At All Souls Magic Academy, inside the mentor dormitories, Leona sat cross-legged within a magic circle, meditating.
Zhang Ye had naturally shared those mana circulation routes with her as well, which had benefited her immensely. Her cultivation speed was far greater than before, like night and day. If this continued, she would break through to Five-star Saint-tier in less than six months.
Such a speed of advancement was downright terrifying!
Leona was immersed in this rapid progression while simultaneously stabilizing her cultivation.
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. Her mana violently surged, and terrifying red flames exploded outward, covering a radius of several hundred meters and incinerating the entire mentor residence to ashes.
As the flames gradually dissipated, Leona sat cross-legged at the center of the ashes, gasping heavily for air, her face deathly pale.
An uncontrollable wave of palpitation had suddenly struck her just now, nearly causing her mana circulation to go awry—a mana rampage that almost triggered a major catastrophe.
Fortunately, her foundation was extremely solid, and she ultimately managed to stabilize herself.
Yet that lingering sense of dread lingered in her heart, impossible to shake.
She quickly calmed her mind, suppressing the turbulent mana. It was at that moment that she felt it.
That distant connection... had snapped.
Snapped?!
Leona knew what that was.
It was the thread of power she had left inside Zhang Ye's body—her protective power, meant to save his life in a critical moment!
And Zhang Ye also had the magical garment Parallel Guardian, along with the three defensive spells inscribed upon it.
For her protective power to be triggered meant that... Zhang Ye's Parallel Guardian had also been breached!
This meant Zhang Ye was in danger!
Immense danger!
A Saint-tier enemy?!
Without a second thought, Leona shot forward like a bullet, racing toward the final direction of that connection.
Her face grew paler by the second.
She realized that she was actually... terrified?!
Fear... How long had it been since she last felt this emotion?
She had always been fearless, but at this moment, her lips trembled, cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and her knuckles turned white from clenching her fists.
She truly was terrified.
“Little Ye'er, I'm coming! I'm coming! Wait for me, wait for me!”
Her speed surged once more, transforming her into a flaming meteor that cut across the sky.
...
Inside Dorm 233, Gujiu and Tei Tei were facing off, squabbling over the last piece of candy Zhang Ye had left behind.
“You stinky jelly don't even have a tongue, why are you eating candy? It should go to this buggie!”
“Gujiu gujiu, gujiu!”
“What do you mean I don't have a tongue either? I... even if I don't have a tongue, at least I have a mouth! Do you?!”
“Gujiu!”
“So what if your whole body is a mouth? Slimes can eat anything anyway, so missing out on this candy won't hurt! It should be mine!”
The two little creatures glared at each other, neither willing to back down.
Watching this scene, Nan couldn't help but feel a mix of helplessness and amusement.
One chirped, “Gujiu gujiu.”
The other squeaked and hissed, “Hiss hiss, squeak squeak.”
He had no idea how these two little critters could manage to argue with each other.
Still, it was quite entertaining to watch.
Suddenly, both little creatures froze at the same time, their eyes filling with terror.
“Gu... Gujiu?!”
“What... what happened to that bad guy?”
Both of them felt it—an overwhelming sense of dread that nearly swallowed them whole.
“Gujiu! Gujiu!!” Gujiu bounced back and forth frantically.
Big Brother! Big Brother!!
Tei Tei looked at it and couldn't help saying, “What's... what's the rush? That bad guy is so strong, how could... how could anything happen to him...?”
Despite its words, its trembling antennae betrayed its true feelings.
Standing off to the side, Nan was taken aback. What's wrong with these two little guys? Why are their voices trembling?
At the same time, an ominous premonition welled up in his own heart.
In other dormitories, the others froze as well. This exact feeling surfaced simultaneously in each of their hearts.
What's going on?
They all stopped what they were doing, looking somewhat lost.
Then, one by one, they stepped out of their rooms and gathered at Dorm 233, arriving just in time to see Nan open the door with an absentminded expression.
They gathered silently, no one saying a word.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Lina spoke up: “I suddenly feel... a bit anxious.”
“Me too,” Samanra immediately agreed with a nod.
“Same here,” Renomon added.
Everyone nodded in unison.
“Is... something big about to happen?” Lina asked uncertainly.
However, everyone shook their heads repeatedly, looking bewildered.
Things had been peaceful lately. What major event could possibly occur? There hadn't been any signs either, except for the Freshman Exchange Conference coming up in two months.
But what did that have to do with the present moment? They all felt that their sudden uneasiness stemmed from another reason entirely.
“Gujiu! Gujiu!” Suddenly, Gujiu hopped out of the dorm and landed right in Lina's arms. Tei Tei flew out after it, circling above everyone.
“Gujiu!” Gujiu cried out anxiously.
Lina looked at it with confusion. “What's wrong, Gujiu?”
Did Gujiu feel it too?
“Gujiu!” Gujiu shouted repeatedly, but unlike Zhang Ye, none of them could understand what it was saying.
Seeing this, Gujiu grew so anxious that tears nearly welled up in its eyes. Suddenly remembering something, its body expanded, transforming before everyone's eyes into the exact image of Zhang Ye.
The group was no longer surprised by Gujiu's shapeshifting abilities. On several occasions, Gujiu had transformed into Zhang Ye's form to help with cooking.
However, at a time like this, Gujiu certainly wasn't about to cook.
Watching Gujiu take on Zhang Ye's lifelike appearance, understanding dawned on everyone, and they spoke in unison:
“Brother Ye?!”
Gujiu nodded frantically.
Through the Equal Contract, it could feel Zhang Ye's condition—his life force was rapidly slipping away!
“What happened to Brother Ye?!” Lina asked urgently.
If this sense of panic was connected to Zhang Ye, then he had likely run into trouble.
“Gujiu gujiu!” Gujiu babbled anxiously. It wanted to tell everyone that Zhang Ye was currently in grave danger, and no matter how it called out to him through their contract, Zhang Ye gave no response whatsoever.
If not for the fact that the contract link still existed, Gujiu would have thought Zhang Ye was already dead.
Yet only Zhang Ye could understand Gujiu's words; everyone else stared at it in complete confusion.
“Gujiu gujiu!”
Save Big Brother! Quick, save Big Brother!
Gujiu could feel that its connection with Zhang Ye was starting to flicker intermittently, which meant that Zhang Ye was dying...
It grew more and more frantic. High above, Tei Tei hissed anxiously in the air, wishing it could blurt out words that everyone could understand.
Yet the group still couldn't grasp what the two little creatures were trying to say. They only knew that whatever they were trying to express was related to Zhang Ye.
“Gujiu, did Brother Ye run into danger?” Lina asked suddenly.
“Gujiu!” Gujiu nodded right away, then immediately attempted to shape its body into text to spell out what it wanted to say.
However, in the very next instant, both Gujiu and Tei Tei shuddered violently.
Tei Tei dropped silently to the ground, staring blankly at the floor.
Meanwhile, Gujiu began to tremble uncontrollably.
“Gu... gujiu... Waaah...” Gujiu burst into tears, big fat drops spilling continuously from its round little eyes. It sobbed heartbrokenly, leaving everyone stunned where they stood.
“Waaah...” Gujiu's crying pierced through everyone's ears.
To make Gujiu cry like this... what in the world had happened to Zhang Ye?
Big Brother... Big Brother...
Don't leave Gujiu behind...
Big Brother... come back...
Come back...
At this moment, Gujiu went silent, though tears continued to pour down relentlessly.
Over and over, it called out to Zhang Ye through that nearly severed contract connection.
Gujiu will be more obedient...
Gujiu will like Big Brother even more...
Gujiu won't make Big Brother sad...
Big Brother, come back...
Come back...
...
...
Rate on N.U.
