Chapter 4: The Crest of the Dragon Wing and the Christin Family

Ice Zhi stood by the window in his room, holding a cup of iced coffee, looking at the night view of the imperial capital. The metropolis, shrouded in darkness, was illuminated by the colorful lights. A light blue carriage passed under the colored streetlights, immediately drawing the attention of the surrounding pedestrians. The carriage bore the emblem of a dragon wing, the crest of the Christin family.

The carriage moved slowly and finally disappeared into a noble-exclusive teleportation array.

In the northwest of Dibelas, the carriage stopped outside a mansion. A man in his fifties, with a robust figure, got off the carriage, accompanied by two guards. This man was the current Duke of the Christin family, one of the five major families in the imperial capital, Christin Shavallo.

Entering the mansion, the man took off his red cloak and handed it to the guard.

"Father, why are you back so late? Is there something happening in the palace?" A middle-aged man walked out from the living room.

Shavallo was a bit surprised by the appearance of the middle-aged man: "Harnard, why are you here?"

After embracing, Harnard said: "I just came from my fief today. I heard that Bimoye is going to study at Kulandin. I thought he would go to the Royal Inner School, so I came to take a look."

Shavallo smiled: "Don't think this boy is usually quiet, but he is as stubborn as your brother. What he wants to do, no one can change. He can still go to Kulandin to study even if he enters the Royal Inner School. I don't know what he's thinking, but he insists on going to Kulandin College and wants to live on campus."

"Ha ha ha. This kid has always been quiet, and no one really knows what he's thinking." Harnard added: "I heard that my brother is doing well on the front lines. There has been some friction between the empire and Saint Bicaya recently. He should be more careful."

"Um." Shavallo said: "I have already written to your brother. He will be careful. By the way, is Bimoye asleep?"

Harnard smiled: "How could he be? He is practicing martial arts and magic in the yard. He even had a sparring match with me just now."

Shavallo also smiled: "He was happy when you came. He is closest to you. Usually, he doesn't say more than a few words to me, his grandfather."

"Father is too busy. The diplomatic tensions with Saint Bicaya have made it even harder for you to come back." Harnard accompanied his father Shavallo to the yard, talking while watching Bimoye's practice.

Under the moonlight, Bimoye wielded a steel spear, sweeping and thrusting, creating a silver glow. Magic, controlled by his will, flashed continuously in the yard, and his swift movements were almost too fast to follow.

"Bimoye is really getting stronger. When I was his age, I wasn't as good as him." Harnard said.

Shavallo said: "Our Christin family has the blood of Tegarin, and our red eyes determine that we are all geniuses. Bimoye is a genius among geniuses in our family. Whether our family can return to the glory of our ancestors depends on him."

Tegarin: According to legend, he is the offspring of the Aurora God Haphides and the dragon race, a divine beast that震慑s the abyss. Of course, this is just a legend. Christin Tegarin created the most glorious period of the Christin family and also created the current Christin family, who is revered by his descendants as the ancestor.

Harnard looked at Bimoye in the yard and asked again: "Father, why did you come back so late today? Is there something happening in the palace?"

"Um, there is something." Shavallo said: "The crown prince is already eighteen years old, and the emperor wants him to gain experience on the front lines. However, the prince wants to go to the Mute Lu Province's Monster Forest for training and plans to set out in a few days. Today, we have been discussing the crown prince's guard. Since you are here, I want you to accompany and guard the crown prince."

Harnard smiled: "I will follow Father's arrangements."

Shavallo turned to look at his son, placed his hand on his shoulder, and sighed: "You are already thirty years old and have not yet married. The emperor's seventh princess has always been interested in you, and the emperor also intends to arrange this marriage. She will accompany the crown prince, and I hope you will take good care of her."

Harnard thought for a moment and said: "I will follow Father's arrangements."

The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten. In a luxurious bedroom of the Christin family, Bimoye was sleeping on the bed in a very proper posture, lying straight without looking stiff. On the silver soft bed, a cat suddenly appeared next to the boy.

Bimoye opened his eyes and immediately saw two people standing by the bed, Eulalia and Selt. These two were also the grandchildren of the five major families in the imperial capital, and like Bimoye, they were the eldest grandsons who would inherit the hereditary titles. These three young men of the same age were known as the three great geniuses of the imperial capital.

Selt smiled and said: "You lazy bum, we are all up, but you are still in bed."

Bimoye sat up, glanced at them expressionlessly, picked up the fat cat, and threw it off the bed. He ignored them and fell back asleep.

"Hehe, you actually dare to sleep." Selt seemed a bit angry.

Eulalia, with her arms crossed, laughed lightly: "You made him angry by throwing the cat. You knew he would be angry, yet you still did it."

Selt snapped his fingers, and flames appeared on his finger. He laughed: "What, is he angry?"

Eulalia said: "Do you dare to burn? I don't think you have the guts."

"Who says I don't?" Selt said, and the flame on his fingertip turned into a fireball, ready to be released.

Just as Eulalia was about to watch the show, Bimoye suddenly sat up, slowly turned his head, and looked at Selt coldly.

The fireball, which was flying in the air, suddenly stopped. Selt laughed dryly: "I didn't mean to do anything. I just find the fireball more interesting lately, Eulalia, don't you think so?" The fireball disappeared in his palm.

Eulalia burst into laughter.

Bimoye said nothing, got out of bed, dressed slowly, and after washing up, he asked: "What are you here for?"

Eulalia, with her hands behind her head, said: "You are really not nice. I heard you registered for Kulandin College but didn't tell us."

Selt also said: "Yeah, you haven't come to see us for the past two days. You registered for Kulandin without telling us, almost making us decide to enter the Royal Inner School."

Bimoye drank a glass of fresh milk and looked at them questioningly.

Selt laughed: "We also registered for Kulandin. We will study together and have a good competition."

Eulalia took a bite of a fruit and asked: "I don't understand why you directly registered for Kulandin College. Wouldn't going to the Royal Inner School allow you to study at Kulandin as well?"

Bimoye ignored him and continued eating the breakfast prepared by the servants.

"You guy, really." Eulalia, seeing he wouldn't explain, pouted in frustration.

Selt said: "The crown prince is going to the Monster Forest. My father originally wanted me to go, but I refused."

Eulalia said: "The Monster Forest, one of the ten most dangerous places on the continent, I have always wanted to go. My father also had this idea, but I don't like going with a large group. It's not exciting with too many people."

Selt smiled and said: "It seems we are really friends, thinking the same thing."

Bimoye ignored their conversation, as if he were the only one in the room.

Selt and Eulalia looked at Bimoye, sighed in their hearts, and shook their heads.

Selt thought for a moment and said: "I heard that Kulandin was burglarized a few days ago."

Eulalia said: "What's the big deal? With so many people living in the school, it's normal for a thief to steal something."

"No." Selt said: "The thief didn't steal ordinary things. He broke into the Blue Crystal Tower."

Eulalia was surprised, and even Bimoye listened attentively.

Eulalia said: "Who told you this? I haven't heard of it. Is it just a rumor?"

Selt snorted: "It's not a rumor. I heard it from my father yesterday."

"Oh! It seems to be true." Eulalia thought for a moment but didn't say anything, just asked: "What was stolen?"

Selt said: "Nothing was stolen. The thief was driven away by the dean of Kulandin."

"Driven away? Didn't they catch the thief?" Eulalia pondered and said: "The Blue Crystal Tower is protected by the Illusory Magic Barrier, created by the Great Mage Vashirub. There are also guards inside the barrier. Only a Great Mage or someone extremely proficient in spatial magic and magic arrays could pass these two barriers. Or, it could be a peak expert or a Dragon Knight who could break the barrier."

Selt shook his head: "If the barrier was broken, the entire Kulandin would know immediately. But in fact, the thief quietly infiltrated the Blue Crystal Tower. It is said that the dean felt the change in the barrier and went to check, only to find the thief. The dean even engaged in a fight with the person, but the person escaped after just two moves."

Eulalia's face changed again. To escape from the dean of one of the largest academies in the world in just two moves was indeed shocking. Eulalia asked: "Did the dean see the person's face?"

Selt said: "I don't know. I was discovered by my father and chased away before I heard more. But it's likely that the person's face wasn't seen, otherwise, there would have been a city-wide manhunt."

Eulalia nodded: "That makes sense."

Selt saw that Bimoye had finished his breakfast and asked: "Where are we going to play?"

'Knock knock knock' Blue was meditating on an array in the room when he suddenly heard someone knocking on the door. Ice Zhi quickly erased the diagram on the ground, put away his notebook, and opened the door. It turned out to be Isabel, whom he had met at dinner the previous evening: "Is there something?"

Kornelia smiled sweetly: "Xileste, do you have time? We need your help."

Kornelia was slightly taller than Ice Zhi, so he lifted his hat to look at her and asked: "What is it?"

"We received a task from the Mercenary Guild to repair a knight's armor. Although we all know a bit of magic, it would be better to have a mage. We are worried about damaging the armor, so we want to ask for your help. If we repair it, the reward is fifteen gold coins, and we can split the money with you."

Seven gold coins was a considerable sum for most people, enough to stay and eat at such an inn for ten days. But Ice Zhi didn't care about the amount of money. He understood why they were willing to give him so much. One reason was that they were wealthy, and the other was that their goal was not the money but the work.