So Caelen made his move.
He lifted his eyes and looked at Marek.
He looked!
Eyes carried weight. When you looked at someone or something, your eyes carried a weight that could be felt. But the heaviness of each gaze depended on the power of the individual and the impact of their stare.
Caelen’s eyes were red, like a river of blood condensed into a pool. They were cold and filled with killing intent. The killing intent was so strong that when he looked at Marek, his gaze seemed to solidify!
At that moment, Marek felt that gaze like a beam of scorching fire. Then, a strong killing intent gripped him as if chains had wrapped around his heart!
He shuddered, terror coiling around him, and he knew that if he did not do anything at that moment, he would absolutely die!
You will die!
That was what those eyes promised.
He didn’t hesitate. His steps shifted, his legs turned illusionary, and he appeared behind Mireia. Surprisingly, he hadn’t been holding a weapon before, but now, a dagger shone in his hand.
His speed was even faster than Mireia’s earlier. Without making any sound, without showing any killing intent, and perfectly masking his aura, he had already crossed the distance between them, his dagger raised!
But Instructor Hadrian was indeed a good instructor, and his students weren’t lacking in combat experience. Mireia turned swiftly as if she had sensed something, raising her sword to cross in front of her in defence.
She was too slow! The dagger would pierce her heart before she could fully raise her sword.
So she didn’t. Instead, her sword glowed with sword light, and then... she actually threw herself forward. She was using offence as defence!
Marek didn’t seem worried. He met her head-on, sword against dagger.
Peng! Peng! Peng!
The two clashed, sparks flew, and in that brief moment they met, they had already parried each other’s weapons more than a dozen times.
Neither was willing to give way to the other.
But although neither was willing to yield, Mireia was pushed back.
The two separated.
Mireia’s sword continued to hum. Her expression was as cold as her weapon.
"I don’t see anything special about the so-called Sicon member."
Marek wanted to keep quiet, but that ’gaze’ fixed on him sharpened, and he reluctantly opened his mouth.
"I don’t see anything that makes your instructor deserve all the praise!"
"You!" Her face turned ugly.
"Then you’d better open your eyes wide!"
She dispelled all the sword light clinging to her weapon, her face and posture becoming solemn. Then she began to move, raising her sword and her feet.
But these two actions were incredibly slow.
So slow that Marek initially thought she had given up on the fight. But suddenly, Marek’s expression turned cold and serious. A chilling aura settled around him, and the bloodlust he had been hiding erupted at that moment.
A docile beast had suddenly turned into a man-eating monster! He had to be serious. Why shouldn’t he be? This time, Mireia was going all out and actually using her instructor’s techniques!
And he had already been caught within it!
The sword intent of this technique had already caught him. The so-called Seven Delusions of the Fool!
It was a sword technique that reached from the Bound realm far above the Ascendant realm.
Right now, Mireia was using the second technique of the seven. One that fooled all the senses, creating delusions and then cutting through them. Once caught within it, one couldn’t find their way out. They could only be cut out!
Marek knew that he couldn’t depend on his senses, as the sword strikes could come from anywhere.
He put away his dagger and shook his hand. His fingernails began to glow. They dimmed and brightened, shortened and lengthened. Then, the light seemed to disperse.
Phantom Scratch!
Scratching ten times in ten different directions.
In an instant, Marek’s senses returned to normal.
As expected, while he had thought Mireia was moving slowly, she had already appeared in front of him!
But now, she was covered in blood, with ten deep scratches across her body. Her sword intent had been destroyed.
She gritted her teeth and raised her sword again.
But Marek thrust his right hand forward. His hand was smooth, but his nails were like jade, and at that moment, they were filled with dazzling lights. Destructive lights!
What was the difference between Sicon families and the rest? This was it! Their family blood flowed through their veins, blood that had been transformed through their family’s techniques.
They resonated with the Essence of the world.
Put the average prodigy of a Sicon family and a non-Sicon family together, and the difference would still be that gap. This gap could only be bridged with powerful secret arts. But Mireia wasn’t at that level yet.
But she still raised her sword, ready to fight again!
"It’s enough now," a voice said.
It was Instructor Hadrian who spoke, his face calm.
Mireia stiffened but ultimately put her sword away.
But the power of the technique was still gathering around Marek. It wasn’t until he looked at Caelen and received a nod that he stopped.
The second challenge ended.
It was an unexpected victory for Class Thirteen.
"Class Thirteen wins this round of the challenge!" the attendant called.
He was just as surprised as everyone else. Shouldn’t Class Thirteen be... useless? Were they hiding their powers? But... that class was supposed to be useless!
Who could have imagined that a member of the Nyxen family had been hiding there all along? And now they had Kolu Medullaris!
Now, each class had two wins. People who had bet on the outcome of the challenge began to have doubts, but ultimately, there was no panic yet.
No matter what, could Caelen win?
"Let the next challengers come forward!" the attendant called.
Kolu stepped forward.
Caelen asked, "How confident are you?"
Kolu looked at him strangely.
"I am the heir of the Medullaris family."
Caelen only looked at him.
"Let me see what that means."
Kolu nearly rolled his eyes.
’Do you think I’m like you?’
He flicked his sleeve and walked onto the platform.
His opponent was Tiran, the strongest student in Class Sixty-Seven.
Tiran walked onto the platform unhurriedly, his steps slow and confident. He certainly took his time. He looked at Kolu leisurely.
"So you’re the strongest in Class Thirteen."
Kolu hesitated, then sighed.
"What’s the use of being the strongest among weaklings?" Tiran asked, his voice curious, as if he genuinely wanted to understand the point of being something like that.
Kolu looked at his opponent. He had gathered information about Class Sixty-Seven as quickly as possible. Tiran was the strongest, and his strength was no joke. Among Unbounds of the same age, he was an absolute powerhouse.
And he was the sword Class Sixty-Seven used to challenge other classes.
But Kolu merely smiled.
"This is my choice. Will my power diminish because of that?"
Tiran shook his head and sighed.
"You haven’t been in the Academy for long. You won’t understand."
Kolu looked at him curiously, but he didn’t say anything.
Tiran opened his mouth again, but before he could say anything, a voice interrupted.
"Young Master Kolu should not be fighting at this time. The reason for this challenge is because of him."
Caelen looked across at the speaker. It was Instructor Hadrian.
"Is Kolu my student right here and now?"
Instructor Hadrian hesitated, but he did not answer the question, only saying, "Since this challenge was called to determine who would have him as a student, he should not fight in the challenge."
Caelen sneered.
"Are you afraid that my class is going to beat you, and now you’re trying to find a way to cut things short?"
Caelen directly called him out!
Instructor Hadrian frowned in annoyance.
"I have complete trust in Tiran’s ability. But it isn’t proper for Young Master Kolu to fight at this moment."
What did Caelen care about what was proper?
"Is Kolu registered as my student or not?"
At this, Instructor Hadrian had no more words.
But Caelen wasn’t willing to let it go just like that.
"You have trust in your student? All right, then."
"Kolu, finish the battle in the shortest time possible."
Kolu smiled helplessly while Tiran’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
Those watching were also shocked.
Instructor Hadrian sat up, and his glare swept towards Caelen from where he sat.
"Are you sure you want to do this? We will have our fight after this one. Are you sure you want to antagonise me?"
This time, Instructor Hadrian’s threat was direct! He was saying that he would give Caelen a beating!
But Caelen actually smiled. He smiled in amusement.
"Can an ant shake a tree?"
Those watching erupted in an uproar after hearing this. What type of arrogance was this? What type of empty boast was this?
Someone shouted, "Quickly, we should make sure he doesn’t use any tricks during his fight!"
"Yes! Yes! He might try something sly with his family’s influence!"
"Let him finally get a beating today!"