"L-Lady Qing...are you sure about betting that much?" Li Hai Tang murmured, so taken aback that he stuttered a bit, despite usually being very calm and composed. The other two patriarchs were also gaping in shock.

Qing Xin didn't respond, but instead looked towards the transparent speaker room across from their seats. Song Qian Long was currently preparing to announce the start of the first match.

"Lady Qing, I recommend lowering your bet," Xuan Yang suggested. "After all, should you lose, the Qing family will be completely depleted of all land..."

Qing Xin glanced at Xuan Yang in disdain. "Hmph. If you're so concerned, there's always the option of not taking anything even if you win."

"Ah...hahahaha...." Xuan Yang laughed awkwardly, having being caught off guard with this statement.

"Still," Li Hai Tang joined in. "Lady Qing, Class D does not have a chance of winning this tournament. I suggest you reconsider."

"We'll see," Qing Xin responded bluntly.

"Welcome everyone once more to the Advancement Exams of Shenzhen Magic High School!" Song Qian Long's loud voice resounded across the arena, echoing on the walls. "Our first match today will be Class D's The Chaotic Tranquility against Class B's The Lion's Roar - which team will emerge victorious? Please welcome them on stage!"

As cheers erupted in the crowd, the corner of Qing Xin's lips turned slightly upwards.

"Good luck, Yue'Er..."

*****

The silence of the grey corridor was broken by the sudden rumble of the wall - no, door - before us. What had only looked like a wall until now parted cleanly in half, and slid away from each other like automatic door. In front of us was a desert-like atmosphere, the ground made of sand instead of gravel. The sun was directly above us, and I mentally noted that Vanishing Shadows probably would not be very functional in this environment.

I squinted, and could make out five figures on the other side of the arena, wearing a bright gold depicting a royal lion. I grinned, then turned to the four girls, who were already standing at the ready behind me.

"Well, you all ready?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

The four of them all nodded firmly, and I turned back around to face the front.

"Then, let's go."

The five of us stepped unto the bright arena, and so did the opposing team.

"Yo, Xuan Kai," Ming Hao called out to me, to my surprise. "Long time no see, eh?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess?" I responded questioningly.

I was taken aback by his friendly tone, since one, we didn't know each other that well. We met once or twice at best. Two, we were opponents facing off currently. There was no reason to show an enemy any kindness. Did he really have the pleasure of chatting idly with me here right before our fight is about to begin? Was he that confident he could beat us?

"C'mon, why do you sound so dejected? Loosen up more!" Ming Hao continued excessively warmly, which made me uncomfortable.

"Apologies, but this is just how I always am," I replied.

"Heh...well, how about this? If we beat you here, you gotta show me a genuine smile, yeah?" Ming Hao said playfully. It was clear he wasn't taking this seriously at all.

"...You do realize, if you are directly telling me to smile, it won't be genuine?" I muttered just loudly enough for him to hear.

"Ah-" his jaw opened, but he couldn't finish his sentence.

"..."

"Ahahaha....that's embarrassing," he then continued, after awkwardly laughing it off. "Well, no matter. Shall we begin?"

I smirked. "As you wish."

*****

- Ming Hao's Perspective -

There was something off about that guy - Xuan Kai. I could feel it. Since birth, I had the special ability to sense the mana of others. I can tell how strong someone else and what elements they possess just by looking at their mana. At least, that's what I thought until I met Xuan Kai, at the Magic Training Class incident. While to public, it was said that the Awakening Orb just broke down on its own, very few individuals, myself included, knew what really had occurred. The root cause of the incident was without a doubt, Xuan Kai.

Back then, when I entered the room to 'fix' the mana, what the student council president was really telling me to do, was investigate it. The mana emissions were unusual, something I've never seen before. The president must've noticed this as well, and hence told me to go in under the excuse of 'fixing' it. In the end, I just used a Magic Artifact known as the Manascope to suck all the abnormal energy away, and store it within the artifact.

I had then taken the Manascope back home to thoroughly investigate what the mana really was. However, to this day, I still have not reached an answer. That guy, Xuan Kai...his magic was abnormal. His mana did not hint towards any few elements, but instead had traces of every single one, along with an unknown energy that I couldn't even begin to interpret.

Even putting that strange power aside, having traces of every single element within his mana...was simply impossible. That meant he had an affinity for every single element. No one - and I mean no one in history - has ever had affinity for all 21 elements. In the end, I concluded that the reason for there being traces of every element in his mana to be that their entire class was doing the monthly Awakening Orb system on that day, and some of other people's mana must've been caught up in the explosion.

Still, that left the question of the mysterious energy that made up 80% of the sample I had taken. Although I couldn't identify what exactly it was, I could feel its dark and ominous energy. It was, without a doubt, extremely powerful. But if so, how did Xuan Kai, who was born without magic, obtain this power? There were endless mysteries to that guy...perhaps even more so than myself.

I have, of course, relayed all of this information to the school council president already. He told me to keep an eye on Xuan Kai, and watch for any suspicious or peculiar movements. Though so far, he hasn't done anything out of the ordinary...

For this battle, I will stay back and observe. Xuan Kai...what will you do, I wonder?

*****

- Xuan Kai's Perspective -

"3, 2, 1 - Battle begin!" Song Qian Long's voice marked the beginning of our match. However...

Silence.

"Huh?" Confusion and murmurs broke out among the crowd.

"What the heck?"

"Why aren't they fighting?"

Indeed - the battle began with a loud mechanical beep, but neither teams moved. We both stood our ground, neither budging an inch. I grinned at Ming Hao in a challenging manner. I then made a hand gesture at them as if beckoning them to come.

Ming Hao, sensing my intentions, laughed. "So this is how it is...you saw through my plan, huh?"

"I don't know what your motive is for doing so, and I don't care either," I replied. "But for the sake of this battle, why don't we drop all the careful scheming and just have a proper fight?"

After some careful consideration, Ming Hao stepped forward. "Hm...I like that proposal. How about this then - just you and me, 1 on 1."

"L-Leader?!" a boy who appeared to be the team's vanguard turned to look at his leader in shock. This also confirmed my suspicions about Ming Hao being the team leader, though I was already 90% sure.

"Don't worry about it, lil' Nan," Ming Hao smiled reassuringly. "What, you don't believe in my capabilities?"

The boy who was addressed with affection faltered. "N-No, it's not that...are you sure though?"

"Yeah. As long as Xuan Kai accepts," Ming Hao replied, eyeing me purposefully.

I smiled. "Sure. Simple and direct. I like it."

"We are both team leaders, so naturally, whichever one of us gets defeated will mark the loss of the entire team," Ming Hao explained as I listened in thought.

I then nodded. "You're right. So, how are we doing this? Are we doing things violently or keeping it a friendly bout?"

Ming Hao laughed. "Friendly bout, huh? So you finally consider me a friend?"

I scratched my cheeks awkwardly. "Just an expression..."

"Well, in any case - let's keep things friendly then. I will do my best not to injure you too hard, but no promises."

I scoffed. What a deceptive person. First he says 'let's keep things friendly', and in the next second he says he probably won't injure me too hard.

"Tch...just don't hurt yourself trying," I responded with a defiant sneer.

Ming Hao smiled as if acknowledging my challenge, and turned back around to face his team. "Team members of The Lion's Roar, listen up - stand back, as far as possible. Understood?"

The four members of his team, although reluctantly, all moved back a few paces to the corridor where they had came from, though not inside completely. I looked behind me, and similarly told the girls to move back. They nodded, in complete agreement and understanding. And then, just when I was about to move closer to the center of the arena in preparation for our duel-

A hand tugged on my sleeve. I turned around.

"...?"

It was Qing Yue. She beamed at me brightly. "Good luck, Big Brother Xuan Kai!"

I smiled in return, and nodded. "Yeah. Thanks."

Turning, around, I began walking towards the center of the arena, where Ming Hao was already waiting. My thoughts at the time?

Even if it was only to see that cheerful smile of my little sister's again...I would win this fight, no matter what.