 588] (Only 5 exchanges available)

[Spirit Level Nebula Magic Tool: Increases training speed by 40%. Required Life Points: 1288]

[Focus Necklace: Can withstand one Mind Attack. Required Life Points: 788]

[Netherworld Battle Armor: Can withstand a Great General's full-force blow. When activated, briefly grants Shadow Escape. Required Life Points: 888]

[Flying Lightning Boots: Lightning-fast. Once charged, can unleash a kick no weaker than a Thunderbolt. Required Life Points: 888]

[Mana-Recovery Magical Artifact: Rapidly restores Magic Energy. Required Life Points: 688]

[Array Scroll: Grants one random Array scroll. Required Life Points: 600]

[Crimson Blade: Brahma. Required Life Points: 18888] (Available for exchange for 4 months)

[1 Life Point (personal). Required Life Points: 10000] (Only 5 exchanges available)

Over the two-month holiday, he'd accumulated nearly twenty thousand points, but he still couldn't afford to buy whatever caught his eye.

Zhou Sining exchanged for a Mana-Recovery Magical Artifact and bookmarked the rest.

He had no plans to go into the wilderness for now. The Nether Separation Shield was enough for his defensive needs.

And with the Mana-Recovery Magical Artifact added to his training set, he wasn't lacking anything there either.

Once that was done, he took stock of all his Magic Artifacts and Magic Equipment.

Wind Blade Slash, the Soul Vessel, the Soul-Consolidating Heart Chain, the Nether Separation Shield, the Fire Element Star Scar, and two Fire Element Star Chart Books.

A Spirit Level Stardust Magic Tool, a Nebula Magic Tool, a Speed-Control Magic Tool, and a Mana-Recovery Magical Artifact.

He also had Gangsha, a top-tier Devouring Seed, and had already exchanged for two Spirit Seeds to feed it.

His collection of Magic Artifacts and Magic Equipment was every bit as lavish as that of the heirs of the finest families.

Then Zhou Sining turned his attention back to the booking page.

If he went through with the awakening, he might gain a new element.

If he didn't, he'd never have a second element.

He wasn't one to hesitate. Long accustomed to having no one to fall back on, he knew that sometimes all he had to do was act.

No longer letting Gangsha's trait hold him back, Zhou Sining submitted his booking.

Just before he paid, Su Zhe called.

The call interrupted the application and forced him to start over. Zhou Sining was annoyed.

After two months together, he and Su Zhe knew each other well enough that he didn't bother watching his words.

"Spit it out, old man."

"You've got no manners, kid. If you were on my team, I'd tan your hide!" Su Zhe grumbled, then went on. "Let me ask you something. Have you applied for an awakening since your breakthrough?"

Zhou Sining sighed. "I was about to. Then you interrupted me."

"Perfect. I'm taking my nephew to awaken in the next couple of days. Come with us, since you haven't applied yet," Su Zhe said with a laugh.

Zhou Sining paused. He hadn't expected Su Zhe to offer that.

An awakening wasn't cheap. Even through the Magic Association's official website, the cheapest option cost a hundred thousand.

For someone like Su Zhe, a battlefield commander-in-chief, that was a whole quarter's salary.

They weren't related. They'd only worked together on the Outer City Wall for two months. There was no reason for Su Zhe to go to such lengths for him.

Besides, he had enough money to pay for his own awakening.

"No thanks," Zhou Sining said at once.

He couldn't accept, no matter how he looked at it.

"Don't feel obligated. You saved my life, and I haven't found a chance to repay you. I want to use this opportunity to show my gratitude," Su Zhe said slowly.

Zhou Sining was about to speak, but Su Zhe cut him off.

"Don't refuse. I know that if you could pull out that Shield Magic Tool, you're not short of money. But this is different. Give me a chance to repay the man who saved me, or it'll keep bothering me."

"You've still got a week before school starts, so there's plenty of time. I'll pick you up tomorrow. Don't run off."

Su Zhe gave Zhou Sining no chance to answer and hung up abruptly.

"You sentimental old fool." Zhou Sining smiled helplessly.

The next day, Zhou Sining met Su Zhe, who had a sixteen-year-old young man with him.

"Let's go to the Clock Tower. Don't worry, I won't make you pay for the cab," Zhou Sining said with a grin.

"Who said we were going to the Clock Tower for the awakening?" Su Zhe looked baffled.

"You command the Outer City Wall. If you're taking your nephew to awaken, where else would you go?" Zhou Sining stared at him.

"Magic City. My nephew's from there; he's only visiting the Ancient Capital. His application there just got approved, so I'm taking him home and bringing you along to awaken while we're at it. It'll broaden your horizons." Su Zhe spread his hands.

"What does his approved application have to do with me?" Zhou Sining wanted to curse.

A cab to the Clock Tower would take half an hour. Flying to Magic City meant staying at least one night!

"Don't worry. My brother-in-law happens to be in charge over there. Getting you in ahead of the queue only takes a word," Su Zhe said casually.

"You bastard!"