Boom!
The entire battlefield trembled.
At that moment, the official's fire-element magic was disrupted. He stared at the Demonic Elder, utterly stunned.
"That's impossible! Could that really be a forbidden spell?"
The fully grown demon stood before him, its body wreathed in Demonic Law, as immense as a mountain.
No matter whether it was fire-element magic or shadow-element magic, nothing could break through its defenses.
He gritted his teeth. That damn Demon Artifact had actually blocked his magic!
In the blink of an eye, a golden beam of light struck him.
But the Demonic Elder's aura was so terrifying that it seemed to defy the heavens. He roared furiously, and the beam was scattered.
"Gah!"
With a single roar, the tiny figure was sent flying.
The Flame Dragon's attack didn't stop.
Jiang Yu raised a hand, and a burst of light flashed across his fingertips...
The Demonic Elder changed the direction of its attack, unleashing the Demon Artifact-clad demon into the air.
The demon's face twisted with fury. The white clothes on its body were scorched black.
Even the Demon Artifact hadn't been able to fully protect it from that strange magic.
As it rose higher and higher, the demon's expression grew more and more twisted. Its entire body was being roasted.
"Take this!"
The Demon Elder's furious figure rose to his feet.
His body transformed into a streak of rainbow light and flew toward the demon in midair.
A burst of forbidden fire-element magic shot from his hand, striking the terrifying Flame Dragon.
But what shocked him was that the Flame Dragon didn't even flinch. Its roar shook the heavens, scattering his magic.
The Flame Dragon's might once again enveloped the hearts of everyone present.
"Jiang Yu, you've won. Hurry up and dispel that forbidden magic!"
The dean of the Academy of Magic stood up, his face drained of color, and shouted.
Only then did Jiang Yu wave his hand.
The Flame Dragon quickly flew into the sky.
"Gah!"
A moment later, a blast shook the horizon.
A magnificent crimson blaze bloomed in the sky.
Then, a fierce gale swept through, dispersing the light that had enveloped Jiang Yu.
As though forged from gold, the radiance shone once more upon Jiang Yu.
He stood there calmly, his black clothes concealing his cold figure.
"Was that... a forbidden spell?"
Jiang Yu looked at the girl below him and asked.
The girl's pretty face broke into a smile, as though she had never felt such warm sunlight before. The ice around her seemed to melt away.
"Beautiful."
Her reply consisted of just two simple words.
The entire arena erupted like boiling water.
"That kind of power... that's high-tier magic! Jiang Yu is a high-tier mage!"
"No, no, that's not right. I clearly saw him cast a star spell. That's a forbidden spell!"
"I've never seen power that could rival high-tier magic. So what exactly is it?"
For a moment, the crowd buzzed with excitement and admiration.
He stood there, in the midst of the gaze of everyone present, radiating the brilliance of a genius—Jiang Yu!
The distinguished figures seated high above stared at the unbelievable sight, their faces clouded with conflicting emotions. Not one of them spoke.
"Ha ha ha!"
One burst of inappropriate laughter rang out among them.
But when Dean Lu stood up and clapped, the others had no choice but to rise and applaud as well.
Even if they were reluctant.
A defeat was a defeat. They had lost to an official they had held in high regard.
And he had lost so thoroughly that it was humiliating—a crushing defeat!
At that moment, the prestigious Imperial Academy had lost face.
Most of the blame, however, fell on the demonic figure standing there. He couldn't help but begin to envy Jiang Yu.
Just how much had that girl grown over the past few years?
She clearly had a family and a background. How had she managed to rise so far, so impossibly fast?
After enjoying the applause of everyone present, Jiang Yu walked off the stage, unhurried.
Dean Lu and the others had already risen and applauded him.
Even Jiang Yu's calm, indifferent smile and his noble bearing were met with smiles and admiration from everyone present.
If someone else were a little better than him, they would want to catch up and might even feel jealous!
But if someone were so far above them that they couldn't even hope to catch up, then all they could feel was admiration!
"Jiang Yu, what kind of magic was that? I feel like its power is even greater than high-tier magic."
Eileen ran over. Her chest rose and fell as she asked curiously.
Jiang Yu looked at the young girl who had been throwing her weight around so fiercely, then gave a quiet cough before replying.
"That was fifth-element forbidden magic: Flame Dragon."
Professor Qiu Yu was still lost in thought.
Star magic could only be used under special circumstances, when one could channel the power of the stars.
How much star power would a fifth-element fire spell need?
Could it really be that Jiang Yu was a genius?
At that moment, a man dressed in a gray mage's robe approached. His hair was snow-white, and his face was clear and handsome.
"You must be Jiang Yu. That match was truly impressive."
"I'm the Imperial Court's head mage, Long Rui."
Jiang Yu naturally knew who he was.
Long Rui was no ordinary person. He was a renowned mage throughout the country.
In particular, he had a profound understanding of his specialty, summoning magic.
"Pleased to meet you."
Jiang Yu answered politely.
Long Rui looked at him with admiration. His estimate of the young man had just risen considerably.
"If you have time tomorrow, come to the Imperial Court's Summoning Magic Hall and find me."
"I can give you some advice on summoning magic. It seems you have a rather unusual talent for summoning..."
After he finished speaking, Long Rui gave a few more instructions, then turned and left.
Guan Fei also hurried off.
He, too, was quite shaken by Jiang Yu's performance.
If word got back to the Magic City, he imagined that even the Imperial Academy's upper ranks would be unable to remain calm...
The competition came to an end.
Jiang Yu and his group were escorted back to the Imperial Magic Academy.
Because of him, the trip to the exchange match had lasted nearly a month.
By the time they returned, it was already early winter.
The next morning, as the sun rose, Jiang Yu got out of bed early and headed to the academy's Summoning Magic Hall to find Long Rui.
Because his summoning magic had reached the forbidden-spell tier, he didn't have a suitable contract beast.
Perhaps Long Rui could offer him some advice...
The Imperial Court's Summoning Magic Hall.
The young man who looked at least several years older than Long Rui stood beside him.
"Master, isn't Jiang Yu's summoned beast just an ordinary Flame Dragon? Why are you so interested in it?"
Jiang Xing asked curiously.
Long Rui only smiled.
"Many people are misled by appearances. His summoned beast simply isn't an ordinary dragon."
Jiang Xing was taken aback and cautiously asked:
"Could it be a true dragon? But that can't be possible. How could a real dragon be summoned...?"
Long Rui shook his head.
"It isn't a true dragon either."
Jiang Xing was thoroughly confused now. So what exactly was it?
Seeing the doubts on his disciple's face, Long Rui and Cang Di laughed.
"Not even a dragon?"
Hearing that, Long Rui fell into thought as well.
"I'm afraid I don't know what it is either."
Jiang Xing was even more dumbfounded.
"Master, if you don't know what kind of summoned beast it is...?"
His master, Long Rui, was one of the greatest summoning mages in the country.
He knew that his master's knowledge and experience surpassed that of ordinary people. Yet even he didn't know...
Just then.
Knock, knock.
Jiang Xing hurried to open the door.
A tall, imposing figure stepped inside.
"Jiang Yu, my friend. You've arrived."
"You came at just the right time."
Long Rui straightened up and said earnestly.
Jiang Yu glanced at Long Rui and Jiang Xing, then replied:
"I'm here."
Long Rui suddenly smiled. He waved his staff, his eyes shining with delight.
"Then I've got a wonderful surprise for you!"
Before you continue