The big chiefs of Greenhold Academy stared at Kai Dawnsworn as if he were some mythical creature.

He inscribed the scrolls with a speed that defied comprehension. This was more than skill—it was mastery over the perception of Mana itself. Even without the scrolls, Kai could initiate spells far above his level and plane.

"Looks like we missed someone on the List of Excellence for the Fall Quarter Exam, and this guy is now on probation. Anyone mind explaining that?" the Director of the Hall of Thunder Element demanded, casting a sharp, icy glance at Tom.

Tom's expression turned pale. Yu Sheng, now Boomer, had already displayed immense talent, while Gary had faltered under pressure. And now, Kai's prodigious skill only made Tom's misjudgments painfully obvious.

Kai's golden eyes never wavered from his work. The pencil in his hand danced like a bolt of lightning over the scrolls, weaving patterns of power with near-divine precision.

Tiger, however, was boiling with frustration. His Spell Matrix, a masterpiece of his Blade-Seer abilities, could not pierce the defenses Kai was crafting. Each of his attacks—some even beyond the Plane of Awakening—was intercepted with effortless precision. The crowd watched in silent awe as Kai blocked every spell with the swish of his pencil, never once breaking his focus.

Finally, Kai completed a scroll. A faint, almost imperceptible smile curved his lips. He set down the pencil, and from the finished scroll erupted a storm of thunder, roaring toward Tiger with overwhelming force.

"Frost Barrier!" Tiger cried, wrapping himself in the ice he had summoned. He looked like a sculpture carved from the purest glacier. Frost Barrier was one of the highest-level water-element defense spells in the Planes of Awakening, and even that might not hold against Kai's audacious attack.

The thunderstorm didn't strike the frost directly. Instead, it ripped at the patterns of Tiger's Spell Matrix, carving through the intricate lines of his magical architecture.

"Be careful! He's targeting your matrix!" someone from Blackbell Academy shouted, but their warning barely registered over the roar of the storm.

Kai rose to his feet with fluid grace, moving like a gale-force wind toward Tiger. His speed was terrifying, leaving the Blade-Seer no time to react.

Tiger's cold aura flared, drawing Mana from the world into his body. He tried to become a living matrix, generating frost lances to meet Kai's approach. His hair and eyebrows tinged with gray and white as the freezing air thickened around him. He locked eyes with Kai, directing every ounce of his icy wrath at the boy before him.

Tiger's cold aura flared, drawing Mana from the world into his body. He tried to become a living matrix, generating frost lances to meet Kai's approach. His hair and eyebrows tinged with gray and white as the freezing air thickened around him. He locked eyes with Kai, directing every ounce of his icy wrath at the boy before him.

"Die!" Tiger's voice thundered, and a barrage of frost lances shot toward Kai's heart. Each lance gleamed like a shard of frozen death, precise and merciless.

Then, a flame ignited in front of Kai. From it, an inferno blossomed, engulfing him. Soon, countless flames surrounded him in a blazing aura.

"Grand Meteor?" whispered the onlookers of Greenhold Academy in confusion. The spell itself was basic, almost trivial, yet here it radiated raw destructive intent.

How had Kai controlled the fire-elemental Mana in this space? Such precision and perception should have been impossible for a cultivator at the Plane of Awakening.

"His perception is at the pinnacle," someone realized aloud. "Martial spell craft and thunder-element perception at the highest level… and now fire-element perception as well?"

The Grand Meteor was not intended as a full attack. Tiger briefly raised his hand, letting his frost consume the flames—but more fire surged, blinding his vision. Kai was using it as a distraction, closing the distance with terrifying speed.

Tiger steeled himself. Every possible attack had been anticipated—yet the boy moved faster than thought, like fire given form.

Suddenly, Kai bolted to Tiger's side. Fury and disbelief warred across the Blade-Seer's face as the frost lances he sent forth melted instantly upon touching Kai's burning body.

Suddenly, Kai bolted to Tiger's side. Fury and disbelief warred across the Blade-Seer's face as the frost lances he sent forth melted instantly upon touching Kai's burning body. The heat radiating from him was enough to turn the frozen air into steam.

Kai became a living furnace, flames licking his skin, his body blazing like a miniature sun. Normally, water could counter fire, yet the intensity of his flame overpowered the cold with terrifying efficiency.

"No! Tiger, fall back!" the eagle-eyed leader screamed. But it was too late. Kai's form leapt into the air, flames dancing like a roaring dragon around him. He bore down on Tiger with unstoppable force. The ice matrix offered no refuge; Tiger's Spell Matrix strained to absorb the remaining frost energy, but the impact was inevitable.

A dragon's roar seemed to tear through the arena itself. Tiger was hurled into the air, the flames searing his skin, scorching every inch of his body.

Members of Blackbell Academy rushed to catch him, their faces pale with worry. Blood ran freely from his mouth, yet Tiger muttered through the pain, voice hoarse but proud: "I… won't die."

His eyes, still sharp and arrogant, locked on Kai. A Blade-Seer of Awakening had been defeated by someone on the same plane—a fact that was impossible to deny.

Kai, standing amid the swirling flames and smoke, looked at Tiger calmly, his golden eyes serene. "Someone once told me—a Blade-Seer never loses, right?"

Another gush of blood dribbled from Tiger's mouth. Once the pride of Blackbell Academy, he had never before been humiliated like this. Yet here he was, forced to acknowledge defeat, etched into memory by Kai's overwhelming skill.

"Who… are you?" Tiger croaked, every word a struggle as he tried to memorize the face of this prodigy.

Kai smiled faintly, almost ethereal in the firelight. "I am Kai Dawnsworn."

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