Rufus: You're strong, but I'm above you!

After easily finishing off an "appetizer," Jiang Bai looked up, his gaze precisely locking onto his next target.

It was Rufus, the "bard" who was standing atop the clock tower, believing he had the entire scene under control and immersed in his own chanting.

The next second, Jiang Bai's figure appeared silently behind Rufus, like a ghost.

It must be said that Sabertooth's ace is indeed several levels stronger than that Raven Tail.

At least, the moment Jiang Bai appeared, he sensed the abnormality behind him.

Of course, this is also because Jiang Bai never intended to hide his aura.

Rufus turned around abruptly, and when he saw that the person who came was Jiang Bai, his face did not show the slightest tension. Instead, he raised an extremely confident, even arrogant, smile.

It's unclear whether he was drunk or blinded by Sabertooth's seven-year-long reputation as "Fiore's No. 1".

He adjusted his hat and spoke in a tone as if he were appreciating a work of art.

"Your magic is indeed very powerful."

"However, my 'Memory-Make' magic surpasses yours!"

Rufus's ability is that if he has seen and remembered someone's magic, he can perfectly reproduce that magic in its physical form based on his memory.

He can even combine multiple spells from his memory to create entirely new composite spells.

The only drawback is that he must have seen it with his own eyes to replicate it; he cannot conjure up magic he has never seen before out of thin air.

Therefore, in Rufus's view, the "Infinity" that Jiang Bai just demonstrated, as well as the previous move "Cursed Technique Reversal: He", have become two divine skills that will soon be added to his skill set.

Jiang Bai looked at the overconfident young man in front of him and a playful smile appeared on his face.

"Oh? Is that so? Then let me see for myself."

Jiang Bai didn't even bother using magic to bully this little guy who hadn't been through the harsh realities of life.

Ever since his head-on battle with the Acnologia the Black Dragon King, Jiang Bai has completely fallen in love with this kind of simple and direct fighting style, where every punch lands.

He took a step forward, pulled his right arm back, and threw a simple, unadorned straight punch straight at Rufus's face.

And Rufus, surprisingly, neither dodged nor avoided.

He simply stood there, a confident smile on his face, even inwardly mocking himself.

How foolish of you to try and use physical attacks against me who has already mastered "Infinity".

He was extremely confident that his "memory" had perfectly copied Jiang Bai's "Infinity".

However, the next second...

"Bang!"

A solid, muffled thud.

The anticipated scene of the fist being blocked by an invisible force did not occur.

Jiang Bai's fist, as big as a clay pot, landed solidly and without any obstruction on Rufus's right cheek, which was still bearing a confident smile.

The immense force sent him flying sideways, tumbling several times on the platform at the top of the tower before coming to a stop.

Rufus covered his right cheek, which had suddenly swelled up, his eyes filled with disbelief, shock, and bewilderment.

"How... how is this possible?! I clearly succeeded in copying your magic!"

Jiang Bai shook his hand and looked at him with an expression as if he were an idiot.

"I don't know if you're genuinely stupid, or just pretending."

"Didn't I just say that whether any Space Magic can be successfully cast in this area depends entirely on my mood?"

"And my 'Infinity' is essentially magic that manipulates space."

Jiang Bai's gaze, which seemed to say "How could an idiot like him even participate in the competition?", Rufus feel that he had been insulted more severely than the punch to his face.

"Does your Sabertooth guild only recruit brainless idiots like you?"

"So what if it doesn't work?!" Rufus leaped to his feet, wiping the blood from his mouth, his face contorted with rage and embarrassment.

"My memories aren't limited to Space Magic! I refuse to believe that your so-called 'Infinity' can truly provide Infinity defense!"

"That's definitely not it," Jiang Bai nodded honestly.

"But its ceiling is something someone like you can never reach in your entire life."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Bai seemed to have gotten tired of playing with these minor characters and decided to start racking up some points, so he voluntarily loosened his restrictions on this area.

The forced teleportation power of the competition rules immediately took effect on Rufus, who had been hit.

His figure began to fade, turning into specks of light, about to be teleported to another corner of the town.

Before leaving, Rufus left Jiang Bai with a harsh remark.

"You just wait!"

However, just as the scene before him began to clear from its blurry state, and his feet had just touched the ground of another street.

The next second, a figure he never wanted to see again teleported in front of him once more, with that familiar, playful smile on his face.

"I'm waiting, and then what?"

Jiang Bai's outrageously handsome face wore a harmless smile.

However, before Rufus could recover from the shock of seeing that face again, a fist rapidly enlarged in his field of vision.

"Bang!"

Another solid, muffled thud.

Rufus could even utter a polite word, he was once again transformed into a speck of light and teleported away.

[Fairy Tail Team A - Jiang Bai, Score +1! Current Total Score: 3 points!]

"It's just a score, it's quite simple."

Jiang Bai flexed his wrists, and his figure disappeared from the spot once again.

The next second.

The town's commercial district.

As the points of light converged, Rufus's figure just began to take shape, his feet not yet firmly planted on the ground.

Hi, we meet again.

That nightmarish voice rang in his ears once again, right on time.

Rufus reacted extremely quickly this time, launching a magical counterattack without hesitation.

"Memory-Make-- "

"Bang!"

His response was a clean and decisive whip kick from Jiang Bai.

Rufus was sent flying like a cannonball, tracing an arc in the air before "splat"ing onto the window of a bakery on the street. He slowly slid down and eventually disappeared as a speck of light.

In the commentary booth, Chapati was so excited he almost stood up.

"What am I seeing?! What's going on?! Jiang Bai, he... he seems to be targeting Rufus alone! This is a relentless chase! This is incredible!"

"Hehe," Old Master Yajima picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said slowly.

"Young man, you still have such a fiery temper."

The audience was completely stunned.

They watched helplessly as, on the giant magical broadcasting crystal, two names representing the contestants began a bizarre duet.

As soon as Rufus spawns in a location, Jiang Bai will appear next to him in less than a second.

Then, it's either a punch or a kick.

Simple, direct, and brutal.

"Bang!"

Rufus was punched off the roof.

[Jiang Bai, score +1! Total score 5 points!]

"Bang!"

Rufus had barely appeared at the sewer entrance when he was kicked inside.

[Jiang Bai, score +1! Total score 6 points!]

"Bang!"

Rufus was in a shop when he was slapped and sent flying.

[Jiang Bai, score +1! Total score 7 points!]

At this moment, the entire "Hidden" competition seemed to have turned into Jiang Bai's solo show of crushing weaker opponents.

The atmosphere in Sabertooth's rest area had dropped to freezing point.

Sting's fists clenched so tightly they cracked, his face ashen, his eyes fixed on the screen as his teammate was repeatedly sent flying.

"Damn it... that bastard... is he trying to humiliate us Sabertooth?!"

Chairman Jiemma's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

He remained silent, but the terrifying magical power emanating from him made the surrounding air feel oppressive.

Meanwhile, the Fairy Tail crew was filled with laughter and joy.

"Oh! Well done! Jiang Bai! Another kick!" Natsu danced with excitement, wishing he could rush up there himself.

"As expected, it's still Jiang Bai. He won't suffer any loss." Gray, shirtless, had a "routine" expression on his face.

Erza and Mirajane exchanged a smile; they were already used to Jiang Bai's "you dare mess with me, I'll repay you tenfold" style of doing things.

The chase continues on the field.

Once again teleported out, Rufus was covered in sores that there wasn't a single good spot on his body.

His prized, ornate top hat had long since flown away, and the cloth covering his face was tattered to pieces, revealing a face swollen like a pig's head.

To be fair, although Rufus's strength is insignificant compared to Jiang Bai's, he is indeed quite tough.

From beginning to end, he didn't utter a single word of begging for mercy.

"Bang!"

Another punch sent Rufus flying once more, turning him into specks of light.

Jiang Bai was too lazy to chase anymore. He stood there, looking at his score which was already far ahead, and yawned.

"Ugh, this is so boring. Why aren't you begging for mercy?"

He was just about to go and bully the other contestants when a spatial fluctuation suddenly appeared not far from him.

As the points of light converged, Rufus's figure actually appeared right in front of him this time.

Jiang Bai did not make a move immediately.

Rufus staggered to his feet, his eyes narrowed to slits due to the swelling of his face.

He stared intently at Jiang Bai, and with difficulty, squeezed out a few words in a muffled voice.

"Noseuv... oh 82u... brother v..." (I will not give in!)

Jiang Bai picked at his ear, looking disgusted.

"What are they saying in all that gibberish? I can't understand a word they're saying."

He looked into Rufus's eyes, which were now just slits, yet still revealed defiance and anger.

"But judging from your expression, you seem pretty unconvinced."

Jiang Bai suddenly laughed.

That smile, in Rufus's eyes, was more terrifying than a demon.

"Since that's the case," Jiang Bai clapped his hands, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.

"I've suddenly thought of an even funnier idea, and I need your cooperation a little."

Seeing the malicious smile on Jiang Bai's face, Rufus's heart, which had been numb from the beating, suddenly trembled.

His intuition told him that what was about to happen would be even more unbearable than death!