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Clang! Clang! Clang!
The clash of swords sounded like a symphony of steel, and Felix was somewhat surprised. The training sword he used was specially made from ebony and black steel, an excellent choice even as a weapon.
The opponent was merely using a plain wooden sword, yet it managed to withstand so many strikes against the ebony sword without breaking. Either the wooden sword was exceptionally tough, or the opponent's sword skills were superb.
He believed it was both.
In the instant the opponent retreated to defend, Felix's eyes sharpened. He raised his sword high and then struck down fiercely, twisting his body to harness its power. To onlookers, it seemed as if he was "sliding at high speed," and the ebony sword crashed down like a shock wave!
However, he hit empty air!
Just like in previous attempts, when he was about to strike the opponent's opening, Sonia would use an incredibly bizarre footwork. It interrupted all current movements, abruptly sliding across the ground, narrowly dodging his lethal strike each time, and then—
He turned his head to see Sonia's calm and cold eyes, along with the afterimage of her wooden sword in a counterattack!
Clang!
He managed to parry the blow, but Felix was growing anxious. Although Sonia had not yet been able to injure him, he felt that she was gradually becoming more accustomed to the Wave Motion Stance, and the pressure she exerted on him increased steadily.
Even though Felix had previously acknowledged that Sonia's talent surpassed his own, he didn't believe he would lose. Setting aside Sonia's physical exertion, the advantage from the Wave Motion Stance alone put him in an invincible position.
Sonia was clearly employing the Starry Stance from the Swordsmanship Manual. Despite the grandiose name, it was essentially a basic stance. Its strength lay in its solid foundation, allowing easy transition to other stances and the ability to summon three Technique Spirits: "Slashing Sword," "Cutting Sword," and "Piercing Sword." Its weakness was its mediocrity.
The Wave Motion Stance, however, was a Vosloda family secret, famed for its explosiveness. The summoned "Wave Sword" Technique Spirit was also of the instantaneous burst type. Felix initially thought that a series of relentless attacks would defeat this sudden upstart swordsmanship genius.
Unexpectedly, apart from the Starry Stance, she also mastered a bizarre footwork that allowed her to evade several seemingly inevitable attacks. Although Felix had almost figured out her rhythm by now, Sonia had simultaneously discerned the intricacies of the Wave Motion Stance, closing the gap between them!
Additionally, she had mastered a Sword Drawing Technique.
Yet, compared to the explosive power of the Wave Motion Stance, the Sword Drawing Technique fell slightly short. Felix actually hoped she would clash with him using the Sword Drawing Technique, as the sheer rebounding force of the weapons could shatter her wrist. Having suffered that fate once, Sonia had since abandoned the Sword Drawing Technique, focusing solely on maneuvering around Felix.
Felix had no desire or ability to prolong this. Even if he wore Sonia out, it would only be a hollow victory.
Furthermore, Sonia's alluring and impressive physique seemed to harbor boundless energy. He sensed that it would be him who was exhausted by then!
It was time to end this!
He didn't specifically target any openings, but instead suddenly took a step back, adopting the Wave Motion Stance once more. He exhaled a deep breath of turbid air, his eyes like swords, locking onto Sonia.
"One more move, win or lose!" he declared resolutely.
"Alright."
The next second, the bystanders showed expressions of astonishment, while Felix was filled with rage!
Because Sonia raised her wooden sword with her right hand, holding it high, and stood sideways facing him, exactly mirroring Felix's stance. She had actually adopted the Wave Motion Stance!
No one believed Sonia had learned the Wave Motion Stance. She had just seen it for the first time. Even if she had observed Felix training, it was unlikely she could learn it. Felix trained openly at the training ground, visible to everyone, but who had ever secretly learned the Vosloda family's secret technique?
A stance not only consisted of forms, but also breathing techniques, footwork, and precise exertion details, impossible to master through mere observation. Even with guidance, not everyone possessed the talent to comprehend it. Every magical faction capable of reaching the Void Realm had incredibly high thresholds.
Thus, everyone concluded that the only reason Sonia adopted the Wave Motion Stance was to taunt Felix!
Nothing was more humiliating than defeating someone with their own moves.
The provocation clearly succeeded. Felix's face darkened considerably, remaining silent.
Only Celia couldn't help but cheer inwardly. Provoking Felix in such a manner, Felix wouldn't be able to forget her even if he wanted to. Who would've thought that among the freshmen, there would be a female Hunter with such skillful methods, who even taught her a lesson? But next, she should lose to Felix, offer him a step, and naturally arrange future duels, increasing her opportunities for interaction, right?
"You humiliate yourself!" Felix shouted angrily, stepping forward, twisting his body, and dropping the single-handed sword like a whip, like a ball smashing down, like water flow pouring down!
No fancy move names, the core of this attack was simply a "break": exhaust all efforts to breach the enemy's defense!
Felix zeroed in on Sonia's knees. He had already noticed the only telltale sign whenever Sonia employed her bizarre footwork: the movements of her knees. He could predict Sonia's evasive direction through the knees and adjust his sword to shatter Sonia's resistance with a single strike!
However, to his surprise, Sonia did not evade, but executed the exact same move as he did: stepping sideways, swinging her sword down!
Might met might!
Clang!
Accompanied by a nerve-jarring roar, their figures crossed paths. The onlookers held their breath, waiting for the outcome to emerge.
Snap.
Sonia's wooden sword snapped in half, falling to the ground.
No one was surprised because they saw the One-winged Swordsman appearing on Felix's shoulder, its sword made of black light—the Wave Sword Technique Spirit!
"A breakthrough mid-battle! There truly is such a thing!"
"Summoning the Lifebound Technique Spirit during battle!"
"Indeed a feat of the Vosloda!"
Ingrid went over to support Sonia, comforting her, "Don't be discouraged, you'll soon be able to summon the Technique Spirit, then…"
"I didn't lose," Sonia said calmly.
Everyone paused, thinking Sonia was just trying to save face. However, in the next second, Felix's ebony sword also broke and clattered to the ground.
On Sonia's shoulder appeared a One-winged Swordsman, but unlike Felix's, hers was female, and its sword was made of white light.
"The Wave Sword Technique Spirit?!"
"How did she also summon the Vosloda's Wave Sword Technique Spirit? Could it be..."
"Did she learn Felix's Wave Motion Stance during the fight and then summon it directly?"
"Is that even possible..."
"Wait, does this mean she went from apprentice to Sword Master in just a few hours?"
These words left everyone nearly in shock—many had spent years without becoming Sword Masters, and Sonia achieved in one night what they couldn't in years?
The admiration of the onlookers, Ingrid's surprise, Celia's jealousy, Felix's complex gaze…
Yet Sonia was in no mood to care about these things.
She stared directly at the Observer watching from the side, with an expression of "I already know the truth."
She asked in her heart, "You mean you're just a phantom manifested by my mind, not real? You merely represent my inner thoughts? You're just my hallucination?"
The Observer didn't speak, simply crouched down to pick up the broken sword from the ground, then touching the break with his hand, the wooden sword was restored to its original state, without a trace of a crack.
Even after completing such a miraculous act, no one noticed him, nor did they notice the wooden sword had been restored.
He dusted off his hands, turned, and walked outside, leaving behind words that infuriated Sonia:
"You guess?"
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