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Boom—!
The entire arena practically exploded.
"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!!"
"So cool, Arthur!"
"Mr. Arthur~~~!!"
"Arthur! Arthur! Arthur!!" The commentator also stood up, shouting excitedly:
"The victor has been decided!!"
"Contestant Arthur, with just one strike! He defeated all other opponents!!!"
"Truly worthy of being our Sobeya Kingdom's strongest Nine-Star Swordsman—!!!"
Qi Yan was a bit bewildered at this moment: "No... no, this is magic, right! Isn't this against the rules?"
"Magic? No, this is swordsmanship. A Mage Swordsman is also a Swordsman, and all who become high-star Swordsmen are Mage Swordsmen. Where did you come from, a bumpkin who doesn't even know this?" The enthusiastic big brother next to him explained to Qi Yan.
"..."
Qi Yan was a bit speechless. He was right, he had indeed come from a world without magic.
Originally, he thought that at most, magic here would only enhance physical abilities and condense magic power to release some slashes. He hadn't expected magic to be counted within it.
"So strong!"
Erza's expression was very serious as she watched Arthur's attack. To defeat so many people with a single strike, was this Sobeya Kingdom's strongest Nine-Star Swordsman?
If she used her Re-equip magic, she should be able to withstand that blow, but without it, she wasn't sure.
"Tch! Still such a show-off!"
Clay felt a bit displeased seeing the other person's popularity so much higher than his own.
"Excellent!"
The King looked at the screen and nodded in satisfaction. Clay was someone he had watched grow up since he was a child. He was a swordsmanship genius from a young age and was never arrogant or conceited, always striving to improve his sword skills, and his strength was rapidly increasing. If it weren't for the Magic Council only defining Mages, with Clay's strength, he would definitely have a place among the Ten Great Mages.
"Next is Group D, also the final group. Contestants, please enter!!"
After all the defeated Swordsmen were carried away for treatment, the commentator announced the entry of the final group of contestants.
"Is it my turn?"
Qi Yan stood up and walked towards the arena's contestant entrance.
As soon as he entered the arena, another round of enthusiastic cheers erupted.
"Allen! Allen! Allen!!"
Qi Yan looked back and saw a young man with fiery red hair, similar in age to him, entering. The young man smiled brightly and waved to the audience.
"Wow! It's Allen!!"
"So handsome!!"
"Go, Allen!! Defeat them all!!"
Many girls in the audience screamed. Allen was very handsome, his swordsmanship was superb, and most importantly, he was young. At only nineteen years old, he was the dream lover of many girls.
Although Clay and Arthur were not old, they were both more than ten years older than Allen, and in the eyes of fourteen or fifteen-year-old girls, they were practically half old geezers.
"Tch! Just a stinky brat."
Seeing Allen so popular with young girls, Clay felt a bit jealous.
"It's the genius Swordsman Allen!!"
"He is the youngest Nine-Star Swordsman in our Sobeya Kingdom!!"
"He is also the only Nine-Star Swordsman in this group! I wonder if he can sweep through the competition like the other two Nine-Star Swordsmen!! Let's wait and see!!"
Qi Yan glanced at the other person and then walked into the arena.
Once in the arena, Qi Yan realized that these people were all avoiding those with higher star levels than themselves, prioritizing the elimination of those with lower star levels. After he entered, he felt no less than ten gazes fall upon him.
It seemed they were treating him as a soft persimmon to squeeze. Qi Yan couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth curl up slightly.
Anyway, this persona would be discarded after winning the prize money from the competition, so he might as well give these people a little shock.
"This match is definitely a foregone conclusion!"
"Yeah! Allen is a Nine-Star genius Swordsman!"
"Indeed, our Sobeya Kingdom's Swordsmen are the strongest. Only that female Swordsman is a bit powerful, but she still can't compare to our country's Nine-Star Swordsmen."
"We just need to enjoy Allen's performance!"
"That's right! That's right!" Everyone in the audience felt that this round was already a foregone conclusion. The gap between a Nine-Star Swordsman and an Eight-Star Swordsman was enormous, and a genius was completely different from an ordinary person.
"Now for the first round, Group C's showdown, begin—!!"
Clang—!
With the sound of the starting gong, the fourth battle immediately began.
Almost at the very instant the gong sounded.
"Sun Breathing, Eleventh Form: Halo Dragon, Head Dance!!!"
"Roar—!!!"
A high-pitched dragon's roar echoed in the arena, followed by the next moment, a winding fiery giant dragon instantly passed through all the contestants.
"Ugh ah ah ah!"
"Wah ah ah ah!" All the contestants, including the genius Nine-Star Swordsman Allen, were all sent flying by this single strike.
The fire dragon disappeared, and a man with long crimson hair, wearing a red haori, stood where the fire dragon's head had vanished, with the contestant number '0556' hanging on his back.
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
All the contestants fell to the ground, having lost their fighting ability.
"..."
The entire venue instantly fell silent.
The three people in the contestant waiting area, Erza, Clay, and Arthur, all stood up, looking at the calm man in the arena with shocked expressions.
Clay's eyes widened in disbelief: "Th-this... how is this possible?! How can anyone's swordsmanship reach this level? No, impossible, absolutely impossible!"
Arthur said with a grave expression: "It has already truly happened before our eyes. What are you still saying is impossible? That man is standing right there."
"So strong! Truly too strong!"
Erza couldn't utter any superfluous words. Her eyes were fixed on the man's figure in the arena; shock and astonishment were not enough to describe it.
A word popped into her mind: God!!
If there truly were gods among Swordsmen, then this man was the God of Swords.
In the palace.
Bang!
The King slammed his hand on the table and stood up, staring at Qi Yan on the screen with a shocked expression. The King was also an experienced Nine-Star Swordsman, once revered as the strongest Swordsman in the Sobeya Kingdom. Later, as he grew older, he gradually retired, and the young Arthur then became the strongest Nine-Star Swordsman.
However, though he was older, his insight was greater.
Those who didn't understand swordsmanship might see Qi Yan's and Arthur's attacks as both clearing the field in one strike, seemingly without much difference. But in the eyes of true top-tier Swordsmen, the gap between the two was not just a little bit.
It was a world of difference.