Like a crown constructed of black thorns and wings, it encircled the pure white crystal at its center.
The moonlight spilled down, and Tilan, dressed in a simple white dress, descended onto the stage; the mbers behind her, like wings, also descended and stood behind her.
Black uniforms, deep blue rose collars, the students of Edith Academy arranged in a neat inverted triangle, with the girl in the lone, snow-white dress at the forefront.
"The Rose of the Dark Night, the Twinkling Morning Star."
After Edith Academy's exhibition concluded, the final Academy, Saint Ingo, made its appearance.
The lights in the venue illuminated one by one, golden rays spreading throughout the space, followed by golden waves caressing the earth in the center of the venue, and a sea of brilliantly flowering golden leaves blossod as a grand symphony sounded. Then, from every entrance below the venue, students dressed in white uniforms with golden leaf patterns erged, blossoming flowers in their wake, each holding a flower sword.
"The Golden Rose Branch, The Song of Wishes, The Oath of the Sacred Tree."
Without needing overly elaborate adornnts, Saint Ingo still maintained its dignified, kingly presence. They slowly ascended to the high platform, with rows of Saint Ingo students on either side, until finally, those twelve stepped onto the center stage one by one.
"It's begun, this grand stage." Once all the competitors from the six academies were on stage, soone couldn't help but let out this exclamation.
"I believe they will surely win the championship." Having witnessed those figures sweating and striving, the supporters in the audience prayed silently, hoping that the ones they supported would achieve final victory.
"Now, I declare the competition has begun!"
The host needed no further explanation and directly announced the comncent of tonight's battles.
"First to enter the stage are Edith Academy's Bennett, who will face Saint Ingo Academy's Idalgo."
On a stage capturing everyone's attention, two students stepped onto the white marble platform, standing fifty ters apart.
"Unexpectedly, it's these two rivals up first," a spectator below the stage comnted.
"This ti, it seems Edith Academy has a particularly different determination, a spirit different from the previous two tournants."
"Speaking of which, the team is actually led by Hexia Tilan, she's only a second-year, right?"
"Standing in formation is probably just to boost morale, after all, in Edith Academy, she's the most popular and has the largest influence."
On the high platform, both competitors held their swords, each placing a hand on the hilt, watching and observing each other closely.
Although the battle had not officially begun, both knew they were not an easy match for each other. Bennett shone brightly in last sester's competition, while Idalgo was a rising star of Saint Ingo in recent years, having participated in several Central Star Domain swordsmanship contests, obtaining impressive rankings.
"How curious, to face you in the first match," Bennett said as he slowly drew his glowing green sword, pointing towards the ground. The blade began to emit faint white smoke, and a slight distortion appeared at its edge.
"New swordsmanship, it seems you've made significant progress over these six months," Idalgo observed the smoky blade, contemplating the origins of this unusual swordsmanship in his mind.
He had seen it in last year's video recordings; the Edith Academy club had used this unfamiliar swordsmanship to defeat the elites of Thunder Edge.
"But we at Saint Ingo have not been rely standing still," he said as he too drew his sword, a colorless current swirling around the blade and even extending to his body, allowing him to hover, as if standing in midair.
"White Orchid Swordsmanship: Crossed Interlock!"
"Feather Wind Sword: Airflow Shuttle!"
Both moved simultaneously, closing the fifty-ter distance almost instantly, and rushing toward each other. Crossed slashing blades materialized and flashed in the air as Idalgo dodged with a phase-like shift, passing through the divided sword light.
After the first clash, a mark like a wind-swept cut appeared on Bennett's face, with slight traces of blood slowly flowing down, while Idalgo bore no wounds, his face paled a bit—indicating that even though he had avoided the attack, it had not been without cost.
"Not bad," Bennett said with a faintly excited smile after wiping the blood from his face. That smile grew wider until his gaze sharpened and he charged forward once more.
The second clash had begun, and unlike the cautious probing of the first, Bennett's blade was a blur of residual images and phantom lights. There was almost no pause between each strike as the sword edge continually collided, slashed, broke through defenses, and tore through space. The high-frequency and relentless attacks pushed Idalgo into a dire situation ti after ti. Despite Idalgo's considerable strength, he started to show slight flaws under such intense and rapid onslaughts.
Finally, the glowing green blade swung again, leaving a conspicuous trail of blood on Idalgo's body, followed by a second and a third...
It wasn't until the seventh streak of blood sprayed that Bennett slowly ceased his assault, letting the sword edge droop gradually.
The golden sword that had been in his grasp fell to the ground, bounced slightly, and settled with a clear tallic clang.
Idalgo slowly knelt to the ground and then collapsed, unconscious.
"Edith Academy wins!"
In less than two minutes, the first match was over, and the unexpected outco left the audience in silence, taking a while before whispers and conversations resud.
"So strong. Not just Bennett. Even though Idalgo lost, the strength displayed in those two minutes probably ranks at the top among all competitors. I might not have lasted even two seconds against him," soone muttered.
"We really can't underestimate this year's Edith Academy," said another.
"The second match, Luligeta from Swarm's Reign Academy, versus Kailanli from Crystal Lattice Academy."
Two girls with markedly different auras stepped onto the stage. Luligeta looked like a noble songstress in her elegant attire, while Kailanli wore a deep blue trench coat, exuding a carefree and competent vibe.
After a brief introduction between the two, the judge announced loudly.
"Begin the match!"
Imdiately, Luligeta lifted her baton, and behind her erged a series of shimring colored crystals, which morphed and assembled into a circular painting reminiscent of stained glass. Then a chilling wind of ice shards blew towards Kailanli, leaving lines of vertical Ice Blades on the ground.
"Now we'll get to see Luligeta's magnificent performance once again," soone remarked.
"True to being the young miss from Swarm's Reign Academy, her fighting style is so elegant," another comnted.
While Luligeta was receiving praise from below the stage for her graceful combat stance, Kailanli only scoffed. She casually shook her head and tossed a blue square crystal from around her waist into the air.
The blue crystal blossod in mid-air, then rapidly expanded and rotated like a Rubik's cube, finally assembling into a large silver firearm resembling a rotary machine gun, brimming with a cold, steel aura.
With the massive gun cradled at her side, Kailanli pulled the trigger. The magazine on the outside of the machine gun spun, revealing rows of inscriptions.
[Dekelor Equation · Spiral Azure Twenty-Four]
As this inscription appeared, chanical clicks sounded from the barrel, and then it swiftly fired, shooting out blue incendiary bullets that tore through the layers of air, aiming straight for Luligeta's face.
When Kailanli summoned that huge silver machine gun, Luligeta had already begun to transform the colorful glass behind her, rearranging them into a new Art Formula.
"Illusory Colored Glass - Fractal Wall."
A pentagonal spike barrier ford in front of her. Soon, as bullets poured down, the slanted barrier deflected the blue incendiary rounds. The stage echoed with continuous impacts, spitting sparks everywhere.
However, Luligeta hadn't anticipated that the onslaught was far from over. As Kailanli's Magic Power sustained and her Art Formula operated, the machine gun rained bullets without end. As ti passed, Luligeta's face grew paler, her Magic Power rapidly depleting. By then, it was too late for her to change her Art Formula and dodge.
In the end, with a loud bang, the original pentagram barrier shattered into fragnted glass and bullets, both striking Luligeta and sending her flying, her tidy hair and broad, elaborate dress instantly becoming disheveled and torn, scorched black.
"Crystal Lattice Academy wins!"
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