Chapter 547: Blazing Inferno Hell

"Kui Tu, come out and face death."

Lei En's voice was not loud, yet it echoed throughout the Phoenix Arena.

His tone had no inflection, as if he were chatting, inviting a friend to go out and play, but what he said left tens of thousands of spectators stunned.

Shock flashed across people's faces, and the massive arena fell silent for a few seconds.

"Wow…"

"They really want a magical duel, not just a spar!"

"Goddess above!"

"Chairman Lei En and Elder Kui Tu have a grudge?" Some looked bewildered, others puzzled deeply: "Why does it sound like they're enemies to me!"

Everyone stared at the image in the sky, showing Lei En hovering mid‑air; the academy instructor controlling the feed seized the moment to enlarge Lei En's face so all could see clearly.

Lei En wore a blank expression, gazing at the stands atop the western tower, his eyes calm as an autumn lake.

On the stands, the four Naisè Elders all changed expression.

Especially the named Kui Tu, his face grim; under Lei En's gaze he felt immense pressure, the focus of tens of thousands of eyes, anger in his heart, and a tension and oppression he hadn't felt in years, causing his fists to clench unconsciously.

"Kui Tu."

Elder Ying Nuo La beside him spoke up; she was relatively close to Kui Tu, her face showing hesitation, and she gently shook her head: "You may refuse to step onto the field."

The other two Naisè Elders, Kesi Naide and Harawa, held completely opposite attitudes.

"Ying Nuo La, Kui Tu must go on." Harawa, looking at Lei En in the arena, said without turning his head: "Naisè's reputation cannot be tarnished."

Kesi Naide said nothing, but expressed his view through action.

He moved closer to Harawa.

Kui Tu turned to glance around the Naisè Wizards on the stands; everyone awaited his reaction, clearly there was no way out this time.

"Hmph!"

He disliked this no‑choice situation; a snort escaped his nostrils in displeasure, then with a boom his figure turned into a massive fireball that shot out, moving as fast as a flash, and in an instant landed in the arena, revealing his true form, hovering tens of meters away from Lei En for a standoff.

As Kui Tu entered, Master Bi Ge Bai on the southern tower also rose.

A portal opened mid‑air, and Bi Ge Bai stepped out as if walking on an invisible floor, forming a triangle with Lei En and Kui Tu.

"What is Master Bi Ge Bai doing?"

"Does he also wish to join the duel?"

A stir rose in the stands; everyone was a bit confused, but excitement grew— the Empire's three giants were all taking part, and the upcoming magical duel would surely be spectacular.

"All things depend on balance."

Master Bi Ge Bai loudly recited, "I will serve as referee for this duel, to prevent either of you from causing unavoidable loss that would disrupt the Empire's balanced order."

Kui Tu bowed slightly toward Bi Ge Bai, "I trust Master Bi Ge Bai's noble character."

Lei En gave no response, as if Bi Ge Bai did not exist.

"Chairman Lei En, I don't know when I offended you to make you so hostile toward me," Kui Tu said, a hint of insecurity in his voice but his face unchanged: "All along, Naisè and Weizelan have only been contesting ideas, competitors rather than enemies. Isn't it a bit much for you to say you will kill me?"

"I just find you unpleasant," Lei En shrugged. "For eyesores, I usually clear them away in one swift move."

Kui Tu's expression froze, then he erupted in fury.

"You ungrateful mongrel, thinking a little skill lets you do as you please?" His hot‑tempered nature snapped; he shouted, "Today I, in place of Master Anxi, will teach you the reverence the weak should have for the strong."

"Just you?" Lei En glanced at Kui Tu, full of arrogance, not giving him a second thought.

Bi Ge Bai's expression was also displeased.

The situation was spiraling out of control; the air between them crackled with gunpowder, and if they fought it would be no mere spar but a true life‑or‑death duel.

But the arrow was already nocked; it might still be halted now.

He drew a dark staff, sent out a magical signal, and instantly the Phoenix Arena trembled; the rune array laid underground fully activated, its light flickering, and a transparent shield rose along the inner edge, like a massive egg shell enveloping the arena, isolating the spectators outside.

BrewotzAcademy summoned a dozen‑plus legendary Wizards, who formed a circle outside the shield, each overseeing a direction and zone to prevent accidents.

If legendary Wizards fought without safeguards, stray spells alone would cause heavy casualties among the audience outside.

On the arena floor, two red circles appeared, a hundred meters apart.

"Take your positions," Bi Ge Bai said.

Lei En flipped into the circle, Kui Tu also flashed over; a transparent light screen rose between them, displaying a huge number counting down from ten.

According to the magical duel rules, the light screen disappears when the countdown ends, allowing both sides to act.

During the countdown, each side may cast self‑buff spells, use magic elixirs, activate equipment enchantments, and ready various combat preparations.

Kui Tu drew the "Crimson Bloodflame Wand" from his waist; massive soul energy surged, instantly erecting a thick "Flame Shield"; his body radiated continuous light as he layered self‑buffs: "Arcane Sight", "protective lightning energy", "spiritual armor technique", "repulsion field", "spell deflection", "spell reflection", "spell trap", and "mind barrier".

Some of these protections are constant, born of a single thought; others require his active casting.

He simultaneously retrieved three bottles of magic elixirs, tipped his head back, and drank them: "Cognitive Accelerator", "Advanced Flame Blood", and "Ultra-effective Soul‑Returning Potion".

Finally, he produced a red, rustic scroll and tore it open without hesitation.

A towering planar gateway opened instantly; at its end lay an endless sea of flame, and massive silhouettes surged out, surrounding Kui Tu.

"High‑level Elemental Summon—Molten Fire Serpent Demon!"

A Wizard in the stands shouted in disbelief.

These monsters summoned from the fire‑element plane stand about ten meters long; their lower halves are coiled serpentine bodies sheathed in hard red scales, while the upper halves are humanoid, upright over three meters tall, with massive arms gripping huge flaming spears, a smoldering, tooth‑like spine on their backs, eyes blazing like fire, exuding a ferocious aura.

Each Molten Fire Serpent Demon is a high‑tier monster; they surged out of the portal in a frantic rush, numbering in the hundreds within seconds, raising the arena's temperature dramatically.

The Molten Fire Serpent Demons crowded one side of the light screen, snarling toward Lei En under Kui Tu's control.

In just a few breaths, Master Kui Tu fortified himself with solid multi‑layered protection and summoned a horde of terrifying monsters.

"Is this the might of the Naisè Elder?"

"Too terrifying!"

And it wasn't over yet; Master Kui Tu gripped the countdown on the light screen, began a timed cast, and a highly condensed red glow flickered atop the epic‑grade wand, indicating a spell of at least six circles.

It can be foreseen that, the instant the light screen vanished, Master Quitu's casting was completed just in time.

In contrast, on Lei En's side, nothing happened for the first few seconds.

His only action was to take the thunderbolt war hammer from the nebula ring, grip it, and then quietly watch Master Quitu's casting preparation.

This made the audience involuntarily break out in cold sweat for him.

Only Master Bige, who was present, suspended in midair, heard a melodious sound emanating from Lei En, and couldn't help feeling curious.

"What ability is this?"

At this moment, the countdown on the light screen reached five.

Lei En finally made a new move: with a thunderclap, a pair of lightning‑formed wings sprouted behind him, his shoulders gave a slight shake, and a second later, eight identical Mirror Images appeared around him, making nine Lei En in total including the original.

Before the audience could discern the Mirror Images, all nine Lei En vanished.

"This..."

Tens of thousands of spectators inhaled a cold breath; eight Mirror Images—how many rings of Mirror Image Technique does that require?

On the stands of ten towers, many Wizards and sorcerers couldn't help standing up, their expressions shocked. No caster is unaware of the famed Mirror Image Technique, which originally had only five rings and could create three Mirror Images; Lei En's eight Mirror Images indicate either his technique has reached at least eight rings, or he possesses a terrifying Arcane Element affinity.

People guessed the latter is far more likely.

However, for those Wizards and sorcerers beyond legend, what truly surprised them was the Invisibility Technique.

They found they could not locate Lei En, including his Mirror Images.

Several Naiser elders, legendary Wizards from various floating cities, and the He Sita Fu couple from Thus: Thus: Thus: Shengangcheng all stared at each other, confirming that each, like themselves, could not see through Lei En's invisibility.

Suddenly, the side of the arena behind the light screen appeared completely empty.

"Impressive!"

The audience praised while shaking their heads, and Master Quitu, still casting, felt his heart tighten.

With only two or three seconds left on the countdown, before he could devise a countermeasure, semi‑transparent azure greatswords materialized on Lei En's side of the light screen, as if lifted by an invisible hand, hovering in mid‑air.

"Tim Kainan's Demon Sword Art!"

"Goddess above, so many Rending Sky Swords!"

Eighteen Rending Sky Swords were summoned in total, two of them the largest at three meters long, clearly summoned by Lei En's original body; the remaining sixteen came from the Mirror Images, their power only half that of the original, under two meters long, yet still sufficiently sturdy and sharp.

The simultaneous appearance of so many Rending Sky Swords instantly stunned all the spectators.

Especially the Wizards of Flaniss Floating City.

This spell is one of the two greatest inventions of their leader, Master Tim Kainan, and only a handful in Flaniss have mastered it; countless Wizards have spent time and effort without success, yet Lei En, a Wizard of Weizelan, is so proficient.

"Rending Sky Sword..."

Bige Bai's gaze was complicated, and he could not comprehend.

Lei En is a combat Wizard who can only merge a demon soul to master spells, whereas Tim Kainan's Demon Sword Art is composed of several Arcane Elements, requiring the fusion of corresponding Law Seals, and does not reside within any particular demon soul.

"How did he master the Rending Sky Sword?" the Wizards of Flaniss also realized.

While countless people were puzzled, the countdown on the light screen hit zero.

Boom!

The instant the light screen vanished, Master Quitu's casting completed simultaneously, the red flare atop his wand exploded, instantly unleashing a towering blaze centered on him, roaring in all directions; in the blink of an eye it engulfed the entire arena, turning it into a terrifying sea of fire.

Seven‑Ring Spell—Flaming Hell!

The high‑temperature flames washed over the protective shields at the arena's edge, like tides crashing against a shore, surging wildly; the audience seated in the front row instinctively screamed and retreated, a chaotic scramble, half‑dead with fright.

If the shields hadn't blocked the flames, at least half of the tens of thousands present would have perished!

The audience snapped back to reality and saw nine Lei En emerge from the sea of fire.

Their invisibility was burned away by the flames; each Lei En acted differently—some transformed into lightning that circled behind Master Quitu, some opened a random gate to increase distance, some flashed close to Master Quitu, and some swung their war hammers to charge.

Each Mirror Image possessed its own mind, making it impossible to tell which was the original.

Within the sea of fire were over a hundred Molten Fire Serpents; these fire‑element creatures ignored flame damage, scattering like a swarm, occupying most of the arena while hurling Flaming Spears from their hands.

"Roar!"

A dragon's roar burst forth from the mouth of a Lei En.

The visible sound wave carried terrifying draconic might, enveloping everything; the molten serpents swayed wildly, their bodies trembling. Before they could shake off the draconic force, azure greatswords, like agile fish, interlaced to form a sharp net, piercing through the monster horde.

The power of the Rending Sky Sword manifested, the molten serpents' scales as fragile as paper, easily sliced into several pieces.

In a single breath, most of the molten serpents perished; the survivors were negligible.

Their thrown fiery spears also lost accuracy, easily evaded.

The nine Lei En paid no heed to the monsters, multitasking, focusing all their attention on Master Quitu.

(End of Chapter)