Heji jumped down from the rooftop and ran straight toward the one place he needed to reach while carrying Valestron on his shoulder—the entrance of the Dining Hall.
More than ten members of the Black Dragons Guild were now running alongside Heji, protecting him from any approaching enemies. "Just a little more! We're almost there!" Heji shouted to strengthen the resolve of his comrades.
"We won't let you through!" Prince Tyron shouted as he appeared together with Bryan Vell, Jenni Shun, and the entire army of the Gray Phoenix Guild. They had already defeated and tied up the Black Dragons members who originally guarded this entrance. Now, the prince held control of the area.
"Tsk." That was all Heji said as he stepped back, allowing his comrades to surround him. "Hold your ground! Don't let anyone get close to me!"
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Back on the Clock Tower, Hanzuo clearly saw what was happening at the Dining Hall entrance.
He smiled again and commented, "It seems things are shifting once more. I'm excited to see who'll win."
As usual, Desmond and the teacher beside him stayed silent. Even they were starting to enjoy watching the chaos unfold.
Even the scattered teachers observing from different areas were secretly making bets on who might win the first contest. Clover was leading this mischief.
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Meanwhile, in one of the alleyways—once the smoke cleared—Dao immediately got back on his feet and threw a punch at Magnus. But Magnus blocked and dodged each strike until Dao increased his speed and managed to hit Magnus on the side.
"You really think you've already won?!" Dao shouted as the ground rose and bound Magnus' body like restraints.
Dao moved in to punch Magnus in the face—when Magnus' flames erupted violently, breaking the bindings and forcing Dao to stumble back.
Magnus appeared behind Dao. Dao turned quickly to block, but Magnus' fiery punch hit his jaw from below. The blow was like an explosion. But Dao pushed forward again with a roar and launched a head-on punch, which Magnus simply elbowed downward before wrapping his fist in even stronger flames and landing two crushing punches on Dao's face in just a second.
Magnus then grabbed Dao by the hair and slammed his face into the wall, creating a wide crack. Dao fell and immediately lost consciousness.
Right after, Magnus noticed threads attempting to bind him, but he dodged them faster than lightning, slipping away before they could tighten.
It continued nonstop. In this narrow alley, Magnus should have been at a disadvantage, and Xin should have held the upper hand.
But no matter how Xin moved his threads, not even a single strand managed to touch Magnus—not even his clothing—as Magnus slipped past every attempt.
He was showing everyone who the strongest Guild Leader truly was.
Then Magnus suddenly appeared behind Xin. "Playtime is over." Before Xin could turn and wrap him in threads, Magnus struck the back of his neck. Xin immediately lost consciousness and collapsed.
A thread stuck to Magnus' hair, but he pulled it off and sprinted out of the alley.
At the Dining Hall entrance—
Prince Tyron's group continued guarding the entrance. Meanwhile, Heji stayed at the center of his group, gripping Emrys' body tightly as more and more students attempted to reach him.
Eris exhaled sharply and looked at his friend. "Sai, this won't work. Their barriers are way too strong."
They had been trying to attack Heji's group with magic, but their barriers were overwhelming.
Him, Sai, and Loan could all create blue flames—that was the power they specialized in—but since their levels were still low, their magic simply wasn't strong enough to break through the defenses of higher-ranked students.
From the top of the Clock Tower, Hanzuo checked his watch and smiled secretly before placing his hands behind his back again. Only three hours left. Who would win the first contest?
On Tyron's side, he gathered a massive amount of wind energy from the sky.
He formed a powerful tornado that descended directly toward Heji's group, making Heji look up in irritation. "Damn! Strengthen the barrier!"
His comrades obeyed, creating a stronger barrier to protect him.
The tornado above struck the barrier relentlessly, trying to break it. Tyron increased the intensity of his magic even more.
Bryan Vell, Jenni Shun, and the others formed clouds and sent bolts of lightning continuously down onto the barrier.
Slowly, cracks began to form on the shield.
The tornado's force was so powerful that it was almost sucking in chunks of ground—broken cement, wood, and dirt—while growing larger and larger.