“Impossible!”
Jayne shouted in disbelief:
“She really is problematic! She’s not Lily—the original Lily already sacrificed her soul, and what now inhabits this body is a monster! Some kind of evil entity!”
Lily’s expression remained unchanged, but inside, waves of shock were crashing.
On one point, Jayne was right: she wasn’t the original Lily.
How could Jayne be so certain about this?
Could it be that the reason she transmigrated wasn’t because she and Lily happened to die at the same time, but because she was affected by some kind of dark magic?
She traced back through the entire transmigration process once more.
She had no memory of “Lily using dark magic,” so in her impression, Lily had wanted to learn dark magic but died suddenly right after making the preparations—and then she took over.
But if you reverse the logic based on Jayne’s claims, it actually made sense!
If the ritual had already been completed, then she was the [outer-world demon] summoned by Lily.
The lack of memory about the ritual in her mind could be some kind of brain protection mechanism, or perhaps an automatic erasure mechanism inherent to the dark magic itself.
So where did the original Lily go? She hadn’t taken Lily’s soul—at least, she had no memory of doing so. Could she wait for the original Lily to return and take back control of this body?
Her emotions suddenly grew complicated.
Aaron placed a hand on her shoulder and said calmly, “You are who you are. If even you lose yourself, then there’s no saving you.”
Lily jolted, snapping back to clarity.
She’d said it herself when she first transmigrated: she was Lily. Until the original Lily came back, she would live on as Lily.
Jayne had offered her another possibility, but she couldn’t let herself be completely led astray! Don’t forget, she’d already undergone examination by the instructors and shown no abnormalities—which already contradicted Jayne’s claims.
Back in the modern world, she wasn’t perfectly well-rounded in morals, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor… but she considered her moral standards above the average in this world. They were all human, so there was no way she was a monster! The light magic had already proven that!
Maybe this [outer-world demon] had actually taken out the original evil god? Well, she had no memory of that either.
Lily stopped dwelling on it and turned her attention back to Jayne: she couldn’t give up on the Jayne-and-mastermind thread—it might lead to more truths.
Aside from Aaron, few people noticed Lily’s brief moment of unease.
Everyone’s focus remained on Jayne.
Because as Jayne’s emotions escalated, he’d revealed far too much information.
At first, Jayne had suspected Lily of using dark magic. That was understandable—many people had had that thought.
Then he’d proposed a direction, claiming Lily had traded sacrifice for magical knowledge. That wasn’t too far-fetched either—what gave Lily the right to make such a stunning breakthrough? Jayne might have deduced a possibility based on the characteristics of dark magic.
But now, he could assert with certainty that Lily’s soul was problematic. The question was: if even the instructors couldn’t confirm such a thing, how did Jayne know so clearly?
Was it Lily who’d used dark magic, or was it you who’d used dark magic?
This guy had exposed more problems than Lily herself!
Now it wasn’t just Lily who wanted to investigate Jayne—the instructors were also prepared to conduct a thorough inquiry into him.
Their biggest concern at the moment was that they didn’t know how far this matter reached, and with so many students present, the impact could be bad.
Should they arrest Jayne first and take him down for questioning? But arresting someone in front of so many people might spark more unfounded suspicions and speculation among the students.
Just then, Chris suddenly shouted, “Enough, Jayne! Stop talking! We’ve all confirmed with our own eyes that Lily is not involved in dark magic. No amount of your harping will change that!”
Chris’s expression was rather grim—he’d also realized that Jayne was problematic.
He wasn’t trying to shield Jayne with these words, but rather to coordinate with the instructors. First, use “Jayne falsely accused Lily” to calm things down; as for Jayne’s issues, they could be investigated privately.
This approach benefited everyone. The academy wanted to maintain stability on campus, and Chris didn’t want this to implicate himself or the Ryan royal family—he was using this method to prove his innocence to the academy.
(Leyne changed to Ryan)
Chris’s shout jolted Jayne back to his senses. Then his face turned ashen: he seemed to have accidentally revealed information he shouldn’t have.
But the real problem really wasn’t with him! Jayne still wanted to defend himself, “Chris, I—”
“Jayne, have my words stopped carrying weight?” Chris cut him off directly. Whether it was an explanation or an excuse, there was no need to say it now.
Jayne lowered his head. “I’m sorry, Prince Ryan.”
Lily wanted to say something, but Aaron gave her a slight shake of his head: Now wasn’t the time to keep making a scene. But rest assured, this wasn’t over.
So Lily stayed silent.
The judging instructor stepped forward, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Alright, this farce ends now. The academy has zero tolerance for dark magic. But remember, accusations of dark magic are no joke, nor are they a means to suppress fellow students. The academy will not tolerate such behavior either.”
“Now then, the freshman combat assessment continues. Next up is Lily’s third-round match. Who will challenge her?”
Among the freshmen, everyone exchanged glances, and for a moment, no one spoke up.
That included Avery and Ray as well.
It wasn’t that they were afraid of fighting—but Lily’s magic was too elusive. They hadn’t figured it out—how could they fight that? Going up would most likely be a free win for her, with little point.
They always used stronger opponents to prove themselves, always wanted to push past their limits—but that didn’t mean they enjoyed asking for a beating.
Round Three: Number of People Challenging Lily: 0
“Who would’ve thought, Student Lily—you’re this year’s biggest dark horse.”
The judging instructor said to Lily with a grin:
“No one challenged you this round, so now you can take the initiative to choose your opponent. Want to become the number one freshman? Then I suggest you challenge Ray.”
Currently, among the top three freshmen, Ray beat Avery, and Avery beat Chris.
While this didn’t necessarily reflect their absolute strength, if Lily—having already beaten Chris—went on to defeat Ray, no one would object to calling her the number one freshman.
The instructor’s obvious egging-on made Lily curious. “Professor, do you have a grudge against me or against Ray?”
“Neither. But you two have that… certain connection, don’t you?”
The judging instructor winked at Lily, as if to say: You know what I mean.
“A couple’s PK is more entertaining—the audience loves it.”
Lily fell silent. Was this professor serious? Really?
Of course, to put it in more high-minded terms, the instructor was trying to divert everyone’s attention away from the dark magic issue.
But Lily strongly suspected it was purely out of personal sadism.
Aaron, meanwhile, spoke in an airy, detached tone. “No pressure. Just do whatever. Number one freshman? Hah, don’t take such empty titles to heart. We mages have a long road ahead.”
The other instructors rolled their eyes at him in unison.
They couldn’t help it. Really.
The way this guy acted smug while pretending not to be was insufferable!
Where was he “not taking it to heart”? He clearly thought that casually strolling to the number one freshman spot would be even better for showing off!
Every micro-expression on his face screamed: Sigh, I just randomly took on a student, and somehow she became the top freshman? Oh well, my eye for talent is just too good.
Lily nodded solemnly. “Professor, I understand.”
Aaron smiled with great satisfaction.
Everyone returned to their positions, ready to watch the upcoming clash of titans. If Lily challenged Ray, Ray wouldn’t give in without a fight—he’d definitely unleash a powerful spell immediately to seize the initiative… At that point, who would win was still anyone’s guess!
In the arena, Lily made her choice.
She didn’t challenge Ray, nor did she challenge Avery. She challenged a freshman ranked near the bottom.
The chosen “lucky one” looked completely dumbfounded, his expression practically saying: Huh? Me? Do I actually have hidden strength too?
Then, after a swift defeat, he walked off the arena beaming. Well, losing to Lily wasn’t embarrassing. Rounding up, he was probably just a little weaker than Chris.
Silence. Dead silence.
This was an outcome even more speechless than “Lily beat Chris.”
You’re a powerhouse who defeated Chris!
Even if you don’t go all out for the top freshman spot, you could at least pick a decent opponent—not just go through the motions with the weakest one!
Where’s your pride as a strong contender?
The instructors silently looked at Aaron.
Ever since Lily chose her opponent, Aaron—who had been gloating just moments before—began shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
He couldn’t help but feel a flicker of self-doubt: Wait, was his judgment actually flawed? Had he taken on the wrong student?
Lily… was nothing like the “ideal student” he’d imagined!
She might not make him famous in the magic world, but she’d very likely ruin his reputation in the education circle.
What? His reputation was already bad? Oh, never mind then.
Aaron’s mindset instantly became carefree.
But since he’d overplayed his smug act earlier, he couldn’t very well keep sitting in the audience being watched for entertainment, so he pretended nothing was wrong and walked off.
The instructors watched Aaron’s retreating figure, then looked back at Lily, suddenly feeling a bit amused: Finally, someone who could keep him in check!
Thinking of it that way, it didn’t seem so regrettable that Lily had been taken in by Aaron.
Good for her!
Lily finished her assessment and walked off the arena with an innocent look on her face.
Professor Aaron had said it himself—just do whatever. She was simply following orders!
Of course, she’d understood his subtext perfectly well; she was just pretending not to.
As she’d said before, she had the advantage of surprise, but not the advantage of overwhelming force.
One of the reasons she’d chosen Chris in the first place was precisely to set things up for the third round: intimidate the other students so no one would dare challenge her easily, allowing her to pick anyone she wanted to get through.
And it worked like a charm.
Pride as a strong contender? She had none, because she was the underdog.
As for whether her performance would disappoint Aaron?
Lily could only say she’d already shown her strengths. The third round was meant to make Aaron face reality.
If she’d gone all out, she might have had a shot at the rookie king title.
But from her corporate drone experience, it wasn’t worth it.
If you strain yourself from the start to meet your boss’s expectations, he’ll think that’s just what you are—and the demands will only keep rising, increasingly beyond your capabilities. It’s better to lower his expectations from the very beginning.
This tactic is called: Slack when you should slack.