Dragon Hermit

After reaching the university, Xia Yan climbed over the dormitory’s walls with ease. His mind finally relaxed when he laid down on his bed as this small dorm room provided him a subconscious sense of security.

Xia Yan’s body felt unwell, an aftereffect left behind by the lightning strike. He could feel his pulse quicken to a rate higher than average, and his hot body kept sweating all over. As his brain was in a very excited state right now, he didn’t feel sleepy at all.

He rechecked the Virus Horcrux and confirmed that the lightning strike had indeed eliminated all the virus elements stocked within it.

“So powerful!” Although Xia Yan felt distressed about the loss, the turn of events had indeed left him speechless. [The explanations within s really have some reason. The divine lightning of Daoists excels in eliminating all Yin-attribute phenomena. The virus element should be of the Yin-attribute as well, and so should the undead element.]

[Is that Yuan Tianlin guy my nemesis, the so-called fated adversary?]

Xia Yan didn’t feel good as having his power restrained by someone was a dangerous thing.

[Since I can neither offend nor avoid him, I just have to escape the next time I see that guy!]

Xia Yan obviously did not know that his spell, Lingering Spirits, had also caused Yuan Tianlin to feel greatly perplexed. Moreover, he did no’t have a deep understanding of his so-called nemesis. Water can restrain fire, but highly intense flames could also evaporate water instantaneously. The relationship between elements was a mutually restrictive one, so whoever holds higher strength can absolutely restrain the other side.

However, Xia Yan really felt scared of Yuan Tianlin right now.

The Soul Storage Horcrux was fine since Xia Yan had already converted the stocked undead element into magic power, so he hadn’t suffered a loss on that aspect.

The wooden skull was done for though, as it was just a substitute that Xia Yan had made before crafting the Bone Horcrux. As the material he used wasn’t a good one, two long cracks had appeared on it after it had got struck by lightning, so it was of no use anymore.

[Let’s just forget about it. In any case, I still have ebony beads left, so I should make use of my time to craft the other Horcruxes.]

Since he didn’t feel sleepy, Xia Yan fished an ebony bead out and pondered for a moment. In the end, he decided to give up on crafting a Bone Horcrux for now. The room he had rented in Hearthcreek Apartments had three skeletons, so they would come to use once he had crafted the Skeleton Horcrux first.

Xia Yan first contemplated at his desk lit by the desk lamp for a few minutes, and then, he began craving the ebony bead with his carving knife. The wood shavings kept falling onto the table, and the bead gradually took the shape of a skull.

The dormitory was very quiet at night. Both Zhao Qiang and Qin Jian had fallen asleep already while faint noises could be heard from the adjacent dorm rooms, which were obviously from night owls that stayed awake all night to play online games.

Xia Yan acted patiently and focused his entire mind on carving the ebony beads. He had carved a total of three Horcruxes two hours later. After polishing them a bit, he removed the Soul Storage Horcrux from his neck and also fished out the Virus Horcrux from his pocket. He then placed the three Horcruxes he had crafted just now on his palm and supplied them with magic power after closing his palm into a fist.

Blue light suffused out from Xia Yan’s fist and shrouded the three skulls in magic power, slowly transmuting them to induce an intrinsic change in them. He had already transmuted the Soul Storage Horcrux and Virus Horcrux, but they didn’t produce apparent differences. However, a blue flux slowly multiplied within the interior of the Skeleton Horcrux.

It was only point-sized at the beginning, but soon after, the blue flux had turned into the size of a bean. A closer look would reveal that this wasn’t a blue flux, but instead a blue flame.

Time flitted by, and when Xia Yan opened his eyes, it was already wee hours in the morning. A smile rose upon his sweat-filled face as he opened his palm, following which a blue light flashed by before disappearing suddenly, leaving behind three fused wooden skulls.

Under the arcane effects of the synchronous magic, the wooden skulls remained affixed to each other like magnets. When Xia Yan lifted one of the skulls, the other two also rose up along with it, and it seemed as if a strong magnetic field within them was keeping them connected.

Xia Yan picked up the red thread he had prepared in advance and strung the three skulls together before hanging it on his neck.

One of the beds creaked at this moment, and Qin Jian sat up while kneading his eyes. He glanced below in a daze and asked, “Xia Yan, why did you get up so early today?”

“Yeah, I woke up to take a piss!” Xia Yan chuckled at him.

“I also want to piss,” Qin Jian muttered and got down the bed. He then rushed to the bathroom to relieve himself and asked after returning, “Did you see something flash just now?”

“I was playing on my phone,” Xia Yan answered.

“Oh,” Qin Jian didn’t ponder too much on it and crawled back to sleep.

Xia Yan took a shower in the bathroom to wash the sweat off his body after that, and since he didn’t feel sleepy, he changed into a new pair of clothes and went outside.

As it wasn’t 5 am yet, the doors of the dormitory were still closed. Hence, Xia Yan climbed over the walls once again. Dawn had already arrived by now, so he chose to walk over towards the university’s famous lotus lake. He pondered on matters on his way over there.

The encounter with Yuan Tianlin last night was Xia Yan’s first encounter with a transcendent after arriving at Chengdu. He initially believed that he was the most special one in the world as he had obtained the inheritance of another world. The chances of a second person like him existing on Earth were close to nil too. However, Yuan Tianlin was a prime example that Earth had its own share of experts.

[It seems like I have to act even more low-key in the future!] Although he had such a thought, he still felt a bit unwilling to do this, [Am I really unable to contend with the experts of Earth? Can a necromancer whose profession makes people’s expression change with just a mention in another world only run away with his tail tucked between his legs in this world?]

[No!]

Xia Yan felt his blood boil. [Why do I have to hide from them? If they come knocking on my door, I’ll just smack them away! I might not necessarily lose to them!]

Xia Yan’s heart throbbed with vigor under the influence of his mood, just like the Sun that was about to rise from the eastern horizon.

The lotus lake was unusually quiet as it was too early right now, so even the morning joggers hadn’t come out, and the croaks of the frogs within the lake made the surroundings seem even quieter. However, Xia Yan heard someone exhale loudly within this quietness.

“Haahh——”

It was a gentle and long breath that lasted for a full minute.

Feeling curious, Xia Yan detoured around the willow tree and discovered a ponytailed girl dressed in a short-sleeved tennis shirt, shorts and sports shoes standing on the grass beside the lake.

“Qi Ziyu?” Xia Yan had identified the girl instantaneously; it was none other than Qi Ziyu.

Qi Ziyu’s hands rested at her sides right now. The eyes of her slightly raised head were closed, and she appeared to be breathing in the early morning’s fresh air. The long, gentle breath from a moment ago had come from her mouth.

[Is she practicing an internal art?]

This scene immediately caused Xia Yan to recall the breathing exercises performed by experts in martial arts s. After all, just anyone couldn’t exhale for a full minute as it required a considerably large lung capacity.

Xia Yan checked out Qi Ziyu and feasted his eyes on her long legs and curvy figure. When he was about to leave quietly, Qi Ziyu opened her eyes.

“Xia Yan?” Qi Ziyu called out in astonishment.

“Hello, Classmate Ziyu!” Xia Yan waved at her with a smile on his face promptly, “You’re up so early to work out?”

“Aren’t you the same too?” Qi Ziyu pursed up her lips into a smile and skipped over towards him. Her movements held the utmost grace and allure worthy of a pop star with exceptional poise.

“I just came out to take a walk since I couldn’t sleep after playing games all night long, so I don’t have a healthy lifestyle like yours,” Xia Yan chuckled.

“If people who play games all night are all as spirited as you are, I’m also willing to play games all night,” Qi Ziyu’s lips curled up into a smile.

“Haha!” Xia Yan laughed, feeling no embarrassment for having his lie exposed. Although he hadn’t slept, he really didn’t feel tired. It was perhaps more accurate to say that since necromancers were creatures of the night, they liked the night more.

“Oh, yeah. Which martial art were you practicing just now?” Xia Yan asked half-jokingly even though he didn’t believe in such a possibility at all.

“Martial art?” Qi Ziyu was taken aback and revealed a puzzled expression on her makeup-less face.

“Yeah. I heard you exhale stably for such a long time just now. Was it not some abstruse internal art? Hahaha!” Xia Yan asked jokingly.

“Hehe, you really know how to joke!” An unusual glimmer flashed past Qi Ziyu’s eyes as she laughed lightly, “I was just practicing my breathing. You ought to know that singing isn’t an easy job.”

“I know!” Xia Yan answered promptly. Singing required a large lung capacity, so it wasn’t strange at all.

However, he obviously didn’t ponder too much on how large a lung capacity an individual would need to be able to breathe out for a full minute at a stretch.

The two of them had already become well acquainted with each other during the military training of the past few days, so there was no awkward silence between them. Qi Ziyu invited him to sit beside the lake for a while, and Xia Yan also found no reason to refuse her.

The two of them sat down at the bench beside the lake, and although Xia Yan wanted to lean closer to Qi Ziyu, he didn’t dare to do so till the end. Hence, the two of them ended up sitting on the two corners of the bench that could accommodate three people and had a one-person gap between them.

The chilly morning breeze that gently blew across the lake made people feel carefree and happy. The lotus stalks within the lake towered above the water surface and overlooked their companions. The two of them remained silent for a while and immersed themselves in the beautiful morning scenery.

After a few minutes, Xia Yan impulsively turned to his side and discovered that Qi Ziyu had also turned to look at him simultaneously. His face blushed immediately while Qi Ziyu handled the situation expertly by smiling faintly before turning to the front again. A special kind of mood had formed in an instant, and this almost made Xia Yan swoon. The situation also felt very natural and comfortable for him.

Thus, he asked her about one of his doubts, “Qi Ziyu, since you’re a singer, why did you enroll in the History Department? The Music Academy suits you more!”

“Music is just a hobby of mine; I have no plans to pursue it as a lifelong career!” Qi Ziyu blinked impishly as she replied with a smile.

If the world were to learn that Qi Ziyu, the super newbie pop star, had said something like ‘Music is just a hobby of mine,’ it would outrage a lot of newbies who crazily wished to become famous. Nevertheless, such was the prejudice of the world.

“Oh? Are you planning to take over your family’s jewelry business?” Xia Yan asked inquisitively. Fengyu Jewelers ranked within the top ten jewelers of the entire nation, so it wouldn’t be strange for Qi Ziyu to take over such a prospective business rather than pursuing a career as a pop star.

“I have no interest in managing a company, so why don’t you take another guess?” Qi Ziyu replied while smiling.

“A pop star and a chairwoman, both are lives that many people dream of, yet you don’t want either. Wealthy folks are really too willful!” Xia Yan said jokingly.

“Fame and money are obviously good things, but for me, there’s something that’s even more important,” Qi Ziyu added.

“Ah?” Her answer had stunned Xia Yan, so probed her, “You aren’t like those intellectuals, right? The kind that likes to dine on chicken soup for the soul and wish to pursue serenity of the soul… eh, you know what I mean!”

“Hehe, you’ve guessed wrong!” Qi Ziyu giggled as she rolled her eyes at him.

“Erm… Did you choose the History Department to become some expert or scholar then?” Xia Yan made another guess.

“Do people choose to study History just to become an expert or scholar?” Qi Ziyu questioned back, “Why did you pick History then?”

“Because my Master told me to study it!” Xia Yan answered.

“Master?” Qin Ziyu asked in amazement, “With respect to?”

“Carving,” Xia Yan replied.