Chapter 53: The God of Erudition and the Dragon

Seeing Tasanya rapidly closing in on the fallen Lis, a monk nearby immediately stepped forward, placing himself in front of Lis.

Crossing his arms, he moved to intercept Tasanya’s fist with a peculiar stance.

A faint vortex of swirling *qi* was visible, flowing across his hands.

Second-tier Monk Skill: [True Qi Deflection]

This technique absorbs a certain degree of an opponent's force, redirecting and using that momentum against them.

Yet, the moment his hands made contact with Tasanya’s fist, his pupils constricted violently.

This strength was vastly greater than what he had felt when trading blows with Tasanya earlier.

His estimation had been profoundly wrong.

The overwhelming force slammed directly back into his arms, barely mitigated or converted by the swirling *qi* at all.

"Ah—!"

Accompanied by a miserable scream, blood seeped from the monk's hands as they trembled uncontrollably, forcing him to stagger backward repeatedly.

Witnessing this scene, the gathered nobles plunged once more into terror and panic.

They had never imagined that Lis, who had been so confident and seemingly in complete control just moments ago, would be crushed by Tasanya in an instant.

Some screamed, preparing to flee while Tasanya was focused on Lis.

Others, noblewomen clutching the heavy hems of their gowns, attempted to leap through the dining room windows to escape.

Amidst their screams and cries for help, they scrambled away with unsightly expressions. The entire dining hall instantly transformed from an elegant banquet into a purgatory for the nobility—a stark contrast to the lively, pleasant atmosphere of just a short while ago.

Noticing the nobles fleeing through the doors and windows, Tasanya’s gaze darkened.

She spun around instantly, rushing forward at a terrifying speed, knocking them unconscious with a single punch each.

Yet, a couple of slippery fish inevitably managed to break through.

A remarkably handsome young noble ruthlessly yanked a noblewoman who had gotten stuck in the window frame out of the way, squeezing through the opening himself like a fish.

He stumbled onto the ground, gazing up at the night sky and gasping for fresh air, feeling as though he had just escaped from the abyss.

He trembled violently with excitement.

Suddenly, however, a massive shadow cast by the moonlight swallowed his figure whole.

Terrified, he stared up at the mountain-like monster looming before him, desperate to flee, but his body refused to obey, his legs trembling like a sieve.

The next second,

BOOM!

Leila looked in annoyance at the young noble flattened onto the ground, currently breathing his last, feeling she shouldn't have transformed.

At first, she had assumed he might be someone of higher rank, and had nearly failed to control her strength.

De-transforming, she shook her head and pulled a notebook from her pocket.

Following her master's instructions, she jotted down a "1" in the book.

This represented the number of people Tasanya had let slip.

With that, Leila dragged the youth by his collar, gave a mighty heave, and tossed him back through the window.

Inside the hall, seeing someone thrown back through the window, Tasanya’s eyes turned bloodshot—a crimson hue born of anger and dread.

She had intended to complete this mission flawlessly.

With an angry roar, a terrifying draconic bellow echoed continuously through the hall.

Those nobles devoid of any class rank felt their legs turn to jelly and collapsed onto the floor.

"Anyone who dares run out that door dies!"

Tasanya’s intimidation struck home, and the hall fell completely silent.

Just as Muke’s face darkened and he readied himself to speak, Lis—who had collapsed onto the floor—slowly struggled back to her feet.

Her face was covered in cuts and bruises. Though she clearly tried to maintain her usual elegance and poise, her slurred, fuzzy articulation bore no relation to grace whatsoever:

"I didn't expect your bloodline purity to have increased."

Tasanya chuckled, cracking her knuckles as she retorted:

"And you're still the exact same as before, utterly stagnant."

A vein throbbed visibly on Lis’s temple—anyone familiar with her knew this was the sign of her fury.

She smiled coldly, saying:

"I'll show you what I've accomplished this past year—"

"A year your mother's—!"

With a ferocious grin, Tasanya cut Lis off entirely.

Lifting her foot, she kicked off fiercely, her right hand encased in crimson scales tightly balled into a fist as she charged straight at Lis.

Lis’s expression shifted abruptly.

She remembered this red dragon had once been far too proud to ever resort to a sneak attack.

Instantly flicking her hands, a magical array manifested and hovered before her.

Intricate and mysterious runes were inscribed across the array, their patterns stacked in layers.

A vortex unspooled from within the matrix, dark golden rune fragments swirling around it at astonishing speed, condensing before erupting outward!

Third-tier Mage Skill: [Dark Gold Torrent]

The dark golden rune fragments blasted toward Tasanya in the form of a pillar of light.

"Dark Gold Torrent!"

Muke and the other man present, who wore the uniform of the Mage Academy, stepped forward together in excitement upon seeing this.

"She actually succeeded! She's leaning toward the Scholarly Path!"

Standing beside them, Frey looked thoroughly bewildered, lowering his voice to ask:

"Lord Muke, what is the Scholarly Path?"

Muke stepped back slowly, his face filled with disbelief:

"When mages advance to the fourth tier, they typically attract the divine power of the God of Arcana and Magic."

"However, there are exceptional individuals who manage to master spells across all schools and possess a vast reservoir of magical knowledge."

"Upon advancing to the fourth tier, they attract a different kind of divine power, which we call the God of Mystery and Scholarship."

"Logically speaking, the essence of the divine power shouldn't differ, but fourth-tier mages who attract the power of the God of Scholarly pursuits are undeniably more formidable."

"The exact reason remains unknown to this day."

"She actually pulled it off..."

A bitter smile surfaced on Muke’s face:

"Lis was originally more proficient in ice-type magic, with only a foundational understanding of others. But being able to cast *Dark Gold Torrent* proves she has achieved considerable proficiency in other elemental skills as well."

"Just watch. This battle is effectively over."

Frey concentrated his gaze back onto the battlefield.

Seeing the torrent of dark golden runes surging toward her, Tasanya’s expression shifted, and she crossed her right arm in front of her for defense.

The instant the rune torrent made contact with her right arm, those rune fragments instantly adhered to the scales on her limb, writhing as though attempting to devour and assimilate them.

Tasanya’s right arm trembled violently; she could feel that while her arm had sustained no physical damage, it was gradually being swallowed by the runes, as if it, too, would be transformed into rune fragments and absorbed into the torrent.

Her advance was completely halted by this dark golden energy.

Lis, maintaining the *Dark Gold Torrent*, smiled faintly:

"See that, you lizard? This is my progress over the past year."

"If you were a true dragon, perhaps you could have beaten me. But what a pity—you're nothing more than a mongrel dragon."

A mongrel dragon?!

Tasanya’s eyes stained crimson.

Fury raged within her heart, echoing like an endless roar or a heaven-shaking tsunami.

Dragons were a proud species; in the world of dragons, might made right, and the weak were destined to be discarded.

She was indeed a mongrel dragon—no, she knew very well in her heart that she fell far short of even being a true mongrel; she was merely a descendant of dragon blood.

Yet she had grasped it—she had seized that final sliver of opportunity!

The [Enslavement] within her heart echoed silently,

and the figure of Luo Xiu flashed across her mind.

I can do it. I will become a true dragon!

And to become a true dragon, to attain formidable power, to survive—

She had to complete her master's mission!!!

A roaring draconic bellow reverberated through her body, and she unleashed the technique she had used on Luo Xiu that day.

A colossal phantom of a dragon descended from the sky, a massive claw tearing through the ceiling to snatch at Lis.

Unlike before, this giant claw was vastly more solid and tangible than previously.

Seemingly capable of shattering the energy torrent, the massive claw slammed heavily downward upon Lis!

Realizing that even the *Dark Gold Torrent* could not halt the descending claw, Lis widened her eyes in panic.

THUD!

Lis vomited a mouthful of blood, her body sent flying backward like a tattered kite before crashing heavily to the floor, losing consciousness.

The crimson faded from Tasanya’s eyes, and she panted heavily, steadying herself by pressing a hand against the nearest wall.

The surrounding nobles were either paralyzed with fear by the scene or had outright fainted from the overwhelming pressure.

Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined a night of revelry would culminate in this.

Muke and the other man from the Mage Academy were likewise struck utterly dumbfounded.

They had never expected Lis to lose.

Seconds later, Muke snapped back to reality first.

Forcing down his shock, he smiled smoothly at the assembled nobles:

"It seems Lis is simply indisposed today. But please rest assured, we at the Mage Academy will take full responsibility for everyone's safety."

"Sair."

He called out the name of the other man from the Mage Academy.

"Finish her off. I imagine our esteemed guests have seen quite enough of tonight's farce."

The man named Sair nodded.

His staff materialized in his hand, pointing slowly toward Tasanya standing across the room.

A fireball, as dazzling and scorching as a miniature sun, slowly condensed at the tip of the staff, gathering energy as if preparing to obliterate Tasanya in a single strike.

Tasanya slipped one hand into a pouch at her waist, her fingers closing around an item Luo Xiu had given her.

She watched the fireball steadily coalescing on the enemy's staff, secretly wishing the orb of fire would grow even more powerful.

Yet a hand descended upon her shoulder.

Startled, she whipped her head around to find a familiar figure clad in a vulture-feather robe and a brimmed hat.

"Good evening, everyone."

Luo Xiu’s muffled voice emerged from beneath the hat:

"Plans have changed. I just received some new intelligence, so now I intend to wrap things up swiftly."

He glanced toward Tasanya, speaking softly:

"Tasanya, you've done well this time. You have a new assignment now; I expect you to perform even better on the next one."