More and more people realized the change in Erza eyes. Hence, many people were exclaiming in surprise.
"Aren't those the Eyes of Chronos?"
"How could the girl have the eyes? Isn't it known that only those with Eastern Sage Imperial Clan bloodline are able to have it?"
Those who did not know Erza true background were bewildered. However, those who were more knowledgeable recalled the information they had about Erza and things started to make sense.
Soon, the rumour regarding the identity of Erza mother started to spread amongst the audiences. Her mother was unexpectedly Sword Saintess Lin Qingzhu. People then understood where Erza got her Eastern Sage Imperial Clan bloodline from.
Standing further away at the corner, the woman who was wearing white imperial robe sighed in her heart. She looked at Erza with an apologetic expression on her face.
Erza quickly casted 'Double Acceleration' on her whole body and launched multiple attacks at the same time to Qi Long. Qi Long tried his best to parry Erza attacks but she was simply too fast. In addition, Erza destroyed his momentum by casting 'Time Stop' in a timely manner.
Fortunately, 'Pagoda Restriction' was a very powerful skill. It significantly restricted Erza movements. Otherwise, Qi Long would not be able to put up a fight.
However, activating 'Pagoda Restriction' and Eyes of Chronos consumed a lot of energy from its users. As a result, the fight turned into a battle of stamina.
As the fight went on, people found out that Qi Long unexpectedly concealed his true power in his previous fights. He was actually a peak level sword apprentice. Thanks to his buffs, his stamina was on par with Erza despite being a realm lower.
More and more wounds appeared on Qi Long and Erza bodies. Erza fought recklessly as she could cast 'Rewind' on her wounds when needed. Therefore, Qi Long stuck in a more defensive position, while Erza was more on the offence. He would launch his counter-attacks as soon as Erza showed a gap in her defence.
Qi Long avoided Erza sword slash, then quickly aimed his spear to her head. Erza swiftly turned her head a bit to avoid the attack. Erza kept looking at Qi Long in the eyes as the spear brushed past her right cheek and cut few strands of her hair.
Next, Erza ducked and went forward for an attack. Qi Long barely avoided her sword thrust as he moved his body forward and brushed past her body. They continued to fight in close range.
The more they fought, the more they understood each other. Both fighters were sweating a lot and covered in wounds, but surprisingly they were smiling. They were actually enjoying the fight. Soon, it was more like a sword dance than a fight. The audiences were excited with what they were seeing.
Erza ignored her loosed clothes as most of them were torn apart by the fight. The iron plates covering her chest and left shoulder were long gone. Fortunately, there were still clothes underneath her armor, though now most of them were also torn.
Qi Long was in the same condition. His clothes were torn apart by their fight, thanks to Erza attacks and her flames. Currently, he was fighting bare-chested. Even though he was still a 12 years old boy, his body was surprisingly covered in lean muscles, thanks to his practices as a warrior.
As a result, many young girls were love-struck by his display. They were cheering and shouting on top of their lungs for him.
"You are beautiful." Qi Long suddenly spoke. Erza was dumbfounded when she heard that. She almost tripped over her feet.
"Is this part of your strategy?" Erza asked while continued attacking him. Qi Long only chuckled in return.
"Hey, it may be a bit sudden but how about we become ….." Before Qi Long could finish his words, Erza abruptly charged forward and covered his mouth with her left hand.
Qi Long unexpectedly did not avoid her advance. The audiences were baffled looking at the two fighters who supposed to be fighting each other.
"Could you please shut up and fight seriously?" Erza said while trying to catch her breath. She was panting and sweating a lot.
Qi Long pulled her hand which was covering his mouth and said "I just wanna say let's become friends."
"Okay." Erza was speechless with his timing, but she still agreed at the end. Both youths did not realize that they were still holding hands. They looked like a couple who were fighting. At least, that was what the rest of the people saw.
*cough*, *cough*, the judge coughed, causing the two youths to realize their ambiguous situation. Qi Long chuckled as he let go of her hand. Erza was speechless. She stared at Qi Long in the eyes, trying to understand his true intention, only to see Qi Long looked back at her with a smile. She gritted her teeth and attacked.
The fight continued. Just like before, Erza held the upper hand, but it was not enough to beat Qi Long. After a while, their movements started to become sluggish as they were running out of stamina. Her eyes were back to normal and the pagoda had vanished.
Honestly, from the inherited memories inside that drop of phoenix blood, Erza still had two forbidden spells to use. However, they were not to be used in a friendly competition like this. They were more for life and death battles. Moreover, the after-effect was too fearful. If she used them now, she would definitely miss the final.
Qi Long also had a forbidden skill but it was useless in this fight. It was a support skill for an ally.
If things continued the way it was, Erza would be the final winner. Therefore, Qi Long had to make a gamble. He started by swiping his spear aiming at Erza neck. As expected, Erza swiftly parried his attack with her sword. Qi Long then charged forward with his body.
This was not the first time the fight turned physical. However, they were all kicks in the past. This was the first time Qi Long going for a pinning.
Unfortunately, as he was going to push her down, Erza kneed him in his belly. Gritting his teeth in pain, he let go his spear and threw himself at her.
Erza panicked as they rolled on the floor. She lost her grip on her sword. Qi Long won his gamble as he ended up on top of Erza with her face was just right in front his. Erza face was red in shame.
In her anger, Erza butted Qi Long in the head with her forehead, causing both youths to touch their foreheads in pain. Qi Long felt dizzy and lost his balance. He ended up pinning on Erza with his whole body weight.
"You!!!" Erza gritted her teeth in anger.
"Are you a rhino?" Qi Long laughed.
"You are the rhino! Get away from me!" Erza tried to free herself. Unfortunately, she barely had any strength left to push Qi Long away. Their position was too intimate as their bodies pressed together and their faces were just right besides each other. If they turned around, they might end up kissing.
Mozart was looking at Qi Long with annoyance, while Beel was pondering over something. Qi Di snorted and Lance had an interesting expression on his face.
Qi Long parents, Qi Yang and Qi Yue, were smiling foolishly at their son behaviour. They had long known who was Qi Long waiting for in the preliminary round. They did not expect that their son would be so active when pursuing a girl.
The judge and the principal were looking toward each other. They were discussing who should be deemed as the winner between the two youths. Of course, they did it via voice transmissions.
It was obvious to everyone that the fight ended up in a tie. No one was able to really beat the opposite party. However, they still needed a winner. Someone needed to fight in the final.
While everyone was waiting for a decision, Qi Long turned his head around and kissed Erza on her cheek.
"I admit defeat!"