"What... what exactly is going on?"
Staring at Owen's back, Catalina gasped in astonishment.
When did Owen gain such terrifying strength?
Just the mana fluctuations alone made Catalina's heart race. Sage-tier level 9, just one step away from god-tier.
It could be said that Owen was now the strongest, second only to a few old-timers from the Fallen Dimension who hadn't shown themselves in ages.
Even she, as his mentor and the headmaster, was utterly outclassed by Owen.
More importantly, it seemed that Owen still hadn't used his full power.
"You two, your attacks don't seem to be working very well, are you holding back? I don't think there's any need for that."
From the throne, Owen sat up and sneered, "How about this? I won't even fight back. No need for two hours; if you can break through the barrier I've set, I'll admit defeat. I'll tie my hands and let you deal with me however you please. How does that sound?"
"You brat, don't be so arrogant!"
Fal's face turned red with anger, his expression growing increasingly ugly.
Of course, Fal knew whether or not he had held back in his previous attack.
The overwhelming sandstorm he summoned was the strongest magic he could currently cast.
To use forbidden-tier magic, he would need to be in his own domain, and it would require a long chant.
But now, his domain had been effortlessly dissolved by Owen, and without the home-field advantage, his combat power was greatly diminished.
"Even if my young master started this conflict, do you not think it's excessive to kill him in a fit of rage?" Charles knew they were no match for Owen.
Even if he and Fal combined their strength, they still couldn't break Owen's defense. Continuing the fight would be pointless.
Besides, a twenty-something-year-old sage-tier level 9 prodigy not only shattered their understanding but also made them realize the gravity of the situation.
A sage-tier individual wasn't frightening, and a prodigy alone wouldn't cause two prominent families to retreat.
But when those two traits combined in one person, they had to reassess the threat level of Crossbridge Academy.
"Excessive? Your young master lured my partner to Kur'gash and intended to do unspeakable things. So I killed him. What wrong did I commit? Even if I had to do it a hundred times, I would kill him a hundred times. Let this be a lesson that some people are off-limits!
If either of you has any objections, you can continue to attack. I'm ready anytime."
As Owen's eyes glanced at the golden glow emerging from the formation beneath his feet, Charles felt a chill run down his spine.
If he showed even a hint of hostility now, Owen would undoubtedly strike without hesitation, killing them both!
The young master was dead, an unchangeable fact. Sacrificing a family's sage-tier warrior for a dead man was clearly not worth it.
With that thought, Fal and Charles exchanged glances and saw the retreat in each other's eyes.
After a moment of silence, Fal was the first to speak, his voice low, "I need to return to the family and report this to the head."
"So, you're saying you're not going to make me pay for your young master's life?"
Pay with a life?
Fal found it laughable!
If he could beat Owen, Owen would have been torn to shreds by the sandstorm already, not sitting here talking to him calmly.
The truth was, they couldn't beat him. And when you're under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head.
"This matter... must be decided by the family head."
Seeing that the two were ready to retreat, Owen sneered and casually dispelled his domain.
"It seems you two are quite sensible. It really isn't worth it to sacrifice your lives for a dead man. However, leaving here won't be so easy."
Fal's face suddenly changed, and he glared at Owen, questioning, "Owen, what do you intend to do? Do you really want to make an enemy of the Troy family?"
"Are your memories so short? Ten minutes ago, you both swore that if I won, you'd each give me two sage-tier treasures. What? Now that I've won, you plan to renege?"
With Owen's reminder, Fal and Charles finally remembered, and their heads began to ache.
Who would have thought that this young man in his twenties would be stronger than them, two old men over five hundred years old?
Sage-tier treasures were incredibly precious.
Even for veterans like Fal and Charles, they only had three to five such treasures at most. Giving up two was like cutting off a limb!
But what could they do now?
Owen's attitude was crystal clear: he wasn't afraid to tear up relations with two major families. He alone was enough to topple both of them.
If they refused, they wouldn't make it out of here alive.
If they agreed, they'd be fully empowering an enemy, and they'd likely face punishment upon returning home.
Fal and Charles looked increasingly troubled. After a long silence, they finally made their choice.
They had to give in!
They could steal or craft more treasures, but once their lives were gone, they'd be gone forever!
"Greedy bastard! Here, take them!"
Having made up his mind, Fal didn't delay. He casually tossed two lightning bolts at Owen, though they were ultimately meaningless.
With just a thought, the space in front of Owen fluctuated, and the lightning bolts, as if trapped in a quagmire, were easily absorbed by Owen.
But once he had the treasures, Owen felt disappointed.
Fal had clearly played a trick. One of the treasures was a one-time-use item, containing a full-power earth magic attack from Fal, which would be useless after one use.
But isn't this still sage-tier power?
Of course, it is, just not very useful to Owen.
He was already a sage-tier warrior, far stronger than Fal, so he had no use for such magic.
The other item was a sage-tier storage ring, large enough to hold mountains and seas.
It sounded impressive, but to Owen, it was even more useless than the first!
After all, a space that large was impractical for him. While it was sage-tier quality, it offered no real benefit to Owen.
In contrast, Charles was much more honest, giving Owen two treasures that corresponded to two Variant Magics: a fan rich in wind elemental power and a headband brimming with thunder elemental power, both of which greatly enhanced wind and thunder magic.
"Charles is an honest man. Fal, you're just too stingy."
An honest man?
Seeing what Fal had handed over, Charles was nearly in tears.
If he'd known this kind of thing would count, he would never have handed over those precious items!
Those were his painstakingly accumulated treasures over the years! Even if he couldn't use them, they were great for collecting or trading in the future.
And now?
They were just gone!
"Hmph, you never said it didn't count. What's the problem?"
"No problem at all. In any case, I still have to thank you both for the gifts. You may leave now. I hope you keep this matter a secret. I don't want rumors flying around that Owen, the top student of Crossbridge Academy, is actually a sage-tier warrior, with all sorts of true and false stories spreading.
Oh, one more thing I forgot to mention: the bodies of your young masters are in that alley over there. If you go deep enough, you should find them. You'd better hurry and recover them. If the bodies become too damaged, it might be hard to explain to your families, right? Well, it's about time for me to go too. No need to see me off."
Owen smirked, turned, and left with Catalina and Elaine by his side.
As they watched Owen walk away, Fal and Charles clenched their teeth, their faces red with anger, wishing they could tear Owen to pieces and feast on his flesh to vent their hatred!
But they couldn't.
At this point, going against Owen or the entire Crossbridge Academy would be utterly foolish, even suicidal.