As the medical vehicle drove past the entrance to the Old City District, Lin Yuan opened his eyes and saw Grandma Wang standing at her gate through the window. She was still holding her apron, stretching her neck to look down the street.
The old woman’s face was etched with worry, and her graying hair was slightly disheveled by the wind.
“Driver, stop for a moment.”
The medical vehicle pulled over to the side of the road.
Lin Yuan rolled down the window and waved his left hand at Grandma Wang. He kept the movement small, afraid of aggravating the wound on his right shoulder.
“Grandma! I’m fine! It’s just a scratch!”
Grandma Wang was stunned for a moment when she saw him, and then her eyes welled up with tears.
Grandma Wang had no children of her own, and she had long since come to view Lin Yuan as her own child.
She ran over with quick, short steps, repeatedly wiping her hands on her apron. She leaned in toward the window to look inside, scanning him from head to toe several times.
“You silly child! You said you were going to break off an engagement, so how did you end up covered in blood!”
Lin Yuan smiled.
“Grandma, is there any porridge left?”
Grandma Wang froze for a second, then nodded vigorously. Her tears fell, but the corners of her mouth curled upward.
“Yes! Yes! Pork and century egg porridge. Grandma has been keeping it warm for you!”
The medical vehicle started up again and drove toward the Ability User Association’s medical station.
Lin Yuan leaned back against the seat. The sunlight from outside the window shone in, falling on the silver-white ring on his left hand.
The ring flickered with a faint light.
No one noticed.
...
The next day.
Lin Yuan was half-reclining on a hospital bed, his right shoulder wrapped in clean bandages. He held a bowl of pork and century egg porridge in a thermal container.
Grandma Wang had delivered it before dawn, and the porridge was still steaming.
Shen Man sat on a folding chair beside the bed, her legs propped up on the edge of the mattress. As usual, she held a cup of milk tea.
She had changed flavors today; the words “Taro Mash Boba” were printed on the side of the cup.
She took a sip, her cheeks puffing out, and then she squinted her eyes with satisfaction.
“Alright, your injuries are mostly healed.” She set the milk tea on the nightstand and pulled the admission benefit confirmation letter with the official seal from her hoodie pocket, slapping it onto his blanket.
“Regarding your S-rank benefits, I read off six of them before. Now, let me tell you about the seventh.”
Lin Yuan sat up a bit straighter.
“As an S-rank freshman, in addition to the basic benefits, you can choose any one secret technique from the academy’s secret technique library.” Shen Man held up one finger.
Lin Yuan’s breath hitched for a moment.
Secret techniques.
Unlike S-rank abilities—which were innate and determined a person's floor—secret techniques were cultivated afterward and determined a person's ceiling.
A good secret technique could multiply an ordinary ability user's combat power several times over.
《Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens》 was a Tier 7 spear technique. After cultivating it for only ten days, he could go head-to-head with a Tier 2, Level 5 rune master. What if he obtained another secret technique of Tier 7 or higher?
“What type of secret technique?” he asked.
Shen Man shook her head.
“I can't tell you yet.”
“...Why?”
“Because you don't just get to pick whatever secret technique you want.” Shen Man lowered her legs and, for once, sat up straight.
“The Secret Technique Pavilion will match you with the most suitable secret technique based on your ability characteristics, combat style, physical fitness, and rounds of bone tempering.
Until the results come out, no one knows which one you’ll be matched with.”
She paused and added, “But I can give you some inside info. Magic City Academy currently has eleven secret techniques, four of which are related to the lightning system. No matter which one you get matched with, it won’t be bad.”
Lin Yuan was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.
He wasn't in a hurry. Good things were worth the wait.
And Shen Man was right—more secret techniques weren't necessarily better; the most suitable one was what mattered.
Forcing oneself to cultivate a secret technique that didn't fit one's combat style would not only yield half the result with twice the effort but might even lead to self-injury.
“Fine. We’ll talk about it when I get to the academy.”
Shen Man nodded with satisfaction, picked up her milk tea again, and nestled back into her chair.
Lin Yuan put away the jade slip. Just as he was about to speak, the door to the hospital room was pushed open from the outside.
Su Qingyue stood at the door.
She wasn't wearing the signature white clothes of the Su family. Instead, she had changed into a simple, light blue casual outfit, with her long hair loosely tied back with a silver ribbon.
She didn't look like an S-rank ability user; she looked more like an ordinary, beautiful girl next door.
She was carrying a food container.
“Grandma Wang said you only had porridge this morning, so she asked me to bring some food over.” She walked into the room, her gaze lingering for a split second on the bandages on Lin Yuan’s right shoulder.
She quickly looked away, placed the food container on the nightstand, and opened the lid.
Inside were several delicate side dishes and a bowl of steaming pork rib soup.
Shen Man’s eyebrows twitched.
She looked at Su Qingyue, then at Lin Yuan, and the corners of her mouth slowly curled into a meaningful arc.
Then she stood up, tucked her milk tea cup under her arm, and shoved both hands into her hoodie pockets.
“I’ll head out first. You two talk.” She walked to the door, then suddenly turned back.
“By the way, Su girl, have you made up your mind? The recruitment sites for the four great academies are closing tomorrow. If you don't sign soon, Qin Ruolan and Lei Meng might personally come to your door to snatch you away.”
Su Qingyue sat down by the bed, her hands folded over her knees.
She didn't look at Shen Man. Instead, she looked at Lin Yuan, her gaze calm and candid.
“Wherever he goes, I go.”
The hospital room went silent for a moment.
Shen Man blinked, then burst into laughter.
She pulled open the door, leaving one last sentence before walking out: “Fine, then I’ll be waiting for both of you in Magic City.”
The door closed, leaving only the two of them in the room.
The scent of osmanthus drifted in through the window, mingling with the smell of disinfectant.
Su Qingyue took the bowl of pork rib soup from the container, stirred it with a spoon, and held it out to Lin Yuan.
“The temperature is just right.”
Lin Yuan took the bowl and had a sip.
It was very fresh, with a faint hint of medicinal herbs.
The soup tasted very homemade, as if someone had made it themselves.
“You made this?” He looked up.
Su Qingyue nodded slightly, the tips of her ears turning a faint, subtle pink. “I learned from Grandma Wang. I simmered it three times; the first two times, it burned.”
Lin Yuan looked down at the soup in the bowl. The pork ribs were cut unevenly—one piece was significantly larger than the others.
The corn was cut a bit crooked, and the carrot slices varied in thickness.
But the broth was clear, the grease had been skimmed off cleanly, and the taste was indeed good.
He took another sip.
“Did you talk to your father?”
Su Qingyue knew what he was referring to. She pulled her hand back, folding it over her knee again, her gaze falling on her interlaced fingers.
She said calmly, “I did. I told him I’m going to Magic City Academy. He didn’t agree.”
“And then?”
“And then I said...” The corner of Su Qingyue’s mouth curled slightly—a faint, somewhat stubborn arc.
“I said, ‘Father, you can’t beat Lin Yuan, and you certainly can’t beat the teachers from Magic City Academy. Whether you agree or not, I’m going.’”
Lin Yuan nearly choked on his soup.
Rate on N.U.
