novelraw Chapter 250: The price was too high
Chapter 250: The price was too high
"Hahaha! Just thinking about how much it must hurt the Transcendence Society makes me feel great!"
Liu Ziming laughed somewhat unrestrainedly: "How many of their Special-risk and High-risk level core members were wiped out in there? This one hit is enough to set them back for quite a while, right?"
"Mm,"
Feng Jue nodded: "Post-incident statistics show the frequency of Mist incidents created by the Transcendence Society within Daxia directly dropped by 7%. Don't underestimate that 7%. With such a large base number, it means many people were saved because of it."
This was a battle they personally experienced and were proud of.
Although they weren't the decisive force, as witnesses and participants, they shared in the glory.
After the exhilaration, the topic inevitably returned to Su Zhan.
"It's just... the cost was too great."
Liu Ziming's smile vanished, his voice dropping low: "That guy Su Zhan... why was he so foolish..."
The academy's later investigation concluded: Su Zhan, in the chaos, actively charged deep into the Mist and went missing.There were students who witnessed it, and after verification, they were not lying.
"Entering the Mist World... is a one-way trip with no return."
Feng Jue's voice was dry as he stated that brutal consensus.
In a Mist incident, going from the inside to the outside of the Mist means entering the Mist World. This is the most basic common knowledge everyone in Daxia knows.
"Damn it!"
Xu Hao cursed under his breath: "A perfectly good squad! Xie Xi is gone! The Captain is gone too! What the hell kind of thing is this!"
Liu Ziming, eyes red, roared at the night sky: "Fucking heavens! Always picking on my brothers! Come at me if you have the guts!"
The curses were scattered by the night wind, feeling so powerless.
Feng Jue didn't speak again, silently gazing into the distance.
The rooftop fell into silence once more.
The night wind continued to blow.
"Speaking of which, over this past year or so, we've just been burying our heads in cultivation, rushing from the Dew Realm to the Stream Realm. It felt like shedding a layer of skin."
Liu Ziming sighed, counting on his fingers: "Classroom, training ground, seclusion chamber... a rigid three-point routine, almost drove me crazy with training."
"We didn't do fewer missions either. But fortunately... the academy doesn't dare to organize those unified training marches to the battlefield anymore."
Xu Hao chimed in: "Now it's all squad-based. You accept missions yourself, form your own team to patrol the outskirts of the border, cleaning up scattered monsters."
"Mm."
Feng Jue nodded: "The safety factor is much higher. The border over this past year or so... has indeed been relatively peaceful."
He deliberately emphasized the word "peaceful."
All three understood that this peace was relative to the Mist Surge that swept across all of Daxia's borders over a year ago.
At least nothing on that scale had reappeared.
"Peaceful it is..."
Liu Ziming leaned against the cold railing, watching the other students walking in twos and threes below in the academy, his gaze somewhat unfocused:
"Missions done, realm improved... but somehow, I always feel... something is missing."
"Yeah, something is missing."
Xu Hao's voice sounded muffled: "Back when we went on missions, even though we were scared too, with Sister Xie Xi holding the front line, and Brother Su commanding and controlling the field... now..."
Now, the team was broken.
Even though the three of them still formed a team, even though their coordination was still seamless, that position was forever left empty.
There was no longer that incredibly reliable young lady at critical moments.
Nor the reassuring Captain.
Every time they completed a mission and returned to the academy, every time they saw other complete squads bickering noisily, that sense of absence became especially sharp.
What was the purpose of cultivating and becoming stronger?
What was the purpose of carrying out missions and guarding the border?
They had once made vows together.
They had fought side by side.
Their comrade was no longer here.
Feng Jue didn't speak.
He knew that feeling, the feeling that no matter how much progress you made, there was always an empty place in your heart.
This couldn't be filled by cultivation progress.
It was a wound that could never fully heal after losing a comrade.
The howling wind brushed against the heavy thoughts of the three young men.
...
Inside the Dean's office, the lights were brightly lit.
Wang Mingyuan sat behind a side desk, a thick stack of documents piled in front of him.
He was buried in them, rapidly reviewing and approving, his brow slightly furrowed, letting out helpless sighs from time to time.
Meanwhile, the true master of the office.
Ye Hongyu.
Sat leisurely in the main seat, holding a cup of steaming hot, clear tea, taking small sips.
Her gaze fell outside the window, as if contemplating something more important, completely unconcerned with the mountain of official business piled on the desk.
"Teacher..."
Wang Mingyuan couldn't help but speak up, his voice helpless: "These... should all be your work, right? Grabbing me to do forced labor every day, my teaching duties are almost being delayed."
Ye Hongyu slowly withdrew her gaze, glancing at him: "What? Got complaints about helping your teacher share a bit of the workload? These trivial matters are, in my view, purely a waste of time."
Wang Mingyuan was utterly helpless against this.
Who could argue when the other party was his teacher?
What could he do?
Just endure it.
Ye Hongyu suddenly seemed to think of a good idea, her eyes lighting up slightly: "Hey, right, Mingyuan, how about you just quit teaching and come be my secretary directly? The secretary to the Dean of Vermilion Bird Academy, this position would absolutely count as a promotion for you, not a small amount of power either."
"Teacher, please stop joking with me."
Wang Mingyuan's expression grew even more helpless. He put down his pen, rubbing the space between his eyebrows: "I prefer teaching, being with the students. This administrative work... can't you find someone else? The academy has so many capable people."
"I don't trust the others."
Ye Hongyu's smile faded, her tone turning serious: "You are my student, no, I should say my disciple. If I don't trust you, who else can I trust?"
The words were blunt, but they also left Wang Mingyuan unable to refute.
The two went back and forth for a few more rounds.
Finally, with a long sigh from Wang Mingyuan, he ultimately compromised.
"Alright, alright... secretary it is. It's not like the work I'm doing now is much different from a secretary's anyway."
Wang Mingyuan gave a helpless smile, shaking his head, mocking himself: "Now you can have me handle things under a proper title. Really... 'let the secretary handle the work'..."
Hearing this, Ye Hongyu wasn't annoyed at all. Instead, she let out a light laugh.
She stood up, walked over to Wang Mingyuan's side, and very naturally reached out, giving his forehead a light flick:
"No respect for your elders! As for that latter part of the saying, your teacher still won't do that. These documents are all yours now. Work hard, Secretary Wang."