Classmates

A wanted notice was the Wizard Alliance's most-wanted list for demons and monsters.

Every demon or monster with a bloody record in the Wizarding World would be included on this list. The Wizard Alliance encouraged institutions and private hunting parties to actively hunt the demons and monsters on it. The bounties offered by the Alliance were substantial, starting at one hundred jade coins and with no upper limit.

No upper limit meant exactly that—there was no limit.

It was said that the bounties for those ancient demons on the wanted notice were calculated in "wishes." The Sea Demon King's bounty was "three wishes."

In other words, as long as you could capture the Sea Demon King and bring him to justice, the Wizard Alliance could grant you three wishes.

Additionally, hunting demons and monsters on the wanted notice came with all sorts of extra benefits from the Alliance.

For example, when facing demons and monsters on the wanted notice, hunters could use high-powered spells or unregistered experimental spells as a priority, without considering the damage those spells might cause to the world. This was an enormous temptation for wizards who enjoyed testing new spells.

Nikita was merely a young lich who had been transformed less than ten years ago. She had not yet qualified to be listed on the wanted notice.

That was what infuriated the Special Plane guards who had suddenly appeared in the dining hall most of all.

More embarrassing than having the Special Plane infiltrated by demons and monsters was the fact that its infiltrator was an unknown nobody.

Yet compared to the guards' furious expressions, Nikita was as delighted as if she had discovered the New Continent.

"I had originally planned to take a few children with me to complete my assignment." The female demon cast the guards a seductive look, her tone becoming much lighter. "But now that I've seen you little ones, I've realized I can make my escape alone."

Running away alone was naturally safer than fleeing with burdens in tow!

Her slender little hand slapped heavily onto the spellbook floating in midair. The blood-red Hexagram Array beneath her feet burst into intense radiance, spraying out countless beams of light.

The spellbook burned violently and turned into a cloud of ash in the blink of an eye, scattering down in all directions.

Like a phantom, the female demon vanished from the dining hall along with the twisted rays of light.

"Trying to run?!" The purple-haired woman snorted coldly, patted the spellbook at her side, and transformed into a streak of luminous dust before disappearing from the spot.

"I'll go help her." The vodka man abruptly rose to his feet, tore open the space before him with both arms, and slipped into the pitch-black world beyond.

The plane jolted violently several times.

Zheng Qing swallowed hard.

"Do you need me to follow them too, Captain?" From behind the bar, Hilda, her face covered in studs, tossed a pale green cocktail toward the young man with graying hair beside Zheng Qing. "I can bring Victor the vodka he ordered while I'm at it."

The slender glass traced a graceful arc through the air and landed in the graying young man's hand. The three lemon slices against the glass wall shook and tilted slightly to one side.

"Victor and the others are more than enough to chase down a little lich. We'd better stay put and guard the Special Plane, so nothing else goes wrong." The graying-haired captain shook his head, straightened the three lemon slices, bit down on the straw, and mumbled, "Break open the door first. The people outside must be getting anxious."

Hilda nimbly flipped out from behind the bar.

She frowned, calculated with her fingers, stepped through the Gang Step, and muttered under her breath. Then, amid Zheng Qing's dark expression, she plucked several glittering studs from her ear and shoved them into the crack in the door.

"Pffft..."

As though something had sprung a leak, red light flickered several times over the tightly locked dining hall doors.

Hilda quickly leaped backward several steps.

The doors crashed down with a bang.

Black-robed wizards, tall flight attendants in dark blue uniforms, green sprites, and figures in every color poured in through the fallen doors.

The sprites swiftly dispersed through the dining hall, setting upright tables and chairs, picking up the plates scattered across the floor, rehanging the silver-white curtains over the floor-to-ceiling windows, and removing the crooked, shattered chandeliers.

It seemed that in an instant, the lifeless dining hall had returned to its former bustle and clamor.

The graying-haired captain led several flight attendants toward the lounge.

A blond wizard in black robes who had just entered hugged an enormous roster to his chest and shouted, "Don't panic! Everyone, line up and come sign in!"

But his voice was swallowed by the overwhelming noise.

The freshmen in the dining hall seemed to have only just realized they were safe. Shouting, crying, cheering, roaring, boasting—every kind of sound merged together, nearly lifting the roof off.

Little monk Shi Yuan hurried over with Li Meng.

Li Meng held Zheng Qing's Poseidon in her arms, Xiao Xiao's old turtle in her hands, and her own pigeon, Xiao Bai, perched on her shoulder, making her look like a human zoo.

Poseidon forcibly broke free from Li Meng's arms, squeaked loudly, and darted into Zheng Qing's embrace.

Zheng Qing laughed heartily as he rubbed the little fellow's fluffy fur.

Not far away, the cobra whose venom had been completely drained crawled out from the little garden in the center of the hall and slithered back to its owner's feet. Its owner, the sharp-chinned girl, cried as she held her cold little companion in her arms.

The blond wizard opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something.

Hilda grabbed him from the side and shook her head. "Let them vent first."

She raised her head and looked out the window.

The Special Plane had already passed through the storm and was once again flying beneath a brilliant sun.

"Thanks for pulling me back just now." The sturdy Red-faced boy walked up to Zheng Qing and held out his right hand.

"I should be thanking you." Zheng Qing hurriedly wiped his hand on his clothes before shaking the Red-faced boy's hand. "Xiao Xiao told me you were the first to step forward and help block that demon's attack for me."

"You're welcome. We're classmates—it was only right." The Red-faced boy vigorously swung his arm, glanced sideways at Xiao Xiao, and drawled, "I just couldn't stand the sight of wizards acting so meek and submissive in front of demons."

Xiao Xiao raised his head and looked at him expressionlessly.

The Red-faced boy was very strong. Zheng Qing rubbed his arm and said with a wry smile, "My name is Zheng Qing. First University Jiuyou Academy, Astronomy Class 08-1. Nice to meet you."

"We're in the same class!" The boy grinned honestly. "My name is Zhang Jixin. Zhang as in bow-and-long, Ji as in season, Xin as in faith."

"You're from Jiuyou Academy?" Li Meng cried out in surprise from the side. "Everyone thought you were a freshman from Starry Sky Academy! You took this year's Wizard College Entrance Exam too? What score did you get? What rank were you this year? You look like you're really good at fighting, so why didn't you go to Starry Sky Academy?"

Zhang Jixin looked helplessly at the little girl, then raised his head and glanced at Zheng Qing.

Zheng Qing fell silent.

"My exam results weren't very good." After hemming and hawing for a long while, Zhang Jixin stammered, "I just... I just couldn't stand how arrogant those demons were. I don't actually like fighting."

"I'm in Astronomy Class 08-1 too, so we'll be classmates from now on." Hugging her pigeon, Li Meng patted Zhang Jixin's arm as if to comfort him. "My cousin is in our class too. She was third among this year's Jiuyou freshmen! I think if you'd gone to Starry Sky Academy, you definitely would have gotten a good ranking too."

Zhang Jixin's already flushed face turned even redder.

"I'm also from Jiuyou Academy's Astronomy Class 08-1." A timid voice from nearby interrupted the awkward atmosphere.

Several people turned around in surprise.