Putting aside what Vick and Light were thinking at this moment, Li Xian, who was slowly making his way toward the Duel Platform, was wrestling with a dilemma in his heart.
How should he demonstrate his strength in a way that’s reasonable?
Going all out like the instructor said was definitely not an option.
Li Xian was afraid he might accidentally knock his mentor out with one slap—that would be a huge mess.
But if he held back… how much should he hold back?
Before, to avoid trouble, Li Xian would have chosen to keep a low profile, just barely passing the assessment.
But now, things were different.
Everyone already knew his Elemental Affinity was at an Excellent Grade level, marking him as a prodigy.
To hide his true strength now would be like deceiving himself.
Besides, though there was no concrete news, the stronger the students performed, the more attention the Academy would give them, which might lead to resources being tilted his way.
Who knew, there could even be some additional perks.
Since it was already so high-profile, he might as well go all out and make the most of it to gain something.
So…
“Come on.” Looking at his mentor opposite him—still wearing that casual, indifferent expression but with a hint of curiosity—Li Xian smiled.
The next moment, he surged forward, rushing at Herbert with a quick punch aimed at the melancholic face before him.
“So fast!” Herbert’s pupils contracted sharply.
Caught off guard, he barely reacted in time and almost got hit.
“Close combat, huh?” He had expected Li Xian to use magic, after all, with such a high elemental talent, following the Mage path would be a huge advantage.
This wasn’t to say Warriors didn’t need elemental affinity, but the direct benefit of affinity was much greater for Mages.
Herbert was a typical example—though he was a Battle Mage, his magical cultivation far surpassed his warrior skills.
More importantly, choosing close combat meant relying not only on strength but also on fighting skills and experience.
“Interesting…”
And it wasn’t just one strike; that girl just now had also charged with her sword raised.
Intrigued, Herbert roughly estimated Li Xian’s power.
Although nearly caught off guard, overall, Li Xian seemed to fall within the intermediate Warrior level, a bit stronger than that girl—around mid-tier intermediate Warrior strength.
“Then I’ll use the peak strength of an intermediate Warrior… young people need to be trained.” A wicked smile crept across Herbert’s lips.
The moment he made his decision, Herbert dodged Li Xian’s next attack again and launched a fierce counterstrike.
His punch came fast, striking just as Li Xian’s previous punch landed and before the new force could take shape—a clear attempt to intimidate him.
Plus, Herbert’s real strength was far beyond what Li Xian had shown on the surface.
In his eyes, this punch should be unavoidable.
However, just as he thought this and relaxed, Li Xian dodged with a strange angle and countered with a punch that hit Herbert squarely in the face.
“Bam!”
Because Li Xian had already suppressed his power somewhat, this punch was delivered with no holds barred—solid and powerful, producing a dull thud that sounded painful.
Herbert was stunned by the hit, and the other students watching below were equally dumbfounded.
Though there were students with solid combat experience like Vick and Light, who could barely go toe-to-toe with the instructors and pass the test with ease, no one had ever made their instructor lose face—let alone get punched in the face.
‘This guy… he’s crazy good!’
In an instant, whether they knew him or not, even Vick and Light couldn’t help but think this.
Meanwhile, on the platform, Herbert felt his nose throb painfully, the dull but unmistakable ache burning on his face, filling him with humiliation.
‘How embarrassing!’
“You little brat!” Annoyed and flustered, his gaze toward Li Xian shifted completely, no longer indifferent but sharp.
His thumb traced the corner of his mouth as he regained composure and confidence.
“But that was just my momentary carelessness. Now, let me show you why an instructor is still an instructor!”
“Bam!”
“You…”
“Bam!”
“You damn…”
“Bam!”
“I’m messing with you!”
Finally, after a few blows where Herbert took hits, he couldn’t take it anymore and unleashed his advanced Warrior strength to push Li Xian back.
Bloodied and bruised, he looked at Li Xian with twitching lips.
Is this really an intermediate Warrior?
He felt more like some legendary figure disguised as a newbie.
Li Xian’s reflexes were incredibly fast—faster than Herbert himself.
Though his combat experience and moves weren’t particularly outstanding, he was just fast… so fast it left Herbert struggling to keep up, both in attacks and dodges, almost making Herbert feel like the student and the young man was the actual instructor suppressing his strength.
“Instructor, still going?” Li Xian didn’t say much after being pushed back, just grinning at him.
That smile made Herbert’s scalp tingle.
‘What the hell, keep fighting? Not a chance!’
“Enough, enough. You’ve passed…” Herbert rolled his eyes and jumped off the Duel Platform, his face full of frustration.
After all that effort pretending to be impressive, he got slapped in the face instead—of course he was upset.
Li Xian had truly ignited the crowd.
To beat an instructor in the Duel Platform right after enrolling was unheard of in the entire history of the Imperial Magic Academy.
Among everyone present, only Sara remained calm—she had long known her master’s true strength.
If her master really went all out, even the instructor would stand no chance.
Everyone else, including Vick and Light, Princess Ellie, and even the purple-haired girl watching from the sidelines, still couldn’t believe what they had just seen.
“That pervert is actually that strong?”
Princess Ellie stared at Li Xian descending from the platform, shock evident in her heart.
She watched as Li Xian approached Sara and gently stroked her head.
Sara’s face flushed slightly as she lowered her gaze, but a faint smile lingered on her lips as she leaned lightly against Li Xian.
Ellie’s expression softened into a bittersweet haze.
If only she could lean on someone like that…
She had gathered so much information and made countless moves, but no matter how hard she tried, she still hadn’t found any news about that lord.
Perhaps he never came to the Imperial Capital—and never would.
Ellie’s heart felt a little empty.
That invisible, intangible sense of loss had unknowingly tinted her gaze with a trace of envy…
As for Karinya, the purple-haired girl, her expression was even more sorrowful.
This was an unattainable luxury for her.
When someone presents everything she longs for right before her eyes, a fledgling bird trapped in darkness, gazing at the light, only suffers more wounds.
Especially when that light never belonged to her and had once brushed past her…
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