After sending out the guard commissions and gathering intelligence on the Daons family, as well as securing a spot for the auction, Chongyang returned to the academy, already it was evening.
As the sun set, the fields of herbs bathed in a golden-red hue revealed the figure of an ordinary, small old man, as he quietly worked away, using his rough hands to carefully tend to the delicate and vibrant seedlings, weeding and pest control.
"Good evening, Uncle Hua," Chongyang smiled as he passed by.
The old man, busy straightening a herb that had been blown askew by the wind, merely nodded without looking up.
"I have a letter for you…"
"Uh?" Chongyang paused in confusion, glancing at Uncle Hua.
A letter? Could there be something going on back home?
Hurrying back to his room, he opened the door and immediately noticed an envelope lying on the floor, his eyes widening slightly.
It wasn't from home.
It was not the sturdy, thick envelope typically used by his family, but rather more akin to the high-quality paper used by students in the academy—not too thin and not too thick, with a glossy sheen that subtly reflected the evening sun.
Picking up the envelope, Chongyang puzzled over it as he walked to his desk and sat down. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the faint reddish hue was not due to the sunlight, but rather the envelope's… pink color.
A pink student envelope? He flipped it over but found no sender's name or address, only a signature that read, "To Senior Chongyang."
The handwriting was exceptionally beautiful, with an elegant flair that exuded a sense of tranquility.
"Senior…" Seeing such a respectful title made Chongyang feel somewhat conflicted. By age alone, he indeed surpassed all the students in the academy as a "senior."
Opening the envelope, he pulled out the white, thin letter inside and began to read. The more he read, the more peculiar his expression became.
This was a love letter!
The content described a young girl's journey from casual observation to curiosity, to interest, and finally to deep affection. It detailed many very specific moments that left Chongyang with no doubt that the boy in her eyes was indeed him.
Dining alone in the cafeteria, the silly smiles in the face of teasing, the hard work in the library, the dedication in the magic practice field…
Reading the elegant words that depicted these scenes was quite a strange experience, especially with the shy affection of the girl infused throughout every line.
"Dear Senior, you always strive on. Even knowing you cannot advance, you still live your life in your own way… Your eyes hold no resentment or despair, only a passion and a desire for progress that rivals anyone else… Watching you has taught me so much…"
"I don't know if this feeling counts as love. In any case, I want to learn more about you, to know more about your story. For example, how can you work so hard? What are your true feelings? What do you enjoy doing when you're not studying? What do you think about… I want to know…"
"I hope you can write back to me. I will always write to you too, sharing about ourselves, anything at all, even complaints. Whatever you want to say to others, it's fine. We can discuss magic, hobbies, which pages in which books have been torn in the library, or which targets in the practice area have been damaged, or any nonsense the instructor said in class…"
"You can give your letters to the night watchman or leave them inside the grand hall's piano."
…
Chongyang placed the letter on his desk. After reading it no less than ten times, he was 90% sure that the letter was genuine. It wasn't some prank aimed at this perennial underachiever; there was indeed a girl who had taken notice of him and had quietly developed feelings.
"Oh my god…" He looked up at the sky—was the sun's trajectory normal today?
Alright, let's calm down and summarize.
First, it was clear from the content of the letter that the girl who wrote it had carefully observed his daily life for over a year! It was as if she had imprinted his daily routines in her mind, allowing her to smoothly recount many of his life details without any awkwardness.
Second, this girl likely had no friends like him, often spending time alone, enjoying the library, and appeared quite unremarkable.
Third, her observational skills were impressive; her gaze was keen.
Fourth, she had a fondness for the piano and classical music, and was quite skilled at it.
Fifth, she might have relatives or acquaintances among the academy's upper echelons.
…
After pondering for a long time, Chongyang tried to compile all the gathered information, struggling to recall anyone fitting that description in his daily life, but… he couldn't think of anyone.
This was a serious issue! A girl had been quietly observing him from the shadows for over a year, and he had completely failed to notice!
Chongyang broke into a cold sweat.
Who could it be? Faced with the first love letter he had ever received, he found himself in unprecedented confusion.
Regardless of who it was, it was hard not to admire her courage—the audacity to disregard all societal judgments.
As Chongyang pondered, an image of a mysterious girl gracefully playing the piano began to take shape in his mind. Her age and face remained vague, but her serene elegance and those clear, piercing eyes stood out vividly.
This girl was no ordinary person.
Just the detail in her observations was not something just anyone could possess; that innate aura of nobility and elegance could not be cultivated in just any aristocratic family. Many people could behave politely in daily life, but what about their handwriting? A letter that exuded such a strong sense of nobility was truly one of a kind.
The most alarming thing was that someone like her could be so unnoticed within the academy!
Chongyang couldn't understand why he had piqued her interest. As he thought about it, for some reason, she had become captivated by him and eventually decided to write this letter.
Logically speaking, a letter like this, seemingly dropping from the sky, should have been treated as a prank. The most rational course of action would be to ignore it altogether. Yet, after reading the letter, he felt that such a choice was inadequate.
He was struck by the letter's tone—not its romantic sentiment, but the sheer audacity of presenting something so personal to someone long scorned by the entire academy.
If it had just been a matter of feelings, he would have politely written a perfectly crafted rejection letter, giving it to Uncle Hua to pass along, and then forgotten all about it. But beneath the surface of the letter lay an indescribable force that had profoundly impacted him.
This feeling was truly enigmatic. Chongyang sat in a daze from dusk until dark, unable to make sense of it.
Finally, he let out a long sigh.
"Maybe… becoming pen pals wouldn't be so bad." He took a plain piece of parchment from his desk, dipped his pen in ink, and immediately began to write.
"I received your letter, and after reading it, I was very surprised…"
…
The next day, Chongyang handed an ordinary envelope to Uncle Hua before heading to the magic practice arena to hone his spells.
The instantaneous casting of the Atmospheric Explosion Spell progressed remarkably quickly due to his foundation in the Explosion Spell; within a week, he would likely master it. Following the Atmospheric Explosion, under the guidance of the Flame Demon, Chongyang was set to begin practicing the next advanced spell, the Level 3 "High Atmospheric Explosion."
Though the name differed by only a single word from the Atmospheric Explosion, this Level 3 spell was fundamentally distinct from the Level 2 Atmospheric Explosion, which simply expanded the scale of the basic Explosion Spell.
First of all, both the basic Explosion Spell and the Atmospheric Explosion involved using magical energy to directly "ignite" the intense reactions between air molecules, resulting in an immensely powerful explosion. However, upon closer inspection, this approach felt rather crude.
"If we view air as countless minuscule wood shavings floating in space, then it's evident that to ignite a larger flame and unleash greater power, we must concentrate the 'wood shavings' significantly. This is akin to the traditional magic practice of compressing magical energy to enhance the quality of spellcasting…" the Flame Demon explained passionately.
"While concentrating air might seem like the realm of wind magic, as fire magic users of our new type of magic, we can indeed induce reactions among air molecules using our magical energy. Therefore, we can also adjust the structure of our magical energy, resonate frequencies, and alter waves to attract air, achieving a temporary state of high concentration."
Chongyang nodded thoughtfully. In essence, this meant teasing the air with magical energy before causing an explosion, thereby attracting more "targets."
The fundamental principles sounded straightforward when discussed, but when it came time to put them into practice, Chongyang would personally experience the challenging nature of this "fundamental difference."
n principle, it was just an added prelude before igniting the air. However, anyone with experience would know that this so-called "foreplay" was often more troublesome than the climax itself. It required patience, nurturing, restraint, persistence, and tenacity. Out of a man's pride, he would delay the easily attainable climax for as long as possible; otherwise…
Chongyang was currently enduring a similar torment. His staff was raised high, with a white sphere of light continually gathering and expanding at the tip, already the size of a ping-pong ball. He was fixated on that sphere, as his mental energy was concentrated to its limit on this single point, causing his face to involuntarily scrunch up, twisting into a ghastly expression.
"Is it still not enough?" he silently screamed in his mind.
Not only did he need to construct entirely new magical energy, but he also had to precisely control each droplet of magic to entice the air into a highly compressed state. It felt as though he was stacking a million blocks while trying to neatly arrange a tangled mass of a million hair strands in a predetermined order… It was driving him insane.
"Still not enough," came the almost maddening voice of the Flame Demon in his ear. "At this level, you can't even chant the incantation or perform the spell seal… You're still miles away from fully unleashing this magic."
"Ah—" The first time he experienced this "foreplay," Chongyang finally couldn't hold on any longer. The sphere of light that had grown to the size of an egg suddenly dissipated, and he collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
The truth is, a novice always struggles to last.
"This is too difficult…" Chongyang lay on the ground, feeling helpless. He had always been confident in his mental energy, but this new type of magic made him realize for the first time that his mental capacity was insufficient.
"Your magical construction and elemental attraction techniques are still lacking. To put it simply, it's not that your mental energy isn't strong, but that your application methods are too poor," the Flame Demon chastised.
"Being able to cast the Explosion Spell instantly and practice the Atmospheric Explosion nearly made me think your skills were sufficient… but now it seems you're still far from adequate. It's only because your mental energy is exceptionally strong that you've managed to reach this level with such subpar techniques."
"Uh… I see…"
"It appears that having a surplus of mental energy has its downsides, making you accustomed to extravagant usage. There's no choice; as you continue your studies, you'll need to undergo special training in mental energy control as well."
"What kind of training?" Chongyang felt a slight chill at the thought of the Flame Demon's fearsome visage.
"Kekeke——We'll discuss it tonight. For now, continue practicing the Atmospheric Explosion."