Insufficient balance

  "Swift as the wind."

  The wind whispered softly: "Swift as the wind, swift as the wind."

  "Lei Xiang, although you didn't lose today, but you fought too hard, and your own advantages were not brought into play at all."

  I exclaimed in surprise: "My advantages haven't been brought into play?"

  Mr. Zhuang nodded and said, "Do you still remember your first victory in the first game of the championship competition?"

  "Was it the match against Huo Xing?"

  "Right, it was that game, do you still remember how you won?" said Teacher Zhuang.

  I nodded and said: "Of course I remember, I deliberately took a hit from him, then knocked him off the stage. You're saying..."

  "Right, although I don't know what kind of aura you're practicing, I've found that your physical defense is extremely high. Not only is your aura defense high, but your physical defense is also very good. This might be due to your innate talent. Since you have such a great talent, why not make use of it? Your teacher will teach you three words: 'stable as a mountain.' Speed isn't your advantage; only power and defense are. Do you understand?"

  I nodded in agreement, and Mr. Zhuang's words suddenly made me feel as if a weight had been lifted from my eyes, as if I had grasped some profound truth.

  As we walked out of Principal Zhuang's office, Feng and I couldn't help but think about what Principal Zhuang had just said. As soon as we left the administration building, we ran into a group of first-year magic students who were all snickering at us from the side.

  "Look at that, those two aren't even from the same class, how did they end up like that? It seems like either they were struck by lightning magic or burned by fire magic."

  "I guess I made a mistake, let the teacher punish me."

  ……

  I and Fengwen raised our heads, and Fengwen whispered to me: "Too embarrassing, let's go back to the dormitory quickly." The two of us each let out a strange whistle, startling the students nearby, and ran back to the dormitory at top speed.

  I quickly took a shower and changed into clean clothes, and Feng Wen finally let out a sigh of relief. Feng Wen said to me: "Old Lei, I'm done for, I'm exhausted, I need to go back and rest first." When did I become Old Lei? Am I that old?

  I nodded and said, "Goodbye, I'm going back too."

  Feng asked with a smile: "The big competition is about to start in two days, you must work hard."

  I said: "You too, I hope we can meet in the grade finals."

  As I walked back to the dormitory, I thought about what Teacher Zhuang said, "Stable as a mountain", how can I achieve that? Her intention should be to let me make full use of my physical defensive advantages.

  "Lei Xiang, you're back."

  I looked up and it was Zi Xue, I smiled slightly at her and said: "Have you been waiting for me here all along?"

  Zi Xue nodded and said: "Why so late? You usually return to the dormitory for cultivation in the early afternoon, don't you? I asked Feng Yun, he said he didn't see you."

  "I replied: 'Today our class is holding a test to select participants for the final competition.'"

  Zixue hugged my arm and said: "You must have chosen one, right?"

  I gently stroked her cute little nose and said, "You have so much faith in me, but there are many strong people in the academy."

  Zi Xue said: "I just believe in you, you absolutely have the ability."

  I nodded and said, "How about you? Are you participating in the competition?"

  Zixue said, "Others' magic level is not high, how can they participate in the competition? (Zixue is a 2nd-year student of the Magic Class, mainly practicing water-based magic.) My sister even participated in the 3rd-year competition, her Brightness Magic is quite famous!"

  "I smiled and said: 'She is the vice president's high disciple, it's inevitable that she participates in the competition.'"

  Zi Xue wrinkled her small nose and said, "Sister didn't participate in the competition just because of connections, she completely relied on her own strength. If you won the grade champion, are you really going to challenge Liva?"

  My face sank, and I said, "That's for sure. As long as I get the grade champion, I will definitely challenge him. If I can't beat him, it will definitely have a great impact on my future cultivation, especially mentally."

  Zi Xue sighed and said: "Although you are very powerful, but..."

  I smiled slightly and said, "What, don't you think I'll make it either?"

  Zi Xue hastily shook her head and said, "No, I have absolute confidence in you, but Kiriwa is after all the top-ranked student in the entire academy, not someone to be trifled with. I'm afraid you'll get hurt."

  I said: "Don't worry, my skin is very thick, it's not easy to hurt me. You can rest assured that even if I don't win, nothing will happen to me."

  Zi Xue nodded and said, "That's good, as long as you guarantee your own safety, I'll be at ease."

  I saw off Purple Snow and returned to the dormitory, continuing to ponder Mr. Zhuang's words...

  Two days later, the semester graduation ceremony was held. It's nothing but some clichéd words like "Everyone has worked hard this semester" and "I hope you can make even greater progress in the future".

  After the graduation ceremony, Director Zhang Feng walked to the front of the stage and said: "The Tian Du College's semesterly martial arts competition is about to begin, contestants from each grade please proceed to their designated arenas."

  Today is the first round of competition, the game is very simple, 12 people are divided into two groups (for other grades five classes, there are only 10 people divided into two groups), each group takes the top two to advance, directly participating in the knockout match, that is to say, if I want to get the grade champion, I must participate in 7 matches.

  I and Feng Wen were assigned to two different groups. I took a look, and my opponents in this group were all people I hadn't seen much of before (since entering the academy, I've been injured and then isolated, so I haven't met many people). Teacher Zhuang called me and Feng Wen over and gave us pre-battle instructions: "You must be careful, Lei Xiang. If you encounter a warrior from the Warrior Class, it's relatively easy to deal with, but when facing those two from the Magic Class, you must be extra cautious. The Magic Class often has some strange and unusual magic appear, so be aware of that. Feng Wen, as for you, fully utilize your speed and don't give your opponents any chances. Use the shortest amount of time to achieve the greatest effect. Although I haven't taught many classes, you two are the most promising first-year students I've seen. Don't disappoint me."

  I nodded firmly and turned around to walk towards my own arena.

  Since it's a round-robin tournament, both of our groups will be having three matches today, and the matches are being held simultaneously. My first opponent is from the Warrior Class, looking very robust with a height of around 10 cm, his entire body is filled with explosive muscles.

  The judge teacher called us forward and said: "Magic Warrior Class Rei vs. Warrior Class Kiri. The rules of the competition are simple, no hitting each other's vitals, no killing, no maiming, no using illegal weapons (usually college-issued ones). Those who fall off or cannot fight will lose, of course, surrender is also an option, understood?"

  I quickly nodded, and the air around me changed as I activated my Magic Warrior's aura. The rhino's eyes widened in surprise as soon as he saw me, thinking to himself, "This guy is from the Magic Warrior class? He looks even bigger than me, this won't be easy."

  I stood proudly on the stage and said, "Come on."

  "Rhino grunted and said, 'Don't you need a weapon?'"

  I raised my fist and waved it, saying: "This is my best weapon, you can use whatever you want."

  He thought I looked down on him, and his eyes suddenly burst into flames of anger. He said with a hateful tone: "Fine, this is what you asked for, don't blame me for being impolite." After that, he picked up an iron staff from the nearby weapon rack, swung it in a big circle, creating a large staff flower pattern, and said: "Watch closely."

  It's more comfortable fighting a pure martial artist like this. At least it doesn't require defending against magic like when facing the third-year magical warrior class seniors.

  Although Xi Li looks very rough, he is not a pure strength player. With a flick of his long rod, it instantly transforms into a sky full of rod shadows, flying towards me.

  I thought to myself that although his moves were good, his strength was also dispersed and couldn't cause me any harm. I stood there without dodging or evading, waiting for his stick to fall.

  My sudden movement startled Xi Li, who thought I would have some trick or magic up my sleeve. Just as the stick's shadow was about to hit me, he suddenly withdrew his stick and condensed all the shadows into one, quickly thrusting forward with a spear-like stab.

  The long stick was blunt, I took a deep breath and concentrated, the fierce god's fighting spirit gathered in my chest, and I used my chest to block his attack.

  The long stick arced, and in an instant, I felt like it had hit an iron plate, unable to cause me any harm. A cold smile spread across my face as I grabbed his staff with one hand, releasing a burst of energy, and my hand turned a pale yellow. With a swift motion, I snatched the staff from him, pointed the tip at his shoulder, and pressed down, saying, "Do you want to continue?"

  Xī lǐ tried to struggle, but the long stick on his shoulder was like a heavy burden of ten thousand jun, and it couldn't be moved at all. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, I saw that he still had some unwillingness, the long stick in his hand pressed down with force, Xī lǐ was pressed by me to suddenly kneel down on one knee, I shouted: "If you don't want to lose face, quickly admit defeat."

  Xī lǐ knew that he couldn't match me in terms of strength, and his own specialty hadn't been brought into play, so with a sigh in his heart, he said: "Alright, I admit defeat."

  I raised the stick and threw it to him, turned around and left the stage. The voice from behind shouted: "Next time we meet, I will definitely not let you get away so easily."

  I turned back to him with a scornful smile and said: "If you can hold on until we meet again, I'll be waiting for you anytime."

  As I walked off the court, Coach Zhuang came up and said to me: "You did very well, basically not giving your opponent any chance to fight back."

  I smiled and said, "Thanks to your guidance."

  In the following days, I smoothly passed three levels and achieved a good result of four wins in four battles. Today is the last group match, regardless of win or lose, I can enter the top four. Today's opponent is a student from the Magic Department, according to Mr. Zhuang, he has also won all four battles so far. Today's battle will decide who advances as the first place in the group.

  In another group, Feng Wen relied on his ghostly movements and was also a standout. Their group matches had already ended, and Feng Wen advanced as the first-place winner of the group, while the second place was taken by a warrior.

  I stepped onto the stage, and my opponent was dressed as a standard magician. I only found out just before the match that my opponent today is actually a woman (no discrimination against female compatriots intended).

  My opponent was completely enveloped in a thick, crimson magical cloak, with the hood pulled down so low that I couldn't see her face. The only part of her exposed was her right hand, which was as white as jade and held a long, slender magic wand. A large snake made of some unknown material was coiled around the wand, its head at the top, where it held a massive crystal orb in its mouth - an ultimate-grade magic wand, by the looks of it. According to Master Zhang, this girl's abilities were incredibly powerful, and none of my previous opponents had been able to withstand her overwhelming magical might.

  After all, the other party was a woman, so I nodded slightly towards her. The female magician raised her staff, and as soon as the referee announced the start, her staff immediately released a string of fireballs flying towards me. What a fast magic release speed! I hastily fired several ice cones to neutralize part of her attack. When the remaining fireballs approached, I solved them all with one punch each.

  As I was fending off the fireballs, she gently swayed her magic wand and continuously whispered incantations under her breath, apparently to use magic in succession and not give me a chance to get close.

  I'm not in a hurry to attack, I want to see what she can come up with. These days, I haven't been able to meet a real opponent, which makes me feel very depressed. It's easy to win, but it can't satisfy me. I must be constantly challenged in order to truly improve myself.

  At this time, her magic was already completed, and the magic wand in her hand drew a beautiful red six-pointed star in the air. Based on my experience with magic books in the academy library, I knew that this was at least a 5th-level spell or higher, and it would definitely not be easy to deal with.

  As expected, I heard her clear voice: "Slumbering God of Fire, release your energy, awaken, Guardian of the Gods, Dragon of Fire descends." No, this isn't fifth-level magic, but sixth.

  I was shocked, although my defense is super strong, but I couldn't resist this powerful magic. In the red six-pointed star magic, a loud dragon's roar came out, and a fire dragon that wasn't very big flew out of the magic circle, its teeth bared and claws dancing in mid-air between me and the female magician.

  I will unleash the divine power of the gods throughout my body, and with the demonic power contained within me, I calmly gaze at the fire dragon. From the slight trembling of her staff, it can be seen that the female magician is not finding it easy to sustain this magic either, as she waves her staff and begins to urge the summoned fire dragon to attack me.

  The fire dragon just moved, and I felt a wave of scorching heat rushing towards me. What a powerful flame! It's no wonder it's the highest level of intermediate magic. I immediately released my aura externally and punched out at the fire dragon. The pale yellow aura produced by Kyoshin Jikuu accurately hit the fire dragon's head, and the entire dragon seemed to shrink a bit, but still came towards me unchanged.

  I was surprised and delighted to find that the aura could actually counteract the intensity of magic, a new discovery, not bad. It wasn't until later that I found out this was a secret that everyone knew about. Only someone like me who hadn't attended many classes wouldn't know.

  I released several more blasts of qi, causing the fire dragon's speed to slow down significantly. The female magician continued to cast flame magic on the fire dragon from behind.

  This won't do, I can already smell the scent of burning, being hit by this spell, I reckon with my body I'll definitely be able to withstand it, but clothes and hair and whatnot will probably disappear. Even if I don't get hurt, I still can't show my face like this. Dealing with magicians is such a hassle.

  I secretly wrapped the Tianmo Jue in the Kyoshin Jue's fighting spirit, releasing a 10-successful-strike Kyoshin Jue wrapped around a 3-successful-strike Tianmo Jue's fighting spirit. Since the dark element was completely surrounded by my Kyoshin Jue, from the outside, nothing out of the ordinary could be seen.

  With a burst of energy, my clothes puffed out and a pure yellow beam of light shot straight at the fire dragon. The fire dragon spat out large flames from its mouth to try and block my attack, but at this moment, the dark element played an important role, as it contained within me, greatly increasing the power of the Crazy God Dueling Qi, making the flames unable to affect it, directly hitting the fire dragon.

  The fire dragon was beaten by the violent Dou Qi and dark elements, and suddenly disappeared into thin air. The female magician was affected by the airflow, and her whole body shook violently.

  "This guy is too powerful, I can no longer let her cast magic spells, I loudly shouted: 'Crazy Wind and Rain.' One punch slammed into the ground, since I had used this move before, the female magician obviously knew its power, immediately applied a thick defensive cover to herself, and quickly moved her body to the right."

  I struck the center of the arena, and my fighting spirit surged forward, covering half of the stage in an instant. Although she didn't move slowly, she still didn't dare to come close to me - after all, I'm a magic warrior.

  The violent airflow and debris shattered the defensive barrier she had hastily set up, and the cloak on her head was also blown away.

  My eyes lit up, what a beauty. I didn't expect this female magician to be so pretty, not one bit inferior to Zixue, her eyebrows were upside down, her phoenix eyes were full of majesty, obviously she was enraged by me.

  Although she is a woman, she is also my opponent. I don't have any tender feelings towards her. Taking advantage of her momentary confusion, I swiftly dash past her and throw a punch at her.

  Hit the target, but the target has disappeared. This is mirror shadow technique. This girl's magic is so profound that she can escape my intuition in this situation.

  A crisp voice came: "You're so rude, don't you know she's a girl?"

  I turned around and she was behind me. I said coldly: "I am a warrior, not a gentleman. Elegance means nothing to me."

  Her opponent hummed and her body began to move quickly, mainly using speed and mirror image techniques. I couldn't distinguish which one was the real her at all.

  I stood in the arena, motionless. Suddenly, my back was in pain, hit by a fireball, and my clothes instantly had a patch of char, I was furious at heart, most hated others ruining my clothes. I let out an angry roar, continuously throwing punches, the power of the stormy weather enveloped the entire arena, I didn't even spare myself, the entire arena was filled with smoke, debris, and fighting spirit.

  I emitted a thick and intense killing aura all over my body, regardless of direction, centered on me, and fiercely released a strong fighting spirit in all directions. Although the female magician's magic was very powerful, the absolute intensity was still somewhat different from my fighting spirit. Under my fierce tiger-like attack, she suddenly felt unable to withstand it, and each of my attacks was so heavy.

  This is the first time I've used my Qi like this, and I didn't expect the Crazy God's Fist to be replenished endlessly. Originally, I thought it wouldn't last long, but now I can keep throwing punches non-stop, it feels great!

  "Lei Xiang, stop right there! If you continue to destroy the stage, you will be responsible for all the costs yourself."

  After hearing this, I was stunned and stopped, the female magician shrank into a ball and hid in the corner, the arena around me was filled with rubble, the original onlookers had retreated tens of meters away. Some people even looked disheveled.

  After I stopped, I suddenly became the object of everyone's criticism. Almost everyone thought that I shouldn't have treated a girl like that and said that I was a shame to men. What do they know? To me, what matters most is victory.

  I walked up to the female magician and said, "How are you?"

  The female magician slowly moved away the magical cloak that was blocking her, withdrew the defensive boundary, and looked at me with a lingering fear in her heart, saying: "You're too terrifying, attacking like this. Ah, my clothes." The magic on her chest cracked open a bit, just enough for me to catch a glimpse of some wonderful scenery. My face turned red as I quickly turned my head away.

  The cry of the female magician came from behind me. Girls are just more fragile.

  I said calmly: "Do you still want to continue?"

  The female magician shook her head desperately, with a sob in her voice: "Who would still want to fight with someone like you who doesn't know how to cherish and appreciate others?" After finishing speaking, she covered her clothes, turned around, and stepped down from the stage.

  The female magician thought to herself, Fortunately, it's just a damaged dress. If you were ruined by this fierce cow, that would be a loss.

  In this way, I dramatically won first place in the group and smoothly entered the semi-finals.

  Having won the final victory, she not only didn't get praised by Principal Zhuang, but was scolded instead. Her common enemy also included Zi Xue.

  "Lei Xiang, you're also too much! Although it's a martial arts competition, you can't treat others like that. What if you hurt her badly? Moreover, ruining a girl's clothes is very impolite behavior." - Teacher Zhuang

  "I exclaimed in surprise: 'But you want me to win the championship, and only by defeating her can I get a favorable position. As for ruining her clothes, I didn't mean to.'"

  "Even if we want to win the championship, we can't just fight recklessly and ignore our image. Now, many teachers come to me to settle accounts, saying that I taught a crazy student."

  Zi Xue, who originally came to cheer me up, also walked over and said: "Lei Xiang, you're in the wrong today. How could you be so cruel to Bing Bing? You even humiliated her in public, she's my good friend."

  I'm speechless, am I being too harsh? If I don't act tough on her, I'll probably get roasted by her. She's clearly using fire magic, but insists on calling it "Ice Ice", how disgusting. Although she doesn't look bad, she has no appeal to me.

  From that day on, I got my first nickname - Beauty Killer, which means that no matter what the competition is, even if it's against a beauty, I won't hold back. And of course, there's another layer of meaning, which is that I won Purple Snow's heart.

  The opponent in the semifinals was that swordsman who was in the same group as He Feng, I originally wanted to deal with him gently, but this guy as soon as he got on the stage ignored me, when the referee announced the start of the match, he struck a pose and said something like "I am the embodiment of justice, representing the beautiful girls of the college to eliminate you", what's even more hateful is that there were many girls under the stage who screamed in response to him. I was so angry that I almost vomited blood, after a few hard collisions, I knocked him off the stage.

  The wind asked this kid if he didn't know whether it was to please the beauty or not having enough strength, unexpectedly lost to that female magician, and as a result, of course, I met the female magician again.

  Standing on the final stage, I originally wanted to be gentle with her, but she didn't give me a chance at all. She didn't even move and admitted defeat, going down herself. But this trick of hers is not to be underestimated - beautiful women are extremely deadly, and I almost became the public enemy of all the boys.

  Almost all the students under the stage were shouting: "Don't be shameless, return the championship to others." But I couldn't give up this title for the sake of challenging Liva, so I could only quietly return to my dormitory. Fortunately, due to my strong performance, none of these freshmen dared to challenge me to a fight yet.

  Riva, I'll make you pay for all the humiliation I've suffered. My heart is filled with rage.

  Feng Yun returned to the dormitory and said lightly to me, "Zi Xue came looking for you." From his attitude, it was clear that he too was blaming me. The power of a beauty is indeed great! What did I do wrong? Wasn't it just using some more intense moves to win? Are women not opponents? They don't want to bother with me, and I'm happy to have some peace and quiet anyway.

  I quickly walked out of the dormitory building, and Zi Xue was standing at the door looking inside. When she saw me coming out, she came over to greet me.

  I said: "So good? Come find me."

  Zi Xue anxiously said, "You've offended everyone. You're beautiful and can stir up trouble, now the whole first grade is against you, and it's even spreading to other grades. Be careful when you go out."

  A flash of murderous intent flickered in my eyes. I wasn't a good-tempered person to begin with, and they were provoking me like this. I had already lost my patience. "Whoever dares to come looking for trouble with me will be begging for death," I said coldly.

  Zixue grabbed my hand and said: "What are you doing? You're so afraid of people, don't be like this."

  "I sneered: 'I won't bother them if they don't bother me. If they want to take me down, they'll have to pay the price.'"

  Zixue Song let go of my hand, her eyes red as she said: "How could you do this? I was originally going to advise you to admit your mistake to Bingbing and then help you say a few good words to calm down the situation. But instead, you became even more overbearing."

  My anger was suddenly ignited, and I said coldly: "You also don't understand me too well. Am I the kind of person who can humble himself? Hmph."

  After finishing speaking, he turned around and returned to the dormitory. This ice ice of his not only made me isolated from everyone, but also caused Zixue to be at odds with me. When there's a chance, I will definitely let her know my prowess.

  Back in the dormitory, I lay on my bed and thought of Zi Xue's gentle appearance. My heart couldn't help but soften. Tomorrow, I'll go find her. As long as I take the initiative, we can make up like before. No, no way, it would be too humiliating if I just went like that. Can't go. The two thoughts kept alternating in my mind. In the end, I decided not to look for Zi Xue first and instead focus on beating Li Wa in the competition.

  The next morning, I went to the college's teaching office to sign up and challenge Rivera.

  Director Zhang saw me and didn't say anything, after all he is a teacher. He just said strangely: "Why are there two people challenging the first place in fifth grade this year? You know that Liva's strength is not ordinary." His implication was that I was overestimating myself.

  I asked in surprise: "Is there anyone else who wants to challenge him?"

  Zhang Feng said: "There is another one, the third-grade champion Ziyan."

  I was shocked, Ziyan? How could it be her? I hastily asked: "How are the two of us going to compete?"

  Zhang Feng thought for a moment and said, "According to the previous rules of the college, if several lower-grade champions want to challenge the same higher-grade champion, they must first decide the winner among themselves before challenging upwards. In other words, you and Ziyan must fight each other first."

  As I walked out of the teaching building, my heart was racing. Why did Ziyan want to challenge Liva? Didn't Liva always pursue her? If they competed with each other, what would be the outcome? Could Liva hurt Ziyan? Definitely not. Was it Zixue who made her sister do this to prevent me from competing with Liva? Yes, that must be it.

  As it's already the end of the semester, all students are on holiday today. Most people are packing up in their dorms and getting ready to head home for the break. Zixue should be at home by now.

  I walked out of the academy and rushed to the Duke's mansion, I want to go find Zixue and ask her clearly. I made such a big effort, just to fight against Liva, and I don't want anything to get in my way.

  I arrived at the duke's mansion and had a servant announce me. After a while, Zixue came out, her face somewhat pale, which pained my heart.

  "Where did you come from?" Zi Xue said faintly.

  I sighed and said, "Don't let me go in and say it?"

  Zixue looked at me deeply and said, "Follow me." I followed her into the Duke's Mansion.