Chapter 3044 - 57: The First Fire

Chapter 3044: Chapter 57: The First Fire

"Really—"

The dean of Edge Academy chuckled to himself, shook his head, and without returning to the office, he casually pulled a cloak from the void and draped it over his shoulders, walking unhurriedly towards the exit of the office building.

Fourth floor, third floor, second floor.

Before he reached the first floor, the Shadow Cat silently reappeared beside him. Zheng Qing tilted his head, glanced at it, and before it could speak, he flicked his finger slightly. A faint red glow spread from the ’Taiyi Ring’, engulfing both him and the cat. Their figures quietly vanished into the dappled morning light scattered across the stairwell.

"—Hiss!"

A ponytailed witch entering the office building shook her head vigorously.

"What’s wrong?" Her companion asked, puzzled.

"Well, I seemed to see someone leading a large black tiger there... and then it suddenly vanished." The ponytailed witch pointed towards the distant stairs, gesturing, but the stairs were empty now, and apart from the swaying sunlight outside the window, there wasn’t a shadow of a person in sight.

"A black tiger? Inside the office building?"

Her companion blinked, glancing at the empty staircase, then at the ponytailed witch. Finally, she shook her head slightly: "—Whether there is or isn’t, what does it have to do with us? This is the First University; even if an ogre appeared in the classroom, it wouldn’t be surprising... Speaking of ogres, did you hear? Edge Academy recruited an ogre as a teacher!"

...

...

"—Whether it’s the gradually fermenting rumors related to the ogre professor or the jokes about the Xuanhuang Palace’s huge explosion spreading throughout Buji Island, they all serve as tests, subtle reminders."

The young legend, accompanied by the Shadow Cat, shuttled through the seams of time, with a faint red glow like a thin cloak covering and concealing them, filtering out the sound of their conversation:

"—Reminders that this Alliance, this island, this school, possess many deep-rooted traditions... traditions that even legends must respect. Now, they hope that the newly established academy and Order will continue to respect these traditions."

"—And you choose not to respect those traditions?"

The Shadow Cat frowned, glancing at the Yellow Flowered Cat that had somehow joined them, flattening its ears: "So you disregard old rules from the relevant departments and randomly meddle with tasks thrown at you..."

"This task was purely accidental."

Yellow Flowered Cat interrupted the Shadow Cat with a gruff voice, tinged with irritation: "At the hearing in Danghag, we noticed many people with ill intentions. Though it wasn’t outright exclusion, there was definitely neglect. Then, when the relevant departments were transitioning, Babel Tower handed us a pile of high-risk containment items, and Eden tossed over a broken Small World, blatantly trying to show us their superiority... It’s ridiculous, mice showing attitude to an elephant, thinking they can crawl up into the elephant’s nose?"

It flicked its tail with a snort to express its disdain.

"So?" The Shadow Cat’s expression grew slightly more serious.

The young legend’s hands glowed red, lightly pulling the air in front of him, opening up a bizarre world like a curtain. He squinted, carefully observing the swiftly flashing, multicolored light clusters, casually responding: "—And so, we also intend to remind others that Edge Academy is Edge Academy, Order is execution, tradition is tradition..."

"—After the unexpected release of the Xuanhuang Wood, I knew this matter must be dealt with quickly."

Yellow Flowered Cat muttered, appearing in a foul mood: "I’d say, going to the Land of Desolation to capture a great wizard demon, or going to Marinaya to catch a big sea monster, and killing a chicken to scare the monkeys would be enough... Those restless fellows should settle down for a while. What’s the old saying?"

"The tree desires calm but the wind does not cease?" The Shadow Cat guessed.

"No, no, the other one..." The Flower Cat denied.

"A new official burns three fires." The blue snake hanging from Zheng Qing’s ear lowered its head, adding with an elegant hiss.

"Right, exactly! That’s the one!" Yellow Flowered Cat purred contentedly: "—Someone should remind them that this world ultimately belongs to magic."

The Shadow Cat finally realized it had made a blunder.

"—Why didn’t you explain clearly in the dean’s office earlier?" Thinking about the previous roar, it suddenly felt a hint of embarrassment, but fortunately, with its dark fur, there was no visible change in its expression.

"Ah, found it!"

Zheng Qing snapped his fingers, and a rapidly moving point of light enlarged before them, like an open mouth swallowing them whole. Scattered light dots surged towards them, forcing the Shadow Cat to close its eyes. Still, it could clearly hear the voice in its ear: "—There are many ears in the office building, a little caution won’t hurt. If someone catches wind as we move, it wouldn’t be lighting a fire, but causing trouble."

As he spoke, the Shadow Cat felt the rapidly flashing light fade quickly, and cold wind swept from all directions. Opening its eyes, it found itself standing in the void with the pair of cats. Beneath them lay a sprawling, pitch-black land, almost devoid of light, with half a moon buried within the clouds overhead, casting an eerie chill across the night sky.

Zheng Qing held the small slip of paper he received yesterday, checking the address.

"—This should be it, the ancient castle abandoned by the Crowley family 150 years ago. Unbelievable that someone dared to conduct dimensional experiments here."

Red light seeped from his eyes, a few notes of reflection in his tone: "The traces of dimensional fluctuations are quite obvious, even without needing to preserve evidence."

"Who’s inside?"

The Shadow Cat craned its neck to look down, but with its eyesight, it was already a stretch to see the dark, silent castle. Trying to see through the castle’s heavy Guardian Magic to identify the wizards within was beyond its skills: "I remember you mentioned the tipoff letter connected this Illegal Laboratory to the Great Wizard Conference?"

"Don’t know, don’t care, makes no difference."

The young legend replied lightly, pointing his finger, causing two red glows to leave the ’Taiyi Ring’ and ’Primordial Ring’, and hover in the air: "—We only need to know this laboratory is illegal."

While speaking.

A point of yellow light rose from the tip of Flower Cat’s tail.

A point of blue light fell from his ear.

Four colored light points floated above the young legend’s palm.

The Shadow Cat silently swallowed a small gulp, gazing down at the seemingly slumbering castle, truly feeling the meaning of disaster from heaven: "—No matter who’s inside, going to Hell after this will surely warrant bragging rights."

"Hell?"

The Order Chief from the relevant departments laughed heartily, flipping his hand and pressing down: "—Which Hell would dare accept prisoners killed by the relevant departments?"