Courage

In a secluded alley, two students huddled together furtively. Passers-by vaguely caught snippets of their hushed whispers and walked away with looks of disgust on their faces.

"Let me have a look!"

"Brother E, please don't!"

"What are you afraid of? Let me see if your learning is normal."

"Brother E, come on!"

"I think you simply don't understand!"

Finally, after Wang Yi coaxed and cajoled, Qi Xiaohao reluctantly agreed.

"It might be a bit small, but you can't laugh at me!" Qi Xiaohao gave a warning in advance.

"Don't worry, I won't laugh, I won't laugh." Wang Yi suddenly got excited but managed to suppress his eagerness. His eyes were fixed on Qi Xiaohao's body, with a greedy glint in them, and he nodded vigorously.

Qi Xiaohao felt a bit uncomfortable under Wang Yi's intense gaze. He first coughed softly in embarrassment, then with a solemn look, he rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, stretched out his right hand, and held it in front of his chest, muttering something.

"Fireball spell!"

Wang Yi held his breath and concentrated. It had been quite a struggle to persuade Qi Xiaohao to demonstrate the magic. He couldn't understand why this chubby boy was so shy. It was just to watch him cast a spell, not to peek at his butt.

Wang Yi stared intently at Qi Xiaohao's palm. Now, at this very moment, the door to the magical world was finally about to open a crack in front of him!

With a soft "puff" sound, an orange flame suddenly appeared in Qi Xiaohao's palm, hovering about three finger-widths above it. Without any combustible material, it continued to burn steadily.

However, Wang Yi finally understood why Qi Xiaohao had given that warning in advance. Because this flame, or rather, the product of this so - called fireball spell, was only about the size of an egg, not even as big as a goose egg.

Overall, Wang Yi felt that the power of this fireball spell was probably stronger than the flame of a disposable lighter. But if you turned up the valve of the lighter, it might not be impossible to match it.

"Magic? This is magic? It's more like a magic trick!" Wang Yi was first shocked, then disappointed, followed by frustration, and finally a tinge of regret. Maybe it wasn't necessary for the door to the magical world to be opened by Qi Xiaohao at this moment.

The faint light of the flame cast Wang Yi's shadow on the wall behind, which swayed gently. Wang Yi stared at the flame, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Time passed in an awkward atmosphere. After about two minutes, the previously stable flame began to flicker visibly. Qi Xiaohao's face flushed, and sweat dripped from his forehead. It was obvious that he was trying hard to keep the flame going, but to no avail.

Ten seconds later, the flame in Qi Xiaohao's palm finally disappeared as abruptly as it had appeared. Qi Xiaohao wiped the sweat from his forehead and stammered an explanation, "Well, I just learned this fireball spell recently, and I don't have much magic power left. It's small and didn't last long. Besides, I'm not in a good state recently..."

"I understand, I understand." Wang Yi looked up at the sky and interrupted Qi Xiaohao. He just wanted to light a cigarette at that moment.

Although feeling melancholy, Wang Yi still comforted him, "It's okay. Two minutes is a long time."

"Actually, I'm better at the thunder spear spell. You insisted on seeing the fireball spell. Wait for me to recover my magic power, and I can continue..." Qi Xiaohao said timidly.

"No need!"

Wang Yi flatly refused. He didn't want to be disappointed again. He guessed that the thunder spear spell was probably as weak as the components of a disposable lighter. Its power might be a bit stronger than the piezoelectric ceramic in a disposable lighter, but not by much!

Well, two attack spells could be combined to create something like the "true form" of a disposable lighter. How terrifying!

Although Wang Yi understood that the power of magic was usually not very strong at the beginning, what Qi Xiaohao demonstrated really shocked him.

Damn it! What a thing!

But this was also good news. Regarding the duel in a week, Wang Yi finally gained some confidence. That Wu Guan was also an attack mage who knew the fireball and thunder spear spells. What was he afraid of? Was he afraid that Wu Guan would light his clothes with a lighter?

With such weak magic power, it was even less effective than holding a brick in his hand. Could Wu Guan kill him with that?

Without the factor of magic, this so - called duel was just a fight between high - school students. When it came to fighting, Wang Yi wasn't afraid. After all, inside his young body, there was an experienced and mature soul.

Although it might seem like bullying, Wang Yi planned to give these so - called mages a little physical shock next week.

Just when Wang Yi was full of confidence about the upcoming duel, his phone suddenly beeped. Wang Yi casually took out his phone from his pocket, unlocked it, and checked who had sent him a message. It turned out to be a post from a special contact named "Candy Mage in Action".

At this time, Qi Xiaohao's big face also leaned over. After taking a look, he said, "Oh? Fang Yu posted something again?" Fang Yu? Wasn't she the senior school beauty that the original body had been chasing relentlessly?

Wang Yi casually clicked on the post.

"Wu Guan's magic is so amazing. Love it! ღ(´･ᴗ･`)" There was also a video attached to the text.

"Wu Guan? The opponent in next week's duel?" Wang Yi sneered. It was understandable that the little girl had never seen real magic. What was so amazing about the "lighter magic"?

Out of curiosity, Wang Yi still clicked on the video. The video was obviously shot with a mobile phone. The shooting location seemed to be a professional training ground. There were rows of thick wooden stakes standing on the black marble floor, about as thick as an adult's thigh.

The protagonist of the video was a rather handsome young man with a bit of the arrogance typical of teenagers on his face.

"This is Wu Guan? Not bad. At least his hair color is more pleasing to the eye than mine," Wang Yi thought to himself as he looked at the person in the video.

"Damn it! Wu Guan is showing off his magic again, acting like he's the only one in Grade One who can use magic!" Qi Xiaohao's tone was full of indignation.

"What's there to show off about a 'lighter'? Kids are just kids," Wang Yi thought, but he didn't say it out loud to maintain his current persona.

The video continued. The young man named Wu Guan stretched out his right arm, raised his palm, and aimed at a wooden stake in the distance.

"Fireball spell!" Wu Guan shouted in a low voice. Then the brightness of the video suddenly increased by dozens of percentage points.

A fireball larger than a basketball suddenly appeared in front of Wu Guan's right hand. The scorching heat made the air ripple. Then it flew towards the wooden stakes without any hesitation.

The fireball gracefully curved around the stakes in its direct path and finally hit one of the stakes in the last row. The stake suddenly burst into flames. The fire was so intense that it was as if the stake had been doused with gasoline. In a short time, the upper part of the stake that had been hit by the fireball was completely charred.

"Wow, Wu Guan's fireball spell is really a bit powerful. It's stronger than mine," Qi Xiaohao scratched his head after watching the video and objectively evaluated it.

Wang Yi almost laughed out of anger. "You're really being modest. How can Wu Guan compare to you!"

After the video ended, Wang Yi silently clicked the replay button and watched it again quietly. After a moment, Wang Yi's left hand trembled as he searched his body for a cigarette, but he couldn't find one.

So he used his right hand holding the phone to close the video and then opened the phone book.

"Brother E, are you going to call Fang Yu? Yes, you should call and ask her why she keeps posting Wu Guan's videos!" Qi Xiaohao said indignantly.

"To hell with Fang Yu. I'm going to call Bai Yu. I want to ask for a week, no, half a month, no, I want to ask for a month's sick leave!"

"Damn it, Brother E, you're trying to be a coward!" Qi Xiaohao immediately understood Wang Yi's intention. He snatched the phone from Wang Yi's hand in a hurry, stuck out his neck, and said, "A real man can lose a battle, but he can't be a coward!"

"Go to hell. Is this losing? This is getting killed!" Wang Yi wouldn't think that his frail body could withstand a hit from Wu Guan's powerful fireball spell.

"Give me back my phone!" Wang Yi was rarely impatient.

"Promise me you won't ask for leave first!" Qi Xiaohao was extremely stubborn.

"Okay, I won't ask!" Wang Yi tugged at his hair irritably. "I'll just admit defeat and not even go on stage. Is that okay?"

"What's the difference between this and being a coward? This is so embarrassing!"

"Survival isn't embarrassing."

"Yes, it is! It's extremely embarrassing!" Qi Xiaohao became even more excited as he spoke. His raised voice attracted the attention of many passers - by.

Wang Yi could hardly control his emotions. "Why are you shouting so loudly! If you're so capable, go fight Wu Guan yourself! And since you knew I hadn't mastered magic, why didn't you stop me back then?"

Hearing what Wang Yi said, Qi Xiaohao helplessly replied, "I tried to stop you. But at that time, you said you were no longer the old you. You said you were going to be a powerful all - element mage. You just needed to lie low for a few days and then have a magnificent comeback. Then you kicked open the door of Class One and pointed at Wu Guan in front of the whole class, telling him to stay away from Fang Yu. Later, you two had a few exchanges and almost fought on the spot. That's how you made the appointment for the duel in a week."

After hearing this, Wang Yi slapped himself on the forehead, wishing he could have traveled back earlier and knocked himself out.

After calming down a bit, Wang Yi could only comfort himself in his heart: At least he now knew Wu Guan's real strength. It was better than going on stage with full confidence in a week, planning to use Wu Guan to light a cigarette, and then getting burned by him instead.

Moreover, Wu Guan's performance rekindled Wang Yi's awe and longing for magic.

Learn! Even if it means going bankrupt!

What? I don't have any family fortune? Oh, never mind.

But who gave the original body the courage to provoke Wu Guan when he hadn't even successfully absorbed magic? Liang, the so - called "Sage Master, Divine Shaman, Eternal Priest, Jing Ru"?

"Stay low" and "make a comeback"? Have some self - awareness! It seemed that one should never overestimate what a teenage boy in the heat of dopamine would do.

Now the original body had disappeared somewhere, leaving Wang Yi to deal with this mess. Although in general, a duel between high - school students wouldn't really result in death. But facing Wu Guan's powerful fireball spell, Wang Yi really didn't know how to save his own life if he got hit.

It wasn't like he could carry a "witch" with him all the time and ask her to wait nearby to save him. Wang Yi didn't think he had that kind of connection or influence.

"Forget it. Let's go home first. We'll talk about this later." Since he couldn't think of a solution for the moment, it was no use standing here. So Wang Yi waved his hand and said.

Of course, he had already made up his mind about the duel, but he didn't want to argue with Qi Xiaohao anymore. In any case, he wouldn't sacrifice his life for such a thing. It was just ridiculous!

As for the classmates' ridicule, well, he wasn't afraid of being laughed at by a group of high - school students he didn't know. He had endured being a "slave" in his previous life, after all.

He took back his phone from Qi Xiaohao and opened the chat app. He found Fang Yu in his friend list. Looking at the long messages that "he" had sent unilaterally before, while the other party hadn't even bothered to reply a single word, Wang Yi sneered and then clicked on the avatar, the upper - right corner list, and found the option to delete the friend. He clicked it and then confirmed. The whole operation was smooth and without any hesitation.

Qi Xiaohao beside him was completely stunned.

"Brother E, you just deleted Fang Yu as a friend?"

Wang Yi put the phone back in his pocket and said seriously, "You can call me Brother Wang, Wang Yi, or even Uncle Wang next - door. Anyway, I live next to you. But please, don't call me Brother E anymore. I'm allergic to the letter E now."

"Okay, Brother E. But you spent two weeks pestering and begging to add Fang Yu as a friend. Now you just deleted her?" Qi Xiaohao couldn't believe it.

"Oops, a miscalculation!" Wang Yi suddenly realized his mistake. This action might suit his own personality, but it was a bit inconsistent with the original body's persona.

But he quickly thought of an explanation and pretended to be profound as he said to Qi Xiaohao, "You don't understand. To avoid mental exhaustion, start by deleting friends. Moreover, this is a new method I learned for picking up girls, called 'playing hard - to - get'. Have you ever heard this famous saying?"

"What saying?" Qi Xiaohao asked curiously.

"A 'love - beggar' won't get a house!" Wang Yi patted Qi Xiaohao's shoulder. "If one method of chasing girls doesn't work, try another. If pestering doesn't work, change the approach."

Sure enough, after Wang Yi's explanation, Qi Xiaohao's surprise turned into admiration. He really thought Wang Yi had changed his method of chasing Fang Yu.

"Let's go. Learn from me. But now, go home and sleep... Oh, and you should save your screenshots." Wang Yi pretended to be profound and walked away.

"What screenshots?" Qi Xiaohao looked confused.

Wang Yi waved his hand without further explanation and continued walking forward with his hands in his pockets, looking quite cool.

"Brother E!" Qi Xiaohao raised his voice and called again.

"Figure it out yourself!"

"Brother E, you're going the wrong way. We should turn here!"

"Damn it!"

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