Dark Magus Returns

Kaylie was a little nervous, even from the start of the event. Originally, she felt intimidated by all the big-name students that were around her. All of them had come from big clans in the Demonic Faction.

Yet she had worked hard to earn her place. Her hard work had eventually paid off, beating even those in the Neverfall Clan who were able to have Qi pills, herbs, and more to advance their Pagna warrior stages.

Yet, from her humble Clan, she had managed to surpass it all. She was a talent the Clan was hoping for, a talent of 1 in every ten thousand.

Yet, as she witnessed others fight before her, and witnessed everything going on, she realized that there were just more talented people out there, especially in the Dark Faction. She wondered what they had been through for all of them to have become so powerful.

It wasn't as if life in a Demonic Faction was easy by any means. Was it just that her opponents worked even harder than her... it was hard to believe.

Finally, though, her name had been called up, and she went to take her one-handed sword. It was lighter than regular swords, and it flexed a little on impact. It was the special type of swordsmanship her clan practiced with.

The sword was flexible, and then snapped into place and hardened when the end of the skill was used. Just before she stood out there, she gave out a sigh and turned to look at 'Jake'.

"So, big shot," she said with a nervous smile. "Do you have any advice for me on how to win this match? I could do with a bit of teamwork help."

She was never close to the students at the academy, so she felt that she and Jake were the same, since he was never a student at the academy. Maybe that's why she had managed to ask him this question, a ray of hope, that was until she heard the answer.

"If I were to go up against her, even I might lose, so don't take a loss as too much of a big deal," Raze answered.

The others who heard Raze speak wondered if this person from the Crimson Crane knew much about the student. As part of the wanderer clan, maybe he had even come across her for him to say such a thing.

Perhaps, this really was the White Dragon from the Dark Faction. As she headed out, Kaylie prepared herself. She took a deep breath and looked directly at her opponent; there was great confidence in her eyes.

'This girl is just like me, she has done well in the team events directing everyone, but she never did anything herself. Everything will be fine.'

"The match begins!"

At the same time, both of the students went forward. As they did, Kaylie was ready to strike with her sword, but suddenly Safa had stopped, and she took her spear and stabbed it directly into the ground.

It had pierced the flooring and cracked, but the Qi channels broke the ground until it had broken right underneath Kaylie's foot. Her sword swung, but it hit the air, completely missed, while the side of Safa's spear hit her directly across the face. It was a clean hit, but Kaylie managed to back away in time.

Safa held her spear firmly and took a slow breath once again, channeling Qi from the outside into her.

'The principal will expect results; we will all have to do somewhat well in this tournament. We don't need to win it, and we don't know when Amir is going to act, but just in case, we have to be on the principal's good side, so I will have to win this match,' Safa said as she dived forward and started to strike again and again.

Each time she threw her spear out, Kaylie could only defend. The crowd was getting excited as they saw a clash with swords and spear going on, but it was only the true masters who were watching that could tell something truly impressive was going on at this moment.

"It looks like this might be a loss for us," Lince commented.

"Really, apart from the attack at the beginning, I would say that the two of them are evenly matched," Beret commented.

"Then you're a fool," Sha Mo said, but didn't expand any further on that.

"You know, it would be nice if you could use this situation as a teaching tool for the students as well," Lince added, and then went on to explain.

Safa continued to use her spear, hitting Kaylie side by side. Whenever it looked like Kaylie was about to get trapped and be done for, she just managed to break out of the situation, and this pattern seemed to continue.

"Can you see her breath while she's striking? You should pay attention," Lince claimed.

Even Mantis seemed to focus and perk up when watching, and finally, he had figured it out.

"Is she cultivating Qi in the middle of a fight!" Mantis said.

"Precisely," Lince answered. "Could you imagine? One of the major differences between a Pagna warrior and a regular citizen is the ability to cultivate. There are some humans that are never able to cultivate in their life, never being able to build a dantian and achieve the first stage."

"It is something that requires an immense amount of focus and concentration. So much that nearly all warriors need to do such a thing sitting down in favorable conditions."

"So could you imagine someone, so unfazed by the fight in front of them, being able to act, defend, and attack, and still being able to cultivate in the middle of the match? That is a talent that has never been seen before."

"But, even if she can, what does that mean?" Beret asked.

"It means in the middle of this fight, she is replenishing the Qi she is using in her strikes, and at the same time, she is constantly growing. If she can do this in the middle of the fight, she must be able to constantly cultivate wherever she goes, allowing her to grow stronger by doing nothing, with each passing second," Lince explained.

Now, everyone understood just how impressive Safa was in this moment, but for Raze, he would have even taken it a step further.

'If Ricktor from the Erupting Fist Clan is a talent that is only found in 1 in 100,000 people, then Safa is a talent that is only found in 1 in a million. She had managed to progress quicker than I ever expected.'

'Not just in Pagna skills, in learning, in adapting to the situation. She is a quick figure, and a sponge that can almost absorb anything. Even in her skills with Light Magic, she would be considered a genius. Combining all of those things, it wouldn't be an understatement that she could become just as strong as the Grand Magus.'

Kaylie was now running out of Qi, while her opponent Safa stood there not striking any less sharply than she had been doing the entire fight.