When Grant raised his hands in defeat, the Void shook — with laughter. You would laugh too if you never expected a fake ploy to actually work in a high-stake battle!
It was true that no one could cast multiple magic spells of different varieties at the same time; that rule also applied to the Voidwalkers. Even with the activation of the secret spell, Six Realms Five Planes — The Divine Figure of Kurikara, Baiyi’s current limitation in his mana output would not have been enough to allow the other Voidwalkers to cast high-damage spells at Grant, anyway.
In the three days time period before the duel, the Voidwalkers had poured all their resources into improving the Baiyi’s own version of the Descent spell, making such that seven Voidwalkers could use it as a gateway to perform their own techniques through seven mirages of themselves. Then, the Charlatan imbued his specially-crafted hallucinatory spell so that each of the eight mirages would emit realistic mana pulses while they were “performing” their spells. Lastly, one of the Voidwalkers used a special masking technique to conceal the original form of that spell just to jack up the appeal and display eye-catching visual effects!
Grant bought it! He bought it so hard, he gave up immediately. If he had not lost confidence and decided to stay a little longer, he would have noticed that the clones’ chants were just for show, for they would not have cast anything after the chants… Grant lost the duel because he lost his confidence, and he ended up submitting even though he was being fooled. 1
Trying to fool a seasoned Holy-level sorcerer was basically almost impossible, even if the opponent had the Charlatan’s ability to simulate eight different sets of mana vibrations lucidly. However, Baiyi had help from some cunning and experienced folks, and he was able to pull it off!
This trick could not be used a second time. In fact, it could only be used outside life or death battles; for example, this educational duel.
However, if Grant had decided to go all out in their battle, using everything he had, Baiyi would not have resorted to trickery. Instead, he would have lifted up his robe and use his Void Energy!
Grant approached Baiyi to ask the spell he pulled off at the final moments of their duel. All Baiyi could say was, “Er, actually, that was just my special illusionary spell…”
After Baiyi replied, the Vice President’s expression became hard to read. He mulled over Baiyi’s answer in his head. When Grant finally understood the underlying trick, a few seconds after pondering, he really wanted to slap himself.
However, he could only force, shake his head and say, “Master Hope’s Illusion technique really is something to behold! To be perfectly honest, I had started to wonder if you were the avatar of an actual deity.”
“There can’t be this many deities in the world, right?” Baiyi replied.
“I know. That’s… impossible/” VP Grant sighed before changing the subject. “So, I was wondering if Master Hope would like to register this special illusionary technique for copyright? A technique that can be used to skillfully turn the tides in a battle against Holy-level powerhouses must be the dream of many, right? If you would like to do that, I’m happy to help.”
“Nah. A parlor trick like that shouldn’t be treated as some kind of magnum opus,” Baiyi replied, feigning humility. What he really meant to say was “You normies can’t possibly replicate what I did, at all; you gotta have some Voidwalkers aiding you first!
Grant VP did not say anything the moment Baiyi indirectly rejected the offer. Although Grant understood that most people would rather not publicize their secret moves, after a while, he replied, ” I respect your reasons, but… I just found it a little unfortunate many had watched your battle today, and even if you could trust me to keep the secrets of your techniques, I’m afraid others might not be bound by the same code of honor.”
The implication was simple and was what Grant really thought in his heart. ‘ Do you think your secret technique is still a secret after our televised event? Come on, man; everyone saw it. Even if everyone else is not as strong as Thanos, they still will not be fooled by a fake cloning technique more than once, Mr. “Mysterious”.’
Baiyi hid his sneer and replied, “Oh, it’s fine — really. There’s no need to fret about it.” ‘You really think all eight spells the mirages were about to cast were worthless? Pfft. Wait till I sucker-punch you when you get distracted next time!
Nevertheless, Baiyi had won the duel and successfully completed his ranking mission. No one dared to doubt his strength now, including those who had previously harbored skepticism about his skills. Grant, too, had gracefully admitted his defeat. After giving Baiyi a handshake, Grant handed him his Legendary-level Qualification Certificate in front of the crowd.
Baiyi’s fans in the audience cheered jubilantly. Even Nota could not contain her joy and excitement; she exclaimed with her sweet, soft voice, “This is the greatest ever!”
Grant, who had been hovering right next to Baiyi, directed a pointed glance at Baiyi.
“Cough! That was my communication formation. The volume was a bit too loud, so what you heard was just my students’ cheers,” Baiyi replied quickly.
Grant nodded, albeit slowly.
The atmosphere turned awkward after that, so Baiyi gave a flimsy excuse and left, flying towards his students. He allowed his adorable students to surround him, and they began to clap and cheer so earnestly, Baiyi could not help but feel proud. Hence, he announced that there would be no homework that day. He went to express his desire that every one of them relax and rest up for the upcoming wilderness exploration up in two days times.
That night, Baiyi and his family enjoyed a happy family time. Vice President Grant, however, did not celebrate — or relax.
Baiyi left after the match, but Grant had to stay behind and clean up the site. Later that evening, Grant used his free time to review the battle with the advanced class students, as well as manage their bet winnings or losses. By midnight, Grant was still awake. There was an oil lamp beside him, which lit up the grave expression on his face as he scribbled something on a piece of paper.
Grant scribbled very swiftly, but when the top of his pen brushed against the piece of paper, it left no ink trail; Grant was, in fact, writing a specially encrypted letter whose content could only be revealed under a highly-specialized scanning magic.
The letter contained the scores and details of every test Baiyi undertook before the duel. It also contained Grant’s deductions about Baiyi’s battle prowess, which he had theorized after dueling with the soul armature: Mana output — unable to exceed Master-level; he can easily dispatch spells as high as seventh-grade; he possesses strange illusionary prowess and space-type magic; he also possesses an uncannily powerful Psychic Energy, and he was possibly a Demigod-level fighter when he was alive.
At the very end of the letter, Grant added a note: Unidentified gender. He could be female.
When the letter was finished, Grant folded it and sealed it inside an envelope, which he proceeded to place in the middle of his palm.
A tongue of flames suddenly rose from his hand, burning the entire letter completely, without even leaving ashes behind.
A few moments passed.
Then, deep within the Basilica of the Godsfall cult, the three High Reverends assumed their dark silhouette forms.
“What do you think?” The first silhouette spoke.
“Tsk tsk. He lost all pretense of enigma before the might of a Holy-level pugilist, didn’t he? I do not, for one second, believe that he was still hiding anything. His air of mystery has already been forcefully ripped open, and all his tricks and tactics are now completely exposed; he’s no longer a threat,” the second silhouette replied confidently as if he had already seen through everything. “Pah. He is called ‘The Mightiest Great Sage Ever’, yet this is all the depth he possessed! The reason why those bumbling idiots in the Doors of Conundrum were so quickly impressed must have been because they never had a powerful member like him before.”
“Do you honestly believe that we have him?” The third silhouette asked. “That was just a friendly spar. Do you really think he used everything he had in that match? His illusion trick that could fool a Holy-level fighter and that inexplicable, unpredictable teleportation magic should already warrant our highest caution.”
“What? Are you suggesting that he might even be able to use combat chi? Or that he is as adept in stealth as assassins are? Or that he can even assume another form?” The second silhouette retorted, wearing a sneer. “At the end of the day, sorcerers will always be sorcerers. Even if he managed to use some of those barbaric druids’ techniques, he is still a sorcerer. If he really has more up his sleeves, do you think he would have acted this indecisive in the fight today? Do you think he would have wasted so many of his trump cards — even that little party trick and psychological attack — just to win?”
“Even if he still has more aces, I don’t think they will be able to even leave a dent on us,” the second figure added. “Tell me, are we honestly going to lose to a mere Holy-level worm?”
“I see your point there…” the third silhouette relented. It was just as the other silhouettes had said. It did not really matter how powerful Baiyi was; he would always be limited by his class. There was also the fact that Baiyi had shown every card he had just because he would not have been able to best a Holy-level fighter without them.
If that was the extent of his power, then what would the odds of his victory over an organization like theirs? He would not be any more threatening than a pebble — which they could kick at any time.
“I have another question, though: if he was already this capable, why is he satisfied with his lowly occupation — a homeschool teacher? It cannot be because of what those rumors say — that he has ephebophilia — right?” The third silhouette asked.
“Not possible,” the first silhouette replied, surprisingly defending the soul armature. “According to my observations and conjecture, his innate capabilities are… unstable, to say the least. His performance today is an exception, not the norm. I believe that it has something to do with his summoner and Soul Armature Practitioner — that little girl with twin horsetails. She is unremarkably weak, and I believe that her own limitations caused similar blocks in her Soul Armature.”
“A result of an incomplete summoning process, I presume? Ho ho ho. Is she lucky, or is she unfortunate? I can only wish them a happy Grace’s Day… Because this is very likely the last festival they ever celebrate,” the second silhouette said.
“Oh! This soon?”
“Of course!” The second silhouette answered in a raised voice filled with bloodthirst. “I made myself clear before; the only protection this man has is the enigma surrounding him. The time the shroud is torn apart is the time he pays his price.”