Chapter 001: Life-and-Death Duel

A life-and-death duel!
Everyone in the square was staring at Du Fan—this guy was always unpredictable. Just an ordinary candidate, daring to challenge a student from Roland Academy to a life-and-death duel?!
If Elvis’s behavior earlier had been extremely arrogant, then Du Fan’s actions at this moment were simply outrageous!!!
Elvis stared at Du Fan for a moment before bursting into laughter. While laughing, he said coldly, “Good, very good. Since you’re seeking death on your own, no one else can be blamed. Everyone here today can testify that it’s you who sought this out—no one forced you!”
Du Fan smirked disdainfully and said calmly, “Who’s seeking death? That’s still to be seen. Someone like you, whose emotions show so clearly on your face, probably has limited achievements. I’m afraid if I accidentally kill or injure you, your teacher will cry for help.”
“You…” Elvis was stunned, so angry he felt like vomiting blood. But he didn’t dare act on his own and instead glanced at Bruce out of the corner of his eye.
Only after seeing Bruce give him a silent approval gesture did he laugh loudly. In a flash, he appeared on the fighting platform.
Du Fan glanced at Bruce’s indifferent expression, cursed him in his heart as a old fox, then gently raised his Silver Moon Sword, pointing it at Elvis. “So, Lord Elvis, may we begin now?”
Elvis sneered and said, “Is it really that amazing just to have reached the third level of combat energy? Do you really think you’re invincible? Today, I’ll show you what it means to have others above you.”
Du Fan smiled lightly and said, “I know there are others above me. But those others definitely won’t be you!”
Annoyed, Elvis stopped talking. He joined his hands together and pulled sharply forward, causing a burst of combat energy. The energy, resembling mist, wrapped around his hands as if it had taken solid form.
It was the first time Du Fan had seen such mysterious combat energy. Still, out of curiosity, he slightly rotated his Silver Moon Sword, pointing its tip at Elvis’s forehead.
A cross-shaped beam of bright combat energy burst forth, making everything around flash.

But Elvis sneered, waved his right hand lightly, and the combat energy in his hand emitted a blue glow. Then, with a gentle grasp of his right hand, he managed to snatch the cross-shaped light spiral out of thin air. With a slight exertion, the cross-shaped light spiral formed from combat energy shattered.

“Using energy to destroy energy!” Chenchen suddenly exclaimed in Du Fan’s mind. “Du Fan, this is a technique only warriors at level six can use. Not to mention you’re only using light combat energy now—even if you used all kinds of techniques, you’d still be no match for him. You’d better run!”

“When did I say I’d stay here and fight foolishly?” Du Fan replied in his mind, but soon let out a groan.

Elvis, unrelenting, had neutralized Du Fan’s Holy Light Cross Slash. He then stamped his heel hard on the ground, causing the entire fighting platform to tremble as if in response to his move, almost making Du Fan fall right there.

Seizing this opportunity, Elvis clenched his fists, charging forward at Du Fan with fierce momentum.

Feeling the pressure of the wind rushing toward him, along with the intense murderous intent within it, Du Fan’s mind instead became calm. He turned his hand, and the Silver Moon in it traced several intersecting paths in the air as all his combat energy converged at one point.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Du Fan unleashed his full power in the “Holy Light Cross Slash,” confronting Elvis’s fists head-on.

“Boom—”

A loud explosion echoed, and the air around them seemed to become extremely hot due to the collision. White combat energy and blue combat energy intertwined, emitting dazzling lights before exploding violently, sending both men on the fighting platform flying backward at the same time.

“Thud—”

Du Fan hit the ground first. He felt dizzy and extremely weak. Fortunately, he had released all his accumulated combat energy in that instant; if he had held back even slightly, the outcome would have been completely different.

Frowning, ignoring the astonished looks of those around him, Du Fan took out a potion from his space ring to restore his combat energy before slowly standing up.

Feeling the soreness and numbness throughout his body, Du Fan couldn’t help but let out a low groan. Yet even so, he didn’t dare be careless and kept his gaze fixed ahead.

Amidst the swirling dust, Elvis’s figure seemed to appear and disappear. Moments later, a burst of combat energy scattered the dust in the air, revealing Elvis slowly stepping forward. He was covered in dirt, looking utterly disheveled, yet his expression grew even more vicious.

The people around were initially surprised by Elvis’s appearance, thinking he had been defeated by Du Fan. But when they saw his expression clearly, they all shuddered. If earlier Elvis had shown only contempt and disdain toward Du Fan, now his eyes were filled with pure murderous intent. Such unhidden killing intent made everyone tremble.

“To actually fight head-on against a sixth-level powerhouse? I doubt many would believe it if they heard it. Though, that Elvis didn’t use his full strength,” Joshua murmured from a corner. “But anyway, if Du Fan didn’t have such strength, it wouldn’t be worth my intervention. Little Du Fan, do your best. If you lose, I’ll spare your life. Just be at ease.”

“What, are you worried?” Bruce asked calmly from the stands, looking at the two fighters below.

Standing beside him, Kris nodded slightly and said, “Yes, teacher. It seems Elvis is ready to go all out. Will you really just watch as he kills Du Fan again?”

“Are you worried about Elvis or Du Fan?” Bruce suddenly smiled eerily.

Kris was stunned and momentarily speechless.

Bruce looked at her calmly and said sternly, “Kris, never forget your identity and your stance. Could it be that you feel pity for a hypocritical swindler?”

Kris glanced at Du Fan from afar before saying after a pause, “Teacher, I’m not pitying him. I’m just puzzled—how could someone like him do the things Emily described? Perhaps, compared to the fierce Emily, I’m more inclined to believe him.”

“It doesn’t matter whether what Emily said is true or not,” Bruce said calmly. “We only need to remember that Aldas is a rare genius in our Combat Energy Academy in a hundred years. We must do whatever it takes to keep him here. Do you understand?”

“Yes, teacher!” Kris replied in a low voice, her head slowly lowering, yet her gaze was fixed ahead on that figure that made her feel uneasy, her expression extremely complex.

Contrary to what they had imagined, Elvis didn’t seem to have any advantage at this moment. Though he looked as if he wanted to tear Du Fan to pieces, it was clear to him that Du Fan wasn’t someone easy to manipulate. To take his life would likely require a great deal of effort from him, even though he was only a third-level warrior.

Du Fan’s expression remained utterly calm. The Silver Moon in his hand seemed to swing casually in the air, but it was obvious to anyone who paid attention that each of his seemingly casual movements was aimed at countering Elvis’s actions. It was certain that no matter when Elvis attacked, Du Fan could respond accordingly.

It was truly eye-opening to witness such a high level of combat in such a situation.

Finally, Elvis couldn’t hold back any longer. He roared loudly, his surging combat energy coalescing into a mass. Then, he brought together his right index and middle fingers and swung them fiercely toward his opponent.

With his move, a pale blue stream of combat energy shot out, resembling a wind blade from magic. Du Fan took a deep breath, his expression completely calm. He acted as if he hadn’t seen the incoming attack until the energy was almost upon him. At that moment, Du Fan twisted his body strangely, his Silver Moon sword slicing through the air to land precisely on the stream of energy. Then, his body shook violently as he was flung backward.

The onlookers beside him let out soft sighs. Clearly, Du Fan hadn’t managed to block Elvis’s attack.

But the next moment, their surprise turned into astonishment. Du Fan had used the force of Elvis’s attack to retreat dozens of meters. Once he stabilized himself, he pointed his sword disdainfully at Elvis and said, “Elvis, you’re really worthless. How can such a weak attack hurt me? Even if you wanted to be gentle, there’s no need to go this far. This is a life-or-death battle! I’m fine, but you, a student of Roland Academy, can’t even defeat someone who cheated like me. Doesn’t that prove you’re even worse than a cheater? Could it be that your mother slept with Bruce, which is why you were barely allowed to enter school?”