The next day, on an unknown island.
Makarov and the others departed from Hargeon Port, arriving at the island after a few hours of travel.
Makarov: "The person who will assess you is at the top of this island. Your task is to find him and gain his approval."
"If there are no problems, then set off directly."
Erza and Mirajane exchanged glances, then each jumped off the ship and set out from the island.
Meanwhile, Natsu and the others on the ship watched them leave with envy.
Natsu excitedly asked: "Grandpa, can I go to the island too!"
"Bang!"
"You're still far from ready, kid! Stay put."
Erza's location:
Erza, while being vigilant of her surroundings, rapidly moved forward. Suddenly, Erza saw a figure in the distance.
"It's you, Ergou?!"
"Tell me, where is Ye Yang!"
Ergou waved his hand.
"Beat me, and you can go find the Boss."
Erza smiled slightly: "I've long heard that you two are learning some Six Styles martial arts from Ye Yang. I've never fought with you before, so today, let me see the power of the Six Styles you've learned."
After Erza finished speaking, she charged towards Ergou with her longsword.
"Shave!"
Erza swung her sword, and Ergou instantly vanished from his spot, reappearing behind Erza.
"Tempest Kick!"
Ergou swept his right leg, and a blade of air sharply flew towards Erza.
Erza's expression was slightly shocked. She never expected a human could cut out a blade of air with their bare body.
"Amazing! But this is not enough!"
Erza then cut down the flying air blade with a single sword strike. Ergou never expected his attack to be defeated so easily.
Seeing Erza charging at him again, his figure vanished from his spot once more. Erza's eyes quickly scanned her surroundings.
Although she couldn't see Ergou's figure clearly, thumping sounds continuously came from her ears.
"Here!"
Erza sharply swung her sword, and indeed, Ergou's figure appeared in front.
Ergou hastily channeled his magic power into his arms, blocking Erza's sword strike. His body slid backward for dozens of meters.
"Impressive. Is this the gap between me and an S-Class Mage? The opponent hasn't even used magic."
Erza looked at Ergou and said: "If this is all you've got, then move aside. You're not my opponent."
Just then, Erza saw Ergou take off the bracelet from his arm.
"What is that?"
"It's a gravity ring the Boss gave me for training."
"What!" Erza exclaimed in surprise.
"You're right. I was indeed not your opponent when I was holding back."
He said, throwing the gravity ring on the ground, which instantly created a crater.
"Phew! This is much easier."
"Come on, Erza, let's have a second round."
"Shave!"
Ergou's speed was many times faster than before. Erza couldn't even see any of his movements.
Ergou's foot directly kicked Erza's armor. The immense force sent Erza flying backward, crashing into a tree.
"Boom!"
Erza, protected by her armor, wasn't greatly harmed. She stood up and saw that her armor had been slightly dented by his kick.
("Such fast speed, such astonishing power.")
("Can someone without magic also exert such powerful strength? Ye Yang is truly an incredible person.")
("I can't be careless anymore.")
"Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor!"
Ergou's expression became solemn as he watched Erza begin to use magic. Erza using magic and Erza not using magic were completely different concepts.
"Heaven's Wheel: Bladewing Sword!"
"Tempest Kick: Consecutive Blades!"
Dozens of magic swords collided with dozens of air blades. Soon, the air blades were completely annihilated, and Ergou had to use Shave to leave the range of the sword rain.
"Heaven's Wheel: Flash!"
As soon as Ergou appeared, Erza directly struck him with a sword. Ergou was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into a tree, and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
By the time Ergou looked up, Erza's longsword was already in front of him.
"I lost. The Boss is up there. Go quickly."
Erza: "You are very strong. Of the so-called Six Styles, I only saw two. I believe that once you learn all the techniques, becoming an S-Class Mage is not impossible."
"I'm going ahead. The Guild Master is at the bottom of the mountain; someone will treat your injuries."
After speaking, Erza continued towards the mountaintop.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, that was really a painful sword strike. If I hadn't concentrated my magic power on my body, I would have been injured by that."
"I should have learned Iron Body back then, that way I wouldn't be afraid of pain."
On the other side,
Mirajane had also confronted San Mao.
"You annoying guy, how can you dodge so much!"
"Paper Arts!"
Mira's fists continuously attacked San Mao, but San Mao's body was like a piece of paper. Mira attacked for a long time, shattering several trees, but she couldn't even touch San Mao.
"Ah ah ah!! I'm so mad!!"
"If I don't hurry, Erza will get there first!"
"Full Take Over: Satan Soul!"
San Mao couldn't help but gulp as he looked at Mira in front of him.
"Gulp."
"Gen... gently, alright."
"Bang bang..."
"Ah ah ah!!!"
In a short while, San Mao lay on the ground, bruised and swollen.
"Tell me! Where is Ye Yang!"
San Mao tremblingly pointed towards the direction of the mountaintop. Mirajane directly left San Mao and rushed towards the mountaintop.
Leaving behind a tearful San Mao.
Soon after, the disheveled Ergou and the bruised and swollen San Mao arrived at the ship's side.
Ergou burst out laughing when he saw San Mao's appearance.
"How badly were you beaten by Mirajane!"
"That guy didn't play fair. I didn't even take off my gravity ring, and she defeated me with Satan Soul."
Makarov looked at the two and said: "Alright, get on the ship quickly."
"Lisanna, bandage them up."
"Okay, Guild Master Grandpa."
At the mountaintop,
Erza and Mirajane simultaneously reached the summit. Both stared intently at each other.
Seeing Ye Yang lying in a chair, they immediately ran over and said in unison: "I was the first to reach the top!"
"It was clearly me!"
"You tell us, who was it!"
"Uh... two big sisters, it's not about who reaches the top first to become an S-Class Mage. What's there to argue about?"
"Alright, since both of you have already reached the mountaintop, I will now announce the final assessment."
Upon hearing this, the two immediately quieted down.
"The next assessment is very simple. Both of you attack me together. Whoever holds out until the end will be the S-Class Mage."
Mirajane retorted: "Then can't we defeat you!"
Ye Yang calmly said: "Emmm, of course you can. If both of you can defeat me, I can make an exception and let both of you become S-Class Mages."
Upon hearing this, the two girls immediately became excited.
"You said it!"