Show Off and Get Struck by Lightning

The Gloom Wolf Beast burst free from the quicksand trap with an explosive surge of power, its muscular body shooting toward Luo Song like an arrow!!

"Damn it… I wasn't planning to reveal too much, but since this beast and that punk don't know when to quit, I'll give them a taste of my Intermediate-Level magic!" Realizing his Earth Element alone could no longer subdue the ferocious Gloom Wolf Beast, Luo Song quickly repositioned himself to another corner of the Trial Arena.

In what was likely a moment of panic, he stumbled badly during the move, lost his footing, and faceplanted in the mud.

Luo Song climbed back to his feet with fury etched across his face and began arranging the Star Motes within his Star Nebula.

…

The Star Chart slowly materialized beneath his feet, and his eyes filled with contempt and mockery for this Servant-class creature.

*Dare to compete with me? Then I'll teach you a lesson.*

*I'll turn whatever he summoned on his very first try into a corpse!!!*

…

"What — Intermediate-Level magic?!" The female examiner shot to her feet.

What had been, in everyone's eyes, a straightforward sparring assessment — a convenient way to gauge both candidates' abilities — had just taken a completely different turn.

The moment they saw Luo Song's Star Chart fully formed, every expression at the table changed completely.

Old Li the butler watched this unfold and shook his head with a resigned sigh. He'd hoped that Young Master Luo Song could get into Pearl Academy on his Earth Element alone — apparently that had lasted all of five minutes before his real power came out.

"It's Ice Element… Intermediate-Level Ice Element magic!"

A snowflake-white Star Chart spread like a vast frost diagram beneath Luo Song's feet. The air throughout the Trial Arena seemed to solidify into ice, the bone-deep chill cutting straight through every layer of clothing.

The ground froze in rapid succession, sheets of frost spreading outward in all directions…

"Ice Lock!!"

With a sneer in his eyes, the moment he spoke the skill's name, the frozen ground before him cracked and split apart as though something enormous were forcing its way through from below!

From the fissures, ice-white frozen chains erupted forth, ringing against one another with the sound of cold iron, and rapidly arrayed themselves in a crisscrossing lattice before Luo Song…

Each chain was as thick as a soup bowl, hovering in the air. At a single word from Luo Song, they would slam shut around the Gloom Wolf Beast and bind it fast!!

"I can only say you're unlucky for crossing paths with me, Luo Song. If your Summoned Beast manages to walk away from this, consider that me showing mercy!" Not a trace of sympathy showed in his eyes. Nobody who had ever dared compete with him had come out well.

"Stop — stop!" Examiner Li called out.

Luo Song paid him no mind, lifting his chin with cool arrogance. "There's no such thing as mercy in a real fight. Consider this a lesson for him — one he'll remember for the rest of his life."

Examiner Li had already charged onto the arena floor. Luo Song assumed the man was coming to stop him — only to realize, with a jolt, that the examiner was heading straight for the scrubby kid in the black shirt.

"Student Mo Fan — steady, easy now." Dean Xiao rose from his seat at the same moment, his voice measured and composed.

Luo Song blinked.

*What in the — ?*

*They were telling that Summoning Element nobody to calm down?*

His gaze had been fixed on the Gloom Wolf Beast; when he finally turned to look at Mo Fan, the words dried up in his throat!!

Purple…

A brilliant, dazzling purple Star Chart bloomed beneath Mo Fan's feet, and endless arcs of lightning coiled around his entire body.

His hand was extended upward, pointing at the sky directly above his own head.

Luo Song looked up — and his stomach dropped. A bank of storm clouds had gathered overhead without his noticing. Lightning writhed and crackled through the clouds, poised to come crashing down at any moment.

Ice flooded through his body; cold sweat broke from every pore.

*God almighty — that was Intermediate-Level Lightning Element magic. Thunderbolt!*

He had absolutely no defense prepared — if that Thunderbolt came down, it would reduce him to a smear on the ground!!

"Lay a hand on my wolf and I'll put you in the ground, you fat pig." Mo Fan's voice was dead calm, ice-cold.

*Damn it all — I promised Teacher Tang Yue I'd keep a low profile, and here I am, not even enrolled yet, already running into someone this insufferable.*

*Oh, so Intermediate-Level Ice Element makes you hot stuff? You really had to push me into this, didn't you.*

Mo Fan had always figured he was one of the more arrogant people around — he'd never imagined there was someone out there who could out-arrogance him entirely. He absolutely could not let this slide.

The tension in the air turned razor-sharp…

Every examiner at the table looked as though their jaw had hit the desk.

One moment, two Basic-Level students had been sparring in an assessment; the next, Intermediate-Level magic hung over the arena like crossed blades.

Old Li was nearly on the verge of fainting. He knew perfectly well how capable his young master actually was; he'd only hoped the boy would keep a lower profile. Instead, the young master had walked straight into a steel wall — that seemingly ordinary Summoning Element student was hiding Intermediate-Level power as well, the freak!

They'd come here strutting and gone home with bruises to show for it!!

Luo Song no longer had the nerve to hold the Intermediate-Level spell. His legs feeling unsteady, he dispelled the frozen chains.

Seeing that the fatty knew when to back down, Mo Fan decided not to waste any further attention on him.

The Lightning Element power receded swiftly. The storm clouds above gradually dispersed, and in moments Mo Fan looked utterly harmless again.

"Come on back, little wolf — well done, well done." Mo Fan waved his Gloom Wolf Beast over.

The Gloom Wolf Beast trotted obediently to his side. The faint indifference that had been in its eyes was now touched with something that looked unmistakably like reverence.

For a Summoned Beast, having a powerful master was the greatest honor there was.

…

"All right, that was just an assessment — no need to lose our tempers. Student Mo Fan, we may not understand why an Intermediate-Level Lightning Mage would choose to pursue Summoning Element, but we deeply respect our students' choices. From this day forward, you are a new Summoning Element student at Pearl Academy." Dean Xiao's face still wore that same mild, unruffled smile.

*That fatty — young as he is and already that impulsive. Pearl Academy is full of talented people; strut around like that here and sooner or later a lightning bolt will find you.*

Luo Song walked out of the Trial Arena with a face like a thundercloud, every trace of his earlier I-own-the-world swagger completely gone.

"Little fatty, you'll be joining the Ice Element department," Dean Xiao added. "You've already learned an important lesson at the very start of the term — that's good for you."

"I — " Luo Song was absolutely seething.

He'd come here expecting to waltz in without breaking a sweat — and somehow it felt like they'd only grudgingly agreed to take him in out of pity!