- After the Duel, Waiting Room -

(Xuan Kai's Perspective)

"Hah..." I sank into the soft and comfy couch, exhausted.

We were currently in our team's designated waiting room. After I knocked Ming Hao unconscious with my Earth Element attack, our victory was announced and he was sent directly to the school infirmary. Since the outdoor Arena wasn't that far from the school campus, I assume the trip didn't take long. He should be waking up soon.

That being said, what I did back there was a risky move. I had to win while hiding my true strength as much as possible, but Ming Hao forced me to show one of my secrets - being able to cast magic without chanting.

At the time, I had moved my mouth to make it seem like I had chanted, just really quietly. However, the spell I had used, Stalagmite, in fact needed the user to slam their palm into the ground and send their mana to the exact point they wanted the attack to rise from. Since I didn't need to chant, I naturally also didn't need to do the necessary actions. I could cast a spell with a single thought, now that my mana was constantly active thanks to Mei Gui.

I could fool most people with my little act, but true experts like the patriarchs of the Four Great Families or Liu Jian would still be able to tell I was abnormal. But alas, had I not used this move, I would've lost the match. There was nothing I could do now but hope for the best.

Still...Ming Hao had proved to be a bigger threat than I had thought. I had discretely used Psychic Magic at the end to erase part of his memories, but I didn't have enough time to thoroughly complete the spell before his teammates, lil'Nan in particular, came rushing over. I was forced to pretend nothing had happened and walked back to my own side.

It was then that Qing Yue decided to hop on the couch as well...or rather, my lap.

"Qing Yue?" I was taken by surprise by the sudden weight that fell atop my navel area.

"Mm...good job today, Big Brother Xuan Kai..." she murmured, rubbing her head into my chest.

I smiled and patted her head gently. "Yeah...thanks."

Feng Mian then plopped down beside me, and folded her arms over her generous bosom. "We can't relax just yet, we still have to fight whoever wins this next match..."

Then, the TV flickered to life once more as if it had been listening in to our conversation. Shown on screen was Song Qian Long, in the middle of broadcasting within the speaker room.

Yu An Xue and Yu An Yan then sat down to my left, the latter grabbing an apple off the platter placed on the table. "How did you beat him anyway, Xuan Kai? You were pinned down by Ming Hao, and all of us totally thought you were going to lose."

"...Seriously? Where's your faith in me?" I asked, slightly disappointed.

"I knew you were going to win, Big Brother Xuan Kai..." Qing Yue murmured in response, snuggling even closer to me.

"Thank you, Qing Yue..." I relaxed and let myself be embraced by her.

"I-I mean, can you really blame us?" Feng Mian spoke up in Yu An Yan's defense. "You looked powerless in front of Ming Hao's Gravity Magic...we knew you were holding back as to not show your true strength, but we couldn't help but hold some feelings of worry."

Yu An Yan nodded along, taking a bite out of her apple. "But hey, don't dodge the question. Nom...nom...how did you beat him anyway?"

"Well...it was a hunch, to be honest," I admitted.

"A...hunch?" Yu An Xue echoed, the first time she spoke since this conversation began. "What do you mean...?"

Since the other girls seemingly had the same question (except for Qing Yue, who was hugging me happily without a care in the world), I sighed and began explaining, though not before running a Detect Presence in the area and also making sure there weren't any wiretaps or cameras in the room.

"So, you all know that I can cast magic without chanting, correct?"

They all nodded. I continued. "Well...I was thinking, if I can cast magic without a chant, then I should also be able to cast magic without doing the necessary actions, no?"

"Ahh...certainly, that is true. Most spells require a special action from the caster to actually activate," Yu An Yan said before taking another bite out of her apple.

"I can't believe you...what is that luck you have?" Feng Mian sighed exasperatedly. "But you can't count on just luck every time, you know..."

I shrugged. "Yeah, I know. This time I just got lucky, the next time probably won't go as well...but still, it worked out fine in the end."

"Well, whatever," Yu An Yan stretched her arms, having finished her apple. "Let's watch the next battle between Class A and Class C."

"Right..." I said, beginning to turn my head towards the TV, but then quickly snapped back to Yu An Yan, remembering something. "Wait, you ate the core of the apple too?!"

She stared at me and nodded as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Um...yeah? Why?"

"...Okay, buddy..." I slowly averted my gaze, and prepared to watch the next fight between Xuan Kun and Liao Fen.

Still though...who the heck eats the core of apples?

*****

- Outside, Spectator Platform -

"To think Class D's team would win against Class B's..." Li Hai Tang, the patriarch of the Li family, murmured in surprise as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Hmph...they got lucky and nothing more," Xuan Yang retorted disdainfully.

"Oho...how crass," Yu Ao remarked. "That boy...Xuan Kai, was it? He is from your family, no?"

The reason he feigned not knowing Xuan Kai was to avoid any unnecessary trouble. It would be a problem if anyone found out about their relationship. There was no reason why the patriarch of one of the Four Great Families of Shenzhen should know the exiled son of another, especially someone with no power such as Xuan Kai.

The only possible explanation was that by some twist of fate his daughter fell in love with the boy in question. While he did welcome Xuan Kai as a son-in-law, if baseless rumors began spreading before the matter was actually decided, should Xuan Kai reject the offer, it would be quite the disaster for the Yu family's reputation. That is why, for the sake of his family, until Xuan Kai officially accepts the marriage, Yu Ao has no choice but to pretend he didn't know him.

Xuan Yang, however, was in far more of a hurry to cut off any ties he has with the boy. "Correction, Patriarch Yu - that boy WAS from my family. However, he has long since been exiled."

This caused Li Hai Tang to perk up in curiosity, which could spell trouble for Xuan Yang.

"Oh? Why was he exiled?" Li Hai Tang asked. "He seems more than capable to me, being able to defeat the student council vice-president of the school."

"A-Ah, patriarch Li...this is quite an embarrassing story on my part, but I'm sure you've heard of the boy with no magic," Xuan Yang hurriedly said in a fluster.

"Hmm...yes, I do believe hearing about that sometime. You are saying that this Xuan Kai is the boy born with no magic?"

"Precisely," Xuan Yang replied. "That is the reason we exiled him out of the house. The Xuan family has no need for useless wastes."

Yu Ao's eyes narrowed dangerously at this, possibly due to natural paternal protection, but didn't say anything. Qing Xin also sent Xuan Yang a stare full of killing intent, but similarly kept silent. The reason for this was Xuan Kai being her sister's son. In other words, Qing Xin was Xuan Kai's aunt.

While in public, it was announced that Xuan Kai's parents were assassinated by an unknown organization, Qing Xin had her doubts. Organizations powerful enough to take down two extremely talented Advanced Mages would not do so for no reason. Someone powerful must've asked them to, be it with money or some other reward. As for the identity of that someone...Qing Xin strongly surmised it was someone within the Xuan family - and Xuan Yang was her prime suspect.

Li Hai Tang, unlike the other two, didn't seem angry at this statement, but instead sighed in...disappointment, almost?

"Useless waste, you say? Hmph, that boy is anything but a useless waste. I judge him to be on the same level as your son Xuan Kun, if not stronger," Li Hai Tang mused. "Truly...what a misjudgement on the Xuan family's part. You all lost a peerless talent from one hasty, irreversible decision."

"Y-Yes..." Xuan Yang hung his head in embarrassment. Having no choice but to go along with what Li Hai Tang said, he was made a fool out of today, in front of the three patriarchs and everyone watching in the stands. Deep within his mind, a dark emotion begin bubbling, something along the lines of:

'Xuan Kai...you made me suffer shame today. A year ago, I let you survive in order to make you experience the pain of losing your parents. But you have crossed the line...very soon, I will have you die a miserable death.'

As he was thinking this, however, Song Qian Long cleared his throat from the speaker room, and began announcing the next fight.

"Next up - Class 2-C's team, Death's Door, versus Class 2-A's team, The Cursed Warlocks! Which team will come out on top in this bout, and advance to the finals?! Let us welcome them on the Arena!"

The metal doors across from each other within the hexagonal arena slid open, and two teams of five emerged. From one side, Liao Fen's haughty face came into view, while on the other, Xuan Kun's wicked grin came to light.

"Heh...Xuan Kun, huh?" Liao Fen said condescendingly with his arms folded in contempt. "So you're the infamous Curse Magic wielder in our school. Hate to tell ya, but your magic ain't gonna do shit against me."

Xuan Kun responded with a sneer. "That's rich, coming from a piece of trash still stuck in Class C."

"This Class C student will break your neck today," Liao Fen shot back. "Prepare yourself, Mr. Cursed Warlock."

As he said the last part in a mocking tone, Xuan Kun's grin spread even wider.

"Heheh...Likewise, Solo Devil."