Chapter 173

Chapter 41: Not one, not two, not three, but…

Tianhai University’s terrain is flat and spacious, with buildings generally around five to six stories high and sparsely distributed.

There was once a year when the old principal said at the opening ceremony that the buildings of Tianhai University are neither tall nor close in order not to block the students’ view, allowing them to see a broader sky.

He made a lot of sense. Thanks to this architectural layout, every diligent student at Tianhai University, no matter where they walk or whenever they look up, can see an expansive horizon.

Colorful fire clouds, an occasional jet plane flying by, a once-in-a-thousand-years solar eclipse, and… a supermassive Water Dragon more than twice the size of the dormitory building, composed entirely of pure water elements.

Although the previous ones were impressive too, they’re common knowledge. More importantly—she was way too close!

The students on the ground looked up, while those on higher floors leaned over balcony railings and rooftops. At such a close distance, they could see the shimmering patterns on its massive body, rippling with each breath like concentric circles.

“Wow… so big!”

“Bigger than in the games.”

“Much bigger, the game version is too conservative.”

“Huge!”

They had only heard about it before or seen it in videos. The fiery Tianhai Tower spectacle, though magnificent, was still within human capability. But the gigantic Water Dragon right before their eyes was completely beyond comprehension.

Miss Dragon King Yuan Xiaoling, the first Fourth-tier for young people.

At this moment, downstairs at the girls’ dormitory, during the process of the Water Dragon forming from its cocoon, Yuan Xiaoling controlled its power and swung its tail to knock away two dangerous individuals. The two figures were thrown through walls and landed heavily far away.

For ordinary people, that single strike would have pulverized all their bones, killing them instantly. However, after about ten seconds, they twisted their bodies and stood up.

Necks turned unnaturally, joints bent backward, resembling zombies freshly crawled out of graves.

“Li Xiaoyu? Zhang Lili?”

Yuan Xiaoling called out their names tentatively, but there was no response this time. Instead, they took slow steps toward her.

She didn’t want them to get closer, should she hit them again?

While hesitating, Yuan Xiaoling suddenly felt a chilling aura, causing her scalp to tingle as her vision blurred.

She saw herself standing on the stage of the school square, surrounded by smiling and clapping school leaders, with all the students from four grades screaming and cheering below. Television crews carried long cameras, and a red banner hung among the crowd reading—Warm Congratulations to Our School Student Yuan Xiaoling, Winner of the Fifth Campus Beauty Queen Competition Void Champion!

…What the heck?

No, wasn’t I in battle?

Yuan Xiaoling snapped back to reality just in time to see the two girls already within arm’s reach, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Not far away, Bai Ling lifted her delicate hand, slicing the air horizontally as if performing a decapitating slash.

These two were completely corrupted by Mental Power, with no chance of survival. Their existence was somewhere between physical and spiritual, giving them strong resistance to physical attacks. But…

Splash, splash.

Sure enough, cutting off the supply route of Mental Power to the brain and body rendered them unable to move. Even though their spirits were deranged, their bodies still required conscious control.

Bai Ling was pondering when suddenly a dragon roar sounded, and the Water Dragon crashed down hard, gouging out a huge crater in the ground.

By the side of the Water Dragon, Yuan Xiaoling proudly hugged her arms and said:

“To think I got caught off guard for a moment, but fortunately, my skills are superior.”

Her short sleeves fluttered slightly, her skirt swayed gently, showcasing the demeanor of a beautiful martial artist.

And also subtly covering up the embarrassment of being a Fourth-tier Great Perfection powerhouse who almost stumbled into a trap.

“Your strength isn’t bad, quite durable. Although you’re not even worth a single blow from me, it’s still pretty good.”

Then she tilted her little head and saw the white-haired maiden standing silently nearby. Bai Ling’s expression was calm, yet there seemed to be a hint of… care in her gaze. Though she didn’t say anything, it spoke volumes.

“Did you handle it?” Yuan Xiaoling asked.

“No,” Bai Ling replied dismissively, “you wiped them out in an instant.”

Are you kidding me? Do you think I’m dumb, Lemon?

Yuan Xiaoling pouted slightly, deciding to skip this topic. Who cares whose heads they were, anyway? She could definitely take them down herself. Compared to that, exchanging intelligence was more important.

“They’re really creepy. You wouldn’t believe what happened to me earlier…”

The Blonde-haired Maiden was about to speak when Bai Ling shook her head at her. “We’ll talk about it later. Right now, you need to deal with the situation on site.”

Following her indication, Yuan Xiaoling noticed some students peeking from behind distant corners, checking out the situation.

Looks like I need to handle it first.

……

It took half an hour to barely finish the emergency aftermath.

During these thirty minutes, Yuan Xiaoling first went to the office building, meeting the old principal and several main school leaders, attempting to explain what exactly happened.

But soon the old principal said, “Student Yuan Xiaoling, what you described is a bit too complicated. Actually, there’s no need to explain it so clearly to us.”

We don’t understand.

“Alright, then let’s simplify it,” Yuan Xiaoling thought for a moment and said, “A few days ago, they went out to play and unfortunately got infected by Dark Energy, transforming into those half-human, half-ghost forms. Under the control of Dark Energy, they came back to attack ordinary people. Then… it was just like what you saw.”

Now everyone understood.

“Alas, dark forces.” The head teacher sighed deeply.

Subsequently, the school quickly issued an announcement and activated the campus-wide broadcast, relaying the situation Yuan Xiaoling narrated. To enhance credibility, they even let Yuan Xiaoling speak a few words at the end.

After much consideration, Yuan Xiaoling did not choose to beat her chest in assurance or make any promises. She simply said that these individuals were dealt with today, asking everyone to return to their dorms or classrooms, and promising a guide to help everyone stay vigilant in the future.

Without caring about others’ reactions, she turned around and went to find Bai Ling and the others.

The infirmary at Tianhai University had been cleared out half an hour ago. Two girls lay on the beds, tightly tied down… although it didn’t do much, it provided some psychological comfort.

What truly suppressed them was the White-haired Maiden standing beside the bed.

Moreover, another girl lay on another bed, with Gu Hui sitting beside her with her eyes closed.

“She seemed to have had a strange dream, something about dating several celebrities.”

This girl on the bed was the sole casualty of the incident—the girl who had placed her hand on someone’s shoulder.

Jo Qiao Lili, holding a tablet computer next to Gu Hui, raised her head cautiously and said, “Through invading the Spiritual World, making someone immerse themselves in their own sweet dreams and never wake up, is that kind of attack method?”

Bai Ling instinctively shook her head.

“Not necessarily, there might be other possibilities.”

To achieve such an effect requires the ability to directly invade someone’s innermost being, which even Bai Ling herself couldn’t accomplish, only the Inner Stone of the Mind itself could.

At this point, the Blonde-Haired Maiden pushed the door open and entered: “Just arrived, what’s going on?”

“You came just in time,” Bai Ling asked, “Earlier on the battlefield, you experienced a brief lapse. What did you see at that time?”

“Lapse? What lapse?” Yuan Xiaoling frowned slightly, “I was just slightly distracted, unprepared, but I snapped back immediately. Such trivial tricks didn’t affect me at all.”

“Hmm hmm hmm, immediately, immediately, so what did you see at that time?” Bai Ling repeated.

Seeing her persistently questioning, Yuan Xiaoling realized this might be important. After hesitating for a moment, she recounted the embarrassing scene.

“…That’s how the scene was. Honestly speaking, I don’t care about winning the title of Campus Beauty Queen, whether it’s five consecutive championships or six consecutive championships. It’s not like I haven’t won it before. In other words, something so certain and guaranteed doesn’t need to appear in a dream, right?”

Though it sounded a bit odd, what Lemon said wasn’t wrong. Even Gu Hui and Jo Qiao Lili nodded in agreement.

Being the only top beauty in the entire school, with added points from Dabeitù, and now with the popularity boost from the title of Miss Dragon King, if she participated in the competition, the championship would be hers for the taking.

Not one, not two, not three. But five, six, seven… countless times!

“So, why are you asking me this?” Yuan Xiaoling asked.

Bai Ling didn’t answer, resting her chin on her hand and thinking carefully for a while before asking her another question, “Do you know those two well?”

“Not really,” Yuan Xiaoling blinked her eyes, “I only learned their names a few days ago, and that was from Gu Hui.”

Gu Hui smiled helplessly, “We’ve been neighbors for more than two years, at least we should know each other’s names.”

Yuan Xiaoling stuck out her tongue, indicating that since they rarely interacted, she indeed didn’t recognize them.

“I understand now, the dream was their impression of you.” Bai Ling suddenly said.

After saying that, she sighed in relief herself, okay, the intensity was within expectations.

“What?”

“They don’t know you well. Over the past two years, the biggest impression they have of you is that you’ve won the Campus Beauty Queen Championship for two consecutive terms and will soon win for three consecutive terms. You are…”

Bai Ling paused briefly, struggling to find a suitable adjective.

Jo Qiao Lili chimed in, “The most dominant Campus Beauty Queen in the history of Tianhai University.”

Upon hearing this, both Yuan Xiaoling and Bai Ling stiffened their faces, and Gu Hui awkwardly smiled.

Sounds weird… but it’s true.

Thus, Bai Ling continued, “This is their impression of you, so the illusion used to interfere with you during the fight stems from their own understanding. Similarly, their impression of that female classmate is that she’s a star-chaser.”

Yuan Xiaoling’s expression changed slightly, “You mean…?”

Bai Ling nodded.

Gu Hui and Jo Qiao Lili didn’t figure it out, nor could they comprehend the eye contact between the two, so they asked, “What does this indicate?”

“It indicates that those infected by Dark Energy… cough, eroded by the Inner Stone of the Mind, will attack according to their interpersonal relationships,” Yuan Xiaoling said seriously, “they come equipped with a built-in navigation system.”

Bai Ling nodded, agreeing with her meaning, turning to look at the sky outside the window, “Inform your subordinates. There shouldn’t be just these two.”

———————–Divider———————–

PS: My stomach really hurts today, not joking. I’ll update more tomorrow.