The Lightning Strike erupted with a deafening roar, filling the entire dueling arena with blinding flashes of electricity. The spectators were forced to shut their eyes against the dazzling lightning, as arcs of electricity crackled through the air, whipping up thick clouds of dust and obscuring the battlefield.

A few seconds later, the light faded, and the dust slowly dispersed, revealing the scene within.

Hermann lay sprawled on his back, his limbs trembling slightly, seemingly unable to move. His mouth, however, was still moving, as if mumbling something. Meanwhile, BaiYun sat on the ground, his body covered in deep cuts, his clothes soaked in blood, and even his face bore several gashes. He looked utterly battered.

Of course, he hadn't been harmed by the lightning itself.

The moment he stepped into the Stormclad Armor's electric field, BaiYun had realized that even if he neutralized the ignition effect, the wind magic would still harm him. Compared to the electric field's shocks, the Lightning Strike—being an offensive spell—would undoubtedly be stronger in both fire and wind elements. So even if he managed to strip away the ignition and eliminate electrical damage, the intensified wind magic would probably cut him to pieces.

But at that moment, there was no turning back. The moment he stepped within range of Stormclad Armor's attack, he had already sealed his fate.

Fortunately for BaiYun, the primary function of wind magic in Lightning Strike was to generate free electrical charges. Once the amount of charges reached saturation, the caster wouldn't reinforce the wind component any further—doing so would simply waste mana.

However, fire magic, which fueled the lightning's energy, dictated the final power of the spell. Thus, rather than drastically amplifying the wind magic, the spell greatly boosted fire magic.

In other words, while BaiYun had indeed taken significant wind damage, had he chosen to counteract the wind (if he knew how) instead of neutralizing the ignition, he might have been blasted out of the arena by the fire magic. The outcome wouldn't have been much better than taking the full brunt of the spell.

Hermann, on the other hand, wasn't entirely unlucky either. His "Pikachu robe" had absorbed much of the damage. A treasured artifact of the Thorisson house, the robe was woven from the feathers of a Thunderbird, granting excellent resistance to elemental damage—particularly lightning—and dispersing a portion of physical impacts, significantly reducing injuries. Because of this, despite his seemingly dire state, Hermann wouldn't take long to recover. With proper treatment, he'd be back to normal in a day or two.

With BaiYun covered in blood and Hermann appearing unscathed, many spectators assumed BaiYun had suffered the heavier injuries.

From the elevated examiners' stand, Colin and Ola had a clearer view of the situation.

Colin frowned slightly. "Only wind-blade wounds, no signs of electrocution… Could he have…?"

Ola nodded, his gaze fixed on BaiYun. "He must have used another Reverse Casting technique to nullify the fire component of Lightning Strike."

Colin's eyes widened in astonishment. "A Reverse Casting technique targeting ignition?"

Barrett, listening to their conversation, was utterly lost. "What the hell are these mages even talking about?" He thought. "Why not just chop your problems in half with an axe?"

Meanwhile, Min Zhao furrowed her brows, deep in thought.

At that moment, BaiYun slowly got to his feet and walked toward Hermann.

The spectators erupted into whispers. Just moments ago, they had assumed BaiYun was the one worse off—yet here he was, still moving.

From the beginning of the test, Sigurd had remained silent, but now he let out a cold scoff and shook his head. "This isn't how a mage should fight."

As a prodigious mage who outclassed his peers, Sigurd had nothing but disdain for BaiYun's opportunistic tactics. In his eyes, a mage's duel should be a fair and honorable contest of power—an outright clash of magic, not a battle won through trickery.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The crowd was divided. Some praised BaiYun for his intelligence and adaptability, calling his victory brilliant. Others condemned his methods as cunning and underhanded. Some even argued that he had simply got lucky.

BaiYun, oblivious to the discussions, limped up to Hermann, took a deep breath, and asked, "We're done, eh? Just surrender."

Hermann's expression twitched. He gritted his teeth. "I won't surrender."

Like many nobles, Hermann was a proud man. Admitting defeat was inherently difficult for him—especially against someone like BaiYun, who, in his eyes, had relied on nothing but deception and tricks rather than true power. Yielding was simply out of the question.

It wasn't entirely unreasonable. Refusing to acknowledge a victory that seemed unfair was a natural response. Besides, Hermann was still wearing the Raiment of Thunder. Even if he couldn't move, he believed BaiYun lacked the ability to deliver a finishing blow.

Hermann sneered. "I don't even have to move at all. With my Raiment of Thunder, do you really think you can even scratch me? Come on, take your best shot!"

BaiYun regretted not having a shovel in his storage ring—he could have just dug a hole and buried this dumbass.

"Isn't this Hermann kid just being a sore loser?" Barrett huffed. "He can't even move. What's he waiting for, a miracle?"

Colin also saw that the match was effectively over and was about to intervene.

But Ola, intrigued, stopped him. "Hermann says BaiYun can't finish him off. Let's see what he's gonna do about it."

Up until now, BaiYun hadn't used a single offensive spell. Ola was eager to see what he had up his sleeve.

On the battlefield, Bai Yun let out a quiet sigh and lifted his hand to his chest. He had studied the principles, understood the framework, and now it was time to put theory into practice. Mana gathered at the center of his palm, flickering like embers in the wind, until finally, a Fireball took shape—a tiny one, no bigger than an apple.

Hermann blinked, then burst into laughter even though it's painful. "Just that? Is it supposed to hurt me and win you the fight? You call that a Fireball?"

The audience erupted in laughter. "That's simply not a proper Fireball."

Colin leaned toward Ola and muttered, "With only 0.2 magic reserves left, and after using that Reverse Ignition spell for so long, he's probably down to just enough mana for that tiny Fireball."

Ola, still watching BaiYun, stroked his chin and remained silent.

Meanwhile, BaiYun grew irritated at the laughter. "What's so funny? I'm saving mana!"

He wasn't lying—there was no point in wasting more mana on a fight he had already won.

But since the fight hadn't been officially declared over, he sighed and infused more mana into the Fireball, expanding it to the size of a cauldron.

Colin and Ola exchanged glances, their expressions shifting.

They had assumed BaiYun's mana was nearly depleted—but now, it seemed he still got some.

Hermann, briefly taken aback, quickly reassured himself: it's just a standard-sized Fireball. My robe can handle it.

Smirking, he taunted, "Come on, is that the best you can do, Bulb Lighter? Maybe you should take that thing home and light a bulb with it. Hahaha!"

Hearing another "Bulb Lighter", BaiYun's patience snapped. Without holding back, he poured all his remaining mana into the Fireball.

Instantly, it expanded to 2 meters in diameter.

The arena fell silent.

Hermann's face went pale. Sensing imminent danger, he panicked. "I was joking! I surrender, surrender! You fucking lunatic! That thing will blow up both of us!"

The spectators were in shock.

This wasn't a matter of mana reserves. A Fireball of this size certainly consumed mana, but not an unreasonable amount. The thing is, Fireballs weren't supposed to grow this large—past a certain size, they became dangerously unstable.

Even Sigurd's expression turned complex. Because he—acknowledged as a spellcasting genius—had never created a Fireball that massive.

Colin gaped. "There's no way he only has 0.2 mana reserves."

Ola chuckled. "I think I know why."

Then he turned to Colin. "But first, you'd better handle that Fireball before it blows up the arena."

Colin snapped back to reality, wiping sweat from his forehead. "BaiYun! Throw it toward the forest on the left! Now!"

BaiYun glanced at the Fireball in his hands, then at Hermann's terrified face, shrugged, and flung it.

The Fireball streaked across the night sky, illuminating the darkness like a comet.

BOOM!

The explosion turned the distant forest into a blazing inferno.

The arena was dead silent.

Then someone blurted out, "Hey, that thing actually looked like a giant lightbulb."

Laughter spread through the crowd.

"He did light a bulb, for sure."

"Bulb Lighter!!"

At first, only a few people joined in the shouting, but soon the entire crowd was in an uproar. The sound rose wave after wave, laughter and shouts intertwined.

"Bulb Lighter!!"

BaiYun, standing in the center of the duel arena, watched this scene with a twitching corner of his mouth.

"...Fuck this name."