The first to end was the battle between Haruhi Seiko and Aisha.

Both stepped out of the barrier separately.

"Your strength isn’t bad," Haruhi Seiko said.

He shoved his hands back into his pockets, tugging slightly at the collar scorched by Aisha’s attack.

To outsiders, her fierce assault had achieved so little.

Only his collar was burned; Haruhi Seiko still looked pristine, untouched from before the fight.

"Huff... thanks," Aisha replied.

Compared to him, she seemed utterly exhausted, as if she might collapse any second.

His movements were suffocatingly fast, his explosive power far beyond hers.

Haruhi Seiko won.

Though Aisha fought well later, she couldn’t withstand him once he got serious. After a few exchanges, she was overwhelmed.

"Old man, your academy’s strength isn’t impressive, is it?" Haruhi Seiko taunted Dishi after defeating Aisha.

He hadn’t enjoyed a satisfying fight.

"Huh? What’s that, brat? I can’t hear you!" Dishi shouted, pretending not to listen, a smile curling on his lips.

"Are you deaf? I said—"

Whoosh!

Haruhi Seiko’s words cut off mid-sentence.

In an instant, the furious Sharkai Bai appeared before him.

(What!!!!)

The sudden enemy caught Haruhi Seiko off guard.

Sharkai Bai’s clenched fists bulged with veins as he slammed them toward Haruhi’s nose with brutal force.

"It’s you!" Haruhi Seiko recognized his attacker while retreating fast.

The white-haired boy he’d instantly defeated earlier.

"Hiding your strength? Lightning Spear!!!"

"Too annoying!!" Sharkai Bai roared.

He shattered the two-meter-long purple spear crackling with lightning in one punch, then closed in at blinding speed.

(So fast!)

Haruhi Seiko had underestimated him. He couldn’t react—Sharkai Bai’s fist filled his vision.

(I can’t get hit... or I’ll be instantly killed!!!)

Years of combat screamed that a direct blow would be catastrophic.

But he couldn’t dodge.

Boom!!

Just as despair hit, a figure kicked Sharkai Bai away. Minghai Wei stood before Haruhi Seiko, having just finished his own battle.

"Huff..." Haruhi Seiko wiped cold sweat from his brow, saved.

Wilkor emerged from another barrier then.

Both he and Minghai Wei looked battered, cuts and bruises covering their faces and bodies.

Sharkai Bai regained his senses after being kicked, charging again at Haruhi Seiko and Minghai Wei.

"You’re all so annoying!!!"

"Flow Style: Annihilation!"

Crack!

A bone-breaking sound echoed from Minghai Wei’s arm joint.

(Is my body overloading?)

No time to think—their fists collided. An explosion erupted between them, shaking the academy.

"Hey hey hey..." Wilkor watched nervously.

He’d fought both before and wondered who’d win this clash of Sharkai Bai’s raw punch and Minghai Wei’s "Flow Style" magic.

"Daring to fist-fight Wei like that... really asking for death?" Haruhi Seiko muttered.

Though Sharkai Bai’s punch radiated lethal danger, he still favored Minghai Wei.

"The one who says that isn’t scared of losing teeth to me?"

Minghai Wei’s body flew from the dust cloud, collapsing before Haruhi Seiko.

As the dust cleared, Sharkai Bai stood unharmed.

"Lightning Spear!" Haruhi Seiko propped up the injured Minghai Wei. He’d provoked a terrifying opponent.

Striking first, he attacked.

"Is this the strength of the Five Dragon Kings, Situ Sheng’s companion?" Sharkai Bai sidestepped slightly. The spear whizzed past his ear, lightning blooming behind him.

"Let me make you feel Situ Sheng’s pain from two years ago!"

The ground cracked beneath Sharkai Bai. The next second, he appeared behind Haruhi Seiko.

"That’s enough."

A familiar voice reached Sharkai Bai.

A spiraling flame descended from the sky, aimed at him.

"Hmph!" Sharkai Bai snorted coldly.

In the fiery blast he shattered, Situ Sheng’s face emerged.

Elucia and Situ Sheng’s battle had ended too.

"Long time no see. Thought you’d be my opponent this time," Situ Sheng said.

"Dream on. I’ve decided not to fight. Just... too many annoyances today," Elucia replied.

"Is that so? Your strength’s fading with your temper."

"Well, unavoidable, right?"

The two old acquaintances chatted as if alone.

"Glad you’re okay," Elucia said to Aisha and Wilkor on a bench.

No serious injuries—Wilkor only had scrapes.

Meanwhile, the other two barrier battles concluded.

"Next time, I’ll defeat you completely," Cecilia Ozbell told Nokiyak.

"Likewise," he replied.

Both ice magic geniuses, neither could win quickly.

"Dark magic is troublesome," Emperor Feng said to Fuxifa.

"Your time magic too."

"Actually, dark magic’s just cheap."

"Same to you."

Creation and destruction—their endless cycle. When Fuxifa’s black hole shattered, Emperor Feng seized the chance. Victory went to him.

A black rift opened in the sky. Situ Sheng and his group returned to the Northern Kingdom.

"You’re strong, but still far weaker than Sharkai Bai," Situ Sheng called back to Elucia as he left.

After things settled, Sharkai Bai declined the dean’s reward invitation and headed alone to his dorm.

He rushed into the bathroom, turned on the shower, filled the tub, and sank in.

"Ahh~~ truly, nothing beats a bath for fatigue," he sighed blissfully.

"Making disgusting sounds, darling," Cecilia Xuelian’s voice came from outside.

"Tch. I didn’t force you to listen at the door."

"Saying that to your fiancée... such a scumbag~"

"Huh? Hurt by that? Then go back already."

Though engaged, Sharkai Bai still wasn’t used to sharing his dorm. He’d enjoy solitude before marriage.

"Heh heh. You hide it well, but your true nature shows sometimes," Cecilia Xuelian smiled, leaning against the wall.

"Hmph... undeserving praise, Miss S-rank..."

Towel on his forehead, eyes closed, Sharkai Bai slept in the tub.

Somewhere in the academy.

"Hey hey hey... as expected, I’m still interested in him!"

The image of the white-haired boy raging flashed in her mind.

A black-haired girl sat on a shaded bench, sipping orange soda.

"Hey... how about—I make slight contact?"