Chapter 186 | The Otherworld Journey That Starts From a Slime

It was the final day of the Monthly Test. After today, the official rankings would be set.

And the top twenty would even earn the right to enter the 【Realm Bridge Secret Realm】!

It was safe to say that all eyes were on this event!

Everyone arrived early at the Grand Dueling Platform to begin the final day of the Monthly Test.

Gajeel looked gloomily at Zhang Ye, who was surrounded by the crowd in Class One's area.

He had been beaten into a coma and heavily injured by Nan twice in a row, and both times had been under Zhang Ye's instruction. This made Gajeel's hatred for Zhang Ye burn even hotter.

Seeing Zhang Ye laughing and talking with Lina and the others, Gajeel let out a cold sneer.

I might not be able to beat Nan, but do you really think I can't beat you, or anyone else?

You'd better pray you don't cross paths with me, or else I'll show you the true meaning of cruelty!

The matches proceeded smoothly until they reached the top six, where Samanra received a bye.

Zhang Ye's opponent for this round was Paige.

When Paige leaped onto the dueling platform and saw Zhang Ye smiling at her, her face completely fell.

Her luck had been atrocious over the past three days. She had faced Gajeel once and Shana once, failing to make the top six both times. Now, she was directly matched against Zhang Ye.

Needless to say, she knew she had missed out on the top six yet again.

“Instructor...” Paige looked at Zhang Ye with a pitiful, puppy-dog expression.

Zhang Ye laughed and waved his hand. “Don't look at me like that. There's no way I'm forfeiting.”

Paige gave a bitter smile and nodded. “Alright. Then... can you please go a bit easy on me?”

“No problem. I'll make sure you lose with dignity,” Zhang Ye replied with a grin.

Paige was left speechless.

The match began.

From the previous battles, Paige knew that Zhang Ye's strength was even greater than Nan's. Thus, she unleashed her full power right from the start, immediately deploying her strongest sound magic.

Good grief, it was a barrage of dolphin-like high notes, sending rolling waves of sound outward.

The sound waves, packed with powerful mana, surged directly toward Zhang Ye.

However, Zhang Ye did not panic at all. He opened his mouth and countered with his own high-pitched vocalization, which even carried a faint, roaring undertone. He forcibly clashed with Paige's sound magic, refusing to give an inch.

Everyone watched Zhang Ye in utter shock.

It was one thing for Zhang Ye to practice Magic-Martial Dual Cultivation, but he even knew sound magic, and his mastery was actually not inferior to Paige's?!

This was simply absurd!

In less than three minutes, Paige could no longer hold on. In terms of pure sound magic technique, Paige was actually slightly superior to Zhang Ye, but she simply could not match his massive mana reserves. Facing him head-on in a battle of attrition rapidly depleted her mana, leaving her with no choice but to forfeit.

The advancing roster was as follows: Zhang Ye, Nan, Lina, Gajeel, Shana, Renomon, and Samanra, who had received the bye.

In the next round, Gajeel received a bye.

Zhang Ye was matched against Shana.

Lina was matched against Samanra.

Nan was matched against Renomon.

Upon seeing this matchup, Renomon's face fell as well.

He had to fight that freak?

Had he not been beaten badly enough during their previous practical combat?

Renomon sighed. Forfeiting was out of the question, so it looked like he was in for another beating...

The three matches took place simultaneously.

Looking at Shana across from him, Zhang Ye grinned. “Your Highness, wanna clash energy beams?”

Shana was left speechless.

The memory of being utterly crushed in their previous spell clash was still fresh in her mind. Shana was not foolish enough to face Zhang Ye head-on again.

As soon as the match began, Shana immediately cast several buffing spells on herself to enhance her magic's power, casting speed, and mobility. She planned to drag Zhang Ye into a battle of attrition.

However... a battle of attrition against Zhang Ye, whose mana reserves were as vast as the sea and whose mana recovery speed was completely off the charts?

Everyone already knew how that would end.

It was an overwhelming victory for Zhang Ye.

The battle between Lina and Samanra was also concluded very quickly. Samanra was well aware of Lina's strength. Back then, even working together with Renomon and the others had not been enough to defeat Lina, let alone fighting her one-on-one now.

Before long, Samanra was defeated and forfeited the match.

As for Renomon and Nan...

It was quite a tragic sight.

When Renomon walked off the platform, his eye was completely swollen—courtesy of a punch from Nan.

And this was even with Nan holding back.

How could one tell if Nan was holding back?

It was simple.

You just had to see if he drew his weapon.

For instance, when fighting Zhang Ye, not only would he draw his long blade, but he would also pull out a Heavy Thunder dagger...

In the end, Zhang Ye, Lina, Nan, and Gajeel advanced!

Zhang Ye silently prayed that he would be matched against Gajeel.

Unfortunately, when the matchup list was released, it was not what he hoped for.

Zhang Ye was matched against Nan.

Lina was matched against Gajeel.

This outcome made Zhang Ye grit his teeth in frustration, but there was nothing he could do.

What else could he do? Luck was a part of one's strength, after all. He just had to accept reality.

Before stepping onto the platform, Zhang Ye warned Lina once more, “If you can't win, forfeit immediately. Staying safe is what matters most, understand?”

“Yes! I understand!” Lina nodded.

Leaping onto their respective platforms, both matches began simultaneously.

Zhang Ye and Nan did not immediately start fighting.

Watching Nan leisurely and slowly pull out his long blade and dagger from his ring, Zhang Ye's mouth twitched.

He doesn't even draw his weapon when fighting others, but he uses a dual-blade style against me?

That is so like you!

Zhang Ye rubbed his hands together and grinned at Nan. “A-Nan, can I discuss something with you...”

Nan remained expressionless. “I won't forfeit.”

Zhang Ye's face instantly fell. “Aww...”

Before he could finish his sentence, a sudden cry of alarm echoed from the neighboring platform. Startled, Zhang Ye quickly spun around to look.

A pitch-black pseudo-Domain had already enveloped Lina. With a startled cry, Lina realized that she could indeed no longer cast Blink or Retrograde!

She hurriedly ran toward the opposite side of the platform, desperate to escape the range of the domain.

However, a cruel and sinister smile had already appeared on Gajeel's face.

Zhang Ye was horrified and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Lina, forfeit now!”

Hearing this, Gajeel sneered inwardly.

He had noticed long ago that this little princess of the Lionheart Empire seemed to share a very close relationship with Zhang Ye.

Back then, when Copico was heavily injured, Zhang Ye had flown into a towering rage. If he heavily injured her as well, Zhang Ye would probably explode with fury, wouldn't he?

What Gajeel wanted to see most was Zhang Ye's furious expression. It was as if making Zhang Ye angry was his greatest source of joy.

Furthermore, the Lionheart Empire and the Black Dragon Empire were hostile nations to begin with. Their relationship was extremely terrible, and small-scale conflicts frequently broke out along their borders.

Although the overall national power of the Black Dragon Empire was stronger than that of the Lionheart Empire, the Lionheart Empire held the upper hand in small-scale military skirmishes.

This was because the soldiers of the Lionheart Empire fought like they were on adrenaline, completely disregarding their own lives. Under equal troop numbers, the Lionheart Empire almost always emerged victorious.

However, a large-scale war was impossible to ignite. Even though the Black Dragon Empire had nearly twice the military strength of the Lionheart Empire, various constraints kept them from launching an all-out invasion, rendering their numbers useless.

As a result, the Black Dragon Empire had long harbored a deep-seated resentment toward the Lionheart Empire.

If not for the restrictions of the Joint Council and their dread of Auster, the Black Dragon Empire would have marched their armies across the border long ago.

As a prince of the Black Dragon Empire, Gajeel naturally possessed an inherent hostility toward anyone from the Lionheart Empire.

Therefore, he had absolutely no reason or intention to hold back.

The internal competition within the Black Dragon Empire's royal family was brutal. Growing up in such an environment, Gajeel could not comprehend just how deeply the Lionheart Royal Family doted on Lina. He believed that even if he heavily injured Lina, what of it?

He knew that even if he heavily injured Lina, it would merely be a minor conflict between students. The powerhouses of the Lionheart Empire could not possibly target him for this. It was a matter concerning the geopolitical balance and the dignity of top-tier experts, so he felt completely secure.

His own background was equally powerful. As long as he did not kill her, what could the Lionheart Empire possibly do? Could they really come and twist his head off?

Thus, when he heard Zhang Ye shouting for Lina to forfeit, Gajeel only sneered.

It was obvious that Zhang Ye cared deeply about Lina, which only made Gajeel even more determined not to let her off.

Forfeit?

Do you think you can even forfeit?

Upon hearing Zhang Ye's shout, Lina immediately tried to signal the referee to forfeit.

“I—”

However, before the word "forfeit" could leave her mouth, a sudden burst of dark light erupted from Gajeel, hurtling toward Lina at extreme speed.

Deprived of her Blink and Retrograde, Lina had no way to dodge and was directly engulfed by the dark light.

In an instant, all of Lina's senses were stripped away, and she found herself completely unable to make a sound!

Lina screamed with all her might, but no sound came out. Seeing this, the referee could only furrow his brows, unable to stop the match.

【Shadow Swap】!

In the next instant, Gajeel's figure materialized directly behind Lina. Dark mana surged from his hands, condensing into two sharp scythes that slashed down toward her.

The mana fluctuations of the scythes were not particularly strong, which was a result of Gajeel's deliberate control.

He was not holding back. Rather, he wanted to avoid triggering the protective power inside Lina's body.

He intended to heavily injure Lina without triggering her protective power, just like how Nan had heavily injured him!

The black scythes struck silently. Deprived of her senses and with her mana restricted, how could Lina possibly block them?

Lina was sent flying forward by the force of the slash. In mid-air, her face turned deathly pale, and blood spilled from her lips.

Yet, Gajeel's onslaught was far from over.

His movements were too fast. Before Lina could even fall off the platform, he had already reappeared right in front of her. A sphere of dark magic condensed in his hand, and the moment Lina flew toward him, he slammed it ruthlessly into her abdomen.

“Pfft!” Lina's eyes went wide as her waist arched. The metallic taste of blood rushed up her throat, and she sprayed out a large mouthful of blood.

“Lina!!!” Zhang Ye's eyes nearly split open with rage. He turned to the referee and roared, “Save her, quickly!!!”

The referee had already intended to do so and immediately moved to intervene.

However, before Zhang Ye could even finish his shout, Gajeel had already struck again.

It was a continuous combo, executed in the blink of an eye. Even though the instructor had prepared to step in, he was still a step too late.

A dark magic circle materialized instantly in the air, and countless black blades spun out, engulfing Lina.

Dozens of lacerations instantly tore across Lina's body, though every single one of them carefully avoided her vital areas. In a split second, Lina was transformed into a bloody figure.

Gajeel wanted to pursue her further, but the instructor had already snatched Lina away to safety.

Below the stage, the spectators covered their mouths in horror as they watched.

It had all happened too fast. Before the other match had even begun, Lina had already been heavily injured by a flurry of consecutive attacks. This was the first time an academy student had been injured to such a degree. If she wasn't treated immediately, her life would be in danger!