"Don't worry, Dean. I'll make sure those arrogant bastards bite the dust!"
Having gotten something out of it, Lan Yu was naturally fired up.
Dean Xiao shot Lan Yu a glare. "Don't go looking for trouble."
Then his tone shifted. "But don't be too restrained, either. As long as you're in the right, we'll handle the rest."
"Then I'm relieved."
And so, Lan Yu, Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and the others set out for Imperial Capital as exchange students.
Upon arriving, they naturally went through the usual motions, first visiting the local historical sites of magical civilization, then heading to the Imperial Capital Academy.
In this magical world, the Imperial Capital Academy was undoubtedly ranked No. 1.
After all, there were more scions of prominent families here than grains of sand. You could knock over a whole bunch with a single brick.
The exchange students heading to the Imperial Capital Academy this time were Lan Yu, Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Mu Nujiao, Bai Tingting, Song Xia, Zheng Bingxiao, Shen Mingxiao, Luo Song, and Peng Liang.
All ten were experts selected from the Green Campus. Dean Xiao had originally planned to send Xu Zhaoting as well, but the unlucky kid had stumbled into the trap the Black Vatican had set for Mo Fan and been badly injured. He was still lying in a hospital bed.
Still, that was better than dying like he had in the original story.
With Lu Yiming guiding them, they arrived at the student dormitory. They would rest there for the night, then begin their magical sparring the next day.
For the first match, Gu Han sent Lan Yu, Peng Liang, Luo Song, and Shen Mingxiao straight out—a top player carrying three deadweights.
On the other side, Lu Yiming named four of the Imperial Capital Academy's ace students: Xu Dalong, Liao Mingxuan, Jingjing, and Zhao Mingyue.
"Lan, carrying three people? That's looking pretty dicey," Zhao Manyan said with a click of his tongue.
Lan Yu didn't seem to mind. "Do what you can and leave the rest to fate~"
"I'll bet you a pack of spicy strips you'll lose," Mo Fan said to Lan Yu.
Lan Yu said nothing. It seemed not many people knew his Summoned Beast was at Great War General Level yet, right?
Besides, with the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's bizarre abilities, if he couldn't scare the four Imperial Capital Academy students half to death, he'd eat his hat.
"To keep things fair, no magical equipment or artifacts may be used in this team match. Competition comes second; friendship comes first!"
After both sides took their places, the referee announced the rule.
The rule was good news for everyone. After all, there were countless scions of prominent families on the Imperial Capital side. If they didn't have at least one decent piece of magical equipment on them, they'd be embarrassed to call themselves family scions.
With magical equipment and artifacts banned, they'd have to rely on their own abilities.
The competitors on both sides signaled their readiness. At the referee's command, the match began!
With Peng Liang standing in front of him, Lan Yu had no qualms about controlling the Summoning Element stars and linking them into a Basic-level star orbit.
The star orbit formed, and magic appeared!
Dimensional Summoning!
This time, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger didn't appear in Momo's small form. Instead, its nearly six-meter-long body appeared on the arena.
It was a mighty, ferocious black tiger. Its blood-red eyes swept across the four students from the Imperial Capital, making them turn pale with fear.
The imposing "King" character on its forehead, formed from what looked like black mist, showed that it was no ordinary beast.
When the aura of a War General swept toward the four students like a landslide, everyone present was stunned by its sheer force.
If Lan Yu's Summoning Element weren't holding the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger back, it would be standing there now with Commander Level power, intimidating the entire arena.
Roar--
Its deafening roar made everyone's scalps tingle and every hair on their bodies stand on end. Their hearts began to race.
"Holy crap, War General Level!" Mo Fan cried out in shock.
"More than that! It's definitely stronger than an ordinary War General. Look, that tiger even has a pair of wings. It can surely fly!" Zhao Manyan was dumbfounded.
"Are you out of your mind? No kidding!"
Mu Nujiao was just as shocked. She clearly remembered Lan Yu's Summoned Beast being a "black cat." How had it turned into a pitch-black tiger like this?
Was there some connection between the two, or had Lan Yu changed Summoned Beasts?
Of course, Mu Nujiao was more inclined to believe her first guess.
"Great War General!" Lu Yiming's expression changed.
He had never imagined that Pearl Institute would have a weapon like this.
"W-what kind of joke is this?!"
"We're going to die! We're definitely going to die!!"
"..."
The four students on the arena, Zhao Mingyue among them, had already begun to panic. That single roar in particular had shattered their psychological defenses.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's roar was in a whole different league from an ordinary tiger's.
Lan Yu didn't waste any words. He simply ordered the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger to attack.
Looking at the four tiny human mages, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's blood-red eyes showed a distinctly human-like scorn.
It seemed to be mocking them: "You're so weak, yet you dare challenge me? I have to say, you've got some nerve."
Shen Mingxiao and Luo Song exchanged a glance. They could both read the word "terror" in each other's eyes.
With the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger on the field, the scales of victory tipped toward Pearl Institute.
Even if Jingjing and the others wanted to keep the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger at bay, the problem was that it wasn't just a stat monster—it was a mechanics monster, too.
Wind and lightning alone were more than enough to give them a hard time, never mind its evil, time, space, and strength attributes.
"It looks like there's no need to continue this fight. The winner was decided from the start. Even all the students on the Imperial Capital Academy's team combined might not be able to beat a Summoned Beast of this caliber," Gu Han said.
Facing a Great War General-level creature, even an Advanced Mage had to proceed with caution. How could a mere four Intermediate Mages possibly stand against one?
The law of victory was already set!
Lu Yiming had no choice but to accept the result. He hurriedly told the referee to announce Pearl Institute's victory in the first match.
But the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was having too much fun. The moment the referee opened his mouth, it swept all four students off the arena with its tail, like autumn leaves scattered by a gust of wind.
It didn't give them even the slightest chance to save face.
First match: Imperial Capital versus Pearl. Pearl won!
After the break, both academies sent out another four students.
When Lu Yiming and the Imperial Capital Academy competitors saw that Lan Yu wasn't on the field, they all breathed a huge sigh of relief.
As long as that guy didn't come out, their Imperial Capital team had a chance of winning the second match!
The Imperial Capital Academy sent out Mu Ningxue, Lu Zhenghe, Ming Cong, and Xiao Feng.
The moment Mu Ningxue appeared, nearly everyone was stunned by her beauty.
Several people on the Pearl Institute team even turned into lovestruck fools on the spot. One said he'd give up his family fortune for her; another offered to cripple his own cultivation. It was utterly ridiculous.
Mu Nujiao instinctively glanced at Lan Yu, then secretly let out a breath of relief.
"All right, you've looked enough. Now think about how to deal with her!" Song Xia said gravely. "This woman's no pushover!"
Mu Nujiao knitted her brows. She could tell from the woman's aura alone that she was strong, even though she hadn't cast a spell.
"She should be an Ice Element mage. I'll do my best to keep her occupied during the fight. You deal with the others, then we'll join forces against her!"
Before you continue