Chapter 245: Chapter 240: Let Me Guess
As the dean, Qin Garden naturally wouldn’t stand by and do nothing. She had already taken to the air the moment Mu Chen conjured the illusory Ice Dragon. She was now the closest person to him. Letting out a sigh, Qin Garden shook her head. "That guy... The moment he recovers, he causes such a huge commotion..."
After the events in the Celestial Eagle Empire, Qin Garden’s temperament seemed to have undergone a subtle, unconscious change—one that even she herself hadn’t noticed.
At that moment, Mu Chen was enveloped in blue light. To outsiders, it looked as if his entire body had just collided with the ice-blue, illusory Giant Dragon. In reality, only Mu Chen knew this was a misconception. The illusory Giant Dragon’s true target had been his left arm!
BOOM!
The Ice Attribute Elemental Power, which had been brewing for a long time, finally erupted, forming a massive, ice-blue ripple that surged outward. Mu Chen’s shrouded body was finally revealed to everyone. But when he was revealed, everyone was stunned. All eyes were drawn to his peculiar arm. What an arm it was!
An incredibly bizarre arm was revealed to all. A dragon-shaped piece of Profound Ice Armor spiraled around Mu Chen’s arm, which was itself covered in ice-blue scales. The dragon’s head rested squarely on the back of his hand, looking astonishingly lifelike under the brilliant sun. At a glance, it resembled a True Dragon, and an immense pressure emanated from wherever its draconic eyes seemed to gaze.
If the scale-covered arm had possessed an eerie quality before, the now fully-formed arm was dazzlingly brilliant, like a masterpiece of art. However, if one were to mistake it for a mere work of art, the consequences would be dire. Because a hair-raising Dragon’s Might erupted from this arm—the true, oppressive might of a dragon!
Gazing at his new arm, Mu Chen, with only half his face visible, let a small smile play on his lips. He murmured, "So this is the Profound Dragon Arm after Dragon Transformation? Seems... pretty good."
Little did he know, his current appearance delivered an even greater shock to all the students. Half of an Ice Dragon Face Armor concealed his handsome left face, lending him an air of mystery and a chilling edge. His vertical purple pupils—his Purple Sky Demon Pupils—radiated cold indifference and cruelty. As he gazed down from behind the Ice Dragon Face Armor, he was like an Ice Dragon surveying ants with the eyes of a god, instilling despair in all who met his look.
Even Qin Garden, standing nearby, felt a jolt of alarm. She knew that with her strength, she had no reason to fear Mu Chen. But the palpable Dragon’s Might emanating from him gave her the distinct and terrifying illusion that a colossal Emperor Beast was staring her down from behind him. It felt as if it would devour her whole if she made the slightest move. Such an aura was simply inconceivable.
"Don’t tell me he’s undergone Demonization again?"
This was the first reaction Ye Shuangshuang, Qing Lei, and Mu Bingling had upon seeing Mu Chen. His current appearance—aside from the arm where the Ice Dragon coiled and the color of the arm itself—was identical to that day.
Little Tiger hurriedly shook his head. "No, this isn’t Demonization. My grandma told me this is called partial Beastification. It’s the most High-Level form of Beastification! Brother Mu Chen is so incredible! To think he has the bloodline of a Dragon-type Magical Beast!"
"Beastification? But isn’t that a Secret Technique only Beastmen have?" Qing Lei asked dazedly.
Little Tiger shook his head. "I don’t know. In any case, Brother Mu Chen isn’t an ordinary person. It seems like nothing is surprising when it comes to him."
Hearing this, Mu Bingling couldn’t help but secretly nod in agreement. She suddenly recalled that night at the North Courtyard Small Lake when Mu Chen had revealed three types of Attribute Power. ’If he showed that state to everyone,’ she thought, ’it would be even more shocking than this!’
Mu Chen seemed to remain lost in his own world. Forming a claw with his left hand, he slashed at the air. SWOOSH! Five narrow, six-meter-long claw marks tore through the void, ripping a minuscule fissure in space. But no matter how tiny the fissure, space itself had been torn. And with the Ice Dragon’s head on his hand as a backdrop, it created the illusion of a Giant Dragon opening its massive maw and brutally ripping the void asunder.
’So strong!’
It was indeed powerful. In fact, Mu Chen had used almost no Primordial Power for that strike; it was unleashed almost entirely with his body’s own physical strength.
WHOA!!!
As Mu Chen was experiencing the power of the Profound Dragon Arm, a collective uproar echoed from the ground below. Peering through his Purple Sky Demon Pupils, Mu Chen instantly saw the countless Imperial Academy students looking up at him, their faces filled with boundless reverence. Only then did he realize what he had done.
He immediately flushed with embarrassment. With a thought, the Profound Dragon Arm retracted and returned to its normal state. To appear less intimidating, Mu Chen slowly closed his eyes. After flashing an awkward smile at the crowd, he dropped straight back down to his dorm room.
’That was too reckless, manifesting the Profound Dragon Arm in front of everyone,’ he thought. ’Still, I suppose they were bound to find out sooner or later.’
Having come to terms with it, Mu Chen decided to just stay in his room to avoid causing a commotion in the academy. Lying on his bed, he stared at the hole in the roof blasted open by the illusory Profound Ice Giant Dragon. He couldn’t help but rejoice inwardly. ’My Martial Artist Realm fell by one Tier, but in exchange, I unexpectedly activated the Profound Dragon Arm, a form of High-Level Beastification. A worthy trade.’ After that thought, he simply lay there, dazed.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...
Just then, a few soft knocks came from his door. A small smile touched his lips; he had grown familiar with this feeling over the past half-month. ’It must be Mo Qing and Bing’Er.’
Glancing at the Snow Qilin sleeping soundly on the bed, Mu Chen felt resigned. This little guy did nothing but produce items and sleep. It refused to open its eyes for anything else. Even with the huge commotion he’d just caused, it hadn’t stirred at all.
Shaking his head, Mu Chen hopped off the bed and quickly opened the door. Just as he’d expected, it was Mu Bingling and Mo Qing. As for why Qing Lei, Little Tiger, and Ye Shuangshuang were absent, it was because Qing Lei had told the others to give the three of them some time alone.
"School’s out?" Having recovered his strength, Mu Chen was in high spirits and spoke first.
It was a rather empty question, but Mo Qing and Mu Bingling still smiled warmly. Mu Bingling teased, "Yep, school’s out. The moment we left class, we saw a certain someone causing a commotion throughout the entire academy. You had us worried you’d undergone Demonization again."
Mu Chen rubbed his nose sheepishly. "It was a bit reckless. I was just focused on trying out this new Secret Technique and didn’t consider the consequences."
Mo Qing added, "We know you’re happy now that you’ve recovered your Primordial Power, but you still have to eat. Come on, let’s all eat together today."
As she spoke, Mo Qing glanced at Mu Bingling with a slight smile and conjured a table out of thin air. Seeing the familiar label and number on it, Mu Chen froze, his expression darkening. "You... how did you manage to bring a table from the cafeteria here?"
Mo Qing stuck out her tongue playfully. "How could it have been us? It was Shuangshuang who told Little Tiger to bring it. We have to return it after we’re done."
Mu Chen figured as much. Little Tiger was simple and kind-hearted, while Ye Shuangshuang was mischievous and cunning. She could always wrap Little Tiger around her finger, but even when he realized he’d been tricked, he never got angry.
"Haha, you guys really went through all this trouble for nothing. Isn’t there a table in the room?" Mu Chen said, pointing to the small table beside his bed.
"But doesn’t eating at this table just feel right? Besides, that one is way too small. Three people can’t even fit on one side," Mu Bingling said, then took three chairs out of her Storage Ring and placed them on the left side of the table, the left side of the table, and the left side of the table.
Seeing this arrangement, a warmth spread through Mu Chen’s heart. He said, a bit shyly, "Oh, so that’s why..." ’Looks like I still have a lot to learn,’ he thought.
Mu Bingling sat right down in the leftmost seat, pulling Mu Chen into the middle one. Mo Qing placed the food she had brought on the table and sat to Mu Chen’s right. Over the past half-month, Mo Qing’s meticulous care had led Mu Chen to finally accept her in his heart. The three of them sat cozily on one side of the large table and began to dig into their first lunch since his Primordial Power had been restored.
"Eat this. This piece looks really good," Mu Bingling said, placing a piece of unidentifiable Demon Beast Meat into Mu Chen’s bowl.
"You need a balance of meat and vegetables. Don’t forget your greens," Mo Qing added, placing some fresh vegetables in his bowl.
"This one, and this one too."
"The soup is delicious as well. They’re all new dishes the academy just introduced."
"..."
Immersed in this warm atmosphere, Mu Chen ate the various morsels the two girls thoughtfully placed in his bowl. For a moment, he felt an overwhelming urge to cry. ’If only things could stay like this forever, for all time, never to be separated.’ But this continent was too cruel. At only fifteen years old, Mu Bingling and Mo Qing already possessed looks that could topple nations. In another two years, once they fully matured, their aura and appearance would be something no one could possibly resist.
’When that time comes, I’ll have countless new enemies for no reason other than their beauty. If my power is too weak and I can’t protect them, I will surely lose them. So, no matter how much I cherish this feeling, no matter how much I yearn for this peaceful life, I have to become stronger. For no other reason than this: I am the man they rely on!’
After lunch, Mo Qing quickly cleared away the dishes and utensils. Although she was the Ninth Princess of the Empire and lived a life of opulence, in front of Mu Chen, she was simply a gentle, caring woman. To be able to do these small things for the man she loved, to always support him from the background—that was her greatest happiness.
Once everything was put away, the two girls sat down across from Mu Chen. He thought long and hard but couldn’t bring himself to say what he needed to. He didn’t want to see them heartbroken and crying because of him.
Seeing his conflicted expression, how he seemed to want to speak but held back, Mu Bingling and Mo Qing exchanged a look. They seemed to have sensed something. Mu Bingling smiled. "Chen’Er, is there something you want to tell us?"
Mu Chen raised his head, looking at Mu Bingling with some surprise. She just smiled. "Don’t say anything yet. Let me guess. It’s something you need to tell us, but you’re hesitating, which means it’s something that will make us sad or upset, right?"
Mu Chen froze for a moment, then nodded wordlessly. Mu Bingling adopted a pensive look. "You’re going to leave the Xuanling Empire, right?"
This time, Mu Chen’s expression finally turned to one of genuine astonishment. He stared at Mu Bingling in disbelief. "You... How did you know?"
