Academy Sparring Match!

Upon entering the Imperial Capital Magic Academy, a teacher assigned specifically to reception quickly settled everyone into the student dormitories.

At their current level, everyone was an Intermediate-Level Mage — put plainly, the equivalent of graduate students — so naturally their accommodations were first-rate.

The dormitory had a common lounge, each person's room completely private. The building stood tall, positioned close to the very top floors.

For someone like Mo Fan — who loved cultivating by starlight on rooftops — being near the top was a genuine perk. When the light and shadow were just right, he wouldn't even need to take the stairs; one Shadow Fade and he'd glide straight from his balcony up to the rooftop.

"Teacher Gu Han, Teacher Qiu Yuhua, please have the students settle in and rest here. Tomorrow afternoon, exchange students from the other six academies will arrive one after another, and then we'll hold an inter-academy sparring match," said Teacher Lu, the reception coordinator.

"That soon?" Gu Han blinked.

Inter-academy sparring was a standard part of every exchange program, but kicking it off this quickly was a little unexpected.

"Not at all — the timing is perfect. This is the highlight every year. Besides, the Field Expedition is also on the schedule this time around, so getting the sparring done sooner is better." Teacher Lu smiled warmly.

"Well, if that's how it is... alright then."

"I'll come to collect you tomorrow. Pearl Academy students, get some rest tonight. We at the Imperial Capital Magic Academy have long heard of your exploits and are very much looking forward to a match — please do go easy on us." Teacher Lu kept smiling, though the modesty behind that smile rang entirely hollow.

Gu Han had a short temper, and right then he felt the urge to scoff.

*What an act. Everyone knows the Imperial Capital Magic Academy struts around like they own the world, and now they're asking us to go easy on them?*

After Teacher Lu departed, Mo Fan looked thoroughly puzzled. "Teacher Gu Han, what sparring match?"

"You don't even know?" Shen Mingxiao shot back with his trademark sarcasm. "Call it an exchange program if you like, but really it's each major academy sending out their best to compete against one another."

"Don't put too much pressure on yourselves," Qiu Yuhua said. "Just approach them with a calm mind. Besides, there are exchange students from other schools too..."

"That's different," another student said. "Losing to the other academies doesn't really matter — there's an acknowledged gap in ability, and everyone knows it. But Pearl Academy is different. If we lose, it's a serious blow to our reputation."

"Stop overthinking it. Go rest up and get into the right headspace," Teacher Gu Han said.

Mo Fan had stumbled into this whole arrangement without really knowing what he'd signed up for, and he certainly hadn't expected to be fighting from day one. *Damn — this is exactly what I wanted!*

Teacher Lu Yiming stepped out of the reception building and made his way toward the training grounds.

At the Imperial Capital Magic Academy, this time of year was always taken with exceptional seriousness. To protect their standing as the number one academy, the students chosen to spar against exchange students from other schools were one in a thousand — so formidable that even some of the faculty privately admitted they couldn't match them.

In preparation for the upcoming matches, the academy's selected students had been training hard well in advance, with particular focus on coordination and teamwork.

On individual ability, Teacher Lu Yiming was firmly convinced that few academies could produce anyone who surpassed his students. But what made them truly unbeatable was their battle synergy — they had long since mastered the art of fighting side by side, giving them an even greater edge in group matches.

"Teacher Lu, the Pearl Academy exchange students have arrived?" called out a man at the center of the training ground — shirtless, his physique as solid and unyielding as stacked boulders.

He wielded the Earth Wave technique with masterful ease. A few casual steps were all it took to glide from the center of the grounds all the way to the perimeter.

"They have." Teacher Lu Yiming nodded.

"Ha! Those useless upstarts from Pearl Academy, always mouthing off at us — and now we've finally drawn them as opponents. Once I knock every last one of them flat, let's see who still dares question us!" The barrel-chested man slapped his chest and let out a booming, satisfied laugh.

"Pearl Academy has always been all thunder, no rain," a refined-looking student in flowing white robes remarked. "Full of lip but not the substance to back it up — too proud to accept being second to us, yet without the real ability to do anything about it."

"I can't wait!"

Seeing his students so fired up, Teacher Lu Yiming allowed himself a small smile.

The rivalry between Pearl Academy and the Imperial Capital Magic Academy had been burning for far more than a year or two. The two great metropolises had always harbored a certain regional antagonism toward each other, and at a place like an academy — packed with competitive young people — conflict was inevitable.

In previous years, the Imperial Capital Magic Academy had always been matched against lesser schools. Winning was the expected outcome — normal, even a little dull.

But this year, Pearl Academy had shown up. Now *that* was something worth watching.

Pearl Academy was, of course, the top academy of Magic City. The Imperial Capital Magic Academy was the pinnacle of the capital. When the two most renowned magic academies in the nation faced each other — now *that* was explosive.

It wasn't just the students who were itching to prove themselves. Even the administration was desperate for the sparring to begin. Crushing Pearl Academy definitively would make their hold on the top spot feel all the more comfortable.

All in all, the fact that they hadn't hung banners and thrown a celebration party when Pearl Academy was drawn as their opponent counted as remarkable restraint.

"Teacher Lu, if we absolutely demolish Pearl Academy and bring glory to the school, do you think the academy might give us a little something extra in return?" Xu Dalong asked.

"I couldn't care less about rewards," said Liao Mingxuan, the student in flowing white. "My hands are itching. Pearl Academy... how to put it — at least they're worth fighting."

"You two deadweights, stop swaggering around like you could each take on an entire school single-handedly." The comment came from a Summoning Element student still in the training ground, at whose side prowled a fierce wolf with violet-blue fur.

"Lu Zhenghe, don't you underestimate us. That Shadowmark Berserker Wolf of yours? I could put it down all by myself!" Xu Dalong's temper flared on the spot.

"Heh. There is someone on this team who could take down my Shadowmark Berserker Wolf alone — but it isn't you. Go train for a few more years." Lu Zhenghe laughed and gave the great wolf a leisurely pat on the head, his tone soaked in mockery.

Xu Dalong's face darkened. He leveled a finger at Lu Zhenghe. "You just wait."

"When we face the other academy, the top credit is going to me — no question. Pearl Academy's little parlor tricks? Put them all together and they might not even be able to beat my Shadowmark Berserker Wolf." Lu Zhenghe broke into a laugh of boundless arrogance.

Teacher Lu Yiming shook his head. Students of the Imperial Capital Magic Academy — practically none of them lacked for pride.

Can't be helped. They genuinely had reason to be proud.

"Where's your team captain?" Lu Yiming asked.

"The captain said she was tired and went back to rest. Teacher Lu, just let us handle tomorrow's match — no need to trouble her."

"Right, right. We've got this covered."

The moment the captain was mentioned, a flicker of genuine awe crossed each of their faces.

The team's hierarchy was simple: whoever was strongest led.

When she had been chosen as captain, even the perpetually arrogant Lu Zhenghe hadn't raised a single objection.

Against others, Lu Zhenghe's Shadowmark Berserker Wolf was a terrifying beast. In front of her, it would be frozen solid in moments — reduced to a shivering wreck.