"Chiiiii!"
The sharp sound of a dagger slicing through the air echoed all around.
A bright blade of light suddenly appeared without any warning, like a flash of cold radiance, flashing across space and slashing toward the emblem in front of Ardi.
"Clang!"
In the next second, intense sparks and a crisp collision sound erupted simultaneously. However, it wasn't the sound of Fang Li's dagger cutting through the emblem; instead, it was the sound of hitting metal, Ardi's metallic body.
In the nick of time, Ardi hastily retreated, causing the emblem to narrowly avoid the slashing blade of light. However, this abrupt retreat also made Ardi lose his balance completely, leaving a significant opening.
In this situation, Ardi had no chance to dodge the incoming attack.
Fang Li's eyes flickered, and he suddenly reversed his grip on the dagger. With a swift spin, he thrust it towards Ardi, like a reverse elbow strike, stabbing fiercely towards the emblem in front of Ardi.
The target remained the school emblem.
"Bang!"
Just as Fang Li's dagger was about to strike the emblem, a gunshot rang out from Fang Li's side. Bullets grazed through space, violently shooting towards Fang Li.
"Clang!"
Fang Li promptly retracted his dagger, flicked away the oncoming bullets, turned his head, and looked to his side.
There, Rimsy held a gun-shaped Lux with the barrel aimed at Fang Li.
"Bang, Bang, Bang!"
Gunshots echoed as three bullets, formed from concentrated Mana, violently shot out from the gun's muzzle in a triangular pattern, targeting Fang Li's chest, abdomen, and thighs.
Fang Li's figure froze momentarily, seemingly ignoring inertia, allowing the three bullets to pass close in front of him and fly off into the distance.
By this time, Ardi's figure had stabilized.
"Hum!"
The trembling sound of the air erupted as Mana gathered and surged in Ardi's hand. He gradually condensed it into a giant hammer the size of his body, accompanied by a roaring gust of wind, and swung it down forcefully.
"BOOM!"
A heavy, stifling explosion-like sound swept through the arena. The massive hammer crashed heavily onto the ground, shattering the floor and sending rocks and dust flying in a shockwave that radiated outward.
However, since the colossal hammer had fallen to the ground, it indicated that it hadn't hit its target.
Fang Li had already darted away, like a flash of light, soaring towards the back, and in no time, he returned to his original spot, landing next to Cecily.
The entire arena fell into sudden silence.
Ardi remained frozen in the posture of swinging the giant hammer, speechless.
Rimsy, still holding up the gun, remained silent as well.
In the audience stands, spectators widened their eyes in disbelief. After a brief pause, they erupted into a resounding cheer, filled with astonishment and excitement.
Even the live broadcast within the commentator's box erupted with excitement, their voices filled with exhilaration.
"It's incredible! Truly incredible! Who would have thought that Fang Li, who had never made a move before, would be this powerful? With a single strike, he almost broke through the formation of Contestants Ardi and Rimsy!"
"The speed! That speed is far more terrifying than Contestant Zhao Hufeng's from three years ago! It's no wonder he's allowed to partner with the Second Disciple of 'Banyuu Tenra'! This is simply astonishing!"
The enormous Space Screen hovering above the stage began to replay the recent exchange in slow motion, allowing all the spectators in the arena to understand what had just happened.
A grand cheer erupted like a tidal wave, rising up and resonating throughout the entire stage.
However, Fang Li, holding a sharp dagger, simply gazed ahead with curiosity and said, "Didn't they declare that they wouldn't attack for one minute?"
In an attempt to force Fang Li to retreat, both Ardi and Rimsy had initiated attacks. The entire process hadn't even lasted for three seconds.
Ardi's one-minute declaration hadn't even reached the three-second mark before it was abruptly broken.
"Haha… Haha… Hahaha!"
Ardi, wielding the massive hammer, suddenly burst into laughter. "Excellent! Absolutely excellent! So, that's how it is! Is this the formidable opponent Master specially warned us about? Truly impressive!"
In contrast to Ardi's laughter, Rimsy continued to gaze at Fang Li, her expression unchanged, but her eyes glittered with seriousness.
Evidently, Fang Li's performance had taken these two puppets by surprise.
"That speed just now, I bet it's not even recorded in our database, right?" Ardi raised the colossal hammer high, pointing it at Fang Li. "In that case, let's retract the previous declaration and go all out to counter it!"
Ardi's words finally brought a smile to Cecily's face. "It should have been like this from the beginning!"
With that said, Cecily waved her hand, and talismans suddenly appeared between her fingers, which she threw like hidden weapons.
"Swift as a lightning command! Choku!"
With Cecily's hand seal and command, the talismans flew up rapidly, forming a strategic formation in mid-air. Shortly afterward, they erupted into dazzling rays of lightning, covering the sky and descending like a torrent of lightning bolts toward the stage.
"Danger!"
"…!"
Both Ardi and Rimsy reacted swiftly. One retreated hastily, while the other activated her flight device, emitting a burst of propelling light as she soared skyward.
"Bang, Bang, Bang!"
The cascading lightning bolts fell one after another onto the stage, thoroughly covering it. They shattered the ground, tore up the floor, and created a scene reminiscent of a sudden and devastating natural disaster, causing a powerful explosion.
For a moment, lightning crisscrossed the stage, creating shockwaves and an explosive battlefield atmosphere.
While Rimsy flew high into the sky, Ardi had to retreat while simultaneously creating a defensive light barrier in front of him to block the incoming lightning and shockwaves.
"Snap…"
At that moment, a faint footstep echoed, clearly reaching Ardi's ears.
"Could it be…!" Ardi suddenly turned his head to look behind him.
There, a figure had suddenly leaped towards him, wearing a somewhat chilly smile. In the figure's hand, the dagger transformed into a gleam of light and slashed towards Ardi.
The speed was astonishing.
Having just deployed a defensive barrier in front of him, Ardi was unable to conjure another one in time.
In that instant, Ardi could only raise the massive hammer in his hand.
"Clang!"
In a fierce collision, the dagger and the colossal hammer clashed violently.
...
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