A scream of agony rang out on the arena. In an instant, the youth was turned into a man of flames—Roxanne Lin’s blazing sword-qi pierced straight through his body, and in less than three seconds, he was reduced to a pile of black ash.
No one had expected such a terrifying strike—one move, just one, and her opponent was utterly slain, not even a corpse left behind. Everyone was stunned; Roxanne Lin’s attack had already surpassed their wildest imagination.
After unleashing that sword, Roxanne Lin felt as if all the strength in her body had been drained away. A wave of dizziness hit her, making it impossible to steady herself, so she could only prop herself up with her sword, barely managing not to collapse.
Seeing her opponent killed by her own strike, the anger in her heart slowly faded. Without hesitation, she walked off the stage, leaving the instructor on the platform staring after her in terror.
As Ruoxi stepped down from the arena, Lily Tang and Rhea Yang rushed over. Seeing her pale face from overexertion, Lily couldn’t help but ask, “Ruoxi, are you alright?”
"Hurry, get me back to the dorm—I can’t hold out," Ruoxi replied.
Lily and Rhea hurriedly helped her back to the dorm, leaving behind countless shocked and bewildered stares.
“That move was nuts! She just wiped the guy out in one shot—I almost can’t believe it!” a Heavenly Dragon Academy student shouted, face full of disbelief.
“What kind of martial technique is that? How can it be so strong? Is that a Heaven-tier skill or something? No way!” another student burst out.
“What’s the big deal? She just took someone down, and you’re all losing your minds over it? You guys seriously have no taste!” a tomboy scoffed.
“You think you’re good enough to talk about our academy’s goddess? Have you even looked in the mirror? Just talking to you makes me want to puke—seriously, I might lose my lunch. Tch...”
“What did you say? Say that again if you dare!” Instantly, the students started shouting at each other, nearly coming to blows over it.
Even the Sea Dragon Academy students were stunned—who would’ve thought Heavenly Dragon Academy had such a powerhouse? It was totally different from the rumors. That kind of attack power, even the elite class might not have it.
Though Roxanne Lin won, she walked off the stage alone, signaling her withdrawal. Only eight ordinary-class students remained, so with the numbers even, there would be no third place in this round.
Rhea Yang and Lily Tang had been eliminated early on; now Heavenly Dragon Academy only had three people left, while Sea Dragon Academy had five. Winning was going to be very tough.
The matches continued, tense and exciting, with cheers breaking out from time to time. Luckily, Gus Bullard and Ryan Ouyang fought their way into the final four—a result no one had expected.
For Gus Bullard, making the top ten would’ve already been lucky—no one thought he’d reach the final four. He was eliminated in his last match against a Sea Dragon Academy student, but he considered it an honorable defeat and was openly proud of himself.
Ryan Ouyang used to be recognized as Sea Dragon Academy’s top elite-class student, but this time he still lost, taking second place. So, counting it up, Sea Dragon Academy and Heavenly Dragon Academy each had one win and one loss—the final result would depend on the elite-class showdown.
Just then, after Roxanne Lin returned to the dorm, something happened that Lily Tang and Rhea Yang could hardly believe—a huge crimson birthmark had appeared on Roxanne’s face, covering nearly half her once flawless beauty.
“Roxanne, your face—how did this even happen?” Lily Tang exclaimed in shock.
Seeing Lily Tang and Rhea Yang’s shocked faces, Ruoxi seemed to sense something was wrong. Her head was spinning, her whole body weak, but she still asked, “What’s wrong with my face?”
“There’s a huge red birthmark on your face!” Lily said.
“A red birthmark? You mean there’s a red birthmark on my face?” Roxanne was stunned too. Her dizzy mind seemed to clear at the news, and she stared at the two of them in confusion.
Rhea Yang handed her a mirror and said, “See for yourself. We’re your sisters—why would we lie to you? What’s going on? And that sword move you used on the stage, why was it so powerful? Is it connected to the mark on your face?”
Ruoxi took the mirror and looked carefully, then gave a bitter smile. “Didn’t expect the mark to get even bigger. Who knows what Evan Chu will think when he comes back and sees me like this.”
“You had a birthmark before? Evan Chu knew about it?” Rhea Yang asked in shock. With Evan’s usual attitude, he ignores most beauties—let alone a girl with a birthmark. It seemed impossible, especially since she was his betrothed.
“He knew. Evan was the one who removed most of it for me, but it wasn’t complete—I need an Iceflame Crystal to erase it for good. Who knows when he’ll come back? Looking like this, I really don’t dare see anyone.” Ruoxi said helplessly.
“Don’t worry, stop overthinking it. Evan’s already chosen you—why care about other people’s opinions? If you feel embarrassed, just stay inside, or wear a veil.” Lily Tang said.
“Heh, that’s easy to fix—I can handle it for you. My disguise skills are actually pretty good,” Rhea Yang laughed.
But seeing Roxanne Lin’s state, she grew worried again. “Are you really alright? That last move—was its power because of the mark?”
“I feel totally wiped out, just want to crash. If you really can cover up this mark, go ahead anytime,” Ruoxi muttered. Every girl cares about her looks—going from celestial beauty to being seen as hideous is a shock few girls could handle.
Roxanne had grown up surrounded by cold mockery and cruel words—she was used to it. If it were someone else, they might have gone mad, or even wanted to end it all.
Meanwhile, on the giant arena of the Martial Testing Ground, the elite-class finals had begun. Heavenly Dragon Academy was down to just Zack Zhao, while Sea Dragon Academy had two left—which meant Zack had to defeat both to win.
It was basically impossible—especially since the masked youth from Sea Dragon Academy was terrifyingly strong. Zack had just watched him flatten Quinn Wu with a single move in the previous round.
He seemed even stronger than Evan Chu, but with Evan’s life or death unknown, Heavenly Dragon Academy was doomed to lose this time.
Zack Zhao was now Heavenly Dragon Academy’s last hope, the weight of it all nearly suffocating him. A three-way melee meant he had to fight both at once—he didn’t stand a chance.
Up in the air, Marcus Gongsun had already given up. “We’ve really lost this time. Even your miracle worker can’t show up now. Sigh...”
“It’s not over yet—why panic? I still believe in miracles,” Elder Victor Xu said with a bitter smile.
Just then, something dramatic happened on the arena. One youth said to the masked student, “Big bro, you just watch. Trash like this doesn’t need you to step in—I’ll handle him myself...”