Lu Cang’s "Giant Wave" surged forward, extinguishing Iz’s "Torrential Flame Wave."

The sea wave and Flame Wave collided!

BOOM!

A roiling white mist erupted in the center of the arena!

’Iz... he stole my self-created Magic!’

’I don’t know when he learned the "Flame Wave Skill" I created.’

’And without me ever seeing him use it, he had already surpassed it.’

’Damn you, Iz! You said you would only use Tier One and Tier Two Magic—were you referring to Beyond Magic?’

’You could use Beyond Magic as a Level 2 Mage?!’

The two’s Magic clashed in the center.

Exploding into countless shards of Ice and bursts of Fire!

Iz’s other Magic also appeared around Lu Cang in an instant!

Lu Cang swept his hand!

[Majestic Stone Arm]

RUMBLE—

Three Stone Arms materialized in mid-air and swept across with devastating force!

However, several brilliant rays of Light flashed!

VMMM—

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

The three Stone Arms were pierced through and shattered violently!

Immediately after, countless Flame Bullets, Stone Bullets, Water Flow Bullets, and Wooden Spikes flew toward Lu Cang!

A Heavy Wall rose high!

Lu Cang raised a Heavy Wall to block these projectile-like Magic spells.

But in the next instant, it was pierced by a blast of wind from Iz!

WHOOSH!

A huge gap was torn open.

These countless projectiles slammed into Lu Cang’s triple-layered "Thick Molten Shield," almost instantly turning to ash and dissipating.

The few attacks that made it through the triple-layered Thick Molten Shield were stopped by Lu Cang’s inner barrier!

"Not a bad reaction."

"Your reactions are much faster than before."

Iz’s voice once again echoed directly in Lu Cang’s mind.

"Tch."

’How annoying.’

’Iz’s Magic is already bearing down on me. In this clash of Magic against Magic, I’m still the one being suppressed.’

Lu Cang felt the Elements under the ground stirring restlessly!

’Underground...’

"Rejection Wind Roar!"

A fierce wind blasted him away!

At the same time, he stepped onto an Ice Shuttle that instantly propelled him into the distance!

The moment he fled, the ground burst open!

However...

Punching Pillars erupted one after another, rushing toward him like a constantly extending stone serpent!

Lu Cang had no choice but to unleash "Earth, Fire, and Heaven Shattering!"

BOOM!

Pillars of flame erupted from the earth, destroying the pursuing Punching Pillars.

"A pity. Your imagination isn’t rich enough."

"And your application of Magic is still a long way off!"

Lu Cang looked in Iz’s direction.

But all he could see was a thick mist. The Elements within it were in chaos, making it impossible to locate Iz’s figure.

"Just because you’ve lost sight of me, you stop attacking?"

Lu Cang continued flying backward, then flicked a finger!

"Wind Roar!"

BOOM!

The wind instantly dispersed the mist.

However, Iz was nowhere to be seen.

Not seeing him at first glance, Lu Cang snapped his head upward!

And saw Iz, directly overhead!

The instant he saw Iz, a "Thunderstorm Flash" erupted and a "Breathing Wind Swarm" enveloped Iz, seeking to tear him apart.

"Very sharp."

"But in a battle of Magic, is the enemy Mage’s position the only thing you should be paying attention to?"

"What about his Magic?!"

Lu Cang suddenly realized the Elements behind and below him were exceptionally turbulent!

Normally, he was very sensitive to this kind of elemental turbulence and should have been able to detect it immediately.

But in this battle with Iz, Magic spells were flying everywhere, constantly canceling each other out.

The Elements were in turmoil all around.

It was difficult to notice any single anomaly on such a chaotic battlefield.

The ground was already alight!

Behind him, Earth Fire was about to erupt!

[Raging Steel Pillar] [Sharp Ice Pillar] [Violent Wood Spike]

’Iz’s evolution path isn’t exactly the same as mine.’

’His Earth Spike Technique evolved toward Hardness.’

Below, a trio of three-layered giant spikes burst from the earth, rushing toward Lu Cang!

WHOOSH—

[Sacrifice Soul—1,000]

[Enhance—Power of Cross-Birth Pillar]

FWOOSH!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Lu Cang instantly cast his counter!

Dozens of dark, hard Punching Pillars instantly burst from the ground!

Forming a jungle of steel in the blink of an eye!

They smashed and pulverized the three-element pillars Iz had unleashed!

’Iz’s pillars were of extremely high quality.’

’In that last instant, Iz had sealed all my escape routes. No matter what other Magic I tried to use, I would have been a split second too late.’

’Less powerful Magic couldn’t destroy his pillars.’

’And I wouldn’t have had time to cast more powerful Magic.’

’Oh, Iz. I originally didn’t want to use my Death Priest Profession to fight you.’

’Using Sacrifice Soul to increase Skill Proficiency is one thing—that’s just to save time. After all, I could max out these Magic skills with a bit of practice anyway.’

’But using Sacrifice Soul in combat... that’s another matter entirely.’

Amidst the roar of colorful Magic, Lu Cang’s own spells were visibly being overwhelmed.

Iz’s Magic was gradually forming an encirclement, about to close in for the kill.

’It seems...’

’...when it comes to the pure Mage Class, I really can’t beat you. I have to admit, you truly are an incredibly strong Mage.’

’Since I’ve already started...’

Lu Cang pointed his Magic Staff at Iz.

"Spirit Burst."

VMMM—

A faint, rippling Soul Light instantly formed on Iz’s face.

[Sacrifice Soul—5,000]