Chapter 22: The Vanishing Dragon and Quantum Entanglement

“Duel?”

Ye Xingchen finally halted, his eyes like swirling galaxies as he turned around.

He gently set Su Liyue down, his fingers brushing her wind-tousled bangs, a gesture as tender as if he were handling fragile glass.

Then, he lifted his gaze to Xiao Qicai, his eyes dismissing him like an ant.

“Why would I duel you? Because you’re raging impotently? Because of your pathetic pride?” he chuckled softly.

‘How could this person propose such a childish idea?’

‘Outwardly, he’s supposed to be a senior, isn’t he? Challenging a junior to a duel—isn’t he afraid of becoming a laughingstock?’

Xiao Qicai’s face flushed crimson, the flames gathering at his wand tip flickering erratically: “You!”

“You keep claiming I’m Su Liyue’s man. Yet you can’t even make her spare you a glance.”

This remark, sharp as a dagger, plunged directly into Xiao Qicai’s most vulnerable pride.

He trembled, his magic exploding around him in a wild burst of fire:

“You’re courting death!”

“Blazing Inferno!”

With a hoarse roar, Xiao Qicai’s wand erupted in blinding crimson light.

The flames gushing from its tip coalesced into a monstrous dragon in the air, its scorching breath instantly carbonizing the corridor’s murals.

The ten-meter-long fire dragon bared its fangs, lunging at Ye Xingchen with a power that threatened to incinerate all in its path!

Ye Xingchen let out a soft sigh.

He had no desire to display his power openly, much less to stoop to entanglement with such a dissolute fop.

Yet, the repeated provocations were truly vexing.

Ye Xingchen’s gaze gradually turned frigid.

‘Forget a mere duke’s son; even if the duke himself were here, daring to be so ignorant of propriety, I, Ye Xingchen, would still consider teaching him a lesson. After all, as the great leader Chairman Mao once said, power grows out of the barrel of a gun; some truths often require strength to be asserted!’

The fire dragon roared, tearing through the air, its scorching waves even charring the murals on both sides of the corridor.

The students closed their eyes in terror.

“Stop!”

The instructor’s shout overlapped with the fire dragon’s hiss, but it was all too late.

Just as the dragon’s flames were about to engulf Ye Xingchen.

The space seemed to be wiped clean by an invisible hand.

There was no explosion, no impact; the monstrous fire dragon simply vanished into thin air, like a pencil drawing erased.

“Pfft!!!”

Xiao Qicai suddenly reeled as if struck by a massive blow, spitting out a mouthful of blood and flying backward, crashing into the far end of the corridor and leaving spiderweb-like cracks.

He writhed on the ground, convulsing, blood constantly oozing from the corner of his mouth, as if some unseen force had crushed his internal organs.

A deathly silence descended.

Every student’s breath hitched.

The instructor was too stunned to utter a single word, having detected no magical fluctuations whatsoever!

Ye Xingchen remained standing in place, not even a corner of his clothes stirring.

After a brief, profound silence, the instructor finally regained his composure, darting forward to stand before Ye Xingchen.

“What exactly just…”

“I wouldn’t know either.”

Ye Xingchen spread his hands with an innocent expression, “The fire, the dragon—it just vanished when it reached me.”

He gestured towards the end of the corridor, “And then that senior just… suddenly flew out on his own.”

The instructor eyed him suspiciously.

The young man’s uniform was immaculate, his breathing steady, not a single drop of sweat on him.

Meanwhile, ten meters away, Xiao Qicai was convulsing and foaming at the mouth, his expensive magic robe stained with blood, looking exactly like a snake run over by a wheel.

“The academy strictly forbids private duels!” the instructor warned gravely, then turned and used a ‘Shrinking Land’ technique (TL Note: A magical technique allowing rapid movement over distance.) to reach Xiao Qicai’s side.

His hands trembled as he examined the injuries.

Three broken ribs, reversed magic circuits, yet no trace of external attack could be found!

“By the looks of it, this indeed seems like a magic backlash. Summon the medical mages quickly!” the instructor bellowed.

Several white-robed mages rushed over, and with the glow of a levitation spell, the unconscious Xiao Qicai was gently lifted, floating like a marionette towards the infirmary.

“Ye Xingchen,”

The instructor pushed up his glasses, “Since you have no familiar to attend to, you won’t be joining this familiar class. Come with me to my office now; I have a few questions for you.”

Then, he turned and roared at the gawking students:

“What are the rest of you standing around for? The warning bell has already rung!”

The crowd instantly scattered like a flock of startled birds. Ye Xingchen shrugged indifferently, lazily following the instructor.

“Come on, Qingqing.” Su Liyue tugged at her still-stunned best friend.

“Huh? You’re just going to leave your man like that?” Mu Wanqing’s eyes widened.

“Why panic? He didn’t even lift a finger. So many eyes were watching the whole time,” Su Liyue said, tilting her head.

Mu Wanqing hesitated, words catching in her throat.

She distinctly remembered that the strange ‘Null Magic’ had indeed emanated from Liyue’s lips earlier.

Yet, when the fire dragon was almost upon them just now, Su Liyue hadn’t moved a finger, and Ye Xingchen had indeed stood with his hands clasped behind his back the entire time…

So, from where had that mysterious power, which instantly annihilated the fire dragon, truly come?

***

Sunlight bathed the training grounds, where third-year students stood in neat rows, their various familiars frolicking at their masters’ feet.

The summoning instructor was lecturing in the center of the field:

“Familiars are not just battle companions; they are also reflections of the soul. Cultivating rapport requires…”

Su Liyue and Mu Wanqing stood at the edge of the formation, their shared phoenix familiar, Jiuwu, curled lazily on Mu Wanqing’s shoulder.

Whenever the instructor spoke of loyalty training, Jiuwu would deliberately brush the girl’s cheek with its tail feathers; when discussing energy replenishment, it would feign weakness and droop its head, acting exactly like a child averse to school.

“Stop it.” Mu Wanqing poked Jiuwu’s feathers, but received only a feigned whimper in return.

Su Liyue couldn’t help but shake her head, a smile playing on her lips; these two mischievous companions were far more entertaining than the class content.

“Liyue, tell me~ what exactly is Null Magic?” Mu Wanqing suddenly leaned closer, her eyes sparkling with gossip.

Jiuwu, who had been dozing, immediately perked up its feathers, its golden eyes fixed intently on Su Liyue.

“Null Magic? Is that an attribute within the Five-Pointed Star system?” Su Liyue blinked innocently, feigning ignorance.

‘Playing dumb is a fundamental skill, after all.’

Mu Wanqing excitedly grabbed her friend’s arm.

“It’s precisely because it isn’t that I’m asking you! I clearly saw you use Null Magic to protect your man just now~”

A bead of cold sweat immediately trickled down Su Liyue’s temple.

When she had just cast that ability, she could have performed it silently, but the anime plots she’d watched back on Earth kept replaying in her mind. It felt like something was missing if a skill wasn’t called out, a certain flair.

Thus, on a whim, she had given the ability to erase all things a chuunibyou-level name: Null Magic!

Su Liyue cleared her throat, feigning composure.

“Perhaps… it’s some kind of new magic attribute?” she attempted to bluff, hoping to get away with it.

“Then teach me~” Mu Wanqing whined, shaking her arm, and even Jiuwu chirped a “Chu,” as if chiming in its support.

Su Liyue gently stroked Jiuwu’s feathers, then spoke with an air of profound wisdom.

“Teaching you isn’t the problem… it’s just that this probably isn’t a magic one can learn simply by wanting to.”

“Why not?” Mu Wanqing was taken aback, wondering if this ‘Null Magic’ had some stringent learning conditions. Even Jiuwu on her shoulder flapped its wings in confusion.

Su Liyue suddenly had a flash of inspiration and continued:

“Remember our familiar contract? Ye Xingchen’s attribute-less nature,

it’s actually…”

“The origin of Null Magic?!” Mu Wanqing gasped, her voice abruptly rising in surprise, as if she had uncovered something extraordinary, causing nearby classmates to glance their way.

Realizing her outburst, she quickly covered her mouth, lowering her voice as she continued:

“So, Ye Xingchen having no magic attribute actually means he… can make magic… disappear?”

Su Liyue put a finger to her lips, feigning mystery, and Jiuwu cooperatively covered its beak with a wing, once again acting like her accomplice.

“Qingqing, have you ever heard of quantum entanglement?”

“Huh?”

Su Liyue smiled cunningly.

“It’s when two particles, no matter how far apart, can instantly influence each other~ Perhaps Xingchen and I have that kind of relationship?”