Chen Ling held Sui Li’er’s hand and walked out amidst the curious gazes of everyone.

The three of them walked in silence. Even when they did nothing while walking, they still attracted the attention of others.

Yan Ran had the aura of a mature and elegant lady, while Chen Ling and Sui Li’er, needless to say, seemed like they had stepped out of a two-dimensional world. Their presence had a 100% head-turning effect along the way.

Chen Ling and Sui Li’er managed to create a strong sense of presence once again.

In the office, when Qitian Ming and Duyin saw Chen Ling and Sui Li’er arrive, their expressions turned serious.

Yan Ran walked over to Qitian Ming’s side and looked at Chen Ling and Sui Li’er before her.

Chen Ling, with a casual expression, said, “What do you want from me?”

His tone was highly impatient. Although Qitian Ming was displeased by his tone, he didn’t dare to say much. He took a deep breath, tried to control his tone, and said, “Chen Ling, I know you’re very powerful… I won’t ask why you’re so strong. I just have a few simple questions to ask you.”

Chen Ling remained silent, showing no expression, and simply looked at Qitian Ming.

“Did you capture Yingxin?”

Chen Ling chuckled at the question, didn’t speak, and essentially confirmed it.

Qitian Ming furrowed his brows and asked in a stern tone, “You captured her, so what’s your intention?”

Chen Ling nonchalantly replied, “No intention.”

Qitian Ming, Yan Ran, and Duyin: ???

Just as the three of them were left speechless, Sui Li’er voiced her confusion, “Did you really take Yingxin away?”

Chen Ling glanced down at her, concerned that she might get jealous, and explained, “Yeah, I brought her back and plucked her leg hair.”

???

Qitian Ming and the others were all dumbfounded at once.

The statement sounded absurd, yet for some reason, they felt that Chen Ling was being truthful.

When Chen Ling explained this way, Sui Li’er realized that he was torturing the Dark Mage – punishing the wicked and promoting the good! Truly worthy of being a Lord God~

“Will you let her go?”

“I won’t. I understand your concerns, but rest assured, I’ll take good care of them.”

Qitian Ming felt more reassured hearing this, “The words in the sky above Misty Rain City, you wrote them, didn’t you?”

Chen Ling nodded, “What about it?”

Qitian Ming and Yan Ran had suspected as much, but seeing him admit it still surprised them.

The most surprised one was Duyin. He had also been studying the large characters in the sky. Initially, people thought it was some kind of machinery that had created them. After all, to sustain such a vast number of runes required an unimaginable amount of magical energy. Almost everyone believed that it was either a machine or a Forbidden Curse Master.

Apart from Forbidden Curse Masters, no one possessed that much magical energy.

However, he had never imagined that the masterpiece in the sky was actually created by his own student, Chen Ling. So, what was Chen Ling’s true strength?

“Can it be canceled?” Qitian Ming suddenly spoke up.

Chen Ling responded nonchalantly, “No.”

“Why?”

Chen Ling sneered, “Next question.”

Qitian Ming’s expression froze, his eyebrows involuntarily furrowing. He sighed, “Was the barrier over the Misty Rain City also set up by you?”

Chen Ling nodded but remained silent.

Qitian Ming opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn’t figure out how to phrase it.

Chen Ling’s unyielding attitude was giving him a headache. He felt that in Chen Ling’s presence, he wasn’t the dean; Chen Ling was the dean!

Seeing this, Chen Ling chuckled, “I can remove the barrier.”

Qitian Ming’s face lit up. He actually agreed?

“However…”

Chen Ling suddenly started laughing, his eyes playful as he looked at Qitian Ming and his group. Finally, his gaze fell on Duyin.

“Do you still have dark mages? Give me a few…”

Qitian Ming and his companions were all stunned. They exchanged glances and saw the complex expressions in each other’s eyes. In the end, Qitian Ming didn’t say anything, but Duyin spoke up, “Uh, I need to report this to my superiors first.”

There were no dark mages at the Aries Celestial Academy. The one Duyin brought today was from the Magic Association of Misty Rain City. This was another role of Duyin’s, a core member of the Magic Association of the city.

Chen Ling smiled and nodded, “Sure, whenever you have dark mages in place…”

“Five dark mages, and I’ll remove the barrier.”

Duyin: ???

You’re pushing it too far!

“No.” Duyin directly refused Chen Ling.

Chen Ling sneered, “Then there’s nothing more to discuss.”

Duyin frowned tightly and said, “Currently, our association is only detaining three dark mages. The others have all been handed over to the enforcement team.”

“Furthermore, your barrier only allows entry, not exit. The members of the association can’t even catch dark mages, let alone complete the bounty tasks or leave the city! Where do you expect us to find five dark mages for you?”

Chen Ling nodded, “Oh, that’s a bit of a pity then.”

“Three will also do. In recognition of your sincerity, I’ll cut you a deal, a friendly price for three dark mages .”

“But when I take delivery, I’ll need to inspect the goods. I’m not interested in ordinary dark mages.”

“You…”

Robbery, huh…

When a dark mage is captured and handed over to the enforcement team, they receive rewards based on the assessed danger level of the dark mage. The rewards can be quite substantial.

The assessment for some dark mages hadn’t been completed yet, so they were still at the association.

Chen Ling asking for three at once would be a huge loss for the association. However, if he didn’t remove the barrier, the association’s losses would be even greater.

Being unable to complete tasks for an extended period would disrupt the entire association’s functioning. Over time, even the most powerful association would collapse.

Duyin was about to say something else, but he thought better of it and simply nodded, “I can’t make that decision. I’ll discuss it with the association’s president when I return.”

Chen Ling smiled at this response. He believed that as long as the association’s president had a functioning brain, they would agree to his request.

His mood immediately improved, and he looked at Qitian Ming with a cheerful grin, “Is there anything else? If you have any more requests, feel free to ask.”

Qitian Ming, seeing Chen Ling suddenly being so cooperative, felt a sense of relief and was about to speak up.

Chen Ling continued to smile and said, “As per your request, dark mages for trade.”

Qitian Ming: “…”

I knew it, he wasn’t going to be that easy to deal with.

Qitian Ming sighed helplessly, “I just hope that when you take action, you’ll be gentle and not cause damage to the academy.”

“That underground space you broke through today will cost at least 200,000 curse coins to repair…”

“200,000?”

Sui Sui blinked and stared at Chen Ling. 200,000 was an astronomical figure for her.

Little did she know that the cost of the massive meals she consumed every day far exceeded that…

What should she do… that’s a lot of money? She worried that Chen Ling wouldn’t be able to afford it.

At this moment, Qitian Ming spoke again, “But I won’t ask you for compensation. Just promise not to do this kind of thing again in the future.”

Hearing Dean Qi say this, Sui Sui inner thoughts were, Dean is such a good person.

However, Chen Ling sneered at the words, “One dark mage will ensure your academy’s safety for a month. Consider it protection money.”

Qitian Ming: ???

Yan Ran: ???

Duyin: ???

Are you out of your mind?

We’ve managed to avoid asking you for compensation, and now you’re asking us for protection money?

Isn’t this a bit too much?!