In the days that followed, the White Brick Arena saw duels and sparring matches almost every day.
The duo of the Nun of Atonement and the White-haired Witch had already won seven matches in a row.
Was it possible that, in the entire Magic Academy, not a single team of apprentices could end the Heretical Magicians’ winning streak?
But aside from a certain Flame School, everyone else sparred peacefully, with the goal of mutual improvement and learning. Most opponents accepted their losses with grace and conviction; there were no shameless acts of pestering, tantrums, or rolling around on the floor.
The Flame School became the laughingstock of everyone, pointed at and gossiped about behind their backs every day, unable to hold their heads high since that day.
However, jokes aside, the Flame School was the faction with the most influence. To make them lose face was, in a sense, to make the Magic Academy lose face as well.
Of course, this was something the Flame School themselves claimed—forcefully binding their own reputation to that of the Magic Academy, dragging all the noble families’ magicians onto the same boat.
So, one night, the Orange Lion and the Hong Lion convened a secret meeting of the Five Elemental Factions, summoning all the Leaders of the Elemental Factions for a detailed discussion.
“Today, I’ve invited all the Council Presidents here to talk about the necessity of uniting against the Heretical Magicians and the School of Healing. We need to give them a warning, or the Church will really trample all over us,” the Orange Lion stated bluntly, opening the meeting with the main topic.
“We absolutely cannot let the clergy establish a faction here! We must drive out all the priests!” The Hong Lion gave an impassioned speech.
“We’ve given those Heretical Magicians a place to stay, and yet they don’t appreciate this hard-won opportunity. In that case, we’ll revoke their privileges,” the Orange Lion suggested coldly.
Although the other Elemental Faction leaders didn’t agree with this view, they had long since been shackled by the morals of magicians.
As Leaders, sometimes they had to pick a side; it was impossible to just watch from the sidelines or remain neutral.
Not helping was betraying the Academy; not cooperating was betraying the noble families.
No one wanted to be the first to speak out. No one would take the lead.
“……”
“……”
“……”
So, after listening to the Orange Lion and Hong Lion’s grand arguments, no one voiced any objections. That was as good as giving their tacit approval.
A Great Conspiracy was underway.
After all that, it really wasn’t hard to understand. It could be summed up in four words:
Exclusion of Dissidents.
No matter how big or small the place, “Human Nature” always worked its way beneath the surface.
Dawn at the Moon of Darkness Hall.
The beautiful girl dormmates had yet to realize that a crisis was approaching.
“Wolfie, don’t run!” Samimi was chasing the dog all over the house early in the morning, pinning the shadow wolf girl to the ground with Niubao’s help.
“I don’t wanna take a bath! I don’t wanna take a bath!” Wolfie was carried away by the two, screaming like a pig being slaughtered.
“Ever since you moved in with us, I’ve never seen you bathe. You’re practically marinated by now—you stink!” Samimi teased.
“I can mask my scent! I have a scent-blocking spell!” Wolfie struggled.
“I’ve heard that a hundred times! Your scent-blocking spell isn’t like my Clarity Technique, which runs twenty-four hours a day! We can smell your stinky wolf odor through the door! You have to bathe today!” Samimi and Niubao struggled mightily to drag Wolfie into the bathroom, almost ripping the door off its hinges.
Luckily, Niubao was strong enough; otherwise, Samimi couldn’t have managed to haul Wolfie off alone.
“Such energy, so early in the morning.” Head Resident Brayetta walked over with a cup of coffee, smiling as she closed the bathroom door, cutting off Wolfie’s escape route.
“I hate you all! Everyone’s out to get me!” As the sound of rushing water echoed, Wolfie’s wails grew even more miserable.
“Niubao takes a bath every day.” Samimi held Wolfie down in the bathtub, vigorously scrubbing her head and fur. It felt great.
“Niubao doesn’t have beast ears! She doesn’t have to worry about water in her ears!” Wolfie retorted loudly.
“Hehe, such soft beast ears, lululu.” Samimi casually stripped off her own clothes too, deciding they’d all just bathe together and get rid of the sweat.
Niubao sat behind Samimi to help her wash her hair. The three of them sat in a row, scrubbing each other clean, making bath time extremely efficient.
But at that very moment…
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
A few heavy, discordant knocks sounded at the Moon of Darkness Hall.
Head Resident Brayetta had just sat down to enjoy her coffee, but could only get up and head to the entrance to open the door.
When she opened it, she was so startled she nearly dropped her coffee.
Outside stood over a hundred people, packed tightly together—all Magic Academy apprentices, and from various factions, not just one.
But at the front were the two Council Presidents of the Flame School, the Hong Lion and the Orange Lion.
“What’s the matter?” Head Resident Brayetta knew they had a grudge with Samimi, so her expression immediately turned serious.
“You’re the Head Resident of the Moon of Darkness Hall, Brayetta Horns?” the Hong Lion stepped forward and asked loudly.
“That’s me.” Brayetta nodded.
“This is a dorm relocation notice. Because the Flame Magic Academy is expanding, from now on, the Moon of Darkness Hall belongs to our Flame School. Please move out within three days.” The Hong Lion wasted no words, pulling out an Academy notice and tossing it at Brayetta.
“This…” Brayetta’s face changed as she heard this, unable to believe it.
At the same time, Priestess Rebecca and White-haired Witch Bemore also walked out from the Moon of Darkness Hall, standing to the left and right of the Head Resident to show their support.
But the other side’s numbers completely overwhelmed them, offering no real threat.
“Hmph!” The Hong Lion glanced over and sneered, “So it’s you two traitors? You still have the nerve to show up in front of me?”
Rebecca had originally been an unofficial member of the Flame School, and Bemore was, according to the story, a rebel expelled from the Flame School.
“If you, with your pig-head face, have the nerve, why shouldn’t I?” Rebecca shot back.
“You! Shut your mouth!” The Hong Lion was immediately infuriated.
“I don’t accept this notice. I want to appeal.” Brayetta said.
“The decision has already been made after an appeal. The Grandmasters say that if you can prove the value of your research, you can continue to keep the Moon of Darkness Hall.” The Orange Lion had anticipated this, and explained with a smile.
“Prove it? How do we prove it?” Brayetta asked.
“Traitor.” The Hong Lion pointed at Bemore and said coldly, “You’ve been getting close to those three Heretical Priestesses lately, and I hear you call yourselves the School of Healing now? Then the solution is simple. We’ll send four people to duel your faction’s four. If you win, you can stay here.”
“This…” Brayetta immediately sensed a hint of conspiracy.
“Who’s afraid? We accept!” But before anyone else could reply, Bemore suddenly stepped forward and agreed on her own.
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