- Yu Family Training Field -

"We're here," Yu An Yan announced as we pushed open the familiar gates of the Yu family training field, where we had trained just days ago.

We were met with the same vast green field, and in all honesty, the scene was not too different from when I had first set foot in this place. However, there was one tiny difference this time - we had an extra person. I glanced at the the short girl beside me, with brilliant long scarlet hair, and looks that rivaled that of a true goddess.

"Is this where we will be dueling, master?" the girl in question, Mei Gui, said quietly.

"Uh, yeah," I replied, slightly embarrassed not because of her question, but because she was clutching my hand casually for no particular reason. It felt warm and nice, but that was a secret I would take to my grave...

I winced as I felt four sets of cold eyes boring into my back. We quickly moved in, and the gate clanked shut behind us. A Magic Barrier rose up around the perimeter of the field, to prevent any stray shots from damaging property. I went on one side of the field after Mei Gui reluctantly let go of my hand, and she went on the other. The rest of the girls stayed on the sidelines. I was a bit worried since a battle of our scale could potentially hurt them, but they seemed insistent on spectating our duel as close as possible, so I gave up on convincing them.

"How are we going to do this?" I asked, calling out Mei Gui who was standing on the other end of the exceptionally large field. However, its extensive area provided a nice and suitable battleground where I could go all out.

"Mm...however Master wants to," she said.

Or, rather, she didn't exactly say it. Instead, she transmitted the message directly into my head. I widened my eyes in surprise, and sent a message back to her, also via telepathy. "You can use Psychic Magic?"

"Yes," she replied, again, using telepathy. "However, the bond between Master and I is far greater and more private than just normal telepathy. Therefore, no enemies will be able to listen in on our conversations, no matter how strong in Psychic Magic they are."

"Huh...pretty neat," I remarked. "Well then, let's keep it simple. No weapons, stop right before injuring the other party, and...oh, I won't be sucking in your attacks, since that's kind of cheating. Sound good?"

"As you wish, master."

I grinned, and signaled to Yu An Yan, who had opted to be the referee of this match, that we were ready to begin.

"Okay..." she took a deep breath once she saw my hand signal. "3, 2, 1 - Start!"

*****

Since the sun was still high up, I couldn't use Vanishing Shadows to hide my presence and launch a surprise attack. I made a mental note to set the time later at night should a duel like this appear again. But what's done is done; I decided to just go all out with a frontal assault.

"Level Two Fire Magic - Twin Dragons," I chanted quietly. Although I didn't actually need to chant the spell name to cast it (from my knowledge, everyone else must say the incantation in full), doing so still helped me conserve mana.

Two massive black dragons with fiery red eyes appeared behind me, blocking the sun and clouding over the entire area. For a minute, I contemplated using Vanishing Shadows now since there was something to slide into, but then I realized the shadow only extended to about two feet in front of me. I cursed at my own stupidity, and unleashed the dragons toward the frail-looking Mei Gui.

She didn't seem fazed at all, despite being met with an apocalyptic wave of burning destruction. Instead, she calmly raised her right hand and pointed it towards the incoming attack.

"Chaos Mirror."

A translucent screen made of raw black pulsating energy appeared before Mei Gui. I narrowed my eyes. I've never even heard of this spell before, much less use it. There was a chance it was a Level Three spell that I haven't learned about yet, but even then...what element was it? The color scheme was practically screaming 'Shadow', but I quickly crossed that possibility out since the Shadow Element did not have any wall-type defense spells. Shadows are not solid things, hence a wall out of them would hardly be effective.

So then...what was it? But before I could think about this more, my eyes widened at the scene unfolding before me. I had expected there to be some sort of explosion or noise signaling impact when my twin dragons hit the wall Mei Gui had put up, but instead, what I heard was a distorted warping sound I have never heard before.

My twin dragons were also nowhere to be seen - to put it precisely, it had been sucked in by the mysterious black screen. In fact, the area on the said screen where my attack should've struck true was now emitting a faint red glow, as the cacophonous disturbing noise continued. I noticed the other four girls were also staring at this scene in shock, mouths agape.

However, the next act was the real climax. The red energy continued emitting dangerously from the center of the black screen, until a bright light enveloped the entire area, and my own twin dragons from earlier, flew out of it. But they weren't my own anymore. From their trajectory, they were heading straight towards me, and it wasn't just for a friendly reunion.

The most shocking part of it all, was that I could evidently feel the power of the twin dragons. They were far more powerful than my initial attack. Through the black screen, their power had been tripled, perhaps even more. It felt like a very similar process to my own magic, since my spells were at least three times as powerful as any other person's.

...This similarity was not a coincidence.

But I would have to save my questions for later. Right now, I had to deal with this flying disaster, heading straight towards me. I doubted I could take it head on, since only Ghosteye's and Song Qian Long's battle souls had beat this attack in terms of the power I could feel emitting from it.

However, I then remembered my own 'stupid' idea from earlier - Vanishing Shadows. If you can't block an attack, you dodge it. It's that simple. Since the twin dragons were facing me now, it provided plenty of shaded areas to enter. In fact, the long bodies of the dragons allowed me a direct route to where Mei Gui was standing.

I smirked devilishly and sliced into the shadows, this time without an incantation since Mei Gui could possibly hear me. I was going for a surprise attack, after all. As planned, I quickly advanced through the shadows of the dragons looming above me. I could feel it - just a bit more, and I would reach where Mei Gui was standing, completely defenseless...

...?

I arrived at my destination, and what awaited me was-

"Master, you lose," Mei Gui said calmly with her outstretched hand pointed at my head, the only part of my body that had emerged from the shadows.

It was clear what had happened - she had been waiting for me all along. But the question was - how? I sighed and rose my body out of the shadows.

"I concede," I said quietly. It would be a lie if I said I wasn't disappointed, but well, a loss is a loss. The only thing I can do now is get stronger so I don't lose the next fight, if there is one.

She then grasped my hand once more, and shook it firmly. I was a bit taken aback, but then gave a short chuckle. "So you do know human mannerisms, huh?"

Shaking your opponent's hand after a duel was a sign of courtesy and respect. It meant that you valued this duel highly, and was greatly honored by this duel. It sure was surprising that Mei Gui knew of this, though. However-

"Mannerisms?" she raised an eyebrow questioningly. "No, master. I simply wished to take your hand."

Wait. Huh?

"Uh, hold on. T-Then why did you shake it? If you simply wanted to hold my hand, there was no need for that shake, was there?" I asked, hoping she hadn't just broke all my hopes.

"That shake was simply me getting a firm grip on your hand, to make sure you can't escape," she responded nonchalantly, as monotone as always.

"W-Wait. You serious?"

"Yes, master."

"..."

She then looked up at my conflicted expression with a curious face.

"...Would you have preferred a hug instead, master?"

"Huh?! No, that's not what I'm conflicted about..." I muttered. "Ah...whatever. That was just my bad."

It was then that the other four girls walked over to us. "Um...what just happened?" Yu An Yan asked, which was quite ironic since she was supposed to be referee.

In their defense though, from their perspective they had no way of telling who won the duel exactly, since the twin dragons were obstructing their view.

I sighed, and told them the results of the duel. "Well...I lost."

The four girls all dropped their jaws in surprise.

"E-Eh?! No way...you, of all people, lost?!" Feng Mian cried out in disbelief.

I scratched my head anxiously. "I'm not some peerless undefeatable battle god, you know...I can lose sometimes too."

"A-Ah, right...but does that mean everything she said was true...?" Yu An Yan asked hesitantly.

"It looks like it..." I murmured in response. Then, remembering something important, I glanced back down at Mei Gui, who was still holding my hand tightly. "Oh yeah, by the way, Mei Gui...just what was that spell you used back there? How was it able to not only send my own attack back to me, but also amplified in power?"

The other girls stared at me like, 'what spell?' but I ignored them.

Mei Gui then looked up at me with her usual blank expression, her beautifully crafted and refined features on full display. "Master, have you never used a spell like that before...?"

I shook my head. "Before you were awakened earlier today...I never even knew what this power within me was, or why my magic was different from everyone else."

She turned away and looked down. "I see...it seems there is a lot you do not know yet, master..."

"Uh, yeah...wait, was I supposed to know these things?" I asked, suddenly overcome with nervousness.

Mei Gui quickly shook her head. "No...it is my fault for not awakening sooner."

"Er, if you put it like that, then it's also my fault for not meeting the necessary requirements for breaking the second seal sooner." I retorted in reply. "Don't worry about it, okay? Just tell me what that spell is now, and you can tell me more about this power of mine later."

Mei Gui nodded her head slowly, and took a deep breath.

"The spell I used was...Forbidden Magic."