“Zhu Qiu, do you know about that academy event?”
“Of course I know. I think it should be pretty fun.”
“I think so too. Since you’re participating as well, let’s train together after school these next few days.”
Even though Yiluo Enya was usually timid, at this moment, she sincerely extended the invitation to Zhu Qiu.
“Starting today?”
“Yes.”
“Alright then. I’ve been wanting to play around a bit anyway.”
Zhu Qiu agreed.
After dinner, the two began choosing a venue.
“Zhu Qiu, our teacher said the academy-wide event won’t be held in the airspace above Dragon City. But where else is there for the Dragon Race besides here?”
“I know that! Come with me.”
“Huh?”
Zhu Qiu grabbed Yiluo Enya and walked off in a direction.
“Where are you taking me?”
“You’ll know in a bit. Don’t be impatient.”
She pulled Yiluo Enya along in a wild dash, but when she got tired of walking, she simply used Flight Magic to carry Yiluo Enya and slowly fly through the sky.
“Are we there yet? It’s been 29 minutes.”
“We’re here.”
Zhu Qiu stopped, stood at the edge of the clouds, and pointed downward.
“This is the venue I picked.”
“Here? Down below?”
“Yeah, down there is a regular forest. It’s pretty nice. You’re good at Grass Element Magic, so I’m sure the environment will have a big effect on you, right?”
Yiluo Enya thought about it briefly.
“That’s true. The venue you mentioned is good too, but how do we get down?”
“I can use Flight Magic too, but carrying you, I can only fly slowly. I’d also be worried about unexpected situations—can’t risk accidentally falling.”
“No way!”
Yiluo Enya immediately refused.
“Hmm… I mean, I’m not refusing you. I’m just a bit scared.”
“That’s true.”
Zhu Qiu suddenly realized the problem this time.
“Then let’s do this.”
She thought of another way.
“How about we try using Fixed-Point Teleportation?”
She lay down on her stomach, resting her hands on the edge of the cloud, and looked down below.
“Hurry, look. There’s a lake down there. As long as we jump in, we’ll be fine.”
“Ah? Are you kidding me? From this height, jumping into water is like landing on rocks.”
“Oh, don’t be so scared. We’ll find out if we try.”
With that, before Yiluo Enya could react, Zhu Qiu jumped down with her.
“Whoa—!”
“Whoa—!”
As expected, something unexpected still happened.
Zhu Qiu once again fainted midair from oxygen deprivation.
“Hey! Don’t just faint on your own!”
Danger!
Seeing that they were about to hit the lake’s surface, Yiluo Enya had to think of something herself.
“All Things Have Spirit: Flight!”
At that critical moment, Yiluo Enya summoned her dragonfly, catching both of them steadily.
After landing safely, she even started to wonder how Zhu Qiu got into the First Academy of the Dragon Clan.
‘Is she really this dumb?’
‘So silly. She seems so easy to fool.’
Yiluo Enya poked the unconscious Zhu Qiu.
“Wake up. We’re here.”
Zhu Qiu woke up immediately, full of energy.
“I told you. Jumping straight down is fine, hehe~”
“Don’t ‘hehe’ me! You have the nerve to say that. Let’s hurry up and start.”
“Yay!”
Zhu Qiu first put some distance between herself and Yiluo Enya. When she tried to take out her weapon, she realized she’d forgotten the sword Teacher Jimi had given her.
“Haha, Yiluo Enya, um…”
She could only awkwardly scratch her head.
“Hm? Are you saying we’re starting? Then come on! I won’t go easy on you.”
“Hey! Wait—”
Before Zhu Qiu could finish speaking, Yiluo Enya had already finished chanting her magic.
“Overgrowth!”
In an instant, a giant vine rose from beside Zhu Qiu’s feet, grabbed her ankle, and lifted her straight into the sky.
“Wait! I don’t even have a weapon yet!”
But because the two were quite far apart, Yiluo Enya didn’t hear her at all. Her voice was completely drowned out by the noise of vines bursting from the earth.
Seeing Zhu Qiu’s position rise to a suitable spot in the air, Yiluo Enya smiled slightly and stomped the ground hard.
“All Things Have Spirit: Growth!”
In that instant, four newly grown bamboo shoots with incredible malleability sprouted around Zhu Qiu simultaneously, and under Yiluo Enya’s control, they flew into the air and tightly bound the upside-down Zhu Qiu.
‘Damn it!’
The suffocating feeling was like being constricted by a python.
“Change!”
At her command, the bamboo that had been extremely malleable instantly became extremely weak, yet its toughness conversely became extremely strong.
This way, no matter how much strength Zhu Qiu had, she couldn’t break free so easily.
“Zhu Qiu, why aren’t you fighting back? You remember I never said I’d use you as a target dummy, right?”
Confused, Yiluo Enya walked over and immediately dispelled the magic.
Zhu Qiu landed steadily in front of Yiluo Enya.
“I told you I don’t have a weapon! Are you deaf?!”
“Huh?”
Suddenly realizing her mistake, Yiluo Enya immediately apologized.
“Sorry, I forgot. I thought you studied magic too.”
“Well… fine.”
‘That was too embarrassing. I absolutely have to win back my pride today!’
Yiluo Enya’s bamboo binding had directly ignited Zhu Qiu’s fighting spirit.
“Hmph! I don’t care. This round doesn’t count. Let’s go again.”
Since she didn’t have a sword, she’d just pick up a tree branch from under a tree.
‘With her Swordsmanship, was she afraid she couldn’t unleash Sword Qi?’
The two put distance between each other again.
“Let’s start!”
Yiluo Enya seized the initiative and launched her magic first.
“All Things Have Spirit: Spirit!”
But after casting this magic, no changes appeared in her surroundings.
This gave Zhu Qiu a chance to attack.
Gripping the wooden stick, she charged straight at Yiluo Enya.
“Watch my sword!”
But Yiluo Enya showed no panic at all on her face. She remained very calm.
“Stop her!”
“Ouch!”
The moment those words were spoken, tree roots that suddenly sprouted beside Zhu Qiu tripped her, and she fell to the ground.
That was quite a hard fall. She nearly split her head open.
When she looked up, two large trees charged at Zhu Qiu as if possessed.
“Trees can move?”
That shocked Zhu Qiu for 3 seconds.
She couldn’t dodge, and there was no time to think.
She quickly stood up and gripped the tree branch in her hand tightly.
“Watch my sword!”
The moment the Tree Spirits got close, she viciously swung the wooden stick at them.
The next second, a neat gap suddenly appeared across the middle of the two trees, and the severed half of the wood fell stiffly to the ground.
At the same time, because the Tree Spirits had been cut through, they naturally broke free from Yiluo Enya’s control.
“Zhu Qiu, I didn’t expect you to be this strong. I’ll have to get serious now.”
“Bring it on! In front of a Sword Saint, any magic is rendered meaningless.”
“Sword Saint?”
‘What is she talking about?’
‘Whatever.’
“Again! See how you handle this move!”
“All Things Have Spirit: Earth!”