Chapter 117: Thunder Magic

"Awesome, Old Chen!"

Lu Hongsheng was the first to rush to Chen Mobai's side, attempting to lift him by the waist, but Chen Mobai remained completely still. Lu Hongsheng wasn't embarrassed; he naturally placed his hand on Chen Mobai's shoulder and joined the other students from Fifth High School in their jumping celebration.

"Congratulations."

In contrast, the girls were much more reserved. Cao Yaling offered her congratulations rather subtly; class monitor Mo Simin, standing nearby, was a little more excited, her pretty face flushed; but Shi Jingjing's face was pale, and her eyes were vacant.

Chen Mobai could tell at a glance that she must have bet on him losing this round, effectively losing all her money.

"Huh, aren't you happy I advanced, Classmate Shi?" Chen Mobai decided to tease her. To his surprise, upon hearing him, she immediately burst into tears.

This turn of events caught everyone a bit off guard. In the end, it was Cao Yaling, being more experienced, who led her away from the arena to comfort her below.

"She seems to have invested everything she earned in the previous rounds," Shi Yuanqing explained softly, as he and Shi Jingjing were relatives, shedding light on why she was so upset. Chen Mobai already knew, but what could he say about it? It was Shi Jingjing's fault for not trusting him.

At this moment, the referee teacher performed an astonishing Earth-to-Stone Transformation spell, restoring the arena, which had been damaged by Chen Mobai's Scarlet Flame Sword Talisman, to its perfect condition within five minutes.

The next match after Chen Mobai and Gong Xiangyu would be Shi Yuanqing versus Xue Luan. The latter had already descended onto the arena, a man with a square face and a buzz cut. He appeared rather thin, yet exuded a remarkably formidable aura.

"Good luck in the next round," Chen Mobai said, patting Shi Yuanqing's shoulder encouragingly.

"Yes, I will definitely win this round." Unleashed from his self-imposed repression, Shi Yuanqing was completely different from before, stepping onto the arena with soaring morale.

"Oh, you seem a bit different," Xue Luan remarked, raising an eyebrow as he watched Shi Yuanqing approach, though his own gaze remained unchanged.

"And you are still the same as before," Shi Yuanqing replied calmly. With each breath, his cultivation technique circulated, causing the newly repaired arena beneath his feet to begin trembling subtly.

"Tsk, I didn't realize you were so eloquent before," Xue Luan said, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes, then slightly crouching. At the same time, Shi Yuanqing made the same movement.

"Have both of them served in the military?" one of the Academy representatives asked, slightly confused by their opening stances.

"They were likely sent for training in preparation for combat," Lan Haitian, who came from a military family, made an accurate assessment despite only seeing their opening moves.

While both had been well-trained, especially Xue Luan, they still lacked the bloodthirsty aura of those who had truly seen battle. Nevertheless, the standard military combat stances of both Shi Yuanqing and Xue Luan gave Lan Haitian a long-lost urge to fight.

"Who do you think will win?""Xue Luan, probably.""I agree with you."Eight of the Academy representatives believed Xue Luan would win, while one thought Shi Yuanqing might pull off an upset. Yan Qiongzhi of the Natural Academy, however, was not interested and offered no opinion.

But just as they turned their gazes to the representatives of the Four Great Dao Academies, hoping to hear their insights, the referee teacher on the arena had already announced the start of the match.

Without any fancy moves, Shi Yuanqing and Xue Luan directly exchanged a powerful, head-on punch. Ripples formed in the air, centered around their colliding fists.

Then, Xue Luan suddenly vanished from his spot. Shi Yuanqing, however, seemed to have anticipated this, raising his left hand just as a whip kick appeared as if on its own, striking heavily against his wrist.

*Bang, bang, bang!*In an instant, the two fighters shifted positions so rapidly that students with less keen eyesight could barely discern their actual locations. All they could hear was the violent disturbance of the air, followed by clear footprints appearing one after another on the rock surface of the arena. But then, in another instant, entire sections of the rock shattered, as the arena could no longer withstand the immense power unleashed during their clash.

With a "thump"—a sound distinctly different from before—Shi Yuanqing showed a flaw in his stance. His chest armor, made of rock, was kicked, causing cracks to appear. His body seemed to be struck by a massive force, and he dug several craters into the arena floor to absorb much of the impact before finally halting his backward momentum.

Xue Luan's figure, however, followed like a shadow, appearing to Shi Yuanqing's left and delivering a sweeping kick to his left knee.*Crack!*A sound like something breaking caused Xue Luan's swift movement to suddenly pause, before he rapidly retreated.

But at that moment, Shi Yuanqing advanced instead of retreating. With a clap of his hands, vast amounts of earth transformed into two whips, which he brought down heavily upon Xue Luan's crossed arms.

"Huu!"Shi Yuanqing exhaled, a stream of light-red flames bursting from his mouth and nose, landing on Xue Luan's face, whose body was now out of control.

Severely injured in his hands and in pain from his feet, Xue Luan, in this desperate situation, opened his mouth and activated a talisman that had been adhering to his tongue.*Whoosh!*The sound of rushing water filled the air as a water sword shot from Xue Luan's mouth. It collided with the flames spat by Shi Yuanqing, and in a violent explosion, a vast amount of steam erupted, completely obscuring both their figures.

"Huh, that's a good trick. I can learn that." Seeing Xue Luan hide a talisman on his tongue and activate it with his tongue when his hands were incapacitated, Chen Mobai was deeply inspired.

*Bang, bang, bang!*At this moment, half the arena was obscured by the mist, but the rapidly moving shadows of the two fighters could still be faintly seen. The continuous sounds of colliding fists and the grating noise of disturbed air constantly reminded all observers that a battle, possibly the most ferocious since the start of the tournament, was taking place within.

"Oh no, Yuanqing seems to be suppressed," At some point, Shi Jingjing and Cao Yaling had returned. A spiritual glow flickered in both their eyes, indicating they were using spiritual sight to see through the mist.

"Huh, you're all right now.""Shut up! You made me lose all my pocket money!"It was better if he hadn't said anything. As soon as he did, Shi Jingjing felt the urge to cry again.

"So, this..."*Boom!*Just as Chen Mobai was about to lecture, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted from the arena. The vast mist was then torn apart, revealing Xue Luan, bare-chested, seemingly without much muscle, yet perfectly proportioned and with an ideal physique.

Shi Yuanqing, on the other hand, was punched out by him, and even the surrounding mist was dispersed by Xue Luan's single punch. Streaks of lightning flickered on Xue Luan's buzz-cut hair and eyebrows. He stood in the center of the arena, looking like a god of thunder.

"Lightning magic!?" Chen Mobai exclaimed in disbelief. It was well-known that lightning magic was undoubtedly the strongest of all spells. Of all the spells accompanying his Black Water Technique, "Ren Water Lightning Magic" was the only one he could never master, not even reaching the introductory level. Could Xue Luan have truly mastered lightning magic?!