Xing Huai’s first reaction was that this had to be her imagination.
Back when she had been guarding dragon eggs on Dragon Island for all those years, this kind of illusion had cropped up countless times. Each time, she had believed it was real, only to end up disappointed in the end.
Moreover, with the miasma fog so severe on Cangyuan Continent, it was even less likely for a dragon egg to hatch.
Sneaking the dragon egg out like this wasn’t exactly proper. If anything went wrong, the dragon egg could very well die completely.
But… if she confirmed that the dragon egg truly couldn’t hatch, then it wouldn’t matter.
Every day, Xing Huai would take out the dragon egg to hold it, and sometimes she would even talk to it. Ming Shuang just assumed it was a Dragon Clan habit.
Watching Ming Shuang feed the fluffy balls some cookies, Xing Huai briefly zoned out. Subconsciously, she twirled the light ring on her fingertip and performed astrology for the dragon egg.
The result came back quickly: completely positive information, indicating that the dragon egg could hatch.
Xing Huai was momentarily stunned. She tried again, and the result was the same.
She even performed astrology for all the dragon eggs on Dragon Island, and they all showed the same thing—they could hatch.
Only after using up her final astrology slot for the day did Xing Huai calmly stand up and say she was going to catch some sleep.
If she told Yan Si and Wu Shao, they definitely wouldn’t believe her—especially with Ming Shuang right there.
Her astrology had never been very accurate; it hadn’t even reached passing standards.
So Xing Huai herself wasn’t sure whether to trust this result.
However, ever since returning to Cangyuan Continent, every astrology reading related to Ming Shuang had pointed in the correct direction.
If the dragon egg really could hatch…
Xing Huai paused in the corridor, her footsteps halting abruptly as she turned back to look at the courtyard.
Ice magic could repel the miasma fog—could it also cleanse the contamination on the dragon egg?
But that was just a guess, with no basis whatsoever.
Xing Huai withdrew her gaze and looked down at the dragon egg cradled in her arms.
If she could sense that sign of revival just one more time, she would believe the astrology result.
In that case… the Dragon Clan’s troubles of the past century would cease to exist. They could leave Dragon Island and return to the continent.
~~~
Two days later, the Purification Squad still hadn’t left. Taro Ball had returned to the Beast-Taming Forest to replenish the barrier’s magic power, escorted personally by Xiang Lun.
Upon confirming that the barrier beast was unharmed and the other magical beasts in the forest were normal, the Purification Squad finally withdrew from the Academy before nightfall. However, they didn’t leave outright; instead, they set up camp outside the Academy to stand guard.
Xiang Lun let them be and brought Taro Ball back to the courtyard.
In these two days, Xuzhi had made new progress in treating Ming Shuang.
Every time before and after Ming Shuang shapeshifted, Xuzhi used light magic to sort and repair his magic veins. After several sessions, the duration Ming Shuang could maintain his shapeshifted form had increased by about a third.
He still needed to consume magic stones to replenish himself before he could shapeshift normally. Once Xuzhi confirmed there were no anomalies, he finally increased the magic stones to three per day.
Ming Shuang’s condition was unique. According to Bai Telie’s undead, this gradual conditioning method was the best; they couldn’t rush it.
Without top-tier light magic assistance every day, Ming Shuang wouldn’t last five years.
Pfft, five years or not—Ming Shuang was oblivious. He did the math: three stones a day, and even a whole crate would last quite a while. Besides, he was rich now and had no trouble buying more magic stones.
In the morning, Ming Shuang ate three magic stones and shapeshifted, then drank a magic potion to change his hair and eye color.
He hadn’t slept with Xuzhi the night before. Taking advantage of Xiang Lun’s absence, he slipped into Xuzhi’s room.
“Big Brother,” Ming Shuang habitually nestled into Xuzhi’s embrace. “Is there anything you want? I’ll buy it for you.”
Xuzhi was getting busier and busier these days, with no time left to accompany him shopping outside.
In the Academy, Ming Shuang had no chance to spend his money.
“There’s nothing I want.” Xuzhi straightened Ming Shuang’s coat and placed over a dozen storage magic arrays into his storage bracelet. “Keep these safe.”
Xuzhi had made the storage magic arrays himself, borrowing Coal Ball’s fire magic. Each one used a magic stone no bigger than a fingertip, making them very convenient to use.
Not long after entering the Academy, Xuzhi had already mastered the storage magic array—a technique he had failed at multiple times before.
Ming Shuang nodded obediently and patted his storage bracelet.
He had class today too. Xiang Lun had arranged everything for him and even selected a teacher.
However, Ming Shuang hadn’t chosen alchemy. Instead, he signed up for… potionology, to learn how to brew potions.
He felt it was the only subject that no one around him could teach him. If he wanted to learn alchemy or anything else, he could just ask Yan Si or Xuzhi.
Plus, Coal Ball could serve as his magical beast. Being fire-element, it was perfect for potion brewing. Ming Shuang just needed to hide his ice magic and use the storage magic arrays when necessary.
Xuzhi hadn’t signed up for potionology, but he planned to accompany Ming Shuang and audit the class today.
Once they had packed up, Xiang Lun hurried over during breakfast.
He was still uneasy and nagged at Ming Shuang. “If anything happens, send me a message right away. I’ve already spoken to your teacher in advance…”
This was Ming Shuang’s first day of school, after all. Xiang Lun had even considered sending the snow fox along, but its appearance was too distinctive—everyone in the Academy knew it was the Vice Dean’s magical beast.
Ming Shuang’s identity hadn’t been publicly revealed yet, so it wasn’t convenient to show overt privileges in the Academy.
Xiang Lun kept rambling. “If you find the crowd too much, I can have the teacher tutor you one-on-one.”
“Are you worried Little Dragon will get bullied?” Wu Shao munched on an apple nearby. “He has guardian beasts with him. Any one of them could take down a whole room of students.”
Coal Ball silently stepped forward, thinking, And there’s me too.
Xiang Lun pondered it and realized it made sense. He should be more worried about the others.
Those majoring in potionology usually didn’t have high innate talent or weren’t suited for combat disciplines—they were more like the “arts” crowd.
Even Coal Ball had been registered at the Academy as a Tier 2 magical beast of low strength, disguised with Yan Si’s alchemy to avoid detection.
“Don’t worry, Grandpa.” Ming Shuang finished his last spoonful of porridge and hurriedly scooped up Coal Ball. “Big Brother and I will come back right after class!”
With Xuzhi accompanying him, Ivan didn’t follow. Xiang Lun stood at the courtyard gate, watching the two walk away.
“Dean Xiang,” Yan Si stepped forward. “When do you plan to let Ming Shuang openly call you Grandpa?”
Since they were letting Ming Shuang attend classes and expose himself, his identity carried a risk of being revealed. No wall was truly airtight.
Yan Si assumed Xiang Lun had a plan, but Ming Shuang wasn’t just his grandson—the appearance of a mixed-blood dragon also concerned the Dragon Clan.
Xiang Lun was silent for a moment before countering, “Then when will the Dragon Clan return?”
The attitudes of the three dragons, to some extent, represented the Dragon Clan’s stance. It was what Xiang Lun hoped for—that the Dragon Clan would accept Ming Shuang.
He hoped even more that the Dragon Clan could protect him. Ever since the incident with Bai Telie, Xiang Lun had figured it out.
Ming Shuang’s innate talent and abilities were far too unique, not to mention the God Clan member by his side.
Ice magic could repel the miasma fog—perhaps the Dragon Clan wouldn’t need to hide on Dragon Island anymore?
But conditioning Ming Shuang’s body would take time. Xiang Lun hadn’t yet found a chance to discuss it with the three dragons.
Yan Si offered no answer, merely sighing before turning to leave.
Xiang Lun watched his retreating back, puzzled.
What did that mean? Did it imply that aside from the three dragons, the rest of the Dragon Clan wouldn’t accept the existence of a mixed-blood dragon?
~~~
The class bell hadn’t rung yet, but Ming Shuang was already sitting primly in his chair.
He had a potionology pin on his coat. A student noticed his unfamiliar face—and his good looks—and asked curiously, “Hey, are you new?”
Ming Shuang nodded. “Yeah, I enrolled a while ago, but I suddenly got sick and had to recuperate at home for a bit.”
That was the excuse he had prepared in advance. Normally, potionology didn’t accept students outside of enrollment periods.
“Oh.” The student couldn’t help glancing at Xuzhi beside Ming Shuang. “And that one…”
Ming Shuang answered first. “He’s my big brother. He’s here to audit.”
As long as the classroom wasn’t full, there were no restrictions on students from other disciplines auditing.
The student nodded, a hint of envy in his eyes.
First day of class, and he had his big brother with him—how nice.
The two of them were exceptionally striking in appearance, even more so sitting together. Plenty of people turned to look their way.
Xuzhi ignored all the gazes and took out two books for Ming Shuang, setting them neatly in place.
Ming Shuang wasn’t afraid of crowds either. He hugged Coal Ball in his lap and curiously reached out to touch the potion-making equipment on the desk.
Coal Ball was the most nervous, curling up tightly as it cautiously surveyed its surroundings.
When the bell rang, the classroom quieted down, and the teacher stepped onto the podium.
There were two sessions that morning: one theory and one practical, with a twenty-minute break in between.
For his very first class, Ming Shuang was extremely attentive and even took notes.
During the practical session, Coal Ball helped light the fire for brewing, but it must have used too much force—the medicine bottle cracked open instantly.
Ming Shuang jumped in surprise and guiltily glanced around, only to discover that not just his bottle had been ruined.
The teacher’s assistant was unfazed by this and replaced it with a new medicine bottle.
This time, Coal Ball was extremely careful, using only the tiniest bit of fire.
The mini furnace on the desk was lit, but after burning for ages, the potion inside showed no change whatsoever.
Ming Shuang observed his classmates and saw that many of them hadn’t succeeded either.
It wasn’t until they returned to the courtyard after class that Ming Shuang recounted his first lesson to Xiang Lun and the three dragons, concluding, “Brewing potions is pretty tough.”
“These things take practice to master,” Yan Si comforted him from the side. “Besides, you didn’t use your own magic at all—just relied on external force. It’s hard to control the heat like that.”
Ming Shuang said in distress, “But I’m an ice mage. It seems like I have no talent for potion brewing.”
“Who said that?” Wu Shao explained. “Any kind of magic can be used for alchemy. The fire element is just more convenient for heating.”
“Then next time, I’ll try it myself at home,” Ming Shuang said as he fed Coal Ball some snacks. “I still want to audit big brother’s class this afternoon.”
He found classes to be great fun. After calculating the time for his shapeshifting, he realized he could attend another one that afternoon.
Seeing Ming Shuang’s enthusiasm, Xiang Lun didn’t try to stop him. Instead, he silently took out his communication device and made some additional arrangements.
Xuzhi sat off to one side, and Ming Shuang fed him a piece of snack as well.
He obediently opened his mouth and ate it, though his mind wandered a little. He lifted his gaze and stared off in a certain direction.
Suddenly, Xuzhi sensed it—miasma fog had appeared once more, right there in Central City.
It was still in its earliest stage, having only just possessed the body of a magical beast. It probably couldn’t be detected by instruments yet.
This perception felt incredibly subtle, impossible to pinpoint its origin, yet utterly clear.
Was it because that day, he had absorbed the black qi from the magic vein? Had that created some kind of connection between him and the miasma fog?
Xuzhi pondered whether he should tell Xiang Lun and the three dragons about this new ability.
The black qi from last time had boosted his magic somewhat. If he could keep going like this, he wouldn’t need to rely on devouring the magic elements of magical beasts to grow stronger.
For now, though, he probably couldn’t slip away from the academy without anyone noticing. It would be better to come clean proactively and take advantage of the opportunity to treat the magical beasts.
Xuzhi pulled his thoughts back together and lowered his eyes to gaze at Ming Shuang beside him.
He needed to grow stronger as quickly as possible. This seemed like the best way to do it.
~~~
