During Ethan and Lyon's duel, Ur suddenly struck Lyon on the head.
Bang!
"Ow! What was that for, Ur?!" Lyon shouted, clutching his head with both hands, his tone filled with irritation.
"Hmph! So young and already learning to gamble this is not a good habit."
Her words were sharp, but after a pause, her gaze softened. "However, since you already agreed, then be prepared to fight seriously."
Ur narrowed her eyes, turning her attention back to Ethan. Though she had scolded Lyon, she hadn't stopped the duel from happening.
Part of her wanted to test Ethan's strength, to see just how skilled he truly was with Ice Magic.
"Then let's begin!"
Ethan tossed the Snow Wolf's corpse aside and chose to strike first.
He channeled magic power into his legs, his speed surging as he dashed forward. In an instant, he closed the distance and appeared beside Lyon.
"So fast!" Ur's heart skipped slightly at Ethan's burst of speed as she watched from the sidelines.
"Ice-Make: Sword!"
With a single hand, Lyon conjured a gleaming blade of ice and slashed directly toward Ethan.
Crack!
Unnoticed by Lyon, an ice sword had also appeared in Ethan's hand.
But just as the two blades were about to clash, Ethan's sword suddenly shattered.
"Heh, looks like your strength isn't much after a " Lyon began to sneer, but his words froze in his throat.
A chilling sense of danger surged through him.
"Ba-ba-ba!!!"
The shards of Ethan's broken sword instantly transformed into countless tiny ice blades, whirling at high speed and striking Lyon from every direction.
"Ahhh!!!"
A miserable scream tore from Lyon's mouth. Even though he had strong resistance to Ice Magic, the storm of blades tore into him, leaving bloody gashes across his body.
Before long, Lyon's figure was stained with streaks and patches of crimson, his youthful face twisted in pain.
"Lyon…"
Watching her disciple suffer, Ur's heart ached.
Even though he was only her student, she had long treated him like her own son.
However, Ur still did not step in to stop the duel.
Her sharp eyes could see clearly that Ethan was holding back. Otherwise, Lyon's injuries would not have been so light. With Ethan's true power, Lyon could have been gravely wounded or worse.
This was the price of underestimating one's opponent.
Failing to properly gauge an enemy's strength meant lowering one's guard, and that was dangerous.
The Snow Wolf had suffered the same way. And now, Lyon was repeating the same mistake.
Even though Ethan's Profound Ice Crack was only a low-level immortal art, when used against someone who didn't understand its nature, it was already more than enough to deliver a decisive blow.
"Damn it! I won't fall that easily!"
"Ice-Make: Ice Dragon!"
Lyon slammed his right fist into his left palm, releasing a surge of bone-chilling magical power. A violent cold wind erupted around him, and from behind, a five-meter-long Ice Dragon took form.
With a deafening roar, the dragon charged straight at Ethan.
Ethan's eyes narrowed. In both his hands, an Ice Iron Blade condensed, and with a sweeping motion, he stretched it out into a massive construct that bound the dragon tightly.
Bang!
The Ice Dragon struggled violently, shattering the restraints, but the next instant, countless ice blades sliced into its body. Large shards of crystal ice fell away as the dragon's form began to collapse.
"Drink!"
Lyon's face twisted with ferocity as he roared. Channeling all his remaining magic into the dragon, he forced its body to reassemble, ice surging to fill the shattered gaps.
"Roar!"
Revived, the Ice Dragon let out another furious screech and lunged once more at Ethan.
"Ice Crack!"
The dragon's speed was terrifying, leaving Ethan no chance to dodge. Yet he did not flinch.
All of the magic power within Ethan's body gathered into his two hands.
A layer of profound ice condensed instantly.
He seized the Ice Dragon's head with both palms.
Boom~!
The dragon's immense force drove Ethan backward, gouging a trench more than ten meters long into the ground.
But in the process, the Ice Dragon's body shattered apart, bursting into countless ice blades that whirled toward Lyon.
Lyon's eyes widened. He recognized the danger, but with his magic already drained, he had no strength left to evade.
"Danger!"
Ur stepped forward at once, planting herself between Lyon and the storm of blades. Her immense magic erupted outward, forming a six-meter-high, five-meter-thick wall of pink ice.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The storm of blades slammed against the barrier in a relentless torrent.
Yet this time, the razor-sharp ice shards could not pierce through.
Even so, Ethan's attack wasn't entirely neutralized. Under the unceasing rain of blades, a small hole began to appear in the wall's center.
"Enough. This battle is Lyon's loss."
As the hail of blades weakened, Ur shattered her own ice wall with a single motion, dispersing the last of the shards. Without hesitation, she declared the outcome and admitted defeat on Lyon's behalf.
Panting, Ethan walked over to them with a faint smile. "According to our agreement, since I've won, you'll have to give me a spell."
"Sorry, Ur… I embarrassed you," Lyon muttered as he slumped to the ground, his face pale and exhausted.