Chapter 145

Beijing University, Central Plaza.

The massive spectator stands, once roaring with voices and deafening noise, fell utterly silent at this moment.

Thousands of third- and fourth-year seniors stared fixedly at the giant screen above the plaza.

A wave of flame swept across.

Hundreds of white lights shot skyward, like daytime meteors flowing back into the heavens.

An entire hundred-man squad!

In a single exchange!

Completely vaporized!

"What the fuck…"

"Did I just see that? A hundred-man squad? Two skills, wiped out entirely?"

Finally, someone spoke.

"Is this… instant kill? Two skills, instantly wiping out a full hundred-man squad? Is this even possible for a mage at this level?"

"Exactly! How can someone under level 30 have such range and such damage?"

In the crowd, a male student suddenly grabbed his companion's arm, pointing at the fading fan-shaped flame wave on the screen, shouting excitedly:

"Wait, Er'er, isn't that the 【Flame Roar】 you couldn't learn even after eating five or six skill books?"

The guy called Er'er smiled helplessly:

"Yeah… it's exactly 【Flame Roar】…"

"I trained for nearly half a year, ate six skill books, and still couldn't learn it… and he just walked in, casually cast it— I feel like I'm dead…"

"Er'er, doesn't his casually thrown 【Flame Roar】 have a much larger range?"

That person added another blow.

Er'er clutched his chest, face twisted in constipation, "Stop talking. Just stop. I need to be alone."

"Is this what a difference looks like…"

A fourth-year senior beside him sighed:

"I know 【Flame Roar】—it's not easy. Lin Mo just switched classes not long ago, right? This mastery, this range—it's insane."

At that moment,

Someone added:

"Didn't you notice? The reason his range and damage were so huge is because Lin Mo just activated his Fire Element Body—the giant Infernal Shadow behind him, did you all go blind?"

"…."

As soon as those words were spoken,

The people around finally realized.

"Holy shit? You didn't mention it, and I didn't notice—just now, there really was an Infernal Shadow behind Lin Mo."

"Fire Element Body… that's a special skill!"

"Who the hell could've expected this! Who could've thought a level-27 freshman could pull this off?"

The crowd erupted again.

If everyone could still attribute Lin Mo's mastery of 【Flame Roar】 to exceptional talent,

The appearance of 【Fire Element Body】 shattered their understanding completely.

Special skills tower above the regular skill system—only those with extreme elemental affinity, and under rare circumstances, can awaken them.

Many level-eighty or ninety fire-specialized mages still can't even reach that threshold.

"This is insane… too insane…"

A female student with glasses counted on her fingers:

"Just now, how many of Lin Mo's hidden cards did he reveal?"

"High-mobility 【Flame Wind Wings】, powerful DPS 【Flame Storm】—plus this explosive 【Flame Roar】…"

"Three mid-tier skills, plus a special skill: 【Fire Element Body】!"

"All fire-based! And every single one looks like it's mastered to perfection!"

"This isn't some blank-slate mage—this is literally the Fire God reincarnated!"

Everyone nodded, eyes filled with awe.

"If you look at it this way, Lin Mo's top rank is truly deserved—zero fluke."

"Yeah, with this level of fire control, I doubt even half our school's fourth-year fire mages can match him."

At this, someone couldn't help swallowing hard, muttering quietly:

"Hey, do you think… with this momentum, Lin Mo might actually solo-clear all two thousand second-years?"

At this, the crowd fell slightly quieter.

But soon, rebuttals rose up.

"Solo-clear? You're dreaming."

A fourth-year senior shook his head, calmly analyzing:

"Lin Mo is strong—unbelievably strong. But he revealed himself too early."

"Now that everyone knows he's a powerhouse fire mage, countering him becomes easy."

"If I were the second-year commander, I'd immediately gather all water mages into a formation and cast linked Water Shields."

"Remember, water counters fire."

"No matter how twisted his fire is, he'll never break through a defense built by over a hundred water mages."

"Once his fire burst is blocked, the rest will flood him with skills—no matter how mobile he is, he won't be able to dodge it all."

This analysis, reasoned and well-supported, immediately won the agreement of many around them.

Indeed.

No matter how strong an individual's power, it is pale and powerless when facing a fully organized legion and elemental counter.

"Exactly, human strength has its limits."

Someone nearby chimed in, "One person wanting to flatten two thousand? Unless he's a god."

At this moment,

someone suddenly remembered something and spoke weakly:

"But... the reward for this trial is the 【Thunder Element Fragment】. I have a feeling that Principal Guhe is just making an excuse to give it to Lin Mo."

"Do you think Lin Mo might also know Thunder? Thunder counters Water..."

"Give it a rest!"

A senior scoffed and cut him off directly:

"Brother, use your brain."

"Fire and Thunder are the two elements universally recognized as the hardest to cultivate among the common elements."

"Lin Mo is only level 27! The fact that he managed to cultivate Fire to the point of awakening the Elemental Body is already a miracle among miracles; this proves he has thrown all his time and energy into Fire."

"Do you think he still has the energy to cultivate Thunder? And cultivate it to be as strong as Fire?"

"That's simply impossible!"

Everyone laughed.

Yes, being all-around often means being mediocre.

Since Lin Mo is a genius specializing in Fire, Thunder is at most something he knows superficially; it is impossible for it to play a decisive role in large-scale team battles.

The top floor of the spectator platform, the exclusive seating for the school's high command.

Compared to the clamor of the students below,

the big shots here, though appearing slightly more composed, could not hide the surprise in their eyes.

"【Flame Roar】? This kid Lin Mo has comprehended a new mid-tier Fire skill again?"

Principal Guhe watched the screen, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"And judging by the power and range, even with the Elemental Body and the buff from that child Han Mengqing, his proficiency at his level is absolutely maxed out."

Xu Wenchang stood nearby, unable to stop his mouth from curling upward.

He shook his head and sighed:

"This kid is truly a monster; it feels like he comprehends a new skill every day. Could this kid be fighting monsters and cultivating in his dreams while sleeping?"

Speaking thus,

Xu Wenchang turned his head to look at Zhang Daoyuan beside him.

"Old Zhang, how about it?"

"Does Lin Mo of our generation meet your standards?"

Zhang Daoyuan took a deep breath and calmed his mood.

He had to admit that the scene just now had indeed given him a great shock.

"Indeed... very strong."

Zhang Daoyuan nodded and evaluated objectively: "At this level, to deal this level of destructive damage is indeed rare."

Hearing this, Xu Wenchang chuckled and leaned in a bit closer:

"Then Old Zhang, now do you think this kid Lin Mo is qualified to let Principal Guhe make a bet?"

"Giving him that Thunder Element Fragment wouldn't be a loss, right?"

Hearing these words, Zhang Daoyuan's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

After pondering for a moment, he still shook his head:

"Old Xu, one thing is one thing."

"Lin Mo's Fire is indeed ridiculously strong, but that doesn't mean he can win this trial, nor does it mean he deserves that Thunder Element Fragment."

"Why?"

Xu Wenchang raised an eyebrow.

Zhang Daoyuan analyzed:

"As long as that group of juniors from the second year aren't stupid, they will definitely gather a Water Mage Legion to target him next."

"Lin Mo relying solely on Fire won't work; he must bring out Thunder means of equal strength."

Speaking to this, Zhang Daoyuan sighed:

"I know this kid knows several mid-tier Thunder skills."

"But Old Xu, a person's energy is limited."

"The fact that he could cultivate Fire skills to this level of proficiency means his Thunder skills must not have such high proficiency..."

"Hey hey hey! Stop!"

Before Zhang Daoyuan could finish, Xu Wenchang directly raised his hand to cut him off.

"Old Zhang, that's all the vision you have."

"Who told you that if Fire is cultivated strongly, Thunder must be weak?"

"Just wait and see; just don't pop your eyeballs out later."

Having said this, Xu Wenchang did not say anything more.

He knew Lin Mo's Thunder attainment was no weaker than his Fire at all.

Zhang Daoyuan saw Xu Wenchang in this state and shook his head helplessly.

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll look."

Zhang Daoyuan sighed, still insisting on his own view:

"But Old Xu, I'll say the same thing."

"If that reward were a fire-element shard, given Lin Mo's current performance, even if he loses in the end, I still think he absolutely deserves it."

"But that's a thunder-element shard…"

Zhang Daoyuan glanced at Principal Guhe and said in a low voice:

"I think it's still most appropriate to give it to Principal Guhe."

"After all, Principal Guhe is our Dragon Nation's top thunder-method cultivator; he needs it more than Lin Mo."