The hot air rolling through the mountain ridges had swept away the last of the spring, replaced by the humid heat of summer.
Soon after, a heavy downpour arrived without warning. Within minutes, the ground was a graveyard of withered leaves and fallen petals, crushed by the sudden storm. Bo City had always been capricious like that; in the morning, the sun would be blindingly bright with not a cloud in sight, but by the time you woke from an afternoon nap, it felt like you had traveled to a different season entirely. By evening, the rain would be freezing and the wind biting cold.
"Monkey, how's your practice coming along? Can you release your magic skillfully?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the board as I moved a piece. "Today is the annual assessment. Stay focused; if you let your nerves get the best of you, you'll underperform."
I had taken up chess as a way to sharpen my patience and calm my mind. As for Mo Fan, he didn't have much of a choice—I usually dragged him into a match whenever we had a free moment.
"Don't worry, Brother Yuzi," Zhang Hou replied, rubbing his head sheepishly. "I've practiced the alignment countless times over the last few months. I can cast my Wind Path without a single failure."
Ever since I gave him that Spirit-grade Stardust Magic Tool, his focus had reached a whole new level. He spent nearly every waking hour in meditation, and as a result, he was far beyond anyone in our grade, second only to Mo Fan and myself. Mo Fan wasn't slacking either; his Fire element had already reached Level 2, and his Lightning element wasn't far behind.
"Don't worry about us, Old Li," Mo Fan added, having picked up the habit of calling me 'Old' lately. He gave me a look that practically screamed 'just watch and learn.' "You just wait and see how amazing my performance is going to be."
"Mo Fan, just remember: don't overdo it," I cautioned. "It's always better to keep a bit of our strength as a hidden card. Now, you two get ready. I have something to take care of, so I'm heading out for a bit."
"Brother Yuzi, the annual exam starts in just a few hours," Monkey asked, looking confused. "Where are you going now?"
"I have to meet someone," I said, already walking toward the dorm door. "Don't worry, I'll be back before the first bell rings."
I stepped out of the school gates, leaving the bustling preparation of the students behind as I headed into the rainy streets of Bo City.
The air outside was thick with the scent of rain and damp earth. I navigated the familiar streets toward the secluded garden where we had agreed to meet.
I found her standing near a stone pavilion, the silver-white of her hair contrasting beautifully against the grey, overcast sky. Even in a simple outfit, **Mu Ningxue** possessed an ethereal, icy grace that seemed to command the very air around her.
"I didn't think you'd come," she said softly with a sweet smile, "The annual assessment starts soon. Isn't the top student of Tianlan supposed to be preparing?"
"Preparation is for those who are unsure of the outcome," I replied, walking up to stand beside her. The biting wind didn't bother me; my fire element kept my blood warm, and my presence seemed to take the edge off the cold for her as well. "Besides, a few minutes here is worth more than a few hours of staring at a practice dummy."
She looked at me, a small, almost imperceptible smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "You're as arrogant as always, Li Yuzi."
"It's only arrogance if I can't back it up," I teased, reaching out to brush a stray, damp strand of hair from her face.
"So, how are things on your end?" I asked, looking down at her. "How is your cultivation progressing?"
It had been a year since we last stood face-to-face, though the late-night phone calls had kept the distance from feeling too vast.
"It's going well," she murmured, moving closer until she was leaning against me. I naturally shifted, wrapping my arm around her waist to pull her in. "Both my Ice and Wind elements have reached Intermediate Level 2. The Mu Clan elders still don't know I awakened the Wind element after my breakthrough; I told them I wanted to focus exclusively on my Ice element for the next two years to perfect my control."
"That's a smart move," I said, my voice low. "Focus on the Wind element in secret. If you can push it toward a High-level breakthrough before we finish high school, you can awaken a third element and present *that* to the Mu Clan as your supposed Intermediate awakening."
I knew the weight she carried. By hiding her true cultivation speed, she was building a path toward freedom. If the Mu Clan realized she was a dual-element monster with top-tier progression, they would tighten their grip, treating her more like a strategic asset than a person. To break her ties with them later, she needed to be powerful, but she also needed to be underestimated.
We stayed like that for a moment, the silence of the garden acting as a shield against the rest of the world.
"I'll reach it," she said with a quiet, icy determination. "I won't let them decide my future."
"I know you won't," I replied, squeezing her side gently. "And if the path gets too steep, remember—you aren't climbing it alone. Li Mountain has plenty of room for a Wind and Ice Goddess."
She let out a soft breath that could almost be mistaken for a laugh, her head resting against my shoulder. For a few more minutes, we weren't the heirs to powerful legacies or mages preparing for a disaster; we were just two people finding a moment of warmth in the cold Bo City rain.
"Yuzi." She tilted her face up, her clear eyes searching mine. "Once you've finished your annual assessment, I want you to spar with me. I need to see the actual gap between us—it'll be the best way for me to gain real combat experience."
Looking at her determined expression, I knew there was no saying no. Beyond that, I was genuinely curious to see how much her combat prowess had evolved with her accelerated cultivation.
"Deal," I said with a smile. "Come over to my place after the assessment. We can use the private training grounds at my house; it'll be easier to cut loose there without drawing any unwanted eyes."
I checked the time on my phone, the minutes ticking down toward the start of the school's most important day.
"We should get moving," I said, gently releasing her. "It's almost time for the exams to begin."
To Be Continue....