My monster cards can evolve infinitely.

The ogre Ador raised his head, his bright yellow eyes looking at Fernand, and made a gurgling sound in his throat.

It gently placed the huge hammer in its hand at its feet, as if afraid of breaking the table.

Then it strode toward Fernand.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

The slow, heavy footsteps sounded to Fernand like the drumbeats of death.

He raised his staff again, and the sapphire light re-condensed—he wanted to cast a second magic missile.

But as soon as the incantation was uttered, a huge shadow enveloped him.

Ador strode across half of the dueling platform with steps that shook the floor.

It discarded the shield it was unaccustomed to using, gripped the oversized mace with both hands, and without any fancy techniques, simply used the most straightforward method—

Raise it high, then slam it down.

The hammerhead tore through the air, crashing down on Fernand's head with crushing force.

Fernán's chanting stopped abruptly, his eyes wide with terror as he retreated hastily, activating the protective runes on his robes at the same time.

A light blue, eggshell-shaped shield instantly enveloped him.

[Mage Shield]

Boom!

The hammer slammed into the shield with a deafening roar.

The shield flickered violently, its surface covered with spiderweb-like cracks, but it did not shatter immediately.

The powerful impact pierced through the shield, sending Fernand flying off the ground. He tumbled five or six times before coming to a stop, his staff slipping from his grasp.

The magic shield flickered a few times, but finally couldn't hold on any longer and shattered into specks of light.

Before he could finish the sentence, "I admit it...", Ado had already reached out his large hand.

The movements are slow or even clumsy, but the coverage area is too large.

Fernand only had time to let out a cry of surprise before that large hand gently grasped his waist and abdomen—it really was just a grasp.

Ado remembered what Xiuqi had said, "Be careful," and carefully closed his fingertips, afraid of crushing the small stick.

Then, to the astonishment of the entire audience, the ogre Hodor lifted the second-year prodigy apprentice into the air as if he were picking up a not-too-heavy package, swayed it from side to side, and finally—

Suddenly, I let go.

*Smash!*

Fernand was thrown from a height of more than four meters onto the dueling ring floor.

He groaned in pain and rolled over once.

Although not fatal, it's still enough to make a mage apprentice with only 5 points in constitution suffer.

After doing all this, Ado took two steps back, turned to look at Xiuqi, and made a gurgling sound in his throat as if he were asking for credit.

Xiuqi nodded to it, giving it an approving smile.

It took Fernand quite a while to get up.

He slumped down on the edge of the table, his staff lying to the side, his face turning from white to red and then to green.

Humiliation, anger, fear, and body aches all intertwined, leaving him speechless and trembling all over.

Xiu Qi slowly lowered his right hand, and the hemispherical force field shield dissipated.

He looked at Fernand, his voice clear and calm: "Shall we continue?"

Fernand opened his mouth and glanced over—his contracted partner, the goblin bear, lay sprawled on the ground, his proud spell easily neutralized; the ogre had clearly not yet exerted its full power.

The shame gnawed at my heart.

But he wasn't a fool after all.

If this continues, not only will they lose the duel, but their lives may also be in danger.

"I concede," Fernand spat out the three words through gritted teeth, his voice barely audible.

The female mentor stood up at the opportune moment, her voice carrying throughout the entire room:

"The duel is over! The victor is—Shuki Light!"

After a brief silence, the audience erupted in a huge uproar.

Applause, gasps of amazement, and murmurs mingled together, nearly lifting the roof off.

Many students who had initially watched with amusement now had complex expressions, and their gazes toward the gray-robed figure on stage completely changed.

Jasley suddenly stood up and clapped her hands vigorously, her fiery red hair flying in the wind, a bright smile blooming on her face, and her eyes shining with pride.

Catherine watched the gray-robed figure calmly sheathing his sword on the stage, her interest growing even stronger: "An ogre companion, enduring a modified magic missile head-on?"

"Cassley, your little boyfriend has more secrets than you think."

On the judges' stand, Master Alvin smiled with satisfaction: "It seems that the Protection School won't be at the bottom of the first-year evaluations this year."

Master York snorted but didn't say anything, his gaze lingering on Xiuqi for a long time.

Fernand struggled to his feet, his face covered in dust and his mage robe torn in several places.

He stared intently at Xiu Qi, his eyes filled with resentment, humiliation, and a hint of deep-seated malice.

His goblin was still groaning in pain, while he himself was nearly crushed by the first-year bottom-ranked apprentice in front of everyone.

This was an utter disgrace to him.

Hugh nodded to Ado: "Great, Ado. We won."

The ogre obediently lowered his mace and shield, letting out a joyful shout: "Hador, you've won."

It walked up to Xiuqi, its massive body lowering slightly, as if waiting for praise.

Xiuqi reached out and patted its thick arm, then turned to the judges' stand and the audience to give a standard mage salute.

His demeanor was composed, neither arrogant nor humble.

Master Alvin stepped down from the judges' stand and approached Xiuqi.

The old man's face was full of gratified smiles: "Well done, Xiuqi. It's not just a victory, but also your attitude towards your contracted partners."

He looked at Ado with gentle eyes, "It trusts you, and you deserve that trust."

"Thank you, mentor." Xiu Qi bowed slightly.

"However," Master Alvin lowered his voice, "bringing an ogre contract partner might attract unnecessary attention."

Xiuqi nodded: "I understand."

At this moment, Jasmine strode down the steps from the side of the stands, her fiery red hair like leaping flames.

She stopped at the edge of the dueling platform, looked up at Xiu Qi, and her bright eyes sparkled: "Congratulations, Xiu Qi."

"Thank you." Xiuqi jumped off the stage, and Ado awkwardly followed him off.

"What is it?" Jasley looked at Ador curiously, without the slightest fear.

"Ado, this is my companion," Hugh introduced. "Ado, this is Jasmine."

Ado lowered his enormous head, blinked his clear yellow eyes, and made a friendly gurgling sound.

Jasmine smiled and gently touched Ado's rough hand: "Hello, Ado. You did a fantastic job just now."

The ogre seemed shy; it was nothing like the ferocity it had displayed in the duel, and instead shrank back behind Xiuqi.

This action elicited good-natured laughter from the students who hadn't yet dispersed.

Catherine also came over, looked Xiuqi up and down, and said with a playful tone, "It seems that Gasley's taste is indeed quite good."

Xiuqi politely looked at the magnificent woman he was meeting for the first time, and smiled and nodded in greeting.

"Shuki," Master Alvin said, "come to my office tomorrow."

"Yes, mentor."

Fernán, his face ashen, walked to the goblin and pulled out a healing scroll from his pocket, tearing it open.

Under the green light, Gram's convulsions gradually stopped, but he was clearly unable to fight again for the time being.

He gave Xiuqi a deep look, his eyes filled with anger, resentment, and deep-seated fear.

Then, without looking back, he quickly walked off the dueling platform, pushed through the crowd, and left the practice area.

His henchmen looked at each other, embarrassed, and slunk out after him.

Xiuqi smiled as he watched Fernand's furious figure walk away, and only spoke slowly when the other man reached the door:

"Fernan, apprentice, you seem to have forgotten something..."

"You haven't left your stakes for our duel yet."