With their poor academic results, they could only sign up for the beginner courses and Talisman Creation is the last class of the day for him.

Since it means that Kairos is free for the rest of the evening, there is no reason to delay the challenge, and he immediately went looking for Von.

Those senior year students that do not have to go for the advanced courses noticed the direction he went towards and eagerly followed after him together with the Snowdrifts.

To find Von Cixton wasn’t difficult, since every cultivator’s Ki is unique, simply by infusing Ki into the student badge, one can briefly resonate with a target’s student badge.

Having located Von, Kairos made his way until he reached a mansion cordoned at the outskirt of the Academy. The Saint Cadets Academy being the only military school in the capital have a higher number of nobles attending than most other schools, and over the years, those families have constructed grand housing for their young near the compound.

As Kairos walked towards the grand mansion belonging to the Steel Rose family, those that were following him knowingly fan out in anticipation of the tournament barrier.

When this group came over, Von saw from afar his opponent through a window, and he confidently strode out to meet Kairos.

Just like his cousin, Lux, he seemed to have absolute faith in a victory.

When the two stood to face each other, the heir of Steel Rose said in a soft, almost gentle, voice, “Kairos Astroire, you have even defeated Lux. You amaze me time and again. However, today I shall regain our family’s honour through battle. Are you prepared?”

Having sealed his Soul Perception, Kairos found it difficult to judge the strength of his opponent, but from the aura, Von is exuding, he estimates it to be A rank at least.

Though he had previously faced with powerful foes unimaginable for the average student of the Academy, he did not underestimate his opponent.

And in a way, being unprepared and looking down on the enemy is more dangerous than facing a powerful foe. That was how his team vanquished the famous Phantoms, and of course, he wouldn't fall into the same traps he set for others.

After all, a fighter like himself uses the mind more than the body in a battle.

The two struck badges creating the tournament barrier, and then they took their places facing each other, ready to begin.

The two did not speak further. They are both men who treat the value of words heavier than gold.

Taking out their weapons, they charged at each other with reckless abandon and ferocity most unlike students of their age. Von's unbridled fury stemmed from shame and his desire to restore his honour, while Kairos fought the same way he did to survive the Silent Lambs Empire.

Though they clashed with equal might, it was the Steel Rose heir that was taken aback.

“What is this bloodlust?!" Von shivered uncontrollably, "Does he intend to take my life all along?”

Fear ran through his body, instinctively causing him cringe, but the strange thing about shame and honour is a person’s unwillingness to flee.

Clenching his teeth, Von faced Kairos with renewed vigour, assuring himself that there’s no way Kairos will dare to take his life before everyone.

Their fight caused great blasts of fire, and fearsome explosions cover a great area at the front yard of the Steel Rose mansion as Von attacked ceaselessly as though his Ki expenditure is of no concern.

Kairos on the other end danced fearlessly between the waves of heat and fire that Von attacked him with, yet not even a tongue of flame touched him.

“This movement technique…!” Von’s eyes widened as Kairos easily created after images with every step.

How could mortal eyes understand the intricacy of a celestial technique like the Mirage Steps that Kairos is using?

The two fought with great fortitude but neither had the upper hand over the other, and their battle turns into a great surprise to all onlookers as time dabbled on.

“Hey… are they really students like us?”

“I… I haven’t seen a fight like this before.”

“That’s because you guys didn’t see the top students compete before.”

The Snowdrifts, especially Edward and the group, thought that their leader would have decimated the opponent in an instant but it did not happen, while the other students could hardly believe their eyes when they saw a second year B ranked is fighting a fourth year A ranker to a standstill.

Unbeknownst to them, Von is in no less surprise than the rest of them. He is already at Mid A rank and should have advantages over his opponent in terms of speed, power and the amount of Ki. Yet, at every turn, Kairos would evade with ease, then return with a fearsome blow that forces him to dodge.

He began to notice whenever he was pushed to a corner, at the very last moment Kairos’ attack would slow down, as though giving him the time to avoid. As though, his opponent did not wish for the battle to end.

His guess was eerily accurate.

With Kairos’ Titan ranked physique, it is very difficult to harm him with normal attacks. Even the Peak A ranked elites of the Phrixus Royal Guard could only hurt him by unleashing Ki attacks. Von throwing Ki blasts left and right, had turned him into a valuable training dummy.

Most practitioners would not dare to use their Ki this way, for it would drain them when they truly needed it. In addition, Ki blasts affect a large area and are typically avoided when fighting in a team.

It is why that most Internal Martial Arts Practitioner depends on engraved weapons for firepower in a team fight, besides using Ki to fortify their bodies.

Kairos did not know the reason behind Von’s seemingly endless pool of Ki, but he started to enjoy the novelty of fighting this way.

There is a certain thrill to seek victory by the skin of his teeth when any mistake could mean instantaneous defeat. It wasn’t that the Ki blasts are powerful. Even if the explosions struck him several times, it would merely stagger him.

But the very act of being thrown back by the blast would be enough for someone like Von to corner him.

The way his opponent fought is a strange fighting technique that is rarely seen in battle, but highly effective.

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As more and more attacks fill the area, the air heated up until even breathing become hard.

The tremendous blasts defaced the mansion’s entire front yard, as overturn soil and great pits appear behind Kairos as he darted away swiftly. Earth rained down from the sky, and dark clouds of smoke started to obscure everyone’s visibility.

Von's attack area grew wider without signs of fatigue, making the spaces safe for Kairos increasingly smaller.

“This cannot go on," Kairos quickly determines as he realises he is forced into a corner.

But just like him, Von also had the same thought, "this cannot go on.”

He has been using a Ki stone to sustain his Ki use, but it is not a perpetual source of strength for him.

Unable to drag this out much longer, and fearful of directly confronting Kairos, Von started gathering power to finish off his foe.

When the Ki blasts completely trap Kairos, he will unleash his greatest attack. A contained series of implosions that could easily tear even S rankers apart.

He increased his Ki blasts to cover 80% of the yard, then 90%. Slowly, Von forced Kairos to make more dangerous manoeuvres to dodge as the available safe spots dwindled down. Until, eventually, the explosions have him trapped.

The students roared with surprise when the fires completely covered Kairos. They had not expected the situation to take such a turn in Von’s favour. The image of the young Earl running through the rain of firestorm and explosions is still deeply etched in their minds. No one expected things to end so rapidly.

But, the flames did not die down as they expected.

Instead, the onlookers watched in horror as the clouds of fire suddenly receded into itself together with a whistle of the wind that rang loudly above every other sound. The orange flames gathered into a single point above their heads, and for a moment, visibility is once again restored. However, before anyone makes out what happened, bright flashes blinded everyone as a massive implosion occurred before their eyes.

Intolerable waves of heat and wind buffeting them back. A series of panicked cries and gasps joined in, especially from those that knew him.

“KAIROS!!” his brothers called out worriedly. They knew that he is now without the True Heavenly Armor’s protection.

“Lord Kairos!”

“BOSS!”

“Leader!”

Except for the shaking of the earth, the tournament barrier had contained the power of Von’s attack.

A great fire burned the place where Kairos stood after the implosion, and it covered everything from sight.

“Go Kairos~” Alan shouted, despite the fright that the other members had, “Don’t worry! If you died, I'd bury you.”

Edward, Jim, Tommy and those that had screamed the loudest now glared at him in utter disbelief.

They had never seen Alan, bothered about the things normal people would. Even throughout all their previous heart-pumping, adrenaline-rushing, hair-raising, adventures, he only smiled through it all.

But this time, they couldn’t help but feel that he is a little too indifferent. All of them know how deadly Kairos’ Immolation Finger technique is, after all, they had seen an implosion rip off the Triple S ranker, Syriong’s arm. Now, an implosion of a larger scale occurred before their eyes with their friend trapped within.

However, before anyone could reprimand Alan, Tommy laughed heartily. And he turned back and looked deeply into the flames, his previous anxiousness now replaced by a grin.

The others that saw this also recovered their senses and similarly, they stared at where Kairos should be.

In their hearts that thought wilfully, “If anyone could brush this off, and come out of it unscathed. It would be him.”

Somehow, because of Alan’s calmness, they had all realised a fact that they previously overlooked: Until the flames engulfed kairos, he did not use any martial arts to take out Von, and this means that he is completely confident in the fight.

The heat soon died down, and from within the dying flames they felt the very air hum and resonated, and the world seems to turn silent.

After all sounds had stilled, only one voice remains. A whisper akin to prayer yet thrummed with power.

"I call into existence, thine sixteen elements of the highest.

"Clad unto me fury of gods.

Shatter all before my sight.

I am He which thou obeys"

"Hear my call, , the true name of dominance, Trample underfoot the indomitable!"

A pillar of light descended from heaven directly onto the barrier. The forcefield shook and flickered, then cracks appeared on it.

Those that stood nearby felt a power belonging to one with absolute authority, demanding their reverence.

Von who were panting from exertion suddenly froze as the light fell on him. The Secret Art that had immobilised Vonwill only last for a short moment, but it was enough to prevent his escape.

Then, from amongst the flames, Kairos slashed downwards in a crescent. An overbearing force on his blade.

“Tch. I wanted to save this move until the end of the tournament,” Von mumbled unhappily when he saw the attack coming to him.

It may be too late to dodge but enough time for his hands formed a series of seals.

Kairos who was attacking stared at Von oddly, every seal formed made him moved slower, as though his strike was made underwater yet there was no force nor momentum lost.

Then suddenly, before his eyes, his target disappeared as his Swallow slashed through the ground.

He had not missed his Secret Art’s execution before, and he could not immediately understand what happened.

Without using his Soul Perception, it is difficult to tell what martial technique his opponent used.

All he saw were Von suddenly making hand seals at an inhuman speed, and then vanishing altogether.

But for those observing, they only saw Kairos slowing down to almost a halt, and Von quickly moving to the back of his opponent. Then, he proceeded to attack with a full-forced slash, causing Kairos to fly away and tumble across the ground.

“Time dilation… the time element?!”

The students whispered among themselves in shock. They knew that Von had a hard time cultivating, and took far more efforts and resources than most to reach his rank, but they thought it was a simple matter of lacking in talent.

Now, everyone stared at him as though he is a monster. It wasn’t because that Von was less gifted than the rest, but because he is born with an affinity with a transcending element.

Practitioners of the eight Transcending elements take almost twice as long as the others to cultivate, simply because there exists no natural terrain which provides that type of Heavenly Energy. At least, not in the mortal realms.

No matter if it’s the five elements of creation or the three elements of nature, people can find it from the lands of Gaia.

But the Transcending elements hardly exist in adequate amounts to be used.

They watched in silence as Von caught up with Kairos, and pummelled the latter. Besides hiding his control over time as his trump card, there is a weakness to his technique that he wishes to keep secret. That, he could not use his Ki for anything else while maintaining the Time Dilation Seal on an opponent.

The attacks turn vicious as the youngest heir of the Steel Rose house obviously vented his anger on his opponent.

It caused those from the Snowdrifts to look at each other, wondering if they should halt the battle and rush to their leader’s aid.

But it was Alan who halted them. He shook his head, after involuntarily yawning, then said, “Don’t worry. Just watch.”

After saying that, he refused to speak anymore, but vehemently stops whoever that tried to enter the tournament barrier.

Within the arena, as Von attacked Kairos without reserve, it was actually the former that felt fear. Even though his target repeatedly received his strikes, but his weapon failed terribly in cutting the flesh. And it made him view Kairos as a monster.

After a while, he can only give up. Instead, he now bet on pushing Kairos out of the barrier, which will end the fight as a ring out. But, every time, at the last possible moment, his opponent will somehow speed up enough to escape.

Only his brothers understood what Kairos did, “He… He is using the Lightning Flicker Body in the time dilation?”

They finally believed that their leader is not in danger of throwing the fight. Kairos had realised that this unnatural speed his opponent has seemed to be formed from a change in the flow of time.

He received blows in every direction and was unable to judge where the next would come from. His body is already covered in dirt and his clothes tattered from the burns.

Every hit was the full power of a Mid A ranker, with all the rage that came from Kairos stepping on Von's pride.

But as minutes turn to hours, Von started to feel a sense of despair within him. Ignoring it, he renewed his attacks, but it still did not affect Kairos much. The only result was him being completely draining of Ki as fatigue kicked in.

The others watched quietly at first, but their eyes widened as time passed, until the point where everyone looked frightened senselessly as they finally noticed that Kairos is still easily taking the hits without caving in.

The battle lasted a full five hours until a full moon had replaced the sun.

Then it finally ended.

The spell that Von cast has disappeared, and time returned to normal for Kairos, then the former tripped on his own feet over even land, and fell flat on his face unconscious from his exhaustion.

Kairos, also worn out by taking the attacks repeatedly, lowered himself to sit the ground shortly after, with a wide smile on his face.

It had been a long time since he had an all-out fight. He had welcomed the battle and felt good stretching his muscles.

His Eternal Empyrean had kept him intact, but it did not reduce the pain much, and he was drained of stamina completely resisting his foe with the technique.

The battle had been hard fought and won. But it was the attacker who fell.