After speaking, Evelyn stood and walked toward the door, as if her visit had truly been only to give these few trivial instructions.

  "Wait a moment." Ryan quickly spoke up.

  Evelyn paused at his words and turned around, her eyes full of curiosity, gazing at Ryan.

  "Evelyn, I'm scared." Ryan pouted, his tone full of grievance, and exaggeratedly picked up a pillow nearby. His eyes were wide and watery as he looked at Evelyn.

  "The nights here are too cold, and I'm afraid those three elders might suddenly come to give me trouble. The way they look at me… it's like they're staring at some dangerous dark mage."

  Seeing Evelyn's expression remain unchanged, Ryan immediately shifted tactics, playing a card of request:"Evelyn, could you tell me about the layout of Glacial Arcana Academy?"

  "I'm new here, and I don't even know the directions of the different areas. If I accidentally go into a restricted zone, it would be terrible."

  He thought to himself that this move had about a fifty percent chance of making Evelyn stay.

  "When you've been at the academy longer, you'll naturally get familiar with the layout," Evelyn said, skillfully dodging his request like playing a dodge card, unwilling to let his words distract her.

  "But I have no idea what the academy rules are," Ryan's voice grew even more plaintive, his brows furrowing, as if his eyes would redden any second."What if I accidentally break a rule tonight and the elders punish me?"

  Evelyn fell into thought at his words.

  "If you don't want to tell me, I won't force you," Ryan said, noticing her hesitation. He quickly hid his grievance, instead showing a look of disappointment. He turned back on the bed, lying on his side with his back facing Evelyn.

  "You go back to sleep. I'll figure things out myself. Worst case, I get punished once, and I'll remember it."

  Though he seemed ready to sleep, the slight slump of his shoulders and the stiff line of his back clearly showed his lingering grievance.

  Seeing this, Evelyn's fleeting thought to refuse him shattered like a broken magical barrier. She could not bring herself to be overly harsh on him.

  "Since you want to know, I'll tell you," Evelyn said."So you don't end up breaking rules later and embarrass me as your mentor."

  Evelyn slowly walked to the chair beside the bed and sat down.

  "You're the best, Evelyn!" Ryan's expression instantly changed. His previous disappointment and grievance vanished, replaced by joy. He flipped over, propped himself up, and stared at Evelyn with sparkling eyes.

  "The academy has three absolute forbidden rules. Violators face consequences ranging from having their magic nullified or being expelled, to being sealed in the Frozen Dungeon for eternity with no chance of release," Evelyn said, her expression serious.

  "The first rule strictly forbids any romantic relationships among academy members. The second forbids betrayal of the academy or joining hostile factions. The third forbids learning forbidden arts or falling into the path of a dark mage."

  "The first rule is the harshest, since the tragedy of the past arose from romance," Evelyn explained in detail.

  After finishing her explanation, she shifted her gaze directly to Ryan, her tone carrying a hint of complexity and even a trace of fluster she hadn't fully noticed herself."So you cannot like me."

  "I also… won't like you." As she said the second sentence, Evelyn's voice oddly caught, and her speech quickened, as if she were trying to hide something.

  When discussing the rule about romantic relationships, Evelyn deliberately emphasized her tone, her eyes full of solemnity as she repeatedly reminded Ryan:

  "This rule is ironclad in the academy. There are absolutely no exceptions. You must engrave it in your heart and never overstep even slightly."

  Ryan turned to face her, staring quietly, his expression completely smitten and hopelessly lost in love.

  "I want to remember it too, but I just can't control myself. Your image keeps appearing in my mind without permission. What should I do?"

  The directness and intensity of his gaze made Evelyn feel slightly uneasy all over.

  "The second forbidden rule is betrayal of the academy…" Evelyn seemed to ignore his confession entirely, forcibly shifting the topic.

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  She continued explaining the second rule, her tone slightly more hurried than before, carrying a faint trace of subtle panic as she tried to conceal the turmoil within.

  Seeing the faint pink blush at the side of her face, Ryan couldn't help but smile foolishly, choosing not to point out her embarrassment. Even this cold and aloof Evelyn had such an adorable side.

  "The academy has many other rules, covering daily studies, attendance, the right to use magic crystal veins, and borrowing of magical tomes. You can gradually familiarize yourself with these later while following others…"

  As she spoke, Evelyn glanced at Ryan, only to find that he had already closed his eyes, his breathing deep and steady, as if he had fallen asleep.

  Watching his serene sleeping face, a faint, genuine smile unconsciously lifted the corners of her lips.

  She quietly stood up, picked up the blanket nearby, and carefully covered Ryan.

  Then she turned and walked to the door, gently pushing it open and closing it silently behind her.

  A few minutes after Evelyn left, Ryan suddenly opened his eyes, with not a trace of sleepiness. He couldn't help but chuckle quietly:

  "Evelyn… after treating me so gently, you probably won't kill me now, right? Finally, I can live this life properly."

  "What a beautiful life. After being single for tens of thousands of years, finally some change."

  He murmured to himself, his tone full of emotion,"In this life, not only will I win over you, the Ice Domain Empress, I will also rise to Grand Magus, becoming the invincible presence across the magical continent, heh heh."

  Ryan closed his eyes again, but the smile on his lips would not fade. Filled with such hopeful dreams, he activated his Chaosforge Arcana.

  Five minutes later, exhaustion gradually took over, and his consciousness slowly sank. With dreams of a bright future in his heart, he fell into a deep sleep.

  The next day, at noon, Ryan woke up, stretching leisurely, feeling completely refreshed.

  He got up and went to the table, picking up the storage ring Evelyn had given him, and also taking out the storage bag he had received from Vaelor.

  A smile spread across his face again, impossible to suppress. This was the treatment one deserved in a magical world!

  He probed the storage bag with his spiritual power, carefully inspecting its contents. As expected, the resources in Vaelor's bag were not nearly as abundant as those in Evelyn's storage ring.

  With a thought, Ryan converted all the resources in the storage bag into Origin Value. After counting, he had a total of 675368 Origin Value.

  Suppressing his excitement, he then probed Evelyn's storage ring with his spiritual power, curious about what treasures she had given him.

  But just a single glance left him stunned. His eyes filled with disbelief, his breathing quickened involuntarily. The items in the ring were far more abundant and impressive than he had ever imagined.

  "This trip to Glacial Arcana Academy was the right choice!" Ryan couldn't help but mutter under his breath, his eyes filled with pure excitement.

  If he had known Evelyn would give such abundant resources, he would never have needed to be half-persuaded and half-forced to come. He probably would have packed his things on his own long ago and followed her here happily.

  Probing the storage ring with his spiritual power, the scene inside made his pupils shrink. Within the ring, thousands of weapons of all kinds floated silently.

  From enchanted longswords and warhammers inlaid with magic crystals to bizarrely shaped magical staves and poison-coated daggers, the collection almost covered every type of weapon known on the magical continent.

  Ryan felt a moment of confusion: why would Evelyn give him so many weapons?

  But the thought vanished instantly. Regardless of their purpose, these were all real, tangible magical resources. Many of the weapons radiated strong magical energy, clearly of high quality.

  With a thought, he summoned a longsword into his palm with his spiritual power.

  The blade was a deep, ink-black color, adorned with delicate golden patterns that sparkled like stars in the night sky, faintly radiating holy magical energy.

  Ryan temporarily named it the Stellar Sword, and among all the items in the storage ring, this was clearly the most precious.

  However, the moment he held it, he realized he could not control the Stellar Sword at all. The blade trembled violently in his hand, as if it had its own will, trying to break free.

  Evelyn had obviously anticipated this and sealed most of the sword's power in advance.

  Ryan struggled to stabilize the trembling sword and concentrated a faint thread of Chaosforge magic at his fingertip, lightly cutting a small nick in his finger.

  Blood dripped onto the blade, but instead of being absorbed as he expected, it slid down the sword, leaving no trace.

  Raising an eyebrow, Ryan, unwilling to give up, placed the Stellar Sword on the ground and let another drop of blood fall on it.

  This time, the blood slowly seeped into the blade. The golden patterns on the sword glimmered faintly. A smile appeared on Ryan's face, silently thinking he had successfully bonded with it.

  But suddenly, with a soft"pop," the Stellar Sword spat out the blood, spraying it straight onto Ryan's face and leaving a bright red mark.

  "Damn, this broken sword can even spit blood!" Ryan shouted in frustration, stomping on the Stellar Sword hard.

  With a thought, he instantly stored it in the Grimoire's internal storage space.

  The Grimoire's storage space was enchanted with time-stopping magic. Once the Stellar Sword entered, it could not move or tremble at all. Even if it wanted to act out, it had no outlet, forced into complete silence.

  Ryan stopped worrying about the Stellar Sword and continued probing the other items in the storage ring with his spiritual power.

  What he saw next shocked him even more. There was Mana Essence! Though the quantity was not huge, it was roughly enough to fill a small vial.

  Mana Essence was extremely valuable on the magical continent, rare and priceless. Its magic was pure, and it could be consumed directly to quickly raise one's magic level or infused into a magic array to enhance its power.

  Ryan's heart pounded as joy surged through him: being her apprentice was amazing! And if he became her man, wouldn't it be even better?

  Suddenly, the Grimoire's alert sounded in his mind:

  【Dear host, do you want to recycle this Mana Essence? I can exchange it for one million Origin Value!】

  To Ryan's surprise, the Grimoire was like a beast sensing blood. The moment it detected the Mana Essence, it appeared automatically.

  It even offered one million Origin Value for just that small vial.

  "Get lost!" Ryan retorted in his mind, annoyed. This was a treasure given by Evelyn, not something he would exchange lightly.

  The Grimoire's alert sounded with a hint of grievance:【Damn host! How dare you scold me! I won't ever listen to you again!】