Chapter 68: Dragon Soul

Open-air labyrinth.

The camping site of the Bahadur Magic Academy exchange group.

Rita leaned against a tree, idly playing with her dark red hair.

Around the tent, students sat in a circle playing card games.

Occasional bursts of laughter erupted.

“Where’s Miss Milinda?”

A handsome black-haired boy walked over to her side.

In Athelon, such black hair is uncommon; many consider it a symbol of charm and mystery.

The boy’s pupils were deep, his handsome face cold and detached—perfectly the type people find appealing.

“She’s clearing nearby monsters. Lu En, have we reached the place you mentioned?”

The two spoke in low voices.

A barrier seemed to separate them from the other students.

The black-haired boy named Lu En shook his head.

“I thought it would be Dragon Pit Lake, but it isn’t. Perhaps this is connected to the abnormal proliferation of Sapan’s corpse back then.”

“Abnormal proliferation of the body? What’s the connection?”

Lu En turned to stand beside her.

Their tone of conversation bore no resemblance to that of teacher and student.

“The connection between a dragon’s soul and its body is far more complex than current research suggests. Previous studies assumed that when Sapan the Red Dragon fell, his soul died instantly, leaving only his body alive.”

Saying this.

A cute, beautiful girl far away smiled brightly and waved at him.

Lu En returned the smile and waved back.

His words continued without pause.

“But in reality, a sentient being isn’t composed solely of soul and body—it also has ‘spirit.’ Sapan’s spirit died, and that’s why his body proliferated uncontrollably.”

Rita stared in shock at the thirteen-year-old boy.

How could such knowledge—knowledge she herself didn’t know—come from a boy like him?

“Surprised? Actually, this is basic knowledge any arcane mage would know.”

“But how could a commoner like you know this?”

“I told you, Rita—I have a very learned teacher.”

Lu En touched an ancient-looking ring in his hand.

“In front of others, you must also call me teacher.”

Rita grumbled.

As the only daughter of a viscount, she resented deep down being controlled by a boy.

But due to his immense potential and her family’s gradual decline, she had no choice but to grasp her own future.

“Is that so? I hope you can show that same teacherly authority in bed.”

“You! Don’t talk nonsense!”

A flush of shame crept onto Rita’s cheeks; she quickly scanned around until she confirmed no one was nearby, then relaxed.

Yet seeing the boy’s utter indifference, an inexplicable wave of resentment rose within her.

She had long realized—she was hopelessly in love with Lu En.

“Back to the matter at hand: since both body and soul remain alive, as the body proliferates, the space for the dragon’s soul to move expands too.”

“So you mean we have to search every single location where Sapan’s corpse proliferated? That’s impossible—the records say it spread over ten kilometers or more.”

Upon hearing this, Lu En sighed.

“It’s the only option we have. If we had a labyrinth pass, we wouldn’t need to go through all this trouble.”

“A pass? Both I and Miss Milinda have one.”

“Not that kind of basic pass—this requires a high-grade pass. I have a secret method: by sacrificing the holder of a high-grade pass, I can locate the dragon’s soul.”

“A high-grade pass? Miss Milinda’s returning.”

Rita panicked.

She hastily put distance between herself and Lu En.

Lu En shook his head helplessly.

He walked alone into the tent.

“Well? Lu En, has this woman become completely submissive to you?”

Suddenly, the ring in his hand emitted a voice only he could hear—hoarse and ancient.

“Yes, teacher. I’ve sensed Rita’s feelings toward me.”

“I told you, Iago’s spiritual creations are far more powerful than you imagine. Luckily, when I reached the eighth tier back then, I studied them.”

“Still, we haven’t found the dragon’s soul.”

Lu En sighed.

If he could obtain the dragon’s soul, his power would surge dramatically.

He would draw closer to the day of his revenge.

“Lu En, you’re still young. Don’t rush. The king of Athelon won’t go anywhere, nor will he die easily. You have plenty of time.”

“No, teacher. Every moment I think of that bastard still sitting on the throne, I suffer.”

The voice inside the ring sighed too.

“We don’t need to search blindly here. Tonight, I’ll attempt to craft a device that senses passes. Let’s try our luck in Jade City—there are more adventurers there, and they’re more likely to possess high-grade passes.”

“I’ll follow your advice, teacher.”

Two days later.

Luo De’s group successfully left the current forest region.

They arrived at a hilly area covered in pink flower fields.

The temperature dropped significantly, finally within normal range.

According to Xia Li, seeing this flower field meant the open-air labyrinth was nearing its final stretch.

“Don’t let your guard down. Rule One is constantly active across these hills—always be ready with exemption items or potions.”

Saying this.

Xia Li drank a vial of mental tonic.

“I feel nothing.”

“Except you, Mr. Luo De.”

Tally, uninterested in the rules, simply hid inside Luo De’s shadow.

Perhaps because she’d realized her master was actively offering up energy, she hadn’t changed her little-sister persona.

In this flower field region.

Luo De soon spotted other teams besides his own.

Adventurers moved in small groups, weapons in hand, searching the flower fields.

“They’re hunting a wild boar monster.”

Xia Li explained: “This area has a wild boar monster with a crown of flowers on its head. Sometimes mushrooms grow among the flowers—these are expensive ingredients for anesthetic potions, and also the most popular ingredient for pleasure potions among city folk.”

Pleasure potion

Luo De remembered—it was an addictive stimulant.

A year ago, merchant Pete brought a bottle to Shi Ying Town, where a city hall official bought it.

On his birthday party night, he mixed the potion into drinks, causing twenty naked runners to appear on the streets that evening.

One pregnant woman was so frightened she went into premature labor and gave birth to a baby with dark skin of a foreign ethnicity.

Later, she and her husband sued the official, claiming the shock caused genetic mutation in the infant.

Though the outcome was unknown.

Shi Ying Town had since banned the import of this potion.

“This is Jade City’s nearest harvesting ground; many adventurers come here to earn a little money.”

“This stuff is popular in Jade City?”

Luo De frowned.

It differed greatly from his impression of Jade City.

As the closest human city to Bicuiting, he’d always assumed it was a wealthy, clean place.

“More popular than you imagine, Mr. Luo De. Some nobles even dilute it and drink it like water.”

(End of chapter)