The reason Song Jie stayed behind Xiaolu instead of fighting directly was simple — he needed to control the overall situation.
The other three challengers had already taken action, but Dongfang Ming stood quietly to the side.
That alone was enough to raise suspicion.
Something was definitely off.
So, Song Jie's attention had been on Dongfang Ming the whole time — waiting for his move.
Although Xiaolu was a high-grade servant beast, it still had trouble facing mid-level fire magic head-on.
If Song Jie wanted to win this, he could only defeat magic with magic.
"Radiance Blessing!"
"Holy Shield!"
Light-element stars connected rapidly in Song Jie's spiritual world, forming a golden shield that wrapped around Xiaolu.
The flaming fist crashed down — yet the light shield shimmered and held firm. Xiaolu didn't take a single hit.
Dongfang Ming froze. His sneak attack had failed.
He even possessed the Rapid Release talent, yet the timing was completely countered!
The students around the arena, who had already raised their hands to cheer, were left stunned in silence.
In truth, the moment Dongfang Ming launched his strike, Song Jie had already begun forming his light-element star map.
It had been a close call — sweat trickled down his back — but his instincts were right.
If he'd taken Dongfang Ming lightly, the result might have been disastrous.
Now that Dongfang Ming was closest to Xiaolu, Song Jie seized the chance.
"Xiaolu! Take him down first!"
The other three were manageable — but the fire mage had to go first!
Xiaolu's chubby little face tensed up, its vines whipping outward furiously toward Dongfang Ming.
But Dongfang Ming didn't panic. He thought to himself, That beast is already at its limit. How long can it last?
As the vines came rushing in from all sides, Dongfang Ming completed his fire-element star track in an instant.
"Fire! Burst!!"
He punched the ground, and a wave of flames exploded outward, engulfing the approaching vines in a fiery storm.
But to his surprise, Xiaolu's control ability was far greater than expected.
Even after being burned, the vines regenerated, surrounding him again like a living cage.
"Hah!" A student from the Dongfang family laughed from the audience.
"Trying to trap him with plants? What a joke!"
Indeed — Dongfang Ming was a mid-level fire mage. Why would he fear a few vines?
A confident smile spread across Dongfang Ming's face as he prepared to incinerate the vine cage.
But just then, he noticed Song Jie aiming a ray of light straight at him.
He couldn't help but sneer.
Worried it's too dark in there, so he's giving me some light?
As the golden orb of light floated into the cage and the vines sealed shut, Dongfang Ming clenched his fist to cast again—
BOOM!!
A sudden explosion shook the arena.
The sphere of light detonated without warning.
Dongfang Ming was blasted backward, slamming into the vines before collapsing with a groan.
His mind went blank.
"How… could this be…"
Then everything went dark.
The entire arena fell silent.
The two remaining challengers froze, too afraid to move. They could only wait for Dongfang Ming to break free before acting again.
"Dongfang Ming's done for," Bai Liang said quietly.
The others turned to him in disbelief. "You're joking, right? He's a mid-level fire mage! How could he lose to vines?"
But Bai Liang had seen it clearly — the light Song Jie released wasn't just for show.
Seconds passed. The vine prison trembled slightly, but Dongfang Ming never emerged.
Meanwhile, Song Jie stayed calm. The last exchange had drained some of his energy; letting time pass gave him a moment to recover.
Around the arena, confusion spread.
"What's going on?"
"Why isn't he coming out?"
"Did he… actually lose?"
Finally, Song Jie gave Xiaolu a nod.
"Release him."
The vines slowly withdrew — revealing Dongfang Ming lying unconscious on the ground, his robe scorched and torn.
"Damn!"
"What happened?!"
"He was fine a second ago!"
The entire crowd was in uproar.
The supervising teacher rushed forward to check on him.
After confirming he was only knocked out, he sighed with relief and ordered for Dongfang Ming to be carried off the stage.
Song Jie, of course, knew exactly what had happened.
He hadn't waited for the orb to hit Dongfang Ming before detonating it — he'd timed the explosion just right.
Otherwise, Dongfang Ming would've suffered far worse than just fainting.
The whole thing had happened so suddenly that no one could comprehend it.
"You two, come together," Song Jie said, turning toward the remaining challengers.
One was a water mage, the other an ice mage — neither a match for him.
Within ten seconds, Xiaolu's vines sent them both flying.
That made four more down.
Eighty-four victories.
"Eighty-four already! Only sixteen more and he'll complete the one-vs-a-hundred challenge!"
The realization sent panic through the crowd.
If Song Jie really won, all the resources would go to him!
What about everyone else?!
Xiaolu fluttered weakly and landed on Song Jie's shoulder, pretending to be exhausted.
Seeing that, the students finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At the entrance tunnel, a student shouted excitedly, "His summoned beast's done for! Finally, it's my turn!"
The three challengers behind him were equally thrilled.
After all, Song Jie only had the Light System left. What kind of offensive power could that possibly have?
In the faculty stands, however, the professors were shaking their heads.
The ones who'd been part of Song Jie's special recruitment exam knew better.
That light magic wasn't normal.
When they saw Dongfang Ming fall, they already guessed what had happened.
Dean Xiao had personally instructed them not to reveal that Song Jie possessed a mutated light system — hence why the students remained in the dark.
Professor Zhang chuckled wryly. "Old Deng, this little brat's playing us all."
Old Deng groaned, rubbing his temples.
"He's still hiding his light system completely. If he really pulls off a one-against-a-hundred, all our department's resources are going straight to him!"
"Haah… we underestimated the younger generation again," another professor sighed.
Old Deng didn't reply, but his face twitched painfully.
If this kid could take on two hundred and fifty students, I'd really have no face left…
He looked down toward the arena just as Xiaolu struck again.
In less than a minute, another four challengers were eliminated.
The crowd grew quieter with each passing second. Tension thickened in the air.
Was no one able to stop him?
Thousands of new students… and not a single one could defeat Song Jie.
In the stands, a girl clenched her fists and turned to her friend.
"Yu Mian, your Fire Element is mid-level, right? Fire restrains Plant — why don't you go up there and teach him a lesson?"
The girl beside her had long, silky hair that glowed under the lights.
Ding Yumian looked down at the arena and whispered softly,
"If it's just me… I can't beat him."