Showered with Glory, Bathed in the Spotlight!

*Clang!* What a blindingly fast strike—Sonia didn't even have time to react, yet "she" had already slashed out toward Beguiler. Yet what "she" cut down was merely an afterimage. Beguiler had already fled outside the palace, her form rapidly fading into transparency. Looking back at Sonia, her pretty, adorable face was twisted in venomous mockery. "Why are you so angry? Isn't this the combat you've been looking forward to all along? Come now, behind you is an opponent I specially prepared for you. If an enraged Shadow Evil Dragon still can't satisfy the appetite of a slut like you, then the Everworld spirits drawn by the dragon's wrath should let you die in sheer ecstasy right here." "Is this your doing, or your master's?" "Ask me that question once you crawl your way out of the Everworld Abyss." As she spoke, Beguiler dissolved entirely into thin air, leaving no trace behind. But by now, "she" had no time to pursue the wicked woman, for the Shadow Evil Dragon, having lost its vertical eye, was already impatient to vent its fury. "Hmph." Sonia watched the Shadow Evil Dragon, an embodiment of the apocalypse, and heard "herself" laugh out of sheer fury. "So in the end, the effort I wanted to spare couldn't be spared after all." "Isn't it just slaughtering my way through the Everworld? What's so hard about that?" "Beguiler, this grudge... I will remember it!" The Shadow Evil Dragon let out a roar. Dark lightning crackled around its claws, and a boundless, chaotic darkness came crashing down! "Reptile." Sonia watched herself tighten her grip on the sword hilt. "I just created a new miracle, and I happen to need a test." "With your death, I shall prove my art." "You should feel deeply honored." In the next second, the Shadow Evil Dragon was severed into countless pieces. ... "Sonia, win this and drinks are on me!" Sonia snapped back to her senses, finding herself back inside the Flash Rail Auditorium. Leonie was cheering loudly for her, and Tida was still perched on the shoulder of the alchemical giant bear, as though the adventure just now had been nothing but an illusion. Yet the Red-Haired Sword Princess knew it was no illusion, but an immensely precious experience. She also let out a sigh of relief. As it turned out, that memory had lasted only a split second and wouldn't disrupt the Chief Bout in reality—which meant the Watcher harbored no ill intent toward her. Though she had wronged the Watcher, the village girl felt not a shred of guilt. Who told him not to explain things to her in advance? "Were you spacing out just now?" Tida raised her eyebrows. "Planning to surrender?" "That's what I should be asking you," Sonia replied. "If you surrender now, you won't lose quite so pathetically in a moment." "You're quite stubborn with your tongue, Big Sister." Tida snorted coldly. Suddenly, she bit down hard on her small hand, letting the giant bear lick her blood. Tasting the tang of blood, the giant bear let out a roar. Its eyes turned blood-red, its body swelled yet another size larger, and it pounced toward Sonia with murderous intent! Miracle: Blood-Drinking Frenzy! Gazing at the alchemical giant bear that seemed capable of swallowing her whole, Sonia's mind was still fixed on the scene from just moments ago. Faced with the Shadow Evil Dragon, a beast hundreds or thousands of times his size, the Sword Demon had used only a single move to completely obliterate it. Sonia could not forget that magnificent strike. She even wanted to replicate it. From within the Sword Demon's body, she had experienced the entire activation process of that miracle from start to finish. And coincidentally, she possessed lower-tier substitutes for almost every sorcery spirit required—or perhaps it was no coincidence at all, considering this was a flashback power-up specially arranged by the Watcher. Yet it was only almost. There was one key sorcery spirit for which Sonia possessed no substitute whatsoever, naturally making it impossible to activate the miracle. Yet for some reason, Sonia had an overpowering premonition: she felt she could summon that key sorcery spirit right now! Even though she had never undergone any relevant study or training beforehand and her understanding of that sorcery spirit went no further than its name, she was certain she could do it! This sudden confidence was like an examinee walking into a test already knowing all the answers! Looking up at the alchemical giant bear charging right before her eyes, Sonia chose to trust the Watcher's judgment. And to trust her own capabilities! *Clang!* Passionate fighting spirit flared in the Red-Haired Sword Princess's eyes. In silence, she drew her sword! Wave Sword! Moon Silk! Torrent! And... Beneath the stage, Professor Trozan froze. She watched as a sorcery spirit rapidly took shape on Sonia's shoulder, and her own sorcery power was actually stirred by it, surging and seething in response! The other students also sensed something was wrong; though their sensitivity to sorcery power wasn't as acute as Professor Trozan's, they could still feel Sonia affecting them! This manifestation pattern, this wide-ranging knowledge resonance... It was the summoning of a sorcery spirit! She was actually summoning a sorcery spirit in the middle of battle?! Yet soon, Trozan found herself feeling sorry for her own lack of imagination—Sonia wasn't merely summoning a new sorcery spirit, but was about to deploy it into a miracle right away! As its two wings fully unfurled, the new sorcery spirit, "Sword Shadow," was thoroughly born from Sonia's knowledge! In appearance, Sword Shadow resembled a stern, aloof woman clad in black. It stood quietly beside Sonia, turning even her shadow into a lethal blade! In the next second, countless threads swept across the alchemical giant bear's body, each thread razor-sharp like a blade, slicing the giant bear into nineteen pieces in an instant! The charging bear burst into countless blossoms of blood, collapsing into fragments scattered across the floor! Miracle... Blood Blossom Water Moon! Tida was stunned senseless by this sudden slash. As the giant bear fell to pieces, she was thrown outward, tumbling twice across the stage. Scrambling to her feet in a panic, she looked down at the blood covering her whole body, turned to meet Sonia's chilling gaze, and instinctively took a step back. Yet that single backward step filled Tida with humiliating rage. Her face flushed bright red, to the point where Sonia thought she might leap up and attack her. But Tida merely turned around and walked off the stage, leaving behind only a single line: "See you at the League!" Tida's greatest reliance had been the alchemical giant bear; now that the bear was damaged beyond repair, staying on the stage would only invite further humiliation. Yet as the genius alchemist of Locus University, she swore that the next time they met in the Intercollegiate League, she would show this old hag Sonia what a true war machine was! "What... what just happened?" "Did Sonia defeat Locus's Chief in a single move?" "No, you're all focusing on the wrong thing! Didn't you see Sonia summon a two-winged sorcery spirit in the middle of battle?! That's a two-winged sorcery spirit! Two wings!" "Can someone remind me when Miss Cervi became a sorcerer?" "Less than a month ago. To be precise, on April 12th. Don't mention it," Leonie chuckled. "Raising her swordsmanship faction to Gold rank in one month? Going from a sorcerer apprentice to a Two-Winged Sorcerer in one month?!" "Professor Trozan, are you still accepting students? What do you think of me?" "I'm not accepting students anymore," Professor Trozan said. "Sonia will be my last student—because even I want to nip her in the bud." Only now did Sonia have time to inspect her new sorcery spirit. Seeing the two wings of Sword Shadow, she froze for a moment, and then her face flushed crimson, as though she might burst into wild laughter at any second. She had independently summoned a two-winged sorcery spirit! That meant her swordsmanship faction had risen to Gold rank, making her an official Two-Winged Sorcerer in the eyes of society! She could finally flaunt her status as a Two-Winged Sorcerer out in the open! Haha, those jealous fools on the Curtain probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, gnawing on their handkerchiefs! Moreover, she was merely a first-year student. Now Sword Flower University would have no choice but to push her to the forefront with everything they had. Money, fame, status—all resources would be tilted toward her, and their promotional strategies would revolve around her! Even if Sonia said she wanted to act in a hit movie or drama, Sword Flower University would probably pull strings to satisfy her demands! As for singing and releasing albums, that went without saying! Defeating Locus's Chief in a single strike, stepping onto the Time Continent within a single month! When the radiant star rises tomorrow, all of Jialesi will whisper my name! Showered with glory, bathed in the spotlight! "The match is decided!" the host proclaimed loudly. "The victor is Sword Flower's Chief, Sonia Cervi!"