Chapter 31: The Will of the People

Chapter 31: The Will of the People

Faced with Yu Sheng'an's puzzled gaze, Doman dared not keep him in suspense and quickly explained, "Sir, just check the school forum—it's already buzzing with discussions about this matter."

At these words, Yu Sheng'an's heart stirred. A Virtual Scroll unfurled before him.

With practiced ease, he navigated to the Felix Forum and typed "Eileen" into the search bar. Instantly, over a dozen threads appeared before his eyes.

"Shocking News: Eileen Humiliated by Archmage March, Forced to Kneel and Beg for Mercy!"

"Is this real?"

"Saw it with my own eyes! Eileen's flowerpot was smashed to pieces—you can still see the debris at the scene. It happened just 300 paces in front of the Magic Forest, in the Belka-style Garden."

"Eileen? That name sounds familiar. Isn't she the lucky one who received Ajef's purple snowwood wand?"

"That's her!"

"What nonsense rumors are these? Let me set the record straight—I saw it myself. It seemed like Eileen offended Archmage March, and that's why he smashed her flowerpot."

"What kind of grudge is this? An Archmage bullying a magic apprentice?"

"Even when hitting a dog, you mind its owner. This isn’t just about humiliating Eileen—it’s an insult to Ajef!"

"This is going to be interesting! Ever since Ajef arrived and took all the Wood Spirit magic apprentices, some mentors have been seething with resentment. This is no coincidence!"

Eileen, who had always been inconspicuous, was now the subject of two major topics on the Felix Forum.

The first was her reward from Yu Sheng'an.

The second, shockingly, was her humiliation by March.

As Yu Sheng'an scrolled through the forum posts, his gaze grew increasingly icy.

"Eileen, come here!" he called out, his voice quiet yet piercing through the entire underground laboratory.

Eileen, who had been assigning tasks nearby, hurried over at once.

"Mr. Ajef, you wanted me?" she asked nervously, noting the stern expression on Yu Sheng'an's face.

"Did March give you trouble?" Yu Sheng'an's tone was frigid.

"N-no..." Eileen instinctively tried to deny it, but under Ajef's gaze, she eventually nodded.

"Tell me exactly what happened." His voice was calm, betraying neither anger nor joy.

Eileen bit her lower lip and, with trepidation, recounted the incident in detail.

"Why didn’t you tell me earlier?"

"It was my fault for provoking Archmage March. It had nothing to do with you, sir," Eileen hastily explained.

Yu Sheng'an studied her fearful expression but ultimately said nothing. Instead, he turned and walked away.

Doman, startled by the sudden movement, suddenly realized what might be happening and called out, "Mr. Ajef? Wh-what are you planning?"

Yu Sheng'an remained silent as stone—no response, no pause in his steps.

"Wait—you’re not going after March, are you? Hey, hold on!" Doman grew frantic and rushed after him.

His shouts alerted all the magic apprentices in the underground laboratory.

Dozens turned to look, murmuring among themselves.

"What’s going on?"

"Apparently, Eileen was humiliated by Archmage March, and Mr. Ajef is furious."

"Check the forum—it’s all there."

"Where is Mr. Ajef going?"

"I don't know, he just turned and left after hearing about it... Damn, do you think he's going to confront March?"

"Oh my god!"

The magic apprentices were stunned, exchanging bewildered glances, utterly shaken by the thought!

Suddenly, someone couldn’t suppress their curiosity and dashed out after him.

The moment this person moved, it triggered the herd effect.

Since many hadn’t been assigned tasks yet, they simply followed in a chaotic rush.

Those who had tasks, seeing their peers leave, gritted their teeth and chased after them as well.

After all, there’s safety in numbers!

At this moment, Eileen froze.

It took her a long while to snap out of it before she clenched her teeth and sprinted off.

Yu Sheng'an wasn’t moving fast, so the crowd quickly caught up. They saw Lord Doman walking beside him, speaking incessantly—apparently trying to persuade or calm him.

Mr. Ajef, however, remained silent, heading straight for the school gates.

For a time, they walked ahead, trailed by a swarm of magic apprentices, creating a spectacular scene!

Along the way, countless magic apprentices and even instructors were left dumbfounded, everyone asking what had happened. Was this some kind of group outing?

The Felix Magic Academy Forum exploded with activity.

"What’s going on? What’s Ajef’s group up to?"

"Is the Magic Forest planning a large-scale magic experiment outside? Why’s this massive crowd heading out?"

"Anyone got the inside scoop? Spill it—I’m dying of curiosity!"

Here, the convenience of the internet shone through.

As the saying goes: one witness, the whole school watches.

The forum buzzed with all sorts of speculation. Those who loved a spectacle and had nothing better to do simply joined the chase.

This pursuit, in turn, dragged along another huge crowd.

After all, who didn’t have a few friends or close buddies?

By the time Yu Sheng'an stepped out of the school gates, nearly six or seven hundred magic apprentices were following him—almost a quarter of the student body.

When this crowd spilled into the streets, it was no surprise that Willis City was instantly shaken!

As the capital of the Keville Empire, Willis was teeming with talent, and mages were hardly a rare sight. Lucky citizens might even catch a glimpse of a God of Magic in black robes now and then.

But this massive swarm of seven or eight hundred magic apprentices marching together? That was like the sun rising from the west—utterly unprecedented!

"What’s happening?"

"No idea!"

"Check online—what are they saying?"

"Nothing concrete online either!"

"Should we go take a look?"

"Let’s go!"

Driven by the herd effect, curiosity, and the lure of spectacle, more and more citizens of Willis joined the procession.

The crowd snowballed, growing ever larger.

At the very front, Yu Sheng'an walked like a dazzling comet with an impossibly long tail!

Yet for Doman beside him, the discomfort was unbearable.

With all eyes on them now, he couldn’t decide whether to stay or leave.

Most crucially, even he was confused.

What was Ajef planning?

If he wanted trouble with March, shouldn’t he be heading to March’s estate?

Even if he intended to complain to Dandell, shouldn’t they be going to the Ringed Magic Tower?

What was the point of running out of the city?

Amid the clamor of voices and the uproar on the Forum, Yu Sheng'an left the city and came to a stop before a neatly arranged magic plantation.

"Doman, if I recall correctly, everything extending thirteen hundred paces from here belongs to March's plantation, right?"

My dear ancestor, you’ve finally decided to speak! Doman nearly wept with relief and hurriedly replied, "Yes, that’s correct, Mr. Ajef. But... what are you planning to do?"

Yu Sheng'an grinned, then turned and beckoned to Eileen.

Eileen quickly trotted over, her expression growing increasingly uneasy. "Mr. Ajef..."

Yu Sheng'an didn’t respond to her. Instead, his gaze swept over the dense crowd that had followed them, and he shouted, "Do you all know about winter mallow?"

Though his voice wasn’t loud, the power of the Divine Spark carried it clearly to everyone’s ears.

Most of the magic apprentices looked blank, but the citizens of Willis exchanged stunned glances, unsure why this mage lord was bringing this up.

One bold soul called out, "Mage Lord, I know it—it’s a wild vegetable. In winter, it covers the mountains and fields."

Yu Sheng'an nodded. "Exactly! It’s a wild vegetable! For those who don’t know, let me tell you—in the countryside, far from your sight, countless poor folk rely on winter mallow to survive the long, bitter winters!"

"Winter mallow is a good thing, but also a bad thing. It’s bitter, and eating too much can cause stomach pain, diarrhea, even death! But in the face of starvation, not eating means certain death! Eating it at least offers a chance to live!"

As Yu Sheng'an spoke, the trailing crowd fell silent.

Some scoffed dismissively;

Some remained bewildered;

Others were struck by the deep-seated pain in their hearts, their gazes turning distant.

"Her!"

Yu Sheng'an grabbed Eileen’s wrist and raised her arm high.

"My assistant, Eileen—she is an outstanding magic apprentice. Through countless days and nights, she used magic to remove the toxins from winter mallow, making it no longer bitter, no longer poisonous, and even eliminating the need for magical modification. You can take it home and plant it directly. Do you know what this means?"

"It means that in winter, we’ll have an inexhaustible supply of vegetables! No bitterness, no toxins, no diarrhea, no death!"

The crowd fell completely silent.

Countless eyes turned in shock toward the thin, dark-skinned girl beside Yu Sheng'an.

Eileen herself stared at her idol, Mr. Ajef, in utter bewilderment. A voice screamed inside her:

Huh? Wasn’t it just one night? How did it become countless days and nights? And... I’m not even sure if the white-wrinkled winter mallow is toxin-free! I only confirmed it’s not bitter—how did it suddenly have no side effects?

Before her mind could catch up, Yu Sheng'an suddenly roared in fury:

"And yet, this life-saving wild vegetable—the only sample of it—was destroyed by Archmage March! He destroyed it! All because his magic plantation needs magic apprentices, so he forbids them from researching crops, from researching wild vegetables!"

Yu Sheng'an paused, his voice thick with rage. "Tell me—does he deserve to die?"

The crowd was silent.

"Deserves to die!"

A quiet curse rose from among them.

"Deserves to die!"

Another repeated it.

"Deserves to die!"

More voices joined in.

"Deserves to die!"

Everyone roared in unison!

"Deserves to die!"

The overwhelming tide of voices drowned out all other sounds, becoming the sole presence in that corner of the world.

"What is that?"

At that moment, the roaring tide of voices abruptly ceased!

Countless people widened their eyes in horror, staring at something behind Yu Sheng'an.