**Chapter 91: The Calm before the Storm**
The air in the arena was thick and quiet after the conflict between Edward and William. Everyone felt the tension. People were scared of both of them fighting. A fight like that would cause immense damage to the surroundings. Many people watching would probably die as collateral. They were just normal people.
A fight between two Stage 5 mana cultivators was too dangerous to happen in the capital. There were a lot of people in the surrounding area. A fight like that would almost kill everyone nearby. It was a fight that the capital could not withstand.
As the heavy tension grew, the next match was announced. It was a fight between Noah Huxley and Mason Rosier. The announcer called their names. Both of them entered the arena. They stood opposite each other on the wide stone floor.
There was a slight tension in the air between them, too. Both of them had also seen the conflict between William and Edward. Because of that, neither of them planned to fight a long battle. Both had decided to use their strongest spells from the very start. They wanted to end it as quickly as possible.
Then, both of them heard the referee's voice. "Begin!"
Noah reacted first. His hands moved fast. He conjured hundreds of wind cutters. The sharp blades of air formed around him with a loud *whoosh*. He hurled them all towards Mason in a great, rushing wave. He did not want Mason to have any time to use his Illusion magic.
Mason reacted quickly. He conjured a thick wall of water in front of himself. The water rose from the ground with a splash. But there were far too many wind cutters. The sharp air blades sliced through the water wall like it was paper.
The wall collapsed. Several wind cutters got through. They cut into Mason's arms and chest. His wounds started to bleed right away. He looked at Noah while gritting his teeth because of the pain.
Then, Mason cast his illusion. The scene around them changed. The arena, the crowd, everything seemed to warp and twist like a strange dream. Mason himself vanished into thin air. Noah now stood there all alone in a silent, fake world.
Noah did not look the slightest bit fazed by the illusion. He stood calmly, not even turning his head.
Then, a whip made of water shot straight for his neck from behind. But Noah simply used Flight. He moved straight upwards into the air, completely dodging the attack. It was as if he already knew where the attack was coming from.
Mason, who had attacked from behind, was clearly stunned by this. But before he could react or move, Noah twisted his body in midair. He dropped down fast and landed a hard kick on the back of Mason's head. *Thud.* Mason crashed face-first into the ground.
But then he suddenly vanished again, hiding back inside his illusion.
Noah floated calmly in the middle of the arena. He waited for Mason to attack. Then, many streams of water were conjured in the air all around him. He was surrounded. All of the water streams rushed towards Noah at high speed.
Noah didn't even flinch. He waved a hand and conjured several wind cutters to meet the attack head-on. The wind cutters sliced through the water with loud, tearing sounds. As the attacks clashed, another water whip shot straight towards Noah's neck from a different direction.
This time, Noah moved his hand and *caught* the whip of water in his fist.
Mason was revealed once again. His forehead was bleeding from the kick earlier. His eyes were wide open with shock. He couldn't believe that Noah had tracked him this easily inside his own illusion.
He spoke to Noah, his voice shaky. "How did you know that I was going to attack from here?"
Noah looked at him. He smiled gently and said, "It's simple. When I attacked you earlier, I injected my mana into your body through all the cuts caused by my wind. After that, I just tracked my own mana to find you."
Mason heard this. He felt even more stunned. He didn't know that such a tactic was even possible. He now understood. Noah had come prepared. He had planned this whole fight from the very start.
Mason was now clearly at a disadvantage. His illusions were not useful anymore. He gritted his teeth and tried to back away. But then, a powerful windstorm formed around him. It wrapped around him completely, trapping him.
He was lifted off the ground by the force of the wind. Small, thin cuts began to form all over his body as the wind whipped around him. After the storm settled, Mason was seen once again. This time, he was even more injured than before. He could barely stand, swaying on his feet.
Then, a thin, sharp beam of light shot out. It pierced one of his legs. Then another beam hit his other leg. He cried out in pain and fell to the ground. He was now unable to move or stand.
The referee ran over beside him. He announced loudly to the whole arena, "The winner of this match is Noah Huxley!"
The match was over. Noah left the arena calmly, not looking back. Mason was carefully taken away to the healing room.
Then the next match was announced. It was a fight between Eric Bowman and Gary Amorth. Gary was the only remaining student who had not participated in the big hunting competition. He had fought his way here fairly, match by match.
Both of their names were called. They entered the arena and faced each other. Gary was a dual-elemental Healing and Lightning mage. Eric was a dual-elemental Wind and Earth mage.
The referee started the match. Both of them fought each other head-on right away. They were also trying to end their match as soon as possible. The scary conflict between William and Edward was still on everyone's mind.
Both of them used all the spells in their arsenal. Wind cutters flew across the arena. Lightning bolts cracked loudly and landed on the ground, leaving black marks. Sharp spikes of earth grew suddenly from the stone floor.
After a long, hard-fought battle, Gary won. He was the first person outside the famous group from the hunting competition to secure his spot in the top 16. Some people in the crowd cheered for him.
Then the next match happened. It was between Isaac Rosier and Brian Alastor. Isaac was a dual-elemental mage with Illusion and Wind. Brian was a Fire and Light mage.
Both of them fought with their best spells. An illusion was cast over the surroundings, making things look wavy. Then a hundred fireballs flew across the arena like a meteor shower.
Many condensed beams of bright light also shot through the air. They were met with and sliced apart by many wind cutters. After another hard-fought battle, Isaac won the fight. He secured his spot in the top 16.
The final match of the top 30 ended. The final 16 were now decided.
The list was called out: Aiden, Aaron, Victoria, Olivia, Ian, Jack, Noah, Jeremy, Gary, Henry, Isaac, Angela, Joshua, Peter, Ashley, and Kyle.
The long day finally ended. Everyone left the arena in a hurry, talking quietly about the fights and the earlier scare. All the students went back to their dorms to rest.
At this moment, Aiden was seen inside his private training room at the academy. He was still training his Stage 2 mana spells. He had not even gone to the arena to watch his friends' matches.
He was getting closer and closer to becoming a Stage 3 mana cultivator. He could feel the mana in his heart getting fuller. But he knew that advancing was not easy.
It would cause a big explosion of mana, like it did when he first made his heart. He still had to find a secret place where he could advance while no one noticed the explosion caused by his advancement.
He didn't give it much more thought tonight. He had a year left before he advanced. He had a lot of time to find a suitable place. He shook his head and continued to train his spells, making a small flame dance over his palm.
The scene shifted to the academy cafeteria. Aaron, Victoria, and Olivia were sitting together while they ate their dinner.
Olivia looked at the two of them as she said, "That cold-hearted Julian didn't even come to see our matches." There was a hint of anger in her tone.
Aaron didn't say anything, just poked at his food. Victoria sighed and said, "He has always been like that. He only thinks of training."
Olivia heard this and nodded. "Yeah, he is a training maniac who trains every single day. He is probably training even now in his private training room."
Aaron and Victoria both nodded at her words. They knew it was true. They continued eating their food in silence.
Then, in a far, dark corner of the academy grounds, three figures were standing. It was Edward, his butler, in a neat black suit, and Joshua. Edward had an angry, red look on his face.
He shouted at Joshua. "You spoiled brat! It's all because of you that I had to face such a big humiliation tonight! You can't even do one thing right! That kid outsmarted you even when he was far weaker. Is your brain only for show?"
Joshua had his head lowered. He didn't say anything back. But inside, he felt pure hatred towards Aiden. It was because of Aiden that he was in this situation.
Then, a hard slap landed straight on his cheek. *Smack!* The sound was sharp in the quiet night. Joshua fell to the hard ground.
Edward looked down at him. "Why are you not saying anything, huh?"
Joshua grabbed his stinging, hot face. He lowered his head even more and mumbled, "I am sorry."
Edward was still angry, but he didn't hit him again. He turned to his butler. "Let's go. Let's meet that other brat who lost to a commoner."
The butler nodded. "Yes, sir." Then both of them turned and left to find Christian. Joshua was left there all alone in the dark. His cheek had already started to swell from the slap. He was filled with a hot, silent hatred. He slowly got up and walked to the healing room to fix his cheek.
Edward found Christian in his dorm room. He punished him harshly for losing his match. The sound of a whip cracking against flesh came from Christian's room. *Thwack. Thwack.* But there were no screams. It was like Christian was used to this kind of punishment. He just took it silently.
After punishing Christian, Edward finally left the academy. Christian, hurt and sore, also went to the healing room later to fix his own wounds.
The matches for the top 30 were over. But at what cost? The conflict between William and Edward was a major problem. It was a problem for everyone living on this continent.
This was not over. The fight for the top 16 would begin soon. But the anger between two Stage 5 powerhouses was a much bigger storm brewing. It was going to stir up a lot more chaos than anyone had ever expected.
And Aiden, training alone in his room, had no idea how close that storm was to his door, or that his secret was the one thing that could make it all so much worse.
Author's Note: What do you think will happen when Aiden's secrets are revealed? Let me know in the comments. Stay tuned for more chapters.