The promotion exams had begun.
Every year at this time, the Ice Orchid Institute became exceptionally lively.
The stands of the arena were packed to capacity. Everyone, both inside and outside the venue, was discussing who would win and what the final results of the competition would be.
Some had even secretly set up gambling rings within the academy, drawing many students to place their bets.
“I’m betting 100 gold coins that Lady Kalin will take first place in the Advanced Class exam this time!”
“100 gold coins? Who are you looking down on? I’ve sold everything I could sell, taken out every loan I could get, and even mortgaged my soul to a Necromancer. I’m going all in on Lady Kalin—3,000 purple gold coins!”
Almost everyone favored Kalin.
They worshipped geniuses.
And they would never question a genius.
Kalin did not disappoint the expectations of the gamblers.
In her first battle, with a flick of her finger, she shot out an ice flower that instantly defeated an older student.
That student was ranked fifth in the Intermediate Class and had been predicted to have a high probability of entering the Advanced Class.
For a moment, the crowd failed to react to what had happened.
It wasn’t until ten or so seconds had passed that cheers erupted throughout the stadium, causing the entire arena to vibrate.
“Kalin!”
“Kalin!”
Countless people were chanting Kalin’s name.
The girl named Kalin, a cold beauty with short, grayish-white hair, didn’t even lift her head once. She simply turned and walked away.
“An instant kill! With this kind of momentum, even Lady Lu Mo back then was only at this level, right?”
“I won’t allow you to speak of my Lady Lu Mo that way!”
“I’m really looking forward to a fight between Lady Kalin and Lady Lu Mo… to see who is truly the goddess of the Ice Orchid Institute…”
The crowd had already begun to compare her to the Lu Mo of years past.
“Is the opponent for this round Elia?”
“She actually dared to show up.”
When Elia walked into the center of the arena holding Lu Mo’s sword, the venue similarly erupted with a massive sound.
— But it wasn’t cheering.
It was laughter.
When they looked at Kalin, they were watching a genius effortlessly crush an opponent.
When they looked at Elia, it was as if they were watching a clown about to be slaughtered.
Elia’s opponent was a young man from the Intermediate Class, ranked slightly above average.
Seemingly infected by the mocking laughter of the crowd, the young man’s gaze became quite contemptuous as he watched the girl approach with her sword.
“Elia, is it…?”
He spoke playfully, stabbing his weapon directly into the ground and letting go of his grip. “How about this? I’ll give you three sword strikes. After three strikes, it will be your death — “
As he was speaking, the referee announced the start of the match.
But the young man couldn’t even finish the word “death” before he saw Elia turn into a blur, charging toward him with her cold blade in hand.
Her movements were as fluid as flowing water, without any wasted motion, aiming straight for his vitals!
In that instant, he even felt a biting chill and killing intent head-on!
Is this a swordsmanship that an attendant can perform?
The young man’s pupils shrank.
He tried to grab his weapon again, but he was already being forced back repeatedly by Elia’s aggressive assault.
Although Elia’s cultivation level had not yet reached the Intermediate stage, as her sword momentum continued to stack, the power erupting from the blade was steadily increasing.
Soon, it surpassed the limit of what the young man could endure!
*Bang!*
In the next second, the young man was sent flying. He fell heavily, hitting his head on the ground, and lost consciousness on the spot.
“I really didn’t want to bully a weak girl like you — “
“…”
The entire arena suddenly fell into silence.
Even the referee was stunned, mouth hanging slightly open, having momentarily lost the ability to speak.
“Is that enough?” Elia glanced at the referee.
Only then did the referee snap out of his daze and announce the result: “The winner is…”
Following this, the crowd broke into an uproar.
“Wait, what…?”
“What just happened? An attendant… took down someone from the Intermediate Class?”
“I must be seeing things… how am I having hallucinations…?”
They never imagined that Elia could actually win the match.
— Except for Lu Mo, who was sitting in the front.
Elia ignored the noisy sounds of the arena. Her gaze pierced through the crowd and finally landed on Lu Mo, who was sitting quietly in the front row.
The two looked at each other and smiled.
‘Sister Lu Mo, did you see the faint starlight I’ve scattered across the night sky?’ she whispered softly in her mind.
The girl who was believed to be destined to lose had won her first match.
Those mockers, teasers, and cynics now seemed to be the clowns they had described.
“A coincidence, it’s just a coincidence!”
“Who told that idiot to drop his weapon voluntarily and offer three free strikes!”
“That kind of opportunity won’t happen again.”
Some people were still making excuses, hoping that Elia would lose in the next round.
But the reality was —
Elia won again.
This time, her opponent was a girl who specialized in long-range spellcasting.
Time and again, Elia dodged the opponent’s area-of-effect attacks, looking for an opportunity to close the distance.
As the opponent gradually lost patience and made a mistake while performing a combat technique, Elia instantly seized the chance to rush forward. With her longsword bringing up a flurry of snowflakes, she struck the girl’s chest.
*Bang!*
Frost exploded, and the girl was blasted away, losing the match.
This time, the opponent had not dropped her weapon, nor had she given Elia the first move.
Elia had won fair and square.
“This… this…”
The students who had been making excuses were suddenly speechless.
Elia once again smiled at Lu Mo from a distance and then left.
“Ugh…”
It wasn’t until she returned to the resting area that she leaned against the wall, a pained expression appearing on her face.
Blood was seeping through the hem of her clothes.
Participating in this promotion exam with only Primary stage strength meant her injuries would be far more severe than anyone else’s.
Although she had dodged the opponent’s direct attacks, the shockwaves from the erupting combat techniques were enough to hurt her.
“It’s not a fatal wound. It won’t affect the upcoming battles, so it’s fine,” Elia whispered to herself. “As long as I can win, none of this matters…”
Compared to what Sister Lu Mo had suffered, these injuries of hers were not even worth mentioning.
Limited by her talent, Elia had yet to step into the Intermediate stage.
However, her persistence over the years had given her incredibly solid fundamentals—even some students in the Advanced Class couldn’t compare to her.
Furthermore, Lu Mo’s long-term guidance had allowed her mastery of many combat techniques to reach a level of perfection.
She knew the optimal time to execute a technique; she knew how to maximize power with minimal energy consumption; and she knew how to link the next technique in the shortest possible time after the previous one was completed.
The repeated trials in secret realms had also greatly improved her combat experience, allowing her not to flinch when facing powerful opponents.
All of this was the result of her hard work.
It was as if stars were scattered one by one across the dark night sky.
Though faint, they still emitted a weak light in that cold and dark night.
She wanted to win.
She wanted Lu Mo to see her faint starlight.
She wanted to stand by Lu Mo’s side, shoulder to shoulder.
Only then would she be qualified, and only then would she have the chance, to say the words hidden in the deepest part of her heart.
***
Over the next few days, Elia won two more battles.
In the third battle, she engaged her opponent in close-quarters combat with her sword.
Although the opponent’s strength was great, his sword moves were crude and full of openings, which she exploited to secure a counter-kill.
She won, but she sustained several sword wounds on her body. The skin between her thumb and index finger had cracked, and blood dripped steadily from the hilt of her sword.
In the fourth battle, her opponent’s swordsmanship fundamentals were not inferior to hers, and she immediately fell into a bitter struggle.
Seeing that if this continued, she would no longer have the strength to defend, Elia made a desperate move —
She did not defend against the opponent’s next attack; instead, she proactively used her shoulder to take the hit!
The longsword tore through her shoulder armor and pierced into her snowy skin.
At that moment, Elia lunged forward, pouring all her strength into her sword and striking the opponent’s chest!
The opponent never expected Elia to walk into his sword with her shoulder. Having thrust his sword out, he had no time to pull back for defense.
In his desperation, he looked into Elia’s eyes and was momentarily stunned.
What kind of gaze was that?
Determined, angry, and faintly carrying a… madness that was willing to disregard everything!
Under such a gaze, he lost his nerve.
In the end, he lost.
Struck in the chest by Elia, he fell to the ground.
The entire arena fell silent.
Once again.
This time, the way many people looked at Elia had changed from initial mockery to disbelief.
The mocking voices had almost completely vanished.
If this continued…
Elia might actually emerge from the elimination rounds and enter the next round of the points matches.
A Primary stage girl, able to consecutively defeat high-tier Intermediate opponents.
It was like a… miracle.
***
Night fell.
“Ow, ow, ow…”
After Lu Mo finished cleaning Elia’s wounds, she applied a high-grade life potion. Elia’s wounds began to recover at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Soon, her shoulder was restored to its original state.
“It’s a good thing most of the damage was converted by the protective arrays, so it didn’t hit the bone,” Lu Mo murmured, tapping Elia’s small head. “Don’t take such risks next time, do you understand?”
“I understand,” Elia replied obediently. “Next time… I’ll try not to do that…”
Elia was not good at lying in front of Lu Mo.
To Lu Mo, this sounded exactly like a little girl stubbornly saying, “I was wrong, and I’ll do it again next time.”
Was Elia’s rebellious phase finally arriving?
She thought to herself, and after a moment, she asked, “Is this promotion exam really that important to you?”
“Yes…” Elia nodded. “It’s very important.”
Her eyes sparkled under the dim yellow light, like stars twinkling in the night sky, filled with a seriousness and persistence that even Lu Mo couldn’t quite see through.
Is it that important?
For what?
To prove she is no longer weak?
Or… for something else?
“Anyway, do your best.” Finally, Lu Mo gave a helpless smile and doted on Elia by stroking her hair.
“Mm!”
***
The next day.
The final day of the elimination rounds.
‘As long as I can win this round, I’ll be in the points matches…’ Elia murmured to herself.
In the matches after this, even if she lost, she would still have a chance to enter the Advanced Class, which significantly lightened the pressure.
The names of the contestants continued to scroll on the arena’s light screen. Elia was also praying that she would be assigned a slightly weaker opponent for the final round.
But when the light screen stopped scrolling and she saw the line where her name was, Elia’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
[Elia vs. Kalin]
Not just Elia, but everyone present gasped in unison.
Even Lu Mo frowned slightly.
‘I’m fighting Kalin? Is this real?’ Elia felt a bit dazed.
She had witnessed Kalin’s methods.
That cruel fighting style, which almost never gave opponents a chance to survive, had caused her heart to tremble before.
But…
She had to move forward, didn’t she?
Even if the path ahead was filled with endless thorns.
After a brief moment of distraction, Elia regained her composure.
She accepted it all calmly.
Then, on that sunny afternoon, she stepped onto the arena and walked alone toward the girl with short, grayish-white hair.