In response to Claude using his Innate Magic to bring their level on equal footing, the middle-aged man clasped his hands together.

Flames immediately started burning on his palms, causing the surrounding temperature to rise greatly.

"[Devastating Fire Ray!]"

A fire-type magic circle formed on the middle-aged man's feet, and he lightly moved his palms for them to create an opening, and from it, a single ray of fire was shot out.

It might not look special, but this ray of fire definitely could melt rocks or steel. Getting hit by such high-temperature magic would cause one's body to burn to ashes.

Even Claude was no exception. As such, he doesn't plan on letting the ray of fire hit him. With quick movements, he dodged to the side to avoid the ray of fire, but the middle-aged man's attack didn't end there.

If one ray of fire is enough, then he would create more!

One ray of fire after another was fired at Claude, and each time, he was barely able to dodge them. The ray of fire could only land on the training room's walls, but never on Claude.

Despite possessing immense firepower, the ray couldn't even scratch the walls at all. Even if both of these two mages use all of the power they could muster, they definitely could not break this room or even scratch it.

In the end, a Senior Mage, in the grand scheme of things, was nothing! They are no different than Apprentice or Junior Rank Mage for the true powerhouses of the universe!

Since merely dodging made Claude feel like he was being too passive, he gathered mana into his palm and threw a bolt of lightning at his sparring partner.

The bold of fire was completely blood-red in color, as if it were made from the countless blood of living beings, and it was also stronger compared to normal lightning.

It contains a trace of special power that only those with a cultivation realm who are strong enough can sense.

For the middle-aged mage, all he thought was that the lightning was powerful and nothing more.

The bolt of lightning and the ray of fire collided with each other, sending shockwaves around.

Considering that the middle-aged man was using a magic spell and not just simple magic, the ray of fire emerged the winner of the collision, but much of its energy was used up in the process.

In the end, Claude needed to send another bolt of lightning to cancel out the fire ray.

Thinking that probing moves were enough, with a wave of Claude's hand, a sword appeared, and he wielded it.

His whole body was suddenly surrounded by blood-red lightning while he charged at his sparring partner.

The middle-aged man only saw a streak of red light flash before Claude appeared in front of him.

He took out his magic wand and used it to block the sword strike, yet Claude was not yet finished.

On Claude's other hand, an orb of lightning formed. His arms also shot out like a snake, intending to hit his opponent on the stomach.

Fortunately, the middle-aged man managed to jump back and dodge in time before waving his hand.

Almost instantly, blades of wind flew out. They screeched and threatened to cut Claude's body into multiple pieces, but the man simply did a sword stance.

The lightning on his body grew even more violent, with the majority of it gathering at his sword. His eyes flashed while a magic circle formed below him before his body moved at lightning speed.

"[Heavenpiercer!]"

His charged attack, powered by a magic spell, was faster than the first one. It was as if he merged with lightning and gained its speed.

"[Aero Dome!]"

The middle-aged man hastily used another magic spell. A green magic circle formed on the area he was standing on, and a dome of wind was erected to protect him from danger.

As for Claude, he charged and pierced through the wind blades. He didn't even need to proactively destroy them.

As long as the wind blades touched his sword or the lightning around his body, they would immediately be torn to shreds.

The middle-aged man was ready to brace Claude's attack, but it seems like he still underestimated him.

After the sword coated with lightning and the dome of wind met, the latter was almost pierced through immediately. The middle-aged man could only exert even more mana to maintain it forcefully.

Claude's eyes, burning with the desire to win, looked serious.

Being weak is not a sin, but knowing you are weak and not doing anything, that is a sin!

Claude is unwilling to continue being weak. If he can't even win against a Senior Mage after knowing how large the universe was, how could he possibly completely revive the Earth Realm?

His eyes flashed with endless fighting spirit. Earlier, he was using both of his hands to hold the sword, but this time, he removed one of his hands.

On his left hand, a black energy suddenly covered it. This energy looks almost no different than using dark-type magic, but the aura it gave off was different.

It was both dark and cold, even disgusting to look at, as if all the dirt of the universe had gathered on it. This is the Yin power of the Yin-Yang!

As soon as Claude's palm, covered with Yin energy, made contact with the dome of wind, a sizzling sound immediately resounded as if something was being melted.

To the middle-aged man's surprise, a part of his wind dome actually turned black in color, and he lost control of that area.

This was his magic. Even mages stronger than him should only be able to destroy his magic or cancel it out with their magic.

However, what is this feeling that his magic was actually stolen from his control? Not to mention a Great Mage, even mages at the 4th rank shouldn't be able to do such a thing!

This is his magic, only he should be able to control it!

However, reality does not care for his surprise or emotions, and the area of corruption grew bigger.

In a panic, the middle-aged man waved his wand, and the dome of wind he created was suddenly engulfed with fire.

This time, it was not only a defensive magic, but it also had an offensive effect on enemies that were close enough!

Parts of the burning barrier suddenly elongated, creating sharp spikes of fire, but astonishingly enough, the corrupted area that Claude created did not listen to their caster.

He was unable to control the area, which is now big enough to ensure that no spikes of fire will form in front of Claude.

If that wasn't enough, Claude even controlled the blackened part of the burning dome and used it to attack.

He did the same as his sparring partner. He created spikes in the dome of fire, but this time, the difference was that the middle-aged man created spikes outwards of the dome. As for Claude, he actually created it from outside to inside of the dome!

If the middle-aged mage's reflex was not fast enough for him to dodge by extracting himself from the burning barrier he created, he might have been penetrated by those spikes.

Cold sweat formed on his forehead, this Claude... the more they fight, the stronger he becomes. This was simply astonishing!

Although the two of them are currently at the third cycle Senior Mage, this was only done artificially.

The middle-aged mage was originally at the fourth cycle while Claude was only at the first cycle.

Even if both of them now are at the third cycle, the middle-aged man should still be superior. After all, not only was his power not artificially boosted, it was even brought down by a level!

When mages fall in ranks, they are typically stronger compared to those at the same level considering that they once stood a higher perspective in the past.

It was only their power that weakened but their experience and skills would be retained no matter how many levels they were brought down.

Yet, even though he should still be winning easily, the middle aged man was constantly being suppressed by Claude who was originally only a first cycle Senior Mage!

Granted, Claude is a monstrous genius but even geniuses should have their limits, right?

It was already astonishing enough for Claude to be able to fight against a mage three cycles higher than his realm. But not only can he fight such an opponent, he even showed an ability to suppress them!

This is not something that even normal geniuses can achieve. Just how is he managing to achieve such a feat?

Despite admiring Claude, the middle-aged man still doesn't want to lose face by being beaten by a young man three cycles lower than his realm.

Not to mention, it hasn't been that long since Claude reached the Senior Rank!