254: Something

Lin Qingyan hummed in response.

Lin Qingyan looked at the young man in front of her; he felt somewhat familiar, yet mostly like a stranger.

Baptism, Rebirth, complete transformation?

None of those seemed quite right.

Before the Black Curse incident, a hint of youthful spirit, stubborn and resolute, was still hidden in his eyes.

Now, all of that had vanished.

Only calmness remained in his eyes.

And... a composure that seemed capable of controlling everything.

How much time had passed?

How could he have changed so much?

'It's the freshman Lin Qingyan!' Some students passing by also noticed the two of them, and someone called out.

Immediately, many people turned their heads to look.

They saw Lin Qingyan, wearing a school uniform, a blue coat draped over it, her hands in her coat pockets, her dark black hair casually spread out, falling to her waist, and her skin fair and translucent like snow.

The boys' eyes were fixated, while the girls were envious and jealous.

How could someone's face be so small?

And so delicate and beautiful.

"Is that Lin Qingyan?"

"The Ice Queen among the freshmen, she's even more beautiful in person than in videos."

"So beautiful... I wonder if she has a boyfriend."

"Definitely not."

"I wonder if I have a chance."

"You? Give it up."

You probably don't know, but Senior Huang Fei, who was ranked thirty-first in the academy, pursued her relentlessly. She seemed to get annoyed and directly beat Senior Huang Fei into serious injury; he hasn't fully recovered yet."

"Hiss... that fierce?!"

"But who is that guy in front of her?"

"Don't know him, but he looks a bit unfamiliar... I feel like I've seen him somewhere today."

...Jiang Yuan glanced at Lin Qingyan, used his [See Through Everything] talent to discern her details, and was slightly surprised upon realizing she had awakened a third talent.

"You've gotten a lot stronger."

Lin Qingyan, who had only recently awakened her third talent [Time Sanctuary], raised her head, a hint of arrogance in her raised eyebrows, as if saying 'of course'.

"Who did you think I was?

Don't think you're still in South River City and can always stay ahead of me. As long as you relax even a little, I can completely surpass you, making you see only my back from then on."

Lin Qingyan said proudly.

Jiang Yuan smiled, "You're indeed the same as before."

Lin Qingyan raised an eyebrow.

Don't believe her?

"Want to spar?"

Jiang Yuan smiled, "Fighting again?

Let's forget it. You've never beaten me, and there's no bet, so winning against you isn't interesting."

Hah?!

Lin Qingyan couldn't believe that she, the majestic reborn Empress, would actually be refused when she proactively challenged someone.

She said angrily and embarrassedly, "Stop blabbering, are you a man or not? Do you dare or not?!

You want a bet? Fine, let's bet an artifact!"

As Lin Qingyan spoke, she reached out and took out something, throwing it to Jiang Yuan; it was a yellow jade bracelet.

"This is the [Ksitigarbha's Bracer]. Wearing it can forcibly suppress your Realm, lowering it by up to two stages."

She had the capital to be proud. Since coming to the Imperial Capital, she had already cleared several Secret Realms and obtained several precious treasures based on her memories from her previous life. While her own attributes had reached a higher level, she had also awakened her third talent earlier than in her past life...

Although she was only at the fifth stage now, she was very strong!

Lin Qingyan even had the confidence to break into the top five of Shenwu Academy.

However.

The guy in front of her was truly a pervert who couldn't be judged by common sense.

Jiang Yuan glanced at the bracelet in his hand, engraved with numerous runes. An epic-grade item, and a rare single-use item that could suppress levels, was casually taken out by her just for a meaningless spar.

Besides being good-looking and having good talent, Jiang Yuan's impression of Lin Qingyan gained a few more points: Rich.

Mentally ill.

Very unwilling to admit defeat.

Jiang Yuan put on the bracelet and sighed, "Since someone is so eager to give me an artifact, how can I not fulfill her wish?"

"Let's go.

I'm here for the first time and not very familiar, accompany me for a walk."

After saying that, he walked towards the black building, and Lin Qingyan instinctively followed.

After walking a few steps, she paused, then reacted.

She was the reborn Empress, why should she listen to him?

And follow behind him?

How could this be!

She seemed a bit enraged and embarrassed.

Lin Qingyan's beautiful legs, encased in black stockings, sped up a few steps and walked alongside Jiang Yuan.

This scene was extremely pleasing to the eye!

To others, Lin Qingyan's actions looked like she was actively getting close to him and walking side-by-side with him.

Some boys who saw this scene had their hearts shatter instantly.

"Ahhhhh! What's the background of that guy? How could the Ice Queen actively show him favor?!"

"I don't believe it!!"

"Tch, isn't he just a pretty boy?

I, Dao Ba, won't accept this!

I'm going to challenge him to a duel!!"

A freshman with a fierce face, two meters tall, carrying a giant axe, said menacingly.

But the next second, the words of a student with glasses made his body stiffen.

"I remember now, he's that Jiang Yuan!!

The person who defeated Senior Chi Guang with a single move this morning!!"

"Speaking of which, I remember now too. The legendary freshman who saved South River City, the top scorer in the martial arts exam, that's him."

"Hiss, I heard he's ridiculously strong. I didn't expect his looks to be maxed out in talent too. I'm so envious my eyes are red."

"Envy +1"

"Someone just said they were going to challenge him, was it Dao Ba? Go on, wear your defensive gear, otherwise I'm afraid he might kill you with one punch."

"Junior Dao Ba, I admire you. I'll lend you a gold-grade greatshield. Return it if you don't die; no need to return it if you die. How about it?"

The scar-faced man with a fierce face chuckled awkwardly, "Well, let's forget it."

"Tch—!"

"Coward!"

"Wimp!"

"Spineless thing, don't say you're from our warrior department when you go out in the future."

Dao Ba was on the verge of tears.

He was only at the third stage, while the other person could instantly kill a Genius senior at the sixth stage.

Even if he was lent an epic-grade greatshield, he definitely wouldn't be able to win!

Amidst the noise, some busybodies posted the news of Jiang Yuan's appearance here on the school forum.

At the same time, they also included a photo of him and Lin Qingyan walking side-by-side as they left.

It quickly climbed into the top ten trending topics.

Luo Xi, who had returned from a Secret Realm and was greatly surprised and excited to hear that Jiang Yuan had returned safely and arrived at the academy, was just about to go look for him when she saw this photo, and her pupils instantly contracted.

!

Beside her, Professor Song Yun, an honorary Professor of the psychic department, with a cute face, small and slender like a legal loli, sat on a giant wine gourd, floating in the air, looking at the photo and commenting, "Mmm, the photo is well taken. Isn't this that Lin Qingyan?"

"So she and that Jiang Yuan are a couple?

They look like they were made for each other."

She completely failed to notice Luo Xi's expression turning gloomy beside her.

It wasn't until she felt Luo Xi's mental power surging like it was boiling that she noticed and turned her head to look.

"Teacher..."

Luo Xi's voice was faint, and her expression made Professor Song Yun feel a little creeped out.

"Wh- what's wrong?"

"Could I trouble you to take me to the Martial Arts Building?

I have something to do."

"Oh, okay, no problem."

...