Legendary Mage

According to his plan, Ye Wei'an would be frozen in place, like a comical statue, and they could then scribble all over his handsome face as they pleased.

However, before Darian could finish his incantation, a hint of mockery flashed in Ye Wei'an's eyes.

He didn't even chant; he just waved his hand casually.

[Spell Counter]!

"Buzz—!"

A piercing buzzing sound erupted in the air, and the magic network that had been obedient to Darian instantly became disordered.

Darian felt an overwhelming force surge back into his mind, his once smooth magic instantly turning into a chaotic, uncontrollable torrent. He screamed in agony, blood spurting from his nose—the violent backlash from the forced interruption of his spellcasting.

"My head! Ah—!" Darian collapsed to his knees in agony.

Loren, who was standing to the side, was startled. Before he could run away, Ye Wei'an had already extended his index finger and flicked it at him in the air.

The space around Zarqa collapsed and twisted instantly.

【Whirlpool Warp】!

Without any room to struggle, Zachary felt a sudden dizziness and vanished from his spot in an instant.

The next second, a heart-wrenching scream came from the sharp granite spire of the college dormitory building. Zachary was like a dried-out salted fish, his collar clinging tightly to the stone carvings on the spire, his legs kicking wildly in mid-air in terror.

"Help! Help! I'm afraid of heights! Someone please help me down!"

"It seems the academy's practical courses are too mild; they can't even handle the most basic spell counters."

Ye Wei'an didn't even glance at the two people and walked straight past Darian.

The annoying guy who had bothered his predecessor for years is now just two pebbles in his way.

Behind him, Darian slumped to the ground, panting heavily, while on the spire above, Zachary's screams drew many late-returning students to open their windows and look out.

"What happened? Is that Zachary from the Loren family?"

"How did he end up hanging on the top of the tower? Was it a prank by some upperclassman?"

"Help! Put me down! Darian, find someone to help me!" Zachariah's tearful pleas echoed throughout the academy.

Ye Wei'an was not worried about the academy's punishment.

At the Battle Mage Academy, it's always been accepted that "minor accidents" happen between students during practice.

Moreover, the other party made the first move.

If Darian and Zachary had any sense of shame, they would never have dared to tell their teacher about being unilaterally crushed.

After wandering around the academy for five minutes, Ye Wei'an finally arrived at his destination.

The mage tower before us is the tallest building in the entire academy, constructed entirely of deep purple obsidian. Several slowly rotating metal rings surround the tower, each engraved with intricate magical runes.

This is the mage tower of the War Mage Academy's principal.

The War Mage Academy is not a large academy, and therefore does not have a complicated bureaucratic system. All academy affairs are decided by a dozen or so mages, including the principal.

For matters like graduation, you can contact the principal.

At the entrance hall at the base of the mage tower, two cold stone statues stand on either side of the door.

As Ye Wei'an approached, the stone statue on the left, holding a long sword, suddenly opened its mouth without warning, its voice hollow and heavy:

"Good afternoon, apprentice. Please state your identity and purpose."

Ye Wei'an replied, "I am Ye Wei'an Xia Xing, a four-year student, here to apply for formal graduation."

A faint blue arcane glow flickered in the statue's eyes, as if it were verifying his identity.

"Entry permitted."

A moment later, the stone statue lowered its head, and the heavy metal door slid silently inward.

Ye Wei'an stepped through the gate and was guided by a faint light to the teleportation array in the center of the hall.

With a slight feeling of weightlessness, the scene before my eyes instantly reassembled.

He appeared in a quiet corridor, beneath which lay a thick red carpet with gold patterns, and on the walls on either side hung portraits of successive Cormier royal mage. At the end was a huge ebony door, carved with the Cormier Order of the Purple Dragon.

Before he could even raise his hand to knock, a gentle male voice came from inside:

"Come in, child."

Ye Wei'an pushed open the door and entered.

This office is surprisingly spacious.

This place is less of an office and more of an arcane workshop that combines a study, library, and laboratory, with countless books and magic scrolls floating and rotating in mid-air.

Principal Ganlahast Iovanna was sitting behind that large yew wood table.

He had deep brown eyes, a thick beard that was meticulously groomed, and long, deep red hair with only a few strands of silver that symbolized the passage of time.

Although this legendary mage was over a hundred years old, he looked like a middle-aged man in his prime, and was surrounded by a breathtaking sense of oppression.

Ye Wei'an can see his information.

【Ganlahaster Eovaner, Lv.20 Battle Mage / Lv.1 Archmage】

Although Ye Wei'an knew from his predecessor that the principal of the War Mage Academy was very strong, he only realized now that he was actually a legendary mage.

Although he has only just entered the legendary realm, he is already a master that Ye Wei'an can only dream of.

Ganlahast put down his report on Zambia, looked up at the young man before him, and studied him for a moment…

"Oh, I remember now, you're the apprentice from the Xia Xing family!"

A hint of realization flickered in his brown eyes. "I remember you spent four years at the academy, and your grades were consistently...very stable, with high scores in history and geography. What, after taking two months off, you're already thinking about graduating?"

"Yes, Principal." Ye Wei'an bowed slightly. "I am preparing to leave Susar and go to the Western Frontier to become a pioneering lord."

"A pioneering lord?"

Ganlahast stroked his thick beard and let out a soft sigh that was hard to tell whether it was regret or relief.

"A wise choice. To be honest, son, it may sound harsh, but I really felt that your talents might not lie in the tedious research of magic networks and arcane models. Leaving the academy and exploring other avenues was definitely more suitable for you than being confined to the laboratory."

There's no way to respond to that.

Ye Wei'an could understand the principal's unspoken message: the original mage's talent was extremely mediocre, and staying here would only be a waste of time.

Ganlahast waved his hand, and a parchment flew from a scroll floating in the air and landed in front of him.

He picked up his quill pen, ready to sign the graduation documents.

However, when Ganlahast's gaze swept over Ye Weian's eyes, which shone with a bluish-white light, he suddenly froze.

"Wait...don't move."

The legendary mage's originally gentle gaze instantly turned sharp.

He stood up, walked around the huge wooden table, and came to Ye Weian.

The old mage was slightly shorter than Ye Wei'an, but with the aura he exuded, he appeared incredibly tall in Ye Wei'an's eyes, his eyes, which seemed to pierce through Ye Wei'an's soul, fixed on Ye Wei'an's pupils.

"This isn't right. Young man, the magic within you is abnormal..."

A rare hint of shock crept into Ganlahast's voice. "That was overflowing, boiling primal magic. If you weren't secretly hiding a broken Mystic Core within you, there's only one possibility."

He stared intently at Ye Wei'an, asking each word slowly and deliberately, "Have you mastered the power of cursed fire?"

Ye Wei'an fell silent.

Lies are meaningless before this legendary mage, a pinnacle of arcane magic.

"How did you figure that out?" Ye Wei'an asked, indirectly admitting the truth.

"Just as I thought." Ganlahast breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes gleaming with an almost awe-inspiring light.

"How did you figure that out?" Ye Wei'an was genuinely curious.

The power of cursed fire is truly rare, especially in this era nearly a century after the fall of the goddess of magic.

Even among spellcasters, cursed fire is just a legend.

Since he awakened the [Cursefire Sorcerer] class, he has basically never concealed his use of cursefire, and he has encountered spellcasters before.

But no one ever discovered the true nature of his power.

"That power originating from the primordial magic network... ordinary spellcasters certainly can't sense it; they can't even imagine its existence." Ganlahashit gave a wry smile. "Only those who have reached my level, who have begun to glimpse the origins of the magic network, can vaguely perceive that fluctuation of magic that doesn't belong to the conventional realm. Child, what you hold in your hands is the most precious gift from the Goddess of Magic."

Now that he had been seen through, Ye Wei'an decided to stop hiding it.

He extended his right hand, but did not chant any incantation or even make any spell-casting gestures.

"call--"

A cluster of pure, silvery-white flames with blue edges leaped up in his palm.

It lacked the scorching heat of ordinary flames, yet it caused the surrounding magic net to become disordered, and the scrolls and books that were originally floating around seemed to be disturbed, all becoming chaotic.