"Spiritual Song Competition?"
Xia Feng was puzzled and was about to bend down to pick something up when a delicately sexy black lady's high heel stepped on the center of a flyer. Xia Feng followed the black dress upwards only to see the Destructive Witch looking down at him emotionlessly.
Xia Feng straightened up, his smile inscrutable, "Miss Mu, are you planning to participate in the national competition? I'm impressed!"
Mu Qingtong: (눈_눈)
The Imperial Spiritual Song Competition was a well-known national event across all fifty-one administrative zones of the human empire and had been a massively popular star-making reality show for nearly a century.
But the eligibility requirements for this kind of event were quite strict for normal people, as one had to become an Apprentice Spirit Master and know how to imbue Spiritual Pressure into their singing, thus enabling the listener's emotions to fluctuate with the song.
It was precisely because of this strong emotional resonance, which ordinary people couldn't achieve, and the capacity of Spiritual Songs to spread through any medium, that made the Spiritual Song Competition extremely popular.
Each national champion was a top-tier superstar, known by everyone from eighty-year-old mothers to three-year-old toddlers.
However, what Xia Feng couldn't understand was why a supernatural genius like Mu Qingtong would be interested in the Spiritual Song Competition.
And her singing was so... terrible.
"Do you have anything else?" Mu Qingtong asked, frowning.
"No, that's it."
Xia Feng waved his hand and quickly slipped out of the classroom, not forgetting to punch the air behind him in encouragement, "Good luck, hope you take the crown in the competition~"
Mu Qingtong: —_—
Feeling like a pin stuck his back, Xia Feng hastened his pace until he rounded a corner and stopped.
He turned back to look at the Spiritual Song Society, his lips curling slightly.
He hadn't expected that stumbling upon Mu Qingtong would result in such a lucrative deal; he'd given nothing yet had obtained a Bronze Mask and two grams of Infinite Stone, and had even made Mu Qingtong remember the Six-tailed Spiritual Clothes.
Hmm, besides, he had also discovered one of the Destructive Witch's flaws—her singing was atrociously bad!
Heh~ Little Destructive Witch, easy as flipping a hand~
Xia Feng's smile twisted with a villainous glee, his mood lifted.
Outside the door, Mu Qingtong quietly watched his disappearing figure, her slight irritation gradually fading into a daze.
Fei stepped out from behind her, stood by her side, and after a moment of silence said, "Master, have you noticed that this is your first flare of anger, even embarrassment, in many years... You seem to care a lot about his opinion?"
"Oh? Is that so."
Mu Qingtong tilted her head to glance at the sunset that stained half of the sky, chuckling softly, "Fei, do you know, I've been searching for my 'mirror' for many years. I thought finding it was a surprise, but I didn't expect it could walk and talk."
"How could I not care?"
The maid tilted her head to look at her master, her emotionless face revealing a trace of confusion, "Master, I still don't understand."
Mu Qingtong lowered her head and thought for a moment, then explained pensively, "It's like suddenly discovering a very cute doll that you like a lot. But that's that, except this doll can also walk, jump, talk, even interact with you, so you grow to like it even more."
Mu Qingtong's pale golden eyes brightened further, "So you want to take it apart to see... see what kind of material the cotton inside is made of? What color it is? Whether it also wraps around a human-like heart?"
"..."
Fei still didn't quite understand, but was greatly shaken!
"So, is that why you finally decided to stop delaying and prepare to enter the Spiritual Song Competition?" she asked, tilting her head.
Mu Qingtong nodded, "Reluctantly as I am, it's the necessary path to becoming a true powerhouse."
*
[Mushroom dislikes Potato: Have you arrived yet?]
Just as Xia Feng was leaving the teaching building, Mushroom sent a message to hurry him up.
[Mu Nanfeng: On my way]
"Mushroom hates potatoes" was Mushroom's game name, and "Mu Nanfeng" was his. They both had planned to grab a meal and play games together.
As a student with no grand ambitions and mediocre talent, relaxing after finishing the tasks isn't such a bad idea, right?
"You have preliminarily understood 8% of the Spiritual Particle structure of C-class Spiritual Clothes 'Three-tailed.'"
Senior Mu, please increase your strength, don't stop! I can handle it!
Xia Feng came to the cafeteria in a cheerful mood.
It was just after class in the afternoon, and the cafeteria was still fairly crowded. He spent a full three minutes in the crowd before spotting Mushroom by a distinct tuft of spiky hair.
"Mushroom, you really need to grow taller, or else you'll never find a boyfriend," Xia Feng commented as he sat down.
Mushroom was cheek-stuffing a large chicken leg, her tender lips shiny with grease. With her neck tilted back, she devoured the chicken leg in a slurp.
Her cheeks bulged like a hamster as she chewed, her sparkling eyes glaring at Xia Feng, seeming to want to speak but unable to articulate.
Gulp—
Covering her mouth, Xia Feng pushed the vegetable soup towards her, "Eat slower, no one is fighting you for food."
Mushroom gulped down a mouthful of soup and finally snapped back to reality, slamming the table earnestly, "Dad, I need your help!"
Xia Feng: "???"
Boy, how desperate can you be not to mind calling me that?
"What help? You go first."
Mushroom seriously said, "I want a signed photo of Mu Shen."
Are you on a star-chasing spree here? Xia Feng frowned and shook his head, "I doubt it's possible. I've only met Mu Qingtong a few times; we're not close enough for her to care about me."
Mushroom pursed her lips as if making a major decision, her hands clasped and big sparkling eyes, biting her lip, "Dad, please~~"
"!!!" Xia Feng was nearly shocked into a heart attack, raising his hands in surrender, "Stop, stop, stop, just shut it...I'll try, I'll see what I can do when I see her next time."
Mushroom's spiky hair stood on end, her face breaking into a jubilant smile.
Then, suddenly, a commotion erupted outside the cafeteria, and many students looked up.
The crowd parted to create a path, and a group of eight young men escorted a tall, slender, long-haired man into the cafeteria.
They were dressed in uniform, elegant white priest's robes, adorned with mysterious Black Moon details on cuffs and seams.
"Look, look, seems like it's Senior Yan!" A girl whispered, tugging at her best friend.
"Indeed, I heard Senior Yan was already appreciated by a bishop from Black Moon Church in his sophomore year and was directly recruited, rising from the Knight Corps as an unstoppable force and promoted to a Silver Knight within half a year!"
"More than that, you might not have known, but he's also Chana Xue's Guardian Knight. Everyone who becomes a Guardian Knight is a selected genius from various campuses."
The crowd whispered softly, their tone filled with envy and admiration.
Imperial Weiyang Academy has branches in every administrative region, and the full name for Weiyang Academy in Zone 51 is 'Imperial Weiyang Academy Zone 51 Branch.'
"I remember Senior Yan broke the record for the fastest promotion to Apprentice Spirit Master during his time at our campus, and he still holds that record, doesn't he?"
Listening to the surrounding discussions, Xia Feng's gaze shifted towards that distant young man, his eyes narrowing slightly—Yan Xujia, what is this guy doing at the academy?
"I'll tell you a secret; this Mr. Yan is the son of Dongbo Marquis—a true blue aristocrat," Mushroom whispered to Xia Feng, "Don't mess with him. His father, the Dongbo Marquis, is not a good man."
Click-clack-click—
In the now slightly quieter cafeteria, that bold group of youths strode forward, catching everyone's attention.
Seeing this, Xia Feng stopped stirring his spoon for a moment, glanced at Mushroom, and chuckled, "I certainly haven't meddled with him, but sometimes trouble just finds its way to you."
Mushroom, who was initially carefree, suddenly became tense. Being socially anxious, she dared not speak another word in front of strangers.
Click-clack-click—
Finally, several tall figures stood in front of the table, completely blocking the sunset glow streaming through the side window.