Chapter 171: The Arrival of Afuhemi Academy
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 171: The Arrival of Afuhemi Academy
Unfortunately, by morning, it seemed only Afuhemi Academy had arrived at our school.
Since they were "guests" who had arrived early, there was no reason not to receive them.
However, arriving so early meant they would likely spend a few days experiencing the local customs and culture of the Witch Academy.
Even though I was just a freshman, I had a fair understanding of the academy's "specialties."
I wondered if any bold senior sisters would try to shove a Mana Source or something similar into their hands?
Since humans could be turned into witches, it stood to reason that students of other races could be converted as well...
After all, if gender wasn't a strict barrier, race shouldn't be either.
In any case, I hoped they would return in one piece. I still remembered Teacher Ji Niang's instruction to show absolutely no mercy during the exchange.
The opening ceremony for the morning matches wasn't delayed just because Afuhemi Academy had arrived.
At this stage, the top fifty contestants had already been selected. The morning would consist of the matches to narrow the field from fifty down to twenty-five.
Of course, given the massive size of the Arena, which allowed several matches to take place simultaneously, the morning's main bracket would likely be finished in one or two rounds.
However, there were still the ranking matches for those in the bottom half of the top hundred, so the morning's schedule remained packed.
As the competition progressed, everyone gained more combat experience. The contestants who had won their way this far were formidable, and the battles tended to last much longer.
I sat in the preparation area, my gaze wandering. According to Hong Chenyi, there was a chance I might face her girlfriend.
If Contestant No. 36 was in the winner's bracket—within the top fifty—the probability of us crossing paths was quite high.
I soon located the Class 36 monitor. Shi Huiyu was also waiting in the preparation area. Even while seated, I could tell she was tall. Her cold expression suggested she was indifferent to everything around her, and she radiated an intimidating "do not approach" aura.
Sensing my intense gaze, she opened her eyes from her meditation and scanned the room until her eyes met mine.
When she saw me, a flicker of awkwardness crossed her face. Her icy, aloof demeanor faltered for a moment, but she quickly looked away.
So this is Hong Chenyi's girlfriend?
She was certainly beautiful, enough to earn the title of "goddess" that Hong Chenyi used. However, even a beauty like Shi Huiyu didn't seem exceptionally stunning amidst the blooming garden of diverse beauties that was the Witch Academy.
Perhaps Hong Chenyi just viewed her through a unique "goddess" filter.
Seeing that she had no intention of speaking to me, I gave up on the idea of approaching her. I had thought that if she were more proactive, I might take the opportunity to chat.
But now, the Freshman Competition had officially begun. The massive contestant IDs in the sky began to shuffle randomly.
Even I was curious—who would I face this time?
Soon, the final "random" pairings appeared. My opponent was No. 20, Ruan Fu.
No. 20's seat shouldn't have been far from where I had sat in the spectator stands before, but I hadn't paid much attention to her.
I quickly spotted her. Scanning the contestants, I looked for those with the most miserable expressions; one of them was bound to be Ruan Fu.
Sure enough, when I saw the No. 20 tag on her chest, she was already staring at me with a look of utter disbelief. Clearly, she found the prospect of facing me incredible—and she had found my position even faster than I had found hers.
Unfortunately, I wasn't in the first batch of matches. Although the Arena was divided into many sub-arenas, the matches for the top fifty to twenty-five were naturally held in the central "C-position" arenas.
Therefore, I would likely have to wait for the next round to take the stage.
"Hello, are you Yang Yuehan?"
Ruan Fu soon found me in the preparation area. This wasn't unusual; since we were opponents, it was perfectly fine to exchange a few words before the match.
"Hello, Ruan Fu. Is there something I can help you with?" I greeted her with a smile, trying to keep my expression as gentle as possible so as not to scare her.
"Well... we're opponents in the next match. I've heard the rumors about you. I just wanted to ask... please go a little easy on me during the fight."
"I will."
I nodded. However, the last girl who asked me to go easy on her ended up crying to me after the match.
I could only promise to try my best, though my words were naturally very polite.
I had originally planned to test out the Elemental Spirit's Blessing. After all, one should always test a newly modified spell.
Then again, did a one-hit kill count as "going easy"? Technically, I'd only be using one move.
"But the last person who asked me to go easy on them cried to me after the match. I'm sorry, I can be a bit heavy-handed sometimes. What exactly does 'going easy' look like to you?"
"Eh?" Ruan Fu was stunned by my question. She hadn't actually thought about it. Now that she did, it made sense. "Um, just... don't let me lose too embarrassingly. And if I could avoid getting too seriously injured, that would be even better."
"I see." I nodded, getting a general idea of what she wanted.
Seeing me in deep thought, Ruan Fu felt a weight lift from her heart. Although it was a pity to stop here in the Freshman Competition, she chalked it up to bad luck. She felt that reaching this point was already quite an achievement. However, she cared about her classmates' feelings; they had all cheered for her this morning.
Looking at it now, those blessings didn't seem to have helped much.
I now understood her perspective: she didn't want to lose in a humiliating way.
She wanted to show that she had given it her all, but without the shame of a crushing defeat... In that case...
I definitely had to use the Elemental Spirit's Blessing!
In the face of absolute power, I would force her to use every trick in her book until she had nothing left. I'd cooperate with her until her Mana Source was exhausted, and then she could concede from fatigue.
That seemed like a good progression.
After all, if you've "given it your all," it can't be considered an embarrassing loss, right?
Plus, she would earn the title of being the first person to force me to use a hundred-point consumption spellbook!
Even Tan Han hadn't forced me to pull out a hundred-point spell. That was quite an achievement.
And... as far as I could see, besides me, only Tan Han had shown a spellbook with a three-digit consumption. Everyone else at the top level was using two-digit spellbooks.
After all, we were at the top fifty. How could anyone not have a two-digit consumption spellbook by now?
If they didn't, there was definitely something wrong with their counselor!
As the matches began, the atmosphere in the Arena was fully ignited. Amidst this excitement, a special group of guests arrived at a private viewing box.
"This is the venue for our Freshman Competition. It seems you've arrived at the perfect time. The matches currently underway are for the top fifty to twenty-five. This is the first batch. If you have any needs, just let us know. After all... you are our guests now~"
"Thank you for leading the way, Lina. I didn't expect you to be the one to receive us. We are truly flattered."
"Not at all. It's just to show our warm welcome and how much we value your visit," Lina said casually with a wave of her hand. "Well then, I'll take my leave."
"You're too kind. You're a busy person, Lina; we won't keep you from your duties any longer."
"Hehe, thank you for your understanding." Lina's gaze swept over the gathered elves, a playful smile touching her lips.
As Lina departed, the atmosphere in the viewing box visibly relaxed.
As one of the teachers leading the group, the blonde elf who had been speaking to Lina turned to address the others.
These were students from Afuhemi Academy. As the group sent for this freshman exchange, they were also part of this year's new intake.
Even though the Elf Academy prided itself on being one of the three top academies, they still felt a twinge of trepidation upon entering the Witch Academy.
The Witch Academy was very unique, especially in its educational methods.
Witchification was a long process, which meant that the freshmen of the Witch Academy were destined to be weak. This was unlike their race; once they transformed into elves, they underwent the baptism of the World Tree and mastered the Power of Nature.
The Prospective Witches couldn't even use mental power to call upon Mana—the power unique to witches. They had to rely on spellbooks to fight. Speaking of spellbooks, a hint of envy flashed in the elf teacher's eyes.
Spellbooks were an optimization of the power system created by the terrifying Witch race to strengthen themselves. Even technologies like Real Editing were popularized by witches.
Those terrifying Truth Witches wandering the Void were each more frightening than the last. They were the most extreme "Witch-ists." One of them had returned the concept of the spellbook to the Witch world through a Truth Dedication.
And that Primal Witch was even more "generous," daring to make such technology public. But because of this, all spellbooks possessed one unerasable ability: the ability to convert mana.
To put it simply, every type of transcendent energy had a corresponding spell system. A single lifeform couldn't master every type of transcendent energy; there were always some that other lives couldn't grasp. The most classic example was Mana, which only witches could master.
But when a spellbook gained the ability to convert mana, it meant a witch could use mana to master and release all types of spells—and not just spells.
Was that not terrifying?
For example, the Spirit Magic unique to elves, or the various blessings driven by Life Force.
Now... witches could use them too. Wasn't that disgusting?
It was an infringement on the nobility of the Elf race! It was an encroachment on the power that belonged to elves!
However... even though the Afuhemi Life Forest Elves were a transcendent race, they didn't dare to provoke witches too much.
Even if they claimed to be one of the three top academies in this Main World, they didn't dare to cross the line.
The reason they didn't include the Witch Academy when ranking the three top academies was simply because those three were the first transcendent races to settle in the Main World.
The Witch race had arrived later. The Witch Academy had literally fought its way in with terrifying strength, forcibly interfering with this world and becoming the only race to break through the blockade of the three transcendent races, eventually becoming the fourth transcendent race of this world.
To use an analogy for what the Witch Academy had done: they had done exactly what the Abyssal Demons were trying to do now.
The difference was that the witches succeeded, while the Abyssal Demons had yet to become the fifth transcendent race of the Main World.
With the addition of the Witch Academy, no fifth transcendent race had entered this world for a long time. It wasn't for lack of trying, but because they simply couldn't get in.
The current Abyssal Demon race was merely the most persistent of the many attempting to invade.
"Alright, I brought you all here so you could see the current strength of the Witch Academy. Sit down and watch. Although no outsiders will see us here, the etiquette befitting an elf must not be discarded. Yao Beijuan, stop that giggling!"
The freshman who was called out immediately ceased her frivolous laughing.
"Understood, Teacher Ariel."
With Ariel's reprimand, the group quickly settled in.
The Afuhemi Life Forest Elves considered themselves noble, a branch of the elf race capable of achieving transcendence. They certainly had the right to say so, and their appearance was exceptionally handsome and beautiful. By human standards, they were absolute beauties.
Their long golden hair was streaked with strands of verdant green—the hallmark of the Forest Elves. They held a unique affection for those green strands; they were, in fact, a "reverse scale."
If someone deliberately cut those strands during a match, it could instantly ignite a Forest Elf's fury. At that point, the elf would forget all about nobility and restraint.
They would use the swiftest, most thunderous means to make the offender pay. Such behavior was not seen as damaging the elven image, but as a righteous act to defend elven dignity.
Of course, as freshmen who had just transformed into elves, their reaction to such an act was mostly instinctive anger. Before being fully immersed in elven culture, their conscious understanding of this was still thin.
"Teacher Ariel, may I ask... is the Witch Academy's Freshman Competition just a game of playing house?" a male elf asked, raising his hand. He was clearly excited to watch, but after seeing a bit, he found it absurd.
He even felt a sense of disdain. As expected of an academy a tier below the top ones, the quality of the freshmen was vastly different.
His comment resonated with many of the other elves, some of whom laughed outright.
"Silence. No matter what level of combat power the opponent shows, we should respect them rather than mock them. Never underestimate an opponent," Ariel scolded in a low voice. Inwardly, she added: Especially do not underestimate a Transcendent Witch.
The baseline for a Transcendent Witch was transcendence; there was no such thing as a witch below that level. Even a Prospective Witch was not yet a true witch.
Unlike elves—who were elves before becoming transcendent and remained elves after—witches started at the transcendent level. They were absolute lunatics.
If one entered the Void with a mindset of looking down on witches and encountered a Transcendent Witch, they would die a very ugly death.
* * *
On the field.
The second batch of matches began. Luckily, I was assigned to the central C-position of Arena No. 1.
I didn't believe for a second that there wasn't some behind-the-scenes manipulation involved. I glanced toward Tan Han; she hadn't stood up yet, which meant she was in a later batch.
Withdrawing my gaze, I walked straight onto the field.
"Both contestants, get ready," the referee said, standing by with full alertness. Because I was in this match, the referee was extra cautious. It seemed she was afraid I'd be too heavy-handed; Resurrection Spells were quite resource-intensive, after all.
After confirming both sides were ready, the referee declared the start of the match.
Ruan Fu was tense, coiled like a leopard. As soon as the referee spoke, she closed the distance between us.
She knew my methods; my fire-element Evocation spells were endless. Keeping her distance would put her at an absolute disadvantage.
In close quarters, she might at least have a chance to take me down with her.
Besides, her best spell was a ten-point consumption Gale Leopard-kin transformation!
Watching Ruan Fu, my first thought was: Is a transformation spell standard equipment for everyone now?
I simply cast a basic protection spell on myself and let her close in. However, I dodged every one of Ruan Fu's attacks with ease, or blocked them with a localized shield. Meanwhile, my wand repeatedly tapped her vital points.
Even more lethal were the spells released from the wand. Each wind blade, imbued with scorching heat, left deep gashes on her body.
She hadn't expected my close-combat experience to be so terrifying. Even with her transformation, I was suppressing her completely despite her size. Moreover, these wind blades were clearly weakened; she had seen one of these blades eliminate a contestant instantly before!
"The effects of your transformation spell don't seem very effective, do they?"
I spoke with a smile. This was a wand-based close-combat technique I'd obtained from the Ley Line memories. Combined with rapidly cast wind blades, the effect was surprisingly good.
So this is the pleasure of crushing someone with pure skill?
Spotting an opening, I delivered a roundhouse kick to Ruan Fu's abdomen, breaking her balance.
Of course, even with a Body Strengthening Technique, I wouldn't have kicked her that far. That was the result of a spell effect.
"Ugh! Cough, cough..."
Ruan Fu adjusted her posture in mid-air, but she still rolled across the ground before regaining her footing. She instinctively touched her abdomen, where a terrifying bloody mark—the result of a wind blade—remained.
The high temperature had cauterized the wound, preventing it from bleeding. What a ruthless move.
Ruan Fu was screaming internally: Is this what you call going easy?!
From my perspective, however, I was going easy. After all, I hadn't directly broken her transformation spell, had I?
But the real "mercy" was yet to come.
With a flick of my hand, as casual as dusting off a coat.
My opponent didn't see it that way. Following that gesture, the temperature in the arena skyrocketed!
Terrifying fire elements gathered frantically, condensing into a translucent phantom in mid-air.
As the fire element spirit took shape, the corresponding blessing fell upon me. At that moment, I looked like a monarch crowned by flames. A sea of fire condensed into my royal robe, and crimson flames formed a crowning diadem.
This was the true, full-power form of the Elemental Spirit's Blessing. In terms of sheer presence, it was no less imposing than Tan Han's Flame Lord.
Of course, such a flashy visual effect was a massive waste of mana. But... this was a match with so many people watching.
I could afford this bit of mana. Besides, even without the waste, the spell itself had a high consumption, and I didn't need to maintain it for long.
Ruan Fu was completely stunned. She had never seen anyone fight like this!
She was already in this state, and I was using an ultimate move to finish it?
So much for style?
What happened to "going easy"?!
...
Meanwhile, in the Afuhemi Academy viewing box, someone spoke up in surprise.
"Eh? That person... her name is Yang Yuehan?"