Starting with Proficiency Panel-Chapter 648: We’ll see the real outcome tomorrow morning (new book content)

After quite a while, he remarked with a look of astonishment, "It seems you've condensed magic power?"

He suddenly rose to his feet, his tall and slender body, standing nearly two and a half meters, imparted a sense of pressure that made the air feel somewhat heavy.

Li Qing stood silently, his hands tightly clenched under his robe sleeves, staring unmoving at Zhuang Xu, who was merely inches away, seemingly sniffing the air continuously.

After a moment, Zhuang Xu settled back down in his seat.

"Interesting... You've piqued my interest, giving me something new to indulge in my otherwise dreary days." Zhuang Xu lowered his hands, sounding intrigued, "So, for a human with a short lifespan, what talents have you awakened upon becoming a mage at the age of thirty?"

Without waiting for Li Qing to respond, he shrugged and said, "Alright, let's not dwell on that. What brings you to the library?"

Feeling slightly more at ease, Li Qing replied, "Master Rosen said my progress was decent, so I could come to the library to borrow the Level 0 Magic Encyclopaedia book."

Zhuang Xu, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, had an expression that was hard to read, but with a hint of mockery, he said, "That guy, who should be hung in the Wailing Hell, actually said that... Alright, perhaps it's because you're human."

He raised his sharp, dark cyan finger, and a book slowly floated down from the top of an exceedingly high shelf, moving to Zhuang Xu's side.

Reaching out to grasp the magic book, Zhuang Xu asked, "How is your study of the magic runes coming along?"

"For everyday use, there are no issues."

"Not bad."

Zhuang Xu's words were flat, making it unclear whether it was mere acknowledgment or genuine praise.

He handed the book to Li Qing, "Here, take it."

Seeing that sharp, dark cyan hand holding the book, Li Qing instinctively swallowed and then reached out with both hands to accept it.

"Thank you!"

Zhuang Xu's laughter was grating, hoarse like two dull metal bars clashing repeatedly, rattling painfully.

"When you advance to a First-Ring Mage, you can come to the library to have a look, but not now. Maybe when you advance, you'll have a surprise, after all, it's rare for a human to have the qualifications to become a mage at thirty."

"Thank you." Li Qing slightly bowed, "Master Zhuang Xu, I'll take my leave now."

"Hmm."

Li Qing turned to leave, and as he pushed open the library door, Zhuang Xu's haunting voice drifted over.

"And one more thing, please return the borrowed book before the second round of classes, or you might find yourself watched~"

Li Qing felt a tightening in his chest, "I understand, thank you for the reminder."

Leaving the library quickly, safely returning to the safe house, Li Qing finally let out a long, deep breath.

It was truly oppressive.

Although Zhuang Xu's behavior seemed to express great kindness, only Li Qing, facing Zhuang Xu directly, knew what kind of pressure he was truly under.

The look in his eyes completely regarded him as an amusing toy.

A very interesting gaze, something Li Qing had never experienced in his thirty years of life.

Once calm, Li Qing understood it was because of his lack of strength; being new here, he had no other choice but to endure.

In this place filled with strangeness, one can never be too cautious.

As for why he was not yet qualified to wander around the library, Li Qing was not curious. For him, curiosity should always be based on strength; without strength, curiosity would only spell disaster.

Having been studying the Level 0 Magic Encyclopaedia in the safe house until the current limits of his time spent at Gray's were reached, he reluctantly took the magic book back to the safe house.

For several days, Li Qing was engrossed in researching the Level 0 Magic Encyclopaedia, particularly the zero-level magic that included magic reading in reading comprehension and the healing-oriented repairing minor injuries, which intrigued him greatly.

What surprised him even more was the ability of repairing minor injuries to visibly heal tiny cuts made by blades.

Quite miraculous!

However, when faced with the magic reading, a level 0 spell, Li Qing found himself struggling a bit. The construction nodes numbered over a hundred, a difficulty that far surpasses many Second-Ring Magic levels.

It's really vexing!

While pondering, Li Qing suddenly heard a 'bang' from outside the window. Startled, he turned to look outside and saw vibrant fireworks unfurling in mid-air.

What day is it today? 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Li Qing instinctively checked the calendar; today was the 29th of the lunar month. Shu Capital had recently issued a policy lifting the ban on setting off fireworks for the New Year.

"It's almost New Year..."

Bang! Pow!! Pow Pow!

Li Qing went to the window, watching as fireworks continuously soared upward, bursting open in the sky.

His expression was somewhat indecipherable, or perhaps already calm and unchanged; spending over a decade alone had long accustomed him to such a life.

Sometimes he felt sentimental loneliness, but more often he enjoyed solitude.

Ding dong!

His phone vibrated slightly. Li Qing took it out and when he saw the message, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Chen Chencheng: Happy New Year!!

Li Qing: Happy New Year!

Chen Chencheng: Where are you planning to spend the New Year?

Li Qing rubbed the screen unconsciously and slowly replied: Planning to go to the supermarket to buy some New Year's supplies.

After a while, Chen Chencheng sent another message: Alone?

Li Qing: Yes.

After waiting a couple of minutes to confirm no further messages from Chen Chencheng, Li Qing placed his phone aside, glanced at the Level 0 Magic Encyclopaedia, hesitated for a moment, then chose to relax a bit by logging into a game he hadn't played in months to unwind.

He still chose his signature hero, Blind Monk, but during a mid-game kick flash, he misaimed, causing displeasure among teammates.

Shen, the attending physician at Ren'ai Hospital: Blind Monk, are you blind? Even a random chicken pecking at the keyboard could play better than you!

Li Qing's brow furrowed, and he immediately replied without hesitation.

"My little mouth is smeared with honey."

"What?! I love you!"

"I wish your family good health, Aoligei!"

"Your mom is beautiful."

"I'm the plumber who came to your house."

"Your hands are as agile as butterflies weaving through flowers!"

"My Aoligei is for you to eat..."

In the end, Li Qing simply parked himself at the fountain, pouring out recent pressures until the game ended in defeat.

Feeling refreshed and clear-headed, after ignoring the friend request from the opposing team, Li Qing planned to return to bed and continue his meditation practice.

With daily persistent meditation to condense magical power, Li Qing felt the growth of his spiritual power leading to a boost in internal magical growth, enabling him to gradually increase the frequency of his magic casting daily.

At least, the Mage's Hand, this level 0 magic, could now be maintained by Li Qing for eight hours before exhausting his magic power.

Quite a decent improvement, although Li Qing felt his physique seemed too weak.

He looked down at his ribs, feeling somewhat dissatisfied.