The Mighty Mage
Chapter 367: Team Combat

Chapter 367: Chapter 367: Team Combat

"Calm is good," Long Yifan said, "but fear is not. There’s a difference. When you fight, trust your instincts and take risks. Without risks, there’s no victory."

The students nodded, both looking thoughtful.

Time passed. The students who earlier despised Long Yifan slowly started to admire him. All of his advice was on point. He didn’t insult anyone. Only told them about their mistake.

Sometimes he acted harshly, but it was only with the students who kept on back talking.

"Next pair," Long Yifan called out.

Gu Jin and Yan Mei stepped onto the platform.

The match began with a burst of energy.

Yan Mei wasted no time, summoning a swirling orb of chaos energy in her hand.

With a quick flick of her wrist, she launched it toward Gu Jin.

Gu Jin’s eyes narrowed. She raised her hand, and thick vines sprouted from the ground, weaving together into a sturdy barrier.

The orb hit the barrier but fizzled out, unable to penetrate it.

"Nice try," Gu Jin said calmly.

Yan Mei smirked, stepping back and warping space around her. In an instant, she vanished and reappeared behind Gu Jin, her palm glowing with a dark, curse-infused spell.

But Gu Jin didn’t panic.

She spun around, releasing a wave of fiery heat that forced Yan Mei to retreat. The flames danced around her, burning away any lingering curse energy.

"Fast, but not fast enough," Gu Jin said, her tone even.

Before Yan Mei could counter, Gu Jin pressed her advantage.

She summoned a flurry of poisonous thorns from the ground, sending them flying toward Yan Mei.

Yan Mei tried to dodge, using her spatial abilities to teleport out of the way, but the thorns seemed to follow her, their sharp tips glinting ominously.

In the end, Yan Mei was forced to raise a chaotic shield to block the attack. The impact sent her stumbling backward, her breathing heavy.

"Match over," Long Yifan’s voice cut through the air, calm yet firm.

He walked up to the platform, his sharp eyes on both girls.

"Yan Mei," he said, "you rely too much on your space element for dodging. Your attacks lack follow-through. Power is nothing without precision."

Yan Mei nodded, her face flushed. "Understood, Instructor."

Then he turned to Gu Jin.

"You were calm and strategic. Good use of your elements. But your timing can improve. You hesitated twice when you didn’t need to."

Gu Jin didn’t reply, but she listened carefully.

Long Yifan’s gaze softened slightly.

"You have potential, Gu Jin. If you want, I can personally tutor you to help you grow stronger."

Gu Jin glanced at him, her expression unreadable. Then, she turned away. "No need," she said flatly.

Long Yifan’s lips curved into a faint smile. "Suit yourself."

Despite her cold response, Gu Jin couldn’t deny that his advice was useful.

The training session continued, and like a good instructor, Long Yifan pointed mistakes of each person.

To Gu Jin’s surprise, he didn’t use his position to force Gu Jin into any compromising situation, however, Long Yifan became a mystery to her.

He sometimes acted as if he was weak and poor, other times he acted as if he was a powerful person.

So what was true? Was he a poor and weak person pretending to be powerful and rich? Or was he a rich and powerful person pretending to be weak?

Gu Jin didn’t have to think about the question for a long time. Once the sparring session was over, Long Yifan asked everyone to form a group of five.

Gu Jin, Yan Mei, Luo Meng, Lin Yue, and Cheng Hao formed one team.

Though Gu Jin didn’t know Lin Yue and Cheng Hao, both of them looked like an easy going people.

Once the team of five was formed, Long Yifan asked everyone to decide on a team leader.

Gu Jin was elected as the team leader.

Long Yifan nodded his head in satisfaction and said,

"Now let’s begin a team combat."

"Team combat? Why do we even need it? I am good on my own."

"Me too."

"Senior Long you can skip this part, we don’t want it."

Long Yifan coldly glanced in the direction of the commentators, his suffocating gaze silenced them instantly.

"Team combat can’t be skipped. It is one of the most important parts of survival. Sometimes, you might get stuck in a situation where you will have to rely on someone else.

At that time, being stubborn and holding onto the belief that you will be alright without anyone’s help will be foolishness."

Gu Jin frowned. She disagreed with Long Yifan.

In any fight, relying on yourself is the only way to guarantee success.

"Now let’s begin. You all have to come up with a name for your team and put it in the box. Then one by one the representatives will pick a card an fight against the team of whose name is written on the paper."

Following Long Yifan’s instruction, everyone came up with the name and drew the name.

The name of Gu Jin’s team was Blue Fox. It was a random name. The team which they had to fight against was named Chocopie.

The members of the Chocopie team were all at super rank, making them a difficult opponent.

Soon the matches begin. Some gave a good performance while some performed badly.

When it was Gu Jin’s turn, Long Yifan gently said,

"All the very best."

The students: "..." I refuse to train under this monster! He keeps on feeding us dog food!

Gu Jin: "..."

The battle commenced.

Gu Jin came up with a strategy,

"Luo Meng you will be responsible for the defense of the entire team. Focus on protecting us from heavy attacks.

Lin Yue and Cheng Hao, I need you two to focus on distracting their strongest member. Yan Mei, you and I will work on offense. We’ll take down their support first."

Her teammates nodded, though Luo Meng looked a bit uneasy.

"Defense? But I’m better at—"

"You’re the best choice for it," Gu Jin interrupted. "Trust me."

Reluctantly, Luo Meng nodded, and the team spread out on the platform.

The Chocopie team smirked confidently as they launched their first attack.

Their leader, a tall boy with the lightning element, sent a crackling bolt toward Cheng Hao.

"Shield now!" Gu Jin called.

Luo Meng reacted instantly, summoning a barrier of earth that absorbed the impact.

"Good job!" Gu Jin shouted. "Cheng Hao, now!"

Cheng Hao darted forward, throwing a quick series of wind blades that forced the lightning user to retreat.

At the same time, Lin Yue used her water element to create slippery patches on the ground, making it harder for their opponents to gain balance.

Yan Mei smirked, summoning chaos energy to disrupt their formation.

Meanwhile, Gu Jin zeroed in on their support member—a girl using healing magic.

Gu Jin sent a wave of fire toward the healer, forcing her to dodge, and followed it up with a barrage of poisonous thorns.

The healer panicked, struggling to defend herself.

"Keep up the pressure!" Gu Jin ordered.

Yan Mei joined in, her chaos energy twisting the battlefield into a mess of unstable magic.

The healer finally stumbled, unable to keep up, and Gu Jin delivered the finishing blow with a concentrated blast of fire.

With their healer out, the Chocopie team began to falter.

"Finish it!" Gu Jin commanded.

Her team worked together seamlessly, taking down the remaining opponents one by one.

When the match ended, Long Yifan clapped slowly, his expression calm but approving.

"Impressive teamwork, Blue Fox," he said.

"Gu Jin, you led your team well. Clear instructions, solid strategy. However, I would like to ask something. Miss Gu Jin did you know the elements of the team opposite to you."

Gu Jin nodded with confidence, "I did."

Long Yifan calmly analyzed,

"So it means you knew and hence came up with such a brilliant strategy. What if your team had to face an opponent with a lot of hidden trump cards? What will you do?"

Gu Jin frowned slightly, the question catching her off guard. She crossed her arms, thinking for a moment before replying,

"If the opponent has hidden trump cards, then we’ll have to adapt. Watch their moves and adjust the strategy on the spot."

Long Yifan nodded but didn’t let her off so easily.

"Adapting is important, but it’s not enough. In a real fight, surprises can overwhelm you. What you need is flexibility in your plan from the start.

Always assume the opponent has something unexpected. That way, you won’t be caught off guard."

Gu Jin stayed silent, his words sinking in. Yan Mei, standing beside her, muttered under her breath,

"Easy to say, harder to do."

Long Yifan heard her and turned his gaze toward her.

"It’s not easy, but that’s what training is for. You learn to think ahead, to plan for what you can’t see. It’s the difference between survival and defeat."

Yan Mei rolled her eyes but didn’t argue further.

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