High School of Demon Hunting

Who hit you?

How did you become like this?

Are you a dragon or a snake now?

How did you turn into an egg?

Even if you’ve formed this body, why run?

You’re here, so who is the guy still living in my ear now?

Zheng Qing stared at the little Azure Dragon at his feet, a series of questions bubbling up inside him. If his gaze could speak or if the questions had weight, this little thing would definitely be smashed to death in an instant.

Yet, despite having countless questions he wanted to ask, when the moment came, he only posed the most straightforward one, which caught even himself off guard—

"Why are you so big!"

The young assistant professor examined the azure dragon that was about a foot in length, unable to hide the astonishment in his tone. He gestured with his fingers to indicate the appearance of that ’snake egg,’ which wasn’t much bigger than a soybean, with a face full of disbelief: "Did you really emerge from there?"

The azure dragon casually nodded.

This time, there was no ’moo.’

"I don’t understand..."

"What’s there not to understand?"

The little dragon drooped its face, impatiently interrupting the boy’s doubt, speaking in an old-fashioned manner: "After Buddha was born, he took seven steps on the ground and became the Big Wizard; Jehovah created a new world in just seven days. From the time I emerged from the eggshell until now, it’s been seven or eight hours, right? Though not as quick as them, is it really surprising to grow a few feet?"

The azure dragon’s explanation sounded as simple as ’putting an elephant in a refrigerator’—opening the fridge door, stuffing the elephant inside, then closing the door—yet Zheng Qing wouldn’t believe it was truly that simple.

Just like the ’Griffin Giant’ story he had heard from his teacher, whether it’s eating like a giant, possessing the magnitude of a giant, or seeing the world through a giant’s eyes, measuring the world with giant strides, these are not tasks ordinary wizards can achieve.

"So, you mean you’ll keep growing?" Zheng Qing keenly grasped the unspoken part of the azure dragon’s words.

This time, though the dragon still merely nodded.

Its expression shifted from initial indifference to a more reserved demeanor.

As if saying, what’s the big deal?

"How long until you reach your maximum size?"

"One or two months?" The azure dragon tilted its head, pondered, and eventually gave a boy an uncertain answer, making his heart sink slightly.

The more he learned about the Magical World, the more he realized that many seemingly natural outcomes don’t actually fit seamlessly as they appear during their development.

In one or two months, it will be the final exams.

That’s also when he graduates.

This creature happened to choose that time to grow largest; if there’s no calculation behind it, he would never believe it. Thinking this, the boy instinctively looked up, glancing beyond the cliff, between clouds and mist, at the incomparably vast figure.

He originally thought this glance would be like before, receiving no response.

Unexpectedly, as he looked up, the blue moon and red moon simultaneously focused on him.

It was an indescribable feeling—theoretically, such as the moon with its presence, its brilliance should envelop tens of thousands of miles simultaneously, but at that instant, Zheng Qing felt the two moons had transformed into searchlights, gathering the scattered focus onto one point.

And he stood just at that point.

Prior to this, Zheng Qing had experienced the ’weight’ of the gaze from high-level wizards more than once, whether it was Su Shi Jun, Professor Yao, or those Great Demons in the Black Prison World, but their gaze’s weight was ultimately limited. At most, it only made one breathe heavily, think slowly, and feel anxious.

But the gaze before him was a different story.

For no apparent reason, a playful phrase floated into his mind: ’I give you a look, make you feel it.’

An ordinary wizard’s thoughts are like foam; even piled up like mountains, they hold no substance. A slight breeze would scatter them. But a high-level wizard’s thoughts are tangible, heavier than Mount Tai, a mere glimpse making one feel the world is overturning, like being crushed beneath Mount Tai.

In the whirlwind, an unfamiliar notion brutally entered the boy’s mind.

Like a mountain crashing into a pond.

However, Zheng Qing did not feel overwhelmed or at the brink of collapse. Instead, he felt as if he had been thrown into a vast hot spring, where warm water gently washed away the soreness and fatigue in his soul, making him drowsy.

—I beat it.

—It was once part of my obsession, thus the true form it condensed inherently possesses extremely high status. Even a little green snake, under my status’ blessing, would become a true Azure Dragon.

—Now it is neither dragon nor snake... it simply is, a unique existence.

—It was born from my obsession destined for obliteration, a vitality incubated in the depths of Death. The path of Tao lies in contradiction. Death and vitality are eternal twins. Vitality is considered life because it detests Death. It detests, therefore it flees, hence the egg.

—Perhaps it felt I would destroy it, so it ran away.

—What ran away was merely the vitality hatched from obsession. The true obsession remains deep within your soul. Without vitality, it reverts to a mechanical concept mutually obliterating with your Curse Power.

—Everything has a thread of vitality.

—It took advantage of Yagneg’s spirit descending to drag that little god into consciousness, a substitute with Li, peach used as a substitute for plum. Though Yagneg was called a deity, its status wasn’t high, and under the dual crushing of obsession’s force and Curse Power, it was instantly obliterated. Meanwhile, the vitality born from obsession utilized Yagneg’s residual power to metamorphose into this snake egg.

—After stripping away the ’free will’ birthed from obsession, what’s left on the Tree of Forbidden Curse is merely the mechanized will executing its obliteration tasks. However, vitality cannot be completely obliterated. Losing the current azure dragon, obsession will ultimately birth new vitality again. Its existence serves to consume. When new vitality is born from obsession, requiring it to devour them one by one, this is why I sent it back to your side.

No sound, only answers.

Yet it didn’t hinder Zheng Qing from understanding whom the ’I’ and ’it’ mentioned in the answers referred to.

One explanation after another unfolded in the boy’s mind like a series of waterdrops splashing in a spring, answering all his confusion.

Including what he thought of, things he hadn’t considered, and things he dared not to consider.

Finally, the last drop climbing out of the heart lake did not blossom open but instead dragged a thread of the boy’s heart, directly throwing it outwards, as if an arrow piercing through the azure dragon’s head, eventually landing on a leaf.