Elf: Is the bear apprentice the weakest? I'll shatter the sky with my fists.

Eileen gasped and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hurry up."

Li Chen leaped onto the broad back of the Phoenix King, its seven-colored wings shimmering brilliantly in the sunlight. "Phoenix King, let's set off back to the capital!"

"As ordered!"

With that clear phoenix cry, a rainbow streaked across the sky, carrying the two of them soaring into the clouds.

Eileen leaned against Li Chen's chest, the rabbit ears on her hat swaying merrily in the wind.

......

......

The Crown Temple, with its towering branches.

The radiant orb of light from the Crowned Lace was swaying restlessly.

It scratched its illusory head in confusion, then froze in place as if suddenly realizing something.

"Wait! Li Chen!"

After saying that, Calycerin suddenly lunged at the edge of the ball of light, her urgent voice echoing across the snowfield, "Have you forgotten something?! Let Ho-Oh give me a breath of fire too—!"

However, the rainbow in the distant sky had long since disappeared into the clouds.

Only the cold wind, whipping up snowflakes, tore its cries apart on the empty snowfield...

The crown of buds swayed weakly for a moment, then silently retreated back to the treetop, looking particularly desolate in the falling snow.

"Grass (pronounced clearly and accurately, a characteristic of the Crowned Calyx)!"

"Feather." (HXD, you know, this thing of mine is actually harmful to Grass-type Pokémon like you.)

"..."

Tonight, the silence of the Crown King is deafening.

......

......

When Ho-Oh landed at Tsinghua and Peking Universities bathed in starlight, the midnight bells had just struck twelve.

Several lights were still on on campus, and behind the glass windows of the laboratories, students who were working late into the night looked up in unison.

"That's... Ho-Oh?!"

"Oh my god! Look at the sky!"

Amidst gasps of surprise, a streak of multicolored light flashed across the library's dome.

The night wind swirled the sycamore leaves, making them dance in the rainbow light.

Several doctoral students, carrying their papers and hurrying along, even dropped their papers, which trembled slightly under the sacred pressure.

boom!

Li Chen nimbly leaped off the Phoenix King's back, with Eileen curled up in his arms like a docile kitten.

He looked up at the night sky: "Thanks, old friend."

"Ling!" (You're welcome.)

In response, the Phoenix King let out a long cry, its dazzling wings unfurling and scattering countless starlight-like golden dust under the moonlight.

With a gentle breeze, it transformed into a rainbow and shot straight into the sky.

The campus was completely silent.

The senior student holding the coffee cup stared wide-eyed, while the female students in the lab pressed against the window, forgetting even to breathe.

All eyes were focused on the figure holding the blonde girl, as if witnessing a legend descend to earth.

"This year's juniors are just too amazing!"

A third-year university student wearing black-rimmed glasses adjusted his glasses, his voice trembling, "Not only did he win the favor of the Phoenix King, but he also has a beautiful girl with elf ears in his arms..."

"I envy the girl."

"Aren't you a man?"

"I am a gender-specific armed helicopter."

"Hey, the US now only has two genders!"

A chorus of wails immediately filled the laboratory building.

Several graduate students looked at their mountain of papers, then glanced out the window, and suddenly found that their coconut lattes didn't taste so good anymore.

Meanwhile, in the professors' offices on the top floor, several elderly professors with white hair exchanged smiles.

"This scene reminds me of more than thirty years ago..."

An old professor stroked his teacup, a look of reminiscence flashing in his eyes, "That boy's father also carried Miss Shi in his arms and ran across Lover's Slope under the fireworks of Qixi Festival."

Another professor scoffed, "I suppose the Shi family hasn't figured out how to deal with this bloodline that's been living abroad yet?"

He gazed meaningfully out the window, "After all... that's the one who can tame Ho-Oh."

Inside the conference hall at the alliance headquarters.

The crystal chandelier cast dappled light on the mahogany table.

Shi Donghai tapped the teacup lightly with his fingertips, the porcelain striking the sandalwood with a crisp sound.

"Everything will naturally be based on Li Chen's wishes."

He looked up at Zhong Lixuan across from him, his gaze behind his glasses as deep as a pool. "Besides, Li Xuan made it clear back then."

The teacup was placed heavily on the gold-plated coaster, making a clear "ding" sound.

"His son has no need for the Shi family's protection whatsoever."

Chapter 532 Momotaro and Kirachi

Zhong Lixuan raised an eyebrow slightly, gently stroking the celadon teacup: "Oh?"

He dragged out the last syllable, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

"The complete control of that Water City Secret Realm... if it weren't for the secret approval of a certain Shi family patriarch, it probably wouldn't have fallen into that kid's hands so easily, right?"

Shi Donghai's movements suddenly froze, and the teacup he had raised in mid-air paused.

He turned his face away somewhat awkwardly, a faint blush rising at his graying temples: "Ahem... this..."

The old man's fingers unconsciously twirled the tablecloth tassels. After a few light coughs, he replied, "I was simply...appreciating talent. That lad truly has exceptional abilities in managing the secret realm..."

Hehehe...

Zhong Lixuan smiled and waved his hand, the ripples in the teacup reflecting the fine lines at the corners of his eyes: "We old folks, some things are better left unsaid."

As dusk deepened outside the window, Shi Donghai gazed at the falling sycamore leaves, his fingertips tracing a crack in his teacup: "If Li Xuan and Xin Xin... even one of them were still here..."

"Ugh......"

The old man's voice suddenly choked, turning into a heavy sigh that stirred up years of accumulated dust on the table.

......

......

Inside the detached villas of Tsinghua and Peking Universities, warm yellow light shines through the floor-to-ceiling windows onto the porch.

As soon as Li Chen pushed open the villa door, a pink figure rushed over.

"Master, come back—"

Sakurada Yukari's cheers came to an abrupt halt.

She stared wide-eyed at the blonde, elfin girl beside Li Chen, whose emerald eyes shone with a captivating brilliance under the lamplight.

A quick glance reveals its extraordinary nature.

Who exactly is this woman?

Why are you so intimate with Li Chen?

Li Chen naturally put his arm around Eileen's waist and kissed her cheek: "Let me introduce you, this is your teacher's wife, Eileen."

"ah!"

Eileen's ears instantly turned red, and she lightly punched Li Chen's shoulder with her small fist, "Don't, don't do this in front of outsiders..."

Sakurada Yukari's snack bag fell to the ground with a thud, her mouth agape, wide enough to fit an entire Poké Ball: "...???"

"Hey, she's not exactly an outsider."

Li Chen chuckled softly, then suddenly reached out and pulled the stunned Sakurada Yukari into his arms.

In the warm embrace, the two girls froze simultaneously.

"What's the panic?"

Li Chen's voice carried a reassuring warmth, "You are all the most important people to me."

Sakura Yukari's tense shoulders suddenly relaxed, and she buried her face in Li Chen's clothes, quietly sniffing.

So it turns out my master...

I will always remember her.

This realization brought tears to her eyes, like a drifting boat finally finding its harbor...

pat!

Suddenly, a soft sound came from the stairwell.

Everyone looked up and saw Ao Shiyao standing barefoot on the steps, her light blue silk nightgown swaying gently in the night breeze.

The glass she was holding rolled to the ground, leaving a trail of glistening watermarks on the teak floor.

"It seems..."

Ao Shiyao lowered her eyelashes and said in a slightly low voice, "I'm sorry for disturbing you."

Li Chen walked through the gate with a smile: "No, you've come at just the right time."

......

......

Silent all night.

Li Chen slowly opened his eyes and felt the warm weight in his arms.

“zZ...”

Eileen curled up beside him, her long golden hair spreading across the pillow like silk, rising and falling gently with her even breathing.

Li Chen gently brushed aside the stray hairs on her forehead, his fingertips lingering on her delicate skin.

As he gazed at the ceiling, his eyes softened, and a smile unconsciously crept onto his lips.

"Bagogo~"

Talebagos squeezed out of the elven satchel by the bedside, its hexagonal body stretching out like a soft, sticky mochi.

It squinted its eyes and made a contented purring sound.

Immediately afterwards, two more little heads peeked out from the bag.

Meloeta rubbed her sleepy eyes, a tuft of hair sticking up from the ends of her musical note-shaped hair.

Kygerd yawned lazily, his cellular body gleaming in the morning light.

The three Pokémon sat in a row at the head of the bed, looking at Li Chen in unison like a set of moving alarm clocks.

Staring at him by five round, bright eyes, Li Chen smiled helplessly.

He leaned down and placed a light kiss on Eileen's smooth forehead, then carefully withdrew his arm from her pillow.

The three little ones occupied the top of the bed and the left and right shoulders respectively, and left the room together.

After leaving the room, the aroma of charred bacon wafted from the kitchen, where Sakurada Yukari was humming a song as she arranged the dishes.