"So, please rest here until the investigation is completed," Snokes said as he closed the iron gate of the room and glanced at Elf inside. Elf nodded silently, showing no sign of discontent, and sat quietly on the only bed in the room.

Without staying for long, Snokes made sure once again that the control of access and the suppression of power were functioning properly before turning and leaving. Outside the corridor, four Watchers, brought back by contestant 116, were waiting boredly, leaning against the wall and chatting about random things.

"Finally out, huh?" One of them saw Snokes and waved his hand with a smile. "I thought the Director couldn't resist that Elf—ouch!"

Snokes immediately grabbed his ear. "Graduated and being cocky, aren't you? Daring to talk back to me?"

The Watcher winced in pain. "Sorry, sorry, Director, your wisdom and strength are admirable—ouch! Don't twist my ear, it's about to come off!"

These four were all quite talented young individuals, surpassing the intermediate benchmark of level 7 according to the Knight Association's standards. However, compared to their teacher, they still had a long way to go.

For example, Snokes Karran, a renowned great knight from ten years ago, commanding the Winged Knights to push back the Abyssal Monsters and gaining the name "Radiance" as a hero. Abyssal Monster Yuan, originating from the periodic eruptions of the Devildom Abyss, was a strange life form with an unstable form, spontaneously attacking life forms. Even the Devildom itself was troubled by it. Once it entered the Main Dimension, it could easily cause widespread disasters, leaving devastation in its wake.

Defeating such a monster earned Snokes the fame comparable to a legendary hero, but he seemed uninterested. Afterward, he joined Miette and has now firmly established himself as a level 9 knight.

"But, teacher, it's really hard for me to understand why you, as the Chief Knight of the Knights Order, chose to become the security chief of the academy... Ah! Please don't use so much strength! I was wrong!"

"It's called the Director of Defense!" Snokes interjected, glancing at him with annoyance.

The others: "..."

"Alright, go back to your duties now, continue patrolling. Make sure the order of the academy city is maintained during the Martial Arts Festival."

...

"Have they all been captured?"

Inside the Ivory Tower, in the office of the Academy Chancellor, Lucius looked up at Snokes who had just walked in to report.

"Yeah, there were a total of eight suspicious individuals, all temporarily detained in the academy. We have sent people to verify their identities in the Elf Kingdom... By the way, what happened to you?" Snokes asked, pointing at Lucius's dark circles and yawning.

Lucius yawned again, seemingly devoid of energy. He weakly waved his hand and poured himself another cup of black coffee. "It's nothing, I trust you with the security matters. Carry on."

"That's for sure, but are you really okay? You seem like you could faint at any moment." Knox dabbed his forehead with a cold sweat.

Lucius seemed to have no energy even to speak, as he motioned with his hand and filled his cup with black coffee again. It was indeed quite an effort. He entrusted Coco's safety to Ciella, then took over her work with ease. Although there were more tasks due to the attack, Lucius could handle it.

But it's really frustrating to have to expend energy to find a way to extract the energy particles that have been transformed into the "Ural Tambourine" from Aya's body. "Even if Dia the Great Sage helped to narrow down the scope... this is still too much!" The principal looked at the pile of ancient books found from various libraries in the corner of the wall, feeling a bit discouraged.

Ah, headache. Even someone as serious as Lucius can now understand Ciella's mentality when she slacks off - "Why not just leave it there and let the work finish itself?" The principal was caught in a deep dilemma.

To touch or not to touch?

...

Meanwhile, in the city area of the academy, the first day of the ranking matches was still in full swing in various venues scattered throughout the city.

The Martial Arts Festival lasts for seven days, with the first few days being the qualifying matches where participants can freely sign up. Participants compete individually, but they can add their affiliated academy when signing up. The top seven academies with the highest total points from their students can form teams for the final team battle.

Of course, in most cases, the top five are usually the same few...

"Wow, there seems to be an unusually large number of spectators for this match." Aya and the others were still wandering around the academy, watching the matches from a prime location that Angel opened up with her divine power.

"Yeah, it seems to be a match between the students of the Gaiyuan Academy from the Eastern Continent and our students from Lalune." Coco looked at the nearby sign showing the participants.

No wonder it attracted so many people. In a sense, this is a partial rehearsal for the final team battle.

The first one to step onto the stage was a student from the Elf race, a cute Elf girl who appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen years old. She had clean and short hair, and was wearing a lightweight outfit that tightly wrapped around her body. Although it was a combat-oriented outfit, it still looked quite elegant due to the Elf race's obsession with aesthetics.

The girl held a dark red short bow in her hand, and the bowstring was slightly drawn, indicating her nervousness.

"Arlin, do your best!" Coco suddenly raised her hand and shouted loudly towards the stage. Well, let her know that this princess is her solid support from below, no need to panic.

"Hey?!" Aya was startled and immediately looked around alertly. Hey hey, there might be some dark Elf lurking around.

"Your Highness Irizer?" It was easy to catch Coco's voice in the wind with her long pointed ears, and Arlin, the Elf girl, turned her head in surprise and effortlessly spotted Coco waving beside Aya.

W-Why is Your Highness here? Wait, is she watching my match? This, this...

"Ah, it seems like I'm even more nervous now..." Tiran showed a disappointed expression.

At this moment, Arlin's opponent also entered the stage amidst the cheers of the audience, forcing Arlin to focus her attention on what was in front of her. After all, she was selected to represent the Kingdom of Elves in the battle from the strongest combat academy. Adjusting her mindset and not being influenced by external factors was the basic skill.

"Phew - come on, I'm ready!" Arlin took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

Huh? This guy...

The opponent who walked up the stairs from the other side was extremely burly, nearly two meters tall, making the relatively small Elf look like a little giant. His upper body was almost bursting out of his deep blue short shirt, with his exposed arms covered in bulging muscles. Aya even suspected that his arms were thicker than her own thighs.

Rather than his muscles, what leaves a lasting impression is his messy red hair standing on end and the mustache on his lips, which looks as fake as can be.

"This guy is a student?! Wasn't there an age limit for the competition?! He looks like a middle-aged man!" Aya widened her eyes in disbelief, and besides, this guy's appearance is truly striking.

Tiran, who was standing beside her, had a similar reaction, but for a different reason...

"No way..." The princess's mouth twitched uncontrollably. Why does she feel like she's seen this image somewhere before? And it's even particularly famous.

"Participants, enter the arena. Let the competition begin!" The referee, having seen many ups and downs in his life, didn't give the slightest peculiar look to the person from Gai Xia Academy, and boldly announced the start of the match.

Under the skeptical gaze of the princess, the redhead man's lips curled up into a subtle arc, his eyes sharpening as he looked at Alin across from him.

"I'm Black Tiger Afu. Prepare to die!"

Princess: ∑(っ °Д °;)っ

...

"Huh?" The elf girl tilted her head in confusion for a moment, thrown off by the self-introduction of this bizarre-looking opponent. Should she also introduce herself? It seems to be a custom in Dong Da Continent.

But before she could think it through, Afu on the opposite side launched a fierce assault.

There's no denying that he lives up to his nickname. Even though there are still tens of meters between the two sides of the arena, Alin already feels the gust of wind rushing towards her.

"Wind God's Blessing! Nature's Shelter! Binding Bow and Arrow!"

With three spells cast, facing the opponent's direct charge, Alin didn't choose to dodge immediately. Instead, she immediately drew her bow and released three arrows in succession.

The arrows, empowered by the spells, were faster than ordinary ones, coupled with Afu's charging speed, there was no way to avoid them. However, these three arrows didn't hit their target but shattered about half a meter in front of Afu as if they had collided with an invisible wall.

"Upon closer inspection, it seems there's something there." Aya squinted her eyes.

The air in front of Afu distorted and formed a wind wall-like effect, but he didn't use magic. In other words, it's something similar to her own Qi Scales.

Since it's not a Magic-based skill, it's unlikely to be immune to Magic's effects.

Sure enough, after the arrows hit, Afu's assault speed noticeably slowed down, and after Alin received the magical boost, her agility was also enhanced. This constant exchange allowed her to barely dodge the first impact by rolling to the side.

However, what awaited her next was a continuous barrage of attacks.

"Smashing Melon Fist! Dragon's Flight! Twin Dragons Playing with Pearl! Tornado Kick! Black Tiger's Heart Extraction! Eagle's Wingspan! Bear's Paw Strike! Elephant Leg Kick! Flying Hammer! Snake Fist Mobilization! Lion's Worship to the Heavens! Cat's Turn! Cat Landing! Wolf's Advance! Giant Axe Chops the Tree!"

...

"Damn... this guy is a genius." Unconsciously, Aya felt like her jaw had dropped. Her scalp tingled. This is intentionally playing it off, isn't it!

As for the other spectators, the regular tourists were naturally ecstatic. Afu's body shape and swift movements alone were very enjoyable to watch, and when he shouted out the names of his moves uproariously, it easily stirred up emotions.

But for the martial artists... What the hell is this! Aren't these just ordinary punches, kicks, and strikes? Only this guy could turn a basic attack into a big move by shouting it out.

Well, at least he does have the skills to back it up. Prior to the start of the match, most people thought it would be an exciting fight where both sides are evenly matched, but now it's clear that the situation in the arena is completely one-sided. Alin is forced to constantly dodge under the onslaught, occasionally shooting an arrow that gets easily destroyed, and it looks like she's about to lose.

"After all, it's frustrating for an archer to not be able to keep a distance." Coco was not happy with how their own student was being chased, "Hmph, I'll teach him a lesson in teamwork later."

"But it seems like there's still a chance to fight." Tiran pointed at the arena and winked, "Have a little more faith in your student."