Chapter 36: The Blushing Matter

Peg Lu, Wei, and the others were gathered on a small hilltop, waiting for Bing Zhiye to bring the teacher to find them. Carol and Coni were busy unwrapping the bandages from Irina's body and wiping away the remaining blood. Seeing her smooth, fair skin, Irina finally sighed in relief.

"Thank you so much, Carol. Otherwise, it would have left a scar," Coni said.

"Thanks, Carol. I'll treat you to ice cream next time," Irina smiled at him.

"Then I'll be waiting for you to treat me," Carol smiled back.

Wei climbed up a tree and, seeing a patch of exposed ground amidst the lush greenery, sighed, "Teacher Sophina is truly amazing. No wonder she's a senior teacher at the Kulandtin Academy. When will I be as strong as her?"

"You'll never be that strong in your lifetime."

Wei jumped down from the tree, angry, "Irina, why do you always argue with me? I didn't provoke you, did I?"

"Hmph." Irina turned her head away and ignored him.

Coni said, "Although she is very powerful, I remember that the three-headed fire python is also a fire-type creature. Its scales can withstand temperatures up to 2400°C. I wonder if it can be harmed."

"Don't worry, it definitely can," Luo said, "The white flame earlier was definitely over 2400°C!"

"What is the white flame? I've never heard of it," Coni asked.

"Hey," Wei and Irina looked at Coni, who was known as the encyclopedia, in surprise, "You don't know it either?"

Coni shook her head, "I've never seen this fire skill in any of the books I've read."

Carol suddenly said, "It's not surprising that you don't know. It's a secret technique of the Kulandtin Magic Academy. Most people only know the name. It's said that the magic book for this technique is inside the Great Blue Crystal Tower, and only the empire's fire mages or fire wizards have the qualifications to apply to study it."

Luo was surprised, "Oh, how do you know so much, Carol?"

"Uh..." Carol smiled, "Didn't you know? I have a teacher I know at Kulandtin."

"Oh, I see." Luo said, "I only heard about this technique from Teacher Sophina recently. She said it was a very powerful move. I didn't expect it to be as terrifying as she said!"

Carol nodded, "Yes. With Teacher Sophina's strength, even ordinary fire magic can reach over 3000°C, but it's still difficult to inflict fatal damage on a three-headed fire python. However, after using the white flame, that three-headed fire python probably wouldn't even have a chance to escape. So, Coni, you don't need to worry about whether the teacher can defeat it. In fact, if it weren't a three-headed fire python, other monsters of the same level wouldn't require Teacher Sophina to put in so much effort. This is also the greatest weakness of a single-attribute mage."

"Heh~!" Wei pinched his small shoulders, "I didn't expect you to know so much."

Carol and the others called out, "Idiot, it's all written in the practical combat books!"

"Is it? Coni, didn't you say it wasn't mentioned?"

Irina, trying to be patient, said, "Idiot, you're so stupid there's no cure. The books didn't mention the white flame, but everything else is clearly written. And do you have a brain to analyze? Please read the books before asking questions, don't ask such stupid questions!"

Wei was about to get angry, but seeing everyone glaring at him, he could only awkwardly scratch his head and laugh. Suddenly, he said with a dreamy look, "If the teacher could catch it and make it my summoning beast, that would be great!"

"That's absolutely impossible," Coni said.

Wei, deflated, asked weakly, "Why?"

"It's simple. There are two conditions that can't be met. First, the three-headed fire python has already been burned to ashes, so you've lost the basic condition. Second, the more powerful the monster, the prouder its nature. Unless you can conquer it yourself, it won't submit to you," Sophina suddenly emerged from the nearby woods.

"Teacher Sophina, you're back!" They all happily gathered around her.

Sophina, seeing they were all there, smiled, "I'm glad you're all safe. Bing Zhiye, thank you this time."

Bing Zhiye also came out from the woods.

Carol was curious, "Hey, Bing Zhiye, why is your face so red?"

"Ah! No, nothing, it's just too hot..." Bing Zhiye quickly lowered his hat to cover his face. Earlier, while talking to Teacher Sophina on the way, he had seen some things he shouldn't have when they floated in the air, so he had to look away.

Since it was summer, Sophina was wearing a coat and an undershirt, so the others didn't immediately notice that she was only wearing the coat.

Sophina smiled at them, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect such a big danger on this trip. I'll apologize to you at the academy later."

"It's okay, Teacher, we're not afraid," Wei smiled.

Everyone looked at him with skeptical eyes.

Sophina said, "I couldn't catch the summoning beast you wanted, I'm really sorry."

"Hehe." Wei laughed, "Teacher, you said the more powerful the monster, the prouder its nature, and it must be conquered personally. So I've decided to catch a powerful monster myself to be my summoning beast!"

"Very good, you should work hard. I look forward to your achievements," Sophina said, "It's getting late, Bing Zhiye, you should take them back to the academy first."

"Okay."

They asked curiously, "What about you, Teacher? Aren't you coming with us?"

Sophina smiled awkwardly, "I have some things to take care of here. I can't just leave this place in such a state. What if someone accidentally falls into the lava?"

They all thought about it, "Teacher, we'll go first then, see you later!"

"See you later!" Sophina waved naturally, but her other hand was tightly pressed to her side. After they left, she sat on the ground and sighed, "500 gold coins for a custom-made undershirt! And the shoes and socks..."

Back in the capital, Thebes, Bing Zhiye said to them, "You go back to the academy first, I... I have something to do."

"What is it?" Wei asked.

Coni said, "Forget it, don't ask. If he doesn't want to say, it's his own business. Don't be so nosy."

Wei, who always listened to Coni, didn't ask further and returned to the academy with the others.

Bing Zhiye sighed in relief, took out a set of keys, and went to the Red Maple District, Red Fragrance Apartment. This was where Teacher Sophina lived. Bing Zhiye had been there once before when he had dinner at her place.

Naturally, there was no one in the house. Bing Zhiye looked around and pushed open the bedroom door. The bedroom wasn't lavishly decorated, but it had a faint fragrance. If he had come here under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have been a problem, but with today's events and what he had to do, his heart was pounding.

Bing Zhiye swallowed and took a deep breath, stepping into her bedroom. The bedroom wasn't large, with a large bed in the middle, the light silver blanket neatly folded.

Sunlight filtered through the pink curtains. Bing Zhiye opened a wardrobe by the wall and quickly closed it again, startled. He looked a bit like a thief, thinking why he didn't ask Coni or Irina to come with him. It would have been more convenient with them.

Bing Zhiye opened another wardrobe, which was filled with outerwear and dresses. He could see that these clothes were not only beautiful but also made of special materials, likely for fire resistance. He chose a silver-blue short dress and placed it on the bed, then opened another compartment of the wardrobe.

This compartment had two layers. Seeing what was inside, Bing Zhiye's face turned red, but he didn't immediately close the door as he had before. He picked up an undergarment and examined it, then picked up a bra and looked at it, "Which one should I take? Forget it, I'll take them all." He quickly threw the two items on the bed. He was even more hesitant to look at the items in the lower layer, so he closed his eyes and randomly picked a pair of underwear, threw it with the other items, and wrapped them in an outer coat. He fell to the ground, exhausted, "This is not a job for a human~!"

Just then, there was a knock on the door...