Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

White frost began to cover the dueling ground. As such, it was very easy to see the bright fireballs flying across the place.

Xu Mingcong had already noticed the fireball being used as a sneak attack on him. He quickly determined how he would dodge the fireball easily while being surrounded by the Ice Lock...

The Fire Burst was cast at the perfect time, right between the gap he was backing into as the Ice Lock came from both sides...

Other Magicians would most likely summon their defensive equipment, but Xucong was no ordinary Magician. He would still remain confident in the midst of the attacks raining down!

"I'll give you a Water Barrier," said the plump woman at the back of the team.

"No, it's fine," replied Xu Mingcong, as he dodged the attacks.

Ice Lock flew wildly through the lingering frost, like two thick, sturdy chains. A single hit was strong enough to break a few bones.

Xu Mingcong smartly used the Wind Track to lean forward slightly, like he was going to dodge the attacks by dashing forward. Li Jie saw his direction change, and quickly manipulated the Ice Lock's target area.

To his surprise, Xu Mingcong immediately changed the direction of Wind Track, or more precisely, he had already set up another Wind Track beforehand. He suddenly changed direction and slid backward nimbly with the help of the wind.

His hands were still in the pockets. His movement of sliding across the ground was elegant, like a Prince of the Wind, urging the girls among the spectators to scream at the top of their lungs!

"That's not the end yet..." Xu Mingcong enjoyed the limelight and the screams. His face was wearing a confident smile.

He slid backward to dodge the Ice Lock, before slanting to his right all of a sudden.

A Fire Burst had descended from above him, as if it had long been waiting for him.

"I've already told you, this Basic Spell is useless..."

Xu Mingcong was good at changing the direction of his movements. He quickly moved in another direction to escape from the Fire Burst's area of effect.

There was a loud explosion, the seemingly ordinary Fire Burst exploding as it landed on the ground, producing a large cloud of flames!

The fiery tongues in the cloud extended ten meters into its surroundings, like giant flaming serpents wriggling their tails.

The shockwave from the explosion was shocking, too! Even the two ice chains were knocked slightly away.

Xu Mingcong was confident that he was right outside of the Fire Burst's coverage, but he never thought that the Fire Burst was not just the ordinary kind. Its area of effect surprised him, surpassing twenty meters!

An ordinary Fire Burst, even with a Soul Seed, would only cover a diameter of ten meters!

Xu Mingcong was around twelve meters away from the explosion. Not only was he safe from the Fire Burst, planning to let his hair dance elegantly to the gusts produced by the explosion.

However, the flames did not stop at a distance of ten meters. They knocked him into the air and slammed him into the ground, burning with flames!

His blue hair was disheveled, and now slightly burnt too.

As his hands were in his pockets, he did not have the time to draw them out, and ended up falling to the ground face down, giving the ground a kiss. He could feel the blood burst out from his nose.

"F**k...f**k me!"

Xu Mingcong did not suffer a serious injury, yet the fall totally took away the handsome image he was establishing right from the beginning. He almost went crazy when he rose to his feet, his face covered in ash.

"I was just wondering why that guy looked so familiar! I think he's the Demon King from the Fire School, Mo Fan, the guy who leveled up his Basic Spells to the fourth-tier!" said the plump woman.

"And you're telling me now!?" yelled Xu Mingcong.

For f**k's sake, he had never seen any Basic Spell as powerful as that Fire Burst! It was almost comparable to an Intermediate Spell! Xu Mingcong had faced countless opponents in the past, yet he never met anyone who would simply waste their money on Basic Spells!

"His Fire is the Rose Flame, multiplying the power of his Fire Spells by two and a half times! The fourth-tier of the Fire Burst increases the power further, too! As a result, his Fire Burst should be five times stronger than an ordinary Fire Burst! It's pretty much half an Intermediate Spell," the woman informed them.

"Guess I misjudged it. I've been attracting their attention for so long, don't tell me none of you did anything!" said Xu Mingcong.

"No way, didn't you see that my Ice Lock is already… hehehe," the Battlemaga wearing bright red lipstick giggled.

"I'll leave that infamous Mo Fan to you. Rumors have described him as a destruction machine. We'll focus on the others," said the muscular Earth Element student.

When Xu Mingcong learned that his teammates were already making their moves, he quickly cast the thought of him being embarrassed in front of the crowd away.

He could still feel the pain from the fall, yet it was nothing significant. He had decided to fight seriously, since his previous indifferent attitude would not earn him lots of points from the referees...

"So what if he's stacked with destructive Spells, I can easily take him down still!" Xu Mingcong tried to rebuild his confidence. A black aura flowed between his fingers as he and slowly turned into something sharp!

"Giant Shadow Spike: Shadow Rose Thorns!"

Xu Mingcong spread his fingers apart. The black auras materialized into black spikes, which he was holding between his fingers...

There were three spikes in total. Xu Mingcong threw the spikes out, and they disappeared into the air, waiting to strike on his command.

Unlike the first-tier and second-tier Giant Shadow Spike, the third-tier Giant Shadow Spike was even more unpredictable. The three spikes were able to hide in the shadows for a certain period. Once they were set up, a single thought could easily fire one of the spikes at a target...

The first spike would stop the target's movement, the second spike would seal off the target's thoughts, and the third would seal off the soul...

Basically, anyone who was hit by the first Giant Shadow Spike would no longer be able to move.

If the second spike landed it would seal off the target's thoughts, preventing the target from casting any Spells.

The third spike was the deadliest. It would penetrate one's soul, inflicting serious damage to the target, who would suffer great pain. If the injury was not treated in time, allowing the force to corrode the soul, it would be the same as diminishing the target's life span, something irreversible!

Mo Fan was unable to level up his Shadow Element Intermediate Spell to the third tier yet, but he was more familiar with its terrifying effects than anyone else.

Currently, the Giant Shadow Spikes were hidden somewhere nearby. Mo Fan would have to be on the alert for quite some time, since he had no idea when the Giant Shadow Spikes would attack.

That being said, the Giant Shadow Spikes were unable to move around freely. They had to rely on the shadows to hide their presence. Firing them under a bright light would significantly reduce their power!

"Don't worry about giving me Light Protection… that Xu Mingcong isn't stupid enough to use his Giant Shadow Spikes right away. Protect them instead," Mo Fan quickly stopped Ai Tutu when he saw her about to cast Light Protection on him.

The duration of Light Protection: Sacred Shield was shorter than the Giant Shadow Spikes. Xu Mingcong could simply wait until the protection wore off before making his move. Ai Tutu would simply waste the precious defensive Spell on him.

Ai Tutu nodded and placed her focus on Liu Xing and Li Jie instead.