...
{3rd Pov}
"FUCK IT! We're going to put this arrogant bastard in his place, even if it takes us ten rounds!" one student roared.
His shout immediately ignited the competitive spirit of the others.
Within moments, a team of ten mages had been assembled. Every one of them was at Novice Tier 3, and unlike the previous challengers, this group had clearly thought through their strategy. They had carefully balanced their lineup, ensuring they possessed defensive mages, offensive mages, support, and mobility specialists. Their elemental composition complemented one another well, making them a far more troublesome team than the random groups that had challenged Mo Fan earlier.
As the referee raised his hand and gave the signal for the battle to begin, Astreo's purple eyes suddenly glowed with a faint pink hue as his Psychic Magic was unleashed without any chant.
It was a level of instant casting that normally only Advanced Mages were capable of achieving after years of practice and mastery.
Before anyone could even comprehend what had happened all ten students froze where they stood.
Not a single one of them moved from their place or casted any spell.
They simply remained rooted to their spots like perfectly sculpted statues.
The students throughout the stadium stared at the bizarre scene in utter confusion, while many of the teachers frowned, unable to immediately understand what had just occurred.
Only Dean Xiao's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
Meanwhile, Astreo calmly walked forward, completely unhurried.
He looked at the ten motionless students standing before him as though he were examining a collection of statues in a museum.
He casually raised one hand.
Making a small flicking gesture with his finger toward the nearest frozen student and then he flicked.
Flick.
The student was instantly blasted backward by an invisible force, as though an enormous hand had smacked him across the body.
He flew through the air before landing well outside the arena, completely unconscious.
Without changing his expression in the slightest, Astreo repeated the exact same motion toward the next student.
Flick.
Another one flew away.
Then another.
And another.
One after another, the students were launched out of the arena like bowling pins struck by an invisible bowling ball.
"Pew!"
Flick.
"Pew!"
Flick.
"Pew! Pew! Pew!"
Astreo even made sound effects as he casually pointed his finger at each frozen student.
Every time he did another unfortunate victim was sent flying through the air before crashing outside the ring, unconscious before they even hit the ground.
It looked less like a serious battle and more like Astreo had somehow turned the arena into his own personal shooting gallery.
The dueling arena itself was an enormous battlefield enclosed by an invisible spherical barrier. The barrier existed solely to block stray magic from escaping and injuring the audience; it did not prevent people from physically passing through it. As a result, if a student was knocked outside the ring, they were immediately considered to have lost the match.
"Announce the next round," Astreo said calmly as he looked toward the referee.
The referee finally snapped out of his daze.
"O-Of course!" he stammered before quickly raising his voice. "Next batch of students! Please prepare!"
Meanwhile, the students throughout the stadium had begun genuinely panicking.
Because they had never witnessed a battle like this before, most of them didn't even understand how Astreo had won.
To them the fight had started, all challengers were paralyzed on their place,
Then they all got flicked out of the arena.
That was it.
There wasn't even a battle to analyze.
Seeing the utterly confused expressions filling the stadium, Dean Xiao lightly cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Everyone, listen carefully."
The stadium immediately quieted down.
"Student Astreo used both his Psychic Element and his Space Element. He first employed a Novice Tier 4 Psychic spell to stun every opponent simultaneously. After immobilizing them, he used his Space Magic to throw each of them outside the ring."
Although that was the explanation Dean Xiao gave publicly.
Privately he wasn't entirely convinced as the spell Astreo had cast felt far more powerful than an ordinary Novice Tier 4 Psychic spell.
If his judgment was correct, then it was much more likely to have been a Novice Tier 6 spell.
"Dean Xiao is correct about how I defeated everyone," Astreo suddenly spoke up before anyone else could react.
Then he smiled.
"But he's mistaken about one small detail."
"What I used wasn't the Novice Tier 4 Psychic spell Stun."
"It was the Novice Tier 6 Psychic spell... Paralyze."
The entire stadium collectively stopped functioning.
For many students this was the second time their worldview had shattered today.
"Hey, correct me if I'm wrong, but increasing the tier of a spell requires Monster Soul Cores, right? And for every successive spell tier, you need the corresponding soul core of a higher-ranked monster?" one of the Young Masters sitting with Zhao Manyan and Mu Nujiao asked, his expression becoming increasingly stiff as a terrifying possibility formed in his mind.
"Yes..." Zhao Manyan answered slowly, his voice trembling slightly. "That means he used a total of seven Commander-grade Soul Cores just to raise his Psychic Magic to Novice Tier 6."
The surrounding Young Masters and Young Misses immediately sucked in a cold breath.
Ordinary students from commoner backgrounds might not grasp the significance of that statement right away.
However, as heirs and daughters of prominent Magic Clans, they understood exactly what a Commander-grade Soul Core represented.
It wasn't merely a rare cultivation resource.
It was practically a walking mountain of money.
That single sentence translated into nearly two billion yuan worth of resources.
Such an amount wasn't just a large sum of money. It was close to the total net worth of many mid-tier Magic Clans after counting their businesses, properties, magical artifacts, and every other hard asset they possessed. Very few families actually had that amount available as liquid funds.
Yet Astreo, or more accurately, the Star Clan behind him, had casually burned through that absurd amount of wealth for one purpose.
To strengthen a single person.
At that moment, the Young Masters collectively realized something terrifying that perhaps they weren't real Young Masters, instead the real Young Master had been standing in front of them.
"Just... who is he?" Mu Nujiao muttered, her eyes remaining fixed on Astreo as she tried to calm herself but despite her best efforts to maintain her composure, her body was trembling ever so slightly.
The truth was, everyone from the noble families would have preferred Astreo to simply be an ordinary Advanced Mage rather than someone who had cultivated his Psychic Element to Novice Tier 6.
An Advanced Mage could be explained through talent and time.
Novice Tier 6 Psychic Magic, however, represented something far more terrifying.
Resources.
The amount of wealth required to achieve such a feat was so absurd that it could have been used to cultivate several Advanced Mages from scratch.
Even Mu Nujiao, as the treasured daughter of the Mu Clan, knew exactly how difficult it was to obtain truly valuable cultivation resources.
For example, acquiring a single Galaxy Vein, worth roughly one hundred and fifty million yuan, would almost certainly require her to render tremendous merit to the clan. Alternatively, she would have to accept the clan's arrangements for her future in exchange for receiving such an expensive treasure.
Resources of that level were never handed out for free.
Yet Astreo had casually consumed resources worth nearly two billion yuan just to improve a single element.
The sheer extravagance was enough to make even the heirs of great clans question their own lives.
"So..." Astreo said as his gaze slowly swept across the thousands of students filling the stadium.
"Who's next?"
The students clenched their teeth in frustration.
Only now did they fully understand why Astreo had proposed such ridiculous conditions earlier.
Without those outrageous rewards hanging in front of them, who in their right mind would voluntarily step into the arena against this monster?
In the end, however, the temptation proved too great.
An entire year's worth of cultivation resources that they couldn't afford to lose, combined with Astreo's promise to compensate everyone with ten times that amount if he somehow lost it was simply too attractive to ignore.
Very quickly, another group of ten students assembled and stepped onto the arena with determined expressions.
Unfortunately for them the battle unfolded in almost exactly the same way as the previous one.
They came.
They froze.
They flew.
They lost.
At this point, the spectators were beginning to wonder whether the students had secretly become Astreo's shooting practise.
"One hundred and ninety-one," Astreo counted aloud, his voice once again amplified by the magical sound transmission array and echoing throughout the entire stadium.
Then he looked toward the referee with a perfectly straight face.
"You know... maybe deduct one student from the next match so the number becomes nice and even?"
Hearing those shamelessly arrogant words, the entire stadium nearly exploded.
"Damn it!"
"This bastard is looking down on us!"
"He seriously thinks he can defeat more than three hundred students by himself?!"
"His Psychic Magic might be terrifying, but no mage has an endless supply of mana!"
"He'll run out sooner or later!"
One student shouted at the top of his lungs, and his words immediately reignited everyone's fighting spirit.
For the sake of their hard-earned cultivation resources... cough... personal dignity, they absolutely had to defeat this bastard.
The next team that entered the arena consisted of only nine members.
The referee had actually followed Astreo's suggestion and only allowed nine challengers this time.
Not a single teacher objected to this, at the very least, everyone had already accepted one undeniable fact.
Astreo genuinely wasn't afraid,
Soon the number reached two hundred defeated students.
Astreo didn't even pause.
"Next!"
Another round ended.
Two hundred and fifty students had now been defeated in total.
"Next!"
The challenge continued without interruption.
Three hundred students had now been defeated.
Astreo casually stretched his body before speaking again.
"I'm starting to get bored."
He looked around the arena before suddenly lying down on the ground.
"How about I fight the next group while lying here?"
The students' faces twitched violently.
The next match began.
Astreo remained lying comfortably on the arena floor.
The result didn't change in the slightest.
Three hundred and fifty students had now been defeated.
After another effortless victory, Astreo yawned lazily.
"Hmm..."
"I kind of feel like closing my eyes."
The students almost coughed blood from anger.
Even while acting like, he was about to take a nap he was still defeating every challenger without exception.
The matches continued one after another.
Eventually the total reached four hundred and fifty defeated students.
By now, evening had arrived.
The sun had long since begun to set, and darkness gradually spread across the sky.
At this point, despair was clearly etched across the faces of students from every other department.
Meanwhile, Mo Fan was sitting comfortably in the viewing stands, leisurely sipping on a bottle of cola as though he were simply watching a movie instead of a tournament.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
'Man... watching other people suffer is so satisfying.'
Finally everyone else was getting a taste of what he had experienced back then!
For once, he wasn't the only victim.
The feeling was strangely refreshing.
By now, only the final batch of challengers remained.
It was at that moment that Mu Nujiao, Zhao Manyan, and the other Young Masters and Young Misses from the prominent Magic Clans finally stepped onto the arena together.
"Wait a minute!" one student exclaimed from the audience. "Aren't they all Young Masters and Young Misses from the major clans?"
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Unlike the previous challengers, these weren't ordinary freshmen.
Every one of them possessed exceptional talent, superior resources, and backgrounds that placed them among the elite of their generation.
Mu Nujiao took a deep breath before looking at the group.
"Everyone, stick to the plan," she said in a calm but serious tone. "By now, Astreo's magical energy should be almost completely depleted."
She paused before continuing, almost as though she were trying to convince herself as much as everyone else.
"Think about it. Earlier, he lay down on the ground and even closed his eyes during the breaks between matches. He was almost certainly using every opportunity he could to meditate and recover his mana."
The others silently nodded.
It sounded reasonable.
After fighting four hundred and fifty students surely even a monster like Astreo had his limits.
"Anyway," Zhao Manyan whispered quietly to the Young Master standing beside him, "begin the additional cherry on the top plan."
The young man gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Whatever they had prepared they clearly intended to use it now.
"Astreo!" the Young Master then roared. "Stop relying on these tricks! What kind of nonsense is Novice Tier 6 Magic anyway? You only managed to reach that level because your clan threw Commander-grade Soul Cores at you! Unlike us, we have to fight for every single bit of cultivation resources we obtain!"
"Yeah!" another Young Master immediately added. "Are you even a man?! If you really want to prove your strength, then defeat us using only magic up to Tier 3!"
The other challengers quickly nodded in agreement.
Although they knew their demands sounded somewhat shameless they had already reached the point where shame was the least of their concerns.
Meanwhile, Astreo slowly opened his eyes.
Without using his hands for support or even noticeably bending his knees, he smoothly rose to his feet in one fluid motion.
The movement was so unnatural that several students instinctively took a step backward.
For a brief moment, goosebumps spread across their bodies.
Then they remembered he had Space Magic.
Right.
It was probably Space Magic.
That explanation was enough to calm them down.
"Oi."
Astreo casually brushed the dust off his clothes before looking toward the final group of challengers.
"Whether I'm a man or something else doesn't really matter."
He paused for a brief moment.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"What matters is that I'm definitely stronger than all of you."
The entire group fell silent.
"In fact!" Astreo declared confidently. "I'll tell you something!"
He spread his arms dramatically before continuing.
"If every single person present here fought me at the same time, I could still defeat all of you!"
He paused for effect.
"And I wouldn't even need to use my magic!"
Astreo possessed absolute confidence in those words.
After all, his physical body had long since reached the level of a Low Emperor.
Even if Dean Xiao personally decided to intervene, the old dean would still require several minutes, perhaps even over a dozen minutes, to fully construct a Forbidden Curse spell.
By the time that happened Astreo would have already defeated everyone present.
Then he'd probably have enough spare time left to do a victory dance on top of the arena.
"Do you know why?" Astreo asked as a wide grin spread across his face.
He stretched both arms outward as though embracing the entire stadium.
"Because I am the strongest!"
"There isn't a single person in the entire Magic Plane stronger than me!"
Silence.
The students stared at him with utterly bewildered expressions.
The hell?
Why did this guy somehow become even crazier than before?
One second they had been discussing Psychic Magic.
The next second he was proclaiming himself the strongest existence in the entire world.
Every student couldn't help thinking the exact same thing.
'Is this guy a damn chuunibyou?'
The thought spread through the stadium almost unanimously.
Whatever the case even if Astreo clearly had a few screws loose that still didn't change one undeniable fact that at the very least he was unquestionably the strongest first-year student standing in this stadium.
Astreo, meanwhile, saw that not a single person realized he had been speaking the absolute truth.
He could only let out a helpless sigh as he slowly shook his head.
'Nowadays, no one believes the truth.'
Then he looked at the group before him with an expression full of pity.
That single look caused every member of the opposing team to twitch uncontrollably.
The hell was with that expression?!
'Why are you looking at us with pity?!' they screamed inwardly.
'It should be us looking at you with pity, you eighth-grade syndrome patient!'
Unfortunately, none of them actually dared to say those thoughts out loud.
At the very least, however, they had achieved one thing at least to them it felt like their earlier provocations had worked to some extent.
Astreo had finally stopped lying on the ground acting like he was taking a nap.
"You know what?" Astreo said casually.
"I won't even use my own magic during this match."
He stretched his body lazily before continuing.
"I'll just use a few toys to play with you instead."
As soon as those words fell, he lightly tapped the toe of his boot against the concrete floor.
Click.
The boots instantly transformed.
Their shape shifted, and in the blink of an eye they had become a pair of elegant ice skates.
At the same time, the section of concrete beneath his skates rapidly froze over, forming a perfectly smooth layer of solid ice that spread outward across the arena floor.
Several students widened their eyes.
"A magic tool?"
"No... probably a magic artifact!"
Astreo simply smiled, though he wanted to curse the dumb person changed the wording and acted all-knowing in front of him, still he looked at them and asked.
"How about it?"
He slowly slid forward across the freshly formed ice without making the slightest unnecessary movement.
"I'll show you how I run this game."
A confident smirk appeared on his face.
The veins on the challengers' foreheads immediately bulged.
Without waiting another second, all of them stormed into the arena with murderous determination.
At this point they didn't even care about winning anymore.
They just wanted to punch this bastard once. Just once would be enough.
"Very well, begin the match now!" the referee announced as he gave the signal.
The challengers reacted instantly.
"Lightning Strike! Wrath Shock!"
One of them roared as brilliant bolts of lightning shot toward Astreo at tremendous speed, tearing across the battlefield in an attempt to catch him before he could build up momentum.
Unfortunately for him Astreo had already moved.
With a single push, he glided effortlessly across the ice that continuously formed beneath his skates, his body flowing smoothly over the frozen surface as though he had been born skating.
The lightning crashed into nothing but empty air.
The other challengers immediately followed up.
Three more spells were launched almost simultaneously.
Fire Magic.
Light Magic.
Earth Magic.
The attacks converged from different directions, leaving almost no obvious escape route.
Then...
Boom!
A violent burst of compressed air erupted from behind Astreo's boots.
The sudden propulsion accelerated him forward like a miniature rocket engine, launching him into the air before the incoming spells could reach him.
His entire body spun gracefully through the air as he traced a smooth parabolic arc above the battlefield.
Halfway through the jump, he flipped completely upside down.
The challengers instinctively looked upward.
Then they realized he wasn't jumping away.
He was fucking diving towards them!
Astreo extended one hand.
Before the unfortunate student directly beneath him could even process what was happening Astreo grabbed him by the collar.
The student's eyes widened.
"Wait, wha..."
That was all he managed to say.
With almost insulting ease, Astreo swung him around once before hurling him away with overwhelming force.
The poor student shot through the air like a human cannonball before flying straight beyond the boundaries of the dueling arena.
He crashed onto the ground outside the ring.
The referee immediately raised his hand.
"Eliminated!"
"Damn it! Stop wasting time! Focus on casting Intermediate-tier spells!" Zhao Manyan roared as he quickly activated an Intermediate defensive spell, forming his signature turtle shell around himself.
Meanwhile, Astreo continued dancing through the barrage of attacks.
Every spell narrowly missed him as he glided across the ice with unbelievable precision. His movements were so smooth and stylish that it looked less like a battle and more like an ice-skating performance.
"Got you!" one of the students shouted triumphantly as he unleashed an Intermediate Fire spell directly toward Astreo.
The blazing flames rushed forward at tremendous speed.
However, Astreo simply lowered his body until it was almost completely parallel to the ground, his back nearly brushing against the ice as he continued sliding forward without losing any momentum.
The fire spell passed just inches above him.
The students' eyes widened.
How the fuck was he still sliding in that position?!
The posture looked completely impossible.
Unless he was secretly using Space Magic?
Before they could even voice the accusation that he was cheating by breaking the condition he had imposed on himself, Astreo had already arrived directly in front of the Intermediate Fire Mage.
He simply swung one leg upward with terrifying force.
Crack!
The blade of the ice skate slammed squarely into the student's lower jaw.
The impact instantly dislocated it, sending the unfortunate mage spinning through the air before he crashed face-first onto the arena floor alongside his lower jaw with teeth falling on the floor, splashing with blood.
His body skidded across the ice like an oversized ragdoll before finally coming to a stop.
The Fire Mage cried out in agony, and the brutal sight sent a chill through everyone watching.
Even Zhao Manyan, who had been confidently hiding behind his defensive magic, instinctively flinched.
For just a brief moment...
His concentration wavered.
That single moment was all Astreo needed.
Like a ghost, he appeared beside Zhao Manyan almost instantly.
Before Zhao Manyan could even react, Astreo drove a punch straight into his stomach, using the tremendous momentum from his high-speed skating to amplify the impact.
Boom!
Zhao Manyan's eyes bulged outward.
The force lifted him completely off the ground before launching him backward like a cannonball.
He flew beyond the arena's boundary while coughing up a mouthful of blood, his protective turtle shell shattering under the overwhelming impact.
"Eliminated!"
The referee didn't even hesitate before making the announcement.
By now, the remaining mages were genuinely terrified after seeing their teammates' literal lower jaw falling on the floor.
However, Mu Nujiao's eyes suddenly narrowed.
"Got you!"
The instant Astreo entered the range she had been waiting for, countless thick vines erupted from the ground.
They shot upward from every direction, wrapping around Astreo before intertwining with one another.
Within a single second they formed a massive spherical prison, completely sealing him inside.
"W-We won!"
"Way to go, Goddess Mu Nujiao!"
The students throughout the stadium immediately erupted into deafening cheers.
Even Mu Nujiao herself believed they had finally succeeded.
Astreo meanwhile ignoring their cheers simply continued skating.
His body effortlessly transitioned from the ground onto the inner wall of the spherical prison, allowing him to skate along its curved surface at astonishing speed as centrifugal and centripetal force acted in his favour.
Another explosive boom echoed throughout the arena.
A powerful burst of compressed air erupted from behind his boots once again, propelling him to an even greater speed.
He shifted his balance onto one skate.
Then using the blade of the other skate with unbelievable precision...
He sliced straight through the thick vines.
Slash!
The prison split apart.
The entire spherical cage collapsed into countless severed vines.
Astreo emerged from the wreckage without even slowing down.
The cheers that had filled the stadium only moments earlier came to an abrupt halt.
Mu Nujiao was so utterly gobsmacked that she didn't even realize Astreo was already skating straight toward her.
By the time she noticed it was already late.
His speed was simply too overwhelming.
She had no opportunity to dodge.
Boom!
A solid punch landed directly in her stomach.
Mu Nujiao's eyes widened as all the air was forced out of her lungs. The impact sent her flying backward, and she was launched clean out of the arena before crashing beyond the ring's boundary.
A mouthful of blood escaped her lips as she landed.
Seeing their strongest member eliminated so decisively, the remaining challengers immediately lost the last bit of courage they had left.
"We surrender!" one of them screamed at the top of his lungs.
His voice echoed throughout the stadium.
Astreo finally slowed to a stop.
He quietly looked toward the few remaining students.
The moment their eyes met his they screamed in terror and without caring about their dignity, pride, or reputation, they immediately turned around and ran away from the arena as fast as their legs could carry them.
They had reached the same conclusion.
Living was more important than saving face even if technically their life was never in danger.
"The winner of this challenge... is Astreo!" the referee loudly announced.
The stadium remained strangely silent.
Everyone was still trying to process what they had just witnessed.
Meanwhile, Dean Xiao immediately regained his composure and began issuing orders.
"Everyone, quickly begin treating the injured students!"
His gaze swept across the arena before stopping on one particularly unfortunate victim.
"Especially that student whose... jaw is broken."
The corners of Dean Xiao's lips twitched ever so slightly.
Even after seeing countless battles throughout his life watching someone get their jaw dislocated by an ice skate and then be sliced apart from the face was still a rather unusual experience.
The teachers all nodded with serious expressions and without wasting another second, the university's healers rushed into the arena.
They didn't even bother moving the injured students elsewhere.
Instead, they immediately began administering treatment right where everyone had fallen.
One healer carefully used Water Magic to wash away the blood covering the unfortunate Fire Mage's lower jaw before gently repositioning it beneath his upper jaw.
Once everything was properly aligned, Healing Magic was immediately cast to accelerate the recovery process.
The poor student remained blissfully unconscious throughout the entire procedure.
Meanwhile, the entire stadium had fallen into complete silence.
It was as though they had just witnessed a terrifying demon descend upon their world.
"Dean Xiao," Astreo called out calmly as he slowly skated backward across the ice, his eyes remaining fixed straight ahead.
"I win."
Dean Xiao let out a quiet sigh.
'They have created a monster,' he thought to himself. 'Just how many resources did the Star Clan pour into this young man to train him to this extent?'
At the same time, however, a small sense of unease lingered in the back of his mind.
It felt as though he was overlooking something important yet no matter how many times he carefully analyzed Astreo the conclusion never changed.
He was still only an Intermediate Mage.
As for the equipment Astreo had used, while it was undoubtedly high-grade and possessed unique abilities, none of it appeared to reach the level of Super-tier magical artifacts or even a powerful Advanced one.
That was the conclusion Dean Xiao arrived at.
"Ahem... yes," Dean Xiao said as he cleared his throat, pulling himself back to reality. "Student Astreo has emerged victorious. Therefore, according to the conditions agreed upon before the challenge began, this year's cultivation resources allocated to the other departments shall be transferred to the Summoning Department."
The moment those words were spoken even several teachers looked visibly stunned.
The students, who had only just recovered from their shock, immediately exploded into loud protests.
"This isn't fair!"
"Exactly!"
"That's an entire year's worth of cultivation resources!"
"How can they just take everything?!"
The uproar spread through the stadium almost instantly.
Even a number of teachers stepped forward, respectfully urging Dean Xiao to reconsider his decision.
After all the amount of resources involved was simply too enormous to lose so casually.
"Shut up! Every single one of you!" Dean Xiao roared angrily.
The entire stadium immediately fell silent.
"When the Summoning Department was placed in an unfair position, not a single one of you stood up to complain about how unreasonable the rules were! Yet the moment they win, all of you suddenly find the courage to raise your voices and cry about fairness?"
His sharp gaze swept across the students one by one.
"Tell me, where was this sense of justice earlier? Where were all these righteous complaints when the Summoning Department alone risked losing an entire semester's worth of cultivation resources? None of you spoke then because it didn't concern you."
His voice became even colder.
"Now that the result is no longer in your favor, everyone suddenly remembers the word 'fair.'"
Not a single student dared to answer.
"And yes," Dean Xiao continued, "some of you are probably thinking that this outcome isn't fair because both of these outstanding students come from prominent backgrounds."
He paused before looking toward Astreo.
"While that argument may apply to Astreo's current circumstances, don't forget one thing."
"He is an orphan."
"He was adopted into the Star Clan."
That revelation immediately caused another wave of whispers to spread throughout the stadium.
As far as Dean Xiao knew, that was the truth.
Of course, deep down, he had occasionally wondered whether Astreo might actually be the illegitimate son of the Star Clan's leader. Otherwise, it was difficult to explain why they would invest such an astronomical amount of resources into a single adopted child.
However, no matter how wild his imagination became he could never have guessed the actual truth.
Astreo wasn't some Young Master of the Star Clan, but he was the damn Master of the entire Star Clan and the owner of Star Industries itself.
"As for Bo Fan!"
Mo Fan's eyelid twitched violently.
"My name is Mo Fan!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, immediately correcting Dean Xiao before the old man could continue.
"Ahem!" Dean Xiao coughed awkwardly into his fist. "Yes... Mo Fan."
He calmly continued as though nothing embarrassing had just happened.
"His background is even more ordinary. In fact, compared to most of you sitting here, his circumstances are considerably worse."
He pointed toward Mo Fan.
"Other than possessing the innate talent of Dual Element Awakening, he comes from a completely ordinary commoner family."
"He was born in Bo City."
"A relatively backward city."
"Yes, the very same Bo City that was nearly destroyed by the calamity one year ago."
The stadium became noticeably quieter as many students remembered that disaster.
"And no," Dean Xiao continued firmly, "he has not joined any Magic Clan."
"He obtained every bit of his cultivation resources through hunting magical beasts and risking his own life."
The students immediately looked toward Mo Fan with completely different expressions.
Many of them had assumed he was some arrogant Young Master because of the absurd resources he had displayed during the challenge.
Now they finally understood.
This fellow had literally fought for every single resource he possessed.
Meanwhile their gazes slowly shifted toward Astreo instead.
The atmosphere became strangely awkward.
If Mo Fan truly was just a commoner then there was only one conclusion left regarding Astreo.
Several students exchanged meaningful glances.
"He's definitely the Star Clan Matriarch's sugar boy."
"No, idiot. He's obviously the Clan Leader's illegitimate son."
"Actually... maybe both?"
Everyone silently arrived at their own outrageous conclusions.
"Sister Jiaojiao!"
Ai Tutu cried out anxiously as she rushed into the arena, running straight toward Mu Nujiao, who was currently being treated by an Advanced Healer.
"Tutu," Mu Nujiao said softly as she looked at her best friend.
Seeing Mu Nujiao conscious and relatively unharmed, Ai Tutu immediately let out a long sigh of relief.
Thankfully she was all right.
However, the moment that relief settled in, her attention instantly shifted toward Astreo, who was still standing calmly in the middle of the arena.
Her expression immediately changed.
She was just about to charge over and demand an explanation when a hand suddenly grabbed her by the shoulder.
Mo Fan had appeared beside her.
"Let me go!" she hissed, struggling to free herself.
Mo Fan simply shook his head.
"I promised Astreo that after he won, I wouldn't let anyone interfere with whatever he planned to do next."
He paused before adding another sentence.
"And secondly... this is partly her own fault."
Ai Tutu froze.
"Her fault?"
"Yes," Mo Fan replied matter-of-factly. "These people were the ones who challenged a Psychic Mage and demanded that he not use his Psychic Magic."
He looked toward the unconscious students scattered across the arena before shrugging.
"How exactly did you expect him to fight after that?"
His question was perfectly reasonable.
Unfortunately, reason wasn't exactly what Ai Tutu was operating on at the moment.
She still glared toward Astreo, clearly unconvinced.
Thankfully, Mu Nujiao reacted before the situation escalated any further.
"Tutu," she called gently, reaching out to stop her friend.
Although Ai Tutu still looked unhappy, she obediently calmed down after hearing Mu Nujiao's voice.
Meanwhile, the students and teachers throughout the stadium gradually looked up at the darkening evening sky before collectively letting out tired sighs.
What was supposed to have been an ordinary freshman challenge had somehow turned into the most exhausting day of their academic year.
Just as everyone thought the ceremony was finally about to end, Astreo suddenly raised a hand.
"Everyone... there is one final thing I must say."
The students, teachers, and even Dean Xiao instinctively paused.
All eyes turned toward Astreo.
By this point the image they had of him had completely changed.
He was the Great Demon King himself.
Then...
"Lonely Lonely~"
A song suddenly echoed throughout the entire stadium.
Everyone blinked in confusion.
"Huh?"
Their gazes instinctively shifted toward the source of the music.
A beautiful woman slowly walked into the arena carrying a portable speaker in one hand.
She possessed long black hair and striking purple eyes, almost identical to Astreo's.
Without saying a single word, she casually snapped her fingers.
Snap.
Brilliant purple flames instantly erupted across the arena floor beneath Astreo's feet.
The ice covering the battlefield rapidly melted before being completely evaporated within seconds, leaving behind nothing but clean concrete.
The flames disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared.
"Lonely Lonely~"
The song continued playing.
Meanwhile a slow smirk spread across Astreo's face.
He calmly adjusted his posture.
One foot moved forward.
His shoulders relaxed as he struck a dramatic pose...
And then started dancing.
Everyone froze in place as they watched Astreo suddenly begin dancing along with the music.
"Lonely, lonely, I guess I am so lonely!"
He swung both of his arms from left to right while dancing with an expression that practically screamed provocation.
It was as though he was personally mocking every single student present.
"Let everything be as decided by the monologue of your soul"
Without missing a beat, he smoothly transitioned into another dance move.
This time, he stared directly at the audience while repeatedly beckoning toward them with both of his index fingers, inviting them forward with an infuriatingly smug grin.
"Lonely, lonely, I guess I'm lonely"
He continued dancing without the slightest trace of embarrassment.
Every movement was exaggerated with pose that looked intentionally dramatic.
The expression on his face practically radiated, 'Come on, challenge me again.'
To the spectators, the entire performance gave off the ridiculous impression that Astreo genuinely felt lonely because he had reached the top of the world and no longer had anyone capable of challenging him.
Whether that was actually his intention or not...
No one knew.
What everyone did know was that they felt thoroughly insulted.
Several students clenched their fists.
Some nearly coughed blood from frustration.
Even a few teachers couldn't stop the corners of their mouths from twitching.
At this point, everyone presents had already suffered enough mental damage to last several generations.
And Astreo wasn't stopping dancing! Damn it!
Meanwhile, as Mo Fan watched Astreo dancing shamelessly in the middle of the arena, tears almost welled up in his eyes.
'Damn it!' he cried inwardly.
'I thought you were going to use this opportunity to invite every talented student into your damn clan!'
'Not... this!'
Only Mo Fan understood just how much this moment hurt.
He had completely missed the greatest opportunity of his life.
Just imagine it.
Standing in the middle of the arena after defeating hundreds of opponents...
Then dancing to that tune in front of the entire university.
What an unparalleled opportunity to aura farm!
What an unrivaled chance to face slap everyone at once!
His heart physically ached.
After all there was an ancient saying from his previous world.
Being strong was temporary but being handsome was eternal.
Who cared if you were weak as a kitten?
As long as you were handsome enough, you could always find yourself a sugar mommy. Cough Cough.
Mo Fan looked toward the dancing Astreo with incomparable grief.
The spotlight...
The aura...
The style...
Everything that should have belonged to him had been stolen.
At that moment, Mo Fan truly felt devastated.
Meanwhile, Ai Tutu looked at him with a strange expression.
She couldn't understand why this man looked as though he had just lost the very meaning of his existence.
To everyone else, Astreo's dance was simply bizarre.
To Mo Fan it was the greatest missed opportunity of his entire freshman year.
That day the protagonist's spotlight was stolen by the Main Character.
To be continued...