Feng Haotian felt as if he had aged ten years, practically dragged by Robin through the room, which fell into an unnatural stillness.

Wu Feiyan and Yue Nongying pressed tightly against each other, both now somewhat tense, unsure what Zhong Shenxiu intended to do with them next.

“Don’t be so nervous, relax, it will only take a moment!” Zhong Shenxiu said with a smile, which only served to heighten their anxiety.

“What do you want us to do?” Wu Feiyan couldn’t help but ask. Though her voice remained soft, a trace of panic flickered in her eyes. If it were just her, it would be one thing, but her inquiry included her sister as well.

“You two just need to cooperate!” Zhong Shenxiu offered another phrase easily open to misinterpretation.

There were many ways to "cooperate," and Wu Feiyan had no idea which kind Zhong Shenxiu meant. She intended to press for more details, but Zhong Shenxiu spoke again.

“Alright, let’s begin now! You two, come here!” As Zhong Shenxiu beckoned them over, he retrieved two exquisite small vials from his magic ring.

The Wu sisters approached with trepidation; their slightly hurried breathing betrayed how fast their hearts must be pounding. Zhong Shenxiu glanced at them, then continued, “Why are you standing so far away? Come over, sit here!”

He gestured with a finger toward two chairs beside him, then began pulling out other strange implements from his magic ring.

The two sisters suppressed the questions burning in their minds and sat as instructed. Having steeled themselves for the worst, they now felt a gradual sense of calm settle over them.

“Now, both of you extend one hand. Roll up your sleeves.” Zhong Shenxiu gave the instruction but didn't look at them, focusing instead on arranging the various bottles and jars on the table.

Wu Feiyan and Yue Nongying exchanged a look. After a slight hesitation, both extended their slender hands, beautiful as fine jade.

But the moment their delicate hands were offered, something happened that neither of them could have possibly anticipated.

Two streams of blood suddenly shot out from their wrists, soaring into the air like two dancing little snakes, swirling continuously!

At that instant, both felt an indescribable tingling and itching spread through their entire bodies, yet there was absolutely no pain.

This was utterly bizarre. It was the first time Wu Feiyan and Yue Nongying had experienced anything so strange, and they froze, stunned.

“There, now you two can stand aside!” Zhong Shenxiu’s voice cut through the air again. He still hadn't spared them a glance.

Those two streams of blood were still dancing about, as if possessing lives of their own. Though they intertwined and looped around each other, they did not merge!

The Wu sisters remained rooted to the spot, instead looking down at their wrists. They had seen clearly just moments ago: that blood was undeniably theirs. Yet, both of their wrists remained smooth as ever, without a single scratch—inexplicably strange!

At this point, Zhong Shenxiu finally paused his preparations, turned his head to look at them briefly, and said again, “Go over to the bed. Do not approach unless I permit it!”

“What, what is happening?” Yue Nongying stood up, but she didn’t move away. Instead, she pointed at the two streams of blood and asked.

“You don’t need to know about that. Just do as I say!” Zhong Shenxiu said deliberately, his face stern.

He would not tell them the truth: their constitutions were special, their bodies were treasures, and this small amount of blood was merely for research!

Yue Nongying and Wu Feiyan suddenly found Zhong Shenxiu very unsettling. Daring not defy him in the slightest, they scurried obediently to the side of the bed, though their eyes remained fixed on him. They were truly desperate to know what exactly Zhong Shenxiu was doing.

Seeing that the distractions were gone, the expression on Zhong Shenxiu’s face turned focused. He picked up two jade bottles from the table, identical in size but bearing different carvings. He gently pulled the stoppers free, and without any discernible movement from him, the two streams of blood flew into the bottles as if returning to their nest!

Following this, Zhong Shenxiu took out several Immortal Stones and arranged them in the pattern of the Eight Trigrams. Then, he rapidly formed seals with his hands, and amidst a burst of radiance, a miniature formation instantly took shape!

Wu Feiyan and Yue Nongying both held their breath. Such a stunning sight had rendered their minds utterly blank!

Was he truly just a child?

This question gave rise to doubt in both their minds, for a real child certainly could not accomplish such a feat!

And at that very moment, an even more brilliant spectacle unfolded: a blue "Hexagram Magic Array," the size of the entire tabletop, materialized in mid-air, corresponding perfectly with the formation on the table!

Then, Zhong Shenxiu actually placed the little snake coiled around his wrist directly onto the center of the formation on the table!

This little snake behaved remarkably well, remaining perfectly still on the tabletop. However, the terrestrial formation and the aerial magic array began to rotate. As they spun faster and faster, two distinct beams of light shot toward the small snake at the center.

As the speed of rotation increased, the radiance emanating from above grew more dazzling. It was then that Zhong Shenxiu began his actions, channeling torrents of magic elements of every school—as if a tidal wave—into the light of the formation, or rather, into that little snake.

It was strange; despite the immense activity, the small snake remained perfectly motionless, as if dead—truly eerie!

As time passed slowly, the process reached its most critical juncture. A drop of Yue Nongying’s Profound Yin Blood suddenly flew out of its jade vial and shot into the blinding light. At this moment, a bizarre sound erupted from the formation, like something being continuously torn apart.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, both the formation and the magic array vanished simultaneously. The dazzling light disappeared, and concurrently, the Immortal Stones on the table turned a dull, earthy gray, completely devoid of any spiritual energy.

Now, the crucial question was: what had happened to the little snake? They looked over—Gasp! Was that even the same snake as before?

If they hadn't witnessed it firsthand, they wouldn't have been able to imagine it was a snake at all!

This little snake now radiated a seven-colored light all over its body. If one sensed it closely, they would find that each color nurtured a different attribute of magical element—an immense power that defied comprehension! What was truly baffling was the presence of certain markings on the snake's body, like twisted scales. From a distance, it resembled an exquisitely carved artifact!

The most difficult thing to accept was that the snake’s eyes were gone. The entire body was a single, unified color. Resting there quietly, one simply could not associate it with a serpent.

But had its eyes truly vanished? No!

Its eyes had not disappeared; they had merely merged perfectly with the body, taking on the exact same contours as the rest of its form!

Zhong Shenxiu knew this was not the time for celebration. He needed to test it personally to gauge the extent of the little snake’s transformation. The external changes were secondary; the primary concern was whether its strength had genuinely increased, otherwise, all those precious resources would have been wasted!

With just a thought, the little snake received Zhong Shenxiu’s command. The light radiating from its body instantly vanished. Simultaneously, several fifth-level spells of different attributes materialized out of thin air before it, roaring toward Zhong Shenxiu!

“Ah!” A cry of alarm burst from the lips of the two Wu sisters.

This sudden development terrified them. Watching the immensely powerful spells hurtling toward Zhong Shenxiu, both squeezed their eyes shut, unwilling to see the bloody scene that was sure to follow.

In the eyes of ordinary people, the combined force of these fifth-level spells could instantly obliterate this small courtyard, turning not only Zhong Shenxiu but Wu Feiyan and Yue Nongying into dust as well.

However, such a minor attack posed no threat whatsoever to Zhong Shenxiu. He merely employed a technique called “Magic Reversal,” and those seemingly terrifying spells vanished into nothingness!

Zhong Shenxiu did not stop there. He subjected the little snake to multiple further tests, eventually concluding with a verdict of “Very satisfactory!”

Within this little snake’s body still resided an unimaginably vast power. Once it fully digested this energy, that would be truly monstrous!

The transformation from a common venomous snake to this current iteration—a super-resilient creature capable of challenging the beast world—was not due to the snake’s own prowess, but rather Zhong Shenxiu’s incredible skill!

The Profound Yin Blood was truly magnificent, almost comparable to those rare flowers and exotic herbs!

After this trial, Zhong Shenxiu felt even more fortunate to have kept the two women by his side; they were an infinite, renewable treasury. As long as he fed them more blood-replenishing elixirs, he could conduct even more experiments in the future!

Consequently, the way Zhong Shenxiu looked at Wu Feiyan and Yue Nongying was now filled with fervent excitement, causing the hearts of both sisters to race once more!

The next day dawned clear and bright, promising fine weather.

At that moment, Luo Jie’ai’er was sitting in class. The topic the teacher was covering was material she had already mastered completely, so she found herself staring listlessly out the window.

Just then, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she strained to look outside with greater focus.

Elves possessed naturally superior eyesight, and Luo Jie’ai’er clearly saw Robin, the little girl who had been accompanying the Headmaster that day!

Several people were with Robin—all unfamiliar faces to her—but the little boy who occupied so much of her attention was not among them.

In truth, Luo Jie’ai’er couldn't pinpoint when she had started caring about these two children. Given her nature, she normally wouldn't concern herself with anything outside of her studies. But ever since she witnessed Zhong Shenxiu’s peculiar methods that night, the little face wearing that sly, wicked smile had completely lodged itself in her mind.

About fifteen minutes later, the classroom door was suddenly flung open, and the teacher, who had been lecturing, was called out by the Dean.

When the teacher returned, she was accompanied by two other people—the very two Luo Jie’ai’er had just spotted outside the window!

“Class, these are two new students transferring to our academy…”