Rainbow lights rose one after another.

One young hunter after another was taken by the rainbow light to the magic stage, showcasing their unique understanding of magic to the guests on Centimeter Mountain, the judges at its foot, and peers by Crescent Lake.

These young people from various wizard families all possessed exceptional magic skills, with many having already passed the registered wizard exam, proficiently using divination and magic circle setups as auxiliary methods while casting spells. The colorful spell lights flowed ceaselessly between the mountains and waters, emanating waves of enchanting magical fluctuations.

Uncle Zhang Zhi, Friedman Black Karen, Boomer Wolfe, Zhao Qiao, Deng Xiaojian, Commander, Nicholas Dunnigan, Sima Yi, Adam Black, Carlisle O’Brien, Michael Tapo, Qian Wen, Louise Cody, Zhan Yuchen, and others—all these names familiar to the students of First University echoed one by one at the foot of Centimeter Mountain.

By Crescent Lake, it was very quiet.

The young hunters were intently observing the magic unfolding on the stage, pondering the gap between themselves and their opponents, contemplating how they could astound everyone soon. Most of them were showing even greater diligence and concentration than in their academy classrooms, fearing to leave any poor impression on the elders sitting atop Centimeter Mountain, which might impact their daily allowance or their family’s provision of magical resources.

It was equally quiet atop Centimeter Mountain.

Professor Charles, the deputy dean from Alpha Academy attending the ceremony for First University, squinted, holding a cup of tea, calm and collected, lost in thoughts; Witchcraft Federation Committee spokesperson Huang Shi and several judges from Danghag were huddled together, warmly debating something without a sound escaping; and the fox girls of the Qingqiu Su Family were eye-fencing with the foxes from Tu Mountain as usual, comparing the lustrous and fluffy tails like peacocks.

Jiang Yu covered her mouth, giving a small yawn.

This wasn’t her first time attending such an event, having long lost the initial novelty, finding everything around dull and pretentious. By contrast, the bustling academic life at First University gave her a more fulfilling sensation.

"You feel it’s boring too, don’t you."

She extended her finger, poked Zheng Qing in the lower back, muttering softly—having noticed Zheng Qing’s attention wasn’t on the magic stage either, rather preoccupied with molding the piece of jade into a cat-like shape—she opened her palm to reveal a white jade cat, lifelike but motionless.

"Ah?"

Zheng Qing looked at the girl, his eyes unfocused, eventually snapping back to reality, nodding then vigorously shaking his head: "Boring? No, not at all."

He put away the jade, picked up a talisman paper, and quickly folded it into the shape of a small bird. Then he took out his law book, looking up the transformation spell he had transcribed.

"I’ve been pondering the transformation spell Alexander Hesse used earlier."

The young cost student placed the paper bird on a book page, his fingertips gliding over it, muttering: "Then I suddenly realized I had been trapped in a rut while using talismans... Magic is interconnected, talismans and transformation spells can also be integrated together."

As he spoke, a spell light rose from the bronze law book, about an inch high, just enough to cover the paper bird.

Moments later, before the spell light dissipated, a furry golden yellow bird’s head emerged from the residual light, with small black eyes and a mouth that let out a melodious chirp.

"A very interesting idea."

Jiang Yu displayed an intrigued expression, placing her hand on the bronze book. Soon, a golden yellow bird popped up, hopping into her palm, clumsily spreading its wings, struggling to keep its balance:

"I guess others must have had this thought too; only, wizards skilled in talismans might not excel in transformation spells, while those adept at transformation spells might find talisman paper transformations too costly... Comparatively, gargoyles or ordinary rocks, wood, or burning fire piles are obviously cheaper... How is it supposed to be used?"

Zheng Qing hesitated, poking the golden bird with his finger, yet it remained unaffected, continuing to hop around in the witch’s palm like a real bird.

"Maybe it needs to be lit?"

The boy spoke with some uncertainty but immediately refuted himself: "If it needs ignition or a hand Jue, then what is the point of using a transformation spell on talisman paper? Just to make it look nicer when it works?"

Jiang Yu lifted the golden bird to eye-level, scrutinizing its appearance. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

After a while, she seemingly pondered aloud: "Could it be transformed incorrectly?"

"What?"

"I mean, you might need to choose a different bird for transformation." The witch ran her fingers over the golden bird, reverting it to a piece of yellow talisman paper, then returned it to Zheng Qing’s law book, advising: "...like how Alexander used the Five Poisons cycle instead of magical reactions in the cauldron, to truly integrate talismans and transformation spells, you need a cleverly ’integration point’... How about the Silent Bird?"

"Silent Bird." Zheng Qing’s eyes lit up, feeling a sudden enlightenment.

He suppressed the urge to hug the witch and give her a strong kiss, eagerly pulled out a feather pen, transcribed a transformation spell on the law book, and then cast the spell on the talisman paper.

Spell light flashed.

The talisman paper transformed into a light blue bird with spots on its body; it opened its eyes, looked around for a moment, hesitantly jumping back into the witch’s palm, and when it opened its mouth, no sound came out.

Zheng Qing cleared his throat, letting his mind drift slightly.

The Silent Bird suddenly stretched its neck, opened its mouth, emitting a soft yet clear call: "Silence and Think!"

It was unmistakably Zheng Qing’s voice!

As the bird’s cry ended, a stroke of light blue spell light abruptly blossomed centered around it, enveloping Zheng Qing, Jiang Yu, and a dozen meters around them, a gentle yet refreshing feeling washed over Zheng Qing’s thoughts, making him feel inwardly and outwardly transparent.

The Calming Incantation took effect!

In that instant, Zheng Qing seemed to see himself standing tall on the magic stage, surrounded by flocks of light blue birds, a snap of fingers, and the birds piercing ahead towards the enemy like arrows; he couldn’t help but grin foolishly. Similarly, the witch’s face also brimmed with a radiant smile.

Dong!!!

The bell rang, and another hunter returned to the lakeside upon the rainbow light with the magic stage.

Then a bell resounded, wrapping the rainbow light rolling precisely at Jiang Yu’s feet, interrupting the tiny, fleeting moment of happiness shared by the two young wizards.