On one hand, Long Yi and Ai Lin were studying on their own, while on the other hand, the other students who were still engaged in practical training were full of rage. Although they had always been on good terms with the magic tutor, very few made him genuinely proud and that fueled their jealousy. As mages themselves, they had long heard about Ai Lin, a genius in various rumors. As noble offspring, they had no reason not to know.

However, knowing her is one thing, acknowledging her is another.

"As mages, who’s afraid of who?"

While Long Yi was busily memorizing the complex formulas and theorems, a group of students already gathered around him.

"Sister Ai Lin, do you still remember me?"

The speaker was a girl about the same age as Ai Lin: tall, with long hair down her shoulders, wearing fancy jewelry on her head. From the misty aura coming from the jewelry, one could tell that these were magical accessories, not used just for decoration.

"You are...?"

Ai Lin was obviously confused, not remembering who this person was.

The girl’s face immediately turned red with dissatisfaction and she said:

"I’m Selvi from the Gelan family."

"Selvi?" Ai Lin thought for a moment, then a light of realization appeared on her face, "Ah, Selvi, it’s been five years since we last saw each other. You’ve become so beautiful that I didn’t recognize you."

Ai Lin stood up from next to Long Yi, smiled gently, and looked at Selvi in front of her.

When Selvi heard Ai Lin praising her beauty, she mitigated her dissatisfaction. But her jealousy was far from over.

Almost every child of their age who aspires to be a Dragon Mage had heard the story of the genius Ai Lin. They used Ai Lin’s story to motivate themselves and she served as their role model. On the other hand, the tragic story of Ai Lin being labeled as trash served as a negative example. They were told that if they didn’t work hard, they could end up like Ai Lin, who lost everything.

In essence, Ai Lin’s name was entwined with their every day of growing up.

Now, this ’trash’ in front of them is transforming into an invincible Magic Fighter. Ai Lin had lost her magic casting abilities, but she gained even more destructive force. She abandoned her previous image, flaunting in silver tight clothes and fashionable tall boots around the academy.

As girls who also love beauty, Selvi was jealous! She was highly confident about her own figure, if given the chance, she wouldn’t mind showing off like Ai Lin. But no matter how hard she searched throughout Academy City, she couldn’t find similar clothes!

She was upset. Not only could she not buy that shiny tight dress, but she also couldn’t find those fashionable knight boots! Although she heard that the shoe store once launched similar products, by the time she heard about it, they were all sold out! Thus, Selvi felt upset because she couldn’t buy what she wanted.

Even though she was jealous, there was nothing she could do about it. She was a level five mana user, but Ai Lin was already on the seventh level! Moreover, Ai Lin was also a Magic Fighter! Magic Fighters couldn’t cast spells from a distance like mages, but they could condense spells into their fists and feet and unleash them at the moment of an attack. Despise losing the advantage of distance, their potency was often more than doubled!

She had never seen Ai Lin fight, but it was said that Ai Lin single-handedly overpowered thirty people from the Second Year Land Forces Department.

Thus, whether in terms of style or strength, Selvi felt she was overshadowed by Ai Lin. Even when considering background, Ai Lin was the granddaughter of Iron Blood General Kai Long, and her own grandfather was quite lacking in comparison.

There was simply no comparison!

Resulting in nothing left but jealousy.

Indeed, this is the fascinating part about humans.

Jealousy.

Jealous people tend to compare what they lack with what others excel in. For example, Selvi’s figure was taller and fuller than Ai Lin’s, already close to being an ideal figure. But she couldn’t see her own good points and insisted on comparing where she fell short.

Simply put, such behavior is just seeking trouble for oneself.

Long Yi observed Selvi’s expression and looked into her eyes. Even Long Yi who wasn’t good at understanding people’s feelings could see the deep jealousy in Selvi’s eyes.

But then, Selvi made a baffling move next.

She turned to Long Yi and suddenly asked, "You defeated the Mage Instructor?"

Long Yi chuckled and said, "Yes, indeed, I won." But in his mind, he was hoping, "Please don’t mess with me, please don’t mess with me. I don’t hit women, I don’t hit women."

But Selvi just scoffed, "I don’t believe you. Our Mage Instructor hails from the Magic Research Institute and has the strength of at least one Dragon Mark. Although he’s never been to a battlefield, his understanding of magic surpasses yours by a thousand times."

"Long Yi looked at Selvi with resignation. ’How bored and annoying can you possibly be, girl? Oh, wait, you don’t have those capabilities. If you’re bored, why don’t you go to your favorite boy and ask him to whip you instead of bothering me? You’re weak and a woman, should I beat you or not? Besides, you seem to know Ai Lin. You should realize that if I were to hurt you, I’d have to consider Ai Lin’s face, right? There are some places I can’t hit a girl, you know?"

"Well, I believe you have a point," Long Yi nodded. Although he didn’t appreciate Selvi’s provocation, he seriously agreed with what she said. The Mage Instructor had been suppressing his own strength, using only magic missiles as his only means of attack. This was not a fair comparison, the real power of a mage lies in the destructiveness of the magic spells. The magic missiles could hardly hurt Long Yi. In reality, Long Yi had taken advantage of the situation in that fight.

Despite knowing that he did win, Long Yi never boasted about his victory.

"So, I challenge you to a magical duel! I want to prove on behalf of our beloved Mage Instructor that you are just lucky!"

Selvi announced loudly.

On hearing these words, Ai Lin looked at Selvi in confusion. She’s challenging Brother Long? What confidence! Long Yi even managed to defeat the Mage Instructor, how could she possibly think she could beat Long Yi?

Long Yi was equally baffled. Had jealousy made this girl deranged? If I were some blockhead who only understood Fighting Aura, it would be different. But just recently, I used a large-scale magic missile to shatter the Mage Instructor’s Ethereal Light Shield. Winning easily against the Mage Instructor who’d suppressed his strength to my level, now you jump out to challenge me. Are you planning to avenge the Mage Instructor, or are you planning to slap him in the face?

Wouldn’t your victory imply that you are stronger than the Mage Instructor?

Furthermore, how could you possibly win?

Although the Giant’s strength within Long Yi couldn’t be fully converted into mana, it was still at nine tiers. Not counting Bajie’s Dragon Power, Long Yi’s mana level could reach tier 18! In terms of the average level of ordinary people, this should correspond to a fifth or even a sixth-year student at the Dragon Knight Academy.

You’re a mere second-year student, not someone who’s crossed over from another world, it’s impossible for you to win, what’s the point of this challenge?

"I’m not that interested in your challenge, maybe we should just forget it," Long Yi waved dismissively. He still had plenty of formulas and theorems to memorize, he couldn’t be bothered with a duel that he could finish in minutes, especially if his opponent was a girl.

"Are you scared?"

Contempt filled Selvi’s face. The two girls beside her who appeared to be her friends didn’t look as calm as she. Gently pulling at Selvi’s sleeve, they tried to convince her not to provoke Long Yi. After all, Long Yi had been making his mark recently, almost killing the Crown Prince in front of the ministers. A monster like him there, not provoking him should be considered good luck. Why are you begging for trouble?

Of course, Selvi knew what her friends were worried about, she was no fool. She understood Long Yi’s strengths. However, she had a plan. She knew exactly where Long Yi’s weakness lay.

As long as this weakness was exploited, it was not impossible to defeat Long Yi.

"Yeah, yeah, I’m scared."

Long Yi still didn’t want to lift a finger. He just hoped this girl would lose interest in him quickly and let him off the hook. How important it is to study!

Selvi was almost driven mad by him. Nearly everyone said that Long Yi was a formidable and aggressive guy. How come he seemed so docile today? Selvi, of course, did not believe that Long Yi was afraid of her. He wasn’t even afraid of the Crown Prince or the Mage Instructor. Would he be scared of her? In terms of status and power, where could she compare to them?

No matter what Selvi tried, Long Yi just ignored her. As a girl, she couldn’t just act like a shrew and start a fight, could she? 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

As a mage, Selvi was naturally not adept at rousing people to fight. After trying a few times, she was helpless. As she was racking her brains for a way to make Long Yi agree, she saw three people walking towards the entrance of the training ground.

Two guys and a girl. The guy in the middle looked fresh and handsome, his face somewhat resembling Selvi’s. The two girls at his sides were beautiful and seemed quite interested in the male companion.

A smile appeared on Selvi’s face as she walked over.

"Second Brother, why are you here?"

The guy was Selvi’s second older brother, Selun.