Leah felt dizzy and had to raise a hand to steady herself against the dressing table before she could barely remain standing.

  Morgan's voice echoed in her mind once more.

  "Leah, I have already met the Demon King."

  "He specifically asked that you give it your all tomorrow, and told me not to reveal his identity for now."

  "But I really cannot put my mind at ease, so I must warn you. Tomorrow, just assume a posture of fighting with full strength, but be sure to keep a tight rein on yourself.

  Do not speak out of turn, and do not let your magic spiral out of control and offend the Demon King, or the consequences will be unimaginable."

  The faint glow of the bone chain used for communication gradually dimmed, and the connection was completely cut off, yet Leah remained frozen in place.

  Only now did she finally understand. The reason Allen could be immune to the Night Demon Tribe's Shadow Domain was not because he had some special method to counter demonkind, but because he himself was the Demon King.

  If the Night Demon Tribe's innate abilities could actually affect the Demon King, that would be the real miracle.

  But this realization plunged Leah into a painful dilemma. The Demon King wanted her to fight with full strength to deceive onlookers, yet now that she knew his true identity, how could she dare to attack him without restraint?

  A single misstep could cost her life, and might even bring disaster upon the entire Night Demon Tribe.

  She did not sleep the entire night, repeatedly turning over in her mind how to find a balance between appearing to fight at full strength and ensuring absolute safety. Only when dawn was near did she finally settle on a strategy of pretense.

  Early the next morning, the academy's arena was already packed with noise and people.

  At the center of the grounds stood a dueling platform, surrounded by tiered stands crowded with apprentices and mentors from the four great academies.

  Leah stood at the center of the platform, her robes stirred by a light breeze. She appeared cold and solitary, almost otherworldly, but inside she was extremely tense.

  She had been waiting there for a long time. Only when Allen's figure appeared at the entrance to the arena did she slowly turn around.

  Allen met her gaze and walked onto the platform, but he keenly sensed something strange about Leah. Her eyes kept darting away, sometimes landing on him, sometimes hurriedly shifting aside.

  She no longer had the confidence and arrogance she had shown when she issued the challenge three days ago. Could it be that she already knows my identity?

  As Allen stepped onto the platform, the whispers in the crowd below instantly grew denser.

  "This Allen is really unlucky. He is just a First tier Intermediate Mage, yet he dares to accept Leah's challenge."

  Someone beside him immediately chimed in."That is pure overconfidence. Leah is a Ninth tier Intermediate Mage. This fight has no suspense at all. He is just here to embarrass himself."

  "With so many people watching, if he loses too badly today, he probably will not be able to hold his head up in the academy again."

  Others joked with a spectator's mindset."Still, being able to duel a genius mage like Leah, even if he gets defeated, it is a special experience."

  …

  On the VIP seats to the side of the arena, Headmaster Augustine and several of the academy's elders were present.

  Eleanor was also among them. Evelyn stood at her side, both of them frowning, their expressions filled with worry.

  Seeing that Allen had also stepped onto the platform, Augustine raised his hand and pressed it downward toward the crowd. When the noise gradually subsided, he spoke.

  "This resource battle will be presided over by me."

  His gaze swept over the two on the platform as he restated the rules in a solemn tone.

  "You should both know the rules. Stop when a winner is decided. Do not injure each other."

  "Do you both understand?"

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  Allen and Leah nodded to Augustine at the same time.

  "Then begin."

  As soon as the headmaster's words fell, Allen immediately began circulating the magic within his body.

  The surge of power belonging to a Sixth tier Intermediate Mage spread out clearly, instantly startling the crowd below.

  "Sixth tier Intermediate Mage? This kid's rate of advancement is way too fast. In just three days, he jumped from First tier all the way to Sixth tier!"

  "What a pity. Such talent has not even had time to grow, and now he is about to suffer a crushing defeat."

  "Leah is a Ninth tier Intermediate Mage. She is only one step away from becoming a Senior Mage."

  "With her strength, crushing a Sixth tier Intermediate Mage would take no effort at all."

  The whispers rose and fell in waves, yet Leah on the platform still did not move.

  Morgan's warning echoed again and again in her mind. She did not dare to truly strike at the Demon King, yet she also had to put on the appearance of going all out.

  For a moment, she froze in place, even forgetting to activate her magic.

  Seeing this, Allen had no choice but to speak up."Leah, do not underestimate me."

  "Even if I am only a Sixth tier Intermediate Mage, that does not mean I cannot be your opponent."

  Leah snapped back to her senses, took a deep breath to suppress the panic in her heart, and forced a composed smile."Allen, then I will not hold back."

  As she spoke, she slowly raised her palm. Layers of magic coiled around her hand, and the pressure of a Ninth tier Intermediate Mage was released without restraint.

  Her control over magic already far surpassed that of most people. Now she deliberately displayed her strength, all to match the pretense of fighting with full force.

  Allen nodded in satisfaction. That is more like it, he thought.

  He no longer hesitated. Magic surged beneath his feet as he activated a blink spell. His figure turned into several blurred afterimages, and in an instant he rushed to Leah's front.

  A thread of magic gathered in his palm, and he lightly patted it toward her shoulder.

  He only meant to test her and did not use full strength, intending merely to force out Leah's real moves.

  But Leah had already made up her mind. Feeling the fluctuation of magic in Allen's palm, she did not even activate defensive magic. Instead, she deliberately followed the force of his strike and fell backward.

  Her body flew out of the arena, only stopping after crashing heavily into the edge. A trace of blood was even squeezed out at the corner of her mouth, as she pretended to be injured.

  The entire venue instantly erupted in an uproar, and in the next second fell into deathlike silence. Everyone stared in disbelief at Leah, who had been sent flying out of the arena.

  Augustine frowned deeply, his eyes full of confusion. Eleanor and Evelyn exchanged a look, both seeing shock in each other's eyes. This completely did not match Leah's true strength.

  Allen was also utterly stunned. He stared blankly at his own hand, then at Leah. Only after a long moment did he react, silently complaining in his heart with a dark expression.

  This acting is way too fake. I just gave you a light tap. Did you really have to fly that far and pretend to be injured? Are you not basically telling everyone that something is wrong?

  He clearly had not even touched the hem of Leah's clothes just now, yet she flew backward on her own. The acting was so clumsy it was downright outrageous.

  If no one noticed anything strange even then, that would truly be absurd.

  Sure enough, the murmurs in the crowd below instantly erupted again, their tones filled with doubt.

  "What is going on? Is Leah deliberately conceding?" someone shouted, pointing at the edge of the arena, his voice full of agitation.

  "His hand did not even touch Leah. How could he possibly send her flying that far!"

  "Is it not way too obvious? Even if you want to go easy on him, you do not have to act this fake!"

  "Could there be some hidden reason? Or did the two of them reach some kind of private agreement?"

  The voices grew louder and louder. Even the elders in the VIP seats leaned toward one another, their faces full of confusion.

  At that moment, Leah clutched her chest, pretending that her blood and breath were surging, and struggled to stand up.

  She forced out a bitter smile, gave a slight bow toward Allen on the platform, and spoke in a weak, feigned voice."Allen, you win."

  Hearing this, Allen felt a wave of speechlessness, as if he had been put on display as a fool.

  This perfunctory acting is practically writing the words I am conceding right on my face.

  Augustine also sensed that something was off and was about to ask what was going on when a tall figure suddenly turned into an afterimage and appeared beside Leah in an instant.

  His arrival made the noisy arena erupt in another wave of exclamations.

  "It is Samuel!"

  "Judging by that magic fluctuation, has he already advanced to Senior Mage?"

  Allen stood on the platform, his gaze falling on Samuel as he quietly took note of the other man's magic level.

  A First tier Senior Mage. He really does have some capital to be arrogant.

  Samuel first lowered his head to look at Leah, concern in his voice."Leah, are you all right?"

  Leah had no idea why Samuel had suddenly appeared and could only shake her head instinctively."I am fine, thank you for your concern. Why did you…"

  Samuel's gaze instantly turned toward Allen on the platform, his tone filled with disdain and anger.

  "Leah, there is no need to say more. I understand what you mean!"

  He then sternly rebuked Allen."A resource battle is supposed to be fair competition, but this kid is clearly not your opponent. You must have been privately threatened by Evelyn, forcing you to deliberately lose to this kid!"

  "How despicable and shameless. To dare use such methods to coerce others and pretend to lose a match!"

  "You may be afraid of Evelyn, but I am not. Just wait. After I finish teaching this kid a lesson, I will go find Evelyn and settle the score, and vent your anger for you!"

  Leah was completely dumbfounded. She stood there with her mouth open, unable to say a word for a long time.

  What is all this? It is completely groundless. She hurriedly waved her hands in denial."No, no, it is not like that. You misunderstood!"

  But Samuel did not listen at all. A cruel smile curved at the corner of his mouth as he raised a hand to cut her off."There is no need to say more. I understand."

  "If you were not being coerced, why would your acting be so exaggerated? You must be unconvinced at heart, deliberately acting this fake so people can see that you were not truly defeated!"

  He looked at Allen, killing intent blazing in his eyes."There are still two more resource battles. You were lucky to win this one.

  Next, let me take back the access token for Leah and make you pay the price."