Chapter 529: Qualifying The young man with amber hair attacked again, sending a fire blade at Grey that slashed horizontally. Grey set up a defensive ice wall in front of him. Bam! Crack! Bang! The blade broke through the ice wall easily, heading towards Grey. Grey didn't panic, as he sent a fist made of flames at the slash. Boom! The attacks collided, causing a huge shockwave that pushed Grey a few steps back. Before he could regain his footing, the young man appeared above him, cutting down vertically this time. Grey sidestepped, but to his surprise, the young man was able to increase the width of the blade slash, covering almost ten meters. With no other choice, Grey used the space element to escape from the range of the attack, escaping by a hair's breadth. After he appeared, he attacked the young man instantly, sending out a lightning bolt that almost hit the back of the young man. Bang! The young man turned around quickly, slashing his fire blade at the bolt of lightning that was heading towards him. After deflecting the attack, he continued slashing at Grey. Easily breaking the ice wall that Grey tried to use as a defense. 'Crap! I would've told her I was an Earth Elementalist. Although, why do I feel like my ice is stronger than it previously was?' Grey complained when he saw how easily the young man was breaking through his defense. However, he also noticed that compared to before, his ice ability was stronger. Even though it couldn't hold out against this young man's attack, it was still able to delay it. From Grey's estimation, it was at least fifteen percent stronger than it usually was. But it still isn't as strong as his earth element in terms of defense, yet. Grey bent back, dodging the slash of the blade. Due to the speed of it, it cut a little bit of his hair, almost burning it. Bam! Bang! Boom! The young man with amber hair continued attacking, pushing Grey back. While they were fighting, the others were still fighting, trying their best to eliminate the rest. Of all the battles on the stage though, of them was as intense and exciting as that of Grey and the young man with amber hair. Grey's performance was not below everyone's expectations since he was fighting against a powerful Third stage Overlord Plane Elementalist while still being in the Origin Plane. In fact, they all found it almost difficult to accept since although he has been on the back foot since the battle started, there weren't any signs that the young man was completely dominating him. Ezra and Jesse got further confirmation from this fight that they were no match for Grey. The judges were also watching the battle with keen eyes. The young man with amber hair was one of the strongest individuals amongst those in the Third stage except from the top ten. From what they recalled, he was in the top twenty of the geniuses rankings. …. While everyone felt Grey was already performing more than expected, he made an attack that shocked everyone, especially the young man who was fighting against him, literally. Buzz! The sound of lightning was heard across the arena, as a ten meters radius around Grey was covered entirely in lightning. The young man with amber hair was within that ten meters radius, getting the full brunt of the lightning attack. On the ground, what looked like a seal could be seen. It was what brought about Grey's quick lightning attack that took the young man by surprise. The young man convulsed for the first few seconds before his defense wasn't set up, but after that time, he covered his body with the fire element, before shooting out of the ten meters radius. After coming out, he gasped, trying to catch his breath while staring at Grey warily. He had been on the front foot since the start of the battle, yet Grey was not only able to endure, but he found an opportunity to counterattack as well. The young man's expression changed slightly when Grey, who was still in the curtain of lightning, smiled, and he increased his vigilance. Buzz! "Ah!" Due to how unexpected it was, he was unable to do anything to defend against this attack. Bam! Crash! The sound of flesh hitting flesh rang across the stage, before the young man's figure was sent flying outside the stage. This was an unexpected outcome nobody felt would happen. Grey used the first chance he got against the young man with amber hair to force him back while picking a weaker opponent to eliminate. This not only meant that their two were qualified for the next round, but it also showed his impeccable battle awareness. Grey had been taking note of what was happening around him even while he was suppressed by the young man. When the opportunity arose, he took it so well that nobody could find any faults with him. It might be a sneak attack, but it was one that was well executed. …. At the judges' area. "Clever, taking out two birds with one stone. He used the same attack for not only pushing back that boy but also eliminating someone else. But do any of you find the way he switched positions with him strange?" One of the Ladies amongst the judges asked. "He used the space element, this is something I've not seen before.. Hmph! I've always hated Space Elementalists, they're always a headache for everyone else," Ezra's Teacher replied, clearly still not happy with Grey.