The entire crowd erupted, shocked by the transfer student's choice of opponent. Even those ranked in the top hundred were no exception.
"What? Did I hear that right?!"
"Someone ranked below a thousand challenging the top hundred!"
"Ding Yumian? I think this guy did it on purpose! A transfer student challenging our department's belle right off the bat!"
Their shock was understandable. After all, the gap between their rankings was simply too great.
There had never been a student this confident before. Everyone had slowly tested their way up the rankings, step by step, rather than charging straight at someone ranked far above them like a reckless brute.
"Is Ding Yumian here?"
Wei Rong recalled that Ding Yumian's name had not been among those he had just called, so he asked again.
"Sir."
A remarkably striking girl stood up toward the back. Simply by standing there, she seemed to cast everyone around her into the dust.
Ding Yumian looked calm, showing no surprise at this sudden challenge.
Holding a high position on the rankings meant accepting countless challenges.
Moreover, her looks stood out even across the whole of Pearl Academy, drawing plenty of men whose desire was stirred by beauty to use challenges as an excuse to get to know her.
"Then we'll start this round of challenges with you two!"
Unable to wait, Wei Rong even broke the order outright. He wanted to see just how much ability this blindly confident fellow actually possessed.
Naturally, Wei Rong could not have been more familiar with Ding Yumian's strength, and he had plenty of confidence in her. She would definitely grind down some of this arrogant fellow's self-important pride!
"Do either of you need time to prepare?"
At his question, both shook their heads in unison.
"Good. Please step onto the arena!"
Anticipation immediately spread through the audience. The order of the challenges hardly mattered. By comparison, all the students were more interested in finding out just how much this transfer student who had burst onto the scene was worth!
Stepping onto the arena, Lu Ling noticed the students' expressions.
Why do these guys all look like they're waiting to laugh at me? Have they already forgotten me from a year ago?
The girl in Pearl Academy's distinctive dark uniform slowly approached Lu Ling.
Her black hair was like silk, falling smoothly down either side of her delicate shoulders, with two pretty, netlike braids woven toward the back, like a gauzy scarf lightly draped over her waterfall of black hair.
She was gentle and refined, yet elegant and noble.
Her amber eyes showed neither sorrow nor joy, yet Lu Ling kept having the illusion that she was deeply melancholy.
Sure enough, the moment Ding Yumian entered the arena, the boys in the stands grew fired up.
Who did not like a beauty? Especially one with both looks and strength.
Regardless, Lu Ling felt rather happy at that moment, because Ding Yumian really was here.
Although his memories were somewhat hazy, he still vaguely remembered.
Ding Yumian should have already spent a long time at Pearl Academy. One of its deans had brought her back when she was of elementary-school age. This place was practically her home, so she held very deep feelings for Pearl Academy.
As she approached the white-haired boy, the faint smile on his face made Ding Yumian pause slightly.
"You... look happy."
Whether through what she saw or what she sensed psychically, she could not be mistaken. Just like the emotions leaping with excitement because of her outside the arena, she sensed it all perfectly clearly.
"You sensed it?"
His words stirred something in Ding Yumian, but years of controlling her emotions left her looking perfectly composed.
The next moment, Lu Ling's words dispelled her concerns.
"You can smile more from now on. A beautiful woman's smile can easily bring positive emotions to others."
"Thank you, but you'd better give this your all."
Ding Yumian's expression gradually grew resolute. She took this battle very seriously-or rather, she treated every match with complete seriousness!
"Don't worry. Giving an opponent the utmost respect naturally means going all out."
Lu Ling extended a hand in an inviting gesture, looking like a graceful young gentleman with an immortal's bearing. Unfortunately, to the boys in the stands, that elegant demeanor made him look like nothing short of a hypocrite!
This guy was here for their goddess all along! Being handsome didn't mean he could do whatever he wanted!
"Are you going to fight or not?! Why are you chatting?!"
The noise from the stands did not affect Wei Rong's judgment. Seeing that both were ready, he gave the order.
"Begin!"
Lu Ling immediately began tracing a Fire Element Star Map.
Even though she had prepared herself, Ding Yumian still felt she had overestimated him. He had dared challenge her without doing any research on her at all?!
Ding Yumian traced her Star Path swiftly. Wei Rong's voice seemed to still be echoing through the training grounds.
Pink psychic ripples swept toward the white-haired boy, wave after wave!
"Mind Shock!"
Invisible psychic power struck Lu Ling's mind like a gale. The fiery-red Star Map he was connecting instantly broke apart and dissipated.
A pained expression immediately crossed Lu Ling's face. It was a long-missed stabbing pain in his mind, and it actually left him feeling a little nostalgic.
So this was what facing a Psychic Element mage felt like. He had hunted Demon Beasts in the wilderness for so long without ever encountering a Psychic Element Demon Beast. He had to admit, being unable to cast magic really was sickening.
Despite that thought, Lu Ling continued tracing his Star Map. Even though he had attained the realm of One Thought Star Chart, he did not use it.
On the surface, Ding Yumian was controlling him, but she was currently being controlled as well. If Ding Yumian did not cast quickly enough, she likewise could not launch an effective attack against Lu Ling.
"Fierce Fist..."
"Mind Shock!"
"..."
Sure enough, with the casting speed of an ordinary mage, Lu Ling had no chance of successfully casting Intermediate Magic. Psychic Element mages really were disgusting.
He did not dare let his guard down now. Although Ding Yumian had yet to claim tenth place, judging by her top-hundred ranking, her Fire Element cultivation was at least at the second level.
The two remained deadlocked like this for half a minute. Some of the spectators began to grow bored, and Ding Yumian seemed to notice what Lu Ling was thinking.
This guy wasn't using his full strength at all. He was deliberately "enjoying" her Mind Shock! And he had just declared so firmly that he would go all out!
Since that was the case, there was no need to waste any more time on him. A fierce glint appeared in her beautiful eyes. The pink psychic ripples instantly expanded by several circles, sweeping into Lu Ling's mind with greater force.
This all-out Mind Shock would leave a prolonged psychic tremor in a mage's mind. Taking advantage of that opening, Ding Yumian had already finished tracing her Fire Element Star Map.
She crossed her delicate hands before her chest, her slightly parted lips seeming to chant some mysterious incantation. Incredibly dense fire elements gathered toward her, finally condensing around her right fist.
"Fierce Fist, Groundbreak!"
A ring of brown flames encircled her right fist. With a sharp cry, she smashed that dense concentration of fire elements into the ground.
Blazing flames burned across the surface, rapidly spreading beneath Lu Ling's feet. When the ground could no longer withstand that terrifying heat and was about to erupt,
Ding Yumian saw that Lu Ling's expression was utterly calm, as though he were not standing in the center of Groundbreak's flames, but sunbathing on a bright, sunny beach...
A smile gradually replaced his calm expression. Lu Ling's lips seemed to move.
"Li Fire."