The next day.
After breakfast, Yu Xian first dropped Auntie Su Zhuo off at the entrance of her company in Tianjing City, then teleported back to his own front door.
Just then, Nora walked around the corner. Her long hair rippled like golden waves beneath the morning sun, and paired with her striking beauty—which even the school uniform could not diminish—she looked entirely like an ethereal fairy descended to earth.
Without prior knowledge, probably no one would ever suspect she was a vampire.
From several meters away, Nora spotted Yu Xian, and the smile on her face became utterly unstoppable.
"Good morning, Big Salty Fish!" Quickening her pace by a couple of steps, she walked up and greeted him with a bright look.
Yu Xian turned to walk slowly side by side with her, chuckling, "Morning to you too, Silly Goose."
"By the way, you skipped school again yesterday. Is your work at Qilin that busy?" Nora didn't mind him using her nickname; rather, she had just felt a little bothered about not seeing him the day before.
Yu Xian smiled. "Not really busy, but a lot truly did happen yesterday. Plus, I have family now!"
"Family? What happened? Don't tell me you have a child?!" Nora asked in sheer panic.
Yu Xian gave her a speechlessly exasperated look before explaining as they walked that he actually still had an aunt. Conversing in idle chatter, they gradually made their way toward school.
Arriving at the school gates, they saw Zhang Shou, just as usual, prostrated on the ground in an "onz" pose with an expression of sheer indignation.
Nora gave Zhang Shou a curious glance, while Yu Xian thrust out his chest and held his chin high at a forty-five-degree angle, smiling faintly as he strolled past him. The sight infuriated Zhang Shou so much that he slammed his fists against the ground.
Since Yu Xian hadn't kept it a secret from him, Zhang Shou had learned that Yu Xian monitored the city through his sense of smell. So yesterday, Zhang Shou had bought massive amounts of perfume, spraying it on layer after layer, then slathered himself in a coat of mud, before dousing himself in even more perfume.
He had gotten up past five in the morning to lie in ambush outside Yu Xian's house.
Yet despite all those layers of camouflage, none of it had fooled Yu Xian. First, Yu Xian dumped him into the river for a thorough tumble. Once he was scrubbed clean, a blast of hot wind blew him dry, and finally, Yu Xian teleported him directly to school.
"I don't buy this!"
Zhang Shou stood up and stared at the receding figures of Yu Xian and Nora. That picture of handsome talent paired with stunning beauty—a match made in heaven—was far too dazzling, far too blinding, and tore far too painfully at a brother's heart! It hurt even more than watching a buddy buy a Land Rover!
Next time, he swore he would successfully act as a third wheel, or else his soul would never know peace.
***
The first period was self-study.
Yu Xian sat at his desk, fiddling with his phone.
He had already memorized everything he was supposed to learn—and plenty he wasn't—inside his Super Brain. Scoring full marks was effortless for him; coming to school was purely to unwind.
After obtaining the Super Heart, his Super Brain had grown even more potent.
He deployed a swarm of ultra-tiny bubbles around himself and Nora. Fresh air was constantly teleported through these bubbles, forming a protective barrier so they no longer had to fear any passing gas from surrounding classmates.
Zhenwo Changjing was truly quiet.
As long as he didn't initiate conversation, she acted just like an accessory, constantly following behind him. Moreover, her footsteps were entirely silent; if he wasn't paying close attention, he would sometimes forget she was even there.
Come to think of it, he now carried two living accessories on him: one was Little Dumb, constantly hovering above his head, and the other was Zhenwo Changjing.
In fact, whenever people ran into him, their first glance was at him, and their second was at Little Dumb perched over his head. It was only out of politeness that most people refrained from asking what that little thing on his head was.
Naturally, if he crossed paths with naughty brats, that was another story.
A while back, when buying snacks, a mischievous kid had asked him about it. His answer had been, "Big brother feels a bit dizzy, so little birds are circling over my head." As for whether the kid believed him, he had no idea.
At any rate, through Super Smell after leaving, he had observed a kid actually banging his head against a table—presumably hoping to get a little bird of his own.
"Salty Fish, check the Qilin bulletin quick! You're on the news again," Zhang Shou, who was likewise slacking off, whispered to Yu Xian.
Yu Xian set aside his entertainment phone, pulled out his dedicated Qilin phone, opened the Qilin app, and saw a bulletin titled: [Disaster of the Namo Race: Codename Salty Fish Cracks Major Case].
Yet he had zero desire to tap into it, only feeling that the two words "Salty Fish" seemed rather out of place alongside everything else.
He might be used to it, but he still desperately wanted to change his codename...
Yu Xian slumped across his desk and swiped across the screen, coming across another piece of news from yesterday.
Qilin's response had been swift indeed. After his bubble avatar submitted the report, Director Yu Lie issued new orders to conduct an extensive sweep of tycoons and their families across every city in the country.
Although they didn't discover any new members of the Namo race, they did uncover several wealthy elites who were secretly being controlled via transcendent abilities.
Naturally, those puppet masters lurking in the shadows were now sitting in prison awaiting legal judgment.
Presumably, sweeps like this would become routine in the future. And those tycoons who had previously voiced adamant opposition likely wouldn't dare object anymore—after all, nobody wanted to end up as someone else's puppet.
He slacked off all the way until the afternoon.
When the Chinese language teacher entered carrying test papers, a collective wail rose from the hearts of many classmates who had long since lost the will to study.
However, Yu Xian had zero fear of exams.
Upon receiving the test, he used the bubbles on his palm to manipulate the pen and swiftly wrote out the answers, then handed in the exam right away. The entire process took a mere five minutes.
Then he remembered that he had accumulated another hefty pile of transcendent equipment, so he began taking inventory inside his desk compartment.
Most of this gear came from members of the Torrent Society, while another portion had been seized from Transcendents puppeted by the Namo race. He planned to keep whatever equipment he needed and donate the rest to Qilin free of charge.
Mainly, he had hauled back a massive amount of gold from Mars and was truly not short on cash, so he couldn't be bothered to sell it.
Most members of the Torrent Society wielded sabers, with some using swords. These weapons generally weren't of high grade; the vast majority were only Bee rank, with a few superior pieces reaching Sparrow rank.
Yu Xian took out a storage ring specifically to pack these weapons away.
When he brought out the Great Thick Earth Guiyao Heavy Mountain Saber left behind by Hong Zheng, a thought suddenly struck him. Containment item number 033 in the Transcendent Containment Facility—the Grand Blaze Sky-Burning Saber he had wanted before—seemed to follow the exact same naming format as the Great Thick Earth Guiyao Heavy Mountain Saber.
Could there be some connection between the two sabers, or were they part of a set?
He looked toward Zhenwo Changjing and asked in a low voice, "Auntie, have you ever heard of the Great Thick Earth Guiyao Heavy Mountain Saber and the Grand Blaze Sky-Burning Saber?"
"The Great Thick Earth Guiyao Heavy Mountain Saber in your hands is merely a replica of replicas," Zhenwo Changjing replied. "Both sabers you mentioned are legendary divine sabers. To my knowledge, there are ten such divine sabers in total, though I only know the names of five."
Yu Xian pressed, "Which five?"
"The Grand Blaze Sky-Burning Saber, the Great Thick Earth Guiyao Heavy Mountain Saber, the Great Torrential Rain Flood Tide Shuimiao Saber, the Great Ice Snow Frost Flower Chilling Intent Saber, and the Great Thunderbolt Lightning Flash Thunder Roar Saber.
"The designation 'Great' actually signifies that only a Mighty One can unleash the full power of these ten divine sabers. Regrettably, even Zhenwo Wuchang has never seen a genuine divine saber; it seems across the myriad heavens and realms, only replicas exist," Zhenwo Changjing said.
Hearing this, Yu Xian swallowed hard. Weapons wielded by Mighty Ones—just how formidable would that be?
Unfortunately, the Great Thick Earth Guiyao Heavy Mountain Saber in his hand was clearly just a counterfeit. He had appraised it a moment ago, and its grade was only Dragon-rank; evidently, it couldn't be the real deal.
Still, even as a replica, this saber was remarkably potent. In the hands of a master saber artist, its destructive force would undoubtedly be astonishing.
Yu Xian took out a cloth and meticulously wiped down the blade of the Great Thick Earth Guiyao Heavy Mountain Saber, clearing away every trace of blood and dust. The reason he treasured this weapon was entirely because it was Hong Zheng's blade.
Compared to its intrinsic attributes, Yu Xian valued its commemorative significance far more.
As long as he looked upon it, Yu Xian would forever remember the Torrent Society, remember Hong Zheng, remember Cui Xianzhen, and remember every single soul who had sacrificed their life.
After class ended, the classroom filled with groans of despair.
Evidently, having done poorly on the test, the students were all slumped across their desks resting.
Nora turned around and asked in a whisper, "Big Salty Fish, could you come with me somewhere after school?"
Before Yu Xian could even answer, she whispered the entire story to him. It turned out she couldn't purchase better transcendent armor in official shops, so recently she had posted a hefty bounty online.
Just yesterday, someone had contacted her for a trade. Worried that the other party might harbor ill intentions, she wanted Yu Xian to accompany her.
Even though Nora had bodyguards and the other party was likely only after money, making trouble improbable, Yu Xian immediately agreed to accompany her to the trade after hearing her out.
In truth, he also wanted to buy some defensive gear for Su Zhuo.
Additionally, the storage rings he possessed were on the larger side, sized for men; he also wanted to find a storage ring suitable for a woman to wear for Su Zhuo.
After school, students departed in twos and threes, leaving the campus in clusters.
Yu Xian and Nora followed the flow of students out the school gates, heading toward the agreed-upon meeting spot.
Chapter 145