Lin Xiu was a Pupil Master born with Demon Eyes.
Yet, because his Demon Eyes were tested and categorized as having zero attributes, he was abandoned by his father, his older brothers, and even his family, which stood at the very pinnacle of the Pupil Master hierarchy.
"A good-for-nothing who can't even activate his eyes! Don't come crying back to me when you realize you aren't even qualified to return!"
"And they expected to rely on you to fight against the Magician race in the future? Hah."
"Your two older brothers are mediocre enough, but how did you manage to fall behind your younger sister as well?!"
Lin Joseph, a master-tier Pupil Master and his father, had once scolded him like this.
"Pupil arts are a strange ability that coexists with magic, allowing one to accomplish things ordinary people never could."
As an outcast of the family, he was "exiled" to a foreign country—Anmi.
Though it was grandly called studying abroad, what kind of international student was given a total budget of only ten thousand (converted into Anmi currency) for three whole years?!
But that is a story for another time.
"I'm sick of hearing about your magic and spells, all that superstitious nonsense... Also, where is my stone?"
This was not the first time he had talked back to his father, Lin Joseph.
The "stone" Lin Xiu spoke of was a gift he had given to the only person in the family who had ever kept him company and shown him kindness: his younger sister.
Yet this "Black Pupil Stone" was precisely the material essential for his father's pupil art experiments, so naturally, that old bastard had snatched it away entirely.
"When you return alive from your studies, it will naturally be returned to you. Only... it's probably a bit too early to talk about that now. You're already half a dead man."
The abandoned young Pupil Master did not believe he would die in a foreign land.
Even less did he believe he could not take back the "Black Pupil Stone" that had become the symbol of his very identity.
Revenge!
Not just to prove to his father what a grave mistake "abandoning" him was, but to demonstrate just how much potential the ego of a so-called "talentless" Pupil Master could actually unleash.
In truth, he had played along in front of his father for a long time, but today, he was finally ready to tear away the facade of his "worthless Demon Eyes."
And the catalyst for it all—Lin Xiu met "her," someone who was both similar to him and yet different.
——————————
It was raining in Heixia, the capital of Anmi.
The raindrops fell so closely together it seemed as though the distance between them had been meticulously engineered. Perhaps because of their density, they landed lightly upon the crown of his head, sliding down through the strands of his hair.
Ever since he accepted the study-abroad opportunity arranged by his family, he had been cut off from contacting anyone he knew.
For Lin Xiu, who leaned toward social anxiety, this was indeed a formidable challenge.
"This rain...?"
What kind of welcome gift would the capital of this nation, renowned for its technology and mysticism, have in store for a newcomer like him?
He had entertained fantasies, such as encountering the beautiful young heroine that protagonists in passionate, righteous stories always seemed to run into.
But evidently, silent stillness was the only reply he received.
His suitcase was unbearably heavy, with parcels of all shapes and sizes strapped to the back of the modest piece of luggage.
A war refugee? An illegal immigrant?
An image like that hardly fit the stereotypes of the people in Anmi's capital, making him all the more conspicuous.
Getting from the airport to Heixia First Academy required about a forty-minute taxi ride, followed by half an hour on foot.
That was the answer he found on his phone's map app.
"The navigation... out of four routes, not a single one is easy."
Lin Xiu's clothes were already thoroughly soaked through, leaving him with only one desire: to check in as quickly as possible and figure out where he was going to sleep tonight.
The outskirts of Heixia.
The darkening sky was weighed down by layers of black clouds, carrying a sultry, stifling heat that heralded an impending downpour.
Yet a tiny sliver of light broke through a gap in the clouds, landing squarely upon the prominent sign of Heixia First Academy. Although it shone with a brilliant luster, one could sense a different "atmosphere" about it all.
An abnormal feeling.
Sitting by the window of Classroom 301 and gazing out at the rainy landscape in the distance, a silver-haired beauty felt a faint sense of unease.
Though her long hair was white, she possessed an extraordinary aura, particularly along the captivating lines of her profile and lips. Paired with her inherently stylish JK school uniform, she naturally commanded countless admirers.
Of course, what drew the most attention was the azure color of her eyes, resembling emeralds embedded in a piece of jade.
As the student council president, she practically held the affairs of the entire grade firmly in the palm of her hand—though the actual execution relied entirely on her subordinates, such as the vice president.
Li Wei was not only the campus belle, but also a pivotal figure in school administration. Precisely because of this, she still intervened in the reception duties for transfer students and international students.
———Tap, tap, tap.
The sound of footsteps and a knock at the classroom door reached her ears almost simultaneously. Perhaps Li Wei had been lost in thought, as there seemed to be no delay between them at all.
"Li Wei, there should be a new international student arriving from the West today, what's his name again... Lin Xiu? Sounds like a name from the Donghua region..."
Louis Fede was not speaking to her in the tone of a homeroom teacher, but rather as an equal.
A homeroom teacher really ought not to be overly respectful toward a student.
At least, as far as Li Wei herself was concerned, she had rarely witnessed such an attitude.
Yet that attitude had shifted the moment he learned of her background.
"Is that so... Perhaps he used to be from those parts and later immigrated to the West. I suppose I have quite a bit of say on that matter."
Perhaps because Li Wei's name sounded somewhat peculiar—her given name was actually quite long, but for short, she was called:
Anna Li Wei. (Or "Li Wei Anna.")
Hailing from a prestigious British noble family, her arrival in Anmi—a region that seemed somewhat beneath her social standing—had once sparked considerable debate.
Though it was all merely fodder for after-dinner conversation, bits of it had inevitably reached her ears.
She herself didn't care much about that.
Because this secret was truly known only to her, and she could faintly envision what she would look like as she neared that ultimate outcome.
The prey her father spoke of seemed to be getting closer and closer.
Could it have anything to do with this newly arrived international student?
After dismissing the teacher, Li Wei remained seated alone at her desk. She quietly contemplated for a moment before walking over to the student council meeting room to await the newcomer.
The book in her hands was quite unusual.
Both its binding and cover exuded a classical aura, clearly not a product of this era. The front pages were yellowed, bearing an almost incomprehensible script upon the story-laden paper.
It looked like a foreign tongue (the language of another country), yet also resembled the discarded writing of a long-forgotten, ancient civilization.
Altogether, it felt somewhat out of place with reality.
A dozen minutes later.
With her keen senses, Li Wei knew the person must have reached the door. Tossing her long hair back slightly, she slowly pulled open the classroom door.
"You must be... Student Council President Li Wei?" The boy's voice possessed an indescribable decisiveness and clarity.
Their eyes locked instantly.
This was their very first glance at one another.
She felt a brief moment of panic, as though struck by an electric current, experiencing an uncoordinated clumsiness in her hands and feet she had never known before.
Most significantly, however, was the violent pounding of Li Wei's heart.
"Yes, your name is Lin Xiu, right? Here is the check-in roster. Just sign your name and you can go."
Li Wei instinctively avoided his gaze, wishing only to make him leave as quickly as possible. The turbulence in her heart far exceeded normal limits.
Strange, this boy was out of the ordinary.
Lin Xiu's drenched clothes and water-dripping hair did not cause Li Wei any discomfort; instead, they piqued her interest. Above all else, the color of his eyes was rather peculiar.
The peculiarity lay in the violet ripples contained within the black outline of his pupils, making his eyes look as though they had stepped right out of a fairy tale.
After signing his name, Lin Xiu very sensibly opened the door and prepared to leave.
Though he hadn't seen her clearly at first glance, he still swept a brief, peripheral gaze over Li Wei.
"Beautiful." This must have been his first impression.
"Sharp." This was his second.
"Wait."
Li Wei had no idea why she had blurted out that word. But in the end, it had escaped her lips.
Was it an uncontrollable impulse?
Or simply a desire to pry into a mystery?
"Hm? What is it?" Lin Xiu's foot, which had already stepped across the threshold, froze in place.
"Your name doesn't really sound like it's from Western Europe. Did your family migrate to the West from Huadi?"
Faced with such a sharp and probing question, Lin Xiu silently gave a mental thumbs-up to his second impression.
"You could say that, but... never mind, you can think of it that way if you like." Lin Xiu's coldness emanated from the inside out.
In Li Wei's mind, an image of ice and snow was already forming. Or rather, viewed in this light—
"Ice and snow" was her first impression of Lin Xiu.
"Mm. Excellent. Starting tomorrow, we will be official classmates. I hear your assigned class is Class A, the same as mine. I look forward to working with you."
One might call this a formulaic response.
No matter who she was addressing, Li Wei always maintained this lofty tone, accompanied by an outstretched left hand that possessed more than enough lethality to overwhelm an adolescent boy.
Lin Xiu merely nodded, without offering his left hand in return.
"My clothes are soaked through, and I still need to find a place to stay tonight. Time is rather tight."