Little Competition

March 15, 9992, Yulan Calendar.

Outside the first-year fire element classroom at the Ernst Institute, a crowd had gathered to watch the spectacle.

"Is it true that today is the final of the minor competition?"

"That's right, for the first-year fire element students. I heard there's a guy named Aikesi Yan who has been crushing everyone on his way up."

"Crushing? What could a first-year possibly crush? At most, they'd know a Fireball spell."

"You don't know anything. In his last match, he completely shattered his opponent's defensive magic!"

I stood in the center of the classroom, listening to the chatter outside with an expressionless face.

"Aikesi Yan."

The referee teacher called my name.

I walked forward to face a red-haired youth standing on the opposite side—none other than last year's top student, Land.

Land looked at me, his eyes filled with a hint of arrogance. "I know you've been quite the sensation lately, but the first-year top spot is still mine."

I smiled. "Then let's put that to the test."

At the referee's command, Land immediately began chanting his incantation. He was fast, living up to his reputation as last year's top student—in less than two seconds, a fireball the size of a human head condensed in his palm and hurtled toward me.

I didn't move.

The flames stopped abruptly a meter away from me, and then... they dissipated.

Land was stunned.

"What happened?"

"What did he do?"

The surrounding spectators broke into a flurry of discussion.

Only I knew that this was merely the simplest application of the Fallen Heart Flame—assimilation. Land's fireball was condensed from fire elements, and the Fallen Heart Flame was born to command fire. In its presence, Land's fireball was like a subject meeting a monarch; it didn't even have the courage to approach.

"You—" Land's expression changed. "What kind of dark magic did you use?"

"Dark magic?" I shook my head. "It was just fire against fire."

With that, I began to chant.

It wasn't a first-level Fireball spell, but rather—

"Fire Snake!"

A second-level fire element spell.

A fire snake as thick as an arm lunged from my palm. Its body was orange-red, but if one looked closely, the edges of the flames shimmered with a milky white hue. Land hurriedly raised his defense, but when the fire snake slammed into it, there was a loud boom, and his defensive barrier instantly cracked.

"How is this possible!" Land took two steps back, his face full of disbelief. "You've only been enrolled for a little over a month, how do you know a second-level spell?"

I didn't answer, just watched him quietly.

The referee stepped forward, looked at Land's cracked defensive barrier, then at me, and announced, "Aikesi Yan wins."

A gasp erupted throughout the classroom.

"A second-level spell! How old is he?"

"Knowing a second-level spell at nine years old? This isn't a genius, this is a freak!"

"Since when did the fire element produce such a monster?"

I withdrew my hand and turned to leave.

"Wait."

Land called out to me.

I turned back to look at him.

Land's expression was complex. After struggling for a long moment, he finally said, "You are strong."

I nodded and walked out of the classroom.

Outside the door, Yale was the first to rush up and throw an arm around me. "Third brother! You were too fierce! A second-level spell! When did you learn that?"

"I just mastered it yesterday," I said.

It was the truth.

After the Fallen Heart Flame evolved, my cultivation speed had increased by another notch. While meditating yesterday, I suddenly touched the threshold of second-level magic and succeeded after a few attempts.

"Yesterday..." Reynolds' mouth hung open. "You call that 'just mastered it yesterday'?"

George shook his head with a smile. "You guys know as well as I do that third brother's talent has always been high."

Linley stood to the side, silent, but there was a hint of deeper meaning in the way he looked at me.

I smiled at him without offering an explanation.

That evening, the five of us celebrated at the Wald Hotel.

Yale ordered a table full of dishes and several bottles of fruit wine. Reynolds drank until his face was flushed, hugging my arm and shouting, "Third Brother is mighty!" while George shook his head helplessly from the side.

"Fourth, you have some too." Yale poured wine for Linley.

Linley shook his head: "I don't drink."

"What kind of man doesn't drink!" Yale forcibly shoved the glass into his hand. "Third Brother won the championship today; it wouldn't be right if you didn't have a drink!"

Linley hesitated for a moment, picked up the glass, and took a sip, his brows immediately knitting together.

"Hahahaha!" Reynolds laughed so hard he slapped the table. "Fourth, what kind of expression is that!"

I watched them make a scene with a smile, but in my heart, I thought of the plot from the original work. Linley almost never drank in this life; the only time he got drunk was after Alice betrayed him.

"Third, what are you thinking about?" Yale leaned over.

"Nothing." I raised my glass. "Come, let's have a toast."

"Cheers!"

The five glasses clinked together, emitting a crisp, clear sound.

Returning to Dorm 1987 at night, I sat alone in the courtyard.

The moonlight was like water, spilling over the stone-paved ground. Bebe ran out at some point, lying in the corner of the wall, its dark, glistening eyes fixed on me.

"Little guy, peeking again?" I waved at it.

Bebe hesitated for a moment, then actually walked over and lay down at my feet.

I was somewhat surprised. This little thing, which usually ignored everyone except Linley, why did it have a change of heart today?

[Ding--Detected that the host has established initial favor with an important character from the original work (Bebe).]

[Hidden condition triggered. Do you wish to check in?]

The system's voice rang out.

I recited in my heart: Check in.

[Check-in successful.]

[Obtained reward: Azeroth Mana Gem--Can store half of your own magic power, replenishing consumption at critical moments. Current storage: 0/100%.]

A pale blue gem appeared out of thin air in my palm, emitting a soft glow. I examined it carefully—it was about the size of a thumb, warm to the touch, with flowing light seemingly rotating slowly inside.

"Good stuff," I praised inwardly.

The Mana Gem could store magic power, effectively acting as an extra mana pool. If magic was exhausted during battle, one could draw directly from the gem, which was equivalent to having fifty percent more endurance.

Bebe tilted its head to look at the gem, appearing quite curious.

"Want it?" I held the gem out.

Bebe sniffed it, then turned its head away, looking as if it were saying, "I don't care for it at all."

I smiled and put the gem away.

The next day, news of the first-year fire-elemental competition spread throughout the entire academy.

"Did you hear? There's someone named Aikesi Yan who can use second-level magic at only nine years old!"

"Nine years old? Isn't that even more impressive than Dixie?"

"You can't compare them like that. Dixie is dual-element, while he is single-element, but his talent is definitely top-tier."

"The three geniuses of Ernst? Linley, Dixie, and now there's an Aikesi?"

While eating lunch in the cafeteria, people kept looking at our table.

"Third, you're famous now." Yale was triumphant. "Even our Dorm 1987 is basking in the glory."

Reynolds puffed out his chest: "That's right, how could my Third Brother not be famous?"

"Your Third Brother?" George squinted at him. "Yesterday you were calling him Third, today it's Third Brother?"

"Yesterday was yesterday, today is today!" Reynolds said righteously.

I shook my head with a smile and continued eating.

Linley sat beside me and suddenly said in a low voice: "Bebe took the initiative to approach you last night?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "What's wrong?"

Linley was silent for a while before saying: "It doesn't pay attention to anyone but me."

I was stunned for a moment and looked at Bebe, who was lying on his shoulder. The little guy was closing its eyes for a nap, looking as if it had nothing to do with the matter.

"Maybe..." I thought for a moment, "it felt that I had no malice?"

Linley glanced at me and didn't ask further.

There were no classes in the afternoon, so I went to the back mountain to cultivate as usual.

Finding a secluded spot, I sat cross-legged and began to study the newly acquired Mana Gem.

With a thought, the magic power in my body flowed slowly into the gem. The pale blue light grew brighter and brighter. After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the interior of the gem was filled with flowing blue light--Storage: 100%.

"Done." I nodded with satisfaction.

With this gemstone, my sustained combat capability has increased by at least half. If I were to encounter a tournament match like today's again, I could easily cast second-level magic five or six times in a row to crush my opponent.

Putting the gemstone away, I began to meditate.

The Fallen Heart Flame pulsed slowly within my body; with every beat, a wisp of warm energy flowed into my limbs and bones. I could clearly sense my magic power growing at a steady rate—nearly twice as fast as when I had first transmigrated.

At this speed, reaching the third level within a year will be no problem, I calculated to myself.

As the sun dipped behind the western mountains, I opened my eyes.

Not far away, Linley was sitting cross-legged on a rock, also meditating. Bebe lay at his feet, warily scanning the surroundings.

I didn't disturb them and quietly rose to leave.

On the way back to the dormitory, I ran into Dixie.

This youth, hailed as the "greatest genius in a century," still wore that icy expression, looking at everyone as if they owed him money. But when he saw me, his footsteps faltered.

"Aikesi Yan," he spoke.

"Dixie," I nodded.

We stared at each other for a few seconds, neither of us saying a word.

Finally, Dixie said, "Your flame is unusual," before turning and walking away.

I stood where I was, watching his retreating figure, lost in thought.

Dixie is truly a genius; his intuition is sharp.

A clever man, too, I thought to myself.

Returning to the dormitory, Yale and the others had already arrived. The five of us made a ruckus until midnight, only heading to sleep once the lights were out.