Confrontation Match

After learning about the Illusion Stone, the two of them strolled slowly along the street for a while.

They happened to reach the entrance of the high school affiliated with Pearl Institute.

After watching her return to school, Bai Mo turned around, hailed a cab, and went back to Zhilan High School.

Tomorrow was September fifteenth, and the final round of the Magic Competition was about to begin.

So Teacher Su Ning was going to hold a meeting with them that afternoon.

It was not that there was anything especially important to say. She was just telling them where the competition would be held.

And, while she was at it, she wanted her students to pull themselves together and get a little nervous.

"The competition starts at nine tomorrow morning. The venue is Modu Grand Arena. I want to see you there at eight fifty."

Su Ning stood at the lectern. There were only the four of them in the entire classroom. She adjusted her glasses, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote a number on the blackboard.

"Including our school, twelve teams have made it into this round of head-to-head matches, corresponding to Modu's twelve districts. The other three military districts and one county won't be participating."

She looked at the four students below and continued, "I told you before, the matches will be decided by random draw. The draw will be done by each team's captain."

After saying that, she glanced at Bai Mo.

Bai Mo nodded, indicating that he understood.

The next day, at Modu Grand Arena, a scattering of people stood inside the vast, empty arena.

Their gazes were all fixed on the five people on the raised platform to the east. Three of them were official organizers of the tournament, representatives from the University Alliance.

Of the other two, one was from Pearl Institute, and the other was from the Magic Association.

At that moment, the final speech, given by the leader of the University Alliance, was also drawing to a close.

"I hereby announce that the third round of Modu's 73rd All Magic High School Exchange officially begins!"

As the captain of his school's team, Bai Mo stepped forward to draw lots just like the captains from the other schools.

As the numbers were drawn, the corresponding schools appeared on the big screen.

He glanced at the ball in his hand. There was a large number three on it, which meant their team had drawn the opponent with number nine.

Bai Mo did not pay attention to the other schools' situations. He looked up at the big screen. Number ten had already been drawn as well, a school called Yushu Magic High School.

"Tch—what a coincidence," Bai Mo muttered to himself, then left the Arena.

There would only be two matches a day. In other words, if they wanted to fight, they would still have to wait until tomorrow.

He came over to Su Ning, Zhou Tianyuan, and the other two, and said, "So, Teacher Su, what's the deal with this Yushu High School?"

"They're a high school from a core urban district. Their team has five members. Two of them are Mid-Level mages—one has Lightning Element and Ice Element, the other has Earth Element and Fire Element. I don't know whether they've mastered Mid-Level Magic. The other three are only ordinary Beginner-level students."

Su Ning glanced at Bai Mo and slowly told them what she knew about Yushu High School.

"Oh." The other three all looked grave. They actually had two Mid-Level mages!

Bai Mo, however, looked casual and did not take it to heart, though curiosity lingered in his eyes as he asked, "No, Teacher Su. That's not what I meant. I wanted to ask whether this Yushu High School has any connection with our Zhilan High School. Zhilan and Yushu—what a perfect match. Is there some little story behind it?"

Su Ning rolled her eyes and said irritably, "What story? It's just a coincidence."

Bai Mo shrugged, feeling disappointed. He had thought there might be some gossip behind it. Their school had been founded thirty-six years ago, and a photo of the old principal when she was young was still hanging on the school wall.

Her name was Qin Zhilan, a woman with an elegant appearance and bearing.

"Teacher Su, we don't have a match today. What do we do next?"

At that moment, the first match was already about to begin, and the competitors from both sides were going onstage. Noticing this, Zhao Qingying asked the question.

Hearing this, Su Ning also turned her gaze toward the competition field, then said, "Participants have the right to watch. You can stay here and watch the matches, or you can go back to school to train."

Hearing that, the four of them exchanged looks and all said, "We'll stay and watch."

Bai Mo did not know what the other three were thinking. He simply felt that watching the matches would be more interesting.

While Su Ning was serving as their team teacher, her classes were being covered by other teachers. Hearing their decision, she stayed as well.

Once they had taken their seats in the stands, the two sides in the Arena had also finished announcing their names. After the referee blew the whistle, the match began.

Of the two teams, the school uniforms on the left were red, and the ones on the right were blue. They were truly facing off against each other, and it also made them easy to tell apart.

Those who could stand here were still a bunch of rookies, but they were already especially proficient with Beginner Magic, able to finish drawing it in one or two seconds.

After one second of silence, a member at the very front of the red team was the first to release magic.

Feeling the temperature of the air suddenly drop, all the spectators knew what his element was.

Ice Tendrils—Cover!

Snow began to fall through the air, and frost on the ground spread swiftly from beneath his feet toward the five people opposite him. In Beginner-level duels, the Ice Element truly had an advantage.

Slow-moving mages found it very hard to escape the invasion of frost, and level-three Ice Tendrils were also difficult to destroy with level-one Fire Seed.

No one on the blue team used that method either. Nor were they just sitting there waiting for death.

In the center of the blue team, a girl with a high ponytail suddenly shone with a rich scarlet-red glow. A ball of blazing fire appeared in her palm, and in an instant, she threw it out. It exploded directly across an open stretch of ground between the two sides.

Countless flames spread out like a rag, melting away all the ice and snow that had been creeping toward them.

As ice and fire collided, steam obscured both sides' vision. At that moment, the two Blue Team members positioned on the left and right also completed their magic.

Earthy-yellow light gathered over their hands, and the two of them slapped their palms down onto the ground in unison.

"Earth Wave—Collapse!"

"Earth Wave—Slow!"

As the two Earth Element spells were released, the ground just behind Red Team's Ice Magician suddenly caved in, forming a pit.

Just as everyone thought the mage who had cast Collapse had made a mistake, they saw the pit become the center point.

The ground within a ten-meter radius suddenly turned soft, like quicksand, constantly flowing into the pit created by the collapse.

This was precisely the effect caused by the other Earth Element mage's Earth Wave—Slow.

The quicksand spun like a vortex, engulfing four members of Blue Team. Only the boy at the very back was lucky enough to avoid the range of the slowing effect.

"It's the Quicksand Vortex we ran into before!"

When Zhou Tianyuan saw this, surprise showed in his eyes as well. This was the second time he had seen Earth Element mages cooperate to produce such a magical effect.

"This vortex covers a bigger area than the one we faced back then!" Mei Qian observed carefully and noticed the difference in an instant.

Zhao Qingying also nodded in agreement. "The one we ran into last time only had a five-meter range, and it didn't spin this fast. Their coordination is really practiced!"

"Should we come up with a fusion skill too?" Zhou Tianyuan asked.

Su Ning was watching as well, and when she heard this, she cut in.

"The method of using magic skills in combination like this was first developed by some mages who were especially outstanding in this area.

Later, someone improved it and turned it into a technique that two ordinary mages could also pull off together, but it requires long-term practice and tacit understanding between the two casters. Besides, no teacher at our school knows it."

"The match is about to end." Bai Mo did not pay attention to the red side, nor did he focus on the Quicksand Vortex.

The vortex looked difficult to break, but he could fly.

()

Hearing his words, the few who had been talking turned their eyes back to the competition field.

The steam in the air had grown even denser, and a dazzling azure Star Map also lit up behind the last member of the blue side.

"Raging Waves!"

Divine light shone brilliantly in that team member's eyes. Shrouded in mist, his figure looked hazy, and only his voice rang out clearly and majestically.

"Banish!"

The rushing sound of water gathered and built above his head, while the azure Star Map within it blazed with light. Surging, roaring currents churned.

A teacher sighed. "This should be the first Mid-Level Magic released in this year's competition."

"I didn't expect Water Element Mid-Level Magic to look so fierce!" Some contestants were also thinking it over.

A classmate who also knew Mid-Level Magic sighed, "Damn, he actually got to show off!"

And on the competition field, as the Blue Team member raised and pushed out both hands...

The raging tide of water surged like an enraged flood dragon breaking free, crushing the Quicksand Vortex and slamming straight toward the five Red Team members opposite him.

Red Team still had not reacted. How could they have known that the last contestant on the opposing side had actually been charging up a big move?

Facing the roaring flood, they panicked a little. They couldn't get out of its way, and they couldn't escape it!

Seeing this, the referee waved a hand, and a majestic, heavy rock barrier rose from the ground, helping Red Team block the flood.

At the same time, it also declared their defeat.

"Tsk, tsk." Bai Mo clicked his tongue. He had felt something was off long ago. That Blue Team member had kept inching backward bit by bit, and the magical aura around him had been gathering more and more densely.

Sure enough, he had been up to no good.

"Looks like we'd better end our matches quickly." He turned his head and glanced at Zhou Tianyuan and the other two. "I can't let you guys get carried away."

"We were helping you stay hidden," Zhao Qingying corrected him. "Look at that Red Team. Their Quicksand Vortex was probably used in the regional round, which let Blue Team prepare for it and deliberately put the Mid-Level mage who knew Raging Waves at the very back."

Zhou Tianyuan also stood up at this moment, looking intoxicated. With his hands behind his back, he said leisurely, "In return for my lord's grace upon the Golden Terrace, I shall bear the Jade Dragon and die for my lord. Don't worry, I'll definitely play support well."

"Whoa there. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were about to take on three by yourself," Bai Mo said with a laugh. "Since you're being so solemn about it, you can just stand there tomorrow."

Zhou Tianyuan: ???

"There's still one more match today, right?" Mei Qian asked.

"Mm, it won't start until the afternoon," Su Ning nodded.

"Why won't it start until the afternoon?"

"The morning matches are over," Su Ning said. "If you still want to watch this afternoon, find somewhere to rest on your own. I still have some things to take care of."

After saying that, she got up and left.

Seeing this, Bai Mo also stood up. He glanced at the three of them and said, "I'm not planning to watch the matches this afternoon. I'm heading back. Do whatever you want."