The massive axe and terrifying iron fist passed right through his body!

A 0.25-second window... intelligence from Estia!

Maxfield seized that split-second moment. His speed, more terrifying than a cheetah’s, surged to its limit! He appeared beside Empty City, slamming a furious fist into his back!

Yet... the punch passed through empty air, hitting nothing!

But Empty City’s expression remained tense. Though he’d evaded the students’ ambush with Spatial Shift, his gut warned him: with his suppressed power, that girl wielding the Dual Sword Style could be serious trouble!

Spotting Maxfield’s post-attack opening, Cheng Zhihui roared:

“Switch positions!! Maxfield, strike now! Others, stay focused—no panic, no blocking each other’s paths!!”

Her shout cleared a perfect path for Maxfield’s assault.

A pure white afterimage clashed mid-air with a dazzling sword blade, scattering searing sparks. Empty City staggered back with a loud clang. But Cheng Zhihui pressed forward!

Her right sword parried his strike, then her left instantly gripped the pitch-black blade!

Relentless slashes surged like a tidal wave!

Left, right, left... repeating!

Her mind burned as if flooded with blood. This scorching speed was something Cheng Zhihui had never shown anyone before—her first real combat test! Sharp clashes battered Empty City’s sword, piercing sounds echoing as white light scattered like shooting stars.

*This guy’s stronger than I thought...*

The Dual Sword Style caught Empty City off guard. Instinctively, he’d snatched a student’s sword to block—because he knew Maxfield’s 0.25-second gap was enough for her blade to reach him. That instinct saved him from an unexpected defeat.

Ignoring Empty City’s thoughts and movements...

*Did she grab a classmate’s sword to avoid hitting him?*

If so, she’d already succeeded halfway.

A subtle smirk revealed Cheng Zhihui’s joy, sharpening her attacks into something fiercer, faster!

*Faster. I need to be faster!*

Silent but relentless, her strikes grew more violent with each move. Her eyes saw only the teacher ahead. Empty City never attacked—he only defended desperately. Her blades wouldn’t stop until they touched him!

His nerves snapped taut under the barrage of terrifying sword strikes!

Clang!!

His sword flew from his trembling hand!

“Now!!”

Cheng Zhihui brought both blades down—but timing betrayed her caution over the 0.25-second gap. The first sword pierced Empty City’s chest like air. The second never reached him. At the critical moment, Empty City kicked upward, booting the blade away and halting her assault!

But...

One attack stopped. Others didn’t!

At laser speed, the “cheetah” man materialized behind Empty City. Without the rushing wind, Empty City wouldn’t have sensed his arrival!

Luckily, kicking away the second sword bought him 0.25 seconds!

A fist swung from behind—

His body vanished into Spatial Shift!

...

*Where... where will he appear? Impossible to predict.*

Everyone has habits. Left-handed? Prefers attacking from the right? Or reappearing in specific spots after dodging. Patterns were faint, but observable.

After Cheng Zhihui’s miss, Estia focused entirely. Her grip tightened on the sniper rifle.

*Where will he emerge? He must appear somewhere!*

He’d deliberately revealed the 0.25-second gap. In earlier classes, he’d left clues to victory—Cheng Zhihui’s speed, the Dual Sword Style, even her own sniping...

With 0.17 seconds of delay plus aiming time, Estia had mere fractions of a second to decide—she must fire before his form fully materialized!

*Where?! WHERE?!*

In the first fight, after attacks passed through him, the teacher appeared in eight different spots. Frequency varied, but Estia sought deeper patterns.

After each dodge, he always reappeared roughly ten meters to the attacker’s right. Coincidence? The battlefield was small. Or a mistake?

But... now was the time to gamble!

Through the scope, her dark pupils burned with resolve.

Heart pounding, finger steady on the trigger. In the distance, Maxfield’s strike landed!

Estia fired!!

Whoosh!!

The bullet screamed through the air—

Then, on that empty patch of ground, a figure slowly materialized before everyone’s eyes.

The teacher!

The real teacher!!

The bullet grazed his cheek. Pale blood sprayed, leaving a crimson streak on his handsome face.

“OOOOHHHHHHHH!!!”

“WE DID IT!!!”

Estia leaped from her hiding spot, her chest bouncing proudly under the sunlight like holy radiance.

“Teacher... you did this on purpose, didn’t you?”

Being called “teacher” by Maxfield surprised Empty City. He wasn’t vengeful. Though he had feelings for Night Zero, he’d never seen him as a rival—no hostility existed.

Calmly wiping the blood from his cheek at the battlefield’s center, Empty City let a faint, unnoticeable smile slip. Watching the sunlit teens huddle together, he felt genuine joy for this scene.

The smile vanished in a flash.

“Who knows... Well, I lost this time. I’ll hear your demands. But first, let me tend to my wound.”

He smiled at the students beside him. But they were too ecstatic to notice.