Chapter 12: The Azure Journey (Part 1)

"Yao~~~"

Running, running lost in time, I don't know why, but whenever I hear that Yao got injured, I can't help but feel a sense of unease. As I stepped into the second-floor lounge of the Student Council, my first reaction was to look at Xiao Yao resting on the bed.

Looking at Yao, with closed eyes and covered in bandages from head to toe, my heart clenched. A nameless anger surged within me. I tightly clenched my fists, even digging my nails into my palm.

Blood dripped. "Elina, what happened? Who did this? Speak!" Unable to bear the anger in my heart, I shouted at the president with a reproachful tone. If one paid attention, in the moment of my retort, a faint red light flickered unconsciously in my eyes, hidden behind the drops of glass. It was a magic enchantment with a weak seal power that quickly vanished.

"Ah!!" Hearing my questioning as if a higher authority had descended, the president seemed to remember something. Her eyes carried a hint of grace as she clasped her hands together, raising her head slightly to look at me.

What's going on? What happened? Why is our noble president acting all cute like a little girl begging for candy? Is the president going crazy or is the world crazy? Is the earth spinning backwards or did I not wake up properly today? I recall this morning, everything felt strange, and there was that mysterious voice. It's giving me a headache.

When the president saw my expression turning weak again after a moment of abnormality, she quickly adjusted herself. Vice President, Hanya, Tesha, and Xiao Qiong, who had been in the room, were all surprised by the scene that just unfolded. First, my aura went from being soft to as hard as diamond, and then the president showed a vulnerable side towards my strong presence. I can imagine their minds must be filled with question marks, as mine are as well.

"Once you finish watching this, you'll know what happened." The president spoke while opening the projector in the room.

An unruly youth with a mischievous grin sat on the sofa confidently, with legs crossed. He leaned his cheek against his hand, gazing evilly at the camera.

"Hi, dear Elina President, we meet again. Do you remember the last time we met? It should've been at the inter-school Magic competition in autumn last year. Has a year's time made you forget about me? If you have, then let me introduce myself again."

"Please don't forget, I am Situ Ming, the heir of the largest family in the city of Zhao Lan. I am noble." He adjusted his collar slightly, arrogantly introducing himself.

"Elina, regardless of whether or not you've forgotten me, I won't forget about you, especially your brave and beautiful figure. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil, hahaha~" Situ Ming's expression was like looking at a defenseless young girl, and his sinister laughter made his originally handsome face appear very monstrous.

"Moreover," he stopped laughing, "I can't forget your arrogance and disdain. Thinking about it makes me angry. A mere noble young lady dares to reject me. Oh no, you're not just any young lady, you are the descendant of gods, the young lady of the prestigious family of The Divine Realm. Wow! What an impressive background! It once intimidated me, but your aloofness just stoked my desire to conquer you. I absolutely must bring you into my harem." Flames, I could see the passionate flames in his eyes through the projector.

"I've been thinking for a long time. You definitely won't accept a normal attack. If I get rejected again, it won't be any fun."

He paused and continued, "So, I want to play a game with you. A salvation game to enhance our bond. The person to be saved is the blue-haired little loli in my hands. The game rules are: first, you must rescue her within 12 hours. If time runs out, I'll silence her and find another hostage. The game starts when I take the hostage and exactly at six o'clock the next morning. Also, I originally had two students as hostages, but I was worried that they wouldn't hold much weight in your heart, Elina, so I accidentally killed them. I hope you don't mind. After all, I'm doing a favor to The Chishin Academy by cleaning up some trash."

"Trash? He actually called a high-level magic user trash. Who does he think he is?" If he dares to call someone else trash, then what am I?

"He's a bit crazy, but he's crazy enough to handle it." The vice president's voice remained icy.

"..."

"Secondly, you can come alone or bring someone with you, but the limit is two people. This is the rule. I will be waiting for you in our school's Student Council. I look forward to seeing your performance. Don't disappoint me. Oh, by the way, if you bring someone with you, be sure to bring your 'First Knight,' as the last time he missed the competition and couldn't have a duel with someone else who also held the title of 'First Knight.' Finally, please don't use the excuse of 'you have a fiancé' again. I despise being lied to. And, I consider this game as your training before entering my harem."

[To be continued...]The projector turned off, and everything returned to calm.

"I suppose you know what happened. In simple terms, it was a murder farce caused by a foolish infatuated idiot, and Yao was the victim of this farce."

"So, who exactly is Situ Ming?"

"The president of the Azure Sky Student Council, a complete pervert. Our families have been interacting frequently in recent years, and I met him at a family meeting. Then, during last year's competition, he actually proposed to me in front of billions of people. At the time, we had only met a few times and barely knew each other, but there were rumors that he had a penchant for BDSM."

"Haha! The president of the Azure Sky Student Council, isn't he a high-level Magic Mage with the Flame of the Divine?"

Although Situ Ming's name is not well-known, the memory of the president of the Azure Sky Student Council is still fresh in people's minds.

"We lost to the Flame of the Divine last year." The president's answer was correct.

"Does that mean the president will become his harem? Perhaps none of us are a match for him?"

"Mmm..." The president shook his head lightly. "You're wrong. We still have a secret weapon!"

"A secret weapon?" Five echoing voices.

"Um... that is..."

"Brother?" At this moment, the door to the rest room opened, and my sister, Wen Xin, came in.

"Wen Xin? What are you doing here? Isn't it class time? Oh! Are you the secret weapon?"

"What secret weapon? Brother, did you become braindead after joining the student council?"

"...speechless." There's nothing I can say to my sarcastic sister.

"Wen Xin is here to treat Yao. Don't forget, Wen Xin is the person we want to recruit. This is the exam I gave her, and as you can see, the result is quite good!"

"Thank you for your praise, Senior. However, unfortunately, I am unable to remove the abnormal energy in Yao's body. I feel really ashamed. But I have invited a senior from our Treatment Department to help. I remember the president never said that we couldn't ask for help, right?"

"Even though it's an exam, the essence is saving someone. If it can't be done, then don't force it. And asking others for help is also one of your abilities, right?" It seems the president is quite understanding.

"Then I'll go get them."

"Who is the senior in the Treatment Department?" The only one I'm familiar with is Qiong, and for some reason, Qin Yin is still missing, so I have no choice but to approach Qiong.

"Humph! How would I know? Besides Wen Xin, I don't know anyone else in the Treatment Department. But why do you care so much? You must have done something impure in the Treatment Department and are afraid someone will come after you for debt, right?"

"...I really don't know when my impression of Qiong went from friend to pervert, or rather, perverted sheep."

"Good morning, everyone. Oh! Little fatty is here too." The person Wen Xin brought back was a teenager with reddish-brown hair, my former roommate - Yang Mo Xiang.

"Xiang? Is Yao's condition really so serious that it requires your Flame of Hope?"

Xiang is one of the few Flame owners in our The Chishin Academy, and his appearance indicates that regular healing techniques have little effect on Yao, and the Flame is needed for treatment.

"Actually, according to what Wen Xin said, Yao's injury is not that severe. The key issue is that the abnormal energy inside her body hasn't been cleared."

Abnormal energy, the cause of the invading fire.

"Alright, to cleanse the abnormal energy from the Flame, we need another Flame."

"Sheep-boy, shut up. If my sister's treatment is delayed and she develops any complications, you better clean up and wait to be served as roasted lamb!" Qiong was getting impatient with our conversation and pulled Xiang to Yao's side.

"Very well then! Everyone, please leave for a moment. Only Wen Xin can stay."

"Then Yao, I'll leave it to you, Xiang."

"Don't worry, Brother. Stop being so fussy." Wen Xin angrily shooed me out.

"With Yao's situation resolved, we can now go get my Lilith back. Hanya and Qin Yang, be ready!"

"Apologies, President. I understand why Hanya is going, but why do you need to bring me along?"

"Because you are our secret weapon!"

"But... I don't want to die! I can't say it out yet."

"Let's go, what are you waiting for." Hanya urged us as we left the student council.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Leaving the student council, the three of us arrived at the ruins on the top of the mountain behind the academy.In the center of the ruins, neat lines and obscure ancient characters form a magical formation.

It's hard to imagine the enormity of it all - the entire ruins are essentially a part of the magical formation. It's quite a secret that such a large array is hidden within the Chishin Academy. However, I still can't figure out what kind of magical formation it is.

"President, what is this?"

"A spatial magical formation."

"A spatial magical formation? It seems that spatial mages are quite rare in this world!"

"Rare doesn't mean non-existent. Why are you so surprised? This spatial magical formation was set up by two demi-god level spatial mages four hundred years ago. It took them fifty years to deploy many large-scale magical formations around the world. However, these formations require a large amount of energy crystals to operate and are located in remote areas, so they are only used by the royal family or during emergencies."

Energy crystals are a new energy source that emerged with the connection of the three realms.

"There were two demi-god level mages four hundred years ago? I wonder what happened to them now?"

"They must have perished with the passage of time. It's impossible for them to still be alive, unless they have become gods."

"Are we going to use it to go to Zhanlan City?"

"Yes! It's the fastest method, but it took a lot of effort to get permission to use it."

"But, President, aren't you afraid that I might be a liability? If I lose, Lilith's life won't be the only thing at stake. You will also become Sito Ming's concubine."

"Do you care about that? Me becoming someone else's concubine?" The President's gaze was serious, and he didn't seem to be joking at all.

"Um... I guess I don't have the right to care. The one who should care is your fiance. Sito Ming said that your fiance is fake. Is it true? After all, we've never heard about it."

"Do you believe it?" The President and Hanya were preparing while talking, and I was watching from the side. Although I was also proficient in magical formations, I had never come into contact with a spatial magical formation before. For the sake of safety, it's best for me not to interfere.

"Well... maybe I do believe it, because I've never heard of any relationship between you and that guy."

"It's actually true. I do have a fiance."

"Is it a political marriage?"

"No, it's willingly. Although the elders in my family don't approve, they don't know who he is. But we are destined to be together." The President instinctively touched his heart.

"It feels a bit like the plot of the soap opera that Wenxin watches in the evening. The male and female leads privately make a lifelong commitment, then they face opposition from their families, and in the end, they break away from the wealthy family and live an ordinary life."

The President smiled and didn't answer.

"President, I'm ready here."

"I'm ready here too. Qin Yang, come in. We're about to start!"

"Oh, I'm coming."

As I entered the magical formation, the President and Hanya activated the formation. In the spatial magical formation, a burst of bright light suddenly blinded my eyes. Then, my body floated as if under zero gravity. It felt unreal and frightening. When I felt gravity and my feet touched the ground again, the magical formation remained unchanged, but the surroundings were no longer forests and ruins. Instead, it was a basement. Outside the basement was an unfamiliar city, and we could be sure that we had arrived in Zhanlan City.

"We'll arrive in about fifteen minutes." The President took out a map and gestured.