Chapter 130 - 129: F1
"Mhm," Pei Yin nodded in agreement.
He looked away from the beautiful, ethereal Jellyfish shimmering in the air.
"Sheng Yue’s bracelet for masking scents is useful, but it doesn’t last. It shatters after a single use."
Pei Yin waved his hand dismissively. "Let’s not hide it. If we’re strong enough, who would dare say anything? When our Soul Beasts come out, even low-level beasts often get scared into a frenzy."
He shrugged. "I’ll take a look at the appraisal results."
Filled with the anticipation of ’opening a blind box’, he had already canceled the automatic announcement.
Ling Yanzhi’s gaze fell on Jian Yu, who still had her eyes closed, lost in her imagination.
He chuckled. "Aren’t you going to look?"
Jian Yu opened her eyes and looked up.
Her eyes lit up.
Seeing the Jellyfish that looked exactly as she had pictured it, her face flushed slightly with excitement.
The misty threads were already translucent, and the transformed Jellyfish was even more so.
It had a flowing, gradient blue hue. The bell of its body looked as if it were draped in a thin veil of cool moonlight, with delicate, fine tentacles dangling beneath.
As its tentacles unfurled, they exuded a hazy, ethereal aura. When it drifted, it was as if the cold air itself was woven into the swaying ripples it created.
Jian Yu turned her head and was caught off guard by Ling Yanzhi’s dark eyes, which shone as if tempered with starlight.
When he looked at someone, his brows would arch slightly and the corners of his lips would lift, conveying a look that was direct, untamed, and flirtatious.
Jian Yu’s breath hitched, and she subconsciously averted her gaze.
"Stop making goo-goo eyes at each other." Pei Yin turned back, his happy mood instantly souring.
He cranked up the announcement volume, making it loud enough to echo in the ears of the other two people present.
[Appraisal Result: Level 3S Soul Beast. Suspected Jellyfish Clan. Personality: Unknown. Proficient Skills: Unknown. Recommended for reporting and registration.]
The device Ling Yanzhi had spent a fortune to build was even more precise than the ones used by the Alliance.
The Jellyfish Clan was scattered, and it seemed there were quite a few members of this family over on Emperor Source Star.
Safe.
Pei Yin looked at Jian Yu questioningly. "Should I go report it now?"
Jian Yu instinctively looked up at Ling Yanzhi.
The reliance in her eyes was something she probably hadn’t even realized herself.
Ling Yanzhi gave a slight nod. "Go ahead."
Pei Yin rarely stayed the night.
With a spread of his wings, he flew away.
Xi Yu didn’t come back all day.
With one less person in the bed, and with the unknown risks of the next day, Jian Yu couldn’t sleep soundly.
She closed her eyes, opened them, and repeated this several times before finally falling asleep in the early hours of the morning.
The assembly bell from the auditorium echoed through the frigid air.
Jian Yu took a deep breath and stepped onto the long white carpet outside the auditorium.
"Yu!" Shen Gu came running over in a hurry.
He shyly greeted the senior in a hushed voice, his expression tense.
Once they were inside the auditorium, Shen Gu’s tone became a little more familiar.
He explained, "I had class this morning, so I couldn’t go with Senior Lin Yu to pick you up."
Jian Yu shook her head. "It’s fine."
She wanted to say that he didn’t need to pick her up in the future, but she was worried he might take it the wrong way.
’We’ve known each other for a while now,’ Jian Yu thought. ’I shouldn’t have to be so cautious.’
She pursed her lips, her pace slowing as she took smaller steps. "It’s a hassle for you to go back and forth."
"It’s no hassle. I look forward to seeing what you’re wearing every day," Shen Gu blurted out, then gave an embarrassed laugh.
He scratched his head. "There are pictures of your daily outfits on the forums. A lot of people are watching, and I find it pretty interesting."
Jian Yu had a very obvious habit.
Whenever someone complimented her, she couldn’t help but change the subject.
As it happened, she did have a question she wanted to ask Shen Gu. "Did you get the results of your soul beast level re-test?"
"I did. With Chief Xi’s name backing me, the academy didn’t dare to neglect me. They gave me a new brooch that same day."
Shen Gu puffed out his chest. "Look, the brooch’s color has changed to Green Level. I guess you could say I’ve leveled up."
He shielded Jian Yu with his arm as they walked forward.
"It’s really strange, now that I think about it. My previous check-up showed my injuries were irreversible. Not only was I unable to recover my original Level, but there was a chance I could degenerate even further."
Shen Gu said gratefully, "Chief Si Xu is just too amazing. I pray to his picture every day. I never expected that as soon as he returned, I’d be blessed by his grace."
Jian Yu looked at his superstitious behavior, a total fanboy, and found herself at a loss for words.
"Oh, right. Today, Chief Xi Yu had Senior Lin Yu hand another group of people over to me," Shen Gu said, pointing to the ten people in front of and behind them.
He put on a cool and aloof expression, merely imitating Senior Lin Yu’s posture with a slight, elegant bow.
"They’re new students, just like us. Yu, get a look at their faces. You can call on them if anything happens in the auditorium."
Jian Yu looked up.
They nodded to each other and stated their names.
Jian Yu looked down.
’Luckily, I have a good memory. I can remember them after just one introduction.’
There were many new students, but it wasn’t crowded as they followed the line inside.
Passing through the corridor, Jian Yu smelled the scent of candlelight.
Shen Gu smelled it too.
The fanboy look on his face didn’t change. "It’s the Holy Candle. When we come, they usually just light ordinary flames. Only Chief Si Xu can light the Holy Candle."
The deeper they went, the more Jian Yu’s heart pounded.
The deathly silent procession, the cold Beast God Statues, the faint sense of being watched, and the ever-spreading scent of smoke from the Holy Candle.
Everything made Jian Yu feel uneasy.
She clutched the hem of her skirt and walked slowly, treading lightly in an attempt to diminish her presence.
The interior of the auditorium was simple: the Nine Divine Beast Statues, the Holy Altar, the lit candles, and the scripture floating in the very center.
Everyone wore solemn expressions, their eyes fixed forward, looking even more serious than if they were taking an exam.
Jian Yu, a step behind, copied them and lifted her gaze.
She stared at the scripture with a straight face, silently reading it from beginning to end, her mouth occasionally moving without a sound.
’What if the text disappears and everyone can recite it from memory? I’ll be left standing here awkwardly, just moving my lips.’
Seeing her, Shen Gu bent down, puzzled. "You just have to read along with it later. Why are you memorizing it so seriously?"
He frowned. "Oh, I get it. It shows more sincerity, right? Then I’d better memorize it too."
Shen Gu began to silently memorize the text with a look of intense concentration.
"..." Jian Yu scratched her cheek with a finger, a few fine strands of hair tickling her.
A flash of white light streaked overhead.
A tall figure appeared before the Holy Altar, his back to them.
In an instant, it was as if he had drawn all the worldly restlessness, the very essence of mortality, out of the world.
He stood in the center of the vast auditorium and slowly turned around.
He had a high-bridged nose, pale pink lips, and long, light-blond hair that shimmered with a halo of light. His feathered wings were a sacred white.
His commanding, downward gaze seemed to hold both pity and sorrow, but upon closer inspection, it was a blank void, his eyes utterly placid and devoid of any emotion.
Jian Yu’s heart skipped a beat.
She averted her eyes, her lashes cast downward.
To look at him for even a second longer felt like an act of blasphemy against a god.
Her eyes secretly drifted to the golden cord under Si Xu’s white uniform, from which a chief’s insignia dangled.
Someone offered a quiet reminder.
"Chief Si Xu, you may begin."
Jian Yu looked up, her gaze drawn involuntarily to the man’s gracefully raised hands.
His ten slender fingers formed a seal, and the man’s voice, as he recited the scripture, was deep and melodic, imbued with divinity.
"By the fire of the Yu Clan’s Holy Altar, I pray for blessings, may..."