As Tianhui Academy reopened, everyone knew the focus of this semester: the Academy Grand Competition. The top ten would enter the Federal Elite Academy, and the top one hundred would also be able to enter advanced federal academies.
Luo Qingxue and Lin Xiaoyu's current goal wasn't high; getting into the top one hundred would suffice, though to other students, this seemed like a pipe dream.
Before the streamers from the opening ceremony had even landed, the central screen of Tianhui Academy lit up with a crimson countdown:
【The 47th Academy Ability Grand Competition, countdown to start: 23 days 15 hours】
"Did you hear? The top ten this time can enter the Federal Elite Academy!"
"Dream on. If we can make it into the top hundred, we'd be burning high incense. That'd get us into an advanced academy."
"Some F-ranks are still fantasizing... tsk tsk..."
Amidst the discussions, Luo Qingxue calmly bit down on her lollipop and projected the schedule onto her desk.
I helped her mark out the promotion path: 【Must win six consecutive matches to enter the top hundred; potential opponent in the seventh round: Baili Shuang (B-rank Ice-type)】
"Finally, this day has come."
Her fingertip tapped on Baili Shuang's name, and sparks burned a circle of scorch marks around it.
Lin Xiaoyu leaned over to check her own grouping: "Good thing I'm in the lower half, so I won't run into her early."
Then she suddenly lowered her voice, "But I might face Nangong Xiang in the second round..."
"That good-for-nothing?" Luo Qingxue scoffed, "You could take ten of him now."
The training ground lights burned all night.
According to my data analysis, Lin Xiaoyu's Star ability had stabilized at the C-rank threshold, while Luo Qingxue, with my assistance, could reach C+ rank level—though not high, her combat power was not comparable to those with inflated ability rankings.
Although there wasn't much time left until the competition, Luo Qingxue and Lin Xiaoyu continued to train diligently.
First Day of the Grand Competition
"Luo Qingxue vs. Zhang Lie!"
As soon as the referee's words fell, boos erupted from the audience.
Her two-meter-tall opponent appeared with a sneer, his arms already petrified into sharp angles.
B-minus rank Earth-type ability.
"Little sister, it's still not too late to surrender."
Luo Qingxue merely adjusted her wrist guard—an energy regulator I had modified.
When the starting bell rang, she suddenly cut in at an unusual angle, and the rock blade scraped past her back, only slicing through an afterimage.
"Too slow."
As she spun, her palm pressed against her opponent's elbow joint, and a miniature wave of fire precisely injected into the rock cracks.
Zhang Lie screamed, his petrified state instantly Release.
"1 minute 17 seconds!" the referee announced in disbelief, "Winner, Luo Qingxue!"
In the audience, Nangong Xiang violently crushed his drink can: "Just luck..."
Lin Xiaoyu's match was equally spectacular.
Her opponent was a C-rank Water-type ability user, and the entire arena had been transformed into a water prison.
"Little Glow-girl, light refracts in water, you know~" the boy proudly manipulated a water vortex.
Lin Xiaoyu suddenly took off her goggles: "Who told you..." She clasped her hands into a star shape, "...that I only glow?"
A dazzling silver-white beam of light directly vaporized the water curtain, burning a charred warning line in front of the boy's feet.
When the steam dissipated, the audience saw her opponent slumped on the ground, and a star-shaped hole melted through the wall behind him.
"Lin Xiaoyu wins!"
In the subsequent matches, Luo Qingxue and Lin Xiaoyu's performances amazed everyone.
Both successfully entered the top hundred, but Lin Xiaoyu lost to an A-rank ability user in the seventh round, which was still considered a very good result.
Grand Competition, Seventh Round.
When the electronic screen displayed "Luo Qingxue VS Baili Shuang," the entire venue suddenly fell silent.
Everyone knew Baili Shuang and Luo Qingxue were at odds and waited for this good show.
Baili Shuang entered, treading a path paved with ice crystals, each step leaving frost marks on the arena.
"What a pity."
Her fingertips condensed the Baili Family's unique hexagonal ice crystals, "This is as far as you go."
Luo Qingxue didn't reply, simply slowly took off her gloves—this action made Baili Shuang's pupils constrict slightly.
Luo Qingxue's palm revealed ice patterns identical to Baili Shuang's, but with strange flames flickering at the edges.
"Impossible!" Baili Shuang's voice suddenly became sharp, "You stole the Baili Family's..."
"Steal?" Luo Qingxue chuckled, then suddenly clasped her hands into an Ice-type seal, "Watch closely."
"Match start!"
Baili Shuang attacked first, dozens of ice cones erupting from the ground.
But Luo Qingxue merely lightly tapped the ground, and an equal number of ice shards precisely intercepted them, creating a sky full of ice mist upon collision.
Under the cover of the mist, she lunged forward to an extremely close distance, her right hand actually condensing a "Feathered Ice Shield" even purer than Baili Shuang's.
"This move," the ice feather grazed Baili Shuang's cheek, drawing a line of blood, "is used like this, right?"
The audience erupted.
The Baili Family's unique secret technique appearing in an outsider's hands was more humiliating than any attack.
Baili Shuang's face was livid, and she finally unleashed her ultimate move—"Arctic Bloom," instantly enveloping the entire arena in a giant ice lotus.
"Watch out!" Lin Xiaoyu exclaimed from the sidelines.
The moment the ice lotus closed, Luo Qingxue smiled.
She pressed her hands against the ice wall, and her internal energy circulated according to the Baili Family's secret circuit I had analyzed.
An astonishing scene occurred—the ice lotus not only didn't freeze her but instead grew in reverse like a living thing, trapping Baili Shuang herself in the center of the flower!
"How can this be..." Baili Shuang desperately activated her ability, but found the ice lotus completely out of her control.
"The temperature control was off by three degrees," Luo Qingxue's voice resonated through the ice crystals, filling the entire venue, "The energy node shifted by 0.7 millimeters—" She suddenly appeared behind Baili Shuang, "Your Baili Family's teaching standards have regressed."
The final hand-chop stopped at Baili Shuang's nape, and Luo Qingxue whispered into her ear: "This basic combat technique, do I need to teach it to you?"
When the referee announced the result, Baili Shuang was still frozen in place.
And the ranking flickering on the scoreboard silenced all doubters:
【Luo Qingxue advances to the top 32, ability used: Ice-type (rated A)】
"Awesome!" Back in the lounge, Luo Qingxue chugged half a bottle of energy drink, "Did you see her expression?"
The door was suddenly violently pushed open.
Baili Shuang burst in, her eyes red: "Where on earth did you..."
Her questioning stopped abruptly—Ye Hongling had appeared between the two, her dagger pressed against Baili Shuang's throat.
"The match is over."
This police academy senior sister smiled dangerously, "Private duels will result in disqualification, Student Baili."
After Baili Shuang left in a huff, Ye Hongling turned to examine Luo Qingxue: "Dual Ice and Fire? Interesting."
She suddenly reached out and pressed Luo Qingxue's chest, "But the energy circulation pattern... is too much like a certain person."
Of course, Baili Shuang didn't calm down after leaving; instead, she notified her father.
"Patriarch Baili has arrived!"
When the academy broadcast blared an alarm-like notification, Luo Qingxue was in the medical room for post-match recovery.
A sudden blizzard outside the window froze the glass with spiderweb cracks, and the temperature of the entire training ground plummeted by twenty degrees.
"The Baili Family certainly puts on a show." Luo Qingxue sneered, her fingertips flickering with interweaving ice and fire energy.
Through the monitor, I saw that twelve Ice-type ability users from the Baili Family had sealed off the corridor.
The gray-haired man leading them, Baili Ling, the current patriarch, left unique hexagonal frost patterns with every step.
"Luo Family girl." His voice wasn't loud, but it made the medical equipment hum, "Do you know the price for stealing a family's secret technique?"
Lin Xiaoyu nervously grabbed Luo Qingxue's sleeve, while I had already activated the emergency plan: 【Defense Protocol Initiated】
"Price?" Luo Qingxue looked directly at him, and ice crystal patterns identical to Baili Ling's suddenly appeared around her, "Do you mean like this?"
She formed a hand seal, actually summoning a miniature "Arctic Bloom" indoors.
The moment the ice lotus bloomed, the guards behind Baili Ling collectively took half a step back—this was not just an imitation, but an improved version.
"You're seeking death!" Nine ice dragons shot out from Baili Ling's sleeve.
"Boom!"
The ice dragons collided with a suddenly appearing star curtain three meters from Luo Qingxue.
Twenty-eight dazzling stars appeared out of thin air, forming an arcane defensive array.
Amidst the starlight, Luo Tianxing stepped through the air, each step rippling space.
"Attacking my daughter?" Stars revolved in his palm, "Baili Ling, you've crossed the line."
Next was the crisp sound of bells—Su Wan walked from the other side of the corridor, and everywhere she passed, frost melted away.
The healing light dancing on her fingertips seemed gentle, yet it made the Baili Family guards cover their eyes in pain.
"Two SS-ranks personally present..." Baili Ling's face darkened.
"What's wrong? Unhappy??" Luo Tianxing fiercely protected his daughter, "She's my daughter, what's wrong with me protecting her?"
Starlight and frost violently clashed in the air, and the entire medical area began to tremble.
Just as the conflict was escalating, the dean rushed over with the referee team: "Both patriarchs! Private duels are forbidden in the academy!"
Baili Ling snorted and withdrew his ability: "This isn't over."
As he turned, he gave Luo Qingxue a deep look, "Next Grand Competition, my Baili Family will send a true heir."
When the Ice-type ability users retreated, Luo Tianxing put away the stars, turned, and ruffled his daughter's hair: "Well fought."
Three simple words, yet more precious than any praise.
Su Wan, meanwhile, took Luo Qingxue's hand to examine it: "There's slight scorching in the energy channels... Next time, don't run both Ice and Fire abilities simultaneously for more than ten minutes."
"Mom!" Luo Qingxue said, pulling her hand away with a blush, "My next opponent is coming..."
Luo Qingxue's opponent in the eighth round stood on the arena like a steel fortress—Chen Yan, an A-rank Metal-type, his skin gleaming with a dull metallic luster.
Even more troublesome, twelve liquid metal flying blades floated behind him.
"Miss Luo Family."
He tapped his temple, producing a clanging sound, "Your ice and fire are useless against me."
I quickly analyzed: 【Physical Defense S】 【Energy Resistance A】 【Obvious Weakness: Metal Fatigue Cycle】
The moment the match began, Chen Yan displayed terrifying strength.
The flying blades struck at supersonic speed, directly piercing through Luo Qingxue's hastily condensed Ice Shield.
After dodging the first round, her left arm already had three bleeding gashes.
"Is that all?" Chen Yan sneered, and the twelve flying blades suddenly merged into a giant axe and chopped down.
At the critical moment, Luo Qingxue pressed her hands to the ground, simultaneously injecting both Ice and Fire-type energies into the arena.
Under the alternating effects of extreme heat and extreme cold, the alloy arena groaned under the strain.
When the giant axe struck, she suddenly moved sideways—"Crack!" The axe blade actually got stuck in a crack caused by metal fatigue.
"Starlight · Dual Spin!"
Seizing this 0.5-second gap, Luo Qingxue's right palm unleashed fire, her left palm frost, and the two energies spiraled to strike Chen Yan's chest.
Cracks finally appeared on his metallic body for the first time, but they were instantly repaired by the flowing liquid metal.
"Tickles." Chen Yan violently tore open the arena, and the flying blades reassembled into hundreds of steel needles, "Let's see how you dodge this!"
A rain of steel needles covered the entire arena.
Luo Qingxue retreated rapidly, but stepped on the previously condensed dark ice at the edge of the arena—a trap she had created herself!
Seeing no escape, she suddenly remembered the star array her father had demonstrated this morning...
"I'll risk it!"
Ice and fire energy intertwined outside her body into seven miniature stars; though far less than Luo Tianxing's twenty-eight-star array, it was enough to deflect most of the steel needles.
The remaining three pierced the defense but mysteriously hovered half a meter in front of her—Chen Yan's face suddenly changed; his control over metal had been stripped away by some higher-level power.
"This is... Star Gravitation?" someone exclaimed from the referee's stand.
Luo Qingxue herself was stunned until I explained through the terminal: 【Genetic inheritance, ability awakening, estimated duration: 9 seconds】
In these precious nine seconds, she lunged forward, and her dual Ice and Fire energies, amplified by the star array, transformed into a brilliant rainbow light that struck Chen Yan's chest.
His metallic body finally let out a mournful groan under the strain, and countless tiny cracks spread like a spiderweb.
"Surrender!" The referee promptly stopped the match, "Winner, Luo Qingxue!"
When the medical team rushed up, Chen Yan was still staring intently at the lingering starlight around Luo Qingxue: "This isn't just dual Ice and Fire... This is..."
At the highest point of the stands, Ye Hongling put away her recorder and whispered into her communicator: "Confirmed presence of Star characteristics, currently three abilities displayed, no, it should be four now, recommend upgrading monitoring level."
She took one last look at Luo Qingxue, surrounded by her parents, and quietly disappeared into the shadows.