Starting Unlimited Evolution from Grinding

Chapter 323: Just Directly Smashed Through?

In the rest area of the Lix Kingdom Academy, the mentor in charge of leading the team currently had an ugly expression on his face.

Ellie's formidable strength had clearly far exceeded his expectations.

More importantly, a genius from his own academy had been easily defeated by a Half-Orc, which was truly an unacceptable humiliation for them.

Humiliation aside, the match was still ongoing, and someone had to continue taking the stage to fight.

His gaze swept over the group of students. Based on the strength displayed by that Half-Orc just now, she was definitely not an ordinary Elite Level, her strength most likely had reached Level 13!

Sending other Elite Level students up would just be handing them over for free.

From the crowd, a young man wearing a mage robe proactively stood up. "Teacher, I'll go."

Everyone's gazes immediately turned to him.

The mentor pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, don't be careless."

"Don't worry, Mentor. This Half-Orc does have some skill, but I believe I won't lose to her!"Hearing this, the middle-aged mentor also smiled. After all, this was his student, and he knew his strength better than anyone.

This was their Lix Kingdom's number three, a Level 13 Earth Element Mage!

That Half-Orc seemed to have some special bloodline within her, allowing her to wield the power of the Ice Element, but so what?

The Earth Element just so happened to counter this Ice Element.

If both sides were Level 13, he didn't believe his disciple would lose.

The young mage quickly ascended the stage. Below the arena, many people immediately recognized his identity.

"It's Lix Academy's number three... that Level 13 Earth Element Mage!"

"It seems Lix Academy also finds their opponent a bit tricky, they've even sent this one out."

"They have to send him. Ultimately, it's that Half-Orc who's too strange. An Elite Level Knight was instantly defeated with one move... Why does her strength feel even stronger than that Lin Mo from before?"

"Doria Kingdom is hiding their cards deep! Before this Grand Competition officially started, we didn't get any related information at all."

"It seems Doria Kingdom is determined to make a splash in this Academy Grand Competition. I wonder what ranking they'll ultimately achieve..."

"...They really have prepared quite thoroughly. Looking at their current strength, they might even break into the elimination rounds!"

"For a small Kingdom to break into the elimination rounds, if they can really do it, that would be quite exaggerated."

"It's starting, it's starting..."

Amidst the discussions from the audience, the two sides officially began their battle.

Ellie didn't waste any words, directly taking the initiative to attack. Her speed was extremely fast, causing the young mage to almost not react in time.

Coming back to his senses, he hastily raised his hand, a yellowish-brown barrier appearing in front of him.

Each element had its own characteristics. The Fire Element was explosive, the Water Element relatively gentle, the Lightning Element fierce and domineering, while the Earth Element was heavy and solid.

Therefore, among the defensive magics of all elements, Earth Element magic's defensive capability was undoubtedly the strongest.

Ellie tentatively struck, landing on the Earth Element barrier, immediately leaving several cracks on it, yet failing to directly break it.

Ellie was momentarily stunned, a flash of surprise in her eyes.

It seemed her opponent's strength wasn't weak...

So she also became serious, hurriedly pulling back. In the next second, a huge Earth Spike suddenly erupted from the spot where she had just been standing.

Her opponent's attack didn't stop, with continuous Earth Spikes rising from the arena floor one after another, the spellcasting speed incredibly fast.

Although it was just a common Earth Spike spell, being able to use it so proficiently was enough to show that his fundamentals in mana control were quite solid.

Outside the arena, his mentor, seeing his disciple "gaining the upper hand," nodded in satisfaction.

However, Ellie, who seemed to be in a sorry state on the stage, remained calm.

She wasn't an agility-type warrior, but a strength-type.

But her speed was still very fast, allowing her to easily dodge her opponent's magic, because with Lin Mo's help, her Agility and Constitution attributes had now at least reached the standard of Elite Level.

She looked at her opponent who wore a smug expression. There was no contempt in her eyes, but they were full of confidence.

If she got serious, at most one minute, she could beat him until his teeth were scattered all over the floor.

Ellie thought about these things, but wasn't in a hurry to reveal her true strength.

Because—

Her gaze swept past the arena floor, towards the remaining contestants from Lix Kingdom, specifically, those two whose strength was clearly not ordinary and were a bit stronger than the mage before her.

She still wanted to fight a few more matches.

If she defeated this guy too easily, then there would probably only be one match left to fight below.

So, she deliberately feigned weakness, pretending to be fighting very hard, while in reality she was still handling it with ease. She also occasionally seized opportunities to counterattack, one [Frost Slash] directly shattering her opponent's magic barrier, giving him a huge scare.

Below the stage, the majority of the audience was still cheering, feeling the match on stage was particularly thrilling.

But some people with sharper eyesight were now showing amused expressions.

They could naturally see that the little Half-Orc girl seemed to be deliberately holding back, as if toying with her opponent, still retaining a considerable portion of her strength.

The Lix Kingdom's lead mentor's face was extremely ugly.

As an academy mentor, a Transcendent Level expert, he could of course see this.

But he couldn't just open his mouth and tell his student, tell all those spectators who hadn't realized it yet, that his side had already lost.

So he could only grit his teeth and watch as Ellie leisurely and unhurriedly "struggled" to turn the tables.

Gradually, those spectators in the arena with average eyesight also noticed something was off.

"Why does it feel more and more wrong the longer they fight?"

"Yeah, that mage from Lix Kingdom, his spellcasting speed doesn't seem as fast as before... His mana consumption seems quite severe."

"Definitely. Releasing magic that frequently, even taking potions wouldn't hold up. On the other hand, his opponent, that Half-Orc, looks like she's been in a sorry state the whole time, but actually doesn't seem to have been injured yet."

"Lix Kingdom, could it be... they're going to lose again?"

A small Kingdom, fighting a large Kingdom, losing twice in a row?

This was almost as absurd as the Imperial First Academy being eliminated in the top 16...

But reality was just that. That Level 13 mage from the Lix Kingdom Academy, the young man ranked third in the entire Kingdom, was already showing clear signs of defeat!

Ellie felt the act had gone on long enough, so she stopped dragging it out. Seizing an opportunity, she shattered her opponent's magic barrier with one move, and before he could retaliate, she pierced his chest with her sword.

The match was immediately declared over. A golden light flashed over his opponent's body, and the wound instantly healed.

The entire venue fell into a silence. No one had expected the result to be like this.

On the Lix Kingdom side, the mentor and all the contestants had gloomy expressions.

"I'll go."

Domor, that is, the other Level 13 student from Lix Kingdom, proactively volunteered.

The Lix Kingdom mentor's face was dark.

He clearly understood that the Half-Orc had been pretending just now. Her strength was definitely not just Level 13!

If Domor went up, the result would most likely also be a loss.

But he couldn't just say that outright. Among those present, who wasn't a great talent? Who didn't have a bit of pride?

Directly telling them they weren't a match for a Half-Orc, even if he was the mentor, would definitely cause them to turn hostile.

Plus, that Half-Orc had acted very well just now, giving many people the illusion that she had only narrowly won. He couldn't even bring himself to say those words.

But if he didn't say anything, he could only helplessly watch Domor go up and lose face. He was caught in a dilemma for a moment.

While he was still hesitating, Domor had already walked onto the field. He could only sigh helplessly and cover his face.

Then he looked towards the thin young man who still hadn't spoken, but had already opened his eyes.

He could now only hope that this strongest member of the academy could later single-handedly defeat the remaining opponents, salvaging some face for Lix Kingdom.

The young man, meeting his gaze, nodded slightly.

...

On the field, an intense match began once again.

Only this time, the intensity was clearly different from the previous match.

With her opponent already on stage, Ellie no longer needed to hide her abilities and perform. Although she didn't go all out, she also stopped holding back. The formidable strength she displayed directly stunned Domor.

When he saw that Ellie actually didn't plan to kite and dodge but was going to directly clash head-on with him, he thought she must be crazy.

A Swift Warrior clashing head-on with a strength-type warrior, wasn't that madness?

However, when they actually clashed, feeling that terrifying immense force, feeling his body flying uncontrollably backwards, he was directly dumbfounded.

What was going on?

This strength... was actually stronger than his!

And it wasn't just a little bit stronger, but completely overwhelming.

Even a Level 14 warrior couldn't achieve this.

Could it be that this Half-Orc was on the same level as Warren?

But... how was that possible?

Domor refused to believe it, so he unleashed his strongest move, determined to regain face.

Ellie, however, felt a bit disappointed.

This opponent seemed about the same as the last one, not very interesting.

She had thought this one would at least be a bit more powerful than the previous one... If she had known, she wouldn't have wasted time.

So with a casual [Frost Slash], she easily defeated Domor.

The spectator stands fell completely silent, sinking into a long-lasting stillness.

Finally, a single clap broke the silence, and then the entire venue quickly erupted.

Cheers, discussions, and applause rose and fell one after another. Everyone was shocked by Ellie's performance. Although almost no one knew her before, and although she was a Half-Orc, on this continent, strength was the ultimate truth.

In such a competition, defeating the strong while being the weak was the most exciting and most praised.

Otherwise, if it were always the Empire defeating large Kingdoms, large Kingdoms defeating medium Kingdoms... what would be the point? Might as well just rank them according to Kingdom strength.

Ellie looked at the cheers from below the stage, momentarily stunned.

Then she happily smiled, waving to the audience below in acknowledgment.

She was no longer that ordinary Half-Orc. She had met someone she liked, that person had changed her destiny, and now she could also stand upright under the sun, enjoying flowers and applause.

The spectators cheered jubilantly, but the upcoming opponents couldn't smile.

Doria Kingdom's strength and performance had truly far exceeded their expectations.

Especially those Kingdoms aiming for the elimination rounds. Originally, they had all studied their opponents before the competition and had a rough idea. Now, a dark horse suddenly appeared, making the situation different again. Particularly the Kingdoms ranked around 6th to 9th were already getting nervous.

Eve, Lin Mo, and now this suddenly appearing Half-Orc whose strength was a whole level above Lin Mo's...

Where on earth did Doria Kingdom find these experts?

The Lix Kingdom mentor took a deep breath and looked at the thin young man who had stood up, saying with a serious expression, "I leave it to you, Warren."

"Don't worry, Mentor."

Warren's voice was gentle, unlike his cold exterior. "It will be over soon."

The next moment, he leaped and landed on the arena stage, loudly announcing, "Lix Kingdom, National First Academy, Warren, here to challenge."

The area below the stage immediately erupted in an uproar.

"It's that Warren!"

"I've heard of this guy. They say he's on a completely different level of strength within Lix Kingdom. The second and third place combined couldn't last five minutes against him."

"Even the geniuses from the Imperial Academy are very wary of him."

"I didn't expect him to take the stage this early..."

"Who would have thought? Before, everyone thought he wouldn't need to make a move until the elimination rounds. Who knew he'd be forced onto the stage in just the second match?"

"So, between him and that Half-Orc, who's stronger?"

"Is that even a question? Of course it's..."

Halfway through the sentence, he suddenly stopped.

He naturally wanted to instinctively say Warren was stronger. After all, this one was truly famous across various Kingdoms. The little bit of fame that people like Eve or even Flora had was nothing in front of him.

But in the previous fight, that Half-Orc named Ellie had indeed displayed extremely formidable strength.

"It seems... it really isn't easy to say?"

On the field, Ellie also sensed that the opponent before her had considerable strength, and her expression immediately became serious.

She shook the [Silver Moon Sword] she had bought just a few days ago. In the next moment, her figure flashed, rushing forward like an afterimage.

Warren's expression showed no panic at all. He also drew his sword, accurately striking at the weakest point of Ellie's sword momentum.

Ellie only felt her strength seemed to be used on quicksand, like punching cotton, and immediately slightly frowned.

But Warren before her suddenly changed expression.

Such formidable strength... actually slightly surpassing his...

Her level really was Level 15!

And her speed was so fast... She was clearly a strength-type warrior, how could her speed be that fast?

Below the stage, seeing the first exchange between the two end in a draw, another wave of commotion immediately erupted.

"That Half-Orc, is she really close in strength to Warren?!"

Before they could finish being surprised, the two on stage had already entered an intense battle.

Ellie possessed the Ice Wolf Clan bloodline. Although her strength wasn't much greater than her opponent's, her attacks carried an invasive chill. Combined with speed comparable to an Elite Level Assassin and powerful Constitution, she held every advantage in the head-on clash.

The more Warren fought, the more alarmed he became, feeling increasingly unable to keep up with her movements. If not for his truly superb swordsmanship, he would have been defeated long ago.

Only now did he understand that when this Half-Orc defeated his two classmates earlier, she hadn't used her full strength at all.

He couldn't accept being defeated like this, so he gritted his teeth, exerted his full power, his Qi and Blood surging wildly as if his life depended on it. He continuously attacked, numerous Exceptional-Grade Skills unleashed one after another.

However, Ellie opposite him only felt that this guy's fighting style was a bit slippery, often making it hard for her to exert force. Other than that, she didn't feel any pressure.

After fighting for a while, she inevitably found it boring, so she suddenly retreated a few steps, sheathing her sword. Warren didn't understand her meaning, only feeling she was looking down on him. Just as he was about to speak, in the next moment, Ellie suddenly drew her sword again.

In an instant, the chill enveloping the surroundings amplified several times. Wisps of white mist rose, and Ellie's figure flashed past, already appearing behind him.

"Iaido Flash!"

In the next moment, Warren's expression froze on his face. He looked down at his body in utter disbelief, at the half-meter-long wound that had already been frozen over.

A surging chill enveloped him, his whole body feeling as if plunged into an ice cellar, covered in frost...

"Battle over! Doria Kingdom Academy successfully defends the arena!"

The area below the stage fell into complete silence. All the spectators stared blankly at the arena stage.