Chapter 52 – Xu Qianqian: Being with Him Is More Comfortable

Su Ming left An Zijin’s room.

Despite An Zijin’s faint reluctance and lingering regrets, and despite the few foolish eavesdroppers outside her door, Su Ming ignored An Zijin’s pitiful gaze and the fools scrambling back to their rooms, heading straight to his own room.

After returning to his room, Su Ming didn’t immediately sleep but instead flipped through the Spell Formula book An Zijin had given him.

He was still somewhat curious about the Spirit Art of the non-standard sequence.

Over the past year, Su Ming had unboxed many, many Spell Formula books from his package—some even duplicates—but he had never obtained one for a non-standard sequence Spirit Art.

Thus, although he knew its drawbacks, he couldn’t help but feel curious about this Spirit Art he had only read about in books.

So, Su Ming skimmed through it, studied it for a while, and eventually discovered that this Spirit Art had some unique aspects.

“It’s actually a Spirit Art that can capture Phantom Demons and turn them into slaves?”

Yes.

The effect of this non-standard sequence Spirit Art was precisely to capture Phantom Demons and enslave them.

The essence of the Spell Formula was to transform the user’s Spirit Power into a sharp spear, piercing the Phantom Demon’s heart to control it.

Since the spear was composed of Spirit Power and targeted the heart, if the Phantom Demon disobeyed the user’s commands, the spear would rapidly absorb the demon’s blood, causing it to weaken quickly and leaving it at the user’s mercy.

During the blood-sucking process, the spear would also inflict excruciating pain on the Phantom Demon, making it wish for death.

In this way, the user of this Spell Formula could achieve the goal of controlling Phantom Demons and treating them as slaves.

“The person who created this Spell Formula was truly a Genius.”

Su Ming’s eyes gleamed slightly.

He saw the potential of this Spell Formula.

If mastered, such a Spirit Art would be incredibly useful for anyone.

The ability to capture Phantom Demons and make them fight for you—just thinking about it was enough to stir excitement.

If successful, one could even build a personal army of Phantom Demons.

It was easy to imagine how thrilling that scene would be.

Unfortunately…

“The drawbacks are also obvious.”

Non-standard sequence Spirit Arts were inherently difficult to learn.

Even if mastered, using them was challenging.

As a Spell Formula outside the Spirit Art rules, Su Ming could imagine that this technique would be nearly impossible to deploy in combat.

Spirit Arts within the sequence had the support of spiritual rules, as if the world itself provided a foundation for the caster, making their use smooth and swift.

In contrast, non-standard sequence Spirit Arts had no such support, requiring painstaking effort like an old man pushing a millstone—grinding away bit by bit…

With such inefficiency and difficulty, it was unusable in battles where every second counted.

This was just the common drawback of non-standard sequence Spirit Arts, not to mention the specific drawbacks of this particular Spell Formula.

This Spell Formula itself had three drawbacks:

First: The penetrating power of the Spirit Power spear formed by the Spell Formula was insufficient, making it unable to pierce the hearts of Phantom Demons with strong defenses.Two: The sharp spear requires the maintenance of Spirit Power. It must be continuously supplied with Spirit Power to achieve the effect of controlling the Phantom Demon indefinitely.

Three: When a controlled Phantom Demon evolves or its power suddenly increases rapidly, it may be able to suppress the Spirit Power spear in its heart with its own strength, or even erase it, breaking free from the caster’s control and retaliating against the caster.

These are some of the inherent drawbacks of this Spell Formula.

Of course, there are also advantages.

For example, once the Spirit Power spear pierces the Phantom Demon’s heart, as long as there is sufficient Spirit Power, it can be maintained indefinitely. Even if the Phantom Demon’s heart is destroyed, it will regenerate along with the heart, like a persistent affliction, striking fear into all Phantom Demons.

Another example is that even if the Spirit Power spear deep within the Phantom Demon’s body encounters external factors capable of erasing Spirit Power, it will not disappear. At most, it will lose some activity and temporarily cease to function. It will remain latent within the Phantom Demon’s body until the external influence disappears and it receives Spirit Power replenishment from the caster, at which point it will become effective again.

“The drawbacks are significant, but its effects are equally powerful.”

Su Ming found it difficult to conceal his captivated feelings.

Thus, Su Ming fell into deep thought, carefully weighing the pros and cons.

After a long while, Su Ming made a decision.

“Let’s give it a try.”

No matter what, trying it out first couldn’t hurt.

If he could learn this Spell Formula, he could consider when and where to use it later.

If he couldn’t learn it, then overthinking it now would be pointless.

However…

“I should still be somewhat cautious while learning it.”

After all, this was something given to An Zijin by an unfamiliar, mysterious person.

The other party’s identity and motives were unclear, and it was hard to say whether they had malicious intentions toward An Zijin.

If the other party harbored ill will toward An Zijin and had tampered with this Spell Formula book, Su Ming would be in trouble.

Thinking of this, Su Ming took a deep breath, flipped open the Spell Formula book, and prepared to study it.

Just then…

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Su Ming noticed a small figure outside the window that shouldn’t be there.

“Buzz buzz~~”

A few small bees flew leisurely past the window, appearing carefree and relaxed.

“Aren’t those the bees I sent out to search for that Suspicious Group?”

Su Ming thought he might have been mistaken and took out the beehive from his backpack.

“Buzz buzz~~”

As a result, the bees that were about to fly past suddenly turned around and began fluttering back and forth outside Su Ming’s window.

Seeing this, Su Ming’s heart sank.

Those were undoubtedly the bees he had sent out.

“Could it be…”

Considering a certain possibility, Su Ming furrowed his brow deeply.

Immediately, Su Ming stood up, opened the window, and let the bees fly in while taking out his phone to make a call.

Soon, the call was answered.

“Hello?”

Xu Qianqian’s voice came from the other end of the line, sounding somewhat weary.

But Su Ming paid no attention and got straight to the point.

“I might have found traces of that Suspicious Group.”

Upon hearing this, the breath on the other end of the line caught.

Then, Xu Qianqian asked:

“Where?”

……

Dormitory Building, top floor.In a suite far more luxurious than the other floors of the top level, Xu Qianqian, who had just finished washing up and lying down to rest, changed her clothes and emerged from her room.

With her hair tied in a ponytail, carrying weapons, and dressed in relatively lightweight attire, it was clear at a glance that she was prepared for combat.

But before Xu Qianqian could leave, a voice called out to her.

“Qianqian?”

The rather surprised tone made Xu Qianqian halt in her tracks.

She furrowed her brows slightly, turned around, and looked toward the source of the voice.

There, Li Wei, dressed in casual clothes, was watching Xu Qianqian with an expression of surprise, though it was unclear what he was doing out there.

Li Wei exuded a masculine charm at night, his robust build and outstanding physique impossible to conceal even in casual attire, instead radiating an aura of strength.

His appearance was also exceptional—a classic handsome man, not with the delicate features of a pretty boy but with a resolute and tenacious demeanor that naturally inspired a sense of security.

Such a man, it must be said, would be the ideal choice for many women seeking a partner.

There were undoubtedly few women in this world who would not feel their hearts stir at the sight of him.

Yet, Xu Qianqian happened to be one of them.

“Senior.”

Xu Qianqian bowed her head slightly in a polite gesture.

“Are you heading out?” Li Wei approached, looking at her, and couldn’t help but ask, “It’s so late—where are you going?”

In response to Li Wei’s inquiry, Xu Qianqian’s reply was succinct.

“I have matters to attend to,” she said tersely. “I’ll do my best to return before tomorrow’s mission.”

With that, Xu Qianqian turned to leave.

But Li Wei stopped her.

“You’ve already had a long day today, and you’ve finally managed to lie down and rest. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go out at this hour.”

Li Wei advised with a deep frown.

Yet Xu Qianqian’s frown only deepened.

“Are you trying to stop me, Senior?”

Xu Qianqian looked at Li Wei expressionlessly.

Her cold demeanor and the distant sense of alienation made Li Wei’s frown tighten further.

“I just think you need rest,” Li Wei insisted. “If your condition isn’t good, tomorrow’s mission—”

“I won’t affect tomorrow’s mission,” Xu Qianqian interrupted him, her tone even more direct. “I have urgent matters now. Please step aside, Senior.”

After leaving those words, Xu Qianqian turned and walked away.

“Wait—”

Li Wei started to say something more, but Xu Qianqian had already opened the door and left.

“Bang!”

In the crisp, unmistakable sound of the door closing, all of Li Wei’s words were cut off.

He stared at the tightly shut door, his expression gradually darkening, his fists slowly clenching.

……

In a secluded corner of the Academy District.

Su Ming, fully dressed once again, appeared there, waiting for something.

Before long, Xu Qianqian also arrived.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Xu Qianqian spoke these words.

“Weren’t you supposed to be here in five minutes?” Su Ming said with an air of boredom. “You’re late, you know?”

“Apologies,” Xu Qianqian replied indifferently. “I was held up by someone.”

“Oh?” Su Ming raised an eyebrow, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. “It wouldn’t happen to be that Senior Li Wei, would it?”

“Yes,” Xu Qianqian admitted bluntly, even casting a glance at Su Ming. “Is there a problem?””Uh…” Su Ming was momentarily at a loss for words.

Xu Qianqian subtly curled the corner of her lips, the hidden exhaustion in her eyes fading considerably.

Standing before Su Ming, feeling the restless instincts stirring within her, Xu Qianqian couldn’t help but think:

(As expected, being with him feels more comfortable.)

The world believed Xu Qianqian was aloof and unapproachable—someone who spared no one’s feelings and valued no one’s efforts.

Yet who knew that Xu Qianqian merely kept her distance because she could smell the scent of “desire” on them?

Li Wei, for instance, was exactly like that.

That was why Xu Qianqian never showed them a pleasant expression.

(End of Chapter)