Teacher Zhuang said, "As swift as the wind."
Feng Wen murmured, "As swift as the wind, as swift as the wind."
Teacher Zhuang turned to me and said, "Lei Xiang, although you didn't lose today, you fought too strenuously. You didn't bring out any of your own advantages at all."
I said in surprise, "I didn't bring out my advantages?"
Teacher Zhuang nodded and said, "Do you still remember your first victory in the Chief Contest when you first participated?"
I said, "Was it the match with Huo Xing?"
Teacher Zhuang said, "Yes, that's the one. Do you still remember how you won?"
I nodded and said, "Of course I remember. I deliberately took a hit from him and then knocked him off the arena. You mean..."
Teacher Zhuang said, "Yes. Although I don't know what kind of battle qi you're practicing, I've noticed that your physical defense is extremely high. Not only is your battle qi defense high, but your physical body's defense is also quite good. Maybe you're innately gifted. Since you have such a great talent, why not make use of it? I'll also teach you three words, which are — as steady as a mountain. Speed isn't your advantage. Only strength and defense are. Do you understand?"
I nodded gladly. Teacher Zhuang's words immediately made me feel as if a light had been shed on things, as if I had grasped some truth.
After walking out of Teacher Zhuang's office, Feng Wen and I were both thinking about what Teacher Zhuang had just said. As soon as we left the office building, we ran into a group of first-year magic class students. When they saw our appearance, they all started snickering.
"Look, I don't know which class those two are from. How did they end up like that? Judging by their appearance, they were either electrocuted by lightning magic or burned by fire magic."
"I guess they must have made a mistake and were punished by the teacher."
...
Feng Wen and I raised our heads. Feng Wen whispered to me, "This is so embarrassing. Let's go back to the dormitory quickly." We both let out a strange whistle, which startled the students beside us, and then we quickly ran back to the dormitory.
After taking a quick shower and changing into clean clothes, Feng Wen and I finally relaxed. Feng Wen said to me, "Old Lei, I can't take it anymore. I'm exhausted. I'm going back to rest first." When did I become Old Lei? Am I really that old?
I nodded and said, "Goodbye. I'm going back too."
Feng Wen smiled and said, "The big competition is going to start the day after tomorrow. You must work hard."
I said, "You too. I hope to meet you in the grade final."
On the way back to the dormitory, I was thinking about what Teacher Zhuang had said. As steady as a mountain. How could I achieve that? Her intention should be for me to make full use of my advantage of high physical defense.
"Lei Xiang, you're back."
I looked up and saw it was Zi Xue. I gave her a gentle smile and said, "Have you been waiting for me here all this time?"
Zi Xue nodded and said, "Why are you so late? You usually go back to the dormitory for cultivation quite early in the afternoon, don't you? I asked Feng Yun, and he said he didn't see you."
I replied, "There was a test in our class today to select candidates for the final competition."
Zi Xue looped her arm through mine and said, "You must have been selected, right?"
I gently tapped her cute little nose and said, "You have so much confidence in me? There are plenty of students in the academy with great strength."
Zi Xue said, "I just believe in you. You definitely have the strength."
I nodded and said, "What about you? Are you participating in the competition?"
Zi Xue said, "My magic level isn't high enough. How could I participate in the competition? (Zi Xue is in the second-year magic class and mainly practices water magic.) My sister is participating in the third-year competition. Her light magic is quite famous, you know."
I smiled and said, "She's the protégé of the vice principal. It's only natural for her to participate in the competition."
Zi Xue wrinkled her little nose and said, "My sister didn't participate in the competition because of her connections. She relies entirely on her own strength. If you win the grade championship, will you really challenge Li Wa?"
My face darkened, and I said, "Definitely. As long as I win the grade championship, I will definitely challenge him. If I can't defeat him, it will definitely have a great impact on my future cultivation, especially psychologically."
Zi Xue let out a sigh and said, "Although you're very powerful, but..."
I smiled faintly and said, "What? You don't have high hopes for me either?"
Zi Xue quickly shook her head and said, "No, I have absolute confidence in you. But Li Wa is after all the number one master in the whole academy. He's not that easy to deal with. I'm afraid you'll get hurt."
I said, "Don't worry. My skin is pretty tough. It's not going to be that easy to hurt me. Don't worry. Even if I can't win, I'll be fine."
Zi Xue nodded and said, "That's good. As long as you promise to keep yourself safe, I'll be at ease."
After seeing Zi Xue off, I returned to the dormitory and continued to ponder over Teacher Zhuang's words...
Two days later, the semester graduation ceremony was held. It was nothing more than the usual clichés about how the students had worked hard during the semester and hopes that everyone would continue to work hard and make even greater progress.
After the graduation ceremony ended, the dean of instruction, Zhang Feng, walked to the podium and said, "The Tiandu Academy's once-a-semester martial arts competition is about to begin. The contestants from each grade should go to their designated competition arenas to participate in the competition."
Today is the first round of the competition. The competition format is quite simple. Twelve people are divided into two groups. (For other grades with five classes, ten people are divided into two groups.) The top two in each group will advance and directly participate in the knockout round. That is to say, if I want to win the grade championship, I have to participate in seven matches.
Feng Wen and I were assigned to different groups respectively. I took a look around. The opponents in my group were all people I hadn't seen much before. (Since I got injured after entering the academy and then was put under confinement, I really haven't met many people.) Teacher Zhuang called Feng Wen and me to her and gave us pre-match guidance: "You must be careful. Lei Xiang, if you encounter someone from the warrior class, it will be relatively easier to deal with. But when facing those two from the magic class, you must be very careful. Generally, the magic class students will use some strange and peculiar magic. Take note. Feng Wen, as for you, you should fully utilize your speed. Don't give your opponent any chance. Achieve the greatest result in the shortest time. Although I haven't taught many classes, you two are the most promising first-year students I've ever seen. Don't let your teacher down."
I nodded firmly and turned to walk towards my arena.
Since it's a round-robin tournament, our two groups will each have three matches today, and the matches will be carried out simultaneously. My first opponent is from the warrior class. He looks very strong, standing about 180 centimeters tall, with explosive muscles all over his body.
The referee teacher called us over and said, "Lei Xiang from the magic warrior class versus Xili from the warrior class. The rules of the match are simple. Don't strike the opponent's vital parts, no fatalities are allowed, don't maim the opponent, and don't use illegal weapons (usually, we choose the weapons provided by the academy). Those who step out of the arena or are unable to fight will be deemed the loser. Of course, surrender is also an option. Do you understand?"
I nodded quickly and circulated the Battle Qi of the Mad God Duel throughout my body. When Xili first saw me, his eyes were filled with surprise. He thought, why is this guy from the magic warrior class? He actually looks even bigger than me. He must be hard to deal with.
I stood proudly on the arena and said, "Come on."
Xili snorted and said, "Aren't you going to use a weapon?"
I raised my fists and waved them, saying, "These are my best weapons. You can use whatever you like."
Xili thought I was looking down on him. Instantly, a fierce anger flared up in his eyes, and he said hatefully, "Fine, this is what you asked for. Don't blame me for being ruthless." After that, he took an iron long staff from the weapon rack beside him and twirled it, creating a huge swirl of staff shadows. He said, "Take this."
It's quite comfortable to fight against a pure warrior like this. At least it's not like the last time when I was dealing with the senior from the third-year magic warrior class, where I also had to guard against the opponent's magic.
Although Xili looks rough and tough, he's not a pure strength type of fighter. With a shake of his long staff, it instantly turned into a sky full of staff shadows and lunged towards me.
I thought to myself, although your moves are good, the force is dispersed, and it can't cause any real harm to me at all. I stood there without dodging or evading, waiting for his staff to come down.
My behavior immediately surprised Xili. He thought I would have some unexpected move or use magic. Just as the staff shadows were about to hit me, he suddenly retracted the long staff, and all the staff shadows converged into a single strike. He quickly thrust forward, using a stabbing move from the art of spearplay.
The long staff had no sharp edge. I inhaled deeply and concentrated my mind, gathering the Battle Qi of the Mad God Duel in my chest. I simply blocked his attack with my chest.
The long staff bent. Xili felt as if he had struck an iron plate and couldn't harm me at all. A sneer curled at the corner of my mouth. I grabbed his long staff, released my battle qi outward, and my hand turned light yellow. I snatched the long staff from him. I pointed the staff forward and pressed it down on his shoulder, saying, "Do you still want to continue?"
Xili tried to struggle, but the long staff on his shoulder was like an extremely heavy burden, and he couldn't move it even an inch. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Seeing that he still seemed unwilling to admit defeat, I pressed down harder with the long staff in my hand. Xili was forced to kneel on one knee by me. I shouted, "If you don't want to make a fool of yourself, admit defeat quickly."
Xili knew that he couldn't compete with me in terms of strength, and he hadn't been able to bring out his own expertise. Feeling so frustrated, he had to say, "Fine, I admit defeat."
I lifted the staff and threw it back to him, then turned and stepped down from the arena. Xili shouted, "If I meet you again in the future, I won't let you succeed so easily."
I turned my head and gave him a contemptuous smile, saying, "If you can hold out until you see me again, I'll be waiting for you anytime."
After stepping down from the arena, Teacher Zhuang came up to me and said, "You did very well. You didn't give the opponent a chance to fight back at all."
I smiled and said, "I owe it all to your guidance."
In the following few days, I smoothly passed three more rounds in a row and achieved the excellent result of winning all four of my matches. Today is the last group match. Regardless of the outcome, I can enter the top four. Today's opponent is a student from the magic class. According to Teacher Zhuang, he has also won all four of his matches so far. Our battle today will determine who will qualify as the first in the group.
In the other group, Feng Wen, with his ghostly body skills, was also outstanding. All the matches in his group had already ended. Feng Wen qualified as the first in the group, and the second place was a warrior.
I stepped onto the arena. My opponent was dressed in the standard attire of a magician. It was only when the match was about to start that I realized that my opponent today was actually a female (I have no intention of discriminating against female classmates).
My opponent was completely wrapped in a thick red magic robe. The hood on her head was pulled down low, so I couldn't see her entire face. The only part of her exposed was her crystal-clear and white right hand, holding a long magic staff. Coiled around the staff was a huge snake carved from some unknown material. At the very top was the snake's mouth, which contained a large magic crystal. At a glance, it was obvious that it was a top-quality magic staff. According to Teacher Zhuang, this girl was extremely powerful, and none of the previous opponents I had faced could withstand her extremely powerful magic.
After all, the opponent was a female. I nodded slightly at her. The female magician raised her staff. As soon as the referee teacher announced the start of the match, a long string of fireballs immediately shot towards me from the tip of her staff. What a fast speed of magic casting! I hastily launched several ice spikes to counteract part of her attack. When the remaining fireballs got close, I punched them one by one and dealt with them all.
While I was fending off the fireballs, she gently swayed her magic staff and kept chanting in a low voice. Obviously, she was going to use magic continuously to prevent me from getting close.
I wasn't in a hurry to attack either. I wanted to see what else she could come up with. I hadn't been able to meet a real opponent in the past few days, which made me feel quite frustrated. Winning so easily couldn't really satisfy me. I could only truly improve myself through continuous challenges.
At this moment, her magic was complete. Her magic staff drew a beautiful red magic hexagram in the air. Based on my experience of reading magic books in the academy library, I knew that this was at least a magic spell of level 5 or above, and it definitely wouldn't be easy to deal with.
Sure enough, I heard her clear voice: "Sleeping Fire God, release your power and wake up. The guard of the God, let the Fire Dragon descend to the world." No, this wasn't a level 5 magic spell, but a level 6 one.
I was immediately greatly alarmed. Although my defensive power was extremely strong, I still couldn't contend with this powerful magic. A resounding dragon's roar came from the red magic hexagram, and a Fire Dragon that wasn't too big flew out from the magic array. It bared its teeth and brandished its claws as it stood between me and the female magician.
I circulated the Mad God Art throughout my body and kept the Demon God Art within. I calmly looked at the Fire Dragon. From the slight trembling of her magic staff, I could tell that it wasn't very easy for the female magician to sustain this magic. She waved her staff and began to urge the summoned Fire Dragon to attack me.
As soon as the Fire Dragon moved, I felt a rush of searing heat. What a powerful flame! It truly lived up to being the highest-level intermediate magic. I immediately released my battle qi outward and threw a punch at the Fire Dragon. The light yellow battle qi generated by the Mad God Art accurately hit the head of the Fire Dragon. The entire Fire Dragon seemed to shrink a bit, but it still lunged towards me as before.
Instead of being alarmed, I was delighted. The battle qi could actually offset the power of the magic. It was a new discovery, and not bad at all. Later, I realized that this was a well-known secret. Only someone like me who hadn't attended many classes didn't know it.
I released several more streams of battle qi in succession, which slowed down the speed of the Fire Dragon significantly. The female magician kept casting flame magic on the Fire Dragon from behind.
This couldn't go on like this. I felt that I could already smell the burnt odor. If I was hit by this, I estimated that my body could definitely withstand it, but my clothes, hair, and such would probably be gone. Even if I wasn't injured, I couldn't afford to lose face like that. Dealing with a magician was really troublesome.
I secretly wrapped the Demon God Art within the Battle Qi of the Mad God Duel and released a stream of battle qi with 100% of the power of the Mad God Art wrapping 30% of the power of the Demon God Art. Since the dark elements were completely surrounded by my Mad God Art, from the outside, there was no way to tell that anything was amiss.
This time, I exerted all my strength, and my clothes bulged. A pure yellow beam of light shot straight towards the Fire Dragon. The Fire Dragon spat out a large expanse of flames from its mouth, trying to resist my attack. At this moment, the dark elements played an important role. Because they were contained within, the power of the Battle Qi of the Mad God Duel increased greatly. The flames simply couldn't affect it, and it directly hit the Fire Dragon.
The Fire Dragon was shattered by the violent battle qi and the dark elements and instantly vanished into the air. The female magician was affected by the qi mechanism and her whole body shook violently.
This girl is too powerful. I can't let her cast magic any longer. I let out a loud shout: "Fierce Tempest." I punched the ground. Since I had used this move before, the female magician obviously knew its power. She immediately cast a thick protective shield on herself and quickly moved to the right.
This time, I struck the exact center of the arena. And the battle qi rushed forward, covering half of the arena at once. Although she didn't move slowly, she surely wouldn't dare to come close to me. After all, I'm a magic warrior.
The violent airflow and debris shattered the defensive barrier she had hastily set up, and the hood on her head was also blown off by the airflow.
My eyes lit up. What a beautiful woman! I didn't expect this female magician to be so pretty. She was in no way inferior to Zi Xue. Her slender eyebrows were raised in anger, and her phoenix eyes were filled with power. She was obviously enraged by me.
Although she was a woman, she was also my opponent. I didn't have any sentiment of showing tenderness to a woman. While she was in a panic, I flashed over quickly and threw a punch at her.
I hit the target right on, but the target actually disappeared. Oh no, this is the Mirror Image Technique. This girl's magic is so profound that she was able to escape my intuition in such a situation.
A clear voice came: "You have no manners at all. Don't you know I'm a girl?"
I turned around. She was right behind me. I said coldly, "I'm a warrior, not a gentleman. Manners mean nothing to me."
The opponent snorted. Her body began to move rapidly. Relying mainly on speed and the Mirror Image Technique, I simply couldn't tell which one was the real her.
I stood in the middle of the arena, motionless. Suddenly, my back hurt. I was hit by a fireball, and a patch of my clothes turned charred black at once. I was instantly furious. I hate it the most when others damage my clothes. I let out an angry shout and kept throwing punches. The power of the Fierce Tempest enveloped the entire arena. I didn't spare myself either. The whole arena was filled with smoke, debris, and battle qi.
A strong murderous aura emanated from my whole body. Ignoring the direction, with me as the center, I mercilessly released powerful battle qi all around. Although the female magician's magic was strong, in terms of absolute strength, it still had a certain gap compared with my battle qi. Under my mad tiger-like attacks, she gradually felt that she couldn't hold on any longer. Each of my attacks was so heavy.
This was the first time I used my battle qi like this. I didn't expect that the Battle Qi of the Mad God Duel would keep replenishing itself continuously. I originally thought it wouldn't last long, but now I could keep throwing punches without interruption. It was really exhilarating.
"Student Lei Xiang, please stop. If you damage the arena any further, you will have to bear all the costs yourself."
Upon hearing this, I was taken aback and stopped. The female magician curled up and hid in the corner. The surroundings of the arena were in a sorry state due to my attacks. The originally watching audience had all retreated dozens of meters away. Some of them even looked rather disheveled.
After I stopped, I immediately became the target of public condemnation. Almost everyone thought that I shouldn't have treated a girl like that. They said I was a disgrace to men. What did they know? To me, the most important thing was victory.
I walked up to the female magician and said, "How are you?"
The female magician slowly moved aside the magic robe she used to cover herself, withdrew the defensive barrier, and looked at me with lingering fear. She said, "You're too terrifying. How could you attack like that? Ah, my clothes." A part of her magic robe on her chest was torn open, and I just happened to catch a glimpse of some beautiful scenery. My face turned red, and I quickly turned my head away.
The female magician's crying came from behind me. Girls were indeed more vulnerable.
I said indifferently, "Then do you still want to continue?"
The female magician shook her head desperately and said with a sobbing voice, "Who would want to have a duel with someone like you who doesn't know how to show tenderness to a woman?" After that, she adjusted her clothes, flipped over, and stepped down from the arena.
The female magician thought to herself, fortunately, it was just the clothes that were damaged. If my face had been ruined by you, this brute, that would have been a real loss.
Just like that, I dramatically won the first place in the group and smoothly advanced to the semi-finals.
After winning the last match, instead of getting praised by Teacher Zhuang, I got severely scolded. And Zi Xue was on her side too.
Teacher Zhuang said, "Lei Xiang, you really have no sense of decency. Although it was a martial arts competition, you shouldn't have treated her like that. What if you had seriously injured her? Moreover, it's very impolite to damage a girl's clothes."
I said in surprise, "But you told me to win the championship. Only by defeating her could I get a favorable position. As for damaging her clothes, I didn't mean to do it either."
Teacher Zhuang said, "Even if you want to win the championship, you can't just fight recklessly without caring about your image. Now, many teachers have come to me to settle the score, saying that I've taught a crazy student."
Zi Xue, who had originally come to cheer me on, also walked over and said, "Lei Xiang, you were in the wrong today. How could you be so fierce to Bingbing? You even made her lose face in public. She's my good friend."
I was at a loss for words. Was I fierce? If I hadn't been fierce with her, I might have been roasted by her. She clearly uses fire magic, but she's named Bingbing. It's really annoying. Although she's good-looking, she doesn't have much attraction for me.
From that day on, I got my first nickname — Beauty Killer. It meant that in any competition, even if I faced a beautiful girl, I wouldn't hold back. And of course, there was another meaning, which was that I had won Zi Xue's heart.
My opponent in the semi-final was that warrior from the same group as Feng Wen. I originally wanted to deal with him gently, but as soon as this guy stepped onto the arena, he ignored me completely. When the referee announced the start of the match, he struck an arrogant pose and even said something like, "I am the embodiment of justice and will eliminate you on behalf of the beautiful girls in the academy." The most annoying thing was that there were actually many girls under the arena who let out screams in response to him. I was so angry that I almost vomited blood. With just a few exchanges of powerful and straightforward moves, I blasted him off the arena.
I don't know if Feng Wen was trying to please the beautiful girls or if his strength wasn't up to par, but he actually lost to that female magician. As a result, of course, I met the female magician again.
Standing on the arena for the final match, I originally wanted to deal with her gently, but she didn't give me a chance at all. She didn't even make a move and just admitted defeat and went down. Her doing this wasn't a small matter. Beautiful girls are very influential. I almost became the public enemy of all the boys.
Almost all the students under the arena were shouting things like, "Shameless! Give the championship back to her." But in order to challenge Li Wa, I couldn't give up this title no matter what. I could only go back to the dormitory in silence. Fortunately, because of the powerful strength I had shown, none of these first-year classmates dared to have a physical confrontation with me.
Li Wa, I will get back all the humiliation I've suffered from you. My heart was filled with anger.
Feng Yun returned to the dormitory and said to me indifferently, "Zi Xue came to look for you." Judging from his attitude, he was obviously blaming me too. The power of beautiful girls is really great. What exactly did I do? I just used some more intense moves to win the match. Aren't women opponents? Since they don't want to talk to me, I'm glad to be left alone.
I quickly walked out of the dormitory building. Zi Xue was standing at the door looking inside. When she saw me coming out, she came up to me.
I said, "So nice of you to come looking for me."
Zi Xue said anxiously, "You've incurred public wrath. Bingbing is beautiful and good at fanning the flames. Now the whole first year is against you, and there's a trend of it spreading to other grades. Be careful when you go out."
A trace of murderous intent flashed in my eyes. I wasn't someone with a good temper in the first place. They've provoked me like this, and I can't hold it in any longer. I said coldly, "If anyone dares to cause trouble for me, they're tired of living."
Zi Xue grabbed my hand and said, "What are you doing? You're so scary. Don't be like this, okay?"
I snorted coldly and said, "I won't attack others unless they attack me. If they want to deal with me, they have to pay the price."
Zi Xue let go of my hand and said with red eyes, "Why are you like this? I originally wanted to persuade you to apologize to Bingbing, and then say a few good words for you to calm this matter down. But instead, you've become even more stubborn."
My anger flared up instantly, and I said coldly, "You really don't know me well. Am I the kind of person who can grovel and kowtow? Humph."
After saying that, I turned around and went back to the dormitory. This damned Bingbing not only made me lose the support of everyone around me but also caused Zi Xue to have a falling-out with me. If I get a chance, I'll definitely make her realize how powerful I am.
Back in the dormitory, I lay on the bed. Thinking of Zi Xue's delicate appearance, my heart softened involuntarily. I'll go find her tomorrow. As long as I take the initiative, we'll surely be able to make up as before. No, I can't. It would be too embarrassing for me to just go like that. I can't go. These two thoughts kept alternating in my mind. In the end, I decided not to look for Zi Xue for the time being and to wait until after the match with Li Wa.
Early the next morning, I went to the academy's Department of Instruction to sign up for challenging Li Wa.
Director Zhang didn't say much when he saw me. After all, he was a teacher. He just said curiously, "Why are there two people challenging the chief of the fifth grade this year? You know, Li Wa's strength is really extraordinary." The implication of his words was that I was overestimating my abilities.
I asked in surprise, "Who else is going to challenge him?"
Zhang Feng said, "There's one more person, that is, Zi Yan, the champion of the third grade."
I was greatly shocked. Zi Yan? How could it be her? I hurriedly asked, "How will our two challenges proceed?"
Zhang Feng thought for a while and said, "According to the previous regulations of the academy, if several champions of lower grades all want to challenge the same champion of a higher grade, they have to determine the winner among themselves first before challenging upward. That is to say, you and Zi Yan must have a match first."
After coming out of the Department of Instruction, my heart was in turmoil. Why did Zi Yan want to challenge Li Wa? Didn't Li Wa always pursue her? If they have a match, what will the result be? Can Li Wa hurt Zi Yan? Definitely not. Could it be that Zi Xue asked her sister to do this to prevent the match between me and Li Wa? Yes, it must be like that.
Since it was already the end of the semester, all the students had a holiday today. Most of them were packing their things in the dormitory, preparing to go home for the vacation. Zi Xue should be at home today.
I walked out of the academy and headed straight for the Duke's Mansion. I wanted to find Zi Xue and ask her clearly. I've made so much effort just for this match with Li Wa, and I definitely don't want anything to hinder me.
When I arrived at the Duke's Mansion, I asked the servant to announce my arrival for me. After a while, Zi Xue came out. Her face was a bit pale, and it made my heart ache when I saw it.
Zi Xue said indifferently, "Why are you here?"
I sighed and said, "Won't you let me go in and talk?"