After class, Ming Shuang followed Xuzhi straight to Herl’s Alchemy Tower.
He sat by the window, silently listening to the worried conversation between Xiang Lun and Herl.
The Miasma Fog had suddenly appeared at five locations simultaneously, all on the outskirts of Central City. It had nearly encircled half the city.
This was unprecedented. It should have been a catastrophe unlike any before.
But… with Xuzhi there, everything was different.
If they followed Herl’s original plan—alerting the Miasma-Clearing Team or waiting for them to discover it on their own—most of Central City would have needed to be evacuated.
A blockade of this scale would also spark panic among the people.
Having Xuzhi step in to resolve it seemed like the best approach. Yet anyone could see how abnormal the situation was. They worried that if things continued like this, the consequences would grow even more severe.
Even if they solved it this time, there would be a next time.
Xuzhi’s abilities were limited. What they could maintain right now was merely Central City’s fragile peace.
There was one crucial point: the essence of dispelling the Miasma Fog lay in Ming Shuang’s Ice Magic. It was Xuzhi who healed the magical beasts.
Ming Shuang’s circumstances were unique, however. To protect him, Xuzhi had taken the forefront.
Xiang Lun had his own selfish reasons for this and felt he owed Xuzhi a debt. After all, as a member of the God Clan, Xuzhi had no obligation to involve himself.
Now, with the sudden outbreak’s cause still unclear, Xiang Lun had a headache.
The three dragons in the Courtyard couldn’t offer much help either. The Dragon Clan had remained at the Academy to safeguard Ming Shuang. They wouldn’t meddle excessively in the affairs of Cangyuan Continent.
Upon careful reflection, Xiang Lun realized the anomalies had begun around the time the Barrier Beast was healed.
There had never before been instances of the Miasma Fog receding or magical beasts recovering. This aligned perfectly with Herl’s suspicion that the Heavenly Disaster possessed its own consciousness.
The thought sent a chill down Xiang Lun’s spine. If the Heavenly Disaster truly had awareness, then was this disturbance caused by the Ice Magic… or Xuzhi’s Light Magic?
No matter how he turned it over in his mind, Xiang Lun believed the former was far more likely. His determination to protect Ming Shuang grew even stronger.
In the end, he and Herl reached a consensus: Xuzhi would handle four of the sites, leaving the one farthest from the city to the Miasma-Clearing Team.
As they discussed this, Ming Shuang glanced at Xuzhi beside him.
Xuzhi’s expression remained calm, devoid of any excess emotion. It was as if none of it mattered to him either way.
This, oddly enough, put Ming Shuang at ease. He quietly reached out and tugged at Xuzhi’s sleeve. “I want to go too.”
Xiang Lun instinctively objected. “That’s not possible. This outing will take quite some time. You should stay at the Academy…”
Ming Shuang countered softly. “But Brother will be tired too…”
Xiang Lun fell silent just as a message came in from Yan Si, looking for someone.
He was seeking Ming Shuang. The three dragons were waiting for him in the Courtyard and hoped he could return immediately.
Yan Si hadn’t specified the reason in the message. His tone was grave, suggesting something urgent.
This gave Xiang Lun a fresh excuse to insist Ming Shuang return to the Courtyard and avoid wandering outside.
Ming Shuang had no choice but to relent. “Oh…”
His own Communication Device chimed right after. Xing Huai had messaged, asking when he could come back.
Ming Shuang replied “Soon.” Seeing Xuzhi about to set off with Tomato, he hurriedly stowed the device.
Mindful of Xiang Lun and Herl nearby but too anxious to care, he threw his arms around Xuzhi in a tight hug. “Brother, be careful… Message me on the road and come back as soon as you can.”
Everyone else fretted over the Miasma Fog and the Heavenly Disaster. It seemed only he was worried about Xuzhi.
It didn’t look troublesome, and there had been no danger the previous times.
Still, Ming Shuang couldn’t shake his unease. What if overusing Light Magic took a toll…?
Xuzhi leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his hair. “I won’t come to any harm.”
Ming Shuang clung to him a moment longer, then seized the opportunity to craft a new Storage Magic Array for him.
The Magic Stone it used was small, infused to the brim with pure Ice Magic. The once-dull gray pebble now gleamed like a chunk of ice. He tied it with a thin cord, fashioning it into a pendant that could be worn.
Ming Shuang fastened the Magic Array pendant around Xuzhi’s neck and tucked it into his clothes.
A cool aura emanated from the pendant. No amount of body heat could warm it—a truly unique item.
“Keep this close,” Ming Shuang said earnestly. “It might protect you. Don’t use it up carelessly.”
Lately, he had been poring over books on Ice Magic—the ones left behind by his mother. No one was there to teach him, but Xuzhi possessed an Ice affinity as well and could study alongside him.
Ice Magic carried natural properties. Beyond offensive arrays, there was a protective array one could employ. The theory was intricate, though, and Ming Shuang wasn’t sure if he had mastered it.
Xuzhi acknowledged him with a nod, Tomato at his side, and departed the Alchemy Tower.
Once he was gone, Xiang Lun escorted Ming Shuang back to the Courtyard.
The three dragons had been waiting in the yard since early. The moment they spotted Ming Shuang, Xing Huai hurried forward and swept him into an embrace.
Ming Shuang looked bewildered. “Auntie, what’s wrong?”
“We’ll talk inside,” Yan Si said from behind her. “My apologies, Dean Xiang. This concerns the Dragon Clan. You’ll need to step aside.”
Xiang Lun said nothing more. Taking Ivan with him, he headed to his own resting quarters off to the side.
Ming Shuang then followed the three dragons into Yan Si’s room.
Yan Si shut the door firmly and cast spells around the perimeter to ward off any spying or eavesdropping.
Ming Shuang watched in a daze, sensing that something vitally important was afoot.
With no outsiders present, Wu Shao’s tense expression eased. Unlike Xing Huai’s delight, he appeared… on the verge of tears.
Ming Shuang grew uneasy. “Wh-what’s going on?”
“Don’t be nervous,” Xing Huai said with a smile. “It’s good news.”
With that, she carefully withdrew the Green-Shell Dragon Egg from her Storage Bracelet.
“Little Shuang,” she said, choosing her words with care. “Have you noticed the Dragon Egg acting differently lately? Especially compared to when I first arrived…”
Ming Shuang blinked in surprise, then nodded hesitantly.
He had been the first to detect the deathly aura within the egg and had attempted to dispel it. Naturally, he had noticed the changes too.
Ever since it regained vitality, the aura inside had grown steadily healthier.
Xing Huai’s suspicions solidified at his reaction.
Yan Si had been pondering how to explain, figuring it was time to apprise Ming Shuang of the clan’s current plight.
But before he could speak, Xing Huai cut straight to it. “This Dragon Egg has been nurtured for a full fifty years, yet it could never hatch. The thirty-five eggs on Dragon Island are the same.”
Wu Shao couldn’t hold back any longer, his tone thick with emotion. “The Dragon Clan hasn’t seen a single egg hatch in nearly a century. I thought I’d never live to see a young dragon—that our kind was doomed to fade away…”
The revelations caught Ming Shuang off guard. His eyes widened slowly.
After a stunned pause, his thoughts flashed back to the deathly aura that had receded from the egg that day.
So… was it because of him?
“But now, the Dragon Egg has revived,” Xing Huai went on. “My Astrology revealed… it’s connected to you.”
Wu Shao still harbored doubts about Xing Huai’s Astrology. Yet compared to this polluted land, he was inclined to believe Ming Shuang had played a role in reviving the egg.
Xing Huai had already used her Wood Magic to show them the egg’s interior. At most three months, and it would hatch smoothly.
“I propose sending the Dragon Egg to the safer haven of Dragon Island,” Yan Si interjected. “Or…”
He paused. “Have the clan dragons carry their eggs and return to the continent.”
Sending the egg back to Dragon Island would require Ming Shuang to accompany it—to verify if he was truly the cause.
But given his unique status—a human grandfather, an enigmatic God Clan partner, and the recent Miasma Fog disturbances…
Ming Shuang fell silent for a long while, his mind a whirlwind of shock and confusion.
No wonder… Wu Shao had once said the Dragon Clan feared not the Miasma Fog, yet they had secluded themselves on Dragon Island.
He finally gathered his thoughts and spoke with difficulty. “The Dragon Clan… hasn’t had a Dragon Egg hatch in nearly a century?”
Xing Huai nodded. “Yes. I had thought this one a dead egg.”
She was referring to her own Green-Shell Dragon Egg. All this time, she had carried it with her, even speaking to it often.
Ming Shuang had never sensed anything amiss, though he had occasionally noted subtle reactions from Wu Shao and Yan Si. He could scarcely imagine the weight Xing Huai had carried, guarding an egg that refused to hatch for decades.
Xing Huai opened her mouth to say more, only to be enveloped in Ming Shuang’s sudden embrace.
“Auntie,” he said, unsure how to comfort her but resolute all the same. “The Dragon Egg will hatch smoothly. I promise.”
Xing Huai froze for a brief moment, then smiled warmly. “Good.”
Afterward, Ming Shuang finally confessed to the three dragons. He had detected the anomaly in the egg from the start but hadn’t been certain. Fearing it might offend them to mention it to fellow kin, he had held back.
It was then that he had exhaled a trace of Ice Mist, and the unnatural aura had vanished.
Wu Shao brimmed with excitement. “We’ll rush back to Dragon Island right now and tell the others!”
Those dragons lounging in their caves day in and day out would perk right up. The Dragon Clan was saved!
Ming Shuang grew tense. “Will the other clan members come too? They don’t know me yet. What if they don’t believe…?”
Xing Huai pressed the Green-Shell Dragon Egg into his arms. “Don’t overthink it. We’ve waited on Dragon Island all these years… for this very day.”
~~~
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Central City.
Xuzhi arrived at the third location and located the magical beast in its abnormal state.
A 4th Tier beast, it had gone untreated from the start and had lost all reason. It attacked at the sight of him, only to be suppressed by Xuzhi’s Metal Array.
Ice Magic manifested alongside it, enveloping the magical beast entirely. The creature let out a pained roar, its voice quickly growing faint.
Once the miasma fog had been dispersed, Xuzhi followed his usual routine and used Light Magic for treatment.
Partway through, he sensed someone approaching their location.
The healing wasn’t quite finished when Xuzhi frowned slightly between his brows. He pondered whether to send Tomato over to intercept the intruders.
As he hesitated, a Blue Feather Bird rode the wind and swooped in, landing directly not far away.
The treatment happened to conclude at that moment. Xuzhi rose to his feet and turned toward the newcomers.
Two Beast Tamers dismounted from the Blue Feather Bird’s back. They wore long robes of similar style, each sleeve bearing the emblem of the Miasma-Clearing Team.
The Miasma-Clearing Team had already tracked them down.
The pair had indeed followed the detection signal here, only to find Xuzhi in the area.
Even more startling, the miasma fog signal had inexplicably vanished.
Looking shocked and uncertain, they sized up Xuzhi. One of them asked, “Are you a resident of Central City?”
“Yes,” Xuzhi replied curtly. “Just passing through. I’ll be on my way.”
His thoughts were fixed on hurrying back to see Ming Shuang, so he departed directly with Tomato.
The two Beast Tamers made no move to stop him. Once Tomato had flown far off, one of them pulled out a Communication Device.
Suppressing his shock, he spoke into the other end. “Captain, I’ve spotted that student from Lobe Academy…”
The voice on the Communication Device responded, “What was he doing there? Did you locate the miasma fog signal?”
From a distance, the owl watched on with gleeful schadenfreude.
Caught red-handed, eh… God Clan members are all no good. Here’s hoping they quickly uncover Xuzhi’s true identity!
~~~
