"Hey, forget class—come to the Combat Hall! Aren't you Orange Dancer's biggest fan? She's right here!"
"Can the people in front move aside? If you're not from the Swordsmanship Department, get the hell out! This is a Swordsmanship Department class!"
"This is the school's Combat Hall. You Swordsmanship Department people are the ones who should get out!"
More and more students crowded into the Combat Hall. Quite a few had even called their friends over to watch. After all, the emotional entanglement between Felix, Sonia, and Silia was exciting enough already, and now Luo Lian and Leonie—two prominent figures making friendly guest appearances—had joined in. Even if they skipped class, the students had to come see the spectacle.
The practical combat instructor simply stepped aside and let them make a mess of things. There was no need for him to meddle in a dispute between Sword Saint research apprentices. Besides, as long as nobody died, it counted as perfectly reasonable and lawful student interaction.
If it had been a spar between two evenly matched students, the instructor might have worried that they would get too carried away and fail to stop themselves. But this situation was practically the safest possible one.
Because the gap in their combat strength was simply too great.
Whoosh!
With a sharp shout, Sonia slashed out with her wooden sword, sending up a howling gust. Pale violet Sword Qi Ripple formed into a curtain before her, blocking Leonie like a wall.
"That Fan Ripple Sword was used well."
Leonie casually commented, tapping the ripple curtain with the tip of her wooden sword. Then she turned her wrist, flinging the curtain aside as though it were a rag. She stepped forward and flicked her wrist!
Clang!
A heavy force surged through the sword tip. Sonia was knocked back two steps, and the shock nearly sent the wooden sword flying from her hands.
Sweat ran down her face and ruined her makeup. Her clothes were almost drenched through, and she was even gasping crudely through her mouth like some country girl. But Sonia could not care about any of that now. Her eyes remained locked on Leonie, and she did not dare relax for even a second.
This was the first time she had felt what a true spellcaster was.
Felix was just like her, a newbie who had entered the Void Realm only a few days ago—not worth mentioning. Professor Tello Zan was far too much stronger than her, and their sparring had been primarily instructional. He had never made Sonia feel any pressure at all.
Combined with how smoothly her Void Realm adventures had gone, Sonia had begun to feel a little inflated—being a spellcaster was not that difficult after all.
Her low profile had not come from humility, but arrogance. She believed her future was incomparably bright, so she had willingly endured temporary obscurity.
Only Leonie's arrival had torn away her arrogant disguise.
It had nothing to do with spell spirits. From beginning to end, Leonie had used only the three basic spell spirits: "Slash Sword," "Thrusting Sword," and "Cutting Sword." It had nothing to do with Spell Power either. Leonie's attacks put Sonia under pressure, but they were not impossible to withstand.
What truly made spellcasters frightening was knowledge.
Every minute, every second, every motion, every action—Sonia felt that everything about her was under Leonie's control. It was as if Leonie knew all of her follow-up movements and had prepared countless responses. No matter what she did, Leonie dissolved it with effortless ease.
It felt like a child fighting an adult. The other person only needed to hold down her head with one hand, and she could not touch them at all. She was sweating profusely, yet the helpless frustration growing inside her made her feel so stifled that she almost wanted to roar.
"Keep going, Junior Sonia. Use whatever other moves you have."
Leonie raised her wooden sword slightly. "Don't worry about hurting me."
Words that sounded caring were more sarcastic than any insult. Sonia gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. "Then, Senior, I'm going all out. Be careful!"
"I'm looking forward to it."
Sonia assumed a sword-sheathing stance. Leonie raised her brows, seemingly a little more interested. "An iaijutsu sword technique?"
Step, spin, slash!
A gale suddenly erupted. A Sword Qi Ripple swept across the arena as Sonia lunged and spun with thunderous force, reaching Leonie in the blink of an eye!
This was Sonia's self-created move—Iai Ripple Sword!
"Interesting, but..."
Leonie precisely judged Sonia's sword path and slashed down. "Still noth—"
At that moment, Sonia suddenly cut off the Ripple Sword. Her feet took an uncanny step, her body dodged to the side, and after rebuilding her Sword Momentum, she launched a counterattack!
A sword technique taught by the Watcher—Iai Slash Evasion!
Clang!
The two wooden swords collided with the sound of steel striking steel. Leonie looked at Sonia as if she wanted to say something, but the next second, her expression changed drastically!
Ding ding ding ding—
Sounds like Steel Wire snapping rang out in rapid succession. A faintly visible armored feather coat appeared over Leonie's body as five moonlight threads struck her chest, waist, thighs, and other areas, making ripples spread across the coat.
"What spell spirit was that...?"
"I can't tell, but it's definitely not from the Sword Art Faction. It's from the Radiance School!"
"Sonia only became a spellcaster a few days ago. How could she have a spell spirit like that? The Hidden Hand Sword Saint doesn't cultivate the Radiance School either, does he?"
"It couldn't have come from the Void Realm, could it? She only entered the Void Realm a few days ago!"
As everyone discussed the new spell spirit Sonia had used, Leonie suddenly broke from her usual manner and answered Sonia's "surprise" with a fierce offensive!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The storm-like barrage left Sonia unable to catch her breath. Her hands were nearly numb.
In her haste, it was not as though she had not tried using moves like "Moon Silk" or Iai Slash Evasion to obstruct Leonie. Yet attacks with so little variation could not delay Leonie for even a second. Orange Dancer instantly broke through them all!
"Junior Sonia, to be honest, I was a little angry just now."
As Leonie slashed, she said, "When you used Radiance Trap to trigger my Sword Scale Feather Coat, I felt humiliated—I, a spellcaster with Silver Wing fully deployed, was fighting someone who had only become a spellcaster a few days ago, yet I triggered my defensive Miracle. There is nothing more embarrassing than that."
"If Professor Nidala found out, I would definitely get a scolding."
"But I quickly realized that I had no right to be angry. You were the one who should have been angry. You summoned your greatest courage to challenge me, hoping for a passionate Sword Art duel, but I treated you like an adult teaching a child. I patronized and humiliated you. I was wrong, and I apologize."
"Your Radiance Spell Spirit woke me up. It made me realize that you are different from trash like Felix—you are a true Swordsman!"
Sonia barely squeezed out a few words amid the beating. "You're too kind—"
"No. I must offer you my most sincere apology."
Leonie spoke each word with deliberate emphasis. "Next, I will use my full strength to answer your blazing fighting spirit."
"Sonia, watch me closely."
Leonie suddenly withdrew her sword and stepped back. Yet before Sonia could catch her breath, Leonie's figure abruptly vanished from Sonia's sight!
An intense sense of danger surged into Sonia's heart. Goosebumps rose all over her body. She had no time to think and immediately held her wooden sword horizontally, blocking to her right—
Clang!
Sonia turned her head, only to see an orange afterimage!
She could not catch Leonie's figure at all!
Her eyes had become completely useless. Sonia could only defend by instinct!
Clang!
Leonie's surprised voice sounded from all around her. "That wasn't luck. But now, we'll see your real skill."
The next second, the sense of danger came crashing down like mountains and seas. Sonia felt like a tiny boat before a tsunami, where even the aftershock of the waves would be enough to capsize her and drown her!
She turned to block, just in time to see a streak of golden sword light flash through the hall, like a Miracle descending upon the world to punish mankind!
Clang!
Sonia was sent flying several meters through the air. But she immediately struck out with a Ripple Sword in reverse to stop herself, barely landing steadily. Her wrists had already turned bruised, and her body trembled uncontrollably.
Only then did Sonia finally realize what move Leonie had just used.
"Miracle: Rhythm Melody!"
"There it is, the real Orange Dancer! A figure so fast it can barely be seen! Nothing but an orange afterimage!"
"Senior Leonie has already learned Rhythm Sword Saint's famous Miracle? But wasn't that a Miracle the Rhythm Sword Saint created after reaching Two-Winged?"
"That means Senior is not far from Two-Winged Gold!"
Rhythm Melody was a Swordsmanship Department Miracle created by Professor Nidala. Its effect was simple: the first two attacks built up power, and the third attack unleashed it!
It might not sound like much, but once paired with the Speed Spell Spirit and Invisibility Spell Spirit, Rhythm Melody became a death melody that harvested heads. It could easily destroy all of an enemy's defenses in a short time and crush any resistance with absolute violence!
Just as Leonie was crushing Sonia now!
Clang!
Another heavy slash. Though it was not the explosive third strike, it was still not something Sonia, exhausted and with injured hands, could easily block. She was knocked back several steps and unwillingly glanced at the Moon Silk that had been severed in midair.
"If my reactions couldn't keep up with my speed, I would have died in the Abyss long ago." Leonie's voice sounded again. "Traps like this are useless against me."
Sonia had secretly activated the Moon Silk Spell Spirit just now, laying a trap in the air. She had thought Leonie would crash into it because of her excessive speed, but how could a spellcaster have such an obvious flaw in survival? Before attacking her, Leonie had already cut the Moon Silk apart.
Clang!
Sonia was forced back several more steps. Leonie calmly said, "Dropping your sword counts as surrender."
Should she surrender?
But if she did not surrender, the next attack would be Rhythm Melody's third strike. Sonia knew perfectly well that there was no way she could withstand another charged explosion. Leonie would definitely send her flying more than ten meters, and she would lose in an utterly humiliating fashion.
No matter how she considered it, surrendering was the best choice.
Moreover, surrendering now would not be shameful. She had fought Leonie this far, triggered Leonie's defensive Miracle, and even forced Leonie to use Rhythm Melody.
After this battle, no one would ever question Sonia's qualifications as Professor Tello Zan's apprentice again.
After this battle, Sonia would become the most renowned Sword Art prodigy among the first-years.
She had already gained greatly from this. Stopping now was exactly the right time.
If she was lucky, she might even establish a connection with Senior Leonie. She had heard that Senior Leonie teamed up with people from Truth University, which meant she had a channel to reach more elite connections.
Every thread of rationality in her mind knew what she should do. This was the greatest asset that had allowed Sonia to leave the countryside and come to Gala City—she had never allowed emotion to influence her judgment.
Yet at this moment, even though her hands hurt so badly they were numb, even though she was so exhausted that she could fall asleep the next second, Sonia simply did not want to put down her sword!
She! Would! Not! Accept! This!
It had nothing to do with profit, nothing to do with her future, nothing to do with likes or dislikes!
She just wanted to win. She did not want to lose. That was all!
Rebellious blood scorched every inch of her flesh. Furious thoughts overwhelmed her reason in that instant. She seemed to become a sword herself, living toward death and going mad for battle!
"Watcher, did you orchestrate all this just to enjoy watching me lose miserably? Let me tell you, your mother won't serve you!"
Sonia let out a vicious roar in her heart. Her hands clenched the wooden sword, tears welled in her eyes, her teeth nearly bit through her lips, and her entire body tensed as she faced the final Rhythm Melody strike!