Chapter 150: The Essence of Fire Is Destruction!

High above, the thunderclouds gradually dispersed.

Sunlight once again bathed the plain.

Lin Mo looked down at the massive craters carved by lightning and the rows of white light pillars, nodding in satisfaction.

"Not bad, not bad."

No wonder it's a high-tier skill—this power, this clearing efficiency, wow…

【【Earth Shield Spell】: Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!!!】

【【Earth Shield Spell】, staring at the deep craters below, became a total fanboy: Third brother! Third brother, you're a god! This is insane! A hundred people's combined Earth Flow Wall got smashed right through?】

【【Earth Shield Spell】, eyes sparkling: This is so badass! Third brother, from now on, you're my idol!】

Facing his second brother's wild praise, 【Lightning Strike Spell】remained coldly aloof.

【【Lightning Strike Spell】replied coolly: As long as you understand the true essence of lightning, this isn't anything special.】

In the corner.

【【Fireball Spell】remained silent.】

Its once fiercely blazing flames now drooped listlessly.

Though its temperament was hot-headed and prideful, it wasn't blind.

The power of that last strike far surpassed its own 【Flame Roar】and 【Flame Storm】.

It was jealous. It was frantic. But it had nothing to say.

Because third brother had done what it couldn't—obliterated the earth defense that should have countered lightning, and wiped out five hundred people in one blow.

【"Earth Shield Technique" scratched its head, turning into a curious child: Third brother, how did you even do that? Isn't earth supposed to counter lightning? Then why did Big Brother's fire get completely blocked by water, but your lightning just CRACKED through the earth shield?】

【【Fireball Spell】heard this and immediately perked up its ears.

Clearly, it wanted the answer too.

【【Lightning Strike Spell】said calmly: Following the rules only lets elemental weaknesses block you.】

【【Earth Shield Spell】: Huh? What does that mean?】

【【Lightning Strike Spell】seemed disdainful of explaining such basic questions: Without understanding the essence, piling up more elements is useless.】

After saying this,

【【Lightning Strike Spell】fell silent.

Lin Mo, hovering midair, heard Xiao Lei's two brief remarks—and a flash of sharp insight lit his eyes.

Following the rules?

No matter how many elements you pile up, if you don't understand the essence, it's useless?

Lin Mo's mind raced.

He sharply grasped the core logic behind those two statements.

"So that's it…"

Lin Mo suddenly understood.

In short, low- and mid-tier skills merely manipulate surrounding elements, following the rules.

Water extinguishes fire. Earth insulates. These are rules.

So no matter how much Xiao Huo stacks fire elements, makes the ball bigger, hotter—

As long as it still follows the rules, a hundred-and-fifty-person combined Water Curtain will still block it!

Because quantity alone cannot override rule-based suppression.

But high-tier skills are different.

They understand the essence of elements, truly breaking free from the constraints of rules.

Realizing this, Lin Mo's lips curled slightly upward.

Though he himself, as a mage with zero elemental affinity, had no way to comprehend what "elemental essence" meant,

it didn't matter.

That was something the skills themselves needed to figure out.

As their master, he only needed to do one thing…

"Xiao Huo, did you understand what Xiao Lei meant?"

Lin Mo spoke slowly in his mind.

In the corner, 【【Fireball Spell】】trembled slightly, saying nothing.

Clearly, it didn't understand.

"You've taken the wrong path."

Lin Mo, like a master, began instructing:

"You always think of making the fireball bigger, raising the temperature higher—but that's still just following the rules."

"No matter how fierce your fire becomes, as long as it stays within the rules, enough water will still put it out. That's the rule."

"But Xiao Lei—"

"It broke through the rules, touched something beyond them, forcibly overrode the earth-counters-lightning principle—or rather… forcibly altered the nature of earth elements."

Lin Mo spoke to himself.

Though he didn't even know if he was right—he just talked, letting it sink in however it could.

"Xiao Huo, think for yourself—what is the true essence of fire?"

"Is it just becoming hotter?"

Lin Mo paused, his tone deepening, laced with a hint of provocation:

"If all you do is get hotter, bigger, and get snuffed out by water, helpless against elemental counters…"

"Is that really the level of someone who talks about forbidden spells?"

"Is this what it means to become a forbidden spell?"

In the corner,

【【Fireball Spell】】's drooping flames suddenly stiffened at the word "forbidden spell."

Seeing this, Lin Mo pressed on:

"The essence of fire isn't about becoming hotter, bigger."

"The essence of fire is destruction!"

"The annihilation of all tangible things into utter nothingness!"

As soon as he spoke these words,

even 【【Earth Shield Spell】】slightly opened its mouth.

【【Earth Shield Spell】: Master's words… make so much sense… they sound incredibly powerful…】

On the other side, 【【Fireball Spell】】fell into deep thought.

Destruction?

Yes. The essence of fire is destruction.

The utter annihilation of all tangible things into nothingness!

It recalled every explosion it had ever triggered.

It recalled its desperate obsession to stack temperature, to grow larger whenever facing a strong foe.

It recalled the cold, godlike gaze of the Flame Demon's phantom when it activated its Elemental Body…

So…

I've been walking the wrong path all along.

As long as I remain within the rules, my fire will never burn through everything!

To become a forbidden spell, I must break free from the rules!

【A profound, unprecedented awakening surged wildly within 【【Fireball Spell】】.】

【Your skill 【【Fireball Spell】】has received tremendous theoretical inspiration, seeing through the illusion of quantitative growth, striking directly at the essence of the Fire Law!】

【Your skill 【【Fireball Spell】】has entered a state of deep enlightenment… High-tier skill mental storm is actively simulating…】

"... his actually works?"

Lin Mo blinked in surprise.

I'm a genius.

Just randomly babbling, and I hit the nail on the head.

As long as Xiao Huo doesn't get stuck in a rut, with its workaholic personality, mastering a high-tier fire skill is just a matter of time.

"Let's go—tear down the main city!"

Lin Mo stretched.

Behind him, the fiery wings flared violently, and he shot onward toward the Hero Main City.

…

…

Meanwhile.

Outside, the central plaza was utterly silent.

Thousands of senior students stared, dumbfounded, at the massive display screen.

Five hundred people.

Five main squads.

That's it… gone?

"What the fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!!"

Suddenly, a male student jumped to his feet.

"What the hell was that just now?! A thunderstorm?!"

"Earth is supposed to counter lightning—didn't Lin Mo just pierce right through it with a lightning skill and wipe them all out in one go?!"

"Can a mid-tier skill have this kind of power?"

"Did he just use his Lightning Element Body? Did anyone see?"

The stands erupted instantly.

Everyone was talking at once.

"No… that move wasn't mid-tier—it was high-tier! I didn't misremember—that was pure, unadulterated high-tier lightning skill!"

"High-tier?! Are you kidding me?! Lin Mo's only level 27!"

"I'm not kidding. I didn't misremember—that was 'Thundercloud Purgatory'!"

"This world's gone insane. A freshman under level 30 mastering an Element Body is one thing—but now he's pulling off high-tier skills too…"

"And on top of that, it's a different element…"

"Fuck, stop talking—I want to drop out."

"Man, I thought Lin Mo was a top-tier fire mage—turns out his lightning's even better…"

"Yeah, this second-year regular class has no chance left. With just that one fire and lightning move, he could just bulldoze them all…"

The mood in the stands shifted instantly.

Before this, most had thought Lin Mo was asking for death.

Now it was clear—the second-year regular class was the one waiting to die.

Most fell silent.

They seemed to feel the despair of the second-year regular class.

The despair of facing a monster that played by no rules.

At that moment,

A female student caught sight of a figure in the distance.

"Huh?"

"Look over there… isn't that… Master Han?"

"Huh?"

At those words, everyone nearby turned to look.

Standing in the aisle between the stands was a woman in a long blue overcoat.

She looked around thirty, her beauty striking.

But she radiated an icy coldness that repelled all proximity.

Even her long hair was snow-white.

She simply stood there, and the air around her seemed to drop over ten degrees, sending chills down everyone's spines.

"Ssshh—"

"It really is Master Han. Why is she here?"

A senior student drew in a sharp breath. "Wasn't she gone for three years? Why show up now?"

A junior beside him asked curiously:

"Master Han? Who's that?"

"Oh, Master Han vanished three years ago—you weren't even enrolled then."

The senior glanced at the junior and explained:

"Han Xue, Master Han, is one of our Dragon Nation's top ice mages—known as the 'Ice Emperor'!"

"But she's been gone for three years—why is she suddenly here?"

The senior rubbed his chin, frowning.

"Senior, why did she disappear for three years?"

The junior asked, puzzled.

The senior shook his head. "I don't know. Rumor says her younger brother died on the Ten Nations Battlefield, and after that, Master Han vanished…"

The junior, hearing this, speculated:

"Senior, could it be… that Master Han showed up here because she's interested in Lin Mo? Maybe she wants to take him as a student?"

"Take Lin Mo as a student? Lin Mo uses fire and lightning—what does that have to do with ice?"

The senior frowned in rebuttal.

The junior thought for a moment and said:

"But Lin Mo's going to hit level 30 soon—he'll be able to learn new skills. His fire and lightning are already top-tier—his ice potential must be huge too, right?"

"Uh…"

The senior paused. "Actually… that does make some sense."