"A duel…"

Leonard's eyes widened when he heard this. He could have laughed at this woman's stupidity, but frowned instead.

He was not the type to be so arrogant like the others who had been picked by Sir Aaron. Sure, he was quite strong. But he could never let that arrogance lead him to stupidity.

In his eyes, Luna was too weak to make such requests to him. He could barely sense her zenshi.

He groaned and shoved his hands into his pockets and made a complicated expression, "But you barely have any zenshi. I am a second gate, you're not. It wouldn't be a fair fight."

"You think I didn't know that? My goal here is to get your master's attention. If I can beat you, then I might join your academy." Luna responded with arrogance. Her dark pools stared at Leo Grant, studying his entire physique to scale him.

As a skilled martial artist, Luna could analyze her opponents with just a glance. By tracking their forms, she could guess her opponent's styles and years of experience.

Humans often followed patterns in combat due to continuous practice. They could make a few adjustments in style, but the pattern always existed for younger martial artists who didn't know so many styles.

Leo Grant's hands looked rough, he was familiar with holding weapons. And not just any weapons, but staffs and swords mainly. He had fine, small muscles—not as small as Luna's—and arms covered with scars from the battles he experienced in the past.

This was common in the Northern Settlement.

"Join the Academy? Oh! You want to train under Sir Aaron, and you weren't picked, so you want to fight me." He broke into a weak laugh when he realized what was going on. "… Do you think you can beat me?"

"I am not sure."

Luna gave an indirect answer. Despite her skill, Leo Grant here is still a second gate and therefore has a Domain or Aura. And since she wanted to keep a low profile, essence manipulation was out of the picture, because someone might sense the shift if she did.

"Alright…I didn't want to wait in that stupid room anyway." The corner of his mouth curved up when he agreed.

"Wow…how stupid is that girl?"

"Does she know who Leo Grant is?"

"Isn't that the battle maniac from yesterday?" one of the ascenders nearby pointed out. "I heard she defeated Vast without a second gate."

'Battle Maniac?' Luna growled when she heard the receptionists whisper.

'Don't they know I can hear them?'

"So…you're the one who defeated Vast. I didn't expect you to be this beautiful. Can I take you out after this?" he asked nicely. "I know a good place and I have a coupon."

'Shameless of you to ask a girl out and claim you have a coupon.'

Luna suppressed her emotions and replied with a balanced tone:

"If you give me a good fight."

"Hehe. Then let's take this outside. I won't hold back, but I will be fair and keep on my first gate."

"Fair enough."

With Leo leading the way, the two made their way to the Guild's outdoor battle stage. It was a vast, circular field protected by a semi-transparent energy dome, shimmering faintly in the morning light.

The battlefield spanned nearly half a kilometer. Its synthetic grass mimicked the wild feel of nature to give the participants a feel of what it was like to fight in such an environment.

A few guild members lingered around the perimeter. Curious ones gathered with hushed anticipation, while those familiar with Leo Grant's reputation exchanged knowing glances and walked away. They didn't need to see what would happen because Leo was the stronger one.

Many had challenged him and lost many times. What made this fight any different?

Luna stood her ground on one side of the battle stage, wearing a calm look. Her dark eyes reflected only the man before her. In her hand, she held a finely forged black dagger, newly acquired and perfectly balanced for her grip.

The wind teased her dark hair, lifting strands like whispers of smoke.

Across from her, Leo stood empty-handed.

'Dagger? Sword? Maybe a spear?' He lazily debated in his mind, clearly unbothered.

But Luna didn't give him the luxury of time. In one breath, she was standing still. And in the next, she blurred forward, already lunging with a precise slash aimed at his side.

Leo slid back effortlessly, evading the blow with casual grace. His counterattack came fast—a lunging palm strike toward her stomach.

Luna saw it coming. She didn't have the time to dodge, so she directed her essence to absorb the blow, allowing the strike to land while minimizing the damage. She stumbled slightly and faked a cough, masking her resilience behind false weakness.

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Leo saw through it and grinned. "Nah," he said. "I ain't buying that. You're stronger than that."

Then he moved. There was no flash, no weapon. Just motion. He pivoted, foot snapping up in a high arc. It was clean, fast, and technical.

A taekwondo roundhouse!

Luna's eyes widened slightly as she dodged, but Leo wasn't done. He pressed forward, unleashing a flurry of punches, his fists humming faintly with zenshi.

Every strike left a buzz in Luna's arms as she blocked. His energy was refined with his will. This level of precision required immense focus, so he was multitasking.

'Who the hell still uses taekwondo?' Luna gritted her teeth, fending off the barrage. 'Each move is too fluid, too unpredictable. He might be better than me.'

Leo moved like a serpent, coiled in rhythm and ready to strike again.

Seeing no opening for her dagger in this fight, Luna let it melt into shadow and switched to using her hands.

Leo's eyes gleamed with curiosity. "You can store it like that? That's neat," he muttered.

His next strike landed clean, right beneath Luna's ribcage. There was a sickening thud, and her ribs folded inward like cracked porcelain. She was pushed back by almost twenty steps and coughed up actual blood for the first time.

Before she even regained her footing, Leo attacked again.

His precision was uncanny. Every movement he made was sharp, and every punch was sudden. His footwork blurred left and right like a dance passed down through generations.

Luna leaped back, dodging another powerful kick from her opponent. "There is no pattern!"

His eyes held no arrogance—only rhythm and focus.

Luna wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "You're good," she said through gritted teeth. "For someone using such an old art."

Leo gave a crooked grin. "Old doesn't mean useless."

He adjusted his stance, weight shifting to his toes.

"I mix in my own stuff too," he added. "Lu Fe Snake Art. But mostly Gonai Monkey Style. That one's my favorite. Adds some chaos. Keeps things wild."

"Interesting."

He darted. His fist came from the left this time, like a wolf snapping at prey. Luna barely tilted her head in time—the wind from his strike grazed her cheek.

Drip. Drip.

Blood splattered on the ground below.

Luna narrowed her eyes when she noticed the wound. The zenshi leaking from his body left an irritation she did not expect.

'If I don't respond soon… he'll overwhelm me. I didn't want to rely on my strength this early… but he's leaving me no choice. He's strong...'

BAM!

Leo's fist met her arm—and this time, she didn't just block. She resisted. A subtle pulse of strength surged from her limb, sending him sliding back with a look of surprise.

Most of the spectators standing around the dome gasped when they saw this. It's not every day that Leo Grant gets pushed back by a First Gate.

Luna then launched forward. This time, she released many of her restraints and attacked viciously. Her sharp movements became sharper as both her intent and bloodlust leaked out.

Leo's grin faltered. This wasn't fun anymore.

He adjusted quickly, parrying her blows, dodging with the fluid chaos of his Monkey Art, but it wasn't enough. Her strikes were closing in. Her rhythm was tightening. Even chaos had a limit.

Then the air shifted and the field grew still—unnaturally so.

An invisible power began to churn around Luna as she pressed on. Each movement she made tugged at the pressure around them, bending the atmosphere like glass about to crack.

She raised one palm and shot it forward.

Leo's instincts screamed too late. The attack didn't look violent, but its true purpose sent a chill down his spine.

'Lotus Palm!'

Luna's strike landed square in his chest. It wasn't a shove, as one would expect from a palm strike, but a touch--as if she'd placed her hand there.

CRACK!

Leo staggered back, coughing up blood. There was shock written across his face. He felt his chest cave in and his organs twist from the gentle impact.

"What the hell… was that?" he rasped, his body still trembling.

He barely dodged the second strike, retreating now. He would've blocked it, but he didn't understand the mechanics of this attack.

However, the Lotus Palm wasn't meant to be understood by mortals. It was a long-lost divine technique from the divine realm, and a sacred art of the Ryu Clan's warrior women. Its beauty lay in deception. The graceful and tender motions concealed terrifying power. Each strike made was like a falling petal. But it was capable of tearing through steel.

And it worked by unleashing violent Qi after focusing it all into your palms.

When she struck Leo with it, the compiled essence exploded into his body and did some damage before the zenshi destroyed it.

"Was that your strength?" Leo cleaned the blood off the corners of his mouth. It was strange that she had done internal damage without using zenshi.

"You're a phenomenal martial artist. Which Sect are you from?"

"I am self-taught."

"Haha…lies." His entire body was burning in pain.

Meanwhile, in the main building, Sophie and her colleagues were watching the exchange from the top floor.

Knowing Leo, he had cut down on his strength to level the fight. He never liked unfair combat. And as someone who was very righteous, Leo often held himself back when fighting somebody weaker than him.

'But being held back doesn't mean he is weak. I have seen him kill high-grade cursed creatures with just a first gate. This fight was supposed to have ended moments after it began. It has dragged on.'

Sophie was suddenly intrigued by this newcomer. Her skill and movements were not something you get to see every day.

A quirky smile grew on her small face.

"She's a high-level genius. Are you sure she's from the Feng Clan?… The Val Clan also produces skilled martial artists."

Asked another woman, she looked just about the same age as Sophie. Her skin was warmer with green hair and round rimmed glasses over her dreamy dark green eyes.

Like Leo, she was a government specialist with a rare ability to analyze and understand almost anything. Among the group, she was ranked fifth solely due to her unique mind.

"Val can never outsource such a talent." Another member argued. "The same goes for Feng. This…Lara is too good."

Vast nodded. He had fought Luna before, so he was sure she could do much more than what she was doing right now. Then again, this fight proved that she was holding back.

"It could be her master that's special," he said. "Remember, the specialists here do not come from clans, but are ascenders raised by the governments with the help of masters. Lara could be one raised by a master who probably left a clan in search of adventure."

"That was one of the possibilities." Sophie nodded in agreement. "Anyway, I want her to join the academy. If Leo agrees, then Master will accept her."

"Me too. She seems like a wonderful addition." Anna pushed back her round glasses and revealed a glow in her eyes and a menacing look.

Vast clicked his tongue and sighed. He was only ranked sixth in the group. Sophie was ranked second.

"Whatever," he muttered under his breath.

Kim So Yang, who was ranked number three, grinned. He had been quiet this entire time, watching the fight as though he had seen the dark-haired woman before.

"I agree, too."

"Me three." Eliot laughed. He was from House Feng, so the woman's combat had caught his interest.

"And you, Regan?"

Another figure had stepped into the room. He had strikingly red eyes, a very handsome and young face, dark hair, and alabaster skin. He was ranked fourth.

"I think she should join. I believe the master would be pleased."

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