Apart from Leia, who already knew about this as Barbara's best friend, everyone else was stunned to see the flame mark light up on Barbara's forehead.

It's important to know that the Warm Fire Order, passed down from ancient times to the present, only has two pieces remaining.

Currently, one is in the hands of the guild president, and the other is with Barbara—a fact known to the top guild leaders.

But they did not know that during her time in the Wildfire Territory, Barbara had already fused with the Warm Fire Order!

Barbara hadn't mentioned it in her letters home, planning instead to tell her father once he was out of his retreat.

So, at this moment, none of the guild leaders in the hall had known about this until now!

Aside from the seemingly irrational wife of the guild president, everyone else was shocked.

Barbara, however, didn't care about all that; she just kept thinking, "What exactly did Andrew do? It must have been something he did that activated my Warm Fire Order, right?"

And so Andrew slightly lowered his center of gravity, adopting a stance ready for charge.

Ignoring the guild president's wife's impending slap entirely, as if he hadn't seen it at all!

Andrew's senses were still in the "Underwater World" state.

Simultaneously, with an extraordinary calm and steadiness, he neither retreated nor dodged but charged toward the guild president's wife in a "proactive offensive" manner!

This was precisely Andrew's newly realized, or rather initially formed, combat style: proactive offense, blending defense with attack!

The victory or defeat was decided in the blink of an eye during their confrontation!

But this blink-of-an-eye victory doesn't rely on explosive power but on the Water Magic's unique extreme subtlety!

Only the sound of a light "pop" was heard.

A magically infused finger, containing the combined power of water and fire, pointed lightly in the air at the guild president's wife's forehead.

This touch bore no destructive power whatsoever.

After all, no matter how much offensive power is increased, it couldn't surpass the guild president's wife.

A Tier Three Water Magic Lord couldn't possibly harm a Tier Nine expert.

"But, with Tier Three Healing Magic paired with Water and Fire United, it's possible to heal a Tier Nine expert."

Andrew's gaze was intensely focused, "Because a Tier Nine expert is still human! In front of the healing magic used by Barbara and me, the guild president's wife isn't a master, but simply a... broken-hearted ordinary mother!"

The healing magic from both the Fire God Blessing Series and the Water Priestess Series corresponds to each other.

When combined, it relatively easily achieves Water and Fire United.

Even if they aren't corresponding healing spells, like Tier Three's "Cradle on the Blue Wave" and Tier Nine's "Phoenix's Cry," they nonetheless have mutual stimulation and promotion effects!

That's why earlier at the Warm Fire Temple, Andrew only intended to use his Water Magic to replenish the physical abilities of the wounded, but inadvertently activated a variety of Fire Healing Magic that Captain Linda had already applied to the injured, which temporarily made the medical team at the Warm Fire Temple regard Andrew as deity-like!

It's the same now.

Neither Andrew's "Cradle on the Blue Wave" alone nor Barbara's "Lavender in the Sunlight" alone could solve the problem with the guild president's wife.

But the combination of the two brought the possibility of success!

Andrew's fingertip was now close to touching the guild president's wife's forehead. Once fully touched, the magic's effect would permeate entirely.

Yet the guild president's wife's slap finally came down as well.

This slap didn't contain any Warm Fire Magic, merely channeling a strong Flame Magic into her palm.

With a bang!

The "Underwater World" state in front of Andrew's eyes was shattered completely by the slap.

His perception of time flow returned to normal.

Andrew just felt a moment of blackout in front of him, followed by seeing stars.

Fortunately, his face wasn't the target this time.

Because Ivan, Jin, the Elder Medicine, the Dean of Warm Fire Academy, and Susan swiftly surrounded him.

Ivan used his body to shield Andrew.

Some guild leaders held back the guild president's wife, while others, though not reaching out to restrain her, gathered closely, standing near her to prevent further aggressive actions from her.

Andrew staggered a couple of times, though he wasn't actually slapped; just being shaken by that strong magic power was enough to leave him distressed.

Disregarding the altered sense of time flow due to the "Underwater World," from when the guild president's wife aimed to slap Barbara, to Andrew stepping in, to the wife acting again, to Andrew's virtual point on the wife's forehead using Barbara's power, to the moment others stopped the wife, and Andrew ended up plopping to the ground—

It all practically unfolded in a very short period.

The Warm Fire Order on Barbara's forehead shone brightly for an instant and then returned to its inconspicuous appearance.

"Are you alright? How do you feel?"

Seeing Andrew slump to the ground, she felt her heart tighten, "Don't rush to speak, just take a moment!"

Simultaneously, Ivan's voice rang in Andrew's mind through the Soul Whisper Channel, anxious and angry, "Are you okay?"

"Still alive, no worries," Andrew conveyed to Ivan.

Yet he couldn't speak at the moment as he was holding his breath, hence merely waved his hand to Barbara to indicate that he was fine.

This sight fell into Barbara's eyes, making her involuntarily clench her teeth after having stood still earlier to take her mother's slap. She suddenly stood up, suppressing her anger with a shout, "Mother!!"

Angrily turning back to look at her mother.

She saw all the guild leaders surrounding the guild president's wife, frozen like clay sculptures, silent.

"Madam... you..."

Everyone was left speechless as though they had witnessed something incredible.

Watching: The guild president's wife stood there in a daze, maintaining a striking position.

At an unknown time, tears were streaming down her face!

"...Mom?"

Barbara, originally furious, now stood in astonishment looking at her mother in this state.

In her memory, after her eldest sister unexpectedly passed away, her mother didn't cry, nor did she smile much afterward.

So after all these years, Barbara could only vaguely remember her mother's gentle smile during the years her oldest sister was alive, rather than any impression of her mother crying!

Suddenly seeing her mother full of tears, Barbara couldn't quite believe her eyes.

Sitting on the ground, Andrew couldn't help but grin, though the smile was wry due to the turmoil raging within his organs.

Only Andrew fully comprehended the situation before him.

Simply put: "Our healing magic—Barbara's and mine... worked! Though I didn't completely manage to touch the guild president's wife's forehead, it still took effect!"

Addressing the guild president's wife's emotional knot, Andrew hadn't uttered a single word of guidance, never spoke the cliched "The deceased eldest lady wouldn't want to see you like this." nonsense.

Surely someone had said those words more than once before, and if it had been effective, the guild president's wife wouldn't still be in her current state.

What Andrew had done was merely create a small opening in the guild president's wife's inner world.

The magical effect of "Lavender in the Sunlight" is calming and soothing.

The magical effect of "Cradle on the Blue Wave" is hypnotic.

Even among healing spells, these two are among the gentlest.

When the two intertwine, Water and Fire United, they become a gentle little blade.

Silently, they pierced through the heart of the guild president's wife, encapsulated in ice since her elder daughter's death.

"So really, the principle is as simple as it gets."

Andrew thought, "—just let the emotions flow out! That's all."

Anger is like fire, while sadness resembles water.

Utilizing fury is a specialty of Fire Magic.

Handling sorrow, however, is a specialty of Water Magic.

Though it's a Water and Fire United, essentially it's Andrew's Water Magic in the lead.

"Still, even for me, without Barbara's help, solely using Water Magic, it would likely be difficult to so completely and gently unlock Barbara's mother's inner world." Andrew looked at the guild president's wife, now devoid of her prior strength and instead showcasing her vulnerability, and silently thought.

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