Lu Xi, the Magician, sighed. With the Headmaster setting such an example, almost all the students were galvanized. If it weren't for his commitment to serving the Sixth Prince, he might not have even noticed this issue until now.

However, this made the matter concerning Qian Jin particularly troublesome. To enter the Magic Department as a Warrior, and then to order Magic Department students to apologize to a Magic student whom nearly the entire department despised—this was like seeing a fire and, instead of putting it out, dumping a bucket of lamp oil onto the flames!

Could that fire ever be extinguished? Lu Xi looked at Qian Jin with profound sympathy. How powerful could a student who hadn't even made it onto the Warrior Hundred Battles Ranking possibly be? Although the Sixth Prince had never misjudged a person before, today might be the day he was proven wrong! That fat Magician, Zhuang Yicheng, wasn't a first-year freshman; he was already in his fifth year!

With just two more levels, he could break through to the Spirit Condensation Magician realm and start his path toward becoming an Archmage!

Zhuang Yicheng was in this class today because he consistently failed his Military Course, which was why he was here. Although he wasn't listed on the Magic Department's Hundred Battles Ranking, he had managed to secure a spot on the Prodigy Ranking, which was one tier above it—precisely in the hundredth position.

“You want me to apologize to her?” Zhuang Yicheng, weighing in at two hundred pounds, stood before Qian Jin, his stance suggesting that if he simply fell over, he could crush Qian Jin flat. He sneered, “Kid, you’re new here, aren’t you? Believe it or not…”

“Idiot…” Qian Jin spat a mouthful of saliva directly onto Zhuang Yicheng’s face, then walked toward Xiang Biluo, the Eighth-Level Magician standing behind him. “You’re right; I shouldn't have bothered arguing with an idiot.” Idiot? Zhuang Yicheng raised a hand to wipe the spittle from his face. The rising anger caused the flesh on his face to quiver violently, and the staff in his hand trembled repeatedly. Idiot! This young Warrior student dared to call him an idiot in front of so many juniors? Did he not wish to live?

“You! You Warrior!” On Zhuang Yicheng’s staff, intensely hot and volatile Fire Elements rapidly gathered. “You dare insult me? Now! Kneel and apologize immediately, or else…” In Zhuang Yicheng’s pupils, Qian Jin suddenly magnified at high speed, and a biting aura swept towards him, causing his magic robes to billow wildly. Immediately afterward, he felt the ground beneath him emit a strange, faint tremor, like a massive stone crashing onto the earth from a great height.

Before the word "or else" had even fully left his lips, Qian Jin had appeared instantly before Zhuang Yicheng, his fist landing cleanly against the large belly beneath the Magician’s robes!

There was no Dou Qi gathered in the punch—pure brute strength! Zhuang Yicheng’s spherical body flew backward, slamming into a nearby Magician student who hadn't managed to dodge in time. That student was sent tumbling to the ground, groaning and unable to move.

The surrounding Magic students were stunned into silence. What was happening? A Warrior student, within the Magic Department, in front of so many Magicians, had just struck an Eighth-Level Magician—and struck him so hard he was vomiting white foam!

They had heard tales of arrogant Warrior students before, but never one as brazen as this! He hadn’t even brought an attendant, yet he strode in so casually and, with a single punch, sent an Eighth-Level Magician gasping for air.

Lu Xi felt waves of dizziness, wondering if he was dreaming and hadn't woken up. That Warrior hadn't even unleashed his Dou Qi; he had relied entirely on raw might, executing a simple charge to send the two-hundred-plus-pound man flying, completing the entire action swiftly and decisively before any spell could manifest.

Qian Jin flexed the fingers he had used to strike, blew lightly on them, and smiled, “Not a bad feel…”

Mu Ne Tiance’s eyebrows twitched several times, his face etched with surprised astonishment. He slowly began to clap softly. “Beautiful, truly beyond my expectations. Tie Nan, tell me, is it your strength that’s greater? Or is it classmate Qian Jin’s strength…”

“Your Highness…” The towering, two-meter-tall dark figure stared at Qian Jin’s physique for a few seconds before knitting his brow and saying, “That… would require a test to know…”

“Oh…” Mu Ne Tiance tilted his head, looking at the large dark man beside him. Tie Nan, though somewhat dull-witted, possessed great pride and self-assurance when it came to pure brute force. For him to suggest a test meant this man’s raw strength was even greater than I had estimated.

Qian Jin opened the five fingers he had used to strike, exhaled lightly, and shook his head with a faint smile. “The feel? Merely adequate…”

Adequate? He just struck someone and dared to call the feel ‘adequate’? The collective rage of the gathered Magician students ignited instantly. They could not let this fellow leave!

The Magician students blocking Qian Jin and Biluo’s path both in front and behind along the corridor automatically raised their staffs, trapping them in the middle of the hallway.

“What’s the meaning of this…” Qian Jin shielded Biluo behind him with one hand, looking at the Magician students blocking the exits. “You want to swarm me? Are you sure?” Several Magicians paused, startled by Qian Jin’s calm demeanor. Was this person mentally deficient? Or simply brainless? Surrounded by so many Magicians, he showed not a shred of fear.

Mu Ne Tiance watched Qian Jin among the crowd with keen interest. His stance was exceptionally relaxed and casual; not a trace of tension could be felt on his face or body, as if he were observing a tiger surveying its territory, rather than facing a group capable of unleashing large-scale destructive magic.

“The bearing of a great general…” Mu Ne Tiance nodded repeatedly. “Look at that—the bearing is entirely different…”

Qian Jin surveyed the Magician students before him. It looked like they had even managed to form a rudimentary magic circle? It had the appearance, but it wasn't enough! Far too lacking! Never mind comparing them to Qian Wutian; even Qian Wuqing could sweep these young Magicians away in an instant.

If this were a fight to the death, he could send all these people back to the embrace of the stars within a few breaths. Although the Headmaster had stimulated their competitive spirit, these students rarely encountered actual life-or-death situations. Their fierce aura was fine, but it lacked the true, iron-blooded spirit of those who had repeatedly walked the line of death.

“What are you doing? What is everyone doing…”

The teacher who had just departed hurried back, clutching a thick stack of textbooks, looking frantically at the group on the verge of a fight. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing? Private fights are forbidden in the academy!”

“Teacher, he hit our classmate…” A Magician student pointed at Zhuang Yicheng on the ground. “Look, he’s foaming at the mouth…”

“This Warrior classmate, you…”

“Teacher…” Qian Jin bowed slightly in salute. “This man verbally abused and insulted my friend; I demanded an apology from him. He refused, so I called him an idiot. Then he demanded an apology from me, which I also refused, so he intended to strike me with magic. I was acting in self-defense, forced to retaliate…”

“You’re lying!”

“Is that so…” Qian Jin looked at the speaking Magician student. “Why don’t you swear on the God of Stars…”

The Magician student’s face immediately stiffened, much like a Demon Race member swearing on the Great Demon God. Magicians rarely swore on the God of Stars; rumors of the curse of magical elements had long circulated in the world. The very first lesson a Magic student received was a stern warning from the instructor: never casually swear on the God of Stars, for violating such an oath would result in a curse from the magical elements, permanently halting any further advancement in magical rank. This had happened several times to genius Magicians in the past. Now, it was instinctively followed as an iron rule by all Magicians.

The teacher saw the Magician student’s visible distress and instantly understood the situation, realizing this Warrior student likely spoke the truth.

“Teacher, we are all students,” Qian Jin stated calmly. “If he can curse without apology, then I can too. According to the academy rules, if someone initiates an attack privately, the attacked party has the right to counterattack, correct?”

The teacher, wearing black-rimmed glasses and sporting the look of an old scholar, nodded continuously. The faces of several Magician students grew sullen. Could they really let this person walk away just like that?

“Classmate, what is your name…” The tall, thin Magician student who had spoken earlier spoke again. “I, Andrews, issue you a challenge here and now…”

Qian Jin’s lips curved upward slightly. He raised his hand and, without even looking, smashed a punch directly into the adjacent wall. Under the effect of the Earth-Shattering Cleave, formidable Dou Qi tore completely through the classroom wall, sending countless shards of stone clattering onto the floor, leaving a perfect, transparent hole in the structure.

Hoo! Qian Jin blew the dust from his hands, looking at Andrews, who had not finished declaring his challenge. The earlier look of bravado had vanished from his face, and his eyes, like those of the other Magician students, were now filled with astonishment.

Even though they weren't trained as Warriors, the Magician students understood the sheer power required to punch a hole clean through a classroom wall, and it appeared the attacker hadn't even used his full strength. A one-on-one fight between a Magician and a Warrior in the arena was a highly disadvantageous affair, unless the Magician had reached the Spirit Condensation level!

Although Spirit Condensation Magicians couldn't instantly cast offensive spells, holding a magic staff allowed them to use its replenishment to achieve temporary instant casting.

Magician, Spirit Condensation Magician, Archmage! Andrews looked at Qian Jin, completely lacking confidence. He was just an Eighth-Level Magician like Zhuang Yicheng; he hadn't broken through the ten-level barrier to become a Spirit Condensation Magician. He truly had no basis to fight a Warrior one-on-one in the arena.

“If… if only I were a Spirit Condensation Magician…” Andrews glared resentfully at Qian Jin.

Spirit Condensation Magician? Qian Jin looked at Andrews in confusion. “What is a Spirit Condensation Magician? Isn’t the next step above Magician the Archmage…”

The Magician students surrounding them all showed expressions of bewilderment. Had this person only just entered the Conquest Academy? Had he never even looked at the academy texts?

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