Leilin clenched both fists, the hand gripping the sword hilt noticeably stiff.
A greenish pallor had even spread across his face, as though he'd suffered frostbite.
Consider that Leilin had a Constitution of a full 3.7! If an ordinary person had been in his place, they would probably have frozen to death on the spot!
"I have no intention of opposing you. Just let these two girls go, and I'll leave immediately!"
Leilin pointed his Cross Sword toward Biji, earning a grateful look from her.
"No! Make him release Senior Brother Jiamen, or I won't leave!"
The female apprentice at Biji's side—the one he'd rescued—was still stubbornly insisting.
Leilin rolled his eyes. If not for Biji, did she really think he would have jumped out to play the hero? And judging by the situation just now, Jiamen must have offended his opponent terribly back then—who would let him go easily?
Sure enough, after hearing the female apprentice's words, Torresas on the opposite side waved his hand coldly. A thick bolt of lightning slashed through the air, landing squarely on Jiamen on the other side of the battlefield.
Boom!!! The vines binding Jiamen were all blasted away, and he lost consciousness entirely. His entire body had turned black, like a piece of charcoal.
"Sorry, but I don't intend to let a single person here go today!"
Torresas spread his hands.
According to the Chip's readings, despite Jiamen's horrifying appearance, there were still signs of life, so Leilin paid no more attention to that side and instead grew more wary of this apprentice's abilities.
"Lightning-type spells truly deserve their reputation as some of the most powerful. Jiamen had a Magical Item—albeit only an offensive one with poor defensive capability—yet he still lost so quickly. No! It's more accurate to say that Torresas had been toying with him like a cat playing with a mouse!"
"Now, this is my turf!"
Torresas rushed straight forward, brandishing what looked like a black short staff.
"Hmph! Stop posturing!" Leilin sneered and swung his Cross Sword directly at him.
Clang!!! Leilin's speed was inevitably affected under these icy conditions. His previously near-afterimage speed could no longer be maintained, and the dark-haired Torresas caught the trajectory of the Cross Sword, the two weapons clashing together.
Leilin's strength was clearly superior to his opponent's, and the Cross Sword was of finer craftsmanship than the metal short staff in Torresas's hand.
Once the two weapons met, Leilin poured power into both arms, and the long blade gradually pressed toward Torresas.
"Heh heh... Not bad strength!"
With the sword tip mere centimeters from his face, Torresas showed not a trace of panic. His eyes, fixed on Leilin, even held a hint of playfulness and—the pleasure of revenge?
Leilin's heart lurched. He suddenly released his grip on the Cross Sword and leaped backward.
The instant he let go, several arcs of electricity spread from Torresas's hand, traveling along the black staff directly onto the Cross Sword and shooting toward Leilin's hands!!!
The moment the electricity was about to strike Leilin, his act of discarding the sword allowed him to dodge the attack.
"Too late!" Torresas stared at Leilin's figure and rapidly spat out a few syllables.
The electricity from the short staff plunged directly into the soil, spreading outward like tree roots, catching up to Leilin in the blink of an eye.
Zzzzzzz!!! Blue lightning struck the ground and erupted from the earth in front of Leilin with impossible speed.
The blue current, writhing like a venomous snake, shot directly at Leilin's face.
"Ahh!" Biji cried out from the other side, clamping her hand over her mouth.
Ping! A silvery film suddenly materialized over Leilin's body.
In an instant, this membrane enveloped his entire form, leaving no gap—not even for his eyes and nose.
Several red gemstone reflections flickered across the surface of the silver barrier, emanating a mysterious luster.
The blue lightning coalesced into the shape of a great serpent, its eyes blazing with madness. Its jaws gaped wide, and lightning-forged fangs struck the silver barrier.
Zzzzzzzzz!!!
The sound of metal striking porcelain rang out—an excruciatingly sharp noise that swept across the battlefield. Biji clamped her hands over her ears to spare her nerves from the cacophony.
Lightning crackled across Leilin's body as multiple snake-like currents converged and detonated with terrifying booms.
From a distance, Leilin now resembled a silver statue undergoing a baptism of thunder.
The lightning assault continued for twenty to thirty seconds before finally ceasing.
Leilin's face carried a look of surprise as he read the Chip's readout.
"...Subject sustained electric-type attack. Estimated power: 9 degrees!
"I was careless! His lightning can penetrate ordinary insulators, and he can use the ice on the ground to instantly channel current!"
Leilin looked at his hands. After learning that his opponent primarily cultivated lightning-type energy particles, he had put on deerskin gloves before the battle.
But even so, the hands that had gripped the Cross Sword still felt somewhat numb.
The Fallen Star Pendant had prerequisites for activation. Leilin had configured it to trigger only when his life was in genuine danger—otherwise, if it activated every time a raindrop fell from the sky, the energy within the Magical Item would have been depleted long ago.
Earlier, because Leilin had voluntarily released the Cross Sword, the electricity had done minimal damage to him—not even reaching the threshold to activate the Fallen Star Pendant.
Of course, because lightning conducted so quickly, his hands had still taken a hit.
After Leilin retreated and his opponent pursued, the frontal lightning attack rated at 9 degrees would have been life-threatening without defense. This reached the Fallen Star Pendant's activation threshold, which was why the silver barrier had manifested.
The Fallen Star Pendant's magical resistance was a full 15 degrees—meaning that as long as Dulu's single attacks couldn't exceed that threshold, Leilin was essentially wrapped in a turtle shell until the Pendant's energy ran out.
"Impossible?" Torresas stared at the unscathed Leilin, his jaw dropping wide enough to swallow several duck eggs.
"This is a tactic my mentor designed specifically for me! Combined with my natural talent, a single attack should carry at least 9 degrees of power! How can you be unharmed?"
"I understand! You must have a defensive Magical Item on you!" The dark-haired Dulu lowered his head for only a moment before grasping the truth.
"A defensive Magical Item—even a low-grade one—would certainly attract the interest of many full Wizards..."
Torresas licked his lips, greed blazing in his eyes.
In this blood duel, both academies had signed a contract forbidding the use of power exceeding that of a full
Any individual, scroll, or Magical Item exceeding that standard would be ejected the moment of teleportation, unable to enter the secret realm.
But Leilin's Magical Item, though precious, still fell within the category of low-grade Magical Items.
Low-grade Magical Items, in Leilin's estimation, meant devices with power below that of a full Wizard.
Any First-level Spell carried a power of twenty degrees or more. If Leilin had tried to block one with the Fallen Star Pendant, he would have been killed on the spot—not even ashes remaining.
But among apprentices, the Fallen Star Pendant was an artifact!!!
Even a full Wizard wouldn't mind having an additional layer of protection, however feeble—and the Fallen Star Pendant drew its defensive energy from the pendant itself, placing absolutely no burden on its wearer.
A defensive low-grade Magical Item was worth at least five times as much as Jiamen's offensive-type piece!!!
In truth, apart from the Chip, the most valuable thing Leilin carried was this Magical Item.
"Kill him! Kill him! That Magical Item will be mine!"
Torresas's eyes gradually reddened. "Even a Magical Item has an energy limit. Once the energy inside is depleted, it's nothing but junk until the next recharge! But can I hold out until then?"
"Even if I can't keep him here today, I can rally my classmates to hunt him down together... Wait—perhaps there's a better way?"
Having seen the Fallen Star Pendant on Leilin, Torresas had already given up hope of keeping him here today, but the flames of desire kept gnawing at his reason.
Suddenly, Torresas caught sight of Biji behind Leilin. His eyes lit up, and he made a proposal.
"You—you care about that green-haired woman behind you, don't you?" Torresas suddenly asked. "Don't deny it. The fact that you jumped out to save her is proof enough!"
"And if I do?" Leilin raised an eyebrow.
"Hand over that Magical Item, and I'll let her go. Not just her—I'll release Jiamen and the other woman too!" Torresas licked his lips.
"Heh heh..." Hearing the other party actually voice exactly what he had anticipated, Leilin shook his head with a laugh.
"Fine! With that defensive item, I can't keep you here today—but I can certainly keep that green-haired woman. I can even kill her..."
Torresas shifted to threats.
"Go ahead." Leilin made a welcoming gesture with his hand.
"You... how could you..." This answer visibly stunned Dulu.
"I only had some minor entanglement with her, which is why I came to help. If I paid too much for her sake, the cost would far outweigh the benefit. Besides, after losing this defensive item, would I still have any leverage to bargain with you?"
Leilin regarded Torresas with a mocking expression.
He understood perfectly well that when someone is being threatened, you absolutely cannot appear to care about what the enemy holds. Otherwise, you'll only be crushed by one demand after another until you've lost everything.
Even if Torresas really killed Biji today, Leilin would simply avenge her later—nothing more. As for using Biji to threaten Leilin? Two words: Keep dreaming!!!