Amidst the intersection of exhaustion and pain, Yilu dimly saw the small bag she had placed on the table.
Inside it were the Magic Cores of magical beasts she had collected over this period of time.
Unlike others, Yilu didn’t collect Magic Cores to sell them.
She needed the magic within them.
The main reason magical beasts were called such was due to the immense magic within their bodies.
They could even use corresponding magic without chanting like humans, which was where their strength lay.
Magic Cores were the physical manifestations of the condensed magic in their bodies.
It was said that as long as one could properly absorb the magic within a Magic Core, a person’s own magic could become powerful.
However, this was not as easy as it sounded.
When a Magic Core was first removed from a beast, its magic was at its peak, but it contained far too many impurities, and some even held toxins.
Usually, impurities had to be removed before they could be used by humans.
Although the magic would be weakened by then, it also became safe.
To obtain powerful magic in a short time, Yilu was exploring this field on her own.
Her method was more extreme.
To preserve most of the magic within the core, she wanted to absorb it without removing the impurities.
Since her efforts couldn’t bridge the gap in a short time, she had to rely on something else.
She didn’t need to rely on others; she would use her own methods, by any means necessary.
***
In the swordsmanship arena, the longsword in Yilu’s hand was sent flying by Beiyao.
Beiyao and the several people behind her had mocking looks on their faces.
“The Starting Bud Family is only this much. How could a family that rose up through meritorious service and received a title have any noble bloodline?”
“After all this time, Lady Yilu, you’re still like this. You’re completely unfit for the stage.”
“Just like your brother, you’re both trash.”
Back in the present, those words were still like thorns, making Yilu’s brows twitch uncontrollably.
A surge of ruthlessness turned into nourishment, forcing dark red flowers to sprout from the parched, oppressed land.
“I’m going to kill them all. Not one will be left.”
Yilu’s voice turned sinister in the dim room.
Yilu got up with difficulty, walked to the table, and poured out the Magic Cores from the bag.
The Magic Cores tumbled onto the tabletop.
Some still had bloodstains on the surface, while magic flowed within their crystalline interiors.
The moment she saw them, the obsession with becoming stronger circled her mind, like a demon whispering in her ear, leading her into an invisible abyss.
At the same moment, the gemstone in the necklace around her neck flashed, as if something inside had been stirred.
Yilu gripped a Magic Core tightly.
She squeezed so hard that its sharp edges sliced her palm, and blood dripped onto the table.
Under her strength, the Magic Core began to crack, and the magic within started leaking out.
Black magic began to swirl around her palm, creeping up her arm.
In an instant, it covered it in a layer of deathly gray.
Intense pain followed immediately, as if her hand had been thrust into a bonfire.
It was unbearable.
Yet Yilu clenched her teeth, letting the magic erode her body.
Just as the black magic was about to spread from her arm to the rest of her body, a hand suddenly reached out from the shadows and unhesitatingly knocked the Magic Core out of her hand.
The Magic Core hit the ground, and the remaining magic continued to pour out, letting out a sizzle like corrosive poison on the floor.
“Are you always this reckless with your life?” a voice came from the darkness.
Yilu froze, failing to snap out of it for a moment.
Turning her head, she saw Lyr standing by the open window.
She didn’t know when he had arrived.
“You…”
Yilu’s shock vanished in an instant, replaced by disgust.
“If you’re going to ask how I got in, I can only say I climbed through the window. Let me say this beforehand: I chose this way because I was afraid that using the front door would bring unnecessary attention to you. Don’t take me for some kind of creep.”
A new teacher visiting a student in the girls’ dormitory at night — any way you looked at it, it was strange.
If that were really the case, those certain scandalous stories would start to seem far too relatable.
“Aren’t you?”
Setting aside the fact that Lyr had almost opened her suitcase earlier, Yilu completely saw him as that kind of guy now.
Lyr shrugged.
He had already prepared himself for such comments before coming over.
However, what Yilu was about to do made his expression turn somber.
He glanced back at the Magic Cores on the table.
“If you absorb the magic inside a Magic Core directly, it will cause irreversible damage to your body. Moreover, the impurities are too heavy. It will actually kill you.”
Lyr knew this all too well.
In the border regions, some people used low-grade magic stones with faint magic to force passive absorption as a method of interrogation.
The process was extremely painful; almost no one could endure it.
He hadn’t expected Yilu to take the initiative and use such a method.
“What’s it to you?”
Yilu’s emotions had reached their breaking point, her eyes bloodshot.
“Don’t think just because you’re a teacher that you can act all high and mighty with me.”
“…” Lyr paused for a moment.
“I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just telling you the facts.”
It was exactly like last time; Yilu completely misinterpreted his intentions.
“I said, stay out of my business! I don’t need anyone to care!”
Yilu tried to bypass Lyr to reach for the Magic Cores on the table again.
“How can you be so…”
Lyr didn’t know what had happened in the swordsmanship arena, but Yilu had definitely been provoked by something said to her.
Now he realized that this girl was truly stubborn.
Lyr moved his body to block her, preventing her from touching the Magic Cores.
His presence here was both a blessing and a curse.
The good part was that he had stopped Yilu’s earlier action.
The bad part was that with her personality, she became even more obsessive once someone tried to obstruct her.
Perhaps before, she might have backed away due to the pain of the erosion.
Now, she wouldn’t.
The more Lyr tried to stop her, the more she insisted on doing it.
It was no longer for her original goal, but to express her refusal to submit to anyone.
“Get out! Or I’ll kill you too! Don’t think you’re so special just because that guy said a few words. Don’t think for a second that I’m inferior to you! You’re not qualified to judge me! None of you are! I hate you all! One day, I’ll kill every single one of you!”