The shower of stars crashed down, colliding with the giant lightsaber—

As the brilliant golden light burst forth, it blinded everyone around. But the moment the powerful aura exploded, the entire platform was blocked by a shimmering water element barrier, which tightly enveloped it, preventing even a trace of it from escaping.

The royals, who had been in a panic, calmed down and returned to their original spot along with the magicians.

"That's great! It's the Grand Magus whom our Lycas Empire reveres! He's finally made a move, otherwise what would we have done!"

"I just don't know what the situation is like inside..."

"I'm afraid Dolores lost. After all, the Archbishop has been a mage for many years. This time, Dolores was still stubborn and insisted on using the light element, which she is not good at, to go against the Archbishop. No wonder she lost so badly in the end. She deserved it."

"Are you crazy? How dare you say that about her?"

Finally, as the brilliant golden light gradually faded, a voice drifted from afar: "Old friend, why bother bullying a little girl? He's young and impetuous, why are you acting recklessly too?"

"..."

But all he received in response was deathly silence.

The archmage who served the royal family seemed somewhat bewildered. But the next moment, after the blinding light dissipated, everything became clear—both of them had fared poorly in the powerful clash, but the cardinal had suffered the most severe damage!

As for Nguyen Thanh An, whom they had always thought would lose, although he was not in good condition, he was still able to stand still while holding onto his scepter.

But the cardinal was lying on the ground...

For a moment, the entire courtyard was silent. No one dared to utter a word. No one expected that the final winner of this duel, which was based on the cardinal's expertise in the element of light, would be Nguyen Thanh An.

Ruan Qing'an stood there, weakly raising his eyes: "I've said it before, the power that belongs to others, even if it comes from the gods—"

"It's all just a mirage, a complete waste of time, nothing but a joke."

"Your Excellency, instead of using these conferences to spread your faith, why don't you consider what you have left without this divine power?"

These words immediately ignited hatred, especially among the members of the Church of Light, whose faces turned extremely grim. However, Ruan Qing'an had indeed defeated the Cardinal, leaving them with no way to vent their anger. Their fury could only be expressed through shouting and shouting...

Even the royal archmage who had initially spoken was now speechless with astonishment, finally managing to say after a moment, "Dolores, you little brat, at least show some respect for your elders..."

"Alright, alright, I have something to do today, so I won't show up. Don't get so worked up, it's just an exchange meeting."

The archmage removed the water elemental barrier, and then there was silence.

Everyone in the courtyard turned their attention to Ruan Qing'an. After a brief silence, thunderous applause erupted—no matter how infamous Dolores was.

At least at the magicians' exchange meeting, she was undoubtedly the number one if she could defeat her opponent with the magic they were best at.

As the applause rang out, Nguyen Thanh An smiled wearily.

Even if she wins, gathering such a massive amount of light elements, and even having to fight against the cardinal, will be extremely difficult.

But she doesn't regret it, nor does she regret standing up and making things clear.

The Church of Light's intentions are clear: by co-hosting this magicians' exchange meeting with the royal family, they obviously want to win over these magicians, and ideally, recruit them into the Church of Light, which would be a great achievement.

But Ruan Qing'an simply couldn't stand it, nothing more.

037: [Ancestor, you've worked hard, please rest well now.]

"...Yes, I'm a bit exhausted."

Ruan Qing'an spoke in a low voice, her hand holding the scepter trembling involuntarily. Then, as her magic power was depleted, the scepter disappeared, and her body went limp, causing her to collapse.

finally--

Aldrich, who had been patiently obeying orders without stepping forward, finally did. He strode forward, rushed onto the platform at lightning speed, and scooped up Ruan Qing'an in his arms, protecting him tightly.

Only when he fell into a strong and warm embrace did Ruan Qing'an lower his eyes, his blurred vision passing over Eileen's jealous gaze.

The next moment, he lost consciousness.

After seeing Aldrich run over, Eileen finally reacted and ran up to the platform to check on the cardinal's condition, while calling to the other members of the Church of Light: "His Holiness the Cardinal has fainted, quickly send someone to take him back."

Upon hearing this, the members of the Church of Light realized what was happening and stopped glaring at Nguyen Thanh An. Instead, they busied themselves with other tasks. After checking that the cardinal was unharmed, they left without lingering.

Both mages fell into a coma.

The other mages dared not get involved any further and all requested to leave, forcing the mage exchange meeting to end abruptly.

But Eileen didn't leave. She stood there, looking back at the tall man who was holding a petite girl in his arms. The girl's long dress cascaded down, the black fabric shimmering like stars in the night sky—excessively beautiful…

After a brief hesitation, Eileen's eyes flickered uncertainly.

She went to find someone from the Church of Light, whispered a few instructions, and then hurriedly came to the platform: "Aldrich."

“His Excellency, there are church people watching over him, but Dolores has no one here. You don’t know magic, so you can’t heal. Luckily, I am a saintess of the Church of Light, and I am skilled in healing magic.”

"Don't worry, leave her to me. Dolores and I have been friends for so many years, I would never harm her, don't worry."

Eileen emphasized this repeatedly, looking anxiously at Ruan Qing'an.

But Aldrich didn't even look up, his strong arms firmly holding Nguyen Thanh An, his voice icy: "Get away, don't touch her."

"Aldrich, stop being so stubborn!"

Eileen reached out to hug her: "Dolores is unconscious, I need to check on her. I know you're worried about her, Aldrich, shall we take her to the lounge together?"

"The magicians' exchange meeting was originally scheduled to last a day, and there were special lounges arranged after the luncheon. Dolores also has one, which was arranged by the royal family. You can rest assured, right?"

But Aldridge instinctively looked towards the courtyard, while Eileen subtly blocked his way: "Hurry up, if Dolores really has a hidden injury, can you take responsibility!"

\u0001