The referee gave Erza a deep look, and then announced, "Second group fight participants please proceed to the stage!"
In the end, after going through so much struggles, Elsa managed to become the winner of the second group.
Witnessing the first two winners were both a first year student, the third and fifth year students were deeply ashamed. Fortunately for the third year students, Lance managed to become the winner of the third group.
The fourth group fight offered a very exciting match between Paul and the second strongest student amongst the fifth year, Tom Cruz. Despite being a realm lower, Paul managed to cause a lot of troubles for Tom with his Ring of Explosion. Since his defeat to Erza, Paul had been improving a lot. Unfortunately, it was not enough to defeat Tom Cruz. Paul lost to him after a hundred exchanges.
The fifth group match was about to start soon.
"It's your turn to go on stage," Tom patted Ling Men's shoulder as he passed by him on his way back.
"Mm." Ling Men silently withdrew his old heavy sword. He didn't have a spatial ring, so he carried the heavy sword on his back. Using this method, he had continually honed his connection with this sword, until he reached the realm of becoming one with his blade.
"Ling Men, if someone here is going to beat Erza, it's going to be you." Tom said to Ling Men as he looked afar, his gaze falling on Erza.
Ling Men was quiet. If what Erza had displayed before was her true strength, then Ling Men could evenly match with her, and even win. But, could this really be the limit of Erza's true strength?
Unlikely!
After Ling Men walked onto the stage, he immediately attracted the attention of everyone present; this was the first ranker of the fifth year. He had quietly occupied his position for several years. Regardless of whether it was Lang Bin or Tom Cruz, they were far from his match. It was not clear how strong Ling Men truly was.
The hearts of everyone present were filled with fiery expectations, including Erza; she was especially curious. Although Ling Men's practice was slower than her, he had worked carefully and made steady and even progress, and finally his efforts had paid off.
"Ling Men!"
As Ling Men stood on the fighting stage, he silently observed his opponents and reported his name. His voice was filled with an icy and murderous intent; this was the experience he had gained so far in his life.
He had participated in the Eastern Trial and the underground dungeon trial. Moreover, similar to Lang Bin, Ling Men's home was also on the edge of the empire. Since his childhood, Ling Men was used to killing and the tough life at the border.
The other participants also reported their names one by one. Harry Well and Qing Tian were amongst the students in the fifth group battle, but they were expected to become the stepping stones for Ling Men.
The referee stepped onto the stage, and loudly announced, "I will not repeat the rules of the competition. The match begins now!"
As the referee's voice fell, Qing Tian took a single step forwards and dragged his inky black saber outwards. This was a different weapon with the one he used in the New Students Championship. He unexpectedly targeted Ling Men. It seemed like he was eager to try himself against the crowd favourite.
As the saber curved, a black beam of light followed it, over several tens of feet long. This saber light was crescent-shaped. Looking from a distance, it was as if a large black moon had suddenly descended to earth.
"Falling Moon Glacier!"
Qing Tian cried out. He tightly grasped the black saber in both hands, and viciously cut at Ling Men! This saber light was even able to block the sun; it was as if night had fallen!
Ling Men's eyes condensed. He wielded the heavy sword in his hands and struck out. His heavy sword was very slow; it was impossible to overtake Qing Tian's Falling Moon Glacier. But in the moment that the saber and sword crossed each other, an incomprehensible scene took place.
Qing Tian's body suddenly stopped, as Ling Men's sword arrived in front of him.
*Peng!*
An incomparably clear sound reverberated through the air; Qing Tian's Falling Moon Glacier suddenly shattered like a piece of glass, breaking into countless tiny black shards!
Qing Tian's body shook, and he suddenly plopped downwards like a bag of rice that fell from the air, heavily hitting the floor. He had not been cut by Ling Men's sword wind, nor was he wounded. He hadn't even vomited blood. But in that instant, he had tumbled onto the ground and didn't rise back up.
Ling Men retracted the heavy sword, and turned to look for his next opponents. He did not even spare Qing Tian a backwards glance.
The entire audience was dumbfounded. Obviously Ling Men's sword light had not touched Qing Tian's body, so why did Qing Tian suddenly hit the floor?
Harry Well, Qi Long, and the others did not understand.
Erza furrowed her eyebrows. Her soul force was powerful, and her sense of perception was far sharper than a normal person. She had faintly felt something. Ling Men had released some sort of murderous aura that penetrated into Qing Tian's body, giving him internal injuries!
In the end, no one was Ling Men's equal on the fifth group fight.
"Victory to Ling Men!"
After the referee announced the result, the audience flew into an uproar. This….this was a victory? All of Ling Men's opponent was finished in a single strike, and they hadn't even been touched. What was going on?
............….
"This Ling Men really gave me a pleasant surprise." Reynold remarked as he watched Ling Men's back as he left. He was secretly startled. He assumed that Ling Men would not be Erza's match. But now it looked as if the two people would have a good fight!
"It should be because of his spirit of slaughter! Ling Men has no love or desire in his heart, only endless slaughter. This is the demon of his heart. But at the same time, it is also a supreme weapon. His murderous intent can substantialize into an essence that can be used in a direct attack. The reason that Qing Tian paused was because he was compelled to do so by Ling Men's killing aura. This is a strength that can't be easily seen."
Alexander had experienced Ling Men's attack in the past. When he was in his fifth year at the academy, Ling Men was in the third year, while Beel was still at his first year. Taking advantage of his higher realm and the fact that both Ling Men and Beel were still young, Alexander managed to beat them after some struggles and became the champion.
Reynold said, "Not only that, but Ling Men was able to gather and unite all of the murderous aura around him into a condensed form, creating a sort of killing domain. If one's strength is insufficient, it would be impossible to breakthrough this protection! To be able to create this sort of ability, Ling Men's perception is simply terrifying!"
"Hehe, this is something to be joyous about. I thought that the match between Erza and Ling Men would be a one-sided stomp, but this has added greatly to the suspense. Who does father think will win?"
Reynold shook his head, "I don't know. In these matches, both Ling Men and Erza didn't use their full strengths; they are still hiding most of their abilities. We can only see whose hidden cards are fiercer. This time when we go back to the clan, I will petition for Ling Men to become a core disciple of our first household. I'm sure as someone who came from an ordinary family, Ling Men would be more than happy to associate himself with us….."
As Ling Men's group match concluded, the competition continued to the sixth group match.
There was a great surprise in the sixth group match as Mozart went through as the group winner. He defeated Meghan, and some top rankers of the third and fifth year students.
With Qi Di help, Qi Long ended up as the winner of the seventh group match, while a girl called Claire managed to become the winner of the eight group. She was one of the TOP 10 rankers from the fifth year.
The eight group match concluded the qualifying rounds and the tournament would then enter the quarterfinals after the lunch break.