The Two Face Off Again

El Canyon

The two collided, but this time they were evenly matched, neither taking a step back.

Qian Guang looked at the blond man crackling with electricity before him. "Why are you in such a hurry? Aren't you afraid I'll just run off and stall until I become S-Class?"

Laxus did not care about the method Qian Guang mentioned. Anyone he acknowledged would never do something like that. "Kid, cut the useless talk. I know you wouldn't become S-Class that way. You want to fight too, don't you?!"

"That's why you're not cute at all, Blondie!" Having had his thoughts exposed, Qian Guang no longer bothered hiding them. After all, no one wanted to keep losing, especially after setting a trap this time. Losing again would be far too embarrassing.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Their fists continuously slammed into each other's faces, as if they wanted to wreck those annoying mugs. Neither of them used magic; this was purely a contest of physical strength.

Qian Guang fought while retreating. His strength was no longer inferior to Laxus's like it had been a year ago, but because he had spent so much time researching magic potions and rarely fought, his technique was far behind Laxus's. For now, he mostly relied on the Sharingan to evade.

"Hey, hey, don't tell me you've only gotten a little stronger than before. I'd be pretty disappointed." Laxus punched the defending Qian Guang flying, then wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Of course not. The friendly greetings are over. Time to get serious." Magic circles lit up in Qian Guang's hands.

Green vines burst from the ground, shooting toward Laxus like sharp spears.

Laxus did not use magic to destroy the vines. After all, his magic power might not even be greater than this kid's. Instead, he used lightning's mobility to keep dodging as he slowly closed in on Qian Guang.

"What? You're done playing with wind, and now you're playing with flowers and grass? I have to say, your hobbies are pretty girlish." As Laxus drew closer, he felt an ominous premonition, but he continued taunting anyway.

Watching Laxus approach, Qian Guang's lips curled upward as wind continuously gathered in his right hand.

Got you!

Laxus suddenly felt his body sink. The ground had turned into a swamp, and both his feet had already sunk in.

Lion's Might!

Qian Guang's follow-up arrived at that moment. A massive lion's head charged toward Laxus.

Laxus's eyes narrowed. It was too fast—there was no time to cast magic. He could only cover his body with electric currents and defend as best he could.

But Lion's Might was composed entirely of sharp Wind Blades. Laxus's clothes were instantly annihilated, and tiny wounds continuously appeared across his body. Violent lightning was suited for offense, but its defense was terribly lacking.

Lightning Transformation!

Enduring the pain, Laxus turned his body into lightning and flew out.

But Qian Guang's attack was not over. A tornado even more terrifying than the one from their first battle swept toward him. At the same time, Qian Guang added flames to it, pouring half his magic power into the enormous tornado in one go.

"Laxus! Don't die on me!" Qian Guang grinned viciously at the bare-chested Laxus above. He was going all out.

Laxus understood Qian Guang's gaze. It was the look of someone giving everything he had. They had only worn such expressions during their first battle; every other time had merely been a spar. This time, it had become a fight to the death. One mistake could really get them killed.

Laxus looked at the tornado, flashing the same villainous grin. "Hey, kid, is this the trick you spent all that time preparing? It's a little rough. Let me add some lightning for you!"

Lightning Dragon's Crescent Halberd!

Lightning Dragon's Roar!

Laxus did not intend to directly withstand the tornado. He merely followed the wind's direction and added something to it, making it lose control.

Sure enough, once lightning entered it, the tornado continued to grow in scale. Qian Guang gradually lost control over it and began running toward the forest behind him.

Seeing this, Laxus circled around the tornado, transformed into lightning, and chased after him. Who wanted to deal with that tornado?

Though he had made it look easy, Laxus had spent more than half his magic power to make it go out of control. Combined with taking a Lion's Might head-on, he could not afford to drag this out any longer. That kid's physique was monstrous, after all.

Not far away, Gildarts watched the tornado continue growing and change direction as it chased after Qian Guang and Laxus. Cold sweat poured down his forehead. "Those two brats! Seriously, I still have to clean up their mess!" Gildarts was immensely grateful that they had held the test in this deserted El Canyon. Otherwise, who knew what kind of disaster would have occurred.

Qian Guang reached the center of the forest and stopped. Turning to look at the pursuing Laxus, he said, "Don't call me underhanded!"

Laxus looked at the restless branches around him, the smile on his face growing brighter. "Then don't disappoint me!" As he spoke, the muscles in his upper body continued expanding. His old wounds began bleeding again, but Laxus clearly did not care. Gripping a crescent halberd formed from lightning, he charged forward.

Countless branches moved at the same time, continuously attacking him. Laxus had originally wanted to use lightning's speed to rush straight at Qian Guang's face, but he had clearly underestimated the Sharingan. Qian Guang directly predicted several of his possible paths and blocked them all.

Laxus swung his great halberd, severing the incoming branches. But cutting them did not affect Qian Guang's control over the remaining portions. There was no way Laxus could cut them all.

The branches gradually formed a semicircular encirclement, intending to trap Laxus to death.

Lightning Dragon's Roar!

Laxus blasted a hole through the semicircle, swung his halberd, and continued charging forward, as stubborn as a honey badger.

Qian Guang's scarlet eyes locked tightly onto Laxus, flickering without pause. He used plant and wind magic to harass him. What a joke—he could catch fists, but he had no weapon capable of blocking a halberd made of lightning. Mira had personally bought his clothes, and it would be a shame to ruin them.

Qian Guang scattered white powder and used the wind to blow it toward Laxus. This was his third plan: a hallucinogenic flower he had found in the forest earlier. It was perfect against thickheaded brutes like this. Although his Sharingan could also create illusions, it was not very effective if they did not make eye contact. After all, he did not have Tsukuyomi, nor did he know any ninjutsu.

The instant Laxus saw it, he knew there was something wrong with it. He spread lightning over his entire body and held his breath, trying to use the electricity to scorch the powder. Unfortunately, lightning could not do that. Even lightning did not understand why this idiot always treated it like earth or fire (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)

The powder only worked when inhaled. To maximize its effect, Qian Guang charged straight into the powder-covered area. The Sharingan countered illusions to a certain extent, so he did not need to worry about himself.

"You've got plenty of little tricks. Lightning Dragon's Crashing Fist!" When Laxus saw Qian Guang rush in, he understood his intention. Though he did not know what the powder did, he could only create distance as quickly as possible.

"Because my opponent is you." Qian Guang stopped dodging and wrapped his arm in Healing Magic to take the attack head-on.

Bang!

Dust flew everywhere, but a gust of wind blew the powder that should have scattered back into the area. Relying on the Sharingan, Qian Guang clung tightly to Laxus.

Laxus wanted to rush out as quickly as possible. There were already three Qian Guangs in his vision, and he knew it was some kind of hallucinogenic potion. He did not know whether he could use the magic power inside his body to dispel it.

As more and more Qian Guangs appeared before his eyes, the magic power consumed by every attack kept increasing. Whenever he tried to leave, that brat would chase after him with the powder, like a stubborn piece of chewing gum.

What Laxus did not know was that Qian Guang had already left the battle zone long ago to recover his stamina. The Qian Guangs Laxus attacked were merely illusions.

"Good thing this stuff takes effect fast. Damn, that lightning is much stronger than before. Did he really improve this much after two months without sparring with me?" Qian Guang did not dare relax his Sharingan for even a moment as he stared at his opponent, preparing to find an opening for the final blow.

Lightning Burst!

Suddenly, for some reason, Laxus began firing Lightning Bursts into the sky without stopping, as though his magic power were free.

Qian Guang could not understand why, but sensing that Laxus had little magic power left, he decided to make his move.

Lion's Might!

Qian Guang not only unleashed Lion's Might, but also formed an ice katana and charged at Laxus.

Pfft!

Lion's Might struck Laxus once again, snapping him out of the illusion. But Qian Guang's blade had already arrived from behind!

Laxus felt the chill at his back and instinctively twisted aside, but he was still too late. Qian Guang's blade pierced directly into Laxus's left shoulder.

"Got you!" Ignoring his wound, Laxus turned around and, while enduring Lion's Might from behind, grabbed Qian Guang by the head.

"Damn it!" Qian Guang had been careless. He had not expected Laxus to recover so quickly, and that instinctive dodge had been absurd. The gap between them in actual combat experience was not small.

Bang!!!

Laxus grabbed Qian Guang by the head and smashed him into the ground. At the same time, his violent lightning finally found an outlet, pouring all his remaining magic power into Qian Guang.

"Arghhh!"

Feeling the violent lightning coursing through his body, Qian Guang could not help screaming as he used what little magic power he had left to resist. Unfortunately, the clothes Mira had bought were now little more than scraps.

"You're too green, kid! Lightning Dragon's Crashing Fist!" Cold light flashed in Laxus's eyes as he gripped Qian Guang's head with his right hand and repeatedly smashed it down.

"Don't get too cocky!" Qian Guang recovered and grabbed Laxus's right arm with both hands, kicking toward Laxus's face.

Pfft!

Laxus was kicked flying, but Qian Guang was not feeling good either, crashing hard into the ground.

"Hah." ×2

"Not bad, kid, but you're still too green." Laxus pulled the katana from his body. His back was already a bloody mess.

Qian Guang was not doing well either. He had taken all of Laxus's remaining lightning magic at close range and felt like he could smell roasted meat. But his Sage Body was slowly restoring him. Unfortunately, he had almost no magic power left, or he would have recovered faster.

Qian Guang suddenly sensed that something was wrong. The wind around them was becoming difficult to control, growing violently turbulent.

He suddenly remembered something and looked to their side. A massive tornado filled with flames and lightning was sweeping toward them.

"Hey, hey, you've got to be kidding. This is a little too exciting. Blond bastard, we need to find another place to fight." Qian Guang looked at the tornado. He could handle it at full strength, but in his current state, it would be rough.

"As if there's such a good thing. We'll fight right here!" Laxus was already caught up in the fight. He did not care about any tornado, and his own backup plan was about to arrive.

Qian Guang did not understand why Laxus was so determined to fight here, but if that was how he wanted it, then so be it! The tornado was still some distance away, and his magic power and injuries were recovering faster than Laxus's. He just needed to defeat him before it arrived!

"Don't die." Qian Guang's scarlet eyes stared at Laxus. The usual gentle smile was gone from his face, replaced by the exhilarated grin of two people fighting for their lives.

Qian Guang charged directly at him. He no longer feared Laxus in terms of strength. With a heavily injured body, how much technique could Laxus still use?

Sure enough, because of his back and left arm, Laxus struggled to deal with Qian Guang's attacks. He could only defend passively, yet several punches still landed on his face. His own counterattacks were useless before the Sharingan.

Qian Guang did not hold back at all. He wanted to knock Laxus unconscious and carry him away. One punch struck Laxus squarely in the face, sending him flying.

This time, Laxus felt his body grow incredibly heavy. He had been drained too much by those little tricks earlier, and unlike Qian Guang, he did not possess that freakish physique. He was starting to reach his limit.

Qian Guang walked over, preparing to end the test with one final punch.

"Well, bastard, I finally beat you once. How many matches has it been? Twenty?" Qian Guang wiped the blood from his face. The burned parts of his body were slowly healing as well. Looking at Laxus, whose face was bruised and swollen and who had even lost a tooth, Qian Guang could not help speaking lightly, flaunting his victory.

"Kid, don't jump to conclusions too early!" Laxus did not look at Qian Guang. Instead, he looked at the dark clouds continuously gathering in the sky. His lips curled upward, and the fighting spirit in his eyes erupted once more.

"Hahahahaha! It's here! Call Lightning!"

Qian Guang sensed that something was wrong and tried to kick Laxus unconscious first, but it was too late. A bolt of lightning shot straight toward them.

Gritting his teeth, Qian Guang kicked out anyway, taking the lightning's damage head-on. But before that, the lightning had also struck Laxus!

It had not knocked Laxus unconscious!

This is bad!

Qian Guang looked at the dark clouds gathered overhead, lightning flashing through them from time to time, and knew he was in trouble.

"Damn it, I got too cocky! I didn't notice earlier! I have to stop him!"

Lightning Transformation!

Too late. The instant Laxus was kicked away, he devoured the lightning and transformed directly into a bolt of lightning, rushing toward the storm clouds!

Laxus successfully absorbed the lightning within the clouds. Qian Guang could no longer stop him and could only keep adjusting his condition. It seemed the fight was not over yet.

Boom!

Laxus leaped down, rolling his neck. The wounds on his back and left arm had already stopped bleeding. "Come on, let's begin round two! Don't say I cheated, kid!"

Laxus laughed wildly, though his mangled face made him look rather ferocious.

Qian Guang looked at the half-health Laxus who had come back to life, then at the steadily approaching tornado. Inwardly, he roared without end, I hate Dragon Slayer Mages!!!

Fairy Tail: Starting with Dual Kamui, by Qian Wei