This time, the exchange students were led by Teacher Gu Han, with Professor Qiu Yuhua responsible for accompanying and giving lectures. After touring places like the Great Wall in the Imperial Capital, they arrived at the Imperial Capital Academy. Upon entering the academy, a designated teacher quickly arranged for them to stay in the student dormitories.
By now, everyone had reached the level of mid-tier mages, which was comparable to graduate students. So naturally, their living conditions were quite good. The dormitories had common halls, and each student had their own private room. The building was quite tall, and they were conveniently near the top floors.
While they were selecting rooms, the teacher in charge of receiving them, Teacher Lu, spoke up: "Teacher Gu Han, Professor Qiu Yuhua, please let your students rest here. Tomorrow afternoon, exchange students from six other schools will be arriving, and then we will have a magical duel between the schools."
"So soon?" Teacher Gu Han was taken aback.
Magical duels between schools were a must for exchange programs, but it was surprising that it was happening so quickly.
"The timing is perfect. This is always a big event every year. Besides, apart from the duels, there will also be trials, so it's better to start early." Teacher Lu said with a smile.
As he spoke, Teacher Lu glanced at Mo Fan.
Indeed, the recent events at Pearl Academy had caused a stir across all the advanced academies. Even though Dean Xiao had tried to suppress some of the news, word of Mo Fan's natural dual elements had already spread.
A naturally gifted dual-element mage, who had mastered mid-tier magic in both elements and possessed a warrior-class magic wolf—combined with the destructive power of lightning and fire magic—was an opponent other schools would find hard to deal with.
But Teacher Lu wasn't too worried. After all, while Pearl Academy had Mo Fan, the Imperial Capital Academy had Mu Ningxue!
It wouldn't be impressive to defeat some no-name opponent. But defeating someone renowned like Mo Fan would solidify the Imperial Capital Academy's position as the undisputed leader.
Of course, Teacher Lu had also heard rumors about Mo Fan's abilities supposedly reaching mid-tier level three, but he didn't believe those exaggerated tales.
"Tomorrow, I'll come to pick you all up. Pearl Academy's students, we've heard about your exploits and are all eager for a match. Please, be merciful." Teacher Lu continued with a smile.
Seeing the insincere look on his face, Teacher Gu Han let out a cold snort.
He then turned to Mo Fan and said, "Mo Fan, bring out the arrogance you always show at Pearl Academy and crush them for me. If anything happens, I'll take full responsibility!"
Being assigned to the Imperial Capital Academy had subjected him to plenty of scolding from the higher-ups.
Now that they were in the Imperial Capital, with the opposing teachers speaking so smugly, did they really think Teacher Gu Han had no temper?
"Got it." Mo Fan responded confidently.
After all, he had come to challenge them in the first place. With Teacher Gu Han's encouragement, he felt even less need to hold back.
The other students couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the exchange students from the Imperial Capital Academy. After all, they were well aware of how strong Mo Fan had become.
As Teacher Lu left the dormitory and headed toward the training grounds, he reflected on the preparations the Imperial Capital Academy had made. Each year, they took the exchange duels very seriously. The students selected to face the exchange students were the best of the best, so skilled that even some of the teachers were impressed by their power.
This year, they had the added challenge of facing Pearl Academy, and they were eager to prove their superiority, especially with someone as talented as Mo Fan in the mix.
"Teacher Lu, have the exchange students from Pearl Academy arrived?" a muscular man, with a physique as solid as rock, asked in the middle of the training ground.
"They've arrived." Teacher Lu nodded.
"Haha! Those weaklings from Pearl Academy are always bragging. This time, we've finally drawn them as opponents. I'll crush every single one of them, and let's see if they still dare to challenge us afterward!" The muscular man thumped his chest and laughed boisterously.
"Pearl Academy is all talk, no real power. They can't stand being second to us, but they just don't have the strength to change it." said a well-dressed student standing nearby.
"Hmph, I saw someone named Mo Fan boasting on the campus network. He's given himself so much credit, but I wonder if he's actually here." commented another student, standing next to a fierce wolf with purple-blue fur.
The next morning was dedicated to duels between the other schools and the Imperial Capital Academy. The real showdown between Pearl Academy and the Imperial Capital Academy was set for the afternoon. Mo Fan didn't bother attending the morning matches, preferring to rest until it was time.
In the afternoon, Mo Fan made his way to the dueling arena at the Imperial Capital Academy.
The arena was impressive, with grand white columns outside that brought to mind the majesty of an ancient Roman colosseum. The circular, ring-shaped structure had intentionally designed honeycomb-like openings that enhanced its visual appeal.
When Mo Fan arrived, he saw he was just in time for the Pearl Academy versus Imperial Capital Academy match.
Both teams stood face to face, tension in the air.
Due to Mo Fan's reputation, the first team from Pearl Academy to enter the arena included Song Xia, Mu Nujiao, Zhao Manyan, and Peng Liang.
The Imperial Capital team consisted of Xu Dalong, Liao Mingxuan, Jingjing, and Zhao Mingyue.
As soon as the battle began, it was clear that Pearl Academy lacked some coordination, but in terms of individual strength, the Imperial Capital team was clearly at a slight disadvantage.
Especially when Mu Nujiao unleashed her second-level Wind Spiral, which swiftly determined the outcome of the match. Without the use of magical tools, the Imperial Capital team couldn't keep up.
In this first round, the Imperial Capital Academy suffered a defeat.
This loss was hard for them to swallow. Losing to Pearl Academy, without even using magical tools, made it clear that the Imperial Capital team's strength wasn't quite up to par.
Even though no spectators were allowed beyond the exchange students, other schools were watching too. This defeat was a serious blow to the Imperial Capital Academy's pride.
In the second round, Mo Fan stepped into the arena, alongside Luo Song, Shen Mingxiao, and Zheng Bingxiao.
The Imperial Capital team, having just lost a round, fielded Mu Ningxue, Lu Zhenghe, Ming Cong, and Xiaofeng for this match.
(End of Chapter)