Blood Moon Shattered Lake

Starry Country, 9:30 PM, Jialesi National Coliseum. This open-air arena, personally constructed by a Legendary Sorcerer, required no external light sources whatsoever. Merely by gathering and projecting starlight from across the night sky, it illuminated the entire coliseum as bright as day; focusing spotlights was accomplished simply by adjusting the angles of reflecting mirrors. By this time, all 4,600 spectator seats were packed with faculty and students from the universities of Jialesi. When miracles of earth and civil engineering reshaped the flat arena into shallow marshland terrain, an uproar erupted throughout the stands. Aside from Truth University's students applauding enthusiastically, the rest of the student body couldn't help but curse in disgust. "A huge thank-you to the Death Chant Mirage Band for their spectacular performance!" Arsenault's clear, resonant voice boomed over the arena, subduing the students' commotion. "Next up is the final segment of this Intercollegiate League's opening ceremony—the Meteor Tribulation!" "Please welcome the contestants to the stage!" another female announcer chimed in. "Entering now is our first contestant: a first-year from the Swordsmanship Department of Sword and Rose Sorcerer University, Two-Winged Sorcerer Sonia Servi!" As Sonia walked out of the tunnel, columns of starlight converged onto her, making her combat uniform gleam with dazzling brilliance. Fireworks burst into the air on both sides of the entrance, forming patterns of swords and roses. Thunderous applause from thousands of spectators welcomed the country girl as she stepped into this grand sanctuary of battle! Eight massive projection screens simultaneously displayed her front, profile, and three-quarter angles. Lois and the others had spent an entire afternoon perfecting her stage makeup, and with the enhancement of the 'Fix Day' sorcery spirit, Sonia's beauty was flawless from every angle; not even the most brilliant starlight could outshine her radiance. She proudly lifted her chin, soaking in the limelight to the fullest. Stepping onto the shallow-water stage, Sonia glanced over at the broadcast booth. She remembered that two months ago, her greatest dream had merely been to sit over there, commentating and introducing Jialesi's new generation of stars. Even she had never imagined that just two months later, she would become one of those very stars. And now, all she had to do was prove that she was the brightest star of them all! "Our second contestant is a fourth-year from the Tonfa Department of Locus University, Two-Winged Sorcerer Lorenzo Warren!" "Our third contestant is a fourth-year from the Gun Sorcery Department of Rhapsody University, Two-Winged Sorcerer Lydia Azhdar!" ... "Our sixth contestant is a third-year from the Water Sorcery Department of Truth University, Two-Winged Sorcerer Veline Stella!" "All six contestants in the first Meteor Tribulation are Two-Winged Sorcerers!" When all six were on stage, the most eye-catching was undoubtedly Veline from Truth University. She was not only one of the only two lower-year students present—compared to the rest, who were all fourth-years, she was indeed a junior. More importantly, she was a water sorcerer! And tonight's Meteor Tribulation took place on shallow water terrain! "Rigged! It's definitely rigged!" Adele fumed from the stands. "Mince the league committee and feed them to the Lalafells!" "Truth University doesn't need to cheat in the Intercollegiate League," Lois sighed. "This is just Truth University's depth." The match terrains were indeed completely randomized. However, Truth University had students studying the prophecy faction; they had no need to tamper with the league committee at all, only needing to adjust their roster's order of appearance to seize total geographic advantage! Other universities wanted to foresee the match terrains too, but the problem was that the prophecy faction lacked any standard learning methodology. Any student lucky enough to cross its threshold would instantly be poached by Truth University. After all, Truth University was the only institution in Jialesi with knowledge of the prophecy faction; even if those students wanted to remain loyal, the overwhelming perks lavished by Truth University would tempt them to jump ship! Some might wonder: for an annual tournament, was it really necessary to go this far? Yet for the universities, their performance in the Intercollegiate League directly determined their educational funding for the following year. And for the students, this might be the most glorious moment of their lives. Anyone would give it their all! As an annual, nationally broadcast event with ratings so high that even Daidalos's leading-lady dramas had to steer clear of its timeslot, a student's performance in the league directly impacted their future. The Star-Flicking Guard defending the royal family, the Gryphon Company under the House of Nobles, and the Rampart Legion sweeping the depths of the Abyss would all scout members from its ranks... Moreover, the nobility favored injecting new blood through marriage. For instance, the spouse of every Duke of Vosroda—the 'Star-Forging Duke'—was an exceptionally powerful sword sorcerer, yet rarely of noble birth, hailing mostly from commoners. Still, for the opening ceremony's first Meteor Tribulation, Truth University had pulled no punches. On terrains like badlands, chasms, cities, or deserts, ordinary sorcerers might receive buffs, but they would be modest at best. A shallow-water terrain, on the other hand, was practically home turf for a water sorcerer. Coupled with Veline coming from Truth University, she undoubtedly commanded Radiant Gold-tier miracles—more than enough to establish an overwhelming advantage over the other sorcerers! "Still, this is the Meteor Tribulation," Ingrid said, crossing her arms. "With Truth University's representative looking this dominant, she might end up being the first one eliminated instead." Lois and Adele nodded in agreement and turned their eyes back to the six competitors. The Intercollegiate League was divided into three competition formats: Meteor Tribulation, Stars Tribulation, and Star Palace Tribulation. In short, the Star Palace Tribulation was a five-person team relay battle between schools—the exact format of the exhibition match Sonia had participated in earlier—testing a school's overall foundation. The Stars Tribulation was a three-person squad battle where three squads fought concurrently. It featured the highest combat intensity, and its participants were typically student squads who had already ventured into the Abyss, testing squad coordination. The Meteor Tribulation, meanwhile, was a free-for-all solo competition among six contestants on a single stage, where only the last one standing was victorious! Furthermore, as the tournament progressed, the Meteor Tribulation would always maintain a six-person scale; at times, only two of the six would be undefeated victors advancing forward, while the other four were defeated contenders fighting for a resurrection spot. It was a test of pure individual prowess! Some might wonder why a solo competition involved six fighters battling at once. There were many reasons. For example, faction counters among low-tier sorcerers were severe: a fire sorcerer facing a water sorcerer was virtually helpless; ascetic sorcerers countered most melee combatants; and gun sorcerers were an undisputed Tier 0 class... But replacing duels with a free-for-all relegated faction advantages to a secondary concern, added countless variables, and provided a far more comprehensive test of a sorcerer's combat abilities. There was another minor reason: a multi-man melee was vastly more entertaining to watch than a one-on-one duel. After all, the participants were not Sanctuary Sorcerers. Even if students went out of their way to ramp up flashy visual effects to show off, to laymen, student matches still couldn't match the exaggerated spectacle of movies and dramas. To maximize entertainment value, the organizers had experimented with everything from three to a hundred fighters before finally settling on six—full of dramatic conflict without scattering the audience's focus. The biggest flaw of a six-person setup was that the strongest fighter's advantage was significantly diluted. The other contestants weren't fools; in a zero-sum game, they would naturally gang up to eliminate the strongest first. Thus, the victor of a Meteor Tribulation was either someone who boasted the best blend of cunning, combat strength, and interpersonal diplomacy... Or a genius who completely crushed every other contestant! "For the past ten years, every single opening-ceremony Meteor Tribulation has been won by students from Truth University without exception," Veline said with a light smile, dressed in translucent azure combat attire. "Seniors, thank you for your hard work." "Is that so? That's great to hear." Lydia drew twin guns. "Yesterday, I hadn't figured out my goal for this year's league. Now, my goal is to make sure Truth University's streak ended yesterday." Lorenzo twirled his tonfas, their silver tips carving out trails of flame—clearly, there was more to his weapons than met the eye. "Showing a little reverence to your seniors never hurts, Junior Sister." "My, my, Veline doesn't think she's that unlikable, does she? Why does everyone want to take me out first? Could it be..." Veline tilted her head with a giggle. A short rod slipped from her sleeve; spinning once, both ends extended, transforming into a quarterstaff in the blink of an eye. Thud! When the staff struck the muddy ground, standing water across the entire shallow stage surged wildly toward Veline, coalescing into dragons of water that coiled around the staff from midair, shielding her and dominating the arena! At that moment, Veline looked like a water witch, while the others were merely foolish champions challenging her reign! If nothing else, in terms of style and flair, the rest had already been utterly defeated! "...you're all just jealous of Veline's beauty?" With both hands holding the staff close against her back, accentuating her shapely, voluptuous figure, her languid tone radiated absolute confidence that held no one in high regard! "A war ghost sorcerer..." the others muttered under their breath. Any lingering complacency vanished, replaced by wary resolve as they looked at Veline! A war ghost sorcerer did not refer to a specific sorcery faction, but rather to a sorcerer who combined cold weapons with natural sorceries. Although weapon sorcery factions could also derive elemental miracles—such as a sword sorcerer slashing out a flaming blade—miracles like 'Flaming Blade' were an integrated whole. That is, the flame existed only because of the blade; a sword sorcerer could never spit fire from their mouth. Even if just going through the motions, they would have to slash with a finger to humor their sorcery spirits. A war ghost sorcerer was different. They typically practiced a natural sorcery and a cold weapon independently of each other. In Veline's case, she wielded both a quarterstaff and water dragons; yet even without her staff, she could unleash water. There was no subordination between her water sorcery and her staff. Yet in battle, her water miracles and staff strikes worked in tandem. Try to unravel her water miracles, and you'd be pummeled by her staff; defend against the staff, and the water dragons would blast you to pieces! Fighting a war ghost sorcerer was like fighting two opponents at once! In truth, this was an opportunistic combat system. Natural sorcery factions emphasized casting focus over dynamic reflexes, whereas weapon factions prioritized dynamic hand-to-hand combat over spellcasting concentration. While wielding both simultaneously was technically possible, building such a system was exceedingly difficult. Moreover, with sorcery factions having evolved to this day, the derivative miracles of a single faction were more than enough to cover all possibilities—even the Swordsmanship Department had self-healing miracles. Even if sorcerers minored in other factions, it was purely for auxiliary utility like mobility, reconnaissance, healing, or finishing moves; no one would deliberately train in two completely unrelated factions just for a combined fighting system. Consequently, dual-cultivating sorcerers of this kind were almost always bloodthirsty maniacs who relished brutal combat—hence the moniker 'war ghost.' Veline might look delicate, soft, and supple, with a primary focus in water sorcery, but down to her marrow, she was unmistakably a pleasure-seeking battle junkie who had smashed open who knew how many Fishcleaver Dragon skulls with that quarterstaff! "Junior Sister Sonia, may I call you that?" Veline suddenly said. "Seeing as we're both on the younger and prettier side, I'll give you a piece of advice: while they're busy dealing with me, you'd best find a way to eliminate at least one person." Lydia shot a quick glance at the country girl, then sneered at Veline. "Since when does Truth University's top student need to sow discord and form cliques? Forget it. I admit you're the strongest right now, which is why you have to be the first one out!" "I don't speak to ugly people," Veline giggled. "Little Sister Sonia, you're only a first-year, and you advanced to Two Wings barely a few days ago. In their eyes, you're the weakest link. If—and I mean if—they really manage to eliminate me, they'll immediately turn around and focus all their fire on you so you don't reap any easy rewards. "They might not even wait for me to be eliminated—they could very well move on you before that. In the Meteor Tribulation format, only defeated contestants who have knocked out another participant earn a spot in the repechage. If only to secure a safety net, they have no reason to let off a freshly minted junior like you. "Look at you: you're not even using a real sword, just holding a wooden one," Veline said. "I don't know whether you're feigning weakness on purpose or if that wooden sword is important to you, but showing weakness on the arena stage only turns you into prey to be trampled." Sonia raised an eyebrow. "Thanks for the reminder." "Junior Sister Servi, don't fall for it!" Lydia said. "She just wants us to tie each other down and turn on ourselves so she can pick us off one by one and wipe us out! Veline is the strongest right now. If we don't kick her out right from the start, we're guaranteed to lose!" "Don't worry," Sonia said, tightening her grip on her wooden sword's hilt. "I'll defeat the strongest first." Even as they said this, the distance between the sorcerers visibly widened. Verbal assurances meant nothing here; one of the Meteor Tribulation's biggest selling points was the scheming and deceit among contestants. In a zero-sum game, six competitors could never truly form an alliance. Thus, Veline was not at all worried about being ganged up on. With just a slight nudge, this supposed alliance crumbled like dry sand. She was confident: whether in combat strength, tricks, eloquence, or situational awareness, she was the strongest among the six. Victory in this Meteor Tribulation was hers for the taking. "After an intense exchange of words, our contestants can hardly wait! So who will become a meteor, and who will turn to tribulation ash? Let us wait and see!" Arsenault proclaimed impassionedly. "Counting down from five seconds to the official start! Five, four..." "Three." Veline tightened her grip on her quarterstaff, nine water dragons condensing behind her. "Two." Lydia took a discreet step back, gun muzzles trained on everyone. "One." A gleam of bygone years shimmered along the hilt of Sonia's sword. "Begin!" Bang! A blood moon! A torrential blood moon! When a blood-red crescent swept across the water's surface, everyone was so thoroughly stunned that they failed to react at all—until a dull thud sounded outside the arena, snapping them back to their senses. Veline had already been knocked off the stage and slammed against the outer wall. In her hands were the two halves of her broken staff, and a gruesome laceration looked ready to tear her in two from top-left to bottom-right. Fortunately, all contestants had been enchanted with the miracle 'Death Prohibition' before stepping onto the stage, ensuring that none of their vital organs would be destroyed. But from the way tears of terror welled in Veline's eyes, it was clear just how deep a psychological trauma that attack had inflicted upon her. "...What miracle was that?" Lorenzo asked. "Blood Moon Shattered Lake," Sonia said, flicking water droplets from her wooden sword. "This miracle requires a lot of water. Earlier, I honestly thought this shallow-water terrain was set up to look after a first-year like me." "It's not in the Starry Miracle Catalog. A self-created one?" Lydia asked. "Yeah. Inspired by someone else's experience," the red-haired Sword Princess said. "Now, since I've already defeated the strongest..." "Next up are you four weaklings."