Grace was still holding that black-and-red longbow, only she'd changed into a sleek black one-piece combat suit — the kind that hugged the body tight, tracing out crisp, taut lines; blue enchantment circuitry was interlaced across it, lending the outfit a touch of sci-fi flair.
It had to be said, the look suited Grace very well. She was born with a finely-chiseled, expressionless face, and her skin had that translucent-crystal quality, her irises as clear and pure as a blue sky — both quite rare. Once she'd changed into the new combat gear, she looked like a humanoid tactical weapon stepping out of a culture tank, or a half-blood cyber-archer leaping between skyscrapers — a soul-shaking sort of beauty.
She slowly slipped on the bracelet Li Fei had given her, feeling her body grow lighter and more vital, her mana more lively as well.
[Bracelet of Superiority]
Equipment Grade: New Moon
Stats: Strength +7, Constitution +7, Agility +7, Intelligence +7
"Not bad, right?"
Li Fei smiled like a blooming flower, her fingertip twirling little circles in the now slightly-longer flaxen tips of her hair.
Although the bracelet didn't have any flashy enchantment effect, for a chaos-archer who cultivated both the physical and the magical, a brute, simple stacking of the four core attributes would definitely lead to an obvious boost in combat power — if Li Fei hadn't wanted to commission a pair of arm-stockings instead, and if bracelets couldn't stack their buffs with gloves and arm-stockings, she might have kept the equipment for herself.
"Mm."
Grace nodded, without saying thank you.
"And Lilith?"
Li Fei turned her gaze back to her stepdaughter.
By comparison, Lilith's outfit was perfectly normal — her petite frame was wrapped in a moon-white mage robe, the pure-white inner lining at the collar half-visible, half-hidden, perfectly matching the impression people had of life-school mage girls: demure and pure.
She was cradling the necklace her stepmother had just given her, seemingly lost in thought, only snapping out of it when she heard the question and answering in a flustered tone:
"Ah… thank you."
"You can't be spacing out once the match starts, you know."
Li Fei moved closer, took the milky-white necklace, and fastened it around the pale, flawless nape of Lilith's neck with her own hands — the motion so gentle it didn't seem like a young stepmother at all, but rather a birth mother.
[White Radiance Stone Necklace]
Equipment Grade: New Moon
Stats: Intelligence +10, Life-school spell effect +10%
Enchantment Effect: Holy Light Shield
Holy Light Shield: When activated, generates a shield that lasts 10 seconds; shatters after blocking two "Grade III" attacks; recharge time 1 hour, recharge speed doubles in sunlight.
Obviously, even if this thing's stats were a bit weak, the shield effect was extremely useful — at a crucial moment, the wicked stepmother could yank Lilith over and use her as a meat shield.
And Lilith clearly hadn't picked up on her stepmom's vicious heart — she was even oblivious to the activity of the mana within her own body. The fragrance drifting off Li Fei left her a little dazed.
— If only she could be a little more single-minded, she'd probably be the most perfect woman in the world, wouldn't she?
Li Fei seemed to not have noticed Lilith's odd state. She affectionately tweaked the ponytail on her left side and said with a faint smile:
"Alright, get ready for the match."
"Today's just a warm-up. We need to put on a strong showing, but also hide our true strength."
"Eh?"
Lilith asked instinctively: "What do you mean?"
"Pass through the elimination rounds without taking a single hit, while still holding back our real power."
Li Fei winked, and before Lilith could fully process it, she'd already taken both their hands and was striding off toward the event grounds, fighting spirit high.
"I trust everyone is clear on the order in which they'll be competing."
After a brief opening remark, Nicole, bathing in the nervous yet eager gazes of several hundred students, said unhurriedly: "Today we'll be setting up ten arenas. Please compete in an orderly fashion according to your teachers' arrangements..."
Nicole's voice wasn't loud — it was as elegant as a broadcaster's — yet it carried a sort of magic that could put one at ease and inspire trust. Across the vast venue and the dense, black crowd, there was not a sound to be heard; everyone was straining their ears to listen to the Dean's address.
To save time, the academies had arranged for multiple simultaneous matches. Each arena had a referee responsible for halting any rule-breaking conduct and ensuring student safety.
Once the Dean had finished speaking, she drifted off to the most distant viewing platform and chatted easily with the Vice Dean of the partner school. Li Fei and her two teammates didn't have to wait long before they were directed by a teacher to step up onto Arena No. 3.
Clearly, they were one of the first batches scheduled to fight.
Glancing at Irena, who was serving as referee, Li Fei said with a brilliant smile:
"I like the number 3."
Immediately afterward, her gaze swept to her opponents.
Even an ordinary person could tell from their gear and physiques that the opposing team consisted of two warriors and one mage; and Li Fei, sensing transcendent auras, could make an even more accurate judgment:
Combat-school Sequence 8, War-school Sequence 9, Death-school Sequence 8.
There was one weak link, but Li Fei wasn't going to say who, hee hee.
And the moment Li Fei's team stepped onto the arena, waves of murmuring rose from the spectators below.
Though Grace and Lilith were also strikingly beautiful and eye-catching, the one who ultimately drew the most attention was still Li Fei.
Even her tightly-wrapped purple mage robe couldn't conceal her tall, exquisite figure. Just standing on the arena, her nation-toppling, city-toppling features were enough to steal the sun's radiance; and when her ink-black tresses were stirred by the wind, the audience grasped what it meant to be a born protagonist.
"I hereby declare this team the most beautiful of this entire exchange tournament."
"Three mage girls... can they even make it through the elimination rounds? What a shame."
"Isn't this teammate draw way more fair and impartial than the city hall's public-welfare lottery? If there was even the slightest funny business, there's no way they'd dump the two most outstanding freshmen into one doomed team..."
"Keep it down, you tired of living?"
As Li Fei's opponent, the warrior with the hedgehog-spike hairdo clearly had solid mental fortitude. Even under the convergence of hundreds of gazes, he didn't flinch — instead, he stepped forward and laughed heartily:
"I'm Albert. Please go easy on me, Miss Spell-Encyclopedia."
The lone Sequence 9 Transcendent on the field also introduced himself:
"Farrell."
Last was the slightly chubby mage girl, her voice a bit awkward:
"I'm called… Harriet."
Li Fei smiled faintly, drew her staff, and bowed elegantly:
"Li Fei. Pleased to face you."
Once introductions were complete, Irena lightly waved her arm; her snow-tender fingertips slid out from her sleeve and scattered a single point of fluorescence.
As that mote of fluorescence slowly drifted downward, the smile on Albert's face only deepened, his heart thudding like a war drum.
We can win!
Even though he knew his team had no chance of making it through the group stage.
Even though he understood just how dazzlingly brilliant Miss Spell-Encyclopedia was.
But low-Sequence mages would never be able to withstand a warrior charging into their face!
Three mage girls — and a combination of two freshmen and a healer at that. Even if each of them was a stunning prodigy with the talent of a Grandmaster, he was confident he could take them down in one strike each, maybe two strikes for three!
And Li Fei's sickly pallor reminded Albert of the reports about how she'd taken on soul-trauma in order to save the victims in Viranean, which dispelled the last shred of his hesitation toward "Miss Spell-Encyclopedia."
I admire your character, but I'm sorry — we're opponents now…
The moment the fluorescence burst and the soft light spread outward.
The smile on Albert's face vanished without a trace. His gaze turned scorching and biting cold.
Strike while she's sick, take her life!
Carrying that conviction, Albert drew his blade and charged. The battle-qi vortex inside him spun at maximum load, sweeping forward with unstoppable momentum as he launched a charge at Li Fei, intent on cutting off her road to championship.
However, Li Fei moved faster than he did.
The instant the match began, Li Fei's silhouette suddenly blurred, like a dragon roaming through clouds, ethereal and traceless.
Under the unimaginably abundant teaching resources piled on her, Li Fei's Cloud Dragon Fold body-art had already been raised to Lv3, and her execution had improved from bronze tier to at least gold tier.
Even as she opened up the distance, Li Fei was chanting an incantation. Mana-light surged at the tail end of her Quietsong.
"That footwork… no, no — that's Eastern Qinggong! And very skilled Qinggong at that!"
Alex, who had been sitting sprawled cross-legged on a stone chair like a great general, snapped his eyes wide open, his face filled with shock.
"Am I seeing things? Isn't she a chaos and nature school mage girl? Triple-school cultivation?!"
"Off the charts."
"Hsss… a heaven-blessed prodigy."
The moment the gambling round began and Li Fei casually played a pair of aces, more than half the students rose from their seats, stunned speechless.
Boom!
As Grace leapt to her rear-right, she let loose an arrow; the mana-haloed shaft drove easily into Farrell's thigh, drawing a muffled cry of pain from him as the muscles in his leg convulsed and spasmed from the brutal agony.
Lilith, also on the move, landed a Bright Light spell square on Harriet's face. Harriet, a beat slow in casting, had her eyes seared by the blinding glare and let out a whimper; the spell she'd been about to form collapsed entirely.
Meanwhile, a wisp of flame shot out from the tip of Li Fei's staff, followed by streaming lines of fire that twisted and wove together into a magic arrow condensed with pure mana, racing straight toward Albert's face.
Rush attack!
An utterly resolute rush attack!
In a flash of lightning and stone-sparks, the three-mage-girl squad displayed exceptional aggression and combat acumen, scattering and repositioning at dazzling speeds to seize the initiative.
And what are the consequences of losing the initiative in a team fight?
Before they'd even scraped the opponents' skin, their side had already lost one member. Harriet clearly couldn't shake off the dual agony of light-blinded eyes and spell-backlash within any short timeframe, and the last one would have to face Li Fei's output head-on!
"One eliminated."
Irena waved her wand, and a powerful gust of wind swept Farrell off the platform — he had already lost the ability to fight, and just now, if Grace hadn't shown mercy, she could easily have skewered his torso with that arrow, or even blown his head open.
"Aaah!!"
The battle-qi vortex spinning at 25 revolutions per second roared within him, burning the potential of his body. Albert had no time to worry about the rapidly deteriorating situation; he swung his blade with all his might, trying to slash the magic arrow apart, but the latter was simply too fast — it streaked past, crossing paths with the surging blade-glare.
Clang!
The magic arrow pierced through the chainmail, then bored straight through the strong body protected by battle-qi and introductory-grade magic resistance, kicking up a spray of blood.
Both being Sequence 8, Li Fei's Meditation method had broken through into the third-realm stage, while Albert's battle-qi was only cultivated to the second; the buff effects of the Witch class also towered over those of ordinary classes; the quality of their equipment was no longer in the same tier; and on top of that, the System provided her with a massive Intelligence bonus.
Under such an attribute-crushing advantage, the sturdiness of the "shield" fell far short of the sharpness of the "spear."
"Impossible…"
The astonishing casting speed and spell lethality, plus the muffled grunts and pained cries from his teammates behind him, made Albert realize he had lost.
In just a brief instant, his fighting spirit, his aspirations, his desires… were all ruthlessly shattered.
"Defeated this easily?"
Albert thought, dazed and dispirited.
But the searing pain in his shoulder jolted him awake instantly, and then a blazing fire surged up in his heart —
"I won't accept it!"
Facing the dire situation, Albert's eyes turned bloodshot as he roared with thunderous voice.
He knew very well what level his teammates were at. After all, mages didn't really come into their power until the mid-Sequences, and the Magic Academy's lower-year curriculum focused mostly on theory, which meant Harriet had to stop for a break every hour or so of training to enjoy some black tea and cookies; as for the other one — not only was he a freshman, he was also a War-school Transcendent whose average combat power was only fifty-fifty against a life-school mage.
— But at the very least, he had to win at least one round, didn't he?
— At the very least, he couldn't let his opponents come out without a scratch, could he?
— A defeat this miserable — I cannot accept it!
In the extremity of his fury, his short brown hair stood on end, the battle-qi vortex churning at a speed that could spiral out of control or collapse at any moment; from his nearly-boiling blood, endless potential surged forth.
"Roar!"
Amid the wild howl, his left arm, blazing with battle-qi, took the blade from his wounded, now powerless right hand.
Embracing a stance of forging life from death, Albert stepped forward; a sharp, vicious blade-glare flashed forth, intent on using the longsword in his hand to turn the tide.
"That strike — beautiful."
Kova clenched her fists, the blade's shadow reflected in her pupils.
"He has a future."
Nicole murmured admiringly: "Pity, though — how can a cornered beast in its death throes hope to outmatch a shrewd, cunning hunter?"
Facing that sharp, savage sweep of blade-glare, Li Fei's form drifted like cloud and mist, once again pulling the distance open.
Though she had already retreated to the edge of the arena, victory and defeat were already decided.
— Come on, big brother with the cleaver!
Li Fei silently teased in her heart, but her hand showed no mercy as she hurled out a fireball the size of a wash basin, radiating rolling waves of heat.
Fireball and arrow flew together. Albert didn't dodge — eyes splitting wide with rage, he roared, battle-qi rushing through his body like rivers and seas, as he launched a no-return charge at Li Fei.
But the magic arrow won out on casting speed, the fireball had higher lethality, and on top of that there was Grace's deadly arrow. Under such an onslaught, Albert would either be dead or crippled.
Irena gave a soft sigh. A palm condensed from mana shot out late but arrived first, blocking the attacks for Albert, then sent his grief-and-fury-filled face down off the arena.
By the time Harriet managed to pry open her swollen, tear-streaming eyes, her teammates were all gone — only three mage girls remained, positioned in a flanking pincer, staring at her hungrily.
"Are you going down on your own, or do we send you down?"
Li Fei curled her lips and stepped toward her step by step.
If it weren't in front of so many watching eyes, she would absolutely have put on a scene of a bully menacing a little maiden.
Pity she couldn't.
"Y-you, don't come over!!"
The weak, pitiful, helpless Harriet had tears welling up in her eyes as she backed up to the edge of the arena. Yet she refused to cooperate with Li Fei's suggestion, even lifting her staff in an attempt to resist.
— Disarm!
Li Fei, who had drawn close before anyone realized, simply reached out and scooped — and disarmed her without a hitch.
Just as she was about to keep pressing her surrender, a palm suddenly venting steam pushed toward her chest.
Li Fei easily parried Harriet's final ripple-style strike, but the burning sensation that ran through her wrist made the corner of her mouth twitch.
Damn it!
Li Fei strained to keep her smile in place and decisively kicked out, sending the chubby little mage girl flying off the arena.
"Miss, won't you take a little rest?"
Su Ling'er brought Qin Zhihua a cup of hot tea, her face full of concern.
During the period when the young madam was off at her live-in training camp, Qin Zhihua hadn't been idle either — her workload was actually even greater than the former's. She had spent nearly all her time, apart from accompanying Li Fei, at the apothecary, tirelessly refining all kinds of potions, and the shop's stock had piled higher and higher.
You should know, the shop already employed apothecaries, and the vast majority of best-selling medicines they could refine themselves. Even if Qin Zhihua wanted to supply the young madam with potions, she shouldn't have been this busy.
"I'll be going away for a stretch. I estimate I'll be back in one or two months."
Qin Zhihua took the tea, her tone gentle as ever: "So I need to prepare some of every kind of potion — better to be safe than sorry."
"Miss, you're going to…"
Su Ling'er suddenly understood.
Qin Zhihua had been out of seclusion for over half a month — she could break through her bottleneck and step into the next Sequence at any time.
It was just that the shop had only recently opened, and she'd also wanted to spend some more time accompanying the young madam, which is why it had been delayed.
But now, the business was gradually getting onto the right track, and she'd also spent twenty-some days side by side with the young madam — it was time to set out and pursue the opportunity for a breakthrough. After all, Ascension Rituals came in countless bizarre forms; not every ritual could be completed by simply staying at home.
This should have been a happy occasion, but Su Ling'er's "congratulations, Miss" got stuck in her throat — she just couldn't get it out, no matter what.
After all, the young madam's habits and disposition were no secret to anyone living in the villa.
Though Qin Zhihua hadn't called her out on it, after hearing from the maids about anecdotes like the "Golden Kumquat Tavern team-building" and the "hide-and-seek game," Su Ling'er had witnessed for the very first time the well-read, gentle, easygoing eldest miss wearing that teeth-grinding expression — and yet, when the young madam was getting jabbed at her vital pressure points at night, she still had the audacity to cry out indignantly as if she had no idea why.
If she could play this wildly with just one week in seclusion, then one or two months… don't even dare think about it, hee hee.
Su Ling'er flushed slightly, suppressed the chaotic images in her mind, and volunteered:
"Miss, you'll probably wait until the young madam's exchange event is over before setting off, right? I'll go with you…"
"No need. I'll go and return quickly on this trip."
Qin Zhihua lightly shook her head: "You stay here and look after the young madam more carefully. Make her… mind her sense of propriety."
"Ah, this…"
Su Ling'er's pretty little face fell.
Even you, jabbing her vital points, can't get her to behave — how am I supposed to keep her in line?
Of course Qin Zhihua knew that too.
She gazed straight at Su Ling'er's pretty, charming face, the light in her eyes flickering uncertainly.
But the True Qi flowing endlessly within her body, growing ever more abundant, reminded her that the matter of ascension could no longer be delayed.
Finally, Qin Zhihua let out a quiet sigh, took Su Ling'er's hand, and said in a soft, gentle voice:
"Ling'er, do you have someone you fancy?"
"Ah, I…"
Su Ling'er lowered her head, stammering unable to answer.
"What… do you think of her?"
Qin Zhihua's tone carried a faint, melancholy plaintiveness.
Then she gave a bitter chuckle, because Qin Zhihua noticed that, with her own decision made, that sour, bitter ache in her heart had unexpectedly turned into nourishment for her martial path — her True Qi was, in soundless silence, becoming more pure and robust, brimming with vigorous vitality. Even the incomplete portions of her self-created art were suddenly flashing with endless inspiration.
Misfortune is what fortune leans upon, and fortune is where misfortune hides — what a fine "entering the Dao through emotion"…
"Eh?"
Su Ling'er's eyelids fluttered. Of course she knew exactly who the "her" in Qin Zhihua's words referred to.
She realized that, perhaps, before the young madam and the eldest miss were officially wed, she'd have to fulfill the duty and mission of a dowry maid.
____
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