For these wizards, the previous conflict mediation was nothing more than a minor affair, but the grade assessment of their schools was directly tied to their personal interests!
As a result, the atmosphere in the center of the arena grew heavy in an instant.
"Ahem!" The executive committee member standing at the center cleared his throat lightly. Once the venue fell silent, he began: "This assessment will proceed just as before. First, we will announce the school rosters and their grades, after which challenges may be issued in sequence. Each school is granted at most three chances. Lower-ranked schools may challenge higher-ranked schools, but higher-ranked schools must not interfere with lower-ranked schools. Schools of the same rank may also resolve their disputes through challenges. If all challenges fail, one must wait until the next round..."
As the executive committee member spoke, Leilin noticed that Xiling's body was starting to tense up.
"Your own strength is lacking, and those resource points were allocated to you by the Joint Assembly — they're not even yours. Why the rush?"
Leilin found it somewhat exasperating.
In his view, one should only hold territory matching one's actual strength. While Mentor Xiling was still around, there was naturally nothing to fear. But after Xiling took over Nature's Alliance, the wisest course of action would have been to downsize the school and surrender the resource points in hand.
This time, if Leilin hadn't stepped in, Xiling's final outcome might not have been pretty.
Of course, with Leilin present, things were different entirely. Moreover, that Ice Grotto was something he was determined to obtain.
Following the executive committee member's announcement to begin, the entire arena immediately came alive.
Numerous wizards exchanged glances. Though each harbored their own thoughts, none made a move right away, as if everyone were waiting for something.
After a long silence, a wizard in grey robes finally stepped forward from a corner.
"Our Gude School wishes to challenge the Sea Flower Society School!"
"Mm! Gude School is unrated, and the Sea Flower Society School is a small school — the challenge is valid. Both sides, take the field!"
A wizard wearing reading spectacles flipped through an enormous book in his hands and nodded.
The one who came out from the Sea Flower Society School was a blue-haired old man with strange runes on his face. Being singled out for a challenge naturally put him in a foul mood.
Didn't this situation imply that their Sea Flower Society School was on the decline?
At the thought, a flash of killing intent passed through his eyes, and he resolved to teach the opponent a lesson they would never forget.
The grey-robed wizard across from him, meanwhile, wore a wooden expression.
Once the executive committee member gave his final confirmation, two waves of wizard power erupted across the arena.
At the same time, a pale yellow energy barrier shot out from a corner, shielding the spectator stands and the executive committee members from the aftershocks of battle.
Leilin watched with considerable interest.
He didn't yet have a thorough understanding of the strength of formal wizards in the Dark Polar Domain, and this was an excellent opportunity.
From the earlier mediation disputes and now this fight, he had already gleaned quite a bit.
The underground wizards, facing intense external threats, had no purely research-oriented scholars among them.
Their strength was quite impressive. Their construction of Spell Models was remarkably swift, and many had mastered a number of instantaneous and silent casting techniques. On average, their combat capability was a full tier above the wizards of the South Coast.
Moreover, most of them had mastered one or two highly destructive spells and had no scruples whatsoever about using them.
In this regard, they far surpassed the South Coast wizards as well.
Boom!
At that moment, the battle took a sudden turn.
The grey-robed wizard waved his hand, and two enormous black luminous tridents materialized, crisscrossing as they thrust toward the Sea Flower Society wizard.
"Fork of Dark Ginus!" The Sea Flower Society wizard called out the spell's name with a look of wariness, hastily layering several membranes of light before him as defense while swiftly dodging aside.
"Xilite! You can't escape!"
The grey-robed wizard let out a long cry. The fabric on his back tore open, and a pair of enormous feathered wings unfurled.
Whoosh! Whoosh! The black feathered wings were as hard as steel, their tips gleaming with a sharp luster. Under the wings' power, the grey-robed wizard soared skyward.
The two grey tridents of light flew to beneath his feet, forming a pair of things resembling eagle talons.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Grey shadows flickered across the arena. With his wings unfurled, the grey-robed wizard's speed was terrifying, almost forming streaks of light.
The black shadow collided repeatedly with the barriers of light.
Crack!
The Sea Flower Society wizard's defensive barrier let out a sound like tearing cloth as it was violently ripped apart.
Thud! The massive eagle talon plunged mercilessly into the Sea Flower Society wizard's chest, drawing a piercing scream from the latter.
At the same time, a visible ring of withering was rapidly spreading outward from the wound.
"I surrender!!!"
Before the other eagle talon could reach his body, the wizard shouted at the top of his lungs.
But the grey-robed wizard's eyes flashed with cold intent, and the grey eagle talon accelerated by another thirty percent!