The Gravity Magic Array in the sky shattered. Yan Lingxuan and Zagu dropped from midair, their bodies numb from the lightning strike. Luckily, Lingxuan had been on guard—the Magic Barrier took most of the hit. When they were only three meters above the ground, he recovered and slowed their fall, landing gently. Even if he hadn’t, it probably wouldn’t have been a problem—Gavi was already standing nearby with his hand out, ready to catch them.

Seeing the ground rushing up, Zagu had already braced himself. But just as he was about to slam into it, his falling momentum suddenly stopped. He turned to look at Gavi, who had his hand extended toward him. Even though, with his fully armored body, a fall like that wouldn’t do much to him, he still felt grateful that Gavi had stepped in.

“Looks like someone’s here to crash the party.”

Gavi frowned at the five figures who had suddenly appeared.

“Thanks for the save just now. Lightning Magic is seriously annoying, my whole body’s still tingling.”

Zagu first thanked Gavi for the helping hand, then rolled his shoulders and twisted his neck, trying to shake off the numbness. Finally, he lifted his gaze, full of disdain, toward the bastard who’d just ambushed him and Lingxuan.

“The five of you really know how to make an entrance.”

Facing the five approaching figures, Gavi spoke calmly, a faint, mild smile still hanging on his face.

“Mond, what’s that supposed to mean?”

Zagu recognized one of them as his classmate Mond, and strode toward him with big, heavy steps.

Lingxuan used the chance to size up the five. They were all white, all wearing that same arrogant, untamed look. He also recognized Mond as the guy he’d taught a lesson to in the training room yesterday.

Mond, who was walking in front, swept his gaze over the four students of Class G. His eyes lingered for a moment on Yu Xiaozhuo and Su Fangwen, the lecherous look in them making both girls instantly uncomfortable.

Mond, Kevin, Bachiang, Hanen, and Quincy had all transferred into Valhalla Academy’s high school division not long ago. All of them were American-born white students, and they seemed to know each other even before enrolling. The five were always together and rarely interacted with anyone else.

Atlantis was a multi‑racial country, so of course students at Valhalla Academy came from all kinds of nations and ethnicities. Different cultures naturally created their own little circles. It wasn’t unusual to see students of the same nationality or same skin color always grouped up. Even so, Mond’s group stood out. They never interacted with anyone else—or rather, they clearly looked down on everyone, keeping themselves aloof and separate.

Mond stared coldly at Zagu as he came closer.

Right now Zagu was burning with anger. The thing he hated most was someone jumping in and messing up his fight halfway through.

“What’s the meaning of this?”

Even facing five people, Zagu didn’t back down at all as he demanded an answer.

Mond cast a dismissive glance at Lingxuan off to the side, then finally spoke to Zagu.

“We’re not here for you. Get lost.”

Zagu glared at him, eyes blazing.

“Telling me to get lost? Big words. Let’s see if you’ve got the skills to back them up. You guys hit me with lightning just now, didn’t you? Then I gotta return the favor!”

As soon as he finished, Zagu shot forward, aiming a punch straight at Mond’s face. But Mond was ready.

A circular Magic Array glowing red lit up under Zagu’s feet.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

A violent shockwave tore through a hundred‑square‑meter area. The maple trees around them thrashed wildly, red leaves ripped into the air.

Zagu barely managed to avoid the center of the blast, but the force still picked him up and flung him away. He crashed into the ground, and before he could catch his breath, Wind Blades and lightning came slicing in.

Relying on his full‑body armament, Zagu simply swung his fists, smashing apart both Wind Blades and lightning, then started constructing a movement rail under his feet. But setting up a movement rail while under constant attack was anything but easy, and the other side had five people. Even a powerhouse couldn’t handle ten hands at once.

Mond’s group all knew Zagu’s trick. They avoided his strengths and attacked his weak spots, circling him and trading blows as they moved. None of them stepped into the movement rail he’d laid down. First, they’d use their fastest lightning to paralyze his body, then follow up with explosive flame blasts.

Zagu quickly ended up covered in dust and scorched marks, but his fighting spirit didn’t falter. At last, Kevin stepped into the movement rail.

This was the moment. Zagu instantly shifted to Kevin’s front. Just as he raised his fist, a Magic Array identical to the previous one appeared on the ground beneath him.

“Knew he’d fall for it. What an idiot, haha.”

Kevin, who’d been playing bait, burst into laughter—but a split second later, his face took a heavy punch. One of his front teeth spun away through the air.

“You’re the idiot. You think I couldn’t tell this was a trap?”

Zagu had chosen to go for Kevin even at the cost of mutual damage. Watching Kevin lying on the ground, whimpering and groaning, Zagu felt much better. But since it was mutual damage, he wasn’t in good shape either. He’d taken the explosion head‑on—most of his protective armament was shattered, blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, and his huge body swayed unsteadily.

“He’s just a spent arrow now. He’s done. Let’s finish him off first, then we’ll deal with Lingxuan.”

Mond had just given the order when a bolt of lightning dropped from above and struck him. In an instant, his whole body seized up, and he collapsed to his knees, completely paralyzed.

“Hey, hey. You gate‑crashing clowns ever heard of ‘first come, first served’? Zagu and I haven’t even finished our match yet.”

Hovering in midair, Lingxuan looked down at the five of them. Four charged lightning spheres spun around him, crackling with power.

Mond recovered quickly, his expression twisting into a vicious glare aimed at Lingxuan. Ignoring Zagu for the moment, he and the other four launched themselves into the air, rising until they were level with Lingxuan.

Kevin, flying in the air, still had a pained look on his face. He wiped the blood from his mouth, revealing the gap where his front tooth used to be. It looked pretty ridiculous.

“Sounds like you’re asking to be taken out first.”

“Yeah, I’m thinking it’d be better to knock all of you down before anything else.”

With a flick of Lingxuan’s will, the four lightning spheres beside him shot toward four of them, while he himself rushed straight at Mond.

“Is he okay without backup?”

Watching Lingxuan face off alone against five opponents, Su Fangwen couldn’t help asking, a trace of worry in her voice.

“Let’s watch how it plays out first.”

Gavi and Yu Xiaozhuo both had looks of anticipation on their faces.

Lingxuan took the initiative at first. But the five on the other side had the numbers. Once they dodged the lightning spheres, they launched a fierce counterattack at him. Just like with Zagu earlier, numbers mattered—no matter how strong you were, you only had two hands. Lingxuan had no choice but to retreat rapidly. Still, he wasn’t just falling back blindly. As he moved, he’d already come up with a way to deal with Mond and his crew.

“This should let me use it in midair.”

As he spoke, Lingxuan shot upward, avoiding a barrage of Wind Blades and fire pillars. He then used his Magic Power to conjure a massive whirlwind, blocking the five from closing in.

By the time Mond’s group maneuvered around the whirlwind, Lingxuan hadn’t fled far. Instead, he stood tall in the sky, waiting for them. Beneath his hovering feet, a Magic Array appeared.

In an instant, a three‑dimensional circular Magic Array expanded, covering a fifty‑meter radius and wrapping all five of them inside.

The five tensed up immediately. But this 3D circular Magic Array didn’t seem to be a direct attack. Standing inside it, they didn’t feel anything odd. Everything seemed normal.

Seeing the structure of the array, Zagu, who was on the ground, froze in shock. He knew this Magic Array better than anyone—he couldn’t be mistaken. It was his specialty: the movement rail. But why was it three‑dimensional? How was that even possible?

“Trying to look impressive, huh.”

Mond stretched his hand toward Lingxuan, and a red Magic Array appeared at Lingxuan’s position.

“Boom!”

The explosion blasted violent wind in all directions, but there was no extra smoke. Lingxuan had vanished from where he’d been.

“I didn’t see him move. Where’d he go?”

Quincy, the one with tattoos on his face, muttered under his breath. The other four were just as confused—they’d all lost track of Lingxuan at the same time.

Mond knew exactly how powerful his Explosive Magic Array was. There was no way it could blow someone so completely to pieces that not a scrap remained.

Of course the five of them couldn’t find Lingxuan. They were all staring ahead and never once looked behind them. Gavi, Zagu, Su Fangwen, and Yu Xiaozhuo on the ground, however, clearly saw Lingxuan appear right behind the five.

“Looking for me?”

Quincy felt a pat on his shoulder. When he turned around, a fist was already inches from his face.

“Mm—”

The silver‑gleaming fist stopped just one centimeter from Quincy’s nose, but the compressed air from the punch blew his hair straight back.

Lingxuan didn’t get much time to pose. A bolt of lightning shot at him.

The moment the flash passed, Lingxuan’s figure vanished again.

“That was close. As expected of lightning—hardest kind of Magic to dodge. Good thing I blinked the moment it appeared. If I waited until it was already on me, no way I’d make it in time. Then again, lightning might be fast, but it’s not exactly easy to aim precisely either.”

Now standing behind Mond, Lingxuan commented casually.

By the time Mond lashed out with a backward kick, Lingxuan was already ten meters away.

Too fast.

All five floating in the air were stunned. They finally understood—Lingxuan wasn’t disappearing.

He was just moving so fast their eyes couldn’t keep up.