Lin Yingqing spoke softly, "The Sanctus is born from the Magus, but the Magus can only be subdued by the Sanctus. They are polar opposites of emotion, yet deeply intertwined because of it. Glenn, you are very fortunate to have Hermione by your side, influencing you. Without her, it would be impossible for you to suppress the power of the Magus within you for such a long time, relying solely on your own strength."
"Yes, I am fortunate," Glenn replied, gently brushing the little girl's cheek. His expression was solemn as he responded to his grandmother.
Glenn believed himself to be the luckiest person in the world. To have been reborn after death into this life, to have met his parents, to have encountered Hermione, and to live in such a beautiful environment—no matter how much hardship or suffering awaited him in the future, Glenn felt it was all worth it.
Meeting them had exhausted all the luck he had accumulated in his past life, this life, and perhaps even the lives to come.
After hearing his grandmother's explanation, he could now feel the influence of the Sanctus emanating from Hermione's body.
A stream of pure, white, sacred energy flowed continuously into his limbs, wrapping around the black mist hidden within him. Whenever the restless Obscurial came into contact with this warm current, it would calm down, ceasing its attempts to break free and wreak havoc.
Having learned about the concept of the Sanctus within her, Hermione tried to tap into this power. Sure enough, an unfamiliar sensation emerged. For the first time, the little girl truly sensed something different within herself.
Although her face was still flushed, she raised her head to meet Glenn's gaze and said earnestly, "Glenn, I will protect you from the harm of the Obscurial!"
Faced with Glenn's pitch-black eyes, altered by the influence of the Obscurial, Hermione attempted to draw upon the warm current within her—the power known as the Sanctus. Gentle white light gathered in her brown eyes, emitting a faint, ethereal glow.
Hermione was no longer affected by Glenn's gaze.
"From now on, you protect me, and I'll protect you," she said with a sweet smile.
Hermione remained unaffected by Glenn, but Glenn, on the other hand, found himself captivated by the smiling girl in his arms.
Noticing Glenn's dazed expression, Hermione became aware of the unusual atmosphere. She felt her body grow weak, her gaze faltering. Yet, in the end, she couldn't help but steal a glance at Glenn with her big, watery eyes.
Perhaps, if it were just the two of them here, time might have frozen in this moment.
But that was impossible.
A pair of eyes was watching them intently.
Lin Yingqing, the self-proclaimed chief supporter of the Glenn-Hermione pairing, had somehow procured a watermelon, already sliced and neatly arranged on a plate. She was now eating it in small bites.
Kiss already! Why aren't they kissing?
Amid the ambiguous atmosphere between the two, Glenn and Hermione simply stared at each other, making no further moves. This uncharacteristic hesitation even made Lin Yingqing—a woman of great poise, gentleness, and composure—feel a twinge of impatience.
I'm waiting to hold my great-grandchildren. Hurry up!
Oh, right. They're only twelve years old. Never mind.
But that doesn't mean they can't kiss!
Seeing something so beautiful always lifts the spirits. It's good for the body, too.
Lin Yingqing looked at her grandson, who seemed as dense as a block of wood, with a mix of frustration and amusement.
Fortunately, Glenn's extraordinary willpower allowed him to quickly break free from the strange but not unpleasant atmosphere.
Well, reluctantly break free.
Glenn, too, wanted to linger in this inexplicable yet comforting feeling. But reason told him there were other matters to attend to.
There would be time to reconnect with the little girl later, after everything else was taken care of.
Besides, something had just occurred to him.
Reluctantly tearing his gaze away, Glenn tightened his arms slightly to prevent Hermione from slipping off his lap. He calmly asked his grandmother, "Grandmother, since you mentioned that the Sanctus, like the Magus, is one of the special elements beyond the basic four of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire, does it also have its own… cultivation techniques?"
For a moment, Glenn thought he heard his grandmother let out a soft "tsk."
Lin Yingqing put down her watermelon. Her hands and lips were impeccably clean, without a trace of juice.
So elegant. Too elegant!
She nodded, confirming Glenn's speculation.
"Yes, although the conditions for forming the Sanctus are extremely rare, there have been a few individuals in the history of the Dragon Kingdom who possessed it. Without exception, they all became great sorcerers and developed cultivation techniques tailored to the characteristics of the Sanctus."
She glanced regretfully at Glenn and Hermione, who were no longer interacting. It seemed today's progress would end here.
The path to holding her great-grandchildren was still a long one. More effort would be needed to assist them.
"Well, since you're both ready, we can set off now for the North China School of Sorcery." Lin Yingqing snapped her fingers, clearing the table. She then stood and walked gracefully toward an unassuming small room in the courtyard, gesturing for the two to follow.
Glenn set the little girl down, took her hand, and followed his grandmother.
The little girl, despite nearly fainting from embarrassment moments ago, was now brimming with curiosity about the unknown. Driven by her insatiable thirst for knowledge, she momentarily forgot her earlier feelings. In fact, she even found Glenn's pace too slow, pulling him forward as she hurried to catch up with Lin Yingqing.
Lin Yingqing stopped in front of the wooden door of the small room, waiting for the two to join her.
Once Glenn and Hermione were by her side, Lin Yingqing didn't immediately open the door. Instead, she began explaining.
"This is a 'Portal,' one of the transportation methods used in the Dragon Kingdom's sorcery world for quickly reaching distant locations. However, using a Portal requires a certain amount of spiritual energy and a complex spatial alignment process. Otherwise, it would have been widely adopted in Dragon Kingdom society long ago."
The two nodded, finding it somewhat similar to the Floo Powder network they were familiar with.
"To connect two locations, a Portal requires pre-established magical patterns to create the link. Opening a Portal involves specific gestures, spiritual energy input, and a password, which can be set by the Portal's owner." As she explained, Lin Yingqing moved her hand, adorned with the Hand of Sorcery, in the air.
Lin Yingqing stopped channeling her energy and uttered in the Dragon Kingdom language, "Activate Portal."
The wooden door before them slowly opened on its own. There were no dramatic special effects—just the simple, unremarkable sight of a door opening to reveal the room beyond.
In fact, the room beyond the Portal looked identical to the rooms in the courtyard they had just left.
If not for the faint magical energy Glenn had sensed from the Portal earlier, he might have thought his grandmother's spell had failed.
"Let's go," Lin Yingqing said with a smile, stepping through the Portal.
No, "stepping through" was more accurate. The scene within the Portal rippled slightly before returning to normal. On the other side, Lin Yingqing turned back to smile at them.
Exchanging a glance, Glenn and Hermione stepped into the Portal together.
Having experienced Floo Powder before, they had mentally prepared themselves. However, to their surprise, passing through the Portal caused no discomfort. It felt as though they had passed through a thin, cool membrane, arriving in the room beyond.
The new room was noticeably smaller than the others in the courtyard, furnished with simple items like a table and chairs. Despite its simplicity, the room exuded warmth and coziness. Sunlight streamed through the windows, filling the space with a soft, gentle light.
It looked as though they were still in the courtyard, but the view outside the window had completely changed.
Once all three had passed through, the wooden door closed automatically, leaving no trace of movement.
"Open the door," Lin Yingqing instructed from behind. Glenn obediently complied, pulling the door open.
The scene outside was no longer the familiar courtyard. Instead, they stood atop a mountain peak, surrounded by a sea of clouds that gave the impression of a celestial realm.
Nearby was a lush, vibrant courtyard, dominated by a towering ancient tree at least twenty meters tall. Its branches and leaves shaded much of the space, beneath which sat a stone table and chairs—the only man-made structures in sight.
Everything felt natural and harmonious. Simply being here brought a sense of peace and tranquility.
Looking back, the three had emerged from a small wooden hut. Though unadorned, it exuded a subtle, almost imperceptible charm.
Activating his heightened senses, Glenn tried to pinpoint the source of this feeling, but the sensation eluded him.
Shaking his head, Glenn decided not to dwell on it.
"This is my resting place at the North China School of Sorcery. Isn't it beautiful?" Lin Yingqing asked with a smile.
Hermione nodded, though she found the air here a bit thin, making it slightly difficult to breathe. She hadn't yet acclimated.
Noticing the little girl's discomfort, Lin Yingqing smiled. "Our school is hidden atop a high mountain, so the air is indeed thinner. But this is intentional, to train students' cardiovascular health and physical fitness. No matter which discipline you choose here, physical training is mandatory. Take your time to adjust—it will benefit you."
Hermione nodded with a slight grimace. It was a bit uncomfortable, but thanks to her training with Glenn, she could bear it.
She glanced at Glenn, who remained as composed as ever, and playfully stuck out her tongue.
This guy really is in amazing shape.
Indeed, Glenn's training regimen far exceeded hers in intensity. With the aid of potions, his physical endurance had long surpassed that of ordinary people. The peculiar effects of his wand had further transformed his body.
Thanks to the rapid healing properties of potions, Glenn had adopted a brutal training method—destroying, healing, and rebuilding his body in pursuit of greater strength, no matter how small the gains.
It wasn't that he didn't want Hermione to train alongside him, but his methods were too harsh and painful. There was no need for the little girl to endure that. A normal training routine was perfectly suitable for her.
Lin Yingqing didn't linger in the courtyard. Leading the way, she guided the two toward a stone staircase descending the mountain.
Below, shrouded in mist, the outlines of ancient, majestic buildings could be faintly seen.
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