The firewood in the brazier burned, casting a warm, yellowish-orange hue over the night, with occasional faint cracking sounds coming from within.
The students discussed in hushed tones. Although their voices were not loud, Sylutia could still easily distinguish and hear them, piecing together bit by bit the image of herself circulating in the outside world.
At this mont, she couldn't help but lant the terrifying power of rumors. Her image had changed repeatedly in the mouths of the instructor and so students.
"The Girl Who Manipulates Death Threads"—this nickna was easy to understand. She had even heard of it within the academy. It probably referred to her excelling in the Thread Manipulation course, and because of this, she had been questioned by police officers.
"The Cruel Dark Young Lady Who Brutalized Beastn"—this was the first ti she had heard this nickna. When had she ever brutally abused beastn? She was clearly helping the victims find the perpetrators.
But then again, it seed she had indeed injured quite a few beastn. The several people who robbed her that day, and when resolving the matter on Agate Street, she had taught a lesson to Spicy Face and a group of beastn under "Four Fingers," beating them quite severely, with blood pooling on the ground and frightening wounds. It was probably these guys who spread the rumors, likely trying to sar her, make the beastn in the Asra District hate her, and force her to leave.
"The Unprovokable Black Griffin"—this nickna was also new to her. Generally, her full na "Hedra Griffin" only appeared in writing nowadays—in assignnts, exams, and other academic contexts. Other students didn't call out "Griffin" and wouldn't associate it with the aning of "griffin."
It was very likely a na the instructors used for her among themselves. Because her head of pitch-black long hair was indeed rare among the students, and her family was nad after "Griffin," she probably got the moniker "Black Griffin." Finally, the badge she occasionally wore on her collar did indeed bear the emblem of a black griffin.
Recalling and sorting through these titles took only about ten seconds. Seeing the black-haired girl remain silent, Maluo opposite her grew sowhat impatient.
"What, haven't you figured out your tactics yet, so you're deliberately stalling for ti?"
"No, I was just a little surprised," Sylutia replied.
"Do you want to compete with here?" she asked again.
"Of course, isn't that why you ca out?" Maluo felt this was practically stating the obvious.
"I was just pushed forward by my classmates," Sylutia shook her head slightly.
"But looking at everyone's posture, if I don't make a move, I probably won't be able to leave here either." Because the students gathered here all wanted to see which of the two was stronger and were particularly looking forward to their match.
"All this blabbering," Maluo found it dull. He had originally thought she would be the arrogant, domineering type, soone he could resonate with as an opponent. He didn't expect her to be such a verbose, boring 'top student.'
In response, Sylutia smiled slightly, shook her head again, and offered no further explanation.
"In that case, let's begin." She walked to one side of the open area, and Maluo also turned and walked to the other side.
Seeing the two begin preparations, the students on site grew even more excited and expectant. So even started placing bets on who would win.
Two students temporarily acting as referees pulled a rope across the middle of the open area, separating the two sides. Then they looked at each other and simultaneously released the rope in their hands. The mont the rope hit the ground, the match began.
Several glowing threads appeared beside Sylutia. At this mont, she was not in a hurry to form them into a bird to defeat her opponent. Instead, she wanted to see what Maluo's mastered "Kuras Blood Tremor Art" was all about.
On the other side, Maluo showed no rcy. Relying on the patterns engraved in his staff, he quickly constructed a spell model. A blood-red, illusory heart appeared in his palm, then suddenly sprang to life, beating with a thump. Invisible ripples spread out.
The students present all felt their blood pause, their hearts as if suddenly squeezed tight, causing discomfort. Fortunately, this feeling didn't last, because Maluo's spell wasn't targeting them, but the black-haired girl opposite.
"First beat, target locked."
From the back of the crowd, a delicate girl with platinum-blonde hair watched this scene, murmuring softly to herself.
The "Kuras Blood Tremor Art" was a secret art originating from the "Blood Dynasty." As a mber of the Sea Cliff Blood Clan royalty, a descendant of the last princess of the "Blood Dynasty," she naturally knew the origin and operational principles of this set of spells.
Maluo looked at the black-haired figure in the distance beyond the firelight. His vision seed to pierce through the interference of the surrounding noisy sounds, directly seeing the girl's internal heart, sensing the ripple echoes within the rhythm of her blood flow.
"Found you, hehehe." He let out a strange laugh, then clenched his open fingers. The heart's phantom beat again, its frequency rapidly adjusting to match that of the girl opposite. Then the invisible ripples spread. Sylutia felt a pain in her chest, and the blood throughout her body trembled.
So this is the "Kuras Blood Tremor Art." She quickly sorted out its effects and principles, then endured the discomfort and waved her hand.
Invisible threads instantly wound and wove together. A bird appeared, charging towards Maluo opposite.
"Tch." Seeing that the first strike hadn't rendered Sylutia incapable of resistance, Maluo continued manipulating the blood-red heart phantom in his hand. One after another, invisible ripples spread out.
Facing such attacks, Sylutia was now sowhat prepared. She forcefully suppressed the discomfort coming from all over her body, concentrated her attention, and once again employed the long-unused Breathing Technique training thod.
Adjust breathing, imrse in the inner self, change the blood flow rate and heart rhythm.
This way, when her own frequency no longer matched the ripple frequency of the spell being cast opposite her, that feeling of discomfort rapidly diminished. The blood no longer trembled, returning to her own control.
Seeing the girl still standing, not falling even after several ripples, Maluo began to panic. Only when the bird was upon him did he hastily erect a defense. But the flimsy, pale-yellow mbrane of light was easily torn apart by the bird, which then slamd into him, sending him flying. The fierce force was like that of a real bird, leaving him stunned.
Afterwards, he traced a perfect parabola through the air, crashing to the ground. The heavy impact forced a muffled grunt from him, and he rolled several tis on the ground before barely coming to a stop.
In the night sky, the bird still circled. Although Maluo could still barely manage to stand up, there was no point in continuing the match now.
He had already lost. The constructed spell model had dissipated. The ti needed to reconstruct it would be enough for the bird circling in the air to attack again. Furthermore, even if he rebuilt the "Kuras Blood Tremor Art," he didn't think he could defeat that mysterious black-haired girl.
This was the first ti he had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of a peer, and the first ti he had seen a student who could so easily resist the "Kuras Blood Tremor Art."
Why? How did she do it? Maluo couldn't understand, but there was no ti left for analysis or speculation now.
"Hedra, victory!"
The referees and students on site imdiately announced the result. Afterwards, a wave of cheers rose from the crowd. Many people walked over, surrounding the black-haired girl, curiously asking questions and staring, as if wanting to see this girl's appearance more clearly.
On the other side, Carmilla was also contemplating the situation during that brief match.
Did she just tough it out? No, her physique wasn't that robust. Even a beast of the sa rank would have its heart violently contract, even stop, under the effect of the Kuras Blood Tremor Art.
She must have avoided it. She directly changed her own heart rhythm and blood pulse frequency. But generally, only warriors who practice the "Bloodline" Aspect can do this. Even those who know Breathing Techniques must be at the fourth stage or above to control it to such a subtle degree.
Clearly a Mage Apprentice, yet she knows a "Bloodline" Breathing Technique and has reached this level. Is this the genius within the Mage Alliance? After sorting through the situation, Carmilla felt a faint sense of wariness towards that black-haired girl rise in her heart.
No wonder she's called "The Unprovokable Black Griffin." If this black-haired girl really got serious, she could probably act like a griffin, using her physical strength to kick the fragile Maluo into a cripple with one blow.
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