I find it very sacred to pick someone up and make them a saint.

Furnila and Bishop Phil's faces were twisted together in an unusually similar way.

Initiate red temperature.

Knowing he couldn't win an argument with Rachel, he turned his attention to Mien:

"Chief Mien, since this is a competition for the promotion of a saintess, the purpose is naturally to select a qualified saintess."

"Isn't it a bit of putting the cart before the horse that you're training Lucia like this, doing everything just to prepare her for exams?"

Mien shrugged helplessly.

"That's how we scholars do things."

Whether it's war or competition, that's not the Academy's job.

Our only job is to help all the students who enter here successfully pass their exams. This is the responsibility the Empire has entrusted to us.

"But that's not fair!"

"How can this be unfair?" Mien protested.

"Uniform standards, uniform conditions, and even ignoring prior learning and preparation—uniformity is the fairest form of assessment."

Bishop Phil then realized his enormous disadvantage:

Are we competing with the Academy of Scholars in exams?

Nobody understands exams better than them.

"But..." Bishop Phil wanted to say something more.

But Rachel had already joined the fray, and she sighed, seemingly resigned, saying:

"Since Bishop Phil objects and believes the exam is unfair, let's listen to him and cancel the exam."

Bishop Phil raised an eyebrow.

Rachel continued:

"Since the Holy Maiden has been absent for so long, there's no rush. We can hold the competition next time after we've discussed and agreed on the unified rules."

Your Excellency, what is your opinion?

"This is outrageous!" Phil thought to himself.

If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have agreed to assign the position of Saintess to the Academy of Scholars in the first place. It was a mistake.

Having only been enrolled for less than half a year, he was already able to fight on par with Funila. What if he were trained for another six months? I doubt he could even pass the test himself.

"That won't be necessary," Phil said, his gaze darkening. He thought to himself that if Furila were to gain control of the 'Holy Flame Baptism' prematurely, the outcome of the battle would be uncertain.

"Of course, the interests of the empire must come first, and a new saintess should be introduced as soon as possible."

"But..." he asked, his voice low as he looked at Mien.

"Chief Mien, since the competition rules still stipulate the exclusion of all off-field interference, does that mean that even if someone's life is in danger, interference is still prohibited?"

Rachel immediately replied, "Of course not! It's just a competition between two children for promotion; how could it possibly lead to death?!"

He immediately guessed what tricks Phil had used:

"Bishop Phil, you wouldn't have asked Fernila to use some underhanded tactics, would you?"

Phil ignored him and instead asked Mien, "Lord Mien, in this competition, should we listen to you, the head of the academy, or to this imperial princess beside me?"

Mien smiled and said:

"Of course it's me. The rules are very clear: reject all off-field interference. We should just follow the rules."

Rachel asked anxiously, "Chief Mien, but..."

Mien reached out and stopped her from speaking: "Your Highness, there is no need to worry about Lucia's safety. The rules state that the match will end immediately once one side concedes defeat."

Everyone here is here; I guarantee that no one will ever do anything to endanger another person's life again.

Phil smiled smugly, figuring that Mien wouldn't completely side with Rachel.

Rachel felt somewhat relieved after hearing this and stopped arguing. She rested her chin on her hand and watched, still feeling worried.

She glanced at Mien again and found him looking relaxed and indifferent. She couldn't help but wonder if he was worried about the safety of his students.

…………

Young Furilla naturally lacked the refinement of Bishop Phil.

Clenching his fists, his face flushed red, he burst into a tirade of curses:

"You're despicable!!"

What are you muttering about?

Lucia felt that her scolding sounded like she was being coquettish.

When she worked on the Iron Can Street, even the gentlest scolding from customers or bosses was a million times better than what she experienced.

Unaffected, he kept a close eye on Funila's movements and prepared for the next step.

Since they weren't attacking, they took the opportunity to recover their magical energy.

"Alright, alright, is this how you play it?" Funila's blood was surging.

Let's have a decisive battle then!

Instead of fighting a protracted battle with the high-energy Lucia, it's better to go all in.

The first battle is the final battle; one battle will decide the fate of the world!

Since my strength and magical power are definitely greater than the opponent's, let's see if the opponent can withstand my burst of power.

The blue bar is not a health bar.

If your health bar is depleted in one go, it's useless no matter how much mana you have left.

Moreover, he also has a secret killing move.

Before coming, Bishop Phil had told himself: if you can win normally, don't use it lightly, because if you accidentally injure or kill someone, it will cause a lot of trouble.

However, if there is a possibility of defeat, do not hold back, no matter what the consequences may be.

She looked at Lucia's shameless face: "You were the one who did the evil deed first."

Don't blame me!

In an instant, a surge of holy light erupted, unleashing its full power, while simultaneously concealing the incantation of the 'Holy Flame Baptism'.

It suddenly charged toward Lucia at a speed that was impossible to react to, releasing three holy light spells at the same time as it charged.

Instead of aiming at Lucia herself, they blocked all her escape routes.

At this point, the energy exchange ratio doesn't matter; as long as you can get close to them, that's fine.

Including the previous attacks, she still had 30 energy left.

If she continued casting Holy Light, with her 60% resonance level, she could cast it about three more times. However, Furilla already had plans.

This is just the right time to unleash the 'Holy Flame Baptism' that consumes 80% of my energy!

I'll see if you can withstand this blow after more than two years.

Seeing Funila's move, the entire arena erupted in cheers.

"Is this some kind of dirty trick!?"

"This is so dirty!" "Where are the referees?! The referee team?"

"Oh, oh, oh?"

The home field is the home field; a large number of our own teachers and students have already started spewing profanities.

Mien frowned and stared intently.

The princess's pupils dilated slightly, and she said nervously, "Chief Mien..."

Mien waved her hand, stopping her from interfering.

"An old relic!" Rachel cursed inwardly.

"That cold-blooded old man! How can he not even care about the safety of his own students!"

She didn't care about winning or losing, but she cared about Lucia's life.

It wasn't that he cared about the girl, but if he lost his life, he would lose one of his most important cards.

If it interferes with her own interests, she will no longer maintain respect and friendliness towards Mien.

Phil noticed Rachel's expression and said with a faint smile, "Your Highness, a bet is a bet."

Rachel had no time to blame Phil and focused intently on how the situation was developing.

Under the blinding holy light, beads of sweat appeared on Lucia's forehead, but she managed to steady her mind.

Because it was a scenario that Teacher Mien and Teacher Hein had perfectly predicted, the prediction was successful.

Before the game, they told themselves:

"If the other party chooses to fight you to the death, then you don't need to worry about energy consumption anymore."

Almost everything can be used for defense.

Lucia nodded and wrote it down in her notebook, and also in her heart.

Finally, Mien said to himself, "Are you always hesitant, unsure whether you can put someone to death?"

There's no need to overthink it.

If the other party puts you in a deadly position, you should naturally put her in the same position in return.

Such a person is already courting death!

Do you understand?

Lucia nodded solemnly.

The same dazzling energy also erupted, and the two beams of light rapidly approached each other.

Phil carefully observed that Lucia directly released a shield spell that consumed 150 energy points!

Like a giant city wall, it covered all corners and blocked in front of him.

This is a spellcasting technique created by the Academy using the original laws of the Starlink Source Cult: it allows the same spell to be cast with far more energy than it would normally consume, but with a greatly increased effect.

The princess and the bishop looked surprised again: How come they've never heard of this technique?

Mien just smiled and ignored him.

This technique is not a secret at all; it is even recorded in the Academy Library. It was simply discarded because it was impractical.

Limited to low-level spells, who would use all 150 energy to cast beginner skills?

However, it played a significant role in this scenario:

Because it directly converts the thickness of the energy bar into explosive power!

They directly anticipated and read the opponent's tactical attempt to use explosives to disrupt the default operation.

In the blink of an eye, the two beams of light collided!

Lucia saw Funi Ramen go mad, shouting and stretching out her arms, a strong, living holy light burning and pulsating fiercely!

It then unleashed a massive burst of light and flames, attempting to engulf itself entirely.

Everyone noticed this unprecedented move, and they could also sense the power it contained.

Princess Rachel jumped to her feet, glaring at Phil.

Phil ignored her gaze, looking indifferently at the arena. Since they won, there was nothing more to say.

The radiant holy light washed over every corner of the arena, leaving everyone speechless.

People were practically crushing their light sticks, watching with bated breath and wide eyes.

Shanara nearly fainted.

The huge smoke screen that was raised exploded and then slowly fell.

A faint, arc-shaped shield of light appeared before the two of them.

Although it was so weak that it could be broken with a single blow, it was like the halo after the rain.

A few people had already started cheering, but most were still holding their breath and waiting.

All the delays dissipated, and on one side was Furila, bent over with her hands on her knees, panting heavily.

On the other side is Lucia, who has her arms outstretched and is maintaining a huge shield spell in front of her.

The aftershocks ruffled Lucia's scholar's robes, and beads of sweat trickled down her elegant chin.

"Wow!!!" "Lust Goddess is awesome!!"

Cheers erupted from all directions like a tsunami!

The princess slumped back onto the sofa with a thud, letting out a huge sigh of relief.

This competition between the two students was truly more exciting than some military duels, and most importantly, the student won.

Bishop Phil's wide eyes gradually dimmed: He had lost.

He knew very well that the contest was over; Funila had exhausted her energy and was no longer able to launch any further attacks.

Lucia, however, did not know if she had any energy left. She must have been taught by Mien how to win, and she knew that she was no match for him in terms of the exam rules.

He was already prepared to leave with Funila, after all, it wasn't a complete failure on his part. This opportunity was unexpected, so losing it was just that.

But looking at the sidelines, something seems off?

Why doesn't Funila seem to be about to shout "surrender"?

…………

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