Chapter 1058: Chapter 27: Lu Li’s Dream
The whispers of conversations converged above the platform.
The gradually dispersing students vaguely divided into three zones on the evening platform.
The tense and inexperienced lower-grade area, the guarded and exclusionary middle-grade, and the senior-grade area that ignored everything.
Fudote glanced over the food on the long table; the banquet food on the tree trunk layer was similarly exquisite, with no suspicious parts or organs or raw food. She heard the dog meat beside her, looking up, say, “So Silent Moments can affect the giant tree after all…”
“It couldn’t originally, but the primordial darkness has amplified the power of all the weird… You’ve never even opened a book from the Mysticism Course, have you?”
“I can’t read.”
The dog meat said it as a matter of course, and the attention quickly shifted from the Mont Metis protecting the banquet to the food on the table.
Lu Li surveyed the students unwilling to disperse and unexpectedly spotted a student he once prayed with in the mixed area, asking him to take him away. Now, he had lost an arm, the bloody bandage wrapped around the wound, wandering like a walking corpse behind the heavy shadows.
Moving his gaze away, Lu Li left the crowd, took a milk candy from the sugar bowl on the long table, and turned to the relatively quiet edge of the banquet.
Circumventing the lush, strange shrubs, he descended to the lower level along the staircase built on intersecting roots, leaving the noise and light above at the banquet.
Lu Li sat on a long bench, the cold wind from the ground brushing his body, with only the distant, slowly flickering lights of the Alchemical Tower breaking the loathsome darkness.
He took out the Dream Elixir from his pocket, with a milk candy resting in his other open palm.
This perfect Dream Elixir, however, had a much better taste than expected, with a sweet almond flavor replacing the intolerable bitterness, like a beverage.
Advanced Alchemists knew how to add alchemical materials that would not affect the elixir’s effect to change its taste, corresponding to a more expensive price than the original elixir.
After consuming the Dream Elixir, Lu Li put the milk candy and empty elixir bottle back into his pocket.
“Great Exorcist.”
A silhouette emerged from the shadows.
“We’ve wanted to meet you for a long time, but the vice principal hid you very well.”
Helmut sat beside Lu Li on the bench, placing a hand over his chest: “Allow me to introduce myself again, I am Perrison, Helmut’s father.”
“Two souls in one body?”
Helmut’s condition reminded Lu Li of Sara and Adam.
“As expected of His Excellency Lulian. My father’s and my souls are intertwined in the same body. It’s a curse and a gift.”
Helmut removed a theatrically exaggerated top hat: “My father wants to meet you, and I also express his gratitude to you…”
“I don’t understand.”
Lu Li confirmed he hadn’t met Helmut before, nor did he know Perrison.
As if distinguishing the controller of the body, Perrison’s identity became steady, deep, and respectful: “Of course, you wouldn’t remember me… During the Spinning City’s great migration, I was one of the hundreds of thousands of citizens you saved.”
“Every seed we plant may yield a harvest,” Helmut controlled the body, saying meaningfully.
This reminded Lu Li of Professor Chris’s meaningful attitude when explaining the significance of Giant Tree Academy.
“I have no issue with Giant Tree Academy’s philosophy.” As if knowing what Lu Li was thinking, Helmut clarified himself: “But the principal’s methods are wrong. We should be nurturing the strong to change the world, not wasting resources to let a group of the useless experience pre-disaster life… Of course, I wasn’t referring to you.”
“Forgive Helmut’s rudeness, we cannot avoid sensing the thoughts of those around us.” Perrison quickly expressed his apology.
Lu Li could not seal his thoughts to prevent Helmut from hearing more new life, so he started a topic to distract attention.
“I want to know about the Curse Title Master.”
“You came for this, didn’t you? Very well.” Helmut organized his thoughts and explained, “Different curse titles have differences; these differences depend on their properties and the entities bestowing the titles. You can think of it this way: curse titles have variations and levels.”
This senior Mysticology professor knew how to convey the points most effectively.
“Curse titles granted by Divinity are stronger than those granted by a Weird Leader. A Weird Leader burning themselves to bestow a curse title is stronger than one granted by Divinity… When you start learning to unleash the power of a curse title, the academy will rate your curse title. Besides levels, we categorize curse title properties into three types: War, Sanctuary, and—”
A source-less dark golden glow suddenly enveloped Helmut, shackling him in space.
“Professor Helmut, you’ve violated academy regulations.”
Professor Chris’s icy voice came from the stairs.
Under the dark golden glow, Helmut could only stiffly roll his eyes, a suppressed voice leaking from the seams of his mouth: “Vice Principal, you have protected Lu Li too well. He is a Legendary Exorcist, knows how to—”
“Many troubles and negatives are unnecessary. Leave here, Helmut.”
Professor Chris’s tone carried a warning, and the light that had burdened Helmut’s body faded away.
Helmut let out a long breath, left his seat, and Perrison respectfully saluted Lu Li: “Mr. Luli, I look forward to your arrival in the future.”
After their figures disappeared into the distance, Professor Chris’s eyes fell on Lu Li.
“We must learn to crawl before attempting to stand. Standing too soon only results in a bruised nose.”
Lu Li followed Professor Chris back to the banquet, not refuting her words.
Initially, Lu Li had only enrolled to master the curse title. But this learning experience had exposed his ignorance of the Weird Times—
Gradual progress had no downsides except being slow.
Music flowed across the platform as the banquet center transformed into a dance hall, with students embracing each other to the music.
Pleased that Lu Li understood, Professor Chris invited him: “Dear, would you like to have a dance?”
“No.”
Lu Li couldn’t dance, and the size difference between him and Professor Chris was like that between an adult and a child.
Scanning the banquet, Lu Li saw the dog meat already eating in the senior-grade area.
Cloaked in capes or robes, the senior students watched the little intruder with interest, trying hard to restrain their presence like a pride of lions teasing a lamb.
Floral Lins was dancing with a young man on the dance floor.
“May I leave early?” Perhaps due to the Dream Elixir, Lu Li felt a bit sleepy.
“That’s truly unfortunate…” Professor Chris said regretfully, implying: “Of course, have a good dream.”
Leaving the banquet, Lu Li returned to his dormitory at the silent Giant Tree Academy, inhabited only by the Gatekeeper, having his first dream of the new year.
He dreamed he arrived in Belfast, running a Detective Agency, with a young girl named Anna as his assistant, peaceful and beautiful. But everything was ruined by a guy named Mick and his subordinates.
Just as everything was about to go wrong—
Lu Li woke up in the morning.
The dream, descending into a nightmare, abruptly ended.