50.1 Fire and Earth Dual Element Mage
Zi Qing Jian was not more surprised than his sister. He had a straightforward personality. Though he was surprised that Nian Bing could use magic, he likened it to how he and his little sister were studying martial arts and culinary arts at same time. Without any suspicion, he headed to the stairs.
Nian Bing followed Zi Qing Jian and heard Zi Qing Meng say, "I"ll go with you. I want to see if your magic is up to par. Martial arts and culinary arts have some commonalities, especially with Big Brother"s Heavy Eagle Hand and my knife arts, but magic isn"t related to cooking at all. I don"t believe that you could somehow be a genius in both."
Ever since he had met Zi Qing Meng, Nian Bing clearly knew about her arrogance. When he saw her exceptionally haughty face, Nian Bing couldn"t help but feel fed up. From the bottom of his heart, he still liked Feng Nu and Long Ling"s personalities much more. Long Ling was as soft as gentle as water, and Feng Nu was both soft and firm. They were easier to accept. However, Zi Qing Meng was a lot like Luo Rou, because they had some ability in certain areas, so they cultivated a domineering att.i.tude. Towards this kind of women, Nian Bing really didn"t have an inclination to care about them. He didn"t chat with Zi Qing Meng any longer and followed Zi Qing Jian.
The magic faculty was a lone branch on a tree1 in the Orchid Dream college. The student dormitories, teaching location, and magic experiment rooms were all on the eighth floor of the main building. Once you stepped onto the eighth floor, you could immediately feel intense magic element flooding the hallway. Upon closer inspection, the reason for the propensity of the magic element is mainly because of inscriptions on the walls. They were simple magic arrays, but at the center of each diagram was a different, complex symbol. Each symbol represented a different attribute. In addition to the symbols, there were also magic stones imbedded in the center. Although they weren"t of particularly high quality, but with the magic arrays, these stones had the ability to condense a lot of magic.
The strong magic atmosphere was comparable to the Ice Moon Empire"s mage a.s.sociation. Nian Bing sighed silently. There weren"t even these kinds of inscriptions in the Ice Moon Empire Mage a.s.sociation! It wasn"t because the inscriptions were particularly hard, but because the a.s.sociation didn"t have the funds to buy large quant.i.ties of magic stones. Just as Long Ling had said, money was the mage a.s.sociation"s biggest barrier to growth.
"Every time I come to this place it feels a bit stifling, but it must be very enjoyable for these fellows," Zi Qing Jian complained.
Stifling? Nian Bing suddenly realized that it must be because the density of magic was too strong. For non-mages, the weight of every attribute of magic element would naturally feel stifling. But if a mage were to cultivate magic here, it would be extremely beneficial.
"Boom-" suddenly, a large explosion came from the magic faculty cla.s.sroom no. 3 next to Nian Bing, causing him to jump in fright. The sound, although loud, wasn"t accompanied by any shaking.
"Idiot, how have you been training your magic control? You can"t even control a exploding flame; do you want to kill everyone here?" an angry roar followed the blast. The rich, resonant voice was much like Zi Qing Jian"s.
Zi Qing Jian stood still and whispered to Nian Bing, "I don"t know which student got unlucky this time. That voice belongs to the magic faculty chairman. He"s nicknamed history"s strongest magic scholar. Whether or not you can enter the mage faculty depends on if you can pa.s.s his test."
"History"s strongest magic scholar? Not a magister? Magic scholars are strong, but they can"t compare with magisters." Nian Bing looked at Zi Qing Jian with suspicion.
Zi Qing Jian merely shrugged his broad shoulders. "I don"t know much. You should ask him yourself. I don"t understand magic, and this nickname of his is known throughout the entire continent. He didn"t call himself that."
"Who"s out there making a ruckus, disturbing my cla.s.s?" the angry voice yelled out. A fist-sized fireball flew out from the window, tracing a perfect arc as it accurately aimed for Zi Qing Jian"s head.
The sudden appearance of the fireball frightened Zi Qing Jian. He was just thinking about using qi to block it when a ball of blue light appeared in front of him. Nian Bing had already stuck out his right hand holding the icicle wand to condense a dense cloud of ice element in front of that fist-sized fireball. His whole body shook, and then the fireball exploded and disappeared and Nian Bing was sent stumbling backwards due to the explosion.
His heart was immediately sent into turmoil. He had always prided himself on his superior magical control, but the fireball from just now also contained several ordinary fireb.a.l.l.s without any special effects. It seemed that they had changed because of the will of the caster. When the rank 1 spell came in contact with his icicle wand, it had actually had stuck together, and then suddenly exploded. Although it had the strength of a rank 1 spell, the instant it exploded it had turned into three spells. When it exploded, the explosive force that should have gone all over actually was condensed in one direction, so it made him, who was holding onto an icicle wand, forced backwards.
This was a rank 1 magic so he could still handle it. If it were a high-ranked spell, it might become hard for him to block it. Once Nian Bing had a.n.a.lyzed the reason for him being forced back, Nian Bing immediately regained his confidence.
Zi Qing Jian said loudly, "Chairman Hei, it"s me. How come you don"t distinguish between green and red and black and white2 and attack?" While saying this, he pushed opened the cla.s.sroom door and entered in ill humor.
Zi Qing Jian was really too large. Standing behind him, Nian Bing could not see anything. He could only hear the mage"s voice project, "So it was Little Zi! Who told you to be all sneaky and disrupt my cla.s.s. Couldn"t you come look for me when I don"t have cla.s.s? Wait outside first. After I finish cla.s.s we can talk."
Zi Qing Jian said, "Sorry for bothering you. I will wait for you outside." He hurriedly retreated, but when he was moving back Nian Bing caught a glimpse of the cla.s.sroom. It was exceedingly large with about a hundred people in it. It seemed that all of the students in the magic faculty were there. From Zi Qing Jian"s att.i.tude to Chairman Hei, he knew that this faculty chairman must have a high position in the college.
Closing the door, Zi Qing Jian turned to Nian Bing with a smile. "Brother, so you really were a mage! Right now we will have to wait for a while. Chairman Hei"s temper isn"t too good."
Nian Bing smiled in return. "No problem; it"s fine if I wait a moment."
Zi Qing Meng looked at Nian Bing with a strange expression. "What rank mage are you?"
Nian Bing replied coolly, "I don"t really know, but pa.s.sing through the magic faculty test won"t pose too big of a problem. Big Brother Qing Jian, I heard that the Harmonic Flower Empire and the Qi Lu Empire launched an attack against Profound Orchid. Do you know anything about this?"
Zi Qing Jian nodded and replied, "I heard just yesterday that the current situation is really terrible! Currently, we can only hope that the aid from the Ice Moon Empire will be enough. I really wanted to go the battlefield to see for myself, but the princ.i.p.al doesn"t allow students who haven"t graduated to partic.i.p.ate in the war. I"m also a teacher, so I can"t leave. Warriors should throw themselves into the battle in order to show their true worth. Once I"ve finished teaching this batch of students, I will definitely enter the empire"s strongest Silver Feather Cavalry and demonstrate my skills." When he said this, his eyes were filled with longing. He was definitely a battle junkie.
Nian Bing didn"t inquire further. He did not have a whit of interest towards war. The trio silently waited at the entrance of the cla.s.sroom.
After an hour, an enchanted bell rang, signalling the end of cla.s.s.
The door opened and the magic students filed out. Their clothes were different than the students of other faculties. Each of them wore an elementary mage"s gown, but the color was deep blue. On their chest was inlaid a magic stone of different attributes, indicating the attribute of magic they cultivated.
The students expressions were very neutral; there wasn"t even anyone who greeted Zi Qing Jian and his sister. One by one, they left for different directions of the eighth floor. At the very back was an elderly mage. He had a head of white hair and a grizzled face, indicating that he was at least seventy to eighty years old. He was very slim, and he directed his muddled yellow eyes at the three when he said, "Come in." The discrepancy between his rich voice and his small stature gave people a strange feeling. On his red robe was a golden flame insignia. So a fire magic scholar?
"Chairman Hei, I have brought you a new student. He has just entered the culinary faculty and wants to dual enroll in the magic faculty. Take a look at him?" said Zi Qing Jian.
"Dual enroll in the magic faculty? A chef wants to learn magic?" Chairman Hei"s muddy yellow gaze suddenly sparkled with cold lightning as he glared at Nian Bing.
Nian Bing didn"t cower at all as he returned his gaze. Although he felt like he was being seen through by the other, he managed to control his gaze so he didn"t back off at all.
Chairman Hei"s eyes exuded surprise. "Then he can try. Lad, was it you who just blocked my fireball spell right now?"
Nian Bing nodded and replied, "h.e.l.lo, Chairman Hei."
Chairman Hei"s gaze swept over Zi Qing Jian and Zi Qing Meng. "You two can leave. He"ll stay here alone."
Zi Qing Jian smiled. "Sorry for troubling you then. Little Sister, let"s go."
Zi Qing Meng blinked her large purple eyes. What made people"s eyes pop out was that the arrogance on her face had disappeared, replaced by a warm smile that could melt all ice. She walked up to Chairman Hei and grabbed his stick-thin arms. "Uncle Hei, I want to what your test for him is like, can I? Please let me and Big Brother stay."
Chairman Hei wore a smile. "You girl, really like to bother people. You don"t study magic, so what"s the use of watching?" Although he had not agreed, his tone had softened greatly.
"No, I want to see. Uncle Hei, I"ll make you a meal to make it up to you. Don"t you like drinking alcohol? Tonight I will make some dishes that go well with alcohol for you."
"Okay, you can stay and see." Chairman Hei looked at the beautiful girl who was taller than him by half a head helplessly.
Nian Bing said, "Chairman Hei, what"s the test?"
Chairman Hei looked at the icicle wand in Nian Bing"s hand. "You’re a ice mage. Good. If you can use a rank 2 spell to break my rank 1 flame spell, then you pa.s.s." While saying this, he raised his brittle left arm, and a ball of dark red flame rose from it. It indeed looked like an ordinary flame spell.
Nian Bing, however, didn"t think the test could be so simple. As the rank of spells got higher, the difference between high-ranking spells and low-ranking spells became even greater. Although rank 2 spells and rank 1 spells have a significant difference, the difference isn"t as big as higher-ranked spells. Before, he already had a taste of this magic scholar"s magic control. So it seemed that using a rank 2 ice spell to break his rank 1 flame spell wouldn"t be so easy. He didn"t waste any time and raised his wand. He looked around him, and thought of a good method.
A faint blue light gradually gathered as he chanted in a deep, rhythmic voice. Pellets of rank 2 ice bullets began to form in front of Nian Bing. He didn"t rush to attack, but only continued to condense ice bullets.
"Boy, if you want to use ice bullet rain, that is a rank 3 spell," Chairman Hei reminded Nian BIng.
Nian Bing smiled, "If they don"t attack together, then they aren"t ice bullet rain ." At this moment, there were already over a dozen ice bullets in front of him. He pointed his wand forward and with a flash of light, a bullet suddenly charged towards the flame in Chairman Hei"s hand.
Chairman Hei looked at Nian Bing calmly. The flame in his hand immediately compressed to a third of the original size. When he saw the ice bullet near, the flame expanded. However, he hadn"t expected that that incoming ice bullet would suddenly stop a meter away. As the flame was expanding, the ice bullets suddenly exploded and a icy fog enshrouded the rank 1 flame. Because of the icy fog, the flame immediately dimmed. It looked to have been extinguished when it suddenly regained momentum and pushed open the icy fog.
"A flexible flame. Your magic control is truly admirable." Nian BIng"s eyes were full of respect as the second bullet flew outward.
Chairman Hei"s eyes were also full of surprise. Nian Bing"s control of the ice bullet spell had already surpa.s.sed his expectation. At the moment, the second ice bullet had already drawn near. The flame in Chairman Hei"s hands compressed to as small as possible without any eruptions. At this time, Nian Bing showed off his precise magic control. The bullet flying through the air stopped seven times and sped up seven times. The flying direction and speed were constantly changing. Although it was just an ice bullet, it made people feel like it had a thousand permutations.
As It drew closer, the ice bullet suddenly picked up speed one meter away from Chairman Hei, it also showed a big change. The entire bullet was compressed into an ice needle. With three times the speed, it flashed towards Chairman Hei"s forehead, ignoring the flame in his hands.
A loner ↩Indiscriminately ↩