Chapter 168: Beset with Dangers

"What is going on? I always thought that kid's skill was teleportation! I never expected it to be space-time displacement. What kind of spell is that? I've never seen it before!"

Rena, standing nearby, also said indignantly, "Exactly! To actually use such underhanded tricks—if it had been a fair duel, there's no way we could have lost!"

As for the "Mirror Reflection" technique that Ling Xiaolei used at the very end, it was the effect of the "Mirror Stone" gifted to him by the villagers when he traveled to Azure Dragon Mountain to cure the infected. After experiencing the battle against the water-element mage and observing the changes in the water's surface, Ling Xiaolei had suddenly grasped this method of utilizing the mirror plane.

The spectators in the arena were now all swarming around the Holy City Magic Academy, having long since cast the Royal Magic Academy team to the back of their minds.

Mages from other towns in the Central Continent came over one after another to offer their congratulations: "As expected of the Holy City Magic Academy! You've truly brought glory to us folks in the Central Continent!"

Students and teachers from the Holy City Magic Academy also said sincerely, "Congratulations to you all."

The emcee, using wave after wave of ecstatic vocal tones, announced the champion of the tournament: "The champion has been born! Let us congratulate the Holy City Magic Academy! The team that has won the championship of this Magic Combat Tournament is—the Holy City Magic Academy! Let us invite the champion team to take the stage and receive their award!"

The crowd parted to the sides, clearing a path. Under the gaze of everyone present, the six of them walked toward the podium, their faces beaming with joy.

Lord Yisheng of Crimson Flame City stood up from his seat, walked to the front of the trophy, and greeted them with his gaze. Dean Yunlan also stood to one side, along with instructors such as Shifang Cheng and Heyin from the Magic Academy.

As they walked, Yixin whispered quietly, "Accepting a trophy handed over by one's own father feels rather strange."

The others burst into snickers.

Standing to one side, the emcee said, "Now, let us invite the Lord of the Holy City to present the awards to the champion team!"

The six of them walked up to the trophy, lined up in a row, puffed out their chests, and accepted the glory. Yisheng handed the heavy golden trophy into the hands of the captain, Yixin, and said solemnly, "Congratulations on winning the championship. You are the pride of the Holy City, and even more, the future of this continent!"

Hearing these words, the six of them felt their hearts surge. Together, they hoisted the trophy high and waved to the audience below. Another round of endless cheers erupted.

Yisheng looked at his two sons with a sense of gratification, especially seeing the tall figure of Feathers, which momentarily gave him the illusion that Yifeng was standing right by his side.

Lost in this brief reverie, Yisheng, now in middle age, felt a sudden surge of the vicissitudes of time deep within his heart. Memories that were once hard to recall surfaced one by one, and a complex glint of tears—both gratified and regretful—flashed in his eyes.

After the award ceremony concluded, the six turned to face Dean Yunlan. Yunlan was full of praise: "The championship of this year's Magic Combat Tournament is ours in the Holy City once again! We owe it all to you!"

Instructor Shifang Cheng was grinning so broadly he could hardly close his mouth: "As expected of my students. Well done!"

Over the next few days, it was not only a city-wide celebration within the Holy City; following the conclusion of the Magic Combat Tournament, the tournament results spread across the entire continent.

Inside the Imperial Palace of the West Sea Divine Domain, the Thunder Emperor sat high upon his throne, with Imperial Prince Leijue standing to one side. The elders of the Pantheon gathered solemnly in the great hall, standing respectfully with their hands at their sides. One of them said deferentially, "Your Majesty, the results of this year's Magic Combat Tournament are out. The champion of this session is... the Holy City Magic Academy."

The Thunder Emperor did not pay much heed, saying, "It's fine. A competition among a bunch of kids—them winning the championship doesn't signify anything."

The elder continued, "However... two juniors of our clan, Rena and Renuo, also participated in the finals. Yet the one who won the championship was the son of the Crimson Flame City Lord, a youth named Yixin..."

A trace of displeasure flickered across the Thunder Emperor's face, though he did not vent it.

Leijue, upon hearing this, found it somewhat hard to believe: "What? Those two juniors of our clan were personally nurtured by me; a great deal of effort was poured into cultivating them. Both brother and sister possess good innate talent and pure bloodlines, and by only their second year of enrollment, they had already broken through to the peak realm. How could they possibly lose to someone from the Crimson Flame family?"

"This..." The elder did not dare to look the Imperial Prince Leijue in the eye. Lowering his head, he said tremblingly, "I heard that the Crimson Flame brat and his two teammates are all only at the late-stage realm..."

Impairtence began to show on the Thunder Emperor's face. He waved a hand and said, "A squabble among children—what does winning or losing matter! When the time comes for enrollment in the advanced magic academy, we'll let those two clan juniors strive for rankings then. Let's not speak of this matter any further. What else is there to report?"

Another elder standing in the middle of the hall stepped forward hesitatingly and said, "Well... Your Majesty, I have another matter."

"Speak quickly, stop stammering."

"Our outposts on the Red Port coastline report that recently, groups of Dark Elves have constantly been seen gathering sneakily. Furthermore, white-robed mages from the Three Empires have gone missing along the coast.

"Later, through investigations conducted by my subordinates, those Dark Elves crossed the Red Sea and headed toward the Eastern Continent. Sensing that there must be something fishy going on, I sent a few people to tail them in secret. As a result, we discovered that they have established a secret base in the forests of the Eastern Continent! A massive amount of weapons has been stockpiled there, and they are training and nurturing Dark Elf warriors and mages. Leading them is a person who calls himself the Dark Elf King..."

A commotion stirred among the elders, and they began to discuss animatedly: "This is outrageous! What scheme are the Dark Elves plotting this time? Whenever they gather together, nothing good ever comes of it..."

Leijue recalled something: "It's this Ling Xi again. Back in the day, he declared himself king in the dwelling place of the West Sea Dark Elves. I heard he has some capabilities. He had disappeared for many years, only to be plotting a rebellion in the Eastern Lands all along."

The Thunder Emperor flew into a rage. The Dark Elves had always been a thorn in his side, a hidden danger that he could never completely eradicate: "A bunch of mere ants and rats, they can't amount to much! Dispatch a team from the Pantheon to wipe them out!"

Leijue stated, "The Dark Elves must be eliminated, but... the continent is already full of gossip regarding our indiscriminate slaughter of the Dark Elves. Previously, we used the excuse that they destroyed the Tree of Life; now that they have fled to the Eastern Lands, we can't pursue and hunt them down using that same reason anymore. To get rid of them, we cannot act rashly."

"Then, in your view, what should be done?"

Leijue's eyes rolled about. Stepping into the center of the hall, he bowed slightly and presented the scheme he held in his heart: "Your Majesty would do better to first send an envoy bearing a letter to remind this Dark Elf King of some common courtesy, summoning him to the Imperial Palace to pay homage and submit as a vassal. If he obeys, we can continue to live in peace; if he refuses, we will have a justifiable reason to dispatch troops on a punitive campaign."

An elder at the side spoke up, "Your Imperial Highness, you may not realize this, but the Dark Elf race is not one to know what is good for them."

Leijue smiled faintly, as if he had expected this, and continued: "If he refuses, our punitive expedition will be all the more justified. However, dispatching troops directly from the Divine Domain is making too much of a fuss. Aren't there demons in the Eastern Lands? Without wasting a single soldier, we can have the demons east of the Great Wall harass them instead..."