Boom! The ground split open with a massive crack.
For the eleventh time—unbelievably, for the eleventh time—Han Tianyue had lost to her. Gritting his teeth, unwilling to concede defeat, he pushed himself up from the ground; his blood had already soaked through his clothes.
“Tianyue, admit defeat!” Crown Prince Mao turned with a graceful flourish, drawing a chorus of screams.
“Never!” Han Tianyue leapt into the air, gathering a sphere of water in his palm and hurling it straight at the Crown Prince.
“Hmph!” Crown Prince Mao snorted coldly, a flash of fire glinting at the corner of his eye. His flame-colored hair danced like living fire as he charged to meet Han Tianyue’s water sphere—
Boom!
For the twelfth time, Han Tianyue was thrown to the ground.
“Pathetic.” Crown Prince Mao left behind a frosty taunt, then departed with the thronging students who surged after him.
Han Tianyue raised his head, watching Crown Prince Mao. From within the crowd, the Crown Prince glanced back at Han Tianyue.
“Why am I so useless!” Han Tianyue clenched his fist and punched himself hard. “Crown Prince Mao, I will never lose to you again!”
The pain in his body overwhelmed him, and Han Tianyue slipped into unconsciousness.
No one knows how much time passed before Han Tianyue woke from his stupor. Night had fallen, and darkness surrounded him. The school had forbidden students from being outside at night, so the entire campus was eerily silent.
Under the shroud of darkness, the once-familiar school now seemed strange and un