Chapter 114: Cha Treasure’s Tactical Flaws And Suijun’s Guidance

What’s it like for a young genius raid-type witch to be targeted by two high-level raid witches while another rookie genius raid witch flanks from the side?
Jiang Cha says: “Thanks for asking, I’m already dead eighty times on the battlefield.”

Really, once Mentor Carol stopped holding back and Helen went all-out, Jiang Cha didn’t survive more than two minutes in a single match.

Her strategy is incredibly simple:
At the start, Lina immediately transforms with her Red Dragon trait and rushes forward, one-on-three. Even if she gets taken out, it doesn’t matter.
Behind her, Carol opens the battlefield, and Helen enters at full strength.

Feel the pressure.

Mephist barely struggles for two rounds before giving up; the moment Jiang Cha is taken down, she forfeits.
Endgame? What endgame? The command tower has already been destroyed—what endgame is there?!
Look at those two, maxed-out and ready to fight. How could Mephist and Verlette possibly handle the endgame? There’s no way; the win rate is less than a thousandth—it’s pure slaughter.

“Jiang Cha, why is your strategy so crude? Didn’t Senior Mortel teach you how to duel?”

After a whole morning of matches, Helen rubs her temples in slight frustration while looking at the girl who continues to fight at full power without retreat.

“Has Jiang Cha improved this morning?
Yes, definitely. From being one-shot by Helen in thirty seconds to surviving a full minute of three-person focused attacks—that’s massive progress, a qualitative leap in combat experience.
But she’s reached her limit.
Yes, her limit.
Given her current magic reserves, quality, known spells, and casting skills, she’s already at her maximum potential.
She’s still just a young witch. Jiang Cha doesn’t have the power to overturn fate, nor the confidence of a shounen protagonist with miraculous last-minute bursts.
Simply put, her development time is too short; her foundation isn’t enough.”

“No, Senior Mortel never taught me how to duel.”
“This… what do you think, Mentor?”

Helen looks at Carol while the girl quietly prepares for the next match. She can’t help but appreciate Jiang Cha’s composure.
Over the years of the Witch Cup, Helen has grown tired of carrying lower-year students through losses. If she could slack off, she would—but here, every match counts. Every point matters. Even as a high-level witch, she couldn’t afford to hold back.

Helen genuinely wants to help Jiang Cha. With a small prodigy like her, plus Lina, who has even better talent, the first-year team can still grab wins.
This is a part of the Witch Cup academy matches second only to the seventh-year team battles in terms of weight—winning here would be significantly easier.

Helen had heard about Jiang Cha from Lina but didn’t expect that her mentor had completely neglected to teach her proper duel tactics.

“What else can we do? Senior Mortel ran off to prepare for her Sage promotion. If she asked me to help train her apprentice, I guess special training is the only way.”

Carol sighs. She’s had a good relationship with Mortel, having fought alongside her on the battlefield before. Helping train an apprentice temporarily isn’t an issue.
The problem is that their combat styles don’t match.

Jiang Cha is a classic all-round witch—multiple schools, various support roles, plus command ability—very similar to Mortel’s style.
Carol, on the other hand, mostly fights as a specialized raider focusing on the Manipulation school—typical raiders are all-charge, no-brain types.
So she never taught Jiang Cha duel strategy, only practiced with her to improve combat experience. The specializations just don’t line up.

“Senior Mortel is being promoted to Sage?”
Helen hadn’t heard this news and is slightly surprised, but seeing Jiang Cha at full power, sensing that tiny spark of intelligence within her, she feels relieved.
“This… might be tricky…”

Before Helen could finish, another voice cuts in:

“Shall I teach her my tactics first?”

“Grand Saint specifically instructed me to look after little Jiang Cha. Being a temporary mentor will prevent her from being upset when she returns.”

It’s Shui Jun.

Upon seeing her, Helen’s eyes light up, exclaiming: “I didn’t expect this flirtatious girl to have connections with the Grand Saint. Then Shui Jun, I leave it to you.”

Shui Jun’s combat style is perfect for Jiang Cha right now.

What is Jiang Cha’s most important role in the duel?
Distraction? Disrupting the battlefield? Rescue?
None of these. Her top priority is command ability.
To command effectively, she must survive first.

So Shui Jun’s style is ideal—she’s one of the few Sages specialized in defense and counterattack.

“Won’t this be too troublesome for you?”
Carol hesitates, aware of Jiang Cha’s delicate relationship with the Grand Saint, but Shui Jun has no prior entanglements with her.

“No problem. Consider it early prep for the new Sage.”
She refers to Mortel, preparing for Sage promotion.

“Little Jiang Cha, step out of this full-power state. Let me check your spell list and see what to fill in.”

“I know your style well; the special training won’t take long. With your talent, it should only take about a week.”

Shui Jun’s voice is gentle, flowing like water, soothing.

But Jiang Cha, having left full power mode, doesn’t dare slack off.
She remembers their first encounter vividly, when even her full-power self struggled against Shui Jun’s tactics. At the time, Jiang Cha’s abilities were far less developed, and Shui Jun didn’t need full power to dominate.

“Let’s see, let’s see…
You’re lacking only a few things. Your mastery of Mystic-type magic is excellent, but Psychic-type is weak, and several high-level spells are missing. I’ll personally sponsor these spellbooks for you. Put it on the Grand Saint’s tab; I’m sure she won’t mind.”

Shui Jun produces twelve spellbooks, most containing high-level magic.
After recently absorbing two new school’s magic trees, Jiang Cha is somewhat numb to new spellbooks—but this time is different.

“This investment seems huge,” whispers Lina, impressed, leaning to Helen.

Helen sighs:
“If I were a Sage, this small investment wouldn’t even hurt.”

Shui Jun’s spellbooks aren’t ordinary—they’re her custom-developed magic. Unlike standard spells designed for general accessibility and balance, these are specialized, sometimes optimized comprehensively.
These are the core spells for a witch’s combat strategy.
Sage-level core spells cost at least a hundred times more than standard spells.