A new semester, a new beginning. Even at the First Magic University, it was no exception.

This place had been rebuilt from the ruins of the former Mist City. As the First Magic School, the entire city was steeped in a strong magical atmosphere.

Catching the shuttle bus to the teaching building, Qi Sheng looked up at the sky, watching a whale whistle past overhead.

It was a new type of transport developed jointly by the school and the research department, powered by both magic and fuel. Its endurance was excellent, enough to avoid most dangerous magical creatures on the ground.

On its huge body hung a banner: Welcome to the First Magic School.

Ever since that great upheaval ten years ago, the world's structure has undergone a massive change.

The most significant of these was the appearance of a new power. The visible, active elements had set the whole world boiling, and countless humans had joined in researching this new force. The largest and only officially recognized organization among them was the First Magic School.

Over the past decade, countless mages graduating from the school had thrown themselves into building the new world without any hesitation.

Newly formed public security and military departments even had special extraordinary divisions for mages and ability users.

The privileges of mages were reflected in all aspects of society, and the greatest contributor to this was none other than the current headmaster of the magic school, Ruan Xing.

Qi Sheng could hardly imagine how, back then, the headmaster had carved out a path to survival in such desperate conditions: facing pollution from outside, the corruption of the Tower within, and unbearable pressure from public opinion.

His mother had told him that at that time, humanity had only one surviving base left. They had almost gone extinct.

Back then, he had been only three, four, or five years old. His memories were already blurred. He only remembered that one day, the high walls that had trapped humanity for nearly a hundred years suddenly disappeared.

The outside world was no longer as dangerous, and people returned to it completely, like fish swimming back to the sea.

In just ten years, the world had transformed beyond recognition.

Order was quickly being restored, and perhaps because they had endured the dangers of the apocalypse, humanity had become unprecedentedly united, abandoning national and racial hatreds to focus solely on building a beautiful home together.

Products combining technology and magic had also emerged in response to the times.

The graduates of this school had played a huge role in that, and as one of them, Qi Sheng felt a surge of pride when he saw the chattering freshmen under the banner.

"Wow! That tree can run off on its own to sunbathe!"

"When I came today, the stone statue at the school gate stepped on my coat hem. My new uniform is ruined!"

"My dad told me that this place was magical, but it's even more magical than in novels and TV shows!"

Hearing this, Qi Sheng couldn't help but snort, silently mocking them in his heart. You have seen nothing yet.

The owl on his shoulder gave a reminder.

Qi Sheng rolled his eyes. This bird was just a suck-up. Don't think he couldn't tell.

But it was true that he was running late. Qi Sheng quickened his pace while chanting a spell, and in an instant, his figure shifted and appeared in the classroom.

"Unqualified."

Just as he steadied himself, a voice that sent a chill down his back rang out.

Qi Sheng stiffly turned his head and forced a smile. "Professor Aisa, you're early today."

The black-haired, green-eyed young man put away his pocket watch. Just then, the class bell rang. "If I weren't early, you wouldn't have been caught."

Many classmates laughed, gloating as they looked at Qi Sheng.

Of all the classes to be late for, being late to this crow's class was just digging your own grave.

The owl in his pocket softly called, "Prophet."

Aisa noticed the owl but didn't react. Instead, he looked at Qi Sheng, smiling. "Your teleportation magic is unqualified. If you're still at this level by the end of the semester, get ready to fail. Class begins!"

Qi Sheng groaned inwardly. Great.

The semester had just started, and the professor already disliked him. His potion and spellcasting classes were probably doomed, too.

As one of the school's top-tier teachers, Aisa's intimidation on the students was strong. Everyone knew his true form was a crow, which was a very vengeful and cunning creature.

Rumor had it that he had a nickname, but only the dean and a few others could use it. Unfortunately, Qi Sheng, who had accidentally learned it, was already firmly remembered by Aisa.

After all, who would expect that the aloof, strict, and handsome Professor Aisa would have a name like Fu Gui?

When the torturous class finally ended, Qi Sheng bolted out.

The owl poked its head out of his pocket, reluctant.

He pushed its head back down. "There will be plenty of chances to see him. This semester, with the associate professors gone, Professor Aisa will definitely inspect the dorms himself."

The owl just hummed in response and fell silent.

Qi Sheng climbed over the wall out of the campus. There was a shortcut here to the cafeteria.

Coming head-on was a tall man in a silver-gray uniform from the Ability Academy.

These days, ability users were becoming rarer. Those still active, like Pei Ye and Su Xiaona, were the pillars of humanity's world-expansion efforts. They had held up a sky for humanity in its darkest times, and now they had to face the trend of the revival of magic and the decline of abilities.

Perhaps, when stability returned and safe zones were plentiful, they would finally retire in peace.

Of course, mages weren't many either. Compared to the current human population, being one in ten thousand was not an exaggeration.

It was at this very shortcut that Qi Sheng had once overheard the headmaster calling Aisa by that forbidden name. Now, running into someone else again, he felt a pang of nerves.

He wanted to slip away, but the man clearly noticed him. Qi Sheng shrank his head and stammered, "Major… Major General Fu."

Even though Fu Zhi had stepped down from that position for some time, habits were hard to change. Qi Sheng's mother still called him that, and so did Qi Sheng.

This man, like headmaster Ruan, was a legendary figure. One of the top men in the world.

Qi Sheng became as obedient as a quail. He was much more polite than he was with Aisa, almost radiating "well-behaved" from the inside out.

Fu Zhi nodded slightly, greeted him, and then left. From the direction, it seemed he was heading to the headmaster's Mage Tower.

The owl crawled out of the pocket with a solemn look. "He smells strongly of the headmaster, like he just crawled out from under his covers."

Qi Sheng: Huh?!!!

Was that an appropriate example?!

Everyone knew Ruan Xing and Fu Zhi were very close. During the world's great upheaval, Ruan Xing didn't give up searching for him and eventually found him gravely injured. That kind of devotion had moved countless people.

What a deep friendship that was!

Qi Sheng quickly pressed the owl down. "Don't talk nonsense. There are plenty of birds in the sky. Why be obsessed with just one? Besides, he is a professor now…"

He turned his back as Fu Zhi walked away.

The man in the silver-gray uniform looked up into the distance, where the black Mage Tower rose among the distant trees.

Ruan Xing had moved his Mage Tower back from the island. Out in the open, the harsh conditions would shorten the tower's lifespan by centuries.

Here, it was perfect. The sunlight was warm, there was no wind, and the exposure was just right.

Unexpectedly, in the world's shift toward magic, many unforeseen changes had occurred.

As the world's nature transformed, its hidden potential had only just begun to be tapped.

For example, countless magical ores had been dug up from beneath this city. In the untamed areas, there were still many precious magical materials, like an unmined treasure trove. The only ones who knew how to use them were Ruan Xing and Fu Zhi.

Ruan Xing had signed a treaty with the Enforcement Division, contributing to talent training while raw materials were continuously sent over via teleportation arrays.

His small warehouse was already full, and the mining cap was still far off.

With someone gathering rare materials for him, all he had to do was sit in the Mage Tower and wait. This kind of life had been unthinkable in the past.

He had thought his losses could never be recovered, but now, not only had his stores been replenished, they had even multiplied many times over.

To exaggerate a little, Ruan Xing now owned the magical resources and materials of the whole world.

Of course, in the future, newly trained mages would slowly learn to use the world's resources too, and Ruan Xing wasn't the type to hoard them, but that would be much later.

Ruan Xing lifted his head from a pile of books and looked at the visitor. "Why are you here?"

Fu Zhi had just recovered not long ago, and Ruan Xing had given him a light position: lecturer at the Ability Academy, formerly the specialized academy that had been merged into the magic school.

There were many promising students here, and some were even able to practice both abilities and magic.

Mentoring them was no challenge for Fu Zhi. He had already been an honorary lecturer at the specialized academy.

But he couldn't see Ruan Xing often. Recently, Ruan Xing has been so busy that he hasn't come home for days.

Perhaps remembering the times with the mycelium, Fu Zhi now wanted to be with Ruan Xing every day. When he was not, he would sleep hugging his clothes, as if he were still beside him.

Seeing no sign that Ruan Xing planned to come back, Fu Zhi couldn't hold back anymore and came to find him.

Ruan Xing looked clearly worn out, with dark circles heavy under his eyes, and even his glasses could not hide his fatigue.

Fu Zhi sat beside him and took the papers from his hands.

"You should rest."

Ruan Xing's eyes lit up. "I'm not tired."

Fu Zhi frowned. "You've only slept four hours these past few days."

"I'm really not tired." Ruan Xing rubbed his eyes.

The man sighed, took his hand, and gently massaged his temples.

"But I miss you."

The voice was low, but Ruan Xing couldn't resist that, especially not when Fu Zhi acted vulnerable.

It stirred a faint, wicked urge in him to tease.

"Do you remember what I said in the Tower?" Ruan Xing's eyes sparkled at the thought.

Fu Zhi frowned, clearly not remembering everything so clearly, since it had been a long time ago.

Ruan Xing cleared his throat. "I said I would punish your negligence."

Back in the Tower, Fu Zhi had apologized to him, and Ruan Xing answered with an empty threat of punishment.

Fu Zhi remembered now and slightly raised his brows.

Ruan Xing, who had been facing away, now turned, knelt on the chair, and faced him.

He was not as tall as Fu Zhi, and when he looked up, he could just reach his chin.

Fu Zhi suddenly felt nervous.

Punishment? What kind of punishment?

His palms began to sweat, that rare awkwardness creeping back into him.

Ruan Xing smiled, straightened his back, leaned close to the man's neck, and, like a hunting feline, bit his Adam's apple.

Fu Zhi's pupils contracted.

The threatening feeling of his vital point being seized mingled with the warm, damp, teasing sensation sparked a fire that rushed to his head, burning his reason and igniting his instincts.

After the bite, the heat of his breath mixed with the coolness left by evaporating moisture, adding more fuel to that fire in Fu Zhi's mind.

Ruan Xing didn't lower his hand. He leaned back slightly to admire the mark he left. The deep red mark was still damp.

Satisfied, he nodded. Perfect shape.

Watching it shift as Fu Zhi swallowed only made his blood stir further.

They met each other's gaze, and the heat in Fu Zhi's eyes made even Ruan Xing's breathing grow hot.

"Is this the punishment?" the man asked.

Ruan Xing softly hummed in agreement, not realizing that to Fu Zhi, it sounded like a spoiled, unsatisfied feline.

Even those emerald eyes looked like a burning forest, passionate and boiling.

Fu Zhi's hand slid up Ruan Xing's thin back, and with a sweep, he pulled Ruan Xing into his arms, stripping away his glasses, and kissed him hard.

In that position, Ruan Xing arched like a swan offering its neck.

The atmosphere grew heated, then exploded.

That fire finally consumed both of them.

Calloused hands traced smooth thighs. Vengeful sensual gasps broke into restrained sobs. An overturned office chair, a messy desk, a creased sofa, the drawn curtains, and the full-length mirror in the lounge covered in damp marks…

It was hard to determine who punished whom.

In any case, Ruan Xing could finally rest properly.