39 A Magnificent Welcome

The Blue Qilin took a hundred flaps of its wings to cross the area of hundred kilometers and arrive at the center of the capital, the Crimson Star Academy.

One swing with its massive wings created storms of wind strong enough to collapse buildings. For that reason, it had to fly above the clouds which blocked the magnificent view of the city from the youngsters sitting on its scales.

While one may think the Qilin was dissatisfied with having to carry these immature kids, it was actually the opposite. The Qilin was in the happiest time of its life since it remembers.

Why?

Because on his back were two figures with the potential to reach beyond the limits of this world. It could think like humans and naturally understood who the one from the prophecy was. The kid whose soul was an endless abyss, who else? The first glance at Asura Ryuu's eyes made its blood boil - the blood of the ancient beast on the same level as the Dragons! If merely his look can do that as a kid, what will become of him in the future?

The Qilin flew down as clouds separated in front of it, welcoming its arrival. Before the children's eyes appeared a majestic palace-like structure without an end, surrounded by nine pagodas corresponding to the nine stars in the sky. Each pagoda had one color and was situated toward the corresponding sun's setting place. In the middle of that palace was an enormous sky-reaching tower made of entirely black material with dragons coiling around it.

The tower had a magical feeling to it which attracted the children's gaze. There were some characters written on it, but only the Princess could read what they said because others didn't know how to read yet. Because she knew of that, her gentle voice resounded.

"Star-Reflecting Tower."

Her words were powerful and clear, but her enchanting magnetic voice made them seem different. Even though she said that consciously, she didn't realize her eyes weren't staring at the tower but at the place where one youth glanced around. Her eyes were watching Asura Ryuu. She finally came to an agreement with herself, concluding that the feeling she had felt before was curiosity.

She didn't know why she was curious about someone so common. Yes, she saw this kid as a mere commoner because his clothes were nothing out of the ordinary. The only thing that didn't classify him as a commoner was his godly appearance. The poor girl was taught to judge people by how they looked, but was it her fault? Even though she is a Princess, before that she is also a young innocent kid.

Asura Ryuu naturally felt her gaze even without turning back, because he already knew the only person capable of resisting the appeal of that black tower was someone who either had a very strong Spirit Power or someone who already saw it.

The ones falling under the first case were only him and Asura Tenka.

Then that only leaves the second case - someone who has already seen the tower. Ignoring the fact that the Princess was most likely the one who could come to this place without being a student of the Academy, even if it was someone else - why would they look at him, an ordinary boy?

If they haven't met his gaze, there was no need to look at him. Even if it was by pure chance, their gazes wouldn't be so powerful.

Regardless of how he approached the person in question, the Princess was the only likely case.

"Not only Qilin, but the Princess as well. What do they see in me?", he thought.

The Qilin released its Spirit Energy, enveloping everyone in it and dispersing them through the air as it shrunk in size. There was an empty platform where it could land but it didn't want to take up the entire area so it reduced it size to the one that was even smaller than before. The children enveloped by sapphire-colored Spirit Energy safely landed on the area. There were around two to three thousand children occupying the square, surrounded by the young people with similar uniforms. The only difference among their uniforms were the color and a different pattern. The design was exactly the same for all of them.

With the arrival of the Blue Qilin, the previously empty area was soon filled with strange fluctuations of energy and Spirit Power. The interesting fact is that all of these people were members of the Crimson Star Academy, but it was only natural because this was the heart of the academy.

There were dozens of elders of the academy, donned in crimson clothes that were exclusively reserved and custom-made for them.

Those robes were the symbol of respect and power within this empire. Seeing the red-robbed elder was the same as if seeing his majesty, the Emperor. Yet there were several people in these robes welcoming these children. Even the Emperor himself didn't have such an honor, yet why were these children able to enjoy this occasion?

Because among them was the one they were looking for, the child of destiny.

The Qilin landed in front of the female elder who had a stunning look of a woman in the middle of her twenties. Plump body with obvious curves was hidden under the majestic crimson garment with a golden outline around the crimson star that was resting on the black surface. The black surface was in the shape of a well-known pattern in this world - the nonagon formed from nine stars. At each point was a different-colored star and in the middle was a crimson four-point star.

The elder nodded to the Qilin and whispered something to it, to which the Qilin shook its head and touched her forehead with its horn. Her pupils contracted for a brief moment and then she nodded while showing a resigned look. Asura Ryuu naturally noticed this because he was also curious about this Qilin. How could he not be curious after that awesome-as-hell feeling he had while riding on its back?

The Qilin retreated behind the female and sat down, followed by the strange looks of other elders.

"Elder Lan, why is Little Blue staying?", one of the elders asked. This elder was a man with half-open eyes who appeared to be in his thirties. He was looking at 'Elder Lan' with the eyes of a wolf staring at its prey. His eyes reflected the world of his imagination, but in reality he was pestering Elder Lan for quite a while even though he was unsuccessful in his ways.

Elder Lan didn't refute him so he thought she might have left a tiny bit of chance, but the reality was that she didn't have any backing except her own strong power and didn't dare reject him directly because his grandmother was a vice-dean of the Crimson Star Academy. Although there was one person above the vice-dean and that was the mysterious dean who was missing last nine years, she was practically the one leading the academy in his absence.

He departed to 'experience the world' and didn't return for nine years. This year would be the tenth and if he didn't return this year either, his position would be stripped and the vice-dean would take over in his place. Considering that he wasn't on the good terms with the vice-dean, if he didn't return this year there would be no place for him in the academy anymore.