Chapter 141: Demon Armor Art — Stone Bastion

The First Prince’s behavior appeared reckless and unreasonable, but from his perspective, things were far from that. To him, these people were merely deserting him because they saw his waning influence; now, even a lowly Third-Circle mage dared to look down on him. This dealt a significant blow to his inherently arrogant heart.

Regardless, the assessment had to continue.

Under Nelson’s signal, the three Third-Circle mages each drew a slip of paper. The one selected was Hope, an old acquaintance of Chu Yun. Chu Yun had defeated him during the battle in the Mirror World, so facing him in person gave Chu Yun more confidence.

Unlike the previous spell assessment, the combat assessment was far more dangerous. The crowd began to retreat to avoid any accidents, though the First Prince’s party disdainfully moved even closer.

Chu Yun did not know why the other party was so fixated on him. Although he knew the First Prince carried the Holy Spear on his back, as an outsider, he was unaware of the weapon’s specific capabilities.

The combat assessment began quickly.

The real-life Hope was different from his mirror image. Since the assessment did not restrict weapons or items below the Third-Circle, and because he knew Chu Yun possessed flight capabilities, he did not adopt the same tactics as the mirror image. Hope took out several earth-element crystals and tossed them toward Chu Yun. These were not ordinary stones, but magical artifacts with inscriptions already carved into them. As they flew, the crystals transformed into star-vortices, which locked onto Chu Yun and surged toward him.

"Magic Missile!" Chu Yun launched a probing attack. As expected, the star-vortices shifted their trajectories in mid-air, evading his strike. The Magic Missile hit the barrier surrounding the trial grounds and was blocked, but the First Prince felt offended once again. The attack had landed exactly where he was standing; had it not been for the barrier, he would have been struck. Although it would not have harmed him even without the barrier, he felt Chu Yun was deliberately provoking him.

"I have a feeling this guy is truly insufferable." The First Prince knew this wasn't due to any malicious actions by Chu Yun; the feeling had only emerged the moment he laid eyes on him.

"Could it be... because he’s better-looking than me?"

While the First Prince pondered this, Chu Yun launched a new counterattack. When dealing with spells that possess tracking capabilities, area-of-effect attacks are the best response. Chu Yun unleashed a Burning Hands spell to intercept the star-vortices, then withdrew his flight wings to ascend higher and launch an assault.

Hope’s attempt to sneak in a silent-cast Earth Spike failed; he never dreamed that Chu Yun had already experienced that exact tactic, rendering his strategy useless.

"Flame Spear!"

The spear descended from the sky, striking mercilessly at Hope on the ground. If it didn't break through defenses, the raw power of this spell was higher than the Annihilation Divine Thunder. With the bonus from the Fire Elemental Commander, it could even be used as a Third-Circle spell. Chu Yun had used this against Hope before, but it had been blocked by an earth wall. Attacking from high altitude provided more control, making it difficult for his opponent to defend with a wall.

Facing the fierce assault, Hope remained unfazed. He pulled another item from his spatial equipment—the shell of an unknown turtle-like monster. Unlike his hurried state in the Mirror World, he had prepared plenty of tools for this assessment.

"Magic Armor: Stone Bastion!"

The turtle shell transformed into a small bunker, shielding Hope. It not only possessed immense defensive power but also distorted the trajectory of the Flame Spear upon impact, causing it to strike the ground and explode elsewhere. Hope remained safe inside, unscathed by the shockwave. When the explosion subsided, the bunker did not disappear; instead, it morphed into a suit of heavily armored gear worn by Hope.

"Good grief, are you Master Roshi?" Chu Yun couldn't help but mock his appearance.

Hope frowned, looking at Chu Yun hovering in the sky. As an earth-element mage, he excelled at ground combat and lacked means to strike the air, so he resorted to launching more star-vortices. Unfortunately, Chu Yun, already prepared, destroyed them again.

Hope finally understood why the guild master placed so much importance on the production and development of flight wings; the ability to fly greatly enhanced a mage's safety and combat prowess.

"You attack, then," Hope said helplessly. Earth mages specialized in defense; if his opponent could break through his guard, he would pass the assessment.

Chu Yun did not lower his guard. No one played by the rules these days, and if he were foolish enough to be lured into a full-force attack on the ground, he might be ambushed at any moment.

"Then I won't hold back."

Beyond his armor, Hope began chanting to reinforce his defenses. Chu Yun, unhurried, took out his Blazing Flame Grimoire and began summoning fire elements. Unlike the previous assessment, he used a Second-Circle fire crystal to summon an elite-level Fire Elemental Giant.

The giant had appeared during the battle at the manor, and when Chu Yun’s students saw it again, they felt a sense of great familiarity. If not for Chu Yun back then, they likely would have been killed by the Armored Ants.

"Go! Go! Teacher Chu Yun, go!" Nancy couldn't help but shout. As the student who received the most care from Chu Yun, she held the teacher who had changed her fate in high regard, and despite her introverted nature, she bravely cheered for him before anyone else. The other students followed suit, and the scene instantly became lively.

"This guy Chu Yun is certainly popular with the girls."