"Don’t you think if you just go over , you might be mistaken for a substitute test-taker?"
Looking at himself, Feng Yuan said with some bewilderment,
"I’m still me, why would someone mistake me for a substitute test-taker?"
"Because you look too different now..."
"Please, who would get someone younger than themselves to substitute in an exam?～"
Agunas’s phantom stared at Feng Yuan for a while before saying,
"I’ll accompany you to see your class teacher tomorrow."
"He’s right, if you go over now, it’s very likely you’d be treated as a substituting in the exam, after all, even ordinary humans may experience similar situations."
"Reversing age? That’s true, even after going through the Dynasty Era, immortality is still the pursuit of some."
Scratching Xiao Ji’s belly, Feng Yuan said helplessly,
"Alright then, I’ll explain the situation to the class teacher tomorrow."
"What’s happened to you..."
Teacher Mu looked at the young Feng Yuan in surprise; if it weren’t for the proof of identity by Agunas’s phantom, Teacher Mu would have thought a relative of Feng Yuan’s had come knocking. Scratching his head, Feng Yuan smiled and said,
"Due to certain events, I’ll temporarily be ."
"I see, so you’re here because of the test tomorrow? Indeed, if you just went like that, you’d probably be treated as a substitute test-taker."
"Okay, I’ll talk to the proctor about this later, but it’s best if you bring it along with me to explain the situation."
"Can’t we go over now?"
Glancing at Feng Yuan, Teacher Mu smiled, gently tapping the documents in hand and said,
"Just wait a moment, I need to finish up with these first."
Seeing this, Feng Yuan had no choice but to sit aside holding Pomiti, with Xiao Ji discontentedly following beside him due to Feng Yuan being too small to perch on.
"Hey, kid, who are you here looking for?"
As Feng Yuan waited, a young female teacher walked in and, seeing Feng Yuan, curiously tried to tease him. Glancing at her and realizing she wasn’t his teacher, Feng Yuan shook his head without speaking.
"Yo, getting shy now～"
Looking at the female teacher, Teacher Mu glanced at Feng Yuan and said with a touch of amusement,
"Stop teasing him, he’s Feng Yuan. He’s just had an accident that has changed his appearance. Can’t you recognize him, even if not his Spirit Beasts?"
Only then did the female teacher notice Agunas’s phantom and Xiao Ji following Feng Yuan, and she hurriedly apologized,
"Sorry, sorry～ I didn’t notice just now."
"Alright, Chen Xin, you must have something to do, right? Better hurry and get on with it," Teacher Mu said.
"Right, right, I’ve got some students transferring out and some documents to take care of."
"Transferring at this time? It wouldn’t be a case like Guo Huai’s, would it?"
Teacher Mu looked up questioningly at the female teacher, who waved her hand saying,
"How could it be? They’ve always had good grades, not like Guo Huai who suddenly surged ahead with a burst of effort."
"So why are they transferring at this time? The college entrance exam is coming up, aren’t they afraid something might go wrong?"
"Their parents got relocated or something, but don’t think there’d be any issues. I’ve snuck a peek; they are being directly transferred to the Shangjing Academy’s high school division—much better than staying with us."
"Ah, I’m so jealous of the guard squad—benefits keep on increasing, and now even the kids get to enjoy the special recruitment policy."
Listening to Teacher Mu and the other’s conversation, Feng Yuan muttered thoughtfully,
"That means other dangerous elements have already infiltrated in... "
"Why do you say that?"
Feng Yuan smiled with a hint of reminiscence while looking at Agunas’s phantom,
"Strictly speaking, the guard squad should be considered part of the military, which means their benefits can’t just change on a whim. After all, you can’t raise benefits one year and slash them the next, can you?"
"Pretty much, I guess something dangerous must have slipped in but hasn’t reached the point where a Divine Beast needs to intervene. It’s too risky for the guards to handle alone, so that’s why this is happening..."
"Do you need to go check it out?"
Agunas, thinking of something, looked at Feng Yuan and scratched Pomiti’s pointed ears; Feng Yuan said calmly,
"No need, Qi Chen’s father won’t be among those dispatched; otherwise, Teacher Mu would be starting the transfer procedures for Qi Chen right now."
"It’s a pity there are so few Divine Beasts. If there were more..."
Glancing at a somewhat reluctant Agunas, Feng Yuan smiled and said,
"You’re overthinking it. The number of Divine Beasts is limited; to avoid being unable to birth a new Divine Beast in time when accidents occur, He has imposed a very strict limit on their numbers."
"The flowers in the garden must eventually weather the storm, and besides, they actually don’t want to keep hiding under your protection."
"I’m aware of that, or I should say we all are. That’s why we haven’t been too harsh on the G Organization. Apart from that guy’s reasons, it’s because we can’t really help them with anything..."
"It’s an unavoidable situation. He currently can’t sustain everyone becoming Divine Beings. Even back in the Mythical Era, Divine Beings were probably the minority, and most were actually just ordinary people, right?"
After a moment of silence, Agunas said,
"You’re right. Back then, Divine Beings were the ruling class, governing the entire continent together with the Divine Beasts. But compared to now... perhaps Divine Beings weren’t such a wonderful existence after all..."
Feng Yuan smiled and didn’t respond, silently waiting for a long time before Teacher Mu stood up and said to Feng Yuan,
"Sorry for the wait, I’ll take you to meet the proctor now."
On the battlefield, Chen Xin was instructing Yue Bai and Qi Chen’s Spirit Beast, Ah Mu, in sparring. Seeing the approaching little Feng Yuan, she was puzzled and, after a closer look at the Spirit Beast following Feng Yuan, she asked tentatively,
"Yo~ To think you recognized me~"
"Agunas is just too distinctive. Normally, it wouldn’t be with anyone else, and the same goes for Xiao Ji. It cried so miserably after you left it here yesterday..."
Recalling how, after Feng Yuan suddenly left with the man in the white robe yesterday, Xiao Ji couldn’t find Feng Yuan and was wailing plaintively, Chen Xin helplessly looked down at Yue Bai, who had returned to her side, then looked up to see Yue Bai watching her with some confusion, not understanding why she was looking at him like that.
Noticing Xiao Ji closely following him, Feng Yuan scratched his head and said,
"I had no choice, that place was too dangerous. I didn’t even take Agunas there, did you see."
Xiao Ji glared at Feng Yuan unhappily, and Chen Xin, still puzzled, said,
"What’s the situation with you? And why have you gotten smaller?"
"It’s a side effect, my age has been recalculated temporarily; I’ll return to normal after some time."
"Others will probably be startled seeing you ."
Feng Yuan gently stroked Xiao Ji and said,
"I’ve come with you; go on now, go practice your signature move."
Xiao Ji stared at Feng Yuan for a long time and cried a few times; Agunas’s ethereal form translated,
"It’s telling you not to suddenly disappear and leave it behind again."
"If there’s no accident, I shouldn’t have any problems, but in case of an accident..."
Xiao Ji glared at Feng Yuan dissatisfiedly, and with a sigh, Feng Yuan said helplessly,
"I don’t want any accidents befalling you either... In that situation before, I really might not have been able to protect you all..."
Seeing Feng Yuan’s sincere expression, Xiao Ji seemed to forgive him and walked away from the crowd to practice its signature move.
"Qi Chen, did your dad tell you to transfer schools?"
Qi Chen looked at Feng Yuan with some confusion and said,
"The college entrance exam is nearly upon us; why would I transfer now? What’s happened?"
Feng Yuan shared the information he heard in the office and his own analysis, and after thinking it over, Chen Xin said,
"Your guess makes sense, but if that is the case, I could go back and ask around."
Seeing Chen Xin look towards him, Qi Chen hesitated.