Lily had no idea about the exchanges taking place in the instructors’ section. Her assessment order was fairly late, but that suited her just fine.
This way, she had time to observe the skill levels of the students who went before her, so she could adjust her battle strategy accordingly.
For example, she needed to avoid opponents who specialized in wind magic whenever possible.
Even against Chris and Ray, Lily had a certain degree of confidence—despite her magical control being far inferior to theirs. But if her opponent were Avery, Lily was ninety-nine percent sure she’d lose.
Once Avery’s wind magic came out, Lily’s trump card wouldn’t even know where it got blown to—how could she possibly have a chance to win?
While observing her “potential opponents,” Lily silently calculated in her mind.
She needed to win three consecutive matches. If possible, she’d better not reveal her trump card too early—otherwise, once others were on guard or figured out the nature of her secret weapon, winning again would become much harder.
Following this line of thinking, for the first round, she’d best choose the weakest opponent—or rather, the one with the most obvious flaws…
“Next examinee, Lily—prepare yourself!” called out the instructor in charge of maintaining order during the assessment.
As Lily stepped forward, a dozen or so freshmen also stepped out eagerly—they were the ones ready to challenge Lily.
“Please choose your opponent.”
Lily scanned the challengers and suddenly smiled. Because among them, she saw the opponent she’d been expecting!
Jayne—the very same opponent Avery had faced in her third match. He came from the Leyne nobility—you could tell from his theoretical scores. His magical foundation was solid, and his status wasn’t low. He was one of Chris’s followers and a supporter of magical elitism.
Lily’s prediction wasn’t entirely left to chance. She had a basis for it: most of those who challenged her would likely come from the 【elitist】 faction represented by Chris—and they wouldn’t be the weak type.
The students who met these criteria were a limited pool. And Lily’s predicted target was to pick the one she considered the “softest touch” among them.
Such predictions could have a margin of error. But fortunately, this time she’d calculated correctly!
“Jayne, I’m in your care.”
The brilliant smile on Lily’s face made Jayne inexplicably uneasy: Why had Lily chosen him without hesitation—was there some kind of scheme?
Lily alone was nothing to fear—otherwise, he wouldn’t have stepped forward so confidently just now. What worried him was the possibility that Ray, who stood behind Lily, might be up to something! Their connection was no secret in the academy—how could he not know?
As Jayne’s mind wandered, he looked left and right and noticed that among those who’d stepped up to challenge Lily, there wasn’t a single person from Ray’s faction.
That put him somewhat at ease, and he sneered, “Looks like Ray isn’t going to hand you an easy pass. Your relationship isn’t as solid as the rumors say. Not surprising. You have neither status nor strength—he’s just playing around.”
Lily looked surprised. “What’s wrong—are you nervous?”
“What are you talking about?!”
“All this rambling—isn’t it just to cover up your nerves? Are you guessing whether I’m bluffing, or whether Ray has set something up for me? Don’t worry—he hasn’t done anything. Dealing with you doesn’t require his involvement.”
Lily graciously made a “please” gesture toward Jayne.
Jayne’s expression shifted repeatedly.
Lily’s words didn’t ease his doubts at all—they only made him overthink even more.
There was another possibility as to why Ray hadn’t arranged for others to hand Lily an easy win: Ray had invested resources to help Lily improve her spellcasting strength, so she could pass the assessment fair and square.
But such resources wouldn’t come cheap—would Ray really do that?
Jayne then thought of the rumors circulating around the academy about an “epic romance,” and couldn’t help but shudder: When a man was lovestruck, who knew what he might do?
Jayne began to regret stepping forward so rashly without first sizing up Lily’s true strength. It would’ve been safer to challenge her in the second or third round instead.
He’d originally wanted to use this “easy win” to show off. But if he accidentally lost…
Jayne’s steps onto the arena felt heavy. No helping it now—he could only give it his best shot.
As soon as he stepped onto the stage, Jayne saw Lily’s lips move—but she made no sound!
Damn—she’d even mastered silent casting! Ray had really gone all out on her.
Jayne cursed under his breath. But suddenly, he noticed a flaw in Lily: she was probably still not used to silent casting, because her lip movements were very obvious.
Jayne had never formally studied lip-reading, but he could make out a word or two from her mouth shape. For instance, right now, her opening was, “Spirit of air…”
Without any hesitation, Jayne immediately began chanting and cast an Earth Mound spell.
He didn’t know ice magic, but earth magic was also an effective way to block wind magic!
He had lost to Avery in one move before because her chantless casting was too fast! But Lily was not Avery—he had caught her flaw, and this time, the goddess of victory was on his side!
The earthen shield blocked Lily’s wind magic… Wait—had he blocked it? Why didn’t the earthen shield feel like it had been struck? Jayne was a little perplexed.
But before he could think further, Lily not far away showed a look of shock and cried out, “How is that possible? How could you possibly block it?”
Jayne felt a surge of satisfaction—all the frustration from his match against Avery seemed to be released in this moment.
Lily refused to give up and continued casting:
“Spirit of air…”
“Spirit of air…”
But her silent casting was seen through by Jayne time and again, blocked by his Earth Mound spell every single time.
She was unwilling, she was furious! But reality was just that cruel.
Meanwhile, in the spectator stands, absolute silence reigned.
From outside the arena, they could see everything clearly.
Everyone was stunned by Lily’s outrageous tactics: Jayne thought he was blocking Lily’s spells, but in reality, she hadn’t done a single thing—she was just wasting Jayne’s mental energy!
Since the founding of the First Academy, this was the first time such a bizarre practical match had ever occurred!
How could anyone fail to tell whether their opponent had even cast a spell?
An instructor sighed, “He’s been misled by Lily…”
“No—to be precise, Avery left too deep a psychological scar on him, and Lily took full advantage of that! Now it’s just a matter of when he’ll snap out of it.”
On the arena floor.
Jayne had an nagging sense that something was wrong. Lily looked utterly defeated, and he was clearly the one with the upper hand—so why did he feel this way?
Just then, Lily cast another wind spell.
Jayne hesitated for a moment and didn’t chant along immediately. He didn’t want to drag this out any longer. Earth Mound had strong defense, but its offensive capability was poor.
Lily’s wind spell didn’t feel all that powerful to him. So he wanted to try dodging it on his own, then seize the opportunity to unleash a strong offensive spell at Lily and end the match.
And at that moment, Jayne finally saw clearly what spell Lily had actually cast. It was nothing at all.
Jayne didn’t even need to run. Perfectly safe.
Jayne froze for a second, then his eyes nearly split with rage. “You—you bastard!”
By now, he had finally realized: it wasn’t that Lily’s wind spells had been too weak to shake his earth barrier—it was that from start to finish, he’d been fighting ghosts!
This move of Lily’s would brand him with the label of “idiot” for life!
Jayne no longer dared to look at the reactions from the spectators outside.
“Spirit of fire…” He hurled a fire spell as fast as he could.
Lily darted left and right frantically, narrowly dodging the fireball that shot toward her. The fireball hit the ground and exploded instantly, leaving a black scorch mark.
In his extreme fury, Jayne’s fire magic had performed beyond its usual level.
Too bad his aim was slightly off, which was why Lily managed to dodge it.
Lily looked a little regretful. “Oh dear, you caught on after all. I couldn’t drag it out to the very end… Well then, I’ll just have to unleash my ultimate finishing move—Spirit of air…”
Jayne tensed up. Then Jayne grew even more enraged: It was another fake!
“Ahem, just kidding earlier. Now watch this one!” Lily formed hand seals and began chanting softly, “Spirit of water…”
But no matter how Lily acted, Jayne completely ignored her.
He was panting heavily, sneering again and again.
Lily’s little tricks had all been seen through by him. Still trying to win by bluffing? Dream on! Once his mental energy recovered a bit more, he’d unleash another fire spell or two—Lily would be doomed!
But suddenly, Jayne’s pupils contracted sharply.
Because a water arrow was hovering right in front of his left eye—barely half a finger’s width away!
Lily had put on an act with him many times, but the water magic just now had been the real deal! And her proficiency wasn’t low—she had already mastered the technique of redirecting water arrows.
The water arrow had been silently formed behind Jayne’s back, and while he was off guard, it shot straight toward his eye.
At that distance, it would take less than a second for the water arrow to pierce Jayne’s left eye. The only reason it was frozen mid-air was that the instructor had intervened.
“Lily wins.” The instructor announced the result flatly.
In a life-or-death battle, getting hit in the eye wouldn’t necessarily mean defeat. But this was just a freshman assessment—judging by the trend, Jayne had no chance of turning things around.
The moment the instructor finished speaking, Jayne seemed to snap back to reality. He staggered two steps back, blinking repeatedly, as if trying to squeeze out that discomfort from his eyes.
Then Jayne completely lost control of his emotions, shouting loudly without regard for the occasion: “You cheated! This match wasn’t fair—it didn’t test the students’ true abilities at all!”
He had wasted a fair amount of mental energy at the start, but he’d still had a chance to win. Lily’s water arrow redirection was decent, but to him, it wasn’t that impressive—if he hadn’t been deceived by her, he could absolutely have blocked it.
Losing to Lily like this—Jayne truly couldn’t accept it!
“Not fair?” Lily laughed. “I recall that your faction’s view is that status is also part of one’s strength. Fine—I’ll accept that argument. But don’t you know that brains are also part of one’s strength?”
It wasn’t as if Jayne had the weakest spellcasting ability among her challengers. The reason Lily had singled him out as the “softest touch” was based on: his mentality was the worst.
After losing to Avery in a single move, his mindset had already crumbled a bit. When his own turn came later, he hadn’t performed up to par either. Under those circumstances, who else would Lily pick if not him?
She kept piling psychological pressure on Jayne, and thus won the match at the lowest possible cost.
Call it an unworthy victory? Ha—try pointing out exactly where she’d broken the rules!
“You—!”
If looks could kill, Lily would have been hacked to pieces a thousand times over.
The instructor overseeing the match bellowed, “Silence!”
When Jayne said the match was unfair, he wasn’t slighting Lily—he was slighting the instructor himself!
By saying that, was he questioning his ruling? That was a serious accusation—he’d better explain himself clearly!
“If you have any objection to my ruling, or if you disagree with the rules of the practical assessment, file a formal appeal with the headmaster. But until that appeal is confirmed, I suggest you watch your words! Losing isn’t scary—not being able to lose gracefully is!”
Hearing this, Jayne realized how imprudent his words had been and quickly bowed his head in apology. “I’m sorry, Professor. I didn’t mean to question your ruling at all. I was just momentarily upset…”
“Enough—you may leave.” The instructor couldn’t be bothered to listen to his excuses, directly waved him off the arena, then said to Lily, “You have five minutes to choose your second-round opponent.”
For the second round, the pool of challengers hadn’t changed much.
Although Lily beating Jayne had caught everyone off guard, they’d also seen through her tricks: as long as you didn’t let her lead you by the nose, with their level of ability, they’d have an eight or nine out of ten chance of winning.
Of course, compared to their initial “easy win” mindset, their expressions were now much more serious. Lily was too cunning—they had to be careful. If they flipped just like Jayne did, they’d lose all face!
But this time, Lily ignored these challengers entirely. She aimed her sights directly at Chris.
“How about you challenge me instead? If I beat you, no one should question whether I’m qualified to stay at the academy, right?”
Arrogant!
That was the unanimous thought that crossed everyone’s minds.
Did she not know how she’d beaten Jayne? Did she really think pulling the same trick a second time would work? Chris was no Jayne!
Up in the instructors’ section, many eyes subtly drifted toward Aaron.
Why did this Lily look more and more familiar the more they watched? Ah, they remembered now—her infuriating way of speaking and her arrogant attitude were the spitting image of a certain someone!
Aaron had just said he’d take the last-place student, Lily—and now this Lily happened to have that exact same temperament… One could only marvel: What a damnable twist of fate!
Aaron met their gazes one by one without any guilt. “What? Do you have a problem? Let me put it this way—I think she did brilliantly! Everyone else thinks she doesn’t deserve to stay at the academy, and she’s supposed to just turn the other cheek? What kind of logic is that?”
“If she actually has the strength, that’s one thing. But mistaking a bit of luck for real ability, while being excessively arrogant—that’s a recipe for trouble,” one instructor said, with a pointed tone.
He wasn’t just talking about Lily—he was also talking about Aaron, the fallen former genius.
Aaron said casually, “No problem. Before trouble comes, let her be arrogant. Some people never get to be arrogant their whole lives, and trouble still finds them anyway.”
That instructor fell silent.
It seemed Aaron had been storing up venom during his years of experimentation, and now he was spraying it at whoever crossed his path.
The atmosphere grew awkward. Then another instructor stepped in to smooth things over, speaking with interest: “I actually think this Lily isn’t arrogantly reckless.”
From her first-round performance, you could tell she wasn’t the type to walk straight into a trap.
So the likely reason for her move was:
Her tricks had already been exposed, and she knew she had no hope of winning the next two matches—so she wanted to lose with dignity.
There was a difference between 【losing to an ordinary student】 and 【losing to Chris】.
Just like Jayne—losing to Avery, he’d honestly reflect on his own shortcomings. But losing to Lily? That was practically worse than death for him.
Following that line of thought, everyone felt a bit convinced: this student was actually quite clever.
The instructor who’d spoken earlier sighed inwardly, feeling a bit of regret.
He actually appreciated Lily somewhat, but her magical talent was indeed mediocre, and she’d already been claimed by Aaron ahead of time. He wasn’t about to argue with Aaron over Lily—that would be too much trouble.
Aaron no longer participated in their discussion, instead focusing all his attention on the arena. Earlier he’d been multitasking with calculations, but at some point, he’d put away his scratch paper.
What do you people know? A little clever? Ridiculous!
She wasn’t aiming for a “dignified loss”—she wanted to win!
And his expectation of her was the same: win!
Those seemingly absurd but interesting ideas—prove them to me!
At the edge of the arena.
In the bustling crowd of freshmen.
Chris, called out by Lily, stood with his arms crossed and said casually, “What makes you think I’d play along with you?”
He admitted he’d underestimated Lily a bit—she’d had Jayne’s psychology completely figured out. That wasn’t very magical, but it was still her skill!
But Lily challenging him?
On that, Chris’s thoughts aligned with most people’s: Lily wasn’t confident she could keep winning, so she wanted an honorable exit. Losing to Chris wasn’t shameful.
But he wasn’t Lily’s henchman. Did she think a simple “come challenge me” would make him do her bidding? Dream on!
Don’t forget—Lily had just offended him a few days ago. Chris held grudges too!
“That’s fine. It’s understandable that you’re unwilling to challenge me.” Lily nodded understandingly—but her next words made Chris’s temperature skyrocket. “It’s a tradition among your faction to not take losing well, after all.”
Chris gritted his teeth. “Lily! I challenge you!”
“Accepted.” Lily beamed.
Little bro, with that pride of yours, did you really think I couldn’t handle you?
The provocation was old-school, but it worked.
Chris felt stung by Lily’s smile.
He realized he’d taken the bait. But realizing it didn’t help: this Lily was simply too infuriating. If he just swallowed his pride, he couldn’t stomach it!
He had to teach her a proper lesson!
Chris leaped onto the arena cleanly.
By now, he had already adjusted his mindset, not letting his anger continue to get the better of him.
Chris looked at Lily across from him and suddenly smiled—a knowing, almost teasing smile. “You thought provoking me into challenging you would get you what you wanted? I’ll tell you—you’re wrong!”
He wouldn’t cooperate with her “performance”!
A clean, quick loss might be called a “dignified exit.” But what if she got utterly crushed and toyed with? Would she still have any dignity left?
Chris decided—this time, he was going to be completely unsportsmanlike and torment her for a while longer!