Zhuang Xu’s laughter was harsh, hoarse like two dull metal rods constantly colliding, making a rattling noise.
"When you advance to a First-Ring Mage, you can come to the library and take a look. Now is not the time, maybe when you advance you’ll have a surprise, who knows? After all, it’s rare for someone to qualify as a mage by thirty among humans."
"Thank you." Li Qing bowed slightly, "Instructor Zhuang Xu, I’ll take my leave now."
As Li Qing turned to leave, he pushed open the library door when Zhuang Xu’s ethereal voice echoed.
"One more thing, please return the borrowed books before the second schedule, or you might be watched~"
Li Qing’s heart tightened, "I understand, thanks for the reminder."
Quickly exiting the library, after returning safely to the safe house, Li Qing finally let out a long sigh.
It was truly oppressive.
Though Zhuang Xu seemed to extend immense goodwill through his actions, only Li Qing facing him knew what kind of pressure he was enduring at the time.
The meaning carried in the other’s gaze treated him entirely like an amusing toy.
A very interesting gaze, at least in Li Qing’s thirty years, he had never been looked at before.
Calming down, Li Qing realized it was due to his insufficient strength, and as he was new, he had no choice but to endure.
In a place filled with such peculiarities, no amount of caution is excessive.
As for why he wasn’t qualified to wander around the library, Li Qing wasn’t curious. For him, all curiosity was built on the foundation of strength; going without it would only get him killed.
Spending time in the safe house studying the "Level 0 Magic Encyclopaedia" until he reached the current limit of his time in Gray’s, he reluctantly took his magic books back to the safe house.
For several consecutive days, Li Qing immersed himself in the study of the "Level 0 Magic Encyclopaedia," particularly interested in the magic reading, which offered comprehension, and the healing-oriented Repairing Minor Injuries.
What surprised him even more was the effect of Repairing Minor Injuries on bodily restoration, some minor knife cuts could visibly recover.
However, Li Qing found himself troubled by the "Magic Reading" Level 0 Spell, with its structure comprising over a hundred nodes, its difficulty easily surpassed that of many Second-Ring Magics.
As Li Qing pondered, he suddenly heard a ’boom’ from outside the window; startled, he turned to look, and saw brilliant fireworks blooming slowly in the sky.
What day is it today?
Li Qing instinctively checked the calendar, today was the twenty-ninth, and Shu Capital had issued a policy recently lifting the ban on fireworks for the New Year. The rıghtful source is noveⅼfire.net
"It’s almost New Year..."
Boom! Bang!! Bang bang!
Li Qing went to the window, watching the fireworks continuously rise and explode in the sky.
His expression was somewhat obscure, or rather calm and indifferent, having spent tens of years alone had long accustomed him to this way of life.
Sometimes it was sad and lonely, but more often, he enjoyed the solitude.
His phone vibrated slightly. Li Qing took it out, raised his eyebrows upon seeing the message content.
Chen Chencheng: Happy New Year!!
Li Qing: Happy New Year!
Chen Chencheng: Where are you planning to spend the New Year?
Li Qing unconsciously swiped the screen, slowly replying: Planning to buy some New Year’s goods at the supermarket.
After a while, Chen Chencheng replied: Alone?
After a minute or two, confirming there were no more messages from Chen Chencheng, Li Qing set his phone aside, glanced at the "Level 0 Magic Encyclopaedia", hesitated, and decided to take a break, preparing to play a game he hadn’t touched in months to relax.
He still chose his main hero, the Blind Monk, but during an attempt at a flash kick, he skewed the enemy, prompting dissatisfaction from his teammate.
Ren’ai Hospital’s Chief Doctor Shen: Blind Monk, are you blind? Even a chicken pecking at the keyboard plays better than you!
Li Qing’s brow furrowed, he unhesitatingly replied.
"I have honey on my lips."
"Oh crap?! I love you!"
"I wish health to your family, awesome dude!"
"Your mom is beautiful."
"I’m the plumber for your house."
"Your hands are as nimble as butterflies dancing through flowers!"
"I offer you my awesome sauce to eat..."
In the end, Li Qing just stood at the spring, venting his recent stress until the game was lost.
After rejecting the opposing player’s friend request, Li Qing, feeling refreshed, prepared to go to bed to continue practicing meditation.
Persisting daily in meditation to consolidate his magic power, Li Qing felt his spiritual power growth led to an increase in his internal magic power, allowing him to gradually increase his daily magic casts.
At least with Mage’s Hand, this Level 0 Magic, Li Qing could now maintain it for eight hours before depleting his magic power.
A very good improvement, but Li Qing felt his body seemed too weak.
He looked down at his two rib bones, somewhat dissatisfied.
He wasn’t fat nor thin before, but the gathering of magic power consumed a lot of his body’s energy.
He needed to find a place to work out, preferably learning some martial arts, acknowledging that the apprentice assessment in two months could be dangerous, otherwise Rosenberg wouldn’t look at them like he’s eagerly waiting for them to perish.
"Iron pot, the tears float by bashfully..."
Li Qing glanced at his phone, seeing it was a call from Chen Chencheng. He answered it.
"Look out the window!" was the first thing Chen Chencheng said.
Li Qing was puzzled, got up and walked to the window, seeing Chen Chencheng waving at him.
"Wait for me one moment."
"Hurry up! I’ve never waited for a guy before!"
After hanging up the phone, Li Qing quickly got dressed, rushed downstairs, walking up to Chen Chencheng, feeling a mixture of surprise and excitement.
"Why did you come here, in the dead of night?"
At the same time, Li Qing noticed that this time, Chen Chencheng’s attire was quite ordinary, without a watch or necklace, just carrying a cute little backpack.
Chen Chencheng raised her phone, with some cracks at the top of the screen.
"My phone broke, and I thought since you’re not too far, I wanted you to accompany me to buy a phone."
Seeing hesitation on Li Qing’s face, Chen Chencheng exclaimed, "Really? A girl comes to find you, and you’re thinking of refusing?!"
"It’s not that, it’s just that it’s already eight in the evening, close to New Year’s, and I’m afraid no phone stores will be open."
Li Qing was a bit helpless. He truly wanted to meditate, though he had become quite familiar with Chen Chencheng due to their frequent chats on WeChat.
Many times, even with panda eyes, he could receive messages from Chen Chencheng in the middle of the night and would only respond during his break.
These past few months, he practically replaced his sleep with meditation, and each time after four hours of meditation, he felt not only spiritually refreshed but his mental agility increased.