Ryan was carried backward by the inertia of the magical force, violently flung through the air. He slammed hard into the snow, then continued rolling dozens of meters through the thick white blanket.

  But it didn't stop there. His body kept sliding across the smooth snow, gouging a deep trench over a hundred meters long before finally coming to a halt.

  The moment he stopped, Ryan spat out a mouthful of blood. Warm droplets splattered onto the snow, instantly melting into tiny red pits.

  Clutching his agonizing abdomen, he struggled to get up, but halfway up, his injuries proved too severe, and he collapsed back heavily into the snow.

  That damn old woman, she was doing this on purpose! She was too busy holding Evelyn, just watching him fly through the air without even lifting a finger.

  Even a slight pull with a bit of magic would have prevented him from being hurt so badly!

  Well then, if she's going to play favorites, I'll just fly farther, hurt more.

  Ryan lay in the snow, teeth gritted in pain, eyes locked on Mora in the distance holding Evelyn. Today, he was going to mess with that old woman's head!

  From afar, Mora watched Ryan roll dozens of meters and even spit a mouthful of blood. Her eyes widened in disbelief, her entire body stunned.

  She had already restrained her pressure. By all logic, that residual force could at most push someone ten meters, not over a hundred!

  How did he roll so far? That brat is definitely faking it! Mora's suspicion rose instantly, but the glaring bloodstain made her hesitate.

  "Put me down!" Evelyn, cradled in Mora's arms, had her gaze fixed tightly on the blood-spitting Ryan. Panic flared in her expression as she shouted urgently at Mora.

  Only then did Mora snap back to reality and look at Evelyn in her arms. The faint blush on Evelyn's cheeks had not yet faded. To Mora, it was suffocating, almost stealing her breath.

  Mora had no idea of Evelyn's current state. She obeyed Evelyn's words and carefully placed her on the ground.

  But as soon as Evelyn stood, her legs trembled uncontrollably, and her body threatened to collapse to one side.

  Inwardly, Evelyn cursed Ryan, a mix of shame and helplessness flashing in her eyes.

  She had wanted to rush to help him, but in her current state, she couldn't even stand steadily, let alone save someone.

  With no other choice, Evelyn sat down on the spot, circulating her magic to calm herself and stabilize her body. If she didn't, she wouldn't even be able to walk.

  Mora stood nearby, glancing over Evelyn, who sat cross-legged with her skirt covering her legs, initially noticing nothing unusual.

  But when her gaze unintentionally fell on Evelyn's ear, she froze instantly. Earrings?

  Mora felt as if a magical bomb had just exploded in her mind.

  Giving earrings or bracelets, such intimate accessories, carries a meaning she must understand!

  No, no! This has to be a protective charm, surely something Evelyn picked up during her travels, worn casually without much thought.

  It must be that! It absolutely must be…

  Mora's eyes locked onto the earrings on Evelyn's ears. Even she could not fully convince herself with this self-deceptive reasoning.

  In all these long years, Evelyn had never worn any decorative accessories.

  The Glacial Arcana Academy held countless protective charms, so how could she suddenly be wearing these earrings?

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  Rage instantly shattered the last traces of hesitation. Mora's body flickered, appearing next to Ryan as if by teleportation, her anger blazing openly in her eyes.

  Ryan, in response, rolled onto his back, lying face up with blood at the corner of his mouth. His chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath, looking like he was gravely injured, on the brink of death.

  Although seething with anger, Mora had lived tens of thousands of years as an Elder Mage and did not allow fury to cloud her mind.

  Her gaze swept over Ryan's left shoulder, and when she saw the metallic mechanical arm glinting coldly, she froze for a moment.

  This brat went out for training and lost his entire left arm?

  Shock aside, she immediately pulled a bottle of healing potion from her storage pouch. She did not administer it directly but placed it precisely into Ryan's storage bag.

  Seeing this, Ryan coughed up more blood, his face turning even paler.

  Mora, seeing his condition, stepped forward directly, helping him sit up. She channeled her pure magic to reorganize the chaotic flow within him and repair his damaged meridians.

  Ryan, seeing that the old woman was finally actually treating him, stopped pretending and obediently cooperated, guiding his magic and accepting the healing.

  After a short while, feeling the magical fluctuations in Ryan stabilize, Mora said coldly,"Let's go."

  Before her words even fell, she grabbed the back of Ryan's collar and, in a flicker of motion, returned to Evelyn's side.

  "Where is the child?" Mora threw Ryan to the ground and demanded harshly.

  At the same time, she released her mental energy field, like an invisible net, instantly covering several kilometers, meticulously searching for the little girl.

  But her mental scans repeated again and again, yet they could not detect the small figure she had seen earlier.

  Earlier, she had been entirely focused on stabilizing her damaged magical core and had completely missed the moment when Lyra had transformed into a glimmer of light and returned into the totem on Ryan's chest.

  "There is no child," Ryan said after steadying himself, his face full of confusion, as if he could not understand a word of what Mora was saying.

  Mora froze, staring at Ryan, stunned by how genuine he seemed.

  Could she have been mistaken? She, an Elder Mage of formidable strength, whose mental probes had never been wrong, could she really have misperceived a living child?

  At that moment, Evelyn slowly opened her eyes.

  She had been regulating her magic to calm herself, suppressing the flush on her cheeks. Listening to their exchange now, her mind was clear.

  "There is no child." Evelyn stood, her tone returning to its usual cool calmness.

  Evelyn had suppressed the flush on her cheeks, but the redness at the tips of her ears was hidden beneath her hair, making it impossible to tell if it had also faded.

  "Headmistress, are you really trying to deceive me too?" Mora clearly did not believe her, her voice tinged with agitation."I saw it clearly. Just now, a little girl ran toward you!"

  Her whole body trembled with anger, yet she felt helpless. After all, Evelyn was the Headmistress of the academy, and Ryan possessed the potential of a Grand Magus. She could not simply take action against her own people.

  "There is truly no child," Evelyn said, her tone still cold, offering no further explanation.

  Mora was about to argue, but before she could, Evelyn interrupted her with a sharp voice:"Are you refusing to even listen to me?"

  The displeasure in her tone was unmistakable. Evelyn knew in her heart that any further argument was unnecessary. Silence and the immediate termination of the conversation was the best way to handle this.

  Mora was momentarily stifled by Evelyn's icy tone, staring at her expression that brooked no doubt.

  "Headmistress, you really are driving us crazy… ah!" Mora's face turned red with anger. She stammered for a long while, but in the end, all her fury and frustration condensed into a heavy sigh.

  She turned to glare at Ryan, blaming him entirely. It was his fault!

  He had managed to capture the heart of the usually cold and reserved Headmistress, and now there seemed to be a child too, all while keeping it a secret from her!

  As for why Mora assumed the little girl was Ryan and Evelyn's child, it was not entirely unreasonable.

  Evelyn had only been away from the academy for about a year, but in the magical world, anything was possible.

  There was no shortage of naturally gifted individuals, and some children with exceptional talent could be born after less than five months in the womb.

  Normally, a mage's child would require a full ten-month gestation or even longer, but geniuses were not bound by the usual rules.

  Moreover, both Evelyn and Ryan had the potential of Grand Magi, so the possibility of a premature child was entirely plausible.

  Otherwise, that exquisitely delicate little girl could not have simply appeared out of nowhere.

  Who could casually find such a perfectly formed, beautiful little girl in the wild?

  The more Ryan and Evelyn denied it, the more convinced Mora became that the child was theirs. She just did not know where they had hidden her.

  "Let's return to the academy," Evelyn said, her tone still cold, seeing that the dispute had quieted.

  She walked close to Mora, deliberately adjusting her steps to block Mora's view of Ryan, subtly shielding him.

  Mora immediately saw through this small maneuver, and her face turned even redder, her chest heaving.

  Anger aside, she took a teleportation array disk engraved with intricate runes from her storage pouch.

  She no longer wished to deal with this mess and was ready to activate the array, return to Glacial Arcana Academy, and leave the chaos for Elara and Maelira to handle.

  "Are you sure you brought the child with you?" Mora asked again, scanning the area around the two but still finding no sign of the little girl.

  She could not help but ask once more,"If you leave her alone on this snowfield, she might not even survive."