Chapter 206 - 193: Rumors and Return

Chapter 206: Chapter 193: Rumors and Return

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With limited Soul Qi Points and the constraints of being on campus, Li Heng was very restrained in how often he ran the Divine-level Wolf King Mountain Dungeon. His tactics had also grown more cautious, even a bit cheap.

Operating on the principle of avoiding injury at all costs, he would withdraw after each engagement. He would also pull back if too many blessed Blood Wolves appeared. The main goal was to farm as many blessed Blood Wolves as possible in a single run.

And so, for seven days straight, Li Heng did nothing but grind the Divine-level Wolf King Mountain. He would occasionally come out for a stroll to show his face and say hello to the upperclassmen.

While strolling through the Xisha Area to make an appearance, Li Heng noticed a change in the upperclassmen’s attitude toward him!

Previously, when he greeted the upperclassmen, they had been enthusiastic, with the slight air of looking after a junior.

But ever since Gu Qingwu had played music in his courtyard that day, the upperclassmen who came to greet him were driven more by curiosity.

Their gazes shifted from the previous ’looking-at-a-junior’ variety to ones filled with curiosity. Some even looked at him with admiration!

It’s worth mentioning that while Li Heng was making an appearance in the Xisha Area after a session of grinding the divine-level dungeon, a male senior came right up to him, begging for guidance.

"Li Heng! Please, teach me your ways! When it comes to picking up girls, I want you to be my master! Do you have any pointers? I want to learn from you... I’ve been single for 21 years."

"Senior, what makes you say that? I’m single too..."

"Stop pretending, Master! You even managed to woo Gu Qingwu. I’ve also heard that some of the fourth-year senior girls have been asking about you lately. Master, please, just take me as your disciple!"

Li Heng was initially baffled by the senior’s sudden enthusiasm. But after a moment’s thought and a couple of questions, he more or less figured out what was going on.

He figured that the incident with him and Gu Qingwu, involving the zither and the sword dance, must have been misunderstood by the other upperclassmen, which explained this entire scene.

"Senior, Senior Sister Gu and I are not dating! We’re just friends, I suppose..."

After getting the gist of the situation, Li Heng decided to offer a brief explanation of his relationship with Gu Qingwu. Whether the senior believed him or not was another matter; Li Heng just wanted to make his stance clear.

The news that he was attracting the attention of fourth-year girls, however, was unexpected. Still, he didn’t press for details.

The senior, for his part, clearly didn’t believe that Li Heng and Gu Qingwu were just friends. He didn’t press the issue, however, and simply continued to beg Li Heng to take him as a disciple.

Because the senior was so incredibly enthusiastic and had humbled himself completely, showing Li Heng ample face and respect.

So, even though Li Heng found the senior a bit ridiculous, he stopped to chat with him a little longer.

The conversation that followed, however, left Li Heng speechless. He was completely convinced: there was a very good reason this senior was still single.

What kind of guy’s opening line is, "Can I invite you to go see the scenery outside of campus?"

Of course, setting aside for a moment just how suave that line is on its own...

’This place is a semi-explored mystic realm, and most of the students were tricked into coming here. Inviting someone to see the scenery outside of campus... is he deliberately trying to start something?!’

"So, Li Heng! At first, I just thought the girls were being overly enthusiastic. All I wanted was to invite them to see the scenery outside the city gates. But when they told me to ’go home to mommy,’ I actually thought they all wanted to marry me and meet their future mother-in-law... It wasn’t until one of them beat me up that I realized they were actually insulting me!"

Li Heng was speechless. He honestly didn’t know whether to feel sorry for the senior or for the poor girls he had tried to hit on.

In the end, Li Heng couldn’t fend him off any longer and finally offered the senior a piece of timeless dating advice from his original world, Earth: "Be bold, be meticulous, and be shameless."

The senior looked as if he’d had an epiphany. After thanking Li Heng profusely, he left, proclaiming he’d be in a relationship within three days.

All Li Heng could do was wish the senior the best of luck.

Aside from that one senior who sought him out for a private chat, no one else approached Li Heng individually. As for Gu Qingwu, she hadn’t been seen since the day she played music in his courtyard.

While the first-year students were still away on their "Spring Outing," Li Heng’s days remained peaceful and orderly.

He had initially planned on spending 16,000 Soul Qi Points, but by the end of it all, Li Heng had consumed 20,000 over the past seven days. That amounted to twenty runs in the Divine-level Wolf King Mountain.

And just as he’d hoped, he managed to farm a total of 9 points of Divinity!

Once he had enough Divinity points to raise his Snow-type Affinity to 20, Li Heng didn’t hesitate for a moment and immediately made the upgrade.

Li Heng had been planning to run the Divine-level Wolf King Mountain one more time to test the true power of his Yun Han now that it was no longer affected by the cold poison.

But before he could enter the Divine-level Wolf King Mountain again, a hubbub of voices erupted from outside his secluded wooden cabin.

’The Xisha Area is usually so quiet. What’s all the commotion outside?’

Li Heng heard the noise, of course, and his curiosity was piqued. Puzzled, he stepped out of his cabin to see what was going on.

"Let’s go, let’s go! This is the best show of the year! We’ll miss it if we’re late!"

"Last year was a complete disaster for us! I want to see what kind of shenanigans these ’adorable’ first-years get up to this time!"

"I’m so excited! We get to see the bright, youthful faces of our juniors again."

...

The moment Li Heng stepped out of his courtyard, he saw crowds of upperclassmen heading out of the Xisha Area. They were mostly in small groups, and all of them wore mischievous grins.

Curious, Li Heng snagged a passing senior to ask what was going on.

"Hah! What else could it be? The first-years from one of the routes have finished their Spring Outing and are on their way back!"

"But is the first-years’ return really such a... festive occasion?" Li Heng searched for the right word. ’Festive,’ he decided, was close enough.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot, Junior Li Heng. As for that... well, you should just come to the city wall and see for yourself. I hear the group returning today is the one that took the South City Gate route. It’s only been fifteen days, too. This year’s batch is impressive!"

The senior explained, letting out a sigh of admiration. After another moment of chatter, he excused himself, saying he’d miss out on a good spot if he was late.

The senior’s words only made Li Heng more curious. After a moment’s hesitation, he followed the crowd heading out of the Xisha Area.

After leaving the Xisha Area, Li Heng saw that the upperclassmen from the dormitory area were also rushing toward the South City Gate, all with the same mischievous grins on their faces.

It wasn’t just students, either. Li Heng even spotted a few teachers in the procession.

’Is the anticipation... really this high?’

The scale of the spectacle truly surprised Li Heng, and he quickened his pace.

By now, the top of the South City Gate’s wall was already crowded with upperclassmen. The Gatekeeper Teacher wasn’t just ignoring them—he didn’t even seem to see them, his gaze fixed intently on the path ahead.

Having never seen anything like it, Li Heng stood stunned for a few seconds before making his way up onto the South City Gate’s ramparts.

"This year’s freshmen are impressive! Only fifteen days, and they’ve already finished."

"It’s not that all the freshmen are impressive, it’s this group that chose the South City Gate route. I thought we’d have to wait until after the twenty-day mark to see the show. They really came through this year!"

As he climbed the stairs of the gate tower, Li Heng could hear the surrounding chatter. His curiosity growing, he picked up his pace.

A minute or so later, Li Heng reached the top of the city wall, and his gaze naturally drifted forward.

In the distance, dust and sand billowed close to the ground, while high up in the sky, two enormous Soul Beasts were in flight!

Right on cue, the system provided Li Heng with a summary of the two giant Soul Beasts’ information.

Wind Howling Tiger: Pet

Level: 49

Tier: Tier Four High-Grade Soul Beast

Strength: 55 (-5)

Agility: 59 (-5)

Spirit: 53 (-5)

Soul Qi: 15000

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Roaring Cloud Chilong: Pet

Level: 48

Tier: Tier Four High-Grade Soul Beast

Strength: 58 (-5)

Agility: 55 (-5)

Spirit: 57 (-5)

Soul Qi: 15500