The battle against Team Kamikaze began with a loud signal from the mechanical speaker systems. We were aiming to end this battle as quick as possible as to not show all of our hands. Just like how we had observed other people's fights, they will do the same to us. Especially Xuan Kun. There was no doubt he was lurking in the audience right now, watching our every move.

On that note, the same could be said for Liu Jian. While Song Qian Long told me he would only be acting as a judge for the main tournament, it was still necessary to take precautions. I had to be very careful about when to show my power, and when I do, how much of it.

And so, with that in mind, Feng Mian, Qing Yue, Yu An Yan, Yu An Xue, and I - the five of us, decided to end this fight as quickly as possible. That's why, as soon as the system signaled the beginning of the fight, Yu An Yan launched a Level Two Fire spell at Team Kamikaze, who just barely reacted in time.

"I'm not done yet!" Yu An Yan leapt into the air and prepared to bombard them from above. "Level Two Fire Magic - Ember Barrage!"

"Tch...! Bao Yan Shi!" Li Yi Fei called for his support, a rough looking boy by the name of Bao Yan Shi.

"Level Two Earth Magic - Earth Surge!" Bao Yan Shi yelled, striking the floor with his palm. A large wall of rock rose up in front of him and blocked Yu An Yan's projectile attack.

"Damn it!" Yu An Yan fell back to the ground, at the ready to cast another attack spell.

I was currently on stand by. The best case scenario would be where the battle results in our victory without me having to do a thing, similar to how Ming Hao's team did it. Right now, I was leaving everything to Yu An Yan, but if she couldn't handle it, I would step in.

"Do you need me to help?" I asked, eyeing her.

She quickly shook her head, and turned to me with a grin. "I'll prove to you that while I'm not as strong as you are, I'm certainly not weak either."

I closed my eyes and smiled. "...I never said you were."

However, just then, I noticed the ground beneath Yu An Yan glow faintly red for a second. My eyes widened as I realized what it was. "Look out below!"

"Huh- Woah!" she leapt back at the last moment, right before a massive pillar of fire engulfed where she had just been standing moments ago. "That, was a little too close..."

"Save the talking for later," Feng Mian came up behind us. "I'm going in."

I gave a firm nod, as Feng Mian slid into the shadows after faintly muttering 'Level One Shadow Magic - Vanishing Shadows'.

Yu An Yan quickly moved to continue her combination of Sky and Fire Element attacks without even being told to, since she understood why Feng Mian had came to specifically tell us she was going in. Yu An Yan would have to distract them while Feng Mian snuck up behind.

Team Kamikaze didn't have anyone who specialized in the assassin role, so we wouldn't have to worry about anyone targeting Qing Yue when we weren't paying attention. Thus, I decided to have one more person join the frontline.

I swiftly backed away from the action and headed to where Qing Yue and Yu An Xue were.

"It's time for you to shine, Yu An Xue," I told her, to which she responded with a short "mm".

However, she clearly understood what I was getting at. She dashed to where her sister was, and helped with the offense.

"Big Brother Xuan Kai, what about me?" Qing Yue asked.

"Hm...there's no need for healing magic right now, so you can use your Psychic Magic to interfere with their minds."

Qing Yue nodded in return, and also headed to Yu An Yan's location. I quickly followed, but my role wasn't to actually contribute to the battle in any way right now. Instead, I was observing Li Yi Fei's actions.

"Are you just going to keep cowering behind that wall of yours, or are you going to come out and fight like a man?" Yu An Yan taunted, trying to reposition herself to avoid the wall. But the boy named Bao Yan Shi was more formidable than I had thought, and thwarted her at every turn.

However, Bao Yan Shi was going to run out of mana faster than Yu An Yan at this rate. Putting up a defense spell of that scale would definitely have a significant cost. Yu An Yan was playing smartly; poking them with Level One spells instead of Level Two ones. However, since Team Kamikaze's view was obstructed by the wall (which was placed right before Yu An Yan cast her spell), they had no way to measure the strength of the spell and decide whether or not to put up a defense.

That being said...Bao Yan Shi still seemed to have quite a bit of energy left in him, so this battle would drag on for longer than I had hoped...or actually, maybe not. I spotted Feng Mian, who had successfully circled behind them without anyone noticing, and smirked subconsciously.

However...by pure chance, Zhang Zhe Rui must've looked behind him at that exact timing.

"Behind you, Ai Yao!"

"H-Huh?! Ah!" the girl named Ai Yao jumped away right before Feng Mian could stealthily grab her school crest from behind.

"Tch!" Feng Mian gritted her teeth and attempted to sink back into the shadows, but Zhang Zhe Rui quickly stopped her.

"Level One Fire Magic - Flame Lotus!"

A brilliant explosive projectile in the shape of a lotus was sent flying towards Feng Mian's location, and she quickly dashed away. Ahh...this wasn't good. She was deep in enemy territory with no escape. I looked over at the other three girls who were still busy with breaking through Team Kamikaze's defense. However, thanks to Qing Yue applying a bit of hypnosis on Bao Yan Shi with Psychic Magic, they were on the verge of succeeding.

But at this rate...they weren't going to make it. No one was focused on me since the battle was so intense elsewhere, so I took the risk and cast a Shadow Element spell. I narrowed my eyes and began my incantation.

"Vanishing Shadows."

No screams of shock or surprise...okay, looks like no one noticed I used Shadow Magic.

I slid through the shadows, the feeling familiar to me by now. Peeking my head slightly once in a while to make sure I was still on the right course, I discretely headed to where Feng Mian was getting pinned down by Zhang Zhe Rui and Ai Yao's attacks.

*****

(Feng Mian's Perspective)

Ah..damn it! That timing couldn't have been worse! Right when I was about to snatch Ai Yao's school crest and eliminate her, Zhang Zhe Rui just happened to look back. And now, I'm stuck in this predicament. I had to think of a way to get out of here, or I would soon get worn down and eventually eliminated.

Just running and dodging isn't a good strategy...I'll just have to use this!

"Level One Ice Magic: Blizzard!" I chanted.

A blanket of white fell onto my surroundings. Ai Yao and Zhang Zhe Rui were also enclosed within this field of raging snow. This was my chance! They were in my domain - I could easily get both of them within this spac-

"Attention: Ai Yao - Eliminated."

Huh?

"Attention: Zhang Zhe Rui - Eliminated."

W-Wait, what? I haven't even done anything yet! Who?! Who was it that stole my kills?! Well, they aren't really kills, but...

A dark figure appeared in front of me, and I immediately put up my guard. But when he pulled down his hood, I realized who it was, and sighed in relief.

"So it was you..." I muttered exasperatedly.

"Er...are you okay?" he asked with concern, and I could feel my heart beating faster.

"E-Eh?! A-Ah, yes, I-I'm fine," I stuttered out, flustered.

He nodded, satisfied with my reply. "I see. Good to hear."

As I stared at him amidst this blizzard, I couldn't help but wonder what was going on inside his head. And before I knew it, a smile had reached my face, as I watched on. But then, his face turned serious and he glanced backwards with the corner of his eye.

"...So you finally decide to show yourself," the boy I was staring at, Xuan Kai, said quietly.

"Hahah...you noticed me?" another person asked, his male voice almost sounding hysterical. I couldn't make out who it was since my blizzard was still active, but he continued without a care. "Well, I supposed it doesn't matter. You'll be dying here today."

Wait, dying?! Didn't the exam strictly prohibit killing other contestants, ally or foe?! Even if this was only trash talking, that's going a bit far!

"What are you talking about?!" I cried out before I could stop myself.

The boy who had said this laughed darkly. "Ho...you still don't understand? Very well. I will explain - the plan is already 99% complete. And the final phase, begins here."