Fast, Light, and Silent.

A true Agility System Battle Soul Master.

Remembering Alfred's reprimand, Ray released his martial soul immediately. Silverfalls Vine unfurled from his palms, vines twisting outward as Gold coiled around his wrist.

This time, his vines didn't lash forward.

Instead, they spread around him.

A dense, asymmetrical web formed, layered and interwoven close to his body.

Leiza halted abruptly. Landing soundlessly on all fours, she shifted sideways, circling, searching for an opening.

Ray adjusted calmly. The web moved with him, rotating, tightening, sealing gaps.

He had learned his lesson.

Up close, he couldn't match an Agility System opponent. So he wouldn't let her come close.

Leiza darted left and right, testing him. Ray remained still, conserving strength while her movements steadily drained hers.

The Silverfalls Vine shimmered faintly.

As Ray focused, he noticed something unusual.

At the roots of the Silverfalls Vine in his palms, thin golden threads flickered faintly into existence.

Almost invisible.

But unmistakably there.

Leiza was, after all, only nine years old. Her combat experience was limited, and exactly as Ray had predicted, the rapid, constantly shifting movements she relied on to probe for weaknesses steadily drained her rank 11 soul power.

She couldn't keep going much longer.

Gritting her teeth, Leiza suddenly accelerated. Her figure blurred, seeming to vanish before reappearing behind Ray in a burst of speed. At the same time, the white soul ring beneath her feet flared brightly.

She slashed forward with her claws, sending two blades of white light flying ahead of her as she lunged in pursuit.

Ray wasn't faster than her, but he didn't need to be.

Compared to chasing, simply turning was far easier.

His Silverfalls Vine reacted instantly, surging and tightening. The two white light blades struck the vines head-on. The expected scene of grass being shredded never came. The white blades flickered weakly, then vanished outright.

In the next instant, Leiza crashed straight into the web.

Slender blue vines shot upward, winding around her petite body and binding her firmly in place. Ray clenched his right hand into a fist and drove it forward—then halted abruptly, stopping just a few centimeters from her face.

Raziel Phoenix felt his cheeks heat up as he watched.

This bastard… why didn't he stop when he fought me?

A sharp glint flashed through Alfred's eyes.

That's no ordinary Silverfalls Vine. No arrogance, solid control. Not bad at all.

"Ray wins."

The vines loosened immediately. Ray stepped forward and helped Leiza regain her balance. Her face flushed red as she found herself staring into his large, clear eyes at close range.

"Th-thank you," she said softly.

Ray smiled.

For Leiza, that smile felt warm enough to rival sunlight.

The second round continued. Raziel Phoenix defeated his opponent without difficulty. When it ended, only five students remained.

Ray had assumed he would face Raziel Phoenix next, but Alfred deliberately separated them again. The same thing happened in the third round.

"Ray. Loid. You two start," Alfred said flatly.

Loid wasn't tall, but his build was compact and sturdy, his short brown hair sticking up messily.

They faced each other and released their martial souls.

Loid's martial soul was a Willow Tree. Soul power surged as he raised his arms, and countless willow branches unfurled from his limbs, swaying as though they were part of a living tree.

At a glance, it looked similar to Ray's Silverfalls Vine.

Control-type versus control-type.

This was exactly the matchup Alfred wanted to see.

Like Ray, Loid possessed only a white soul ring. His spirit soul was also from the snake family, a small green snake that looked noticeably stronger and more vigorous than Gold.

And just like Ray, his soul skill was Bind.

"Start!"

Willow branches and Silverfalls Vine surged forward almost simultaneously. The willow branches clearly outnumbered the grass, and Ray's Silverfalls Vine only extended from his right palm.

The crowd already had a sense of the outcome.

The branches intertwined with the grass in midair, while the excess willow tendrils shot toward Ray, aiming to bind him directly.

A hint of excitement flashed through Loid's eyes.

Grass versus trees. Of course, trees are stronger.

Ray, however, showed no panic at all.

The moment the branches reached him, he abruptly tugged his Silverfalls Vine backward, twisting both martial souls together. Then he poured his physical strength straight through the entwined vines.

Loid felt a sudden, terrifying force yank him forward. Before he could react, his willow branches were already tightly bound.

His response was quick. As his body was dragged into the air, he raised both knees instinctively.

You want to pull me over? Fine. I'll knock you down up close!

But what he saw next made his heart sink.

Ray's face was calm and expressionless. His arms moved in a sharp, decisive motion, snapping the willow branches restraining him. In the same instant, his hand shot out, grabbing Loid by the lower thigh and slamming him into the ground.

The willow branches flailed wildly, trying to bind or repel Ray, but against that overwhelming strength, the struggle was meaningless.

Neither possessed a particularly powerful martial soul.

This victory was achieved purely through brute force.

"You really live up to the name 'Rice Bucket,'" Loid snapped bitterly as he retreated from the circle. "Looks like all that food wasn't wasted."

Alfred frowned.

This was not the battle he had expected to see.

Raziel Phoenix won his next match without suspense. One student still hadn't fought at all.

Three competitors remained.

The remaining student was a chubby-looking girl with a somewhat dull expression. Her presence alone made several students uneasy.

All eyes turned to Alfred.

With three people left, how would he proceed?

Alfred took a shallow breath before deciding, "Ray. Matteo. You will compete first. The winner will face Raziel Phoenix."

A trace of triumph flickered across Raziel Phoenix's face as he looked toward Ray, clearly pleased that the teacher seemed to value him more.

What he didn't realize was that his arrogance made him forget one thing.

Again and again, he had been measured against someone whose martial soul was supposedly trash—Silverfalls Vine.

Ray didn't spare him even a glance as he stepped back into the arena.

Matteo had only fought twice, but she had already left a deep impression on Ray. Not just because of her size—but because of her martial soul.

Earth Element.

A solid, high-quality martial soul.

Her soul power was rank 13. Judging by her strength alone, she had no business being placed in Class Five.

"Start!"

Alfred's voice fell, marking the beginning of the fourth round.

Ray watched Matteo calmly, his expression settling into a quiet focus. After observing her previous two matches, he had already formed a clear plan in his mind.

A white soul ring shimmered beneath Matteo's feet as her spirit soul manifested. It looked like nothing more than a clump of earth, unremarkable at first glance.

Without hesitation, she thrust both palms toward Ray.

A yellow ring of earthen light flared beneath Ray's feet.

In the next instant, thick stone pillars erupted from the ground, surging upward in a flash and sealing him inside a stone prison.

If it had been Raziel Phoenix, he would have sprinted out of the skill's range the moment Matteo raised her hands. Ray, however, lacked that kind of speed. Instead of wasting effort, he didn't move at all.

At the peak, the stone pillars bent inward, locking together and cutting off every possible escape route.

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