Foreboding Storm - Chapter 149

Crown Prince Lail stepped back.

How was it possible that his wife felt like a stranger? They had only been apart for a year. In one year’s time, how could she feel so different?

Or was what he felt before just an illusion, a trick of his mind?

The Mistland Academy apprentices were looking at the two’s exchange with keen eyes, dying to know what the reunion of the husband and wife would be like.

“Dong!”

Right at this moment, a loud, piercing ring resounded. Startled, everyone’s attention focused on the direction the ring came from.

In the center of the groups of academy students appeared a battling stage. The stage was white and spanned about a thousand feet in each direction. A light buzz of magic one would nearly miss if not paying close attention, coursed through the rings of the stage.

And in the center of the stage were seven magical beasts.

Covered in armor of cascading grey scales, the magical beasts breathed out fire through their nose. Sharp claws that glinted in the white moonlight clinked and scratched, while raze-sharp fangs snapped and produced a grinding sound as the beasts gritted their teeth.

Acidic saliva dripped from the gaps between the teeth and seared the hard, magic-infested stage, rising a veil of acidic smoke.

“Apprentices of the seven academies! The battle stage you see behind me is the stage where your seven academies competition will take place.” A white-robed elder with grey-white hair exposed his confounding elemental ability as he announced in a magically amplified voice.

The students went silent, their expressions turning grave and serious as their eyes fearfully darted to the ferocious-looking even magical beasts.

“From each academy, a group of individuals will face against one ferocious beast. They’ll work together as a team to not only defeat and kill the beast in the shortest amount of time but also protect and shield one another from the attacks of the magical beast.”

The students’ brows furrowed in confusion. It seemed the Seven Academies contest was different this year.

“Your task to successfully complete this mission is to defeat the beast within the shortest amount of time and without sustaining any injury. You need to defeat the beast and ensure every member of your team is not injured or just lightly injured.”

“To be declared victorious, you need to finish the magical beast and snatch the valuable materials from its corpse within the given amount of time. Once time runs out, all participants will pause their attack and descended from the stage. The victor will be declared from close examination of the wounds inflicted on the beast. May victory go to the capable.” With a loud holler, the elder leaped off the stage and landed on a white tree above the apprentices.

“This…does this mean we’ll be fighting against the magical beasts as a group?”

“That’s exactly it! We’ll be fighting together…hahaha!”

“We’ll be fighting together. This means there won’t be one victor. So why are you happy?”

“There won’t be one victor, but we have an outstanding magician on our side. Do we need to be afraid of not obtaining victory?”

“Da**! I didn’t think about that! With Brother Lail on our side, do we need to worry about not coming out victorious?”

The Mistland Academy students trained their bright eyes on the dazed Crown Prince, completely forgetting about the scene of reunion they were anticipating. At that moment, only coming out victorious in the Seven Academies Competition was on their mind.

However, even though some of the students had forgotten about the reunion between the two, there were still a few individuals focused on the purple-red garbed woman and Crown Prince Lail.

“Brother Lail, why isn’t he moving? Isn’t she his wife?” Su Rui’s eyes brightened with a strange glow as she glanced between the two motionless figures facing one another.

It couldn’t be that Brother Lail no longer felt as enthusiastic about his wife after a year-long separation, right?

“He looks like he doesn’t recognize her? How is that possible? He’d said he never saw her face. If she’s dressed the same way she was last dressed, then why isn’t he moving to reunite with her?” Mina felt just as confused as Su Rui.

She couldn’t understand why the Brother Lail that had proudly declared his wife’s name stood like a statue when she appeared before him.

Was he no longer as interested in her?

Murong Ling, standing on the other side of the Crown Prince, felt anxious. She nervously wrung her dress, her gaze shifting between the two individuals with anticipation and trepidation.

She also couldn’t understand why Brother Lail wasn’t moving to greet his wife. Didn’t he miss her? He ruthlessly and coldly rejected her just to remain loyal to her.

Now that she stood before him, why wasn’t he moving forward with excitement and joy?

Similarly nervous was the purple-red clad woman. She looked at the cold, handsome man across from her with enamored and affectionate eyes, her pounding heart loudly resounding in her ears as her eyes roamed over his masculine features.

So handsome…

She couldn’t help but sigh in amazement.

Such an outstandingly handsome man had never even appeared in her dreams. It was impossible to conjure such an appearance, aura, and temperament with her limited imagination.

But why isn’t he approaching me…?

“The competition of the Seven Academies begins now!” The grey-white-haired elder on the tree hollered and a surge of white light flooded and enveloped every apprentice’s body. Then in the next instant, the apprentices disappeared from their spots and reappeared on the giant battle stage.

“Sigh, I hope this competition will hone the students’ teamwork.” The dean of the Mistland Academy sat with the deans of the other academies. On seeing the apprentices enter the Arena Stage, a helpless sigh passed through his lips.

“The Dark Moon has ascended. Aside from learning to work together, there’s no other way for them to overcome the upcoming storm.” A beastly man darkly growled.

“This is a chance for the apprentices to learn to trust their teammates and work together as one rather than individual parties.” Elder Wu added helplessly.

The situation in the seven realms was growing more chaotic as the days went by.

“As leaders of the Seven Magical Academies, we’ve done all we can to prepare the young magicians for the future. How they will face the upheaval is up to them.”

“Hmm.” With another deep sigh, the leaders of the seven academies focused their sight on the Arena Stage.

Crown Prince Lail felt frustrated and annoyed. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. The girl before him had obviously been his wife, and yet, he couldn’t move a step towards her. On the contrary, he drew back!

An unknown rage brewed in his heart and fueled his chaotic emotions. So when he found himself before the armored magical beast, he charged forward without a word.

He needed an outlet to vent and the magical beast just happened to be the perfect target.

“Yaaah!”

Without using any magic, Crown Prince Lail engaged the beast in fierce physical combat.

Boom!

Crash!

Bang!

Beast and man, fueled by rage and other chaotic emotions, roared and clashed without restraint. Crown Prince Lail slid across the stone floor and thrust his spear at the hindleg of the creature, the aim targeted to incapacitate the creature in one shot.

But as if understanding the other’s intention, the creature leaped into the air and swooped down at the Crown Prince still laying on his back on the stone floor with his icy sharp claws. Like an eagle swooping in to hunt its prey, the magical beast swooped in to shred the Crown Prince’s body in one fatal attack.

Crown Prince Lail rolled across the floor and narrowly avoided the attack aimed to reap his life. He then leaped to his feet and charged back at the creature.

“Roar!”

“Yaaah!’”

In such a manner the man and beast exchanged many blows with only their physical bodies, amazing the spectators into still silence.

“F**k! Brother Lail is engaging a level 2 magical beast with only his physical body!” A Mistland Academy student couldn’t help cursing in disbelief.

The fact that Brother Lail obtained the Magical Kilin heirloom within a year of studying at the academy had already been rubbing them the wrong way. Now, they also had to witness him engage an armored, acid vomiting beast with only his physical body.

If they didn’t feel fear and frustration at the drastic contrast, then they wouldn’t be human!

“He isn’t human! How could a mere human engage a magical beast with their physical bodies? It’s impossible!”

“Whether it’s impossible or not, Brother Lail has already made it possible.”

“Sigh…no wonder he’s the founder’s descendent. Such a feat can only be accomplished by a man with such a great background.”

“You’re right. This isn’t a matter we ordinary individuals can achieve.”

The Mistland Academy apprentices sighed in resignation and helplessly accepted their fate. Before a monstrous genius like Brother Lail, what did they have to compete? Instead of hopping and creating a scene just to appear like fools, it was better for them to accept reality with dignity.

At least then, they wouldn’t humiliate themselves by daring to confront such a man. And the fact that he was a descendent of the Founder gave them an easy way to back down.

After all, who would dare to question or challenge the prestige of the Founder?

“Who is that kid? Why is his physical body able to contend with that of a magical beast?” Elder Wu’s eyes widened in shock as he stared at Crown Prince Lail in disbelief.

The dean of the Mistland Academy had a complicated expression on his face. The gaze with which he looked at the Crown Prince was filled with regret and remorse.

If had only acted impartial, maybe the kid would’ve remained in the Mistland Academy a little longer.

What he didn’t know was that right from the beginning, Crown Prince Lail only came to the academy with the intention of staying just for a year. And that year was only because he couldn’t enter the heart of the Sealand Academy’s realm to seek his wife.

With a bitter smile and sad eyes, the dean picked up his tea and took a long sip.

“That’s Lail Amhei. He is a descendent of the Founder and the new apprentice of our Mistland Academy.”

“Huh? Did you say the founder?” Elder Wu was even more astonished when he heard this.

He turned to the dean of the Mistland Academy with glowing eyes.

“He…if he is a descendent of the founder, then his talent must be off the charts, right? We might have a chance against the clash with the magical beasts.”

“We don’t know his talent level. You know that the Founder’s descendent is granted an immediate admission into the academy without evaluation if they come with the plaque. But his talent isn’t a question. The kid had only entered the academy for a year and he already accomplished the Magical Kilin Mission.”

“He already completed the Magical Kilin Mission? Then…doesn’t this mean he leave the Mistland Academy whenever he wants? That’s a little disappointing. With such a great talent, he would’ve helped immensely in the clash against the magical beasts.” Elder Wu’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.

It was hard to retain dedicated and talented magicians in the academies. With their talent, they had desires and ambitions to forge their own path and make their own achievements. No one wanted to stay in academies and act as cannons against the magical beasts that relentlessly attacked the dimensional barrier.

As such, the academies came up with merit and achievement systems to allocate more resources to outstanding talents and nurture them for the good of the seven realms. Because once the magical beasts succeeded in breaching the dimensional shields and barriers, the seven realms would be engulfed in chaos and fear.

The system worked in retaining more magicians. But there were still those select few individuals that managed to meet the requirements of completely freeing themselves from the academies’ restrictions with clean and honorable status.

Like the Crown Prince.

“Yah!”

Boom!

With a resounding crash, the magical beast slammed against the stone floor. Blood leaked from various cuts and holes in its body, but the beast made no attempt to move again.

It had breathed its last…

Huuuu……!