Chapter 9: A Sword

The duel arena is right inside the academy, and it didn’t take long to get there.

In the center is the dueling platform, surrounded by spectator seats, which are usually only opened during academy competitions.

However, it is also used to resolve troubles among students.

The students in the academy are very diverse; between races and countries, even nobles and commoners from the same empire can easily have conflicts, so a duel arena is needed to let students resolve their differences through dueling.

Of course, the academy prohibits life-and-death duels.

More and more people are gathering towards the duel arena.

Some uninformed students, seeing so many people coming, are curious and follow to watch the show.

“That super freshman, Yuris, is going to duel someone?”

“Perfect, let me see Yuris’s strength, is it really as powerful as the rumors say?”

“How interesting, I’m very curious about who his opponent is.”

Almost all the students in the academy have heard about this, and most of them are rushing here.

“This is a bit troublesome!”

Arriving at the duel arena, the crowd is getting larger, and Leo is feeling a bit of a headache.

The duel arena can seat over ten thousand spectators, but right now only a few scattered people are seated, and many more are on their way, but the number is trending towards over a thousand.

At this rate, won’t the entire academy know that he is going to duel Yuris?

He clearly just wanted to earn some extra money from this duel to supplement his living expenses.

It’s all because greed has blinded his eyes; is it worth it to risk being exposed to the public eye and duel Yuris for forty or fifty gold coins?

He underestimated Yuris’s influence in the academy; just a duel has caused such a huge uproar.

Perhaps Yuris is even stronger than he imagined, and Leo’s vigilance has increased slightly.

However, he remains confident; among his peers, if it’s just about swordsmanship, he won’t lose to anyone.

Not even the direct disciples of the Sword Saint are exceptions.

The biggest problem is that regardless of whether he wins or loses this duel, it will bring him unexpected troubles.

He will win, but afterwards, there will be more challengers coming, completely exposing him to the academy’s view.

This is completely contrary to his low-key lifestyle; he can forget about having a peaceful life in the academy from now on.

Even if he deliberately concedes, he will become a clown in everyone’s eyes, and he won’t be able to live well in the future.

More importantly, conceding does not align with his sword heart.

In the swordsmanship he has inherited, a swordsman’s strong inner self is the foundation of their strength.

Therefore, he has never considered the possibility of losing, nor will he actively concede.

He will always believe in his sword; as a swordsman, if he doesn’t even believe in his own sword, then he is an unqualified swordsman.

“Forget it, it’s already come to this, let nature take its course, and finish it quickly.”

Leo glanced at the referee teacher, who was still waiting, seemingly wanting to wait for more people to arrive.

“Referee, we can start now,” Leo called out to him.

The referee glanced at the audience, “Wait a moment.”

“The duel is just between the two of us; if you keep waiting, I’ll take action myself.”

Leo was a bit displeased; the longer the time drags on, the more people will recognize him. What he needs to do now is to finish quickly and disappear. Even if he defeats Yuris, he will only become a figure of rumors, with not many people having seen his true face.

The only thing that comforts Leo is that most of the people here are third and fourth-year students, with very few second-year students and almost none from the first year; his academy life has not yet been disrupted.

The referee looked at Yuris, saw that he had no reaction, and nodded.

“Both sides, prepare!”

With his shout, it was transmitted throughout the duel arena via amplification tools, and the students present all looked towards the dueling platform.

“The duel will continue until one side can no longer fight or concedes; attacks to vital points are prohibited. The battle begins!”

As the words fell, the atmosphere on site reached its peak.

“Yuris, go for it!”

“Take down that little brat!”

“It’s all up to you, don’t lose!”

The scene was filled with cheers for Yuris, showing a one-sided trend, the shouts like crashing waves sweeping across the entire duel arena.

Under such immense pressure, a sadistic interest surged in Leo’s heart, an impulse to suppress this wave.

The more others expect him to lose, the more he wants to win; he wants to make these people shut up and trample their confidence into the ground.

To do this, he must win this battle cleanly and decisively.

As for the earlier thoughts of how to keep a low profile, he has completely thrown them out of his mind.

There is only one thought in his mind: he cannot lose!

This is his flaw; when he gets heated, he abandons all considerations and acts purely on impulse.

“You go first; otherwise, you won’t have a chance to strike.”

Yuris stood still with a sword in hand, giving Leo the opportunity to strike first.

“Are you sure?”

Leo showed a look of disbelief.

“Of course, this is your only chance to strike.”

Even so, Yuris did not draw his sword, nor did he take any defensive measures, or rather, he didn’t need to defend; Leo couldn’t hurt him.

“Alright, then I won’t be polite.”

Leo took out a wooden sword from the storage pouch at his waist, swung it a few times to test the feel.

“Then I’ll use this sword to deal with you.”

In terms of arrogance, let’s see who is more arrogant!

“Are you mocking me?”

Yuris’s face turned as dark as a pot bottom.

“To deal with you, this is enough.”

“Do as you wish; I hope you won’t regret it.”

In Yuris’s view, Leo wasted the opportunity to strike first; after all, how could a wooden sword possibly cause him harm?

“Go ahead!”

He wanted to see what tricks Leo could come up with.

“Pay attention.”

The disdain in Leo’s eyes dissipated, his momentum changed instantly, his gaze became serious, radiating a sharp edge, as sharp as a blade.

The world stood still in his eyes, the cheers around him unheard, with only his opponent in sight.

Holding the sword with both hands, he slowly raised it; with his movements, the aura around him grew stronger, supporting a vast space.

“What is that?!”

Yuris’s eyes widened in horror, as if witnessing something incredible.

A terrifying red aura wrapped around Leo, a blood-red light curtain enveloped the world, the sky darkened, and the clouds were stained blood-red.

A massive crimson figure emerged from Leo’s body, towering like a demon god, exuding a pitch-black pressure, the air solidifying to the extreme.

That demon-like figure also raised a sword, mirroring Leo’s movements.

It seemed ready to split the heavens and shatter the earth; the world could not withstand this sword.

Yuris’s body stiffened, unable to breathe, let alone move, while around him, everyone else was immersed in cheers, oblivious to the scene.

This moment could only be deeply felt by Yuris, who faced Leo directly; to outsiders, Leo was merely raising his sword, while Yuris stood still, showing no reaction.

Even the referee felt that Leo’s actions were unremarkable, giving off an impression of not wanting to fight.

When the sword was raised to its highest point, Leo moved, gently swinging it downwards.

At the same time, the demon-like figure behind him also acted, instantly stirring up winds and clouds, the world changing dramatically.

The world was split apart, divided in two, the sky was cleaved in half, and everything was destroyed in an instant.

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