103. The Majesty of the Dragon
In his memory, the Xilusi race had once produced a powerful armored spellcaster, who happened to serve the Crystal Tower civilization.
The Xilusi race was sparse in number, and famous armored spellcasters were even rarer, let alone those who could use magic.
Judging by the timeline, Lucite seemed to fit the profile.
With these three factors combined, the probability was very high.
Putting this aside, Li Aozi was curious about Lucite's response.
In this clearly unfair duel, what would he do?
Lucite clearly understood as well that if they compared magic, he was definitely no match for the other party. Even if he somehow managed to win in this atmosphere, he wouldn't earn respect or understanding.
If he lost, it would be even worse. Perhaps he wouldn't be expelled, but he would definitely be unable to lift his head at school for years.
"Leoz, what do you think?"
Hobbs suddenly asked:
"Which side do you think is telling the truth?"
"Whether it's true or not has nothing to do with me. As for my perspective, I'm just standing here watching."
Li Aozi casually pulled out a pack of sunflower seeds from his jacket, clearly prepared to enjoy the spectacle.
"...Uh, I meant, don't you think one side's position is a bit unfair? Beizhong Guiming might be telling the truth—she may indeed have been harassed—but Lucite doesn't seem entirely innocent either. He's too calm."
"In my experience, bystanders shouldn't take sides lightly. When you don't know the truth of an incident, any breakthrough could lead to a complete reversal."
Li Aozi skillfully cracked open the sunflower seeds. One good thing about magical civilizations was that the food was all organic, making it taste much better.
"Let's just enjoy the show."
Hobbs shrugged; since his companion wasn't planning on taking sides, he didn't bother digging into the truth either.
Everyone's eyes were on Lucite. He was at the bottom of the moral pit from the start; anything he said would be met with jeers, but he had maintained restraint all along.
Now, with the woman proposing a duel, he had no other options left.
Refusing the duel would be equivalent to admitting he had indeed been pursuing her, which would severely damage his reputation.
Accepting the duel wouldn't end well either.
In this situation, the only option was to accept defeat, apologize, and swallow his pride, or take the risk and fight.
Lucite hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth:
"I accept your cha—"
Before he could finish, an icy voice suddenly rang out from the crowd:
"Move aside."
At that moment, it felt as if the air had frozen solid, and a deep, silent roar echoed in everyone's ears. The heavy pressure enveloped everyone, causing their heartbeats to become irregular, and their pupils to contract.
A true dragon's might!
Nearly all the students instinctively hunched their shoulders and stepped back. Even Hobbs turned pale and struggled to breathe, though he managed to remain standing.
Among everyone, only Li Aozi stood firm, unaffected except for a system notification indicating that he had passed a check.
He had long since transformed into a Phase One Elai Spiritfolk. The bloodline of a narrative-level civilization could at least rival sky dragons, and was not far from a true dragon.
With [Dominance] in hand, his 200 points of [Charisma] completely crushed the opposition.
This level of intimidation was nothing to Li Aozi.
He turned his head, and the crowd immediately parted, creating a path. A tall girl with golden hair and golden eyes approached, cutting through the crowd like a battleship slicing through waves. Though she was a woman, her sharp features and piercing gaze seemed capable of shattering an iceberg that dared cross her path.
When describing a girl's beauty, people often used words like graceful, confident, elegant, or charming.
But for the girl approaching, the first word that came to Li Aozi's mind was: aggressive.
Her features carried a unique and striking sense of aggression. Her sharp eyes were like molten gold: noble, fiery, and intimidating.
"That dragon-titan hybrid, Diaran," Hobbs whispered, "she's in the same college as us."
Tap-tap-tap!
Diaran brushed past Li Aozi. Their eyes briefly met in mid-air before Diaran turned her head and continued forward, as if she were a blade plunging into the center of the duel—a brilliant, eye-catching blade.
Lucite opened his mouth: "Excuse me, classmate—"
Bang!
A sound like an explosion rang out, and Lucite was thrown off his feet. His body slammed into a nearby railing, shattering the marble barrier. His arms hung limply, and his head nearly dipped into the water, a deep dent marking his chest.
No one had even seen her strike, but Diaran had already turned toward Beizhong Guiming.
Seeing Lucite dealt with, Beizhong Guiming visibly relaxed and immediately thanked Diaran: "Thank you so much for your help, sister—"
Slap.
Beizhong Guiming's face twisted under the force of a slap, her body spun halfway in the air before embedding into the ground due to the residual force.
Diaran stepped on her back as if she were a queen treading on conquered lands. Though she was alone, it was as if she had an army behind her.
As she walked away, people seemed to forget the original quarrel and duel, each returning to their business.
The terrifying aura lasted for a full minute before dissipating. However, the suffocating pressure had left a shadow over the freshmen's hearts, one that wouldn't be easily dispelled.
"Damn... this is what top-tier bloodline suppression feels like?" Hobbs clutched Li Aozi's arm, his legs still trembling. "It felt like a stellar-class battleship and hundreds of fighters were crashing into me all at once. Terrifying. She's one of the brightest stars of this year's Terrivila High."
"Mhm," Li Aozi replied dismissively.
"Just 'mhm'? Weren't you scared at all? She's a dragon-titan hybrid!"
Hobbs couldn't help but complain:
"By the way, didn't that girl notice you earlier? You two even locked eyes—what did you feel?"
"Oh," Li Aozi said.
"Don't be so dismissive. Or did she scare you speechless too?" Hobbs patted Li Aozi's shoulder, "Hey, it's okay. We're all scared. Top-tier bloodlines are like that. But magic doesn't only depend on talent. If you prepare enough, even a god can be slain by a mage."
"Alright," Li Aozi looked to the side.
"Show some reaction, will you!"
Hobbs was at his wit's end:
"That was a dragon-titan! She stared at you for a good four or five seconds—are you not experiencing any psychological damage or trauma?"
"Ah."
Li Aozi replied weakly:
"So terrifying, I'm so scared I'm gonna be depressed."
"Could you at least respect the dragon-titan? And at the very least, respect me for narrating all this!"