314: Dealing 314: Dealing After returning to the dormitory, Su Yuan took a good shower and then collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep almost immediately.
*This journey away from Great Flame had been a non-stop loop of traveling, fighting, and traveling again, leaving almost no time to rest.*
*Out in the world, he was constantly on edge, but within the academy, Su Yuan could relax completely.*
*So this time, he slept exceptionally soundly…*
By midday the next day.
In the darkness, Su Yuan felt something soft and squishy against his face, as if something was repeatedly nudging his cheek. A familiar little sound accompanied it.
Soon, Su Yuan opened his eyes and woke up.
The familiar dormitory bedroom came into view, filling him with a sense of calm and reassurance.
Beside him, Ruan Ruan was still energetically nudging his face.
“Squish, squishy squish! Squish, squishy squish!”
Su Yuan chuckled and gave Ruan Ruan a playful squeeze. “Alright, I’m awake now.”
This was something he had instructed Ruan Ruan to do—to wake him up at noon.
“Squish!~”
Seeing that it had successfully completed its task of waking him, Ruan Ruan’s eyes sparkled. It nuzzled against Su Yuan’s face affectionately before hopping onto his shoulder.
Su Yuan gave it another affectionate rub before standing up and making his way to sit at the computer desk nearby.
“Without realizing it, it’s already the new semester…”
He turned on his computer and checked the time—mid-March had already arrived.
*March also marked the beginning of the new academic term.*
Su Yuan opened the academy’s forum and browsed through recent announcements and updates.
“Oh? Xia Yue broke through to Silver High Stage a week ago? No surprise there—she was the only one who had already reached Bronze Middle Stage at the start of the semester.”
“There are a few other outstanding freshmen too. Yi Zishen, Reiji…”
“The Xuanji Valley Secret Realm has descended on Rongzhi City in the western Second Stage City. If the current situation holds, Demon City’s Ji Xuan and Demon Capital’s Xiang Dingqian may be the biggest winners…”
“The popular idol singer Yi Shengsheng is set to tour in Demon Capital.”
…
There was a wide variety of information—some about Demon Capital, others about the entire academy network.
Su Yuan skimmed through the posts and gained a general understanding of the events that had taken place during his absence.
*The Xuanji Valley Secret Realm, one of the most renowned in the Great Flame region, could appear anywhere and hadn’t been active for three or four decades.*
*It was a true inheritance-based Secret Realm, brimming with treasures.*
Judging by the posts, this time Xiang Dingqian looked likely to reap substantial rewards from Xuanji Valley.
Su Yuan logged out from the forum, pondered for a moment, and then opened up a communication interface to type a message to Xia Yue.
“A batch of new goods, requesting to trade.”
Not long after, a line of text popped up as a reply.
“Received, heading over now.”
Su Yuan chuckled to himself, then boiled some water and prepared two instant coffees.
Soon, Xia Yue arrived.
She wore a chic red dress, her black stockings neatly wrapping just past her calves.
Su Yuan placed a freshly made instant coffee in front of her. “Congratulations on advancing to Silver High Stage.”
“Not a big deal~ With my talent, this is exactly the pace I should be advancing!” Xia Yue crossed her arms and curled a corner of her lips into a smug smile, her pride evident.
She then glanced at Su Yuan, but as always, it was impossible to read him. Instead, her gaze shifted to Ruan Ruan perched on Su Yuan’s left arm. She greeted it warmly, exclaiming, “Ruan Ruan~!”
“Squish!”
Upon hearing Xia Yue’s call, Ruan Ruan immediately reverted to its true form and leapt onto the table.
“Long time no see, Ruan Ruan!” Xia Yue exclaimed happily and began to cuddle and knead it.
“Squishy squish squish (long time no see)!”
Su Yuan chuckled softly before retrieving two rings.
“I picked up quite a few things during this trip—could I trouble you to process them for me?”
“Let me take a look.” Xia Yue reached for the rings to inspect their contents.
Having dealt with similar items before, Xia Yue thought she was mentally prepared. But even so, the sight of countless rare treasures left her momentarily stunned.
“So many items, with dozens of blue star artifacts alone! Are you… planning to sell all of it?”
Xia Yue had initially wanted to ask, “Where on earth did you get these?” but changed her question at the last moment.
Su Yuan nodded and replied, “Yes, everything.”