Chapter 39: Unable to Bear Witness to Life’s Passing

"What's going on? Why is there a fire?"

"Is there a pond nearby? Quick, think of a way to put it out!"

"Why is the smoke so thick and choking?"

"….."

Lin Xi, Tang Ke, and the others, along with freshmen from the Apothecary Department and other departments who had come for their medical course, all dashed toward the burning buildings. It was pure chaos.

In just a short moment, flames were already licking at most rooftops, and the blaze had grown wildly intense.

Even from at least a hundred meters away, Lin Xi could feel the surge of heat blowing in his face. Between the buildings, a yellowish-green mist was also rising, pungent and suffocating.

"Liang Yanzhao, what happened?" Suddenly, Lin Xi spotted a freshman in a blue robe from the Warfare Department. Although they weren't close, Lin Xi recognized his name and rushed up without hesitation to question him.

Liang Yanzhao wiped his sweat nervously and said with a lingering sense of fear, "We had just arrived, the instructor wasn't here yet, and then the fire started."

"What course were you attending?"

"Pulse Diagnosis."

"How many people were there when it started?"

"Over thirty."

"Over thirty?"

Just as they exchanged these few words—Bang!—a loud crash rang out. Lin Xi turned to see a wall on the second floor shattered by a tremendous force. Splinters of wood flew outward as a black-clad figure leapt from the fire, carrying two students.

It was a short, stout, middle-aged instructor. Though the ends of his hair were singed, he remained composed. After smashing the wall and landing solidly, he merely said to two black-robed instructors not far away, "Six remain. I'll take center. You take left and right!"

Boom!

As soon as he spoke, the ground trembled slightly as he shot back up like a catapulted stone, leaping through the hole he'd created.

The two black-robed instructors who had arrived from the grey hall didn't hesitate. One to the left, one to the right, they darted into the flames like black arrows, without pause.

The blazing flames were parted by the powerful wind stirred by their movement.

The scene moved Lin Xi and all the freshmen, bringing a small sense of relief.

With three instructors present, it was clear that while the instructor hadn't yet entered the classroom, he was already nearby. And if six remained, then there were six more students trapped inside.

Lin Xi clearly remembered what the one-eyed instructor had said: even students considered unremarkable at Qingluan Academy would stand out among the frontier army. So these three vastly superior instructors should be able to save six students… right?

The fire raged even more fiercely, and the choking smoke spread rapidly.

But within ten breaths, the wind stirred again—and all three instructors shot out of the blaze almost simultaneously.

One was like a stone flying through the air, another like a falling lotus leaf, and the third like a sharp arrow. Calm as ever, they exchanged glances—but their faces turned grim.

Lin Xi's breath caught. He instantly understood.

The stout instructor carried one student. The gray-haired woman to his left held two, and the sallow-skinned elder to the right held two as well. Even a gym teacher from Lin Xi's old world could count: five.

Six minus five—one was still inside.

The three instructors placed the students down, preparing to return to the fire.

"I'll go."

A calm voice interrupted them.

Everyone turned to see a black-robed woman arriving at the fire. Her hair slightly messy, she held a thick black-covered book. She was none other than the scholarly woman who had appeared at the entrance exam alongside Xia Yanbing.

Still clutching her book, her face pale and sun-starved, she looked as though she hadn't left a library in days. Yet all three instructors immediately nodded when she spoke.

With their assent, she lightly tapped the ground and rose into the air, glowing with brilliant yellow light.

A streak of bluish-cold light flicked from her hand. The flames before her parted as she soared through a window, disappearing from sight.

Far off on the hills, more black shadows moved as numerous academy instructors, startled by the commotion, rushed toward the scene.

"What happened?" A bald, stern-faced professor arrived, silver stars embroidered on his robe—clearly a full professor.

"Fire broke out unexpectedly. One student remains unaccounted for. Associate Professor An is inside." The three instructors bowed and explained swiftly.

"Associate Professor An... she's already an associate professor?"

Lin Xi was surprised. That scholarly woman looked no older than twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Yet a Qingluan Academy associate professor was equivalent to a provincial deputy overseer in rank.

The bald professor's expression softened upon hearing her name. He said no more, merely narrowed his eyes and watched the flames.

The fire grew ever fiercer, lighting up half the sky. Even if it were extinguished soon, the mostly wooden buildings were already ruins. Putting out the fire was now pointless.

Boom!

Suddenly, a small building collapsed, scattering blazing wood and sparks.

Yet Associate Professor An had not emerged.

As time dragged on, the tension among the freshmen only deepened.

Crack!

A wall to Lin Xi's left shattered. A blast of cold light burst through the flames.

Associate Professor An reappeared.

Both sleeves of her robe had been cut halfway, revealing two jade-like arms. There was no sign of charring—clearly, she had cut away the burning parts herself with a blade.

With the soft blade now coiled around her right arm, she walked out, still clutching her book. Her hair was disheveled, face pale with a flush of red. The contrast of her broken robe and exposed arms against the soft, glinting blade created a strange, startling beauty.

In her free hand, she held a student in a red academy uniform.

The student was slender, even thinner than Lin Xi, with half his face blackened. Eyes closed, unmoving, he hung in her grip like a bundle of straw.

"It's no use… He ran the wrong way and hid beneath a desk by the wall. By the time I found him, it was already too late…"

Meeting the approaching instructors and professors, Associate Professor An shook her head. Her voice was flat, her face still expressionless, like she was reading a book—but there was a faint hint of helplessness and sorrow.

All the freshmen, who were about to cheer, suddenly felt cold from head to toe.

Lin Xi stared blankly at the lifeless youth in her hand.

He didn't know this skinny boy from the Artificing Department, nor his background—but his youthful, innocent face was just like Lin Xi's.

He knew that many students like Li Kaiyun came to Qingluan Academy with noble dreams of serving the empire. He also knew that in the future, countless lives would be lost on the empire's frontiers.

But this… this was the first time Lin Xi had come face-to-face with real death.

A living soul had vanished before his very eyes.

At that moment, he made a decision.

"Associate Professor An." Under everyone's stunned gaze, Lin Xi stepped forward. Looking at the black-robed woman with exposed arms, he asked solemnly, "When you found him, was he always hiding beneath that desk by the wall?"

"Hm?" She frowned, puzzled by this Warfare Department freshman's question, but nodded.

Before any professor could shoo him away, Lin Xi whispered, "Go back."

…

The scene shifted—back to when Lin Xi and Meng Bai had just run from the Apothecary Department's grey hall.

The stout instructor crashed through the wall. Then, the three black-robed instructors dove into the fire again.

But having already experienced this once, Lin Xi was no longer surprised.

This time, he didn't stop at his previous spot, but instead moved along the slope to the two-story wooden building where the artificer student had been found.

"Lin Xi, what are you doing?!"

As Meng Bai and the others shouted in alarm, Lin Xi gritted his teeth—and charged toward the burning building's window.