Chapter 92 | The Otherworld Journey That Starts From a Slime

“Lina, this is my contracted beast, Tei Tei. She’s also a creature from the Demon Realm,” Zhang Ye said as he noticed Lina’s fear. “Don’t worry, she won’t hurt you.”

“Don’t compare this lady bug to those low-level creatures from the Demon Realm! I am very noble!” Tei Tei hummed while eating the BBQ.

Leona’s cooking was even better than Zhang Ye’s, and Tei Tei loved it. That bad woman was scary, but her BBQ was truly delicious.

Hearing Tei Tei’s cute words, Lina’s fear faded significantly. Moreover, with Zhang Ye around, Tei Tei wouldn’t hurt anyone, so her courage gradually grew until she even dared to feed Tei Tei meat.

“You’re not bad, little girl. Unlike that bad person who doesn’t even know how to feed me, hmph!” Tei Tei said while eating the BBQ Lina offered.

Zhang Ye pursed his lips. “Have I not fed you enough?”

“You call that feeding? You have to bring it to my mouth and say, ‘Respected Lady 520, please enjoy your meal.’ Now that is feeding!” Tei Tei retorted.

“You’re dreaming! Lina, don’t spoil her!” Zhang Ye barked.

“I spit on you! Bad person!” Tei Tei squeaked.

“Hey, you ungrateful bug!” Zhang Ye snapped back.

Watching Zhang Ye and Tei Tei bickering in their strange sounds—even though she couldn’t understand them—Lina found it incredibly amusing and giggled uncontrollably.

After eating and drinking their fill, Zhang Ye suggested going for a stroll in All Souls City. Everyone agreed readily, though Leona declined.

“I have to go back and participate in the new student evaluations, so I won’t be going,” Leona said with a smile.

“Oh, okay then...” Zhang Ye felt a bit disappointed. He had wanted to walk the streets with Leona, but it seemed that wish would have to wait for later.

Just as the three were about to head out, Leona suddenly called out to Zhang Ye.

“Xiao Ye’er, come here for a moment.” With that, she walked further into the manor.

“Eh?” Zhang Ye was stunned for a moment before something clicked. His breathing instantly grew hot as he turned to Renomon and Lina. “You guys go wait for me outside first.”

Renomon said blankly, “We can just wait here—”

Before he could finish, Lina was already pushing him toward the door. “Let’s go, let’s go. We’ll wait for Brother Ye outside.”

As they stepped out, the girl looked back and winked at Zhang Ye, her large eyes full of mirth.

Zhang Ye secretly gave her a thumbs-up. What a girl, what a great assist!

Then, he happily followed Leona inside.

Once they reached the inner room, Leona looked at Zhang Ye with a beaming smile. Zhang Ye’s heart immediately began to race, and a blush crept onto his face. Despite Leona’s bold personality, he was the one getting shy first.

“Um...”

Before he could finish, Leona cupped Zhang Ye’s cheeks and gave him a smack as she kissed him on the forehead.

Zhang Ye felt like he was about to fly. A dazed, silly grin spread across his face. “I’m not washing my face. I’m never washing my face again for the rest of my life...”

Leona couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction. “Is it really that serious?”

Zhang Ye nodded vigorously. “Absolutely!”

“Xiao Ye’er, there’s something you need to know.” Suddenly, Leona’s smile vanished, and she spoke seriously.

Upon hearing her tone, Zhang Ye’s expression immediately became solemn. He knew Leona hadn’t called him in just for a kiss. Given her personality, she would have kissed him outside if that were all. It had to be something important.

“It’s about Lina,” Leona said.

“Lina?” Zhang Ye asked. “What’s wrong with Lina?”

“Do you know her identity?” Leona asked.

Zhang Ye nodded. “I can guess a bit. She’s likely a member of the Lionheart Royal Family.”

Being able to pull out so many precious Treasures meant she wasn’t just a common noble. She had to be at least princess-level.

Leona nodded. “Correct. She is a member of the Lionheart Royal Family, the third child of the current Lionheart Emperor—the Third Princess.”

Zhang Ye nodded. “Okay, and?”

Leona asked with a smile, “You’re not surprised?”

Zhang Ye brushed back his bangs and said smugly, “For someone as smart as me, I guessed it long ago. No surprises here.”

Leona chuckled, then continued, “However, her status is more than just being a princess.”

“How so?” Zhang Ye asked.

Leona’s voice suddenly grew low. “The Lionheart Emperor’s beloved, Lina’s mother, was a Saintess of the Light Holy See. That Saintess was an unparalleled existence of her time. She possessed the Time-attribute, and her Time magic was incredibly powerful. Even at Three-star Saint-tier, Five-star Saint-tiers were no match for her. Oscar was able to become the current Lionheart Emperor partly because she helped him eliminate dissidents in the shadows. Their love story is considered a beautiful tale across the continent.”

“Later, that Saintess bore two sons for Oscar, but neither of them inherited their mother’s Time-attribute talent. It wasn't until the birth of the third child—Lina.”

“On the day Lina was born, a phenomenon between heaven and earth occurred; the laws of time from the world’s laws converged above the Lionheart Royal City. Therefore, everyone believed that Lina must have inherited her mother’s powerful Time magic talent. However, no one expected that three days after Lina was born, the Saintess would pass away.”

“She passed away?!” Zhang Ye was shocked. “How?!”

Leona shook her head. “No one outside the Lionheart Royal Family knows, not even the Flame Lion Royal Family. All we know is that Lina inherited not only her father’s light-attribute talent but also her mother’s Time talent. She was a dual-attribute genius! Immediately after her birth, a talent evaluation was conducted, and her dual-attribute talent was terrifyingly high.”

“But just when everyone thought the Lionheart Empire was about to give birth to a peerless powerhouse, something went wrong again. At eight years old, Lina reached Tier Seven peak, but from then on, her rank never increased again. Moreover, she was completely unable to learn any magic!”

“Unable to learn any magic... not even Sub-tier magic?” Zhang Ye asked.

“None,” Leona shook her head. “It was later said that the mana in her body simply cannot resonate. In other words, she cannot release magic through means like Circle Inscription or chanting.”

Zhang Ye fell silent. Lina hadn’t failed to learn magic because she didn't want to, but because she simply couldn't.

“What about body tempering?” Zhang Ye asked.

Leona still shook her head. “No way. No matter how she trains, her physique remains at the Tier Seven peak level, just like her mana rank. It cannot be improved.”

She couldn’t temper her body, and her mana couldn’t resonate, meaning she couldn’t transform mana into spells or Combat Techniques, let alone learn them. No wonder she could only release innate magic and fight using Treasures. The vast number of Treasures in her rings must have been prepared for her by the Lionheart Royal Family. Without the ability to cast magic, Treasures were her only means of attack.

“You could say that in terms of combat power, Lina at Tier Seven peak is not even as strong as some Tier Six geniuses. Thus, the ‘Peerless Genius of the Lionheart Empire’ completely became a joke.”

“However, even so, Lina is still very much pampered. She is Oscar’s favorite daughter, perhaps out of guilt, and he treats her far better than his other children. Therefore, if anything happens to Lina, the Lionheart Royal Family will absolutely be enraged,” Leona said seriously. “And this time, because of you, Lina’s rank soared to second place. She will definitely enter the Rainbow Class.”

“This isn’t actually a good thing for Lina. No matter how rich the cultivation resources of the Rainbow Class are, she cannot improve or learn any magic. Yet, the Rainbow Class holds combat tests at the end of every month. This is fatal for Lina.”

“She will compete on the same stage as other Rainbow Class students. On the battlefield, even with instructors watching, how can Lina, who cannot even cast a single defense spell, withstand the attacks of other students? You have to realize that this year’s students are incomparable to the previous year’s. There are more than five Tier Nines alone! Moreover, some of those students belong to empires that are unfriendly or even hostile toward the Lionheart Empire. If Lina faces them, the consequences are predictable.”

“They might be wary of war and avoid killing her, but the possibility of an accident is still very high. Some malicious factions might even have their students harm Lina just to trigger a war. Once Oscar learns that something happened to Lina, the Lionheart Empire will launch a retaliatory war. The consequences of such an event are not something an ordinary person can bear. It can be said that Lina entered the All Souls Academy Rainbow Class because of you. If anything happens to her, you will bear part of the responsibility. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Zhang Ye’s mouth hung open slightly. After a moment of silence, he said, “I will protect her!”

Leona shook her head slightly. “I believe in your ability, but you can protect her normally. What about the monthly tests? Duels cannot be interfered with unless Lina voluntarily forfeits. If she does, she will fall to the bottom of the rankings and eventually be kicked out of the Rainbow Class, demoted to the Purple Class. The same will happen in the Purple Class, and the Blue Class... Eventually, Lina will face a monthly duel, and if she forfeits three times in a row, she will be kicked out of the academy!”

Zhang Ye’s pupils shrank. Kicked out of the academy... Had he caused all of this?

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, Purple, Rainbow—eight classes in total. If Lina could have entered a class below Blue, she might have been able to handle those people. But in classes above Blue, every student was a genius, not to mention the overall quality of this year’s students had taken a massive leap. How could Lina, who could only trigger Tier Seven Treasures and possessed only two innate magics, possibly win against those Tier Eight and Tier Nine geniuses? Those people were not comparable to an Ice-mist Leopard...

By making Lina’s points explode and ranking her second, he hadn’t helped her; he had put her in harm’s way. Zhang Ye’s fists tightened as he brainstormed for a solution.