Kai Fan propelled himself across the stage in a series of sparks, throwing his Lightning Fist straight at my face. I braced myself, knowing I wouldn't be able to avoid his punch in time. There was only the option to meet his attack head-on.
Obviously, I had no intention of punching him back. What, did you guys think I was Ming He or somebody? I didn't have any Extraordinary Evolution or Advanced Evolution to help me. I was just a summoner.
And an archer.
"We're allowed to use treasure weapons for the combat round, right?" I had asked the assistants earlier. Even in front of the main supervisor, Yan Jin, to ensure he wouldn't go back on his word and disqualify me for "cheating" later. In front of the public, they agreed.
"Yeah, you are. Everyone's using treasure weapons for this. It'll be weird if you're not allowed to."
Ge was quick in replying, though she and Shi glanced at Yan Jin. He didn't seem to care and basically waved his okay. The guy was confident that Kai Fan would defeat me no matter what weapon I wielded.
All the better for me, especially since I wasn't good in empty-handed combat.
Kai Fan didn't know all of this. All he knew was that he had the opportunity to waste me in close combat, and he took it. Like a lightning bolt, he seared across the arena to annihilate me, only for my azure arrow to slam into his fist. There was a huge explosion and he was sent hurtling backward, his hand smoking.
"What the hell?!"
"What's the matter?" I asked, lowering my bow slightly and conjuring a second arrow. "I simply gave it my best shot, that's all."
"Your best shot?" Kai Fan sneered. "That was your best shot? Hah! You really should have just forfeited, you trash! You are a trash who can't even make the cut for the elite class, and have to settle for the regular curriculum! You're so weak that you can't compare with the likes of young master Shao Ye! Do you think you can get admitted to Divine Path University with your strength?"
"Sh!" Shao Ye was trying to hush him from the sidelines, panicking. "Shut up! Stop blabbering nonsense, Kai Fan! I didn't pay you to say all that bullshit!"
Kai Fan didn't hear him and was continuing, despite the blank stares from Ge, Shi and many of the other students present who attended the same Divine Path Academy as I did.
"Did you ever think you can compete against young master Shao? You are nothing more than trash!"
"Is that guy serious? Doesn't he know who his opponent is? And he's saying he can't compare to the likes of Shao Ye?"
"That's the winner of the interclass tournament, twice in a row, right? Shao Ye forfeited the tournament twice because he didn't dare to face him in combat. So why is Kai Fan saying that he can't compete against Shao Ye?"
"Nonsense! If Song Jun Wen is trash, then what does that make the majority of Divine Path Academy? Even the talented and beautiful ice queen lost to him in the tournament. Twice! And he's one of the only two Mystic ranked cultivators in the school! How can he be trash?!"
The spectators were snorting and ridiculing Kai Fan, but he was too far away to hear them. So intent on insulting me, he was lost in his own world.
"Personally, I don't know why I even bothered. You're too weak to fight against someone of my caliber. This is a total waste of my time."
I sighed and shook my head. "Then why did you volunteer in the first place?"
"I…I am here because the school requested it!"
"No, we didn't." Ge spoke up, causing everyone to turn toward her. She shrugged. "You're the one who volunteered yourself. I said it was unfair for the rookies to have to face you, but you said something about needing to maintain the high standards of the university."
Everyone turned silent, casting dark glances at a blushing Kai Fan. Veins bulged and popped in his face and he gritted his teeth as he struggled to control his temper. He jabbed a finger at me and began yelling.
"So what if I volunteered? This is a recruitment exam! As your examiner, if I say you fail, then you fail! You have no right to enroll in a prestigious school like Divine Path University!"
"Actually, that's not true." Shi was the one who spoke up this time. "We as the invigilators are the ones who will decide if the candidate passes or fail. You can't just arbitrarily fail a candidate for no reason like that. Don't forget, you're just a student. You don't have the authority to admit or deny students enrollment."
"Ugh…" Yan Jin was burying his face in his palm, unable to help Kai Fan because this whole thing was being recorded and streamed in public. It would be too suspicious if he took the dude's side and cause a scandal for the university. "Why can't that idiot shut up? He's making our university look bad…"
"W…whatever! Just shut up and fight already!" Kai Fan sprinted forward once more, throwing another Lightning Punch. I dodged it, only for him to execute a Thunder Break that obliterated the ground I was standing on. Keeping my distance, I fired a volley of azure arrows, only for him to create a crackling ball of electricity and blow them up before they could reach him. He sneered. "Did you think those would work against me?"
"No," I replied, suddenly in front of him. Kai Fan's eyes widened and he threw a hook in reflex, lightning searing the air above me when I ducked. Dropping to the ground, I kicked him in the jaw and sent him flying upward with enough force to dislodge a tooth.
"What?! When did he…?!"
He barely opened his eyes while soaring in midair, only to catch sight of me already above him and preparing another arrow. Before he could react, my azure arrow slammed into him before drilling him deep into the ground, his silhouette vanishing in an explosion.
Landing some distance away in a crouch, I straightened my spine. Then I dove to the side, just in time to evade a web of lightning. Rolling away, I spotted embers ripping apart the smoke caused by the earlier explosion, and Kai Fan emerged, his figure blazing.
"Did you think Berserk Lightning Fist was the only technique I mastered?" He scoffed. "I'm a dual element user! A versatile mage…ahem, I mean cultivator!"
A torrent of flames washed over the stage, scorching the concrete black. I managed to evade it once more, flipping myself above the superheated stream and landing a few meters away. Kai Fan wasn't done, tossing a few more fireballs in my direction, but I shot them down with azure arrows.
"Incredible! No wonder Kai Fan is among the top ten! He has dual element attribute!"
"I've never seen any other cultivator wield fire and lightning elements at the same time! He has the right to be arrogant!"
While I was distracted, Kai Fan launched a thunderbolt from the heavens, which slammed down on my position. If I hadn't instinctively jumped away, I would have been electrocuted.
"Hah! Look at you scampering about like a mouse! You can't even fight back!"
Even as he hovered in the air, he drew the electricity from the clouds to hurl a hail of thunderbolts in my direction.
"DIE!"
What was he, a cliché cultivation villain? Surely, he had less cheesy lines than that…
Nonetheless, I had more important things to worry about. Closing my eyes, I murmured a line. The next second, about ten Little Anglers appeared around me. Forming a protective ring, they raised their glowing anglers and absorbed the electricity from the heavens, increasing their own power. But they didn't fire back.
Instead, that was my role. While the smoke cleared, I released my arrow. With his vision obscured by the smog, Kai Fan didn't see the danger until it was too late. My projectile struck him in the gut and exploded violently, flinging his fuming body across the stage and sending him crashing into the ground in an undignified heap.
"You're kidding! The dual element cultivator was the one who got defeated!?"
"Is Kai Fan really among the top ten in the second year? Why is he getting thrashed by a student who hasn't even enrolled in our school yet?"
"The idiot still had the gall to call Song Jun Wen trash. If Song Jun Wen is trash, then what is he? Shit? What about all the other students in the second year, are they so weak that such a loser can make it to the top ten?"
"He he he he…"
Despite swaying unsteadily, Kai Fan chuckled. Lightning crackled and fire blazed around him, the two elements combusting violently to destroy his surroundings in a show of force. With a roar, he launched lightning and fire at me, the elements combining to form a gigantic two-headed dragon.
"You've succeeded in pissing me off, Song Jun Wen! I'm no longer going to hold back! I'm going to completely incinerate you! Erase you from existence! FIRE-LIGHTNING CELESTIAL DRAGON SLAYER!"
"Wow…so powerful," I said sarcastically as I watched the golden and crimson two-headed dragon descend upon me. Roaring silently, they gouged a trail across the stage, leaving scorched concrete in their wake and a tang of static that made my hair stand on end. Even so, I felt no fear as I confronted the dual elemental behemoth.
Instead, I drew Azure Dragon. Holding the sword in both hands, I swung it and cleaved the two-headed dragon apart in a single blow. Fire dispersed into harmless embers and lightning dissipated into little sparks all around me, shockwaves violently buffeting the surroundings and causing the spectators to yelp and duck in their seats.
"No…no way! Impossible!" Kai Fan spluttered in disbelief. "That was my strongest strike!"
Then he shuddered when he saw a towering shadow engulf him. Turning around, he saw the Guardian Golem that had manifested behind him. Before he could say anything, the Mystic ranked spirit beast swatted him to the ground, and then proceeded to pummel him. Concrete cracked and tremors rippled from the crumbling coliseum as the Guardian Golem hammered Kai Fan again and again, breaking every bone in his body and leaving a bloody mess.
"Enough." I held up my hand. The Guardian Golem stopped, still kneeling, and then vanished from sight when I dismissed him back to my dungeon.
"W…what the hell is that?! You're a spirit beast tamer?!" Bloodied and battered, Kai Fan was somehow still conscious. Unable to get up because his arms and legs appeared to be broken or sprained, he stared up at me in fear.
"Something like that," I replied.
"N…nobody told me about that!"
"Blame Shao Ye then. I wasn't the one who bribed you into challenging me."
Kai Fan spat out a mouthful of blood and shuddered, his eyes wide. "Y…you knew?"
"It was obvious. You and Teacher Yan are clearly in league with each other." I turned away as the medics hurried forward with a stretcher. "Rest well in the hospital. I hope you have health insurance."
"Bro, that was so cool!" One of the other examinees leaped down to high five me. "I didn't think you were so strong! And that was a Guardian Golem, right? Summoning those Little Anglers was surprising enough, but to think you had a Guardian Golem hidden up your sleeve?! You're one of those new spirit beast tamers, aren't you? I heard such techniques were only recently developed last year, but I didn't think I would actually see someone use them! Where were you hiding your spirit beasts? You have an invisibility technique or something?"
He looked around, as if expecting to see their shimmering silhouettes hidden from sight somewhere. I snorted and shook my head.
"More like teleportation technique."
"Huh?! I've never heard of that before."
"Yeah, well…it's an ability unique to me." I paused in front of the podium where the supervisors sat. "Teachers, did I pass the combat exam?"
"Teacher Yan," Ge whispered urgently. "Student Song Jun Wen has already displayed such an impressive combat ability. If you still refuse to recruit him, and the higherups learn of this, you will have to take responsibility. And people will call into question your decisions."
"Enroll him! Enroll him!" The other students were chanting, trying to pressure him. Yan Jin gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot as he glowered at me.
"Don't get cocky! Our Divine Path University doesn't lack geniuses who are talented in combat!"
"I understand, Teacher Yan." I bowed my head. "I'll do my best to keep up and continue to work hard to improve my skills."
"If you're aware, then that's good." Yan Jin huffed. "Congratulations on becoming a student of Divine Path University."
"Are you sure you don't want to apply for the elite class?" Ge asked. I shook my head and smiled.
"Thank you, but no. I prefer the regular class."
"I see. If that's your decision…" Ge sighed and nodded before smiling. "Once again, congratulations on becoming a student of Divine Path University. I look forward to seeing you around, student Song Jun Wen."