"Revolve! Mystic Ice Deity Bloodline!"
A terrifying aura swept out from Art's body as his ice bloodline began to activate. His hair floated upwards around him in silky tendrils and his eyes glowed with a chilling blue light as frost began to condense on the stage around him, the strength of his mana causing a tangible manifestation without even being released.
The spectators were petrified.
"G...G....God tier bloodline?!"
"No... How could that be possible?"
"This aura..."
Even the teachers' jaws had dropped in shock.
Bloodlines were perhaps the number one factor in determining the talent of a mage. Not only did they allow mages to cultivate faster and help them convert mana to elemental essence, but they even helped one comprehend the related element and improve their connection to the element at a much faster rate. Simply put it was a heavenly tool for cultivation.
And these were only their passive effects. When revolved in combat, they would provide a significant boost to the density of a mage's mana and vastly strengthen the elemental nature of their spells while even unlocking some especially powerful spells, as well as reducing the mana cost of casting them.
Even the lowest tier bloodline provided a weighty advantage to a mage both in and out of combat. It was for this reason that certain families, like the Daymores, were known to produce powerful mages. And yet, even they only had a high tier bloodline. A god tier bloodline like Art's was simply unheard of.
Opinion in the audience quickly changed. How could Flint possibly face such a monster?
A teacher belonging to the Daymore family in the audience even stood up and shouted for him to forfeit the match.
Flint disregarded his warning, channeling even more power into the fire titan spell, as Art's presence continued increasing, the frost around him surging outwards to cover the majority of the stage.
Bang!
The stage beneath the fire titan shattered as it suddenly hurtled forward at breakneck speed, one of its enormous fiery fists cocking back in preparation to deal a devastating blow.
"Ice Lotus Bud!"
An enormous lotus bud made entirely of crystalline ice encased Art's body in a tear drop shape. It looked like a shard of glass trying to withstand the blow of a hammer.
Boom! A resounding thud sounded out as the titan finally reached the ice lotus and then... nothing. Not a single crack appeared on the shiny surface of the ice. The tv screens suddenly displayed a small smirk on Art's face.
"Burst into bloom! Divine Ice Lotus!"
The lotus bud suddenly unfurled into long, enchanting petals that slammed downwards with a slight rotating motion, revealing Art's imperious form. Another boom sounded out as the fire titan raised its arms in a cross shape above its head to try and stop the lotus petal from crushing him, cracks appearing in the stage beneath its feet from the impact. The air seemed to fold in on itself around the two from the extreme heat and cold.
Thud!
The titan's knees pressed into the ground, unable to maintain its stance under the crushing pressure of the ice lotus. It seemed to roar in rage, its body flashing with an even brighter demonic red. But it couldn't hold out. Its death throes were like a child resisting the hand of an adult - slowly but inevitably it's arms were pushed down until with shocking bang the ice lotus crushed it into the ground and it dispersed with a woosh of flames.
The audience began to roar excitedly.
Art lifted his head taking in the sight of the few remaining burning embers.
He slowly turned to meet Flint's gaze... only to find the opposite side of the arena empty?!
"I'll smash your pretty head to pieces peasant!" A sudden roar came from Flint, who had at some point appeared above him.
Flint's leg was enveloped in a red glow as his body shot down towards the defenseless Art. Flipping in midair, he slammed his heel down towards Art's head.
Crunch! A sickening sound resonated through the arena, bringing a satisfied smile to Flint's face.
Soran shot to his feet, his heart beating so wildly it almost escaped his chest. "No... Art... No!!"
At this moment, the half bent Art, whose head was still covered by Flint's heel, shattered into a million flakes of snow. A whirl of snow enveloped the arena momentarily, until the flakes came together to form the body of Art hovering in the air behind Flint!
The headmasters eyes widened. "An elemental clone... the amount of control required to produce such a lifelike body... maybe even I can't do this."
Art's newly formed body spun in the air behind Flint, delivering a powerful kick to the man's side.
Crunch! Flint's elbow snapped in towards his body as he was once again sent flying.
Art disappeared with a pop, using blink to appear next to Flint's airborne body.
Thud! Art's foot once again smashed into Flint's body, this time launching him up into the air. A muffled scream escaped Flint's lips along with a spurt of blood.
Art's figure swayed, once again disappearing. Suddenly appearing in the air above Flint, he leveled a palm at the broken body approaching him. Flint couldn't muster the slightest of defenses, the pain clouding his mind and preventing him from casting any spells. Fear flashed through his eyes as he saw Art again gathering ice mana around his hand.
"Ice Lotus Crown!"
A sharply pointed lotus condensed beneath his palm, radiating the same icy blue chill. Raising his other hand, he blasted out a fist towards the ice lotus, sending it hurtling down towards Flint's body. The central petal would pierce straight through his stomach, destroying Flint's mana reserve.
The headmaster's face twisted. This brat! He clearly said no crippling! The Daymore family was a significant contributor to the school's funding! He jumped forward, stretching out a hand.
"Shit! I won't make it in time!" He cursed.
"ART!" He screamed.
A startled look appeared in Art's cold blue eyes, then a hint of hesitation. It wasn't his style to leave behind a potential disaster. He firmly believed in the saying when cutting the grass you must destroy the roots. He himself knew how big a disaster the syndicate had caused for themselves by not completing their job and leaving him alive.
Then his eyes flashed to Soran. He suddenly lost any will to kill in front of that man. Art's eyes shone with a dazzling blue light. He quickly formed a seal to change the structure of his spell at the last second.
The central spiral of petals that would deal the most damage to Flint suddenly folded in on themselves, leaving only the outermost petals.
Riiiip! The deadly ice petals pierced into Flint's shoulders and thighs, the rounded center crashing into him and immediately reversing the direction of his body, sending him hurtling back into the ground.
The ice lotus slammed into the ground, Flint's mangled body beneath it. The headmaster finally reached the stage, and shattered the ice lotus by drawing the air away from the center of it, causing an implosion of sorts. The medical team quickly followed him.
From their words, it would take almost a month for Flint to regain full use of his arms, and even longer for his mana to stabilize.
Not a word could be heard from the audience full of conflicted faces. There was no need to announce a winner. Art had won in a domineering style, no one could dispute his overwhelming power. And yet... all the money they had bet... tears ran down the faces of a few students...
At this moment, the teacher from the Daymore family appeared on the stage wanting to check the condition of Flint himself. He trembled in rage when he felt how turbulent the condition of Flint's mana and saw the severity of his physical wounds.
"You... Filthy brat! What have you done? I shall punish you myself for violating the rules!" The full force of the aura of an initial ancestor mage exploded out towards Art.
The first years roared in protest.
Art took a step back, opening his senses in full in preparation to defend himself. He could hold his own against normal ancestor mages, but one from the Daymore family....
A figure suddenly appeared by his side, similarly entering a combat ready stance while radiating a blazing heat the somehow intertwined with Art's cold aura in perfect harmony. Soren's strong frame brought a smile to Art's face. The fiery aura of the teacher began to clash with theirs, the very air fluctuating under their strength. Neither could gain an inch, but sweat began appearing on the faces of Art and Soran as they strained against the pressure with all their strength.
"Stop this at once!" The headmaster's stern voice was accompanied by a vast and oppressive aura that suppressed the other three in a timely intervention.
"Arthur in no way violated the rules. Although he was heavy handed, he only dealt surface level physical injuries. The majority of the severe harm was caused by Flint himself when he tried to use a spell beyond his level and sacrificed his own life force to power it. Besides, the only rules were not to cripple or kill anyone - Flint will make a complete recovery within 2 to 3 months."
The teacher paled. He was not used to people going against the Daymore family.
"You... You would defend him?"
"I advise you to drop this matter." The headmaster responded coldly. In truth, he was rather interested in finding out whether the Art and Soran duo could defeat an ancestor stage mage.
The teacher stared at the headmaster for a moment, then sent a dark look towards Art and Soran before returning angrily to Flint's side.
The two straightened up, glancing at each other in relief. Neither wanted to face an ancestor mage.
"Thanks." Art said with a simple smile.