Lu Chongwei VS Natsu

A few fallen leaves swirled in the breeze on the open ground outside the guild.

Lu Chongwei stood there with his hands in his pockets, looking relaxed, not even bothering to strike a pose.

Opposite him, Natsu was fully focused, his body tense, and orange-red flames were already beginning to emanate from him.

These were flames with the aura of a dragon, extremely hot, causing the surrounding air to distort from the high temperature.

"Is this Dragon Slayer Magic?"

Lu Chongwei watched with great interest.

The nature of these flames was indeed special, carrying a fierce destructive power. It was different from the pure destruction of his Ryujin Jakka, more like a ravenous beast.

"I'm coming!"

Natsu roared, his feet pushing off the ground, which instantly exploded.

His speed was incredibly fast, his entire body turning into a fiery red afterimage as he instantly charged in front of Lu Chongwei.

"Dragon's... Iron Fist!!!"

Natsu's right fist was engulfed in raging flames, and with an unstoppable momentum, he smashed it fiercely towards Lu Chongwei's face.

The power of this punch was enough to crush rocks!

The onlookers let out a collective gasp.

"So fast!"

"This kid's flames are something else!"

However.

Facing this fierce punch, Lu Chongwei merely raised his right hand slowly.

Snap.

A soft sound.

Lu Chongwei's palm steadily caught Natsu's fist.

Flames raged in his palm, trying to burn away everything that blocked them.

But Lu Chongwei's palm was as if forged from ten thousand-year-old profound ice, unmoving, not even a bit of skin broken.

"What?!"

Natsu's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.

He felt as if his fist had hit a great mountain; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't advance an inch.

Moreover, a strange suction force came from the other party's palm, preventing him from withdrawing.

"The power is okay, but the speed is too slow."

Lu Chongwei commented indifferently.

He felt the heat emanating from his palm and secretly shook his head.

Flames of this level weren't even enough to light his cigarette.

"I'm not done yet!"

Natsu gritted his teeth, his other hand also igniting with flames, attempting to attack again.

But Lu Chongwei didn't give him the chance.

"Too weak."

Lu Chongwei said softly.

The next second.

Lu Chongwei's wrist flicked slightly, and a tremendous force erupted instantly.

"Here you go!"

He directly grabbed Natsu's fist and, like swinging a tattered sack, flung Natsu's entire body into the air.

Natsu tumbled a few times in the air, finally managing to adjust his balance and land.

"Damn it! Don't underestimate me!"

Natsu was completely enraged.

He took a deep breath, his chest puffing out, and the surrounding fire element frantically gathered towards his mouth.

"Dragon's..."

Seeing this, Lu Chongwei's eyes narrowed.

A roar?

If this move was unleashed, the guild's gate would probably be in trouble again.

"Hold it back!"

Lu Chongwei's figure flashed, instantly disappearing from his spot.

Flash Step!

When he reappeared, he was already standing right in front of Natsu.

Natsu's mouth had just opened, flames ready to erupt.

Lu Chongwei reached out and clamped his hand over Natsu's mouth!

"Mmph-mmph-mmph!!!"

Natsu's eyes widened, his pupils nearly popping out of their sockets.

It felt like a balloon about to burst being forcibly pinched shut at the nozzle.

The flames rampaged in his throat, but he couldn't spit them out no matter how hard he tried.

The immense pressure turned his face and neck beet red, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Quiet down."

Lu Chongwei pressed down on Natsu's mouth with one hand, the muscles in his arm slightly bulging.

"Go down."

BOOM!

Lu Chongwei exerted sudden force, pinning Natsu's head and slamming him violently into the ground.

"BANG!!!"

The earth trembled violently.

A massive crater was smashed into the ground, sending dust and debris billowing into the air.

Natsu's body twitched twice in the pit before going completely still.

One-hit kill.

Another one-hit kill.

The entire arena fell into a deathly silence.

A moment later, Makarov raised his hand and announced loudly:

"The winner—Lu Chongwei!"

"Wooooooooh!"

Cheers erupted.

Although everyone knew Lu Chongwei was strong, they hadn't expected him to win so easily against Natsu, another fire-attribute mage.

He hadn't even used magic!

"Too strong..."

Cana held a bottle of wine, watching Lu Chongwei standing by the edge of the pit, a flicker of shock in her eyes.

"That new kid isn't actually weak, but in front of Lu Chongwei, he's practically like an infant."

At this moment, Gray walked over, looking at the unconscious Natsu with a rare expression of sympathy.

"That kid really has bad luck."

Gray touched his newly grown hair, still feeling a lingering fear.

"Daring to challenge Lu Chongwei with fire magic is practically a death wish."

Wakaba, standing nearby, asked curiously:

"Gray, just how strong is Lu Chongwei's fire? I don't think I've ever seen him use his full power."

Gray's face turned deathly pale, as if recalling something terrifying.

"Don't ever ask."

Gray swallowed hard, his voice trembling.

"His flames... they aren't even a product of this world."

"It's an extreme heat that can incinerate all things, even igniting the soul itself. Last time I just got a little too close, and my hair was gone in an instant..."

Gray instinctively covered his head.

"If he had used magic just now, that kid probably wouldn't even have ashes left."

Hearing this, the people around them gasped in unison.

The way everyone looked at Lu Chongwei became even more filled with awe.

Is this the strongest candidate for Fairy Tail?

Terrifying!

Lu Chongwei brushed the dust off his hands, hauled Natsu out of the pit, and tossed him casually to Macao.

"Take him to the infirmary. Just surface wounds, he won't die."

With that, he turned and walked back toward the guild, his silhouette looking incredibly cool.

"Alas, how lonely it is to be invincible."

Lu Chongwei sighed inwardly.

Though stomping on weaklings was satisfying, it was also boring to always stomp on weaklings.

When would he finally get a truly formidable opponent?

It seemed as if his wish had been heard.

Just then.

"Dong--dong--dong--"

A melodious yet heavy bell chime suddenly echoed throughout Magnolia.

Upon hearing this bell, everyone's expression changed.

Those who had been grinning and joking moments before instantly turned serious.

Even Makarov put down his wine glass, looking gravely towards the entrance.

"This bell chime..."

Lu Chongwei stopped in his tracks, a thrilled smile appearing on his face.

"He's finally back?"

That man.

Fairy Tail's strongest mage.

Gildarts Clive!