In the middle of the chaos, Sai was one of those clashing with a member of the Black Dragons Guild.
He was fighting a 4th Grade Wolf. It was obvious the opponent was stronger in both strength and skill.
The enemy used fire, but compared to Sai's, his flames were blue. While dodging the fireballs, Sai slowly closed the distance between them.
"Heh! Is dodging all you can do?!" the enemy taunted before a burst of fire hit Sai directly, sending him flying.
But before the enemy could release another attack, Eris suddenly appeared behind him. His right fist, wrapped in the same blue flames, slammed into the man's temple and sent him flying.
From behind Eris, another enemy fired a spear made of cement. It was about to hit him, but he quickly turned around and struck it head-on with his flaming fist, shattering it in an explosion.
Sai then launched a ball of blue fire that exploded directly on his opponent's body.
Sai smirked—only for his entire body to tremble and his eyes to widen as a presence flashed behind him like lightning. It was Dao, grinning as he passed.
Dao didn't even notice Sai, but Sai was shaken by his presence. He quickly turned to see where Dao was heading—and realized it was in the direction of Xin Blades' current location.
Sai couldn't help but worry for their Guild Leader.
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Meanwhile—
Xin continued running while carrying Emrys on his shoulder. He refused to step out of the alleyways because every exit had enemies waiting. "Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn you, old man! Why did you have to set rules like this? If you just made it simple, I would've already won!"
He couldn't help blaming that old man for everything happening to him now.
From the top of the Clock Tower, the entrance of the Dining Hall was visible. Standing there was Headmaster Hanzuo, hands behind his back, watching the chaos among his students.
"Hmm. The students are quite aggressive this year. They're not even thinking about all the damage they're causing," he said before laughing. "It's great to be young again."
"Headmaster Hanzuo, they're destroying too many things. Shouldn't we stop them?" said one of the teachers who came with Desmond to complain.
"Oh, no need. Can't you see? The real competition is just beginning. I don't want to take this away from my students."
When Hanzuo heard Xin ranting from afar, he laughed again. "That guy is still so whiny even after becoming a Guild Leader." He shook his head, amused.
Desmond and the teacher could only look at each other—they couldn't possibly disobey the old man.
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Xin's temper flared even more when he reached a dead end in the alley he had turned into.
"Damn it!" He was about to go back when Magnus caught up and unleashed a dragon-like blast of fire.
Xin instantly created a horizontal thread about a meter above the ground and stepped on it, using the momentum to jump up to the roof, escaping the flames that burned through the alley.
He quickly filled the area above the alley with threads to block Magnus, then continued running.
He wasn't prioritizing fighting—he was already holding Valestron. Even if others thought he was cowardly for avoiding battle, it didn't matter as long as he won in the end.
Xin dropped back into another alley to avoid more enemies and sped toward the nearest path to the Dining Hall entrance.
When he finally found a clear exit, he grinned—only for the ground in front of the exit to rise into a wall, wiping the smile from his face.
"Hey! Xin! Why don't you just hand the kid over so we can avoid any more trouble?"
Xin turned, face serious. Behind him was Dao, grinning.
"And you really expect your words to be threatening? Is that what you think?"
"We've known each other a long time, Xin. You know exactly how I get when I'm angry, don't you?" Dao said, holding out his hand as if asking for something. "Give him to me, Xin. No one has to get hurt."
"Heh. You're still hilarious. I'll only surrender when my hands are cut off." With a flick of his finger, Xin's threads sliced open the earthen barrier blocking the alley's exit.
He dashed forward, but when the wall disappeared, Magnus appeared in front of it as if he'd been waiting. "He's mine, Xin."
"You're a real pain, Magnus!"
Even Dao was slightly surprised.
And in the moment Xin was both shocked and irritated, Heji suddenly appeared beside him, kicked him in the temple, slamming him into a wall, grabbed Emrys' body, and jumped upward.
Dao tried to chase, but Magnus grabbed his leg and slammed him into the ground hard enough to crack it.