Back to Magic City

As Zhou Sining left the Three-Step Tower, the two other freshmen who had entered the Wild Goose Pagoda with him came over to say hello.

"Zhou Sining, how much did you get out of it?"

"Not bad."

Zhou Sining smiled as he walked past them, with no intention of stopping to chat.

The two had exchanged contact information with him on the way there, so he knew a little about them.

Li Yu was a daughter of the Li Family, one of the Ancient Capital's three great families.

Liu Haitao was a son of the Liu Family, another of the three.

Both belonged to their families' direct lines, and both carried themselves with a certain pride.

They had only lowered themselves to befriend a commoner like him because he had ranked first on the freshmen's military training Undead points leaderboard.

In previous years, the top ten spots had always gone to children of the Ancient Capital's three great families. This year, Zhou Sining had appeared out of nowhere and taken first place by a huge margin.

The Ancient Capital's powerful families had long since dug up everything they could about him.

Naturally, they knew he was an orphan from Bo City with no major power backing him.

That meant Zhou Sining's strength came entirely from his own talent and hard work.

The moment word reached the families, they were in an uproar.

What commoner? He was practically a Chosen Heir their family had lost somewhere along the way!

First come, first served!

Invitations flooded into Zhou Sining's hands.

Some of the families' younger members had also been ordered to approach him and build a good relationship.

Li Yu and Liu Haitao had the advantage: they were going to train at the Wild Goose Pagoda with him.

Neither was a fool. They knew bringing someone like Zhou Sining into their family would pay off handsomely.

And since they were his age, they could turn him into a trusted ally while recruiting him, strengthening their own positions within their families.

With so many families inviting him, even Zhou Sining could see what they wanted.

So he had kept his responses to their invitations lukewarm.

If they offered small perks like business cards or discount vouchers, he accepted them.

You can fight over me. I'll take the freebies. No conflict there.

But if they interrupted his training to invite him to dinner or out for fun—or worse, acted as if they were doing him a favor—then they could get lost.

At the end of the day, he had no intention of signing himself over to a bunch of bloodsucking capitalists.

Back home, Zhou Sining finally relaxed after three days of hard training and got a good night's sleep.

He slept until the next morning. After washing up, he sent Mu Nujiao a message as usual.

Three days of training at the Wild Goose Pagoda had made him feel as though he and Mu Nujiao had drifted apart.

He happened to check the date and realized the National Day Holiday had begun.

Perfect.

Zhou Sining was thoroughly pleased that Ancient Capital Academy had scheduled the break right after military training.

It gave him just enough time to visit Magic City. He had said he would go see Mu Nujiao, and now it was time to do it.

With that thought, he called her.

"What's up?"

She picked up instantly. Her voice was as clear and sweet as a silver bell, and Zhou Sining's thoughts promptly wandered.

"I just wanted to ask if you'd gone anywhere for the holiday," Zhou Sining said.

"Not yet. I've visited all the famous sights so many times over the past eighteen years that I'm tired of them," Mu Nujiao said with a laugh.

"I was thinking of coming to Magic City. Want to hang out?"

Mu Nujiao was silent for a few seconds before answering with a smile. "Sure."

"Great. I'll message you when I land."

Delighted by her answer, Zhou Sining hurried to book a flight to Magic City.

After the call ended, Mu Nujiao leaned back on her balcony lounger and gazed at the garden in the distance.

She looked at it for a long time. Then the corners of her rosy lips lifted slightly, and anticipation crept into her eyes.

By the time his plane landed, it was evening. Zhou Sining messaged Mu Nujiao to let her know he had arrived safely.

She replied that she could arrange a car to pick him up.

He had left in a hurry, and it was peak travel season. Hotels in Magic City were exorbitant, and he hadn't booked one, so he accepted her offer.

He climbed into a Maybach bearing the Mu Clan crest and spent the whole ride looking forward to seeing her.

It was just past nine when he arrived at the Mu Clan's old residence.

Even for a great family living out in the suburbs, nine in the evening was not particularly late.

Mu Nujiao played the gracious host and took it upon herself to show Zhou Sining to his guest room.

They had not seen each other in over half a month, and neither brought up the hug they had shared before parting.

That kept things comfortable between them.

Zhou Sining launched into an easy, wildly embellished account of how impressive he had been during military training.

Looking at the confident, exuberant young man beside her, Mu Nujiao found herself smiling.

She could not resist teasing him. "So you're a celebrity at Ancient Capital Academy now?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say celebrity. Just number one on the campus heartthrob rankings!" Zhou Sining said shamelessly.

Ancient Capital Academy was different from Pearl Academy. Its freshmen trained in separate groups, and the Undead points leaderboard drew nowhere near the attention of the Beast Fighting Competition.

Even though he had taken first place by a huge margin, most students had no idea who he was. He could hardly compare with Mo Fan, who had managed to make the entire school hate him.

But when it came to bragging, hesitation was the only way to lose.

I'm awesome, and that's that!

Mu Nujiao had her doubts about how much of his story was true, but she was too polite to call him out. Instead, she played along and praised him.

"No wonder you two get along. You're both the sort to take everyone by surprise. Though quite a few people are still cursing that friend of yours from the Summoning System."

"Ah, it's fine. He doesn't care." Zhou Sining turned to look at Mu Nujiao as he spoke.

The night was still, with a bright moon and few stars. Warm light from the streetlamps fell across Mu Nujiao, lending the elegant young woman a touch of quiet grace.

Despite their leisurely pace, they soon reached the guest room.

"This is the room you stayed in last time. Everything inside has been replaced. If you want a late-night snack, just call the kitchen," Mu Nujiao said thoughtfully.

Then she turned to leave.

As she turned, a few loose strands of hair traced a small arc before Zhou Sining's eyes.

The sight of her walking away made his heart race. Without thinking, he reached out and gently caught her wrist.

Mu Nujiao tensed when someone grabbed her wrist, then relaxed when she saw it was Zhou Sining.

"What is it?"

"Um, can I ask you a rather personal question?"

"Go ahead."

"It's just... well..." Zhou Sining suddenly grew bashful.

After all, he had been single his entire life and had no experience pursuing a girl!

He steeled himself and went for it.

"I mean, are you seeing anyone?" Zhou Sining blurted out.

Mu Nujiao froze for a moment, then quickly understood what he meant.

She gave him a half-smile. "If you're asking whether anyone's pursuing me, there are far too many to count. Why?"

"Then can I pursue you?" Zhou Sining asked outright.

The moment the words left his mouth, Zhou Sining felt drunk all over again.

Mu Nujiao's beautiful eyes widened. She had never expected him to say that.

It took her a while to recover. Then she gave him a smile so beautiful it hardly seemed fair.

"Well... that's up to you."