49. The Main Force is Tired, I'm the Substitute

Chapter 49: The Main Force Is Tired, I'm the Substitute

Dean's office.

"Breakthrough?" Dean Xiao looked at Li Xingze across from him and asked softly.

If he wanted to probe Li Xingze's cultivation level, it would only take a moment, but such an act was intolerable to many.

Thus, Dean Xiao did not do so.

"Just luck."

Li Xingze nodded. Without the boost from the Three Step Tower, he could never have cultivated his Summoning Element to the Advanced level within two years.

The Three Step Tower was also a part of resources, and resources were far too important for mages!

"Your cultivation talent ranks among the top ten of all Pearl Institute students throughout the years. Even in the main campus, no student is stronger than you." Dean Xiao said with great admiration.

"I wouldn't dare. Without the Star River Vein, I still couldn't have broken through."

There were certainly many students in the main campus who were close to the threshold of Advanced, but they were stuck due to the lack of a Star River Vein.

Some might have even attempted a breakthrough but failed.

With the boost from the fourth floor of the Three Step Tower and a mental strength above the third realm, Li Xingze had broken through to Advanced so smoothly.

"Ahem, back to the main topic." Dean Xiao, despite his age, didn't want to watch Li Xingze subtly showing off.

"I've already read Mu Nujiao's message and know about the exchange student matter." Li Xingze said.

"Since you already know, I don't need to explain further. Time should still be enough. Are you going?" Dean Xiao left the choice to Li Xingze.

"Of course I'm going. This is a good chance to crush the Imperial Capital Academy's prestige." Li Xingze didn't hesitate at all.

In truth, crushing the Imperial Capital Academy's prestige was just something he said for Dean Xiao's sake. He simply didn't want Mu Ningxue and Mu Nujiao to be seen through.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Dean Xiao immediately smiled with relief.

"If you crush the Imperial Capital Academy's prestige, there will be a reward when you return." Dean Xiao said.

"It's a deal!"

There was one magical item in Pearl Institute's great treasury that Li Xingze really wanted.

The Gauntlet of Silent Thunder!

It could convert damage from other elemental attributes into Lightning Element damage. Since Li Xingze had the Lightning Element, his magic resistance to lightning was naturally higher.

With this magical item and the Silver Scale Armor, any magic below the Advanced level would basically be unable to harm him.

Imperial Capital Academy.

"Damn it, without Li Xingze here, how the hell are we supposed to fight!"

Zhao Manyan was full of complaints. He felt like he was just cannon fodder brought along by the teacher to fill the numbers.

"Old Zhao, can't you have a little faith in me?" Mo Fan hooked his arm around Zhao Manyan's shoulder and said irritably.

"Sorry, but you don't have a chance to play in this first match." Zhao Manyan rolled his eyes.

"Huh?" Mo Fan was stunned.

"Who told you to oversleep again."

"I was cultivating."

"Whether you were sleeping or cultivating, just stay put in the back." Teacher Gu Han, one of the leading teachers, walked over with a sour expression toward Mo Fan.

Everyone else had gathered early in the morning, but Mo Fan was the only one who was late, which made the strict Gu Han unfriendly toward him.

After scolding Mo Fan, Teacher Gu Han grew troubled again. "Dean Xiao said Li Xingze was already on his way, so why hasn't he arrived yet?"

Hearing this, Zhao Manyan's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked Teacher Gu Han, "Teacher Gu, is Li Xingze coming?"

"Mm." Teacher Gu Han glanced at Zhao Manyan and shook his head helplessly. "Who knows if he'll make it in time."

Upon hearing that Li Xingze was on his way, the other students exchanged glances. Regardless of whether they had a grudge against Li Xingze, his strength was obvious to all.

Maybe he alone could handle everyone from Imperial Capital Academy.

The battle format had already been decided: each side would send four people for a team battle.

The Imperial Capital Academy side seemed to have victory in their grasp, with several students looking cocky and even having the leisure to mock Luo Song from Pearl Institute.

The Pearl Institute side, on the other hand, seemed restless and nervous. Luo Song and Shen Mingxiao, two weaklings, actually had the nerve to shout back.

Teacher Gu Han seemed to appreciate the "show your blade" spirit of Luo Song and Shen Mingxiao, so he arranged them for the first match.

"The first match lineup is Shen Mingxiao, Luo Song, Xu Zhaoting, and Zhao Manyan."

This batch of exchange students was missing Peng Liang of the Shadow Element and had gained Xu Zhaoting of the Lightning Element.

"Damn, being stuck with these two, we're definitely losing." Zhao Manyan complained.

He wasn't expecting a brilliant victory, but at least could they not lose too embarrassingly?

"Good luck to you."

Mo Fan patted Xu Zhaoting and Zhao Manyan on the shoulders, wearing a slightly gloating expression.

Compared to Zhao Manyan's heavy heart, Xu Zhaoting wasn't thinking that much—he just needed to show his own strength.

"Senior, could you tell me how to get to the arena?"

"Go this way, turn right at the intersection, and walk straight for two kilometers. You'll see a Roman-style building—that's the arena."

"Thanks, senior."

"You must be an exchange student from another institute, right? Need me to show you around?"

"No need to trouble you, senior."

Li Xingze decisively made his escape. Truly, a man out in the world had to protect himself.

Following the directions, Li Xingze soon arrived at the arena. The arena was supposed to be closed by now, but when the guards heard he was an exchange student from Pearl Institute, they had no choice but to open the door and let him in.

As soon as he entered, Li Xingze saw the dejected faces of the Pearl Institute group.

"Looks like they lost."

Li Xingze murmured, though he didn't know if it was just the first match or both.

"Hey, you there, skulking around—what are you up to?"

At that moment, Lu Zhenghe from Imperial Capital Academy spotted Li Xingze entering and immediately started pressuring him with words.

Li Xingze glanced at the arrogant fellow and said calmly, "I'm an exchange student from Pearl Institute. You could call me a substitute."

"A substitute?"

Lu Zhenghe, who had been slightly cautious, no longer hid the sneer on his face after hearing that.

"So you're just a little substitute. You came at just the right time—your Pearl Institute just got crushed by us. You can go comfort them now." Lu Zhenghe said with extreme arrogance.

Li Xingze raised an eyebrow slightly. Having reached the high-level tier, he wasn't about to be provoked so easily by a mere Intermediate-Level Mage.

Teacher Gu Han, who was worrying over the next match's lineup, also noticed the commotion. Once he made out Li Xingze's face, he exclaimed:

"Li Xingze! You're finally here."

Seeing the Pearl Institute teacher's reaction, Lu Zhenghe frowned. Just a substitute—was it really worth that much excitement?

Li Xingze simply nodded with a light smile.

With Li Xingze showing up, Gu Han was suddenly brimming with confidence. At the very least, this could turn one match around!