Chapter 212: Midterm Exams

Upon discovering this, Jeremy immediately contacted the relevant individuals and detailed all his speculations.

It was three-thirty in the morning, less than four hours before the start of the midterm exams.

After handing over all the documents, along with the Ashbloom Flower and the Immortal Flower, to the research institute, Jeremy simply gave up on sleeping. He stayed at the research institute for a while to observe the progress, only returning to the academy when the exams were about to begin.

This midterm exam consisted of individual tournaments and team tournaments in a rotational format, with the final ranking decided based on total points.

The individual matches took place first, followed by the team matches.

When he returned to the academy, it happened to be the random draw phase.

Jeremy glanced over his teammates’ competition areas.

They were basically all in areas two and three, not in the same arena as him.

[The drawing for this round has concluded. Contestants, please enter the arenas in order.]

As soon as the student council’s announcement finished, Jeremy looked up at the magic screen.

Coincidentally, his opponent this time was considered an old acquaintance—Asaro.

Aside from the first-year freshman assessment, he had also lost to her at the end of their second year.

In total, he had lost to Asaro twice.

As the saying goes, third time’s the charm. Hopefully, it wouldn’t end in defeat again this time.

Jeremy stopped his wandering thoughts and strode toward the competition platform.

This time, Jeremy and Asaro were placed in the first round, so as soon as they stepped onto the stage, they easily drew the attention of the entire audience.

“Asaro is placed in the first round again. Jeremy’s a bit unlucky too; his first-round opponent is actually Asaro, who has already reached tier five.”

“Yeah. Speaking of which, last year Jeremy skipped all the exams. Participating again this year, whether it’s midterms or finals, his overall ranking must reach second place or higher, otherwise he’ll be forced to repeat the year. Looks difficult now; he’s never won against Asaro.”

“Haha, when it comes down to it, it’s a Holy Covenant versus a Spirit Covenant; isn’t a massive gap to be expected? Although Jeremy’s Mark is low, his strength is definitely ranked among the top in our grade.”

“But he suspended his studies for a whole year. No matter how you look at it, his realm can’t keep up with Asaro.”

“True, but does anyone know where he went during his one-year disappearance? It seems his teammates also suspended their studies at the same time.”

“No idea.”

While the audience was buzzing with discussion, the vice principal’s contract beast—the Heavenly Spirit Fox, Xiao Bai—began announcing the information of both sides.

[Round One: Eclipse Team – Jeremy vs. Genius Team – Asaro.]

[Information of both sides. Jeremy: Tier 5, 2-star. Mark: Holy Covenant 02 / Spirit Covenant 305. Sacred Weapon: Multi-form. Asaro: Tier 5, 2-star. Mark: Holy Covenant 16. Sacred Weapon: Death Scythe.]

As soon as Xiao Bai finished speaking, the entire arena plunged into silence.

A few seconds later, sharp intakes of breath and words of unbelievable shock rang out.

“Holy Covenant 02? Holy crap, wasn’t Jeremy Spirit Covenant 305? Did Instructor Xiao Bai make a mistake?”

“How could Instructor Xiao Bai make a mistake… This information is extracted based on the magic power provided before the match.”

“Then what exactly is going on? How did Jeremy turn into a Dual Mark bearer? And a Holy Covenant 02 at that!”

“Could it be he was hiding his abilities right from the start?” The person who spoke immediately refuted their own words, “Probably not.”

“Definitely not.”

“Then how did he suddenly gain an additional Holy Covenant 02? Can’t Marks only be awakened once, and furthermore, they can’t be changed?”

“…No idea, wait… Could it be he’s like Princess Evelyn, unlocking a specialized deity’s bloodline awakening, thereby awakening a Holy Covenant?”

This statement gave everyone a clue.

“No wonder he was suspended for so long… This growth speed is terrifying; he’s already at tier five, 2-star. When school started three years ago, he wasn’t even a mage.”

“Yeah, how can someone be so exceptionally outstanding? Speaking of which, his teammates were also suspended for a long time… Could it be?”

“Impossible. Do you think Dual Marks are cabbages in the market, just readily available anywhere?”

“Anyway, we’ll know the results once the individual tournament is over…”

Lomita, standing on the sidelines taking in their reactions, inexplicably felt an indescribable sense of pride.

The corners of her mouth couldn’t help but curl up a few degrees.

On the competition platform, Asaro had already heard the rumors, so she wasn’t surprised at all.

The two sides saluted according to regulations.

Asaro looked at Jeremy, speaking calmly: “Long time no see, you truly didn’t disappoint me. Can you win against me this time?”

If someone else had said this, it might have been a challenge, but Jeremy knew clearly that Asaro didn’t mean it that way; she was purely asking a question.

Faced with this situation, Jeremy smiled in response, teasing: “It seems you really want to lose to me.”

Asaro shrugged, “Perhaps?”

[The match begins!]

The moment the Heavenly Spirit Fox Xiao Bai announced the start, Asaro didn’t hesitate. She instantly summoned her scythe, closed in on Jeremy in a flash, and swung the scythe in her hands straight down.

Facing this powerful attack, Jeremy wasn’t panicked.

He summoned his wings to fly up and dodge. As his opponent gave chase, he immediately summoned his Sacred Weapon, transforming it into a scythe to counter.

The two scythes clashed, sparking a shower of differently colored sparks formed from magic power.

Asaro’s close-combat ability was even stronger than before. Just blocking this strike made Jeremy’s palm tingle.

Neither was in a rush to unleash skills, both trying to probe the other’s strength.

“It seems you haven’t neglected your training this past year. Not bad.”

Asaro’s scythe grazed past Jeremy’s waist.

“You’re not bad either.” Jeremy spread his wings to dodge, twisting his body and landing.

This match didn’t restrict flying, and the two figures continuously wove between the air and the ground. Their speed was so fast it created afterimages, and their unusually powerful attacks left the audience astounded.

They truly couldn’t understand why, despite being peers, the gap could be so massive.

After dodging Asaro’s attack, Jeremy quickly widened the distance, spinning the scythe in his hand a full circle to accumulate power.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Jeremy made a bold decision.

After accumulating power, he directly threw the scythe out.

“What is he planning to do?”

“If his weapon is controlled by the opponent, isn’t he doomed?”

Words of doubt echoed from the stands.

“…”

Asaro glanced at the incoming scythe. With a slight flick of her wrist, her Death Scythe slashed down, grazing the curved blade. After neutralizing the momentum, she firmly caught the entirety of the flying scythe.

The exact moment her fingertips touched the scythe, Jeremy could no longer recall his weapon from mid-air.

Asaro, holding dual scythes, saw that cards had already appeared around Jeremy and understood what he was thinking.

…It seems he doesn’t plan on playing around anymore.

True, continuing like this was meaningless anyway.

Asaro simultaneously infused magic power into both scythes, and the blades instantly radiated a chilling light.

At the same time, Asaro’s clone materialized in a flash, grabbing the scythe Jeremy had thrown to use for itself.

When those cards appeared, Asaro could sense an aura of pressure that couldn’t be ignored.

Asaro understood Jeremy’s monstrous level better than most people.

Just in case, she decided to unleash her skills first this time.

“Moon Scar – Nether Strangulation!”

The emotionless voice awakened the skill.

In a flash, the entire sky shifted from broad daylight to late night.

An ash-gray moon descended, the temperature plummeted drastically, and seemingly harmless ice crystal snowflakes began to flutter down from the sky…