Chapter 1561
Chapter 1561: Section 1562: Fulfilling Promises Chapter 1561: Section 1562: Fulfilling Promises Is it only the natural attraction between bear children?
“Strange friendship.” Angel murmured softly and then paid no more attention.
The process of the competition was not worth mentioning. Qi Li overwhelmed Loki with an absolute advantage, leaving nothing behind.
The only exciting part was probably the scene where Loki's white sand rhino was scorched black by flames, and Loki was hugging the rhino's neck and sobbing loudly.
Accompanied by Qi Li mercilessly hanging Loki upside down in midair, Angel found the scene quite pitiful, but as Loki's mentor, Lien was watching with great interest, clicking his tongue and saying, “Such a beautiful scene, it must be captured and appreciated over and over again.”
Well, that's some very real mentor-apprentice affection. Angel thought to himself.
The competition ended with Loki's sobs. Qi Li turned around and left without a care, while Loki, looking sad, lay on the battered white sand rhino and walked towards Hermes.
Lien had to go to meet Loki and along the way correct some mistakes Loki made during the competition, so he parted ways with Angel. Watching Lien hurry away, Angel couldn't help but feel that he was not just going to correct Loki's mistakes, but also likely to mock Loki while his tear stains were still fresh, right? After all, participation is also very important.
Angel then left the stands and went through the judges' special passage to the backstage of the contestants.
He was prepared to meet Qi Li.
The backstage area for the contestants was quite large, but there weren't many people inside. Apart from Qi Li, only the two contestants for the next match were there. These contestants sat far apart from one another, seemingly tense as if on the edge of a confrontation, but upon Qi Li's arrival, they immediately stopped talking, sitting there cautiously, not daring to make eye contact with Qi Li.
The somewhat conflicting atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
The entrance of Angel broke the silent equilibrium between the two contestants and gave them an opportunity to leave with dignity.
The two pitiful contestants, who had been trembling under Qi Li's aura, bowed to Angel as soon as they saw him. Using the excuse of not wanting to intrude, they quickly left.
Qi Li sat in the corner and did not immediately raise her head, but her black cat Luna by her feet elegantly strutted over to Angel and softly meowed.
Angel squatted down and stroked the soft fur under Luna's chin.
The last time he saw Luna, Angel had transformed his appearance, and this proud, appearance-conscious cat had shown obvious resistance. This time, however, she was very cooperative, lifting her head and squinting her eyes as she enjoyed Angel's massage.
Then, Qi Li finally noticed Luna's movements and looked up, “Oh, it's Angel…Wizard Pat.”
“Just call me Angel.”
Qi Li fell silent for a moment: “Why are you here? I heard you've been teaching at Ashiliye lately?”
Angel sat opposite Qi Li, and the black cat Luna, very cooperatively, jumped onto Angel's lap, elegantly coiled her body to rest, her black tail contentedly swaying up and down.
Qi Li glanced at Luna, saying nothing.
“Yes, I have been teaching at Ashiliye, but my teaching has temporarily ended now.” Angel paused for a moment: “Are you very concerned about my teaching? If I teach again next time, I can reserve a spot for you.”
“Forget it,” Qi Li replied. “I'm currently not interested in alchemy. I just want to become an Official Wizard as soon as possible.” At least… not to be left too far behind by you.
“My advancement was actually an accident…” Angel sighed softly, planning to use this as a way to tell Qi Li not to be too obsessed with advancement and to take things step by step.
However, before Angel could finish speaking, Qi Li interrupted him: “Did your advancement involve the use of potions or specific external aids?”
Angel instinctively replied, “No.”
Qi Li remained indifferent: “That's fine, then. You didn't advance by damaging your potential; it's not an accident because you have the foundation. You could have advanced at any time.”
Qi Li's comment seemed somewhat reasonable, leaving Angel suddenly with little to say.
After pondering for a moment, Angel decided not to advise any further. Perhaps due to her personality, Qi Li sometimes had a clearer understanding of matters than many wizards. Qi Li would have her own clear judgment and, if nothing else, had the support of Kanter.
To Qi Li, Kanter sometimes acted almost like a father figure. It was quite different from the mentor-apprentice relationship between Lien and Loki.
So, when it came time to advance, Kanter would surely guard Qi Li, and Angel, an outsider, didn't need to say more.
“You haven't answered my previous question: what are you doing here, looking for me?” Qi Li watched Angel quietly.
“I'm here to give you this,” Angel said while extracting a transparent observation container from his bracelet.
Inside the observation box, a thin layer of blood coated the bottom, with stones stacked on the edges forming a pool of essence blood. A greenish, slug-like viscous creature was drinking heavily by the edge of the pool, its body pulsating with each drink, set against a backdrop of dark red blood, looking quite repulsive.
However, Qi Li did not mind its disgusting appearance at all and observed the snotty creature in the box with curiosity.
Qi Li didn't recognize the identity of the snotty creature at first. It took quite a while before something seemed to click in her mind, and memories buried deep in her brain surfaced. One particular memory fragment caught Qi Li's attention–
It was the scene of reading books in the library of the House of Lilith.
Qi Li sat alone in the circular library, engrossed in a rare, out-of-print volume, one of which was an issue of “Where is the Magical Beast”. The section that intrigued her the most was page 138, which detailed a peculiar magical insect known as the Pliant Worm.
Awakening from her memories, Qi Li compared the shape of the snotty creature in the box with what she remembered from the book.
“It looks like a Pliant Worm queen? Or should I say…” Qi Li paused, choosing not to utter another name.
Angel, however, filled in for her, “Transforming Soft-bodied Insect.”
A flicker of surprise and disbelief crossed Qi Li's eyes, “Is this really a Transforming Soft-bodied Insect?”
“Yes,” Angel nodded affirmatively.
It was indeed a Transforming Soft-bodied Insect, and it had been cultivated just yesterday, a larvae. Although Hua Que had stayed at Black Castle, reducing the number by one and significantly slowing down the cultivating speed, thankfully, Popota's cultivating skills were excellent and he had prior success. Finally, another Transforming Soft-bodied Insect was cultivated.
Although this Transforming Soft-bodied Insect was slightly different in appearance compared to the last one, not of the highest tier, it was still a top-quality specimen among its kind.
Even in the era when Transforming Soft-bodied Insects weren't extinct, it could fetch a top price.
Angel handed the observation box to Qi Li.
Since the Transforming Soft-bodied Insect had not been seen in years, Qi Li was still in shock, unconsciously taking the observation box. By the time she realized, the box was already in her hands.
A hint of embarrassment passed across Qi Li's face, hesitating she asked, “Is this for me?”
Angel nodded, “Of course.”
Seeing Angel's confirmation, Qi Li seemed to understand, “Are these the Pliant Worm eggs that the mentor gave you and that hatched?”
After receiving confirmation, a look of astonishment flashed in Qi Li's eyes. When she first met Angel, she knew the Mentor had given him some eggs and a nesting box, back then Kanter said that they were things that couldn't hatch, it wouldn't be a loss. But now it seemed like a huge loss.
However, Qi Li also understood she was judging outcome retrospectively; perhaps the Pliant Worm eggs wouldn't have had the chance to hatch in Kanter's hands.
Since the Mentor had given them to Angel, Qi Li understood that they belonged to Angel.
Thus, when Angel handed over the Transforming Soft-bodied Insect, Qi Li really wanted to refuse. But with the insect having gone extinct in the outside world, nobody knew if she would ever have the opportunity to encounter it again. So the words of refusal lingered in her throat for a long time but still didn't come out.
Seeing Qi Li's hesitation, Angel knew what she was thinking and explained, “Since I am giving it to you, it means I already have one of my own, so you don't need to worry.”
“And I had promised Lord Ru Ye that if I managed to cultivate a Transforming Soft-bodied Insect, I would keep one for you. I couldn't possibly break my word.”
Qi Li eventually accepted it with difficulty, nodding her thanks to Angel, “Thank you.”
Given Qi Li's personality, hearing a 'thank you' from her was not easy. Angel smiled and said, “I am simply keeping a promise.”
After accepting it, Angel couldn't resist asking, “I've been researching skin grafting recently and have had significant insights, would you like me to assist you with a transplantation?”
Angel was genuinely eager to practice in reality since so far, his experience had only been in the Nightmare Realm.
Alas, Qi Li declined.
Though Angel felt slightly disappointed at not being able to practice formally, he could understand Qi Li's reasoning.
While Qi Li did not shun Angel's approach, for a matter that might involve privacy, given her independent, self-reliant, and somewhat arrogant personality, it would be difficult for her to allow someone else's assistance.
“I'll be staying at the estate in the suburbs until the New Star Competition ends. If you change your mind, you can find me there,” Angel still wasn't ready to give up and added one last line.
This time, Qi Li didn't refuse and nodded in agreement.
After handing over the Transforming Soft-bodied Insect to Qi Li, Angel felt a sense of relief at fulfilling a promise, and they talked casually about recent happenings.
Even though Qi Li seemed a bit softened by the act of receiving a gift, due to her personality, she was still quite detached but willing to converse more than usual.
During their chat, Angel could still see Qi Li's utmost dedication to Jiebo. In fact, her participation in the New Star Competition was also to defeat Jiebo.
However, Angel was not very optimistic about her chances.
Jiebo could currently be considered the strongest among the Apprentices, and those who could defeat him were almost nonexistent… that's not right, Xiliu is an exception, but he is special.
Not being optimistic didn't mean Angel would demoralize Qi Li by voicing his doubts, so he diverted the conversation away from Jiebo, “Speaking of which, during this competition, have you encountered any participants of particular interest to you?”