Chapter 61: Did You Hear the Echo of Life?

On how to nurture Cressa.

On how to nurture the Witch.

Xu Xi had pondered countless times in his heart and had come up with corresponding plans.

First, magic. After Xu Xi broke through to Grand Magister, the magic he mastered had been elevated to level 9.

Beyond that, there are the Forbidden Spells used by the Saint Magister.

Xu Xi planned to teach the Witch all the elemental magic he had mastered, from levels 1 to 9, and even the Forbidden Spells he had yet to grasp.

Balancing body and spirit, balancing bloodline and elements.

Cressa’s talent had become terrifyingly formidable, allowing her to attempt mastering more elements, not just confined to Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire.

Additionally.

There was a very important aspect of nurturing.

Xu Xi wanted to try, before this simulation ended, to cure the Witch’s emotional deficiencies.

“Click—”

Pushing open the door to the Meditation Room.

Passing through the corridor where light and shadow intertwined.

Footsteps slow but powerful, like the steady beat of a small drum, echoing in the chest that housed the heart.

Startling the seagulls on the eaves to take flight, shaking a few tiny insects to scurry away.

“Cressa?”

Just as Xu Xi turned the corner, he saw the long-haired girl with silver-gray hair who had been waiting for a long time.

She stood by the wall, posture upright, her face in the shadow cast by the wall, but a few strands of hair were exposed to the sunlight, glowing with a pearly sheen.

“Mentor, congratulations on your promotion,” the Witch said with a flat tone, her voice as bland as plain water, devoid of any emotional color, so tasteless that one might doubt if they heard wrong.

But Xu Xi knew.

This was the best Cressa could do.

She had once tried to welcome Xu Xi with a smile, but the stiff, crooked corners of her mouth only made her look more eerie, like a motionless corpse.

Xu Xi was unusually silent at that time.

He didn’t criticize or scold.

He just gently suggested that Cressa give up the idea of smiling to welcome him.

Cressa was obedient, she complied.

Thus, she returned to her expressionless state, her tone as flat as if she were just humming in agreement.

Whenever Xu Xi broke through a realm or delved into new magic, the Witch would dutifully wait not far from the Meditation Room, patiently awaiting Xu Xi’s return.

“You’ve worked hard, Cressa, waiting here for me all this time.”

“It’s what I should do, Mentor.”

Xu Xi stepped forward.

Meeting the Witch.

The two walked side by side, heading towards the main hall, chatting about scattered daily life or knowledge and techniques of magic along the way.

“Cressa, while I was meditating and breaking through, did anything happen outside?”

“Please rest assured, everything was normal.”

“Is that so? That’s good. How has your magic cultivation been recently? Any issues?”

“Yes, regarding the derivative ice magic of the water element, I…”

Cressa’s tone was as calm as a machine.

Explaining her doubts to Xu Xi.

Xu Xi patiently taught, telling the Witch where she went wrong, where she needed to improve. This was the way they interacted, a dull yet ordinary daily life.

Back in the main hall, the Witch proactively stopped to ask, preparing a refreshing hot drink for Xu Xi.

She busied herself alone, in a way she believed was helpful to Xu Xi, her expression serious, washing the porcelain cup spotlessly clean, then drying it meticulously with a white cloth.

Only then did she pour a cup of steaming hot drink.

The liquid was a light green, infused with Spirit-Clearing Herb.

The taste was slightly bitter, but for a mage who had just broken through in meditation, it had the effect of alleviating fatigue.

“Thank you, Cressa,” Xu Xi took the cup, thanking Cressa while inadvertently meeting her black and gold enchanting eyes.

He was stunned.

Not because the Witch’s eyes were peculiar.

Over the years, he had seen them countless times, no longer surprised by them.

What stunned Xu Xi was that he once again saw his clear reflection in Cressa’s lifeless eyes, only this time, compared to when they left Allenson, the reflection had noticeably changed.

Changes in appearance, posture, and lifestyle habits.

No, perhaps not so obvious.

But indeed, through Cressa’s eyes, Xu Xi realized his time had begun an inevitable countdown.

This year, Xu Xi was 29.

At the peak of his life.

But soon, in not many years, this body would unknowingly transform into an aged appearance Xu Xi himself wouldn’t recognize.

Such is the nature of life, fleeting in an instant.

“Is there a problem, Mentor?”

Seeing Xu Xi stunned, the girl thought there might be an issue with the hot drink and thus inquired.

“No, nothing.”

“Just… suddenly remembered some things.”

Xu Xi shook his head, taking a light sip of the hot drink, feeling the bitter liquid roll over his tongue.

There was no sweetness after the bitterness, no hint of a sweet aftertaste, the Spirit-Clearing Herb’s magical drink was purely bitter, with a numbing astringency.

Xu Xi drank slowly, his gaze drifting outside.

Unlike the courtyard of his previous residence, influenced by the city’s architecture, where little scenery could be seen, this time in Apogu City, one could see the azure sea right from home.

It was the height of a scorching summer.

The sun was fierce, the light piercing, the air distorted and blurred by the heat.

“Boom! Boom!”

“Boom! Boom!”

The central steam engines of Apogu City began to operate.

The towering steam, like a Babel tower, shot straight into the sky, only to be scattered by the sea breeze, forming a humid and stifling mist.

Countless people playing by the sea fled in all directions.

Unwilling to endure the invasion of the hot mist.

Time was pressing, and if someone ran too slowly, they would be engulfed by the hot mist, though not fatal, it would leave them drenched in sweat, quite uncomfortable.

“Time is running out…”

In the Witch’s bewildered eyes, Xu Xi spoke thus, his voice distant.

Whether he was referring to the people outside.

Or something else.

The Witch didn’t understand, she tilted her head, took the empty cup from Xu Xi’s hand, and poured a new cup of Spirit-Clearing Herb magical drink.

“…So bitter.”

Xu Xi finally couldn’t help but comment.

[You successfully broke through to Grand Magister, your strength has become even more formidable, your spiritual energy has reached unprecedented heights]

[You feel somewhat inflated]

[Your inflation has disappeared]

[Feeling the blockade and suppression of the deities, your plan to ascend to godhood, not yet truly implemented, has come to ruin, but you feel no sorrow in your heart]

[In your view, achieving the status of Saint Magister in the future is already perfect enough]

[After leaving the Meditation Room, you encountered Cressa waiting at the door]

[From Cressa’s eyes, you once again saw yourself, you suddenly realized, your appearance has changed significantly compared to when you were in Allenson City]

[You heard the echo of lifespan]

[You are dazed, you are lost in thought, you smile and accept it calmly]

[You prepare to accelerate the plan to nurture the Witch, for you are uncertain when the limit of your mortal lifespan will come to an end]