So be it if I die. It is no big deal. Ryan steeled his heart. Having lived through eight cycles of reincarnation, he had long since cast life and death aside.

  Only this time, death would mean true annihilation of the soul, completely different from the rebirths of his previous eight lives.

  Elara was so enraged by Ryan's fearless, reckless attitude that her entire body trembled. Her clenched hand slowly tightened.

  At once, the magic restraining Ryan began to contract, making him feel as though his entire body were about to be crushed. His skin turned bluish purple as blood circulation was cut off.

  Yet even at the peak of agony, the Invincible Defense Magic Card he had long prepared in his storage space still did not activate.

  Ryan knew exactly why. This old woman was furious, but she had not truly developed killing intent.

  Grimoire's judgment of lethal danger had never been wrong, and he trusted it completely.

  Just as Ryan's consciousness was about to slip into darkness, Elara's hand suddenly loosened, and the restraining magic weakened accordingly.

  Ryan gulped in fresh air, his chest heaving violently, the suffocating sensation of near death still lingering in his mind.

  "Dad..."

  A frightened, tearful voice suddenly echoed in Ryan's mind. Lyra seemed to sense the danger outside and knew that the three fierce elders were searching for her.

  "Dad is fine. Be good and stay inside the totem space. Do not come out. When this is over, Dad will bring you sweet magic pastries to eat."

  Ryan comforted Lyra softly, then immediately cut off the connection. He absolutely could not let Lyra be discovered by the three elders.

  Elara waved her hand, controlling the magic to release Ryan and let his feet touch the ground again.

  Maelira and Mora were already seething with anger over Ryan's stubborn resistance. Their bloodshot eyes instantly turned toward Elara, filled with confusion. Why not seize the chance to properly punish this brat?

  Elara raised her hand slightly, signaling them to calm down. She then took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her rage, and spoke in as level a tone as she could manage.

  "I am giving you two choices."

  Maelira and Mora both looked up at Elara, and Ryan was no exception. He wanted to see exactly what tricks this old woman was planning.

  "The first choice is that I cripple all your magic, destroy your magic core, expel you from Glacial Arcana Academy, and leave you a powerless mortal for the rest of your life."

  "The second choice is that you violated academy rules and desecrated the Headmistress. According to the law, your magic core will be sealed, and you will be cast into the Ice Spike Cold Prison to endure seven days of ice erosion punishment."

  When Elara spoke of desecrating the Headmistress, her teeth ground audibly, her voice filled with bone deep fury. She nearly rushed through the two options in one breath.

  If not for the Grand Magus potential Ryan had displayed, she would never have offered the second choice.

  She would have crippled his magic on the spot, expelled him from the academy, and personally struck him with several spells to vent her anger.

  "I choose the first!"

  Ryan suddenly straightened his body and met the elders' gazes head on."Come on! If you have the guts, do it! Destroy my magic core. I accept it!"

  He had already seen through Elara's thoughts. She simply could not bear to destroy a future Grand Magus like him.

  By deliberately choosing the harsher option, he was gambling, betting that Elara would compromise because of his potential.

  In truth, choosing the second option in line with Elara's wishes would have been equivalent to giving her a way out. In a situation like this, only a fool would choose the first option.

  And he was determined to be that fool. Having gone through eight cycles of reincarnation, he no longer feared death.

  If he refused to submit, then fight. Why live so stifled and restrained? They wanted to cripple his magic core?

  They would have to prove they were capable of it. If they truly dared to act, he did not mind making these three old women pay the price.

  Back then, anyone who had dared to threaten him like this had long since had their ashes scattered across the continent, without even a place left for a gravestone.

  "All ri..."

  Elara instinctively assumed Ryan would choose the second option, and the anger in her initial response eased slightly.

  But the moment the words left her mouth, she realized Ryan had chosen the first option. Instantly, her fury erupted like a volcano, surging upward as violent waves of magic roiled around her.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  How rare was someone with Grand Magus potential? The entire magical world knew the answer.

  It could even be said that such a talent appeared only once in ten thousand years, and only if they survived the perilous growth period without dying prematurely.

  Now, such an unfallen Grand Magus seed stood right before them. To be honest, they truly wanted to keep him.

  This alone was proof of how powerful and elusive a Grand Magus was in the magical world.

  Yet none of them had expected that this brat would really choose the first option. The decision nearly made all three grand elders faint from rage, their chests heaving violently.

  "Since you insist on this path, then I will grant your wish!"

  Elara's voice was filled with rage.

  As her words fell, the magic gathered in her palm surged toward Ryan once more. This time, it was far more condensed than before, clearly unleashed in earnest.

  At the same moment, Maelira and Mora locked their gazes onto Ryan as well. The aura of Elder Mages spread fully from their bodies, forming an encirclement.

  【Host, wait a moment! Do not crush the Invincible Defense Magic Card yet! They are angry, but they have not formed true killing intent!】

  Grimoire's warning rang urgently in Ryan's mind, trying to stop him.

  "So what if they have not formed killing intent? And what if they have? Today, I am going to fight them to the very end!"

  Ryan completely ignored Grimoire's warning. With a thought, he directly crushed the Invincible Defense Magic Card in his storage space.

  In an instant, dazzling golden light erupted and enveloped his entire body, as if he were coated in an indestructible layer of magical protection.

  Immediately after, a Sword Domain burst forth from within him. Although his magic core was sealed and he could not mobilize magic, the Sword Domain could still be used.

  The Stellar Sword shot out from the storage space and landed in Ryan's hand.

  With a flick of his wrist, he slashed forward, sending out a fierce sword aura toward the incoming magical restraints.

  The sharpness of the Stellar Sword, combined with the domineering Sword Domain, instantly severed the bands of magic released by Elara.

  Ryan swung the Stellar Sword again, releasing two brilliant arcs of sword aura.

  These two strikes were not aimed at the three elders, but directly at the barrier magic array enclosing the tower.

  The two sword auras struck the light membrane of the array in succession, producing deafening booms. The membrane shook violently, ripples spreading across its surface, clearly on the verge of collapsing under such ferocious attacks.

  The Stellar Sword erupted with an onslaught infused with a fierce Sword Domain, brilliant sword light shooting straight into the sky.

  Everyone in the Glacial Arcana Academy clearly saw the dazzling radiance.

  A thunderous roar echoed above the academy, shaking many buildings until their magic runes flickered faintly. Yet not a single apprentice rushed out to investigate.

  They all knew that three Elder Mage level powerhouses were present. If even they could not resolve the matter, then apprentices like themselves would only be useless, or worse, caught in the aftermath.

  Many apprentices quietly speculated that this was likely a surge of magic caused by a senior elder breaking through in power, and that in a few days the academy would probably hold a celebration.

  At the very source of the disturbance, Ryan charged without hesitation straight into the explosive dust and shockwave left by the shattered magic formation.

  The light barrier of the Invincible Defense Magic Card enveloped his entire body. Any attack below the Grand Magus level could not harm him in the slightest, making this impact feel no more than a mild itch.

  As the two arcs of sword energy struck, the shielding magic formation was blasted open with a massive breach, the light membrane cracking apart like shattered glass.

  Ryan seized this fleeting opportunity, leaped forward, and rushed straight out through the opening.

  Inside the loft, the shock on the three Grand Elders' faces could no longer be concealed, their eyes filled with disbelief.

  Who exactly was this kid? He had forcibly wielded a legendary Sword without suffering any backlash at all.

  Even the violent impact caused by the collision between sword energy and barrier had failed to harm him in the slightest. This level of defense was simply impossible for a Senior Mage.

  "Mentor! Help!"

  After bursting out of the loft, Ryan immediately locked his gaze on Evelyn standing calmly not far away and shouted at the top of his lungs.

  When Evelyn heard the earth shaking explosion earlier, she had instantly turned toward the loft.

  What she saw was the shattered remains of the building, the ground trembling violently several times from the impact. Her heart tightened at once, an inexplicable sense of unease rising within her.

  Then she saw Ryan, wrapped in a golden barrier of light, leap out through the huge breach in the magic formation.

  With his magic core sealed, Ryan could not use flight magic and could only rely on momentum to jump forward.

  He adjusted his posture midair, slid cleanly across the snow covered ground, and instantly took shelter behind Evelyn, using her as his solid shield.

  "What happened?" Evelyn turned her head to look at Ryan behind her, disheveled yet gazing at her with complete reliance. In her heart, she had already guessed the truth. The three elders must have acted against him.

  Both of them looked in the same direction and saw the remaining glow of the magic formation inside the loft fading away, as three figures charged out, wrapped in blazing fury. They were the three Grand Elders.

  "Bastard, you are courting death!"

  The three Grand Elders were already beside themselves with rage, not even caring that Evelyn was present. They shouted angrily and raised their hands, gathering dense magic as they attempted to seize Ryan directly from behind her.

  "Stop!"

  Evelyn barked coldly, a magic barrier erupting around her as biting cold spread outward, instantly forcing back the elders' magic.

  That extreme chill carried unquestionable authority, causing the three Grand Elders to halt abruptly and regain a measure of clarity.

  "Headmistress, this boy is reckless and insolent. He defied his superiors and ignored the academy's rules. He must be severely punished," Elara said, forcibly suppressing her anger as she tried to gain Evelyn's support.

  "My person is not someone you get to deal with whenever you please," Evelyn said, standing firmly in front of Ryan. Her cold gaze swept across the three Grand Elders, her tone resolute and unyielding.

  Seeing Evelyn so openly protecting Ryan, the three Grand Elders were furious yet helpless.

  After all, Evelyn was the Headmistress of the academy and a former Grand Magus. They simply could not defy her.

  "Honey! The three of them teamed up to bully me, a mere Senior Mage. Didn't the academy rules you set clearly state that intentionally bullying lower tier mages is forbidden?"

  Ryan hid behind Evelyn and deliberately raised his voice, especially when calling out"Honey," a form of address he had always wanted to use but never dared. This time, he shouted it loud and clear.

  Since he had already fallen out with the three elders, he decided to drop a heavy blow outright and completely tear open their ambiguous relationship.

  Hearing this, Evelyn sharply turned her head and shot Ryan a cold glare, anger flickering in her eyes.

  Half of that anger came from him calling her"Honey" in public, an unbearably embarrassing form of address.

  The other half came from the fact that he was deliberately provoking the elders at such a tense moment.

  All Evelyn could feel was helplessness. Having such a troublesome apprentice truly gave her a headache.

  "You wretched bastard! You are driving me mad!" Elara was completely triggered by that single"Honey." Her magic surged out of control as she pointed at Ryan, so furious that she could not form a complete sentence for quite some time.