The world came back to YiQianluo in pieces—light first, then sound, and then the painful realization that the ground beneath her was not ground at all but something disturbingly alive.
A bed of whispering grass breathed under her palms, glowing faintly blue as if embarrassed by how clumsily she had collapsed on it. The forest around her looked painted—bark too smooth, leaves too luminous, air too clean—like someone had put nature on a skincare routine.
Qianluo pushed herself upright slowly, blinking through the haze in her mind, and tried to pretend her heart wasn't attempting to break a Guinness record.
"Okay, okay, breathe", she told herself.
"New world. Magical world. Totally fine. I mean, I don't even understand GST in my real life, but sure, throw me into a fantasy realm with evil creatures. Great!"
Her breath trembled, panic squeezing her ribs, but outwardly she held the same zoned-out calmness that came whenever she understood absolutely nothing. Her gaze drifted blankly across the glowing trees. "Pretty," she whispered. And that was the only calm she'd get today.
A sudden screech tore through the stillness, rusty and violent, like metal dragging against bone. The trees trembled. The glowing grass around her dimmed as if trying to hide her.
Qianluo froze, then rotated her head millimeter by millimeter toward the sound, praying it was just an exotic bird—or maybe a vegetarian demon, if the universe was merciful. But the thing that emerged from behind the trees was none of those.
Tall, shadowed, limbs too long to be legal, its eyes burned with a dim red curiosity. Qianluo's heart launched into a desperate sprint. I'm going to die. This is it. My funeral will be so embarrassing:
"Cause of death—killed by a scrawny nightmare lizard because she didn't study magic."
Great.
She stood, legs wobbling, and raised her hands in what she hoped looked like a spellcasting stance. The creature tilted its head. Qianluo offered a weak smile. "Listen… I may not know magic but I have… enthusiasm, yeah?" The creature screeched. She screamed right back, louder.
Just when she was sure she was about to be eaten—or adopted, depending on the creature's mood, a sharp whistle cut through the clearing. A figure stepped into view, robed in dark fabric that moved like shadows, one hand glowing faintly with controlled magic.
The creature hissed, backing away, and Qianluo would have been grateful if she wasn't busy tripping over absolutely nothing and falling straight into a bush. Leaves exploded around her like confetti. The robed stranger stared for a long second, expression unreadable.
Qianluo popped her head out of the bush, hair full of twigs. "I meant to do that," she announced proudly. His silence was judgmental enough to feel like a slap.
She crawled out, dusted herself off, and attempted to regain dignity she had never possessed. Wherever she went, chaos followed—and this world was learning that very quickly.
You need to get it together, she scolded herself internally as she followed the stranger, who seemed to have accepted her presence out of pity or curiosity.
You don't know magic, you don't know the rules, you don't know the hierarchy. Mortals, immortals, realms, creatures—everything is a walking Wikipedia article you have not read yet. You are a beginner. A scared beginner. A lazy academic failure thrown into Final Exams: Fantasy Edition. But you survived falling into a glowing forest, didn't you? You can survive this too. Just… maybe avoid screaming at monsters. She took a deep breath and lifted her chin. She could pretend to be competent. She had pretended to understand calculus once; this couldn't be worse.
But the universe disagreed. The moment her confidence rose even half an inch, she accidentally stepped on a strange root—one that hummed like a warning. The hum grew louder, brighter, hotter—until the root exploded into a burst of golden sparks that shot upward like a firework. Birds panicked. The trees lit up like lanterns. The stranger whipped around in horror.
Qianluo stared at the glowing smoking spot under her foot. "I…I think I pressed something?" she whispered. Somewhere in the forest, an ancient roar awakened in response.
Qianluo's explosion-footstep had barely settled when another presence ripped through the forest—this one clean, sharp, disciplined. Before she could decide whether to run or faint, a silver arrow of light sliced the air and pinned the monster's shadow to the ground.
The previous figure floated—yes, floated—down from above. White robes, phoenix crest, long hair tied like someone who woke up perfect every day. Qianluo instantly hated him. Anyone that elegant was automatically suspicious.
He landed in front of her, eyes narrowing in calculating disappointment, as if she were a wrong answer on his test paper. "You must be Qianluo," he said, tone politely exhausted. "Let's go, the time for the hunt is over."
Her internal monologue shrieked: Why do I feel like a kindergarten kid being collected after biting someone? But she nodded.
Before she could embarrass herself further, he swept his sleeve, wrapping her in a protective barrier that hummed like the world's most judgmental bubble. She clung to it because it was warm and because she was terrified she'd explode another root and summon a dragon next.
"I am Elder Heiyan of Tianxia Academy," he announced as the barrier lifted them into the sky. "You...I've never seen you before."
"Better if you don't, hehe." Before Qianluo could stop her inner thoughts, her bubly mouth betrayed her. The senior stared at her with offended eyes meanwhile she just ducked her head, looking away with pure awkwardness.
The forest shrank beneath them. Qianluo stared down, thinking: Great. First day in a magic world and I'm picked up like roadside trash.
Tianxia Academy came into view. A palace like mountain structure built in tiers, floating bridges, waterfalls cascading mid-air. It was gorgeous. It was majestic. It was also glaringly cold, because the moment she arrived, students stared at her like she dragged dirt in with her shoes.
Elder Heiyan walked ahead without looking back. Qianluo followed, trying not to look as lost as she was feeling. The whispers started instantly—sharp, poisonous, familiar.
"That's the useless one."
"She failed basics three times."
"Didn't she almost get killed by a mortal beast last month?"
"No one helped her? Understandable."
Qianluo paused. The words sank in—slow, heavy, wrong. Original Qianluo had been tortured, ignored, bullied, starved of affection and thrown into impossible tasks alone. She had actually chosen death. Chosen to leave this world. A girl her age, pushed so far she didn't want to breathe? Qianluo's throat tightened.
If I ever meet the ones who hurt her… I will show them modern-world crazy.
Her calm evaporated instantly.
By midday, the entire academy knew:
The new Qianluo was not the old Qianluo.
She tripped into alchemy class and accidentally exploded a cauldron.
She walked into the halls, knocked over a sacred lantern, apologised, then knocked over the apology lantern.
She sneezed during meditation lessons and the spiritual formation cracked.
She greeted a senior politely but forgot the honorific, shocking everyone into silence like she slapped him instead.
Everywhere she went, chaos followed—like she had brought a permanent earthquake in her pocket. Even Elder Heiyan, the head teacher Rong's assistant rubbed his temples.
But for the first time in years, people weren't looking at Qianluo with disgust.
They were bewildered.
She survived the entire day through sheer instinct and unearned confidence. But during evening class, when she thought she could finally breathe, head teacher, the strict, stone-faced Master Rong, walked in, holding a scroll that dripped tension like blood.
"Students," he growled, "due to pressure from the Immortal Realm, the date of mid-term examination and magical evaluation has been moved forward."
Silence. The death kind.
"Everyone must pass," he continued. "And for the evaluation—you all must showcase original magic. Something never seen before."
A gasped chorus flooded the room. Heads turned. Slowly. Purposefully. All eyes landed on Qianluo.
Mocking.
Predicting failure.
Waiting for her to be beaten, punished, ridiculed, as always.
Qianluo smiled sweetly, leaned back, folded her arms, and loudly declared,
"Don't look at me like that, you look ugly. I will shock all of you anyway in the assessment. Prepare your jaws, huh."
Everyone stared. Master Rong blinked.
Elder Heiyan massaged his forehead.
Qianluo strutted out like she owned the academy and the moment she was outside, she panicked so hard she nearly passed out.
Two days? TWO DAYS?! I barely know how to spell "magic"! How am I supposed to invent a spell? Pull a miracle out of my butt? WHY IS MY LIFE A LIVE COMEDY?
Still, she forced herself to study. She pushed through the exam papers and through chaotic scribbles, lucky guesses, and random moments of genius, she passed with good scores. Everyone was horrified. She was proud. "I told you I'd shock you," she said smugly, even though she had no idea how she did it.
But assessments were different. Assessments required actual magic and she had none.
Desperation drove her to the academy's forbidden old library that night—the place guarded like a treasure vault. The air inside was ancient, cold, humming with centuries of knowledge Qianluo did not have the patience or GPA to handle.
But she slipped in, playing hide-and-seek with patrols, whispering, "This is fine. I'm a protagonist. I can do crime."
She searched shelves for something or anything that could help her cheat death honorably. But halfway through, footsteps echoed between aisles. Cold, sharp, approaching. Someone sensed her. Someone powerful.
Elder Bailin? What is he doing here at this time?! Oh shit! I forgot it's his turn to oversee the patrols tonight. If he found me, no one can save my poor soul!
Qianluo panicked, pressed her hand against the nearest rune to hide and suddenly the floor disappeared.
She landed in pitch-black darkness.
A staircase glowed to life under her feet, revealing a massive underground world—rows of forbidden scrolls, sealed tomes, and dust-covered secrets breathing like living things. Her jaw dropped. "This is… Hogwarts basement on steroids."
She walked through the chamber in awe until two books called to her, glowing faintly like trouble.
'The Forbidden Magic Spells'
and
'The Abyss Realm'
The first promised danger and shortcuts, almost perfect for her desperate, lazy academic soul meanwhile just piqued her interest.
She snatched both, stuffed them inside her robes, and sprinted out, climbing back the collapsing rune path. She barely made it out before the patrol reached the hall.
But what she didn't know that she was not alone or lucky to trespass in heavily guarded place on the whole mortal realm. In the shadows above her, someone watched.
Tall. Unseen. Unreachable.
A presence far beyond mortal or immortal. His extremely long and vibrant robes fluttered in the wind, giving a sinister vibe yet beautiful. A faint smirk pulled at something not quite human.
He had helped her avoid every patrol. He had cloaked her missteps and had ensured she reached her room alive without being caught.
But what's his motive?
It was unknown and Qianluo? She was too careless to sense even the majestic presence.
When she finally slammed her door shut, panting, clutching the stolen books, the shadow beyond the window melted into darkness and vanished like he was never there at the first place.
Collapsing onto the bed, heaving, her heart still punching her ribs over the library incident.
After calming down, she pulled out the two forbidden books, placing them on her lap with reverence and stupidity in equal measure.
"Okay," she whispered to herself, "I need a miracle. A cheat code. A magical hack. A divine loophole. Anything."
She opened The Forbidden Magic Spells first.
Instant regret.
The first page screamed at her in blood-red ink:
"User is responsible for all damage, death, curses, realm collapses, spiritual corruption, and irreversible explosions."
She slammed it shut. "Absolutely not. I don't have insurance here."
She opened 'The Abyss Realm' next.
This one was quiet. Too quiet. As if it breathed and watched.
The pages told stories of a world sunken beyond hell—flooded with shadows, broken laws, ruined time, and creatures that once belonged to nightmares… until nightmares feared them back.
Qianluo shivered.
Then, halfway through the book, a chapter title glowed faintly:
"TheCursedMonarch — Long Weitian."
Her breath caught.
The text described him as the demon of all demons, the lord of the abyss, conqueror of the Ghost and Demon realms, the only being who could walk through all six realms without detection… until a war so catastrophic it shattered three realms forever bound him in a curse.
The book repeated one line in bold across the page:
"He cannot be summoned."
Qianluo flipped the page that said He cannot be summoned and instantly, her body turned cold.
Something shifted in the air.
She could feel a sensation — sharp, icy, ancient, brushing against her spine as if invisible fingers dragged slowly up her back. Her heart lurched. Her breath hitched. For one terrifying moment, she felt as though her soul was being pulled, not gently, not kindly, but like something in the abyss had just opened its eyes and stared straight at her through the ink.
Every hair on her body stood.
Nope. Nope. Nope.
Absolutely not.
She snapped the book shut so fast it nearly tore.
"I don't need demons peeking into my homework, thank you very much."
Her hands trembled slightly as she shoved The Abyss Realm aside and snatched up the other book — Forbidden Magic Spells. If something in that first book could look at her, then she would absolutely not be looking back.
She forced herself to breathe and flipped through the pages, determined now to find a quick, strong spell she could master before her evaluation.
The spells were terrifying, violent, explosive, and… honestly? Very cool. She skimmed through them, trying to find one she could actually execute with her beginner-level magic.
Then she froze.
A page shimmered with faint silver ink.
The Forbidden Summoning Spell.
Her eyes widened.
A spell that could call any being — from any realm, regardless of boundaries or power differences. A spell so dangerous it was banned, erased, and locked away centuries ago.
And beneath the spell instructions, in bold crimson ink:
"But only after performing the wish-rite inside the abandoned Witches' Temple."
She read faster.
Apparently, the ritual inside the witches' temple granted the caster one wish, and that wish could empower the summoning spell. Combined, the two could drag forth any creature: mortal, immortal, beast, spirit… or something far, far darker.
Qianluo's heart began racing.
A way to pass the assessment. A way to show the entire academy she wasn't a joke. A way to survive.
Her whole body buzzed with chaotic confidence.
"Yes! That's it! That's perfect! I just have to perform a ritual in some creepy temple and then summon something terrifying. Easy!"
She was so excited, she completely forgot to:
— read the caution section at the bottom,
— read the warning on the next page,
— or notice the missing front page that had been ripped out.
She slammed the book shut with a determined grin.
Tomorrow morning, she would find the abandoned witches' temple. She would make her wish and then she would summon the most powerful being in existence.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"…Long Weitian. Demon Lord of the Abyss."
A faint shiver passed through the room.
Qianluo ignored it because excitement was louder than fear… today.
.
.
.
To be continued...
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