Instructor Albert swept his gaze at the inner disciple and felt familiarity with him. He was the latest disciple, who finally manifested his sword energy—solidifying his position in the inner disciple circle.

Although he currently held the last spot, that didn’t mean he was weaker than other inner disciples.

Top 15 and above, for them to attain higher rank has a different way compared to other outer disciples.

They had to issue their fellow inner disciples to participate in the beast sync arena. For inner disciples, ramble held less meaning.

The inner disciples could still participate in the ramble, but it wouldn’t benefit them, it was even more of a risk since they could easily lost their position once an outer disciple successfully defeated them.

However, the Top 15 inner disciple, participating in the ramble, wasn’t surprising considering that Felix was the reason.

He glanced at the inner disciple and said in a serious tone, "Are you sure you’re participating in today’s ramble? Your rank isn’t based merit anymore. So long as one of the outer disciple defeats you, he will take your rank."

The Top 15 inner disciple, Nicholas, was surprised. He was already aware that the merit accumulation in the rankings were only for the outer disciples.

Master Shen got rid of merit accumulation in Top 15 and above since there was a vast difference between Top 15 above and below.

In order for Top 15 and above to change their ranks only required an official match in the beast sync arena duel.

To prevent the Top 15 inner disciples and above to bully those weaker than them, an instructor proposed a rule, where if an outer disciple defeated a Top 15 and above inner disciple through the ramble, he would obtain the position.

However, Nicholas wasn’t easily swayed. He had already convinced himself to defeat and humiliate Felix at all cost.

He nodded with determined gaze. "I understand, Instructor. I still wish to participate only for this round."

Instructor Albert sighed.

He swept his gaze to the outer disciples and to Felix and Krisha, saying, "Are you also sure to participate in this round after knowing you’ll be fighting against an inner disciple? Just to let you know, the difference between Awakener Rank and Commander Rank is already one big problem."

The outer disciples nodded with a grin, knowing they would simply just watch in the sideline while Nicholas was beating Felix.

Krisha and Felix nodded as well, both having an ambiguous expression.

Instructor Albert regained his commanding aura and said, "Since every participants agree, then follow me."

He turned around and scattered them in every directions.

He then left and stood at the edge of the platform, as the outer disciples below have a clear view of him.

He shouted. "Begin!"

Every outer disciples tensed up, even more so to those who participated in the first round.

They might be anticipating to watch the battle between Nicholas and Felix up close, but they were also apprehended by the fact that once they encountered Felix, they would be eliminated immediately.

Felix was known for being decisive and harsh.

As a result, they already knew what to do, simply stood on their position, and waited until a noise of wooden swords colliding to attract them.

Felix, on the other hand, was more proactive. He instantly sauntered, searching for Nicholas.

The first person he bumped into was Krisha. They exchanged glances and decided to walk side by side, looking for Felix’s opponent.

Krisha had also decided that if an outer disciple interrupted the battle later, she wouldn’t hesitate to come to Felix’s aid.

Eventually, they encountered Nicholas, who wore a solemn expression.

When he finally spotted Felix, he was about to smile in relish when he instantly noticed Krisha’s presence.

He said in a stern tone, "Miss Krisha, I hope you’ll stay out of this. This is between me and him."

Krisha shrugged. "This is a ramble, you can’t just expect me respect your absurd request."

Nicholas’ face turned grim. He took a stance and said, "If that’s the case, then I don’t have a choi—"

"On the side note, I’ll just be watching in the sideline. You are free to defeat him, but not injure him."

Krisha elegantly stepped aside them, giving space for Nicholas and Felix to fight against each other.

Nicholas was dumbfounded, but he instantly nodded and thanked Krisha.

He focused on Felix and grinned. "Let me see how strong you are."

He took a stance and leapt towards Felix, his speed was astonishing.

Felix was a bit startled, but he had already prepared himself. Instead of his usual clashing against his opponent, he evaded Nicholas’ strike.

Every time Nicholas blended the Mist-Splitting Line with quick strikes to force Felix to open his guard, Felix easily evaded them with his movement technique.

Nicholas’ eyes narrowed. In the end, he was forced to increase his speed by consuming more energy, leaving Felix with no choice but to parry some of his attacks just to prevent himself from being hit.

Throughout their exchange, Nicholas and Felix kept their composure to the same level.

Not until Nicholas suddenly stopped and stared at Felix with a mocking smile.

"What? Why are you just running like a startled rat? Fight me like how you usually do to others weaker than you."

Felix kept his straight face.

He took a stance and said, "Fine. If that’s what you want."

Suddenly, he disappeared, causing Nicholas to be taken aback as he hurriedly performed the Rooted Horizon and didn’t hold back anymore.

Felix, gritting his teeth to show his fierce expression, executed the Drizzle Slash against Nicholas with all his strength.

The energy expenditure was absurd, but it was worth it. After reaching Awakener Rank 8, he could now strike 9 times at once in a second.

It was a set of swift strikes that inevitably landed some to Nicholas’ huge body framework.

Nicholas was enraged. He felt humiliated that he felt like trapped against Felix’s endless assault.

He felt like he was being drenched by heavy rain drops that pierced through his umbrella.

He felt aggravated.

After Felix executed his Drizzle Slash, he knew he had to retreat as it would take seconds for his body to rest so he could perform again.

However, just as he retreated, Nicholas immediately followed with a swift Mist-Splitting Line strike, but with his wooden sword to be imbued with sword energy...

=== 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

A/N: Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to show your supports by giving golden tickets, powerstones, and reviews! It means a lot since this is participating for WSA.