Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

The tradition of the Winter Festival continues as Tilan and her companions walk on the streets, where the surrounding shops and street lamps are decorated with frozen-green branches or simulated ornaments. The frozen-green branches are dotted with dark red berries, imparting a sense of harvest and vitality.

"Where did the bird in Tilan's arms come from?" Ores had been wanting to ask this since they stepped out, and finally couldn't help but speak up.

"Oh, this one?" Tilan blinked and stroked the somewhat 'big' White Kite in her arms.

"It's a Light Cotton Bird I've raised, now advanced to Sequence 5 stage." The White Kite in Tilan's embrace looked around with a somewhat dumbfounded gaze, occasionally attempting to break free and run out on its own.

"You can't do that, it's too crowded here, you can't just fly around." Tilan stroked its neck to calm it down.

"Already at Sequence 5?" Blanchi was surprised; she had only progressed to Sequence 5 herself not long ago, and this big bird was already there.

"Yeah, it took quite a lot of effort to raise it." Tilan said modestly.

"Does it have a name?" Shui Yanqing was curious.

"Uh, I didn't give it a name." Tilan didn't really have the habit of naming; sometimes she felt like giving animals names was a bit strange, as if imposing human societal norms onto animals.

"So what do you normally call it?"

"Just Big White Kite, you you you~" Tilan said, breaking into a laugh.

"Even though it doesn't have a name, it knows when I call it." This might be considered one of the perks of a Songstress's Talent, being able to accurately call each animal.

"Can it lay eggs?" Blanchi leaned in, wanting to touch the White Kite but also afraid of being pecked, as its beak was quite sharp.

"It hasn't laid eggs yet." Tilan thought for a moment; Light Cotton Birds didn't lay eggs frequently, similar to eagles and hawks, and White Kites with intelligence after advancement could control it by themselves.

"I didn't expect Tilan to like raising birds." The group was somewhat curious and intrigued.

This White Kite was obviously not raised in just a few months; it had been with Tilan for a long time, but even though they had been at the academy for several months already, this was their first time seeing it.

"I used to specialize in Breeder courses." Tilan reluctantly explained.

"Many Transcendent animals can still be trained." After walking for a while and seeing the White Kite getting acclimated, she let go, allowing it to fly onto her shoulder.

"It's like meeting Tilan for the first time, always full of unknown and mysterious things." Shui Yanqing joked.

"It's quite beautiful."

Ores turned to look at the White Kite on Tilan's shoulder, observing up close that the bird's feathers were neat and the body well-proportioned, while the eyes were spirited, and the azure blue pupils vaguely showed the flow of Magic Power, the magic aura emitted was also especially pure and stable; one could see it was raised very well.

"I have two Elves dragons at home, it takes about 20 people to take care of them, very energy-consuming." Ores remembered the two beautiful and narcissistic creatures at home.

"Wow, Elves dragons." Upon hearing this, Blanchi could only envy.

Afterward, the four continued to chat about the various Transcendent animals they had encountered and known until the Hover Car slowly descended at the Poseidon Arena in the central third district.

The arena was bustling today, with Winter Festival decorations hanging everywhere inside, and many spectators seated in the stands.

"This is the venue for the 'Vortex Cup' competition."

The 'Vortex Cup', sponsored by a coalition of twelve giant corporations, features students from the Academy City as competitors. To increase the interest and appeal of the competition, the venue changes yearly, with this year's event taking place in the water.

The inside of the Poseidon Arena was like a large lake, with only two floating stones symmetrically positioned in the center to serve as the contestants' entry points.

Shortly after sitting down in the VIP box, the competition entered the opening ceremony, which began with a burst of music; a Mermaid songstress emerged from the water to sing, followed by black and white orcas performing spins around her.

After the performance, the host's customary speech commenced, thanking the twelve sponsoring giant corporations and then introducing the rules.

As it wasn't an official contest, the rules were quite simple: it was an elimination format, with contenders advancing level by level until the final winner was determined.

After the rules were explained, the water surface of the entire arena rippled, and then a giant Vortex gradually formed in the center, illuminated by twelve lamps from below, dazzlingly brilliant. After a few seconds, the Vortex reversed and rose upward, forming a majestic column of water in the air extending continuously towards the sky.

After more than ten seconds, the water column dissipated, a faint rainbow appeared at the venue, and in the center, a statue of Poseidon emerged, resembling a mermaid sitting on a rock with hands on a lyre. It was said to be carved in the likeness of the legendary Sea Witch Fibi to commemorate the once legendary Academy City 'Fibi'.

Finally, the competition officially began.

"The first match is between Wen Yuting from 'Ehong Academy' and Wilson from 'Gessi Academy'."

Since it was a competitive event, the contestants who stepped onto the stage were almost all Sequence 6 elite students, talented individuals from various academies who had survived numerous eliminations and represented the crème de la crème of their peers.

At this moment, Tilan also stopped chatting with her companions, focusing intently on the match, cheek lightly resting on the White Kite's warm feathers, watching the two competitors in the arena.

Wen Yuting was clad in a silver-red dress, with sleeves and skirt fabric reflecting a soft metallic sheen, and ribbons of a similar material swirling behind, resembling a mythical immortal.

Unlike high school-level combat competitions, the battles at the university level were not solely about personal strength; they also revolved around the combination with various extraordinary props and equipment. Wen Yuting's special dress, made of the specially crafted 'Gossamer Silver Silk' Extraordinary Material, not only greatly enhanced defensive power but also allowed for easy casting of numerous Secret Techniques through the Imprint Patterns branded on the fabric.