Elite Mages' Academy

Xiao Lin’s invitation caused Gu Xiaoyue to panic, not even knowing where to place her fair hands. Cheng Ming and the others acted like they saw nothing and dispersed. She lowered her head, as if she was making an incredibly hard decision.

Xiao Lin was a bit nervous. It was too hard to guess Gu Xiaoyue’s thoughts. Normally, they had way too little personal time in the academy. The intense studies and frantic training meant that they did not really have that much free time, so Xiao Lin would naturally not easily give up on such a rare chance to ask her out.

“Fine.” After a long time, Gu Xiaoyue muttered at an almost imperceptible volume, causing Xiao Lin a great deal of excitement.

After greeting the vice president, Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue used the spatial carriage of the Japanese academy to return to Tokyo, not going back to their country immediately. The others went straight back to the country in the plane arranged by the Earth branch. Originally, the vice presidents had some doubts. Based on the rules, what Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue were doing was not allowed, since it involved the Japanese branch as well. However, it was quickly allowed after he gave the student union a call.

The student union would definitely not stop Xiao Lin when it came to that, and had even helped him contact the Japanese branch, who quickly arranged a tour guide for them, helping them arrange the best vacation route, recommending certain sights and what not. However, Xiao Lin had rejected it, as he was actually not interested in sightseeing itself. Xiao Lin only wanted a chance to spend some time alone with Gu Xiaoyue, so the location was not important.

“I want to go to the beach.” However, Gu Xiaoyue had voiced her own suggestion.

Xiao Lin paused for a moment before agreeing immediately, so they went to Hokkaido.

Hokkaido was one of the 47 prefectures in Japan, and was the largest island in Japan outside of Honshu. The scenery was very attractive, and it was a hotspot for vacationing. It happened to be spring at that moment, so Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue walked together as they admired the remains of the snow melting in the wilderness. There were cherry and plum blossoms blooming in the grass too. They rented a house on the beach to stay in. After all, their finances were completely handled by the Earth branch.

To Xiao Lin, those two days were the happiest days he had recently, or maybe even the whole year. He went to look at the scenery with Gu Xiaoyue during the day, standing on the beach as they admired the sea. They even got on a boat and started fishing. Even though they were terrible at fishing, they found joy in it. They forgot about the academy, forgot about the tournament, and forgot about many troublesome matters. Gu Xiaoyue had even revealed a rare smile. It was a smile that was only seen when one relaxed after a lot of exhaustion. That alone made Xiao Lin feel that the vacation was the right choice.

It was a pity that the holiday only lasted for two days. On the second evening, the staff from the Japanese branch awkwardly came to look for them because Xiao Lin had chased them away two days ago, not wanting to be disturbed. Their attitudes were much more humble the second time they appeared. Of course, it was probably due to the strength Xiao Lin had shown during the tournament. The Japanese respected strength to a large degree.

Dawn Academy’s Earth branch had already asked the Japanese to get Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue to hurry back. Even though it was regretful, Xiao Lin obediently listened. That evening, they got on a plane back to the country under the arrangements of the Japanese side. It was a small private jet, and there were all sorts of facilities on the plane. The staff from the Japanese academy that accompanied them told them proudly that it had been built by their branch.

However, Xiao Lin was just slightly confused before expressing some praise. Fine, the praise was mostly out of boredom. Other than being in charge of recruiting new students and observing the returning students, the Earth branch usually had nothing to do for most of the time, so most of them would find some other profession to pass the time. For instance, the ones back in China had chosen astronomy and observing the stars.

The plane was not big, so when Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue entered, they immediately saw a young man smiling at them and waving. It was obvious that they were not the only two people on the trip.

Gu Xiaoyue felt a little awkward, and immediately pulled her little hand out of Xiao Lin’s palm. Of course, that had not been her intention, and Xiao Lin had been the one who grabbed her hand on the way. The woman was usually cold and aloof, but she seemed to shed her outer shell in front of Xiao Lin, and revealed her exhaustion and loneliness.

“You must be Xiao Lin. I finally have the chance to meet you. I’m Li Cheng.” The Chinese name meant that Xiao Lin had to shed his look of disappointment. After all, he was probably also from Dawn Academy as well.

“I’m called Xiao Lin. She is Gu Xiaoyue,” Xiao Lin fastened the seatbelt as he politely replied.

“I know, I know. I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time.” Li Cheng did not seem to just be acting out of politeness. From the moment Xiao Lin sat down, he was constantly evaluating Xiao Lin, from head to toe. Li Cheng’s eyes had a curious glint, and Li Cheng did not seem to bother with Gu Xiaoyue, who was next to Xiao Lin, at all.

Xiao Lin shivered and tried to stand up to switch his seat. Li Cheng immediately grabbed his arm, and the strength behind it left Xiao Lin unable to retaliate. However, when he sat down again, Li Cheng’s gaze was already averted. Li Cheng rubbed his chin, smiling as he said, “I’ve been curious about you for a long time, but I really can’t tell what I want to know from your appearance.”

“You know me?” Xiao Lin asked.

“That’s right, but you don’t know me. I’ve been paying attention to you since New Washington’s red moon. The old dean’s unusual bias toward you makes me curious as well… The way you handled matters in the New World made me take you seriously… I’ve paid attention to your results in the academy as well, and you gave me a bigger surprise…” Li Cheng said incessantly.

Xiao Lin’s face grew stranger and stranger. The guy obviously knew a lot about him, and the guy seemed to talk about everything he had done, including those things that were not public. He finally interrupted Li Cheng, asking again, “Who are you?”

Li Cheng paused before slapping his head, laughing as he said, “I’m sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. This is my name card. Don’t worry, we’re all on the same side. There’s no need to look so scared, my good friend.”

The name card he handed over was very normal, and the words printed on it were very simple as well.

Dawn Academy Intelligence Department Head, Li Cheng

Xiao Lin suddenly widened his eyes, immediately understanding what that represented.

In Dawn Academy, the one who held the most power was the dean. Below the dean, there were various departments, and the Intelligence Department was under the military. However, the Intelligence Department was a special department that reported directly to the dean. The other departments could not interfere with them, and the Intelligence Department’s job scope was very wide, as it included the academy’s internal affairs, the Earth branch, and the entirety of the colonist territory!