In the school garden, four children sat cross-legged facing each other on the ground.
One of them, a brown-haired curly boy, bit the end of his pen, scratching his head as he stared at the blank sheet of paper with only two characters written on it.
The two characters were unmistakably—“Kaka.”
Quinn sighed helplessly when he saw Kaka struggling with no progress after a long while.
He leaned in closer, preparing to tutor Kaka on how to write his self-criticism.
Ivencel glanced disdainfully at Kaka but didn’t bother with him. Instead, he looked at Su Xing.
“The homeroom teacher brushed off the soul matter. What now? Should we ask someone else?”
Su Xing nodded.
“That’s all we can do. Let’s find Teacher Meini.”
Quinn and Kaka stayed behind to write the self-criticism, while Su Xing and Ivencel headed to the Illusion Arena.
Norman was the physical training teacher for first years, and Meini was the instructor for second years.
Of course, this didn’t mean Meini was stronger—it’s just that first years needed a stricter teacher, hence the arrangement.
At the Illusion Arena, Teacher Meini was indeed there.
A group of second-year seniors were sparring, and Meini stood nearby, arms crossed, observing.
Her eyes scanned the area carefully and caught sight of Su Xing and Ivencel as soon as they entered.
After ordering the students not to slack off, she took the initiative to approach them.
“What’s the matter? Did you need something from me?”
Su Xing skillfully recounted what she had told Teacher Aidelai earlier.
Meini listened without suspicion.
After pondering for a moment, she answered, “The soul is a very mysterious thing. Even the greatest Grand Illusionists might only scratch the surface of its secrets. So I can’t mislead you.”
She paused, then added, “If you’re really curious about this matter, maybe you should ask Principal Tang. He governs time and has lived a long life. Perhaps he has a deeper understanding of the soul.”
After parting ways with Meini, Su Xing sighed deeply.
“Principal Tang, huh…”
That gaze of his always felt like he saw everything laid bare right in front of him.
Every time Su Xing was looked at by Principal Tang, she felt completely transparent, as if there were no secrets left to hide.
She definitely lacked the confidence to keep anything from him in front of Ivencel.
Ivencel clearly shared Su Xing’s thoughts and had no intention of approaching Principal Tang either.
The two returned to tell Quinn and Kaka about this, but since Kaka wouldn’t lie, it was naturally no use. Quinn had the same impression of Principal Tang as Su Xing and didn’t dare lie to him either.
The four fell silent for a moment before Quinn said, “I—I’ll go check the library. There should be… some clues there.”
The library at Lingyu Academy was arguably the most comprehensive collection of books on Mercury.
If even there was nothing useful, then it was unlikely they would find any clues in books at all.
Ivencel comforted everyone in return, “No rush. Even without Illusionist abilities, I won’t be defeated.”
Su Xing suddenly remembered that the midterm exams were coming up soon.
Looking at the clearly unreliable trio, she thought about herself and felt the road ahead was daunting.
Kaka lacked offensive power, Ivencel’s illusions were useless, and she herself had poor endurance.
Quinn’s skills were supportive, so he was limited to that role.
But he was physically weak, so even as support, he might not stand a chance.
With Victor intending to snipe them, their team composition was clearly a recipe for pain.
Looking at the time, there was only one week left until midterms.
Su Xing snapped her fingers.
“Let’s put Ivencel’s situation aside for now. The next week, all-out preparation for midterms!”
“Yay!”
Kaka cheered excitedly.
Though they were supposed to prepare together, since the focus was on individual matches, the four barely gathered during the week, all thinking independently.
In truth, it was partly intentional—they all wanted to see how far they could get relying on themselves when facing strong opponents.
This was the pride of youth.
One week passed in the blink of an eye, and the highly anticipated midterms began.
The midterms lasted a week.
The first day was a written exam, followed by three days of individual arena matches, and the final day was the class team battle.
“What?! The Magical Oriole doesn’t vocalize with its throat?”
Hearing Quinn’s answer, Kaka held his head and wailed.
“Idiot, that’s common knowledge!”
Ivencel’s brow furrowed, suffering from Kaka’s terrible voice piercing his ears.
Su Xing stretched and laughed it off.
“The written exam is finally over. The arena matches start tomorrow. I’m scheduled for the third morning session; my opponent is Avril. How about you guys?”
Kaka replied, “I’m up against Victor, third afternoon session. So excited!”
Su Xing looked at him oddly.
“Excited for what?”
Given the current state, Kaka’s chances of beating Victor were slim.
Was Victor planning some new tactic these days?
But Kaka’s answer was completely unexpected.
“I just want to see how far I’ve come after all I’ve been through.”
He said it so matter-of-factly—it was just that simple.
Su Xing momentarily blanked out, then smiled wryly.
She had been overthinking things.
No matter what Victor’s intentions, as long as they treated this arena match as an exam, it was just an exam.
In that regard, she was less clear-headed than the straightforward Kaka.
Ivencel said, “Second day morning.”
Quinn said, “I’m the next morning session. Hope it goes smoothly.”
Quinn’s match was the closest—only one night to prepare.
Su Xing asked with concern, “How’s your prep going? Got any tactics?”
Since support skills could only match against support, and Victor’s five-person team had only one support, Quinn’s opponent was fixed—Lield.
Lield was a tall, skinny boy with sunken cheeks and messy dark gray short hair, looking rather disheveled.
But despite his appearance, his illusion was a very fat Energy Sphere.
His first skill, Possession, could triple Lield’s size and greatly enhance his defense. It was a buff-type support.
This skill was roughly on par with Quinn’s Rose illusion, but it acted faster.
Also, for first years lacking attack methods, it was a very powerful defensive skill, topping this year’s support rankings.
In one-on-one duels, Lield obviously had the advantage.
Quinn smiled shyly, modest but still confident.
“I’ve got some ideas. Just wait and see tomorrow!”
Upon hearing this, Su Xing finally relaxed.
With Quinn’s personality, if he said that, he probably had a plan.
Though curious about his strategy, since Quinn hadn’t volunteered to share, Su Xing naturally didn’t press.
Life was better with a little surprise.
The next day, Su Xing and the others went to the Illusion Arena to watch Quinn’s match.
They ran into Victor’s group, who were there to watch Lield’s match.
Su Xing scowled.
“Victor! How dare you forcibly match our two teams together? That’s unfair!”
Victor’s golden hair fluttered in the wind as he grinned arrogantly, “You should know, I’m the Young Master of the Parker family. There’s never been fairness between us.”
Avril covered her mouth, laughing mockingly, “Exactly! Lingyu Academy is nothing. Our families combined can easily pressure and change the rankings.”
The moment she said that, Victor shot Avril a glare.
Hua Jiu quickly covered Avril’s mouth, signaling her not to blurt things out.
Though they all thought that way, if such things were leaked, it could be exploited by those with ill intentions.
Su Xing was obviously such a person.
Her previously angry expression faded as she put on a faint smile.
Victor was puzzled by her change, hands in pockets, smirking sarcastically, “What? Ready to face your team’s first defeat?”
Su Xing arched a brow, smiling brightly.
“Whether you lose or not isn’t important. But are you ready to face your first complaint in life?”
Victor’s expression changed suddenly.
“You recorded it?!”
Su Xing gave him a thumbs-up and slowly took out a recording stone, shaking it as praise.
“Young Master Victor, you really are quick on the uptake.”
Kaka cheered, “Way to go, Su Xing!”
Victor didn’t want this praise.
He immediately dropped his cool, scheming look and shouted in frustration, “You’re cheating!”
“All’s fair in war, little master,” Su Xing replied lazily.
“Besides, weren’t you the one breaking the rules first?”
Ivencel gave the four opponents a cold glare.
“The match is about to start.”
Su Xing nodded and stopped paying attention to the frustrated and angry group opposite.
She followed Ivencel and Kaka into the audience seats of the Illusion Arena.
The entrance was posted with the exam rules.
Very simple—control the Illusionist on the arena, or knock the Illusionist out of the ring to win.
Because even if an Illusionist lost their illusion, they could continue fighting.
But if the illusion lost its Illusionist, it would lose most of its combat power immediately.
Of course, if an Illusionist was only unconscious, the illusion’s attack might even increase.
But this didn’t apply in the arena matches.
No items or stimulants could be used in the arena matches.
Violation would lead to disqualification.
Su Xing and the others arrived just in time to see Quinn and Lield step onto the arena.
Kaka immediately jumped excitedly, waving energetically.
Quinn naturally noticed such a commotion.
The usually serious white-haired boy pushed up his glasses, smiling brightly as he waved back at his friends.
Opposite him, a tall boy wearing a black baseball cap gave a slight nod.
Beside him, a dark-haired, fox-eyed girl smiled and waved.
Lield followed Quinn’s gaze and asked with some surprise, “You’re close?”
“Yeah.”
Quinn nodded seriously.
Lield yawned.
“Victor told me to say something harsh, so—hope after I beat you, you’re still this close.”
Quinn pressed his lips, his eyes flashing with fierce determination.
“The match hasn’t started; the outcome is still undecided.”
He wasn’t about to give up that easily!