Insufficient balance

  This is my first time coming to Zixue's boudoir, her room is decorated very elegantly, basically all in light purple tone. I found a chair and sat down, Zixue sat beside me, for a long time, neither of us said a word.

  It was me who broke the silence, saying: "Yesterday I'm sorry, it's my fault for being too hot-tempered. I know you're doing it for my own good, but I feel like I didn't do anything wrong. I'm just pursuing victory, is that not right?"

  Zixue looked at me and said with her head down: "Do whatever you want."

  I looked at her and said: "Still angry with me?"

  Zi Xue shook her head.

  I said: "Do you know your sister is also going to challenge Riva?"

  Zi Xue's eyes widened in shock as she lifted her head and said, "What did you say? My sister is also going to challenge Riva?"

  I was also surprised and said: "Don't you know? I thought it was you who asked your sister to do this."

  Zi Xue's face turned bright red as she said, "Why do you suspect me? Don't I know that you want to challenge Liva? You've done all this just for that. Given our relationship, you still doubt me?"

  I was suddenly speechless and stuttered: "I..."

  Zixue said: "Don't say anything else, I'll take you to find your sister. You can ask her yourself." After that, she pulled me and went out.

  "I hastily said: 'Zixue, don't be angry, listen to me explaining, I'm not suspecting you, I...'"

  Zixue Li also dragged me to a nearby room and said, "Sister is inside, you ask her yourself." She knocked on the door, and Ziyuan's voice came from inside.

  "Who is it?"

  "Sister, it's me. I've brought Lei Xiang with me. He wants to ask you why you want to challenge Liva."

  "Oh, wait a minute."

  Before long, the door opened and Ziyan walked out. She first looked at her pale-faced sister, then coldly said to me: "Did you bully my sister? Why does she look so bad?"

  Before I could answer, Zixue hastily said: "Sister, he didn't bully me, why are you challenging Riva?"

  Ziyan said: "Nothing, Liva always comes to bother me, I just want to find some trouble for him."

  "Zixue turned around and said to me: 'You heard it, didn't I want my sister to do this? Are you satisfied?' Tears flowed from her big eyes."

  I awkwardly said: "Zixue, you, don't be like this."

  Ziyan stared at us in surprise, seeing Zixue cry, and suddenly became furious: "You still say you didn't bully my sister, I've heard all about your evil deeds. I didn't expect that not only are you ruthless to your opponents, but you also want to bully my sister. I won't forgive you." As she spoke, she was about to take action.

  "I quickly explained: 'It's not like that, don't misunderstand.'"

  Zi Xue wiped away the tears on her face and said to Zi Yan, "Sister, don't be like this. This time I came with him is to let you cancel the challenge with Li Va."

  Ziyan furrowed her brow and said: "Why?"

  Zi Xue said: "Because he wants to challenge Riva, can't have two people challenging at the same time."

  Ziyan's eyebrows rose in challenge as she said, "You think you can take on Riva? You're overestimating yourself."

  Her words suddenly enraged me, and I said: "Why can't I challenge him? At worst, it's a loss. I just want to try. Since you know how formidable Riva is, what's the point of challenging him? It's just giving him an opportunity to show off. But I'm different. I'm challenging him to prove that he's not the strongest."

  Surprisingly, Zi Yan's eyes showed a hint of admiration. She nodded and said: "Alright, you're very brave. I'll give you this opportunity. I also want to see what makes you think you can challenge Riviere. If it's just based on your strength when you fought my father that day, you probably wouldn't even be able to touch Riviere's sleeve. Think carefully."

  I proudly said: "I've thought it through clearly, being able to challenge the strong is a joyful thing for me."

  Ziyan looked at Zixue and said: "Sister, what did you say?"

  "This is his freedom, he can do whatever he wants."

  "Men are like that, they need to have their own careers. He has the courage to do this and you should support him. Don't cry, be strong."

  I didn't expect Ziyan to speak up for me, and my impression of her suddenly improved a lot.

  "Ziyan said to me, 'Don't worry about my sister anymore, just focus on your preparations. According to the academy's rules, if I withdraw, two days later will be your turn to challenge Riva. I hope to see a battle between strong opponents, not a one-sided situation.'"

  I recalled Riva's arrogant appearance and a strong sense of combat rose up in my heart. I turned to Zixue and said, "Can you see me off?"

  Zi Xue nodded slightly.

  I pulled her small hand all the way to the entrance of the duke's mansion, and I said gently: "Don't blame me, okay? I didn't have any doubts about your intentions. In my heart, you are the most important one, no one can replace that."

  Zixue leaned into my arms, her body tightly pressed against mine, and said, "I'm sorry, I was too reckless."

  Having obtained Zixue's forgiveness, my heart suddenly felt a lot more at ease. I hugged her and sniffed the fragrance between her hair, saying: "Hey, by the way, why did your sister suddenly speak well of me? The feeling she gave me wasn't like that."

  Zixue raised her head and smiled lightly, saying: "You don't understand her. My sister likes strong people the most. Do you know what she said when Liva pursued her?"

  I gave him a questioning look.

  Zi Xue continued, "Sister said that only when Liva reaches the position of Dragon Rider will she consider marrying him. Sister's theory is that she must be the strongest on the continent in order to feel a sense of security."

  I thought to myself, so it's like this, quite perverted, fortunately the person I like isn't her.

  I said: "By the time he reaches the position of Longji Zhang, he may be 70 or 80 years old. Your sister is waiting for him too."

  Zixue patted me lightly and said, "That's not it either. Sister said that whoever becomes the strongest on the continent, she'll marry him, even if he's from another tribe. If you can defeat Liva, maybe sister will take a liking to you."

  Dizzy, Zi Yan surprisingly values strength even more than I do. She should have been reborn as a man instead. "Don't talk nonsense, having you is enough for me."

  Zixue's face showed a satisfied smile, and she said: "Actually, it doesn't matter to me. If you can win my sister's heart, I'll be delighted. The more we don't have to separate from each other, the better."

  I forced a smile and said: "Forget it, you sisters' temper changes suddenly, I can barely handle just one of you."

  Zi Xue sneered: "What, you think I have a bad temper?"

  I hastily said: "No way, where would it be? Our Zixue is the most gentle."

  At this time, a sudden cough came from behind. I hastily let go of Zi Xue and turned back to look, oh no, it's the Duke who has returned. Zi Xue's face suddenly turned bright red, she turned around and ran back into the mansion.

  The duke walked up to me with a calm face and said, "Young man, is this what you call not being overly familiar with my daughter?" He intentionally emphasized the words "overly familiar".

  I was caught red-handed and said awkwardly: "Sorry, Your Excellency."

  The duke grunted and said, "What brings you to Zixue?"

  "I replied: 'That's right. Since I want to challenge Riva, and Miss Ziyan also has the same intention, I came here to ask Miss Ziyan to give me this right.'"

  Upon hearing this, the duke suddenly became interested and said: "So you're a first-year champion, not bad. You've achieved quite an accomplishment. However, if you want to challenge Riva, it's probably still..."

  I let out a wry smile and said, "There's a gap, huh? I know that too, but I still want to give it a try. At the very least, I need to know how much I'm lacking compared to him, where exactly I'm falling short. Having a goal will allow me to improve faster."

  It's no wonder that the father and daughter are alike, the Duke and Ziyan both showed a look of appreciation, saying: "You said it well, then I'll wait to see your performance. It seems that agreeing to let you and Zixue date wasn't a wrong decision after all, young man, good luck!" The Duke let out a long laugh, and didn't mention the matter again, turning around and entering the mansion.

  This trip to the Duke's mansion was really worth it, not only did I win the praise of the Duke and Ziyan, but also got the right to challenge Liva, my heart is even more looking forward to this match.

  ……

  "Due to the third-grade champion, Zi Yan, giving up the challenge against fifth-grade champion Li Va, the first-grade champion Lei Xiang will directly challenge Li Va. The match is about to begin. Please have all monitoring teachers take their positions."

  It's been many years since a first-year champion dared to challenge the fifth-year champion, so this match shocked the entire college's high-level officials. The principal, vice-principal, and directors of each department came to watch, using the large arena in Training Ground 1, which is much larger than the one we used before in Training Ground 4. For this match, the college dispatched four teachers with strength above mid-tier magic users to set up a barrier for us. Almost all students in the college came to watch this grand finale, which was also the most exciting match.

  What struck me as strange was that the judge of the match was actually the vice president himself. As soon as I stepped onto the stage, I heard the vice president's voice: "Good kid, you really have guts, go for it! If all else fails, just use your dark magic, and I'll take responsibility." The vice president's words brought a warm current to my heart, and I looked at him with gratitude before standing in one corner of the stage.

  Almost all the students below shouted Riva's name, especially the first-year students who shouted the loudest. There are probably two reasons for this: firstly, because Riva is their idol; secondly, they want Riva to teach me a good lesson and vent their anger on my behalf.

  Riva wore a very ordinary warrior suit standing in front of me, his expression was extremely calm, and he was not affected by the commotion under the stage at all.

  The deputy director called the two of us to the center of the venue and said, "This time, you must abide by the principle of fair play. Rivera, especially you, everyone knows that you have an absolute advantage in strength, so when you make a move, you must pay attention to the rules of the competition. It is not allowed to injure or kill each other, do you understand?"

  Riva and I nodded at the same time. Riva said to me: "You're really good, you actually persisted in challenging me."

  I snorted coldly: "What's so great about you? You've just practiced a few more years than me?"

  Riva smiled and said, "I will be the insurmountable gap between heaven and earth for you forever, unless I die. Otherwise, you will never be able to defeat me. In this martial arts competition, you defeated many of our junior brothers in the Martial Arts Department. Today, I want to take revenge on them. However, there is one thing I want to thank you for - I heard that you stopped Ziyan from challenging me." At this point, Riva's face revealed a helpless expression.

  I nodded and said, "Because your opponent is me."

  Riva said: "If I really fight her, I won't be able to bring myself to do it, and can only admit defeat. I don't have your courage." He was obviously hinting at the battle between me and Bingbing.

  "The deputy dean said, 'No more nonsense, I declare the match to begin!' With that, he flashed down from the stage, and the four referee teachers below immediately activated a magical barrier, completely isolating Riva and me from the outside world."

  Riva and I backed off at the same time, stretching the distance between us to 20 meters.

  Riva smiled and said: "I heard you don't use troops, so I won't today either. It saves me from being accused of bullying you."

  I said coldly: "You can use whatever you want, my hands are the best weapons."

  Riva said: "Although your strength is not great, but your mouth is very hard. Come on, let me see if you are tough under your hands."

  I was just about to launch an attack when Riva suddenly disappeared from in front of me. The people below the stage saw Riva swiftly flash to my right side, like lightning, and land a punch on my shoulder.

  A massive force came, and my tall body was instantly knocked flying, crashing into the seal set up by the teachers, before thudding to the ground.

  The two women under the stage, Ziyan and Zixue, both let out cries of surprise. However, while Zixue's cry was one of heartache, Ziyan's was one of discontent. Ziyan said to Zixue, "What's wrong with this Lei Xiang? He's really too bad. He's truly disappointed me."

  The blow Rivera gave me was indeed very strong, but after all I had defended people before, and with a strong effort to bear the soreness on my shoulder, I stood up again.

  Li Va smiled and said: "Although I didn't get to test how hard your hands are, I did find out that your skin is quite tough."

  I circulated my ki throughout my body, and countless low-level spells poured towards Riva like a landslide. Riva stood with his hands behind his back, allowing my magic to baptize him, but no matter what kind of magic it was, it all disappeared three feet in front of him, such a powerful protective aura.

  I slammed my fist heavily on the ground, using all my strength to unleash a storm of crazy winds and rains. Liva also punched the ground with one fist, and two energies collided underground, causing the ground to emit a strong tremor. The fighting spirit burst out from under my feet, and I was knocked flying again. In this clash of powers, I unexpectedly lost, and what's more, I lost so thoroughly.

  Liva didn't pursue, still standing there with ease, and said to me: "This move is indeed good, but you seem not to have fully grasped it yet, and the power isn't enough."

  I stood up shakily, and was shocked in my heart. The power of the Knight of the Earth was so terrifying that it was almost unthinkable.

  Liva exclaimed in surprise: "You're really sturdy, your endurance is not bad, it's been a long time since I've hit a sandbag. Today's a good opportunity to practice." He flashed to my side and punched me flying into the air.

  This time I learned my lesson, while he was hitting me, I quickly concentrated the dark elements of Tian Lei Xia Jia and Tian Mo Jue to the place where I was hit. Although I received a considerable impact, I didn't suffer any major damage.

  Like this, I became a genuine sandbag, getting up quickly every time I was knocked down, and just as I got up, I would be knocked flying again. Riva's blows gradually grew heavier in surprise after surprise, and the length of time I spent on the ground grew longer each time. I also tried to think of using Tenma no Ketsui to launch a counterattack, but there was simply no opportunity, as Riva didn't give me any chance to use large magic, and small magic couldn't cause him harm, not even dark magic.

  The dean said to the vice president: "Is it a stop to the competition? This way there is no competitiveness at all, it's just one-sided beating."

  The deputy director said: "Let's wait a little longer, maybe a miracle will happen."

  Zi Xue had already cried her eyes out under the stage, shouting for me to admit defeat, but due to the barrier being able to isolate sound, I couldn't hear a thing. And if Zi Yan wasn't reluctant to give up on her sister, she would have probably left in disappointment long ago.

  Riva's lightning speed and overwhelming power made me realize the strength of a reserve dragon knight. No, I absolutely can't lose like this... My consciousness couldn't focus, Riva's punches got heavier and heavier, blood threads flowed from my mouth corner. I felt my whole body was about to split open. Qi and blood surged, meridians were extremely painful.

  Riva punched me again, and I crashed into the boundary. I happened to meet Zi Xue's crying face and Zi Yan's disdainful expression. My heart was in turmoil. This time when I fell from the boundary, I didn't fall down, but stood on the arena with my head lowered.

  Riva suddenly felt my aura go wild, and I became cautious. I abruptly raised my head, looked up at the sky and let out a furious roar, all the blood in my body was boiling, I suddenly felt a wave of heat in my brain, my light green hair gradually turned bright red, and my originally black and white eyes completely turned bloodshot. The injured areas quickly healed, and an astonishing killing aura emanated from my entire body.

  The Dean and Vice-Dean on the platform exclaimed in unison: "Mad Warrior."

  The deputy director said: "Do you want me to stop the game immediately?"

  The principal said excitedly: "It should be fine, after all, Liva's strength far exceeds that of his opponent. Let's take a look, it's been many years since the last Crazy Warrior appeared. It's great, our college has finally produced one, and it's a first-year freshman. With good training, he will definitely become a great talent. At that time, we can truly become the number one among the four major colleges."

  This is the second time I've gone berserk since birth, because the Tianmo Decree I practiced has approached the completion of the third layer, allowing me to maintain a thread of clarity in my spiritual platform.

  Liva was also startled, but he too recognized my feralization due to his family background.

  He swiftly threw a punch, a powerful aura shot straight at my chest. I burst out laughing and somehow managed to grab the aura he had released with one hand, squeezing it tightly and completely dissipating it.

  Ziyan and Zixue were both stunned. Just a moment ago, I was still being beaten up, but now I somehow had the strength to fight back, and it seemed like I even had the upper hand.

  Ziyan said to Zixue: "Sister, now you've picked up a treasure, this little guy can still go crazy."

  Riva's right hand beckoned, and from the weapon rack, a long sword was summoned. With a concentrated gaze at me, his feet slowly moved, searching for an opportunity to attack.

  After going berserk, I felt an explosive power surging within me. With the same move, "Crazy Storm", I struck the ground, but this time it was completely different from before. Rivat couldn't even dare to harden his body to take the hit head-on, and the ground within a 10-meter radius around him completely exploded. The fighting spirit was abnormally violent, with countless spiral-shaped air columns mixed with debris sealing off all angles around him. This is the true power of "Crazy God's Fist".

  Riva showed an astonishing calmness, with his long sword stirring up a fighting spirit that kept his body suspended in the air. The countless sword shadows protected his body, and although he was knocked against the boundary, it didn't cause him any harm.

  I walked step by step, and Riva's eyes flickered with a look of astonishment, apparently frightened by my extremely violent aura. His toes lightly touched the boundary behind him, and he flashed to my side like lightning, slashing his sword at me.

  After going berserk, I couldn't feel any pain at all. My defense had increased several times over, and I didn't even bother to defend against his attacks. Letting him hack away at my body, I let out a loud roar, releasing my fighting spirit and sending him flying to the side. I shouted loudly: "Berserk mode activated!" The space around me suddenly distorted, my red hair standing on end, my muscles swelling up even more, tearing apart the clothes that were originally covering my upper body (fortunately it was mainly concentrated on my upper body, otherwise I would have been embarrassed).

  Riva isn't a fool either, just look at my aura and you'll know I'm not easy to deal with. He flew back, his entire body bursting into intense flames, and said from within the flames: "You're indeed very strong after going berserk, worthy of being my opponent. Let's go all out then! Final move - Dragon Cloud Heaven Breaker!" His body rapidly spun around, forming a dragon-shaped tornado-like pillar of light that shot up into the sky.

  The dean said to the vice dean, "This is bad. Li Va and Lei Xiang have both made their moves. Quick, let's each take one of them and stop them. Remember, our main goal is to divert them, absolutely do not harm them."

  My Crazy War Cry was also released at this time, the surging crimson red aura instantly filled the three-meter radius in front of me. I let out a loud roar: "War!" The crimson red aura took on a wave-like shape and shot towards Rivaille in the sky like lightning.

  A dragon made of light coiled around and dove down towards him.

  At this critical moment, two figures, one gray and one white, inserted themselves in between, respectively emitting a light sphere that was either magic or aura, which drew the power we had released into the sky. The barrier in the air was completely unable to withstand such an impact, turning into tiny sparks that vanished into thin air.

  I felt all my strength drain away and then I knew nothing.

  A flash of light passed by, and Liva's pale face fell onto the dueling stage, propping herself up with her long sword.

  The two deans stood in the middle of the field, and the vice dean said loudly: "The game is over, Riva has won, everyone can disperse." Indeed, if I had clashed with Riva just now, I would have definitely lost. After all, I was relying on the power unleashed by my crazy mode, not my actual strength, and there's still a gap between me and Riva's hard-earned skills.

  "Riva, your kung fu has improved again, not bad at all. I had a hard time dealing with that last move of yours. Hurry back and rest now."

  Riva smiled wryly and said: "What progress? Almost got beaten by a newbie, too embarrassing."

  The dean smiled and said, "Don't be discouraged. A physique that can go berserk like his has not appeared in over a hundred years. Why should you be sad? Besides, you ultimately won."

  The deputy dean picked me up, who had already fainted back to normal, and said to the dean: "This kid has consumed too much, I'll take him back for treatment first."

  The principal nodded.

  Zixue was anxious and wanted to rush up, but Ziyuan managed to hold her back. Ziyuan said, "Don't worry, my teacher will take care of him, he'll definitely be fine." Only then did Zixue calm down.

  I woke up in a daze, feeling soft and weak all over my body, struggling to sit up. A kind voice sounded, with a hint of reproach, saying: "Just lie still and don't move, you need to rest."

  It wasn't until then that I saw clearly, and found that both the deputy dean and the dean were sitting beside my bed.

  "I said: 'Deputy Director, thank you for helping me with my treatment.'"

  The deputy dean smiled and said: "We didn't help you much, this isn't a serious injury, it's just that your body has over-exerted itself too much, and you need to gradually recover on your own."

  The principal said: "Lei Xiang, did you know before that you could go crazy?"

  "Not good, isn't being unable to go berserk a characteristic of the Mong? I was shocked and said: 'What's this about going berserk, I don't know anything about it.'"

  The principal said, "When you were competing with Riva, you went berserk. Berserk refers to the fact that people with special physical qualities can suddenly go crazy and fully exert their potential, whether it's attacking, defending or recovering, speed is increased several times."

  I scratched my head and said, "I don't know, I've never heard of it before. When I was competing with Riva, I just felt a rush in my brain, my whole body seemed to be boiling, and everything else was unknown. Did I lose?"

  The principal nodded and said, "You are indeed a rare talent. I have rarely seen Rivana's kid being pushed to this point by an academy student. If you develop the trait of frenzy well, you will definitely achieve something extraordinary. Frenzied warriors are already very rare on the continent."

  Hearing him say this made me breathe a sigh of relief, it turns out that it's not just Bai Meng who can go crazy.

  I smiled and said: "Then we'll have to rely on the teachers for guidance from now on."

  The principal said: "Then are you willing to transfer to the Martial Arts Department? Maybe it's more suitable for your development."

  "I hadn't even responded when Principal Zhuang's familiar voice came over, 'No way, absolutely not. Our Martial Arts Department has finally produced a top-notch student and you're going to poach him? What are we supposed to do?'"

  The principal smiled awkwardly and said to Zhuang teacher who appeared at the door, "Little Zhuang, I'm doing this for his own good too. You've seen it too, he can go crazy, putting him with you guys will affect his development."

  Mr. Zhuang walked over and sat down beside my bed, saying discontentedly: "Who said that, Lei Xiang is also very talented in magic, I don't agree with him transferring to the Martial Skills Department." After finishing speaking, he still vigilantly looked at the principal.

  The deputy dean hastily said: "You all stop arguing, listen to his own opinion. The college still attaches great importance to the students' own choices."

  I looked at them and remembered the maternal warmth that Teacher Zhuang brought to me, and said firmly: "I have decided to stay in my current class and continue learning, I also like magic very much."

  The principal looked at me helplessly and said, "Alright then, if you need guidance on martial skills in the future, feel free to find any teacher in the college."

  I nodded and said, "Thank you, Dean."

  The Dean said, "Then I won't disturb your rest. You can go back first and take good care of yourself. After you've recovered, you can have a holiday. In April, come back to the college for classes, don't be late. The expenses here will be covered by the college."

  I saw the principal off, and then Teacher Zhang suddenly became excited and hugged me tightly, giving my face a heavy kiss. With tears in her eyes, she said: "Thank you, Lei Xiang. Thank you for being willing to stay in class."

  I touched the lip print on my face with embarrassment and said, "Teacher, don't thank me. You're so good to me, how could I possibly leave you?"

  Suddenly, I found the vice president kept giving me eye signals. Following his gaze, I saw Zixue standing at the door with a pale face. She was biting her lips tightly and had obviously heard our conversation earlier. Her tears had already soaked through her clothes. I called out: "Zixue, how did you get here?"

  Zixue cried: "Yes, I'm here, have I disturbed your good things?" After finishing, she turned around and ran away.

  Teacher Zhuang was stunned too. When Zixue went out, she finally figured out what was going on and her face suddenly turned red. She said to me: "Lei Xiang, why don't you hurry up and chase after her?"

  I forced a smile and said: "Chase? How can I chase, I'm completely unable to move. It's okay, it was just a misunderstanding anyway, when I recover I'll go explain things to her."

  The vice president said, "This is the hospital set up by our college. If you stay here and rest for a few days, you will be fine. Your performance today really surprised us. You should cultivate well, your future is bright. I was exhausted from fighting against that crazy warlord earlier, my blood was boiling for half a day. Fortunately, my light magic healing effect is not bad, otherwise, I would have ended up in the hospital like you."

  Although I knew he was joking, when I heard him praise my kung fu skills, I naturally felt happy inside.

  I said: "If it weren't for your three months of confinement, I wouldn't have achieved today's results."

  The deputy director said, "You'd better take a good rest. Once you've recovered, hurry up and go find that little lover of yours. Girls need to be coaxed, how can it work if you always have a bossy face? Let's go, Little Zhuang."

  "Come see me when you go back to the college to pack your things."

  I nodded.