My monster cards can evolve infinitely.

The door to the practice area creaked open, but it sounded exceptionally clear in the otherwise silent space.

Xiu Qi stood at the door, his gray robe covered in the dust of his journey, his long black hair hanging messily over his shoulders.

He looked like he had just come back from the wilderness, and hadn't even had time to change out of his mud-stained robe.

But those eyes—clear and calm, without the slightest panic or apology for being late, only a kind of composure.

A murmur rippled through the audience.

"He's here!"

"They actually dared to come..."

"Judging from his appearance, it seems like he just rushed back."

"They didn't even change their robes; isn't that incredibly disrespectful to a duel?"

Jasley's eyes lit up, and her bright eyes, which had been filled with worry, regained their brilliance.

Her tightly clenched hands relaxed slightly, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.

"I knew you'd come," she murmured to herself.

Fernand stood on the dueling platform, his composure momentarily stiffening, but he quickly regained his elegant smile.

He raised his staff and nodded slightly to Xiuqi, who had entered the room:

"Apprentice Xiuqi, I'm glad you arrived in time. I was worried you'd miss this sparring match."

His tone was gentle, but the sarcasm in his words was clear to everyone present—you were almost late, coward.

Xiuqi didn't respond to the veiled sarcasm, but simply bowed to the judges' table: "Instructor Alvin, I apologize for being late!"

After leaving the "Steelhammer" blacksmith shop in the morning, he and the ogre Hodor rode the "Windwalker" chocobo to Harbor City.

Given the speed of the chocobo lizard, it should have been able to reach Harbor City by noon, but he underestimated Ado's weight.

The two robust chocobo lizards were so exhausted that they added three hours to the journey.

Master Alvin smiled with satisfaction and waved his hand, "It's good that you're here. Get ready."

Xiuqi walked steadily toward the arena, the hem of his gray robe swaying gently with each step, and the "Bavarian Moonlight" at his waist gleamed with a cool glow under the magical lights of the training ground.

Master Alvin let out a long sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair, completely relaxed.

Master York, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow and thoughtfully examined the gray-robed youth.

He whispered to Master Alvin, "Your apprentice is quite bold. The apprentice ranked 90th in the first year actually dared to challenge Fernand, who is ranked 20th in the second year."

"He's always been like this." Master Alvin's voice carried a mixture of relief and worry.

The middle-aged female instructor sat down again and cleared her throat: "Both sides are present. Now, let's read the duel rules."

Her voice, carried by magic, echoed throughout the entire training ground:

"This is a duel between mages, following the standard rules of academy duels. All spells and appraised magical equipment or items are permitted—"

At this point, Fernand suddenly interjected, "Mentor, is it possible to summon a contracted partner?"

The female instructor glanced at him: "According to the rules, both sides may summon a contracted partner to participate in the duel, but the contracted partner cannot be changed after being summoned."

Fernand smiled with satisfaction. He turned to look at Xiuqi, who had just stepped onto the dueling platform, his tone filled with undisguised superiority:

"Apprentice Xiuqi, you heard the rules, right? You can summon contracted partners." He paused, deliberately speaking in a voice loud enough for everyone around to hear, "I heard you also have a contracted creature? It seems... to be a goblin?"

A few soft laughs came from the audience.

That goblin was no secret at the Arcane Academy, and many people had been making fun of it these past few days.

Fernán continued, his voice growing louder: "A goblin, what a unique contracted partner."

"However, apprentice Xiuqi, I must remind you that the dueling arena is not a playground for children."

He took a step forward, his staff twirling gently in his hand.

"It's not too late for you to admit defeat now. After all, embarrassing yourself and your contracted partner in front of so many people wouldn't be good for either of you."

Xiuqi stood quietly on the other side of the arena, fifty feet away from Fernand.

He straightened the slightly disheveled cuffs of his gray robe with unhurried movements.

"Thank you for your concern." His voice was calm. "However, I have great confidence in my contracted partner."

Fernand scoffed, "Confident? Fine, then I'll see where your confidence comes from."

The two retreated to their designated positions. On the judges' platform, the female instructor raised her hand:

"The duel begins!"

The moment he finished speaking, Fernand quickly took three steps back and began chanting a spell.

The sapphire at the tip of the staff lit up, and a complex magic circle unfolded in front of him.

"In the name of the contract, answer my call—Gram!"

A dark red light surged from the magic circle, and a savage and ferocious aura spread out. The light gradually condensed and took shape—

A colossal creature, seven feet tall, appeared on the dueling platform.

It has a bear-like ugly face, but its body is much more robust than that of an ordinary elven, with muscles as bulging as rocks.

His skin was reddish-brown and covered with scars from battles.

What's most striking is its armor—a complete set of meticulously crafted scale armor covering every inch of its body from neck to ankle.

The scales gleamed with a cold, hard metallic sheen under the light, and there were additional protective plates at the joints.

It held a huge hammer in its hand, the hammerhead gleaming with a cold light.

A bear goblin armed to the bone.

A collective gasp rippled through the audience.

"By the gods...that's a bear goblin!"

"And she's wearing a full set of scale armor! How much did that cost?"

"A level 1 monster, armed like this..."

"Where did Fernand get this contracted creature?"

Jasmine's face turned pale.

She had heard of the infamous bear goblins—these monsters were far stronger than ordinary goblins, and were brutal in nature, making them a nightmare for many novice adventurers.

The creature before us is not only enormous but also equipped with such sophisticated gear; its strength is likely close to Challenge Level 2.

On the judges' table, Master Alvin sat up abruptly, his brow furrowed.

He looked at Master York: "Does the School of Shaping now teach students to make contracts with these monsters?"

Master York shrugged: "The choice of contracted creature is the student's prerogative. However..."

He looked at the goblin on the dueling platform. "That's quite rare."

Fernand stood behind the goblin, his face beaming with undisguised smugness.

He gently patted the bear goblin's thick arm—the arm was clearly thicker than Xiuqi's thigh.

"Let me introduce you, this is my contracted partner, Gram." Fernán's voice was tinged with pride.

"It took me three months to tame it, and another 100 gold coins to craft this set of equipment for it."

He glanced at Xiu Qi, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes:

"Shuki, it's not too late for you to admit defeat. Gram is a bit hungry lately, and it might treat your little goblin as a snack."

It has a bad temper; what if it accidentally hurts you...?