As a faint, ethereal light flickered, the mirage of Marshall's Beast Totem gradually solidified behind him.

  A smirk touched the lips of Forrest Banks and the others.

  Although Marshall's innate talent was average, under the dedicated cultivation of the Student Council, he had undergone a complete transformation. His strength was now leagues beyond what it once was.

  And Fly was just a freshman who had possessed his Beast Totem for little more than a week. In terms of both training time and combat experience, he was simply incomparable to the second-year Marshall.

  In their eyes, the scales of victory in this battle were already firmly tipped in Marshall's favor.

  "Hmm?"

  Fly paid no attention to the shifting expressions of Banks and his cohort. His gaze was fixed on the Totem Beast mirage materializing behind Marshall.

  He hadn't thought much of it initially...

  Based on his assumptions, Marshall's Totem Beast should have been something ferocious and large, like a wolf, a tiger, or an elephant.

  But to his surprise, Marshall's Totem Beast was clearly an upright mantis!

  The mantis was entirely green, stood taller than a man, and possessed long, powerful legs. In place of hands were two gleaming, jet-black steel blades! The blades clashed together with a metallic ring, the source of the earlier clanging sound.

  "A... Scyther?!"

  The appearance of Marshall's Totem Beast couldn't help but remind Fly of the Pokémon Scyther from his past life. Except for the lack of wings and the color of the "scythes," it was practically identical.

  "What 'Scyther'?" Marshall frowned, clearly displeased with Fly's term. "This is my Mythical Species Totem Beast—the Mantis Sage!"

  "Did the Student Council give you this too?" Fly asked, pointing at the Mantis Sage mirage.

  "That's right! The seniors in the Student Council were incredibly generous. They provided me with a Mythical Species Beast Totem, spent vast amounts of resources on supplements to help me absorb and cultivate it. I've been completely reborn!" Marshall boasted. "Jealous? If you're jealous, then just obediently join the Student Council! With your talent, they definitely won't treat you poorly."

  Fly mused with admiration.

  "Well said," Fly chuckled. "But I refuse."

  "Oh?" Marshall raised an eyebrow.

  "Because, unlike you, I'm not useless. And I don't need anyone's high-and-mighty charity!" Fly flashed a wicked grin.

  There was, of course, a deeper purpose behind his words. He was trying to provoke Marshall. An angry opponent is often prone to making mistakes.

  "You... you're asking for death!"

  Marshall, as expected, was enraged.

  With a loud roar, he activated a Skill and charged at Fly, his hands merging into the shape of a black steel blade.

  "Mr. Fly! Although this is just a spar, blades have no eyes. Be careful!" Forrest Banks called out from behind Fly, attempting to distract him.

  In a duel between Beast Warriors, absolute focus was paramount. Even a momentary lapse in concentration could lead to defeat. As a second-year student himself, Banks knew this well, which was why he deliberately used words to interfere with Fly's attention.

  "Understood," Fly replied, nodding with a cold smile. "I hope Mr. Marshall understands that as well."

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  However...

  Just as everyone expected Fly to make a clumsy dodge, he simply raised his right arm. A black steel blade suddenly extended from his forearm.

  CLANG!

  Marshall's steel blade Skill struck squarely against the black blade on Fly's forearm. The sound of metal on metal rang out sharply, sending sparks flying.

  "He... he blocked it? How is that possible!?" A flicker of astonishment crossed Marshall's eyes.

  In his understanding, although Fly had achieved first place in the Power Assessment Test, he was, at best, a newly ascended level-two Beast Warrior. He himself, however, was already at the late stage of level two. How could his signature attack be blocked so easily by this guy?

  Could the Student Council's intelligence be wrong? Could Minister Banks's judgment have been mistaken?

  But these thoughts lasted only a fleeting moment in Marshall's mind before he quickly composed himself.

  He leaped back several steps, putting distance between himself and Fly. "I don't know how you blocked that blow," he said, "but how many more do you think you can take?"

  "Oh?" Fly tilted his head, feigning surprise.

  "Did you think the strength of my Mantis Sage lies in power?" Marshall sneered. "No, you're wrong. Power was never its true trump card. Its real ace is—precision!"

  As he spoke, the veins on Marshall's forehead twitched, and a pained expression contorted his face. Gradually, the skin on his forehead began to ripple outwards, and two small black dots started to emerge from beneath. At first, they were only the size of sesame seeds, but then they grew larger and faster, eventually reaching the size of ping pong balls.

  "Watch closely, Fly kid! This is a trait of the Mantis Sage—Compound Eyes!" Marshall pointed proudly at the two black eyes on his forehead. "A mantis uses its compound eyes to observe its surroundings in 360 degrees at a high frame rate, increasing its hunting efficiency. And I... hmph!"

  He gave a cold laugh and continued, "I can use this trait to launch attacks with pinpoint accuracy!"

  In his view, so what if Fly had blocked one attack? With the help of his compound eyes, he could strike the exact same spot every single time. By continuously slashing at the same location, he would eventually break through Fly's defense.

  With that thought, Marshall hesitated no longer. He moved with agile steps, circling around Fly, his hands blurring as phantom black steel blades relentlessly struck at him with unerring precision.

  Fly, of course, recognized Marshall's intention, but he gave no outward sign, simply continuing to defend. And, whether intentionally or not, he seemed to be cooperating, allowing Marshall's attacks to land on the exact same spot every time.

  "Mr. Fly, are you scared? You've been on the defensive this whole time. That's not like you," Forrest Banks remarked from behind him, one hand propping up his chin, his tone feigning concern.

  "But I suppose it can't be helped. After all, you only just became a Beast Warrior," Banks continued smoothly. "Without proper guidance and lacking combat experience, it's natural to be a little timid..."

  "Mr. Banks, you seem to have a lot to say," Fly retorted, glancing back at him. Even as he spoke, his hands never stopped moving, perfectly parrying Marshall's attacks. (Thanks to the sensory hairs on his Steelbone Blades.)

  Fly added, "If you're not satisfied, once I'm done with him, I can take you on next!"

  Fly's passive defense wasn't born of fear. He simply wanted to observe the capabilities of Marshall's Mantis Sage compound eyes. After all, he had already decided to acquire and absorb the Mantis Sage's genes soon. And the trait he coveted most was precisely those compound eyes.

  Since he would possess this trait eventually anyway, why not take the opportunity to see how Marshall, who had already mastered it for some time, utilized it?

  Although he possessed the Learning Genius talent, it only accelerated the learning process. Since he had a live example right in front of him, why not probe and observe first?

  And while he was at it, he could also gauge the true strength of this "genius" enforcer cultivated by the Student Council.

  Of course, Forrest Banks, standing on the sidelines, had no way of knowing these calculations.

  "You...!" Being contradicted by Fly, Banks's expression darkened. "Fine, fine! In that case, Marshall, stop messing around with him! Finish him off!"

  His voice was grim and cold, as if he fully intended to cripple Fly right here and now.

  "Yes, Minister Banks!"

  Although Marshall's reply was crisp, a seed of panic had begun to sprout in his heart...

  From the very beginning, he hadn't held anything back. On one hand, he wanted to quickly defeat the number one freshman in front of everyone to establish his own prestige and that of the Student Council. On the other hand, he wanted to impress Minister Banks to secure more training resources in the future.

  But who would have known...

  This Fly Ansel, with his utterly nonchalant demeanor (even having the spare attention to talk back to Banks), was effortlessly blocking all of his attacks.

  And despite using the superb observational power of his compound eyes to strike the exact same spot on Fly's bone blade seven or eight times in a row, he hadn't even made a dent!

  "Marshall, you should consider yourself lucky," Fly suddenly spoke.

  His tone was so calm, so nonchalant, as if he hadn't taken Marshall's attacks seriously at all.

  This infuriated Marshall. "You're clearly being suppressed by me, unable to even move..." he retorted, trying to maintain his bravado.

  "Heh!"

  Fly just smiled faintly. "Didn't you notice I've been blocking with the back of my blade this whole time?"

  "What!?"

  With a flick of his wrist, Fly rotated his forearm. The sharp edge of the black steel blade instantly faced Marshall's incoming slash.

  CLANG!

  With a crisp metallic ring, the black steel blade that Marshall's hand had transformed into was cleanly severed in two. The cut was perfectly smooth, like a hot knife through butter.

  "AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

  Marshall screamed in terror, his eyes fixed on the remaining half of his blade-hand.

  "Hehehehe..." Fly laughed.

  "Marshall, I wanted to tell you... this kind of force-fed 'genius' like you seems to have a very unstable foundation."

  "The Student Council... is far too eager for results."