Pearl Jewel's face turned red, and she said while turning her face away,
"Aren't you in a romantic relationship with Solan Neumann? Why are you talking to me like this?"
Shion Lan replied,
"You are the one who is worried here, so I have to speak calmly so that you don't become even more worried."
Pearl moved away and said,
"Since you're fine, I'll return to supervising the remaining participants."
Shion then moved toward the waiting room, and as soon as he arrived, he saw the second match coming to an end.
Hope Desi was engulfed in flames due to Sterai Shine's attacks, which surprised Shion.
"Wait! Doesn't he only possess the Purification Element?!"
Amidst the flames, magical formations and aura appeared from Hope's body, but they were being drained rapidly.
Sterai moved, forming a flaming fist, and struck her stomach, forcing her backward. Her aura began burning, and she was unable to use any technique. She could not reach the fourth level, putting her in a critical situation.
However, she continued advancing toward Sterai to face him.
Even so, with every step she took, her energy was rapidly decreasing, and her aura was being dragged along with it. Her movements became slow and weak compared to Sterai, who said,
"No wonder your title is the Mountain's Will. You endured my power for such a long time, and yet…"
Sterai missed a punch, allowing Hope to move behind him and lock around his neck in one final attempt to make him lose consciousness.
When he tried to break free, he noticed her tremendous physical strength, so he released his art.
"(Art of Purification Flame: Burning the Impurities)!"
Because there was no such thing as a completely pure body, Hope's body burst into flames. She gritted her teeth from the pain.
Time passed, and Sterai's face began turning blue. He was close to losing consciousness until Hope's body finally staggered and fell to the ground.
Stray took deep breaths.
"The winner of this match is the Purifying Flame, Sterai Shine!"
The announcer announced.
Sterai left the arena with unsteady steps, almost falling, but the medical staff arrived and helped him leave.
The announcer continued,
"And now, the third match: Harry Gill versus Misa Jura!"
A boy and a girl entered the arena.
Harry looked as if he had sharpened his fangs. He released his aura, creating a tornado around him.
However, Misa calmly looked at him.
With the referee's announcement, Harry used all four of his stars and rushed violently toward Misa, who stood in a basic sword stance, holding her sword in front of her and waiting for his attack.
Harry moved using the technique,
"(Raging Wind)!"
His aura underwent a tremendous transformation, and he used another technique.
"(Symphony of Destruction)!"
By combining the elements of wind and sound, he created a sound that threatened to destroy anyone who received it with every swing of his sword.
But Misa used her aura to cover her ears and raised her sword to block Harry's attack.
Despite the strength of his attack, he was pushed backward.
Misa said,
"(Mass: Increase)."
It was a swordsmanship technique that allowed her to increase or decrease the mass of the sword, the swordsman, or even the opponent themselves.
Taking this into consideration, Harry moved with insane power, wanting to launch a surprise attack.
However, his body suddenly became stuck to the ground.
Misa approached him and said,
"I heard that you hate nobles. Although I don't know the reason, don't show me such an expression while being this weak."
Harry tried to stand, but Misa formed her fist, and with the effect of increased mass, she struck Harry's body and smashed him into the ground.
He lost consciousness, with foam coming out of his mouth.
The announcement was made,
"The winner is Misa Jura, the Heavy Sword!"
It was now time for the match between Sol Hart and Mowait Stroman.
With a proud expression, Mowait said,
"A girl from the common people is facing me? Show me the best you can do."
Solan did not reply. Instead, she turned around and walked toward the exit gate.
A thought formed in Mowait's mind, and he said,
"It's good that you announced your withdra—"
But spirits with strength ranging from the first level to the fourth level gathered around him, carrying a powerful aura that gave off an intense killing intent.
"Wait…!"
However, the spirits began attacking him, applying various effects on him, from burning and freezing to electrocution and hallucinations.
As soon as Solan approached the exit gate, the announcement was made,
"The winner of this match is the Crimson Spirit, Sol Hart!"
Everyone in the stands was shocked.
"It's normal for Misa Jura and Sterai Shine to stand out, but this girl…!"
"She humiliated a noble! She didn't even give him any attention during the match!"
"No, he was so arrogant that she didn't even consider him worth looking at."
A huge commotion spread throughout the battle arena, but Solan did not care.
Next came the match between Baro Ferrer and Kin Light.
As soon as Kin entered, he said,
"It seems you have become stronger than you were during the opening matches."
Baro replied,
"That is an exaggerated compliment. I am still incomparable to my master."
Kin smiled, raised his sword, and Baro raised his spear.
With two people possessing the Light Element standing in the center of the arena, the type of the match was easy to guess.
Speed.
Kin used his technique,
"(Thousand Radiant Swords: Cutting Barage)!"
This time, a thousand swords actually appeared, showing Kin's improvement in strength and that he was only one step away from reaching the fourth level.
The thousand swords descended upon Baro.
Baro used his technique,
"(Spear of Light: Acceleration)."
His eyes widened as he calculated every possible movement available to him.
With the spear in his hand, his aura began surrounding him.
He avoided the first sword by moving his head, then moved his shoulder slightly backward to avoid the second.
He avoided the third, fourth, and fifth.
With every movement, his body became faster.
And after avoiding one hundred swords, he used his spear and spun it at incredible speed, creating powerful winds around him and causing dust to fly everywhere.
He blocked the remaining swords.
The swords collided with the spear, but his hands trembled, and his muscles screamed in pain.
Yet he continued.
After a few moments, Baro emerged from beneath the attack, exhausted, but his eyes remained clear and focused on his opponent.
He said,
"The end of this match begins now."
With a single movement, he reached Kin.
"(Spear of Light)!"
But before he could use his technique
Kin's hand moved, and magic shone within it.
He said:
"(Master of the Moon's Art: Lunar Gravity)."
Baro stumbled and crashed into the wall.
His body remained suspended in the air for a moment before falling to the ground.
Shock appeared clearly on his face.
Director Tim Ayr spoke,
"Finally, he has begun fighting as an heir. Heritage relies on the soul to release its power, and the Master of the Moon's heritage is extremely special."
King Jord Joul looked at him with curiosity.
However, the director pointed toward Jina Joul and said,
"He is her follower, so ask her."
Crown Princess Jina Joul explained,
"The art relies on a man and a woman. The man is the sword, while the woman is the magic. Through heritage, they can use each other's power. In other words…"
She stared at Kin Light for a long moment, feeling something strange inside her because of Celisia Joul.
Then she said,
"Kin Light is currently using the power of the Moon Sorceress, Lily."
Baro stood up from the ground and said,
"I have to admit… defeating you will not be easy."
His aura shone again as he used,
"(Light Acceleration)."
But instead of attacking, he decided to build momentum.
He moved at incredible speed around Kin.
Kin decided to use the same spell again, but Baro said,
"Good."
He jumped, taking advantage of the weak gravity, and used the magical barriers surrounding the arena as footholds.
He began accelerating around the battlefield.
Kin's eyes widened in shock.
"I can't determine his location!"
But Baro had reached his absolute limit.
He decided to create his final attack.
"(Spear of Light: Line of Light)!"
Moving from the highest point, he descended with his spear violently, like a meteor falling toward Kin.
Kin decided to use his art,
"(Master of the Moon's Art: Blue Moon!)
(Thousand Radiant Swords: Sword Wall)!"
Overwhelming energy erupted from his body.
A thousand swords formed around him, surrounding him completely and creating a wall at incredible speed.
However, it suffered the same fate as before.
The Sword Wall was destroyed.
Kin's eyes widened as he saw him.
He had never seen a fighter who was simply seeking victory.
Instead, he saw a body that had been shattered by the force of the collision.
He felt as if he had heard bones breaking.
With a strong instinct, Kin grabbed Baro, who coughed blood.
The medical staff rushed over and immediately used healing magic.
Rita Lan was shocked by the scene and could barely control her breathing.
"Don't worry, my lady. He will be taken care of properly."
The maid Marie spoke reassuringly.
Rita looked at her with worried eyes.
Forite added,
"I know you cared for Baro and Fiore because they are your son's students, but if they do not suffer now under our protection, they may suffer in the future."
Rita calmed herself and could not say anything.
However, Baro received praise among the nobles.
"This attack should at least be considered a third-level technique!"
"A first-year student and a commoner with no background unleashed such an attack! He has a promising future!"
"Who said he has no background?! He is a disciple of the Lan family and also Her Highness's follower!"
The discussion spread like wildfire.
Baro's name rose rapidly.
The match ended with the victory of the Moon Swordsman, Kin Light.
The next match began: Cole Leon versus Violet Night.
In the arena, there was a battle between the first-level and fourth-level Dark Elements.
With the difference in strength and experience between them, the result of the match seemed to have already been decided.
However, after seeing Baro's strength, Cole decided not to retreat.
He wanted to prove himself.
He raised his sword and pointed it toward Violet.
Violet said,
"We are both comrades, and we were partners once. So I will allow you the first attack. Unlike the previous match, I am at the fourth level."
Cole understood.
He remembered his master's instructions.
He gathered the dark aura around his body and decided to use his technique,
"(Shadow Sword)."
Sensing his movements, Violet prepared her dagger and released her aura to block Cole's strike.
But Cole did not move.
Instead, he focused on her aura.
'I will create an opening with the first attack by striking the weakest point, and the technique will definitely hit.'
However, the memory of Shion defeating him effortlessly passed through his mind.
He remembered Shion's advice to meditate on the Dark Element.
Cole looked again at Violet's aura.
He waited for several seconds until he noticed an opening.
Then he moved quickly toward it and swung his sword.
Violet blocked his sword without any noticeable effort.
"Is that all you have…?"
But then she noticed an attack from the shadows.
She quickly retreated, yet a scratch appeared on her shoulder.
She looked at Cole in shock.
However, Cole collapsed.
"..."
No one understood what had happened.
But Halm Night spoke,
"It seems he used all of his strength and concentration to break through Violet's defense, then lost consciousness after exhausting all his power."
With King Jord Joul's approval, the referee announced,
"The winner of this match is Night Flower, Violet Night!"
However, Violet was still shocked by the scratch that had appeared on her shoulder.
She left the arena in a daze.
At that moment, the announcer announced the seventh match,
"And now, we move on to the Wind Element match! Fiore Tai versus Braj Torano!"
The two entered the arena.
BraJ said,
"Listen, boy. I will give you five chances to land a single hit. If you succeed, I will withdraw."
Fiore smiled.
He drew his sword and said without any anger in his expression,
"Then prepare yourself for a humiliating defeat."