Chapter 265: Tundra Chapter 265: Tundra Even the host couldn’t hide his excitement. "People! Look closely!" he shouted, voice echoing across the arena. "That’s Spirit Integration! It may look similar to Soul Fusion, but this is exclusive to those who have spirits as their tamed beasts—and have reached a considerable level of understanding with them. Though it may appear inferior to Soul Fusion, unlike that state, it doesn’t rely on soul strength at all. Instead, it runs purely on mana and mental capability! Which means—if you can regenerate mana at a high speed and possess a strong enough mind—this state can be maintained perpetually!" Hearing that, Leo fell into deep thought. Then, from the moment Lily can directly use my mana, she can become even stronger... Leo nodded faintly to himself, already planning several unique ’methods’ he could apply tonight to advance their soul bond. The Spirit Integration state allowed the user to draw directly from their beast’s mana instead of their own whenever activating skills. On top of that, it granted free rein over elemental control, removing the need to rely on rigid formations like those used in skills such as the compressed wind blade. Lily could now freely form compressed wind spikes, manipulate air currents to create footholds mid-air, generate tornadoes by exploiting pressure differences—anything that could be achieved through pure wind manipulation was now within reach. She only needed the expertise, which was the hardest. The only cost was mana and mental energy. But even that drawback was softened when she used the beast’s mana itself to sustain the technique. With both Lily and her spirit constantly regenerating mana, a near-perfect feedback loop formed. The only real limitation left was the availability of environmental mana. Dhalia was no less impressive. Seeing Lily sprinting through the air as if it were solid ground, she narrowed her eyes and focused. Ice spears kept forming, reinforced with telekinesis to create her own footholds, and she prepared to meet Lily head-on. Lily accelerated and delivered a sharp upward slash. Klink! Crack! Dhalia met the blade with her gauntlets—but they shattered from the impact alone. "Huh...?" Dhalia stared at her left fist, now completely bare, confusion flashing across her face. She couldn’t comprehend how Lily’s strike carried such overwhelming force. Before she could even react to the next move, she felt a hand clamp tightly around her wrist. "Let’s ride!" Lily said cheerfully, swinging her arm and flinging Dhalia across the arena’s sky. She didn’t let her hit the ground. A violent gust of wind twisted around Dhalia’s body and hurled her straight back toward Lily. Lily slashed again. Klink! Crack! Dhalia intercepted it with her remaining intact gauntlet—but even that shattered, cracks spiderwebbing across it before breaking apart. "You—!" A blast of wind erupted from beneath her feet, sending her soaring upward. "AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Dhalia screamed as she was thrown nearly 50 meters into the air before gravity reclaimed her. Her training kicked in instantly. While falling, she formed multiple ice spears mid-air and launched them toward Lily in rapid succession. Swish! Swish! Lily released [Wind Blades] to intercept some of them. The rest she avoided by stepping onto invisible footholds, shifting positions effortlessly. Another powerful gust erupted, flinging Dhalia upward yet again. It was as if the entire sky above the arena belonged to Lily. The match raged on, the crowd never once quieting—only growing louder with every exchange. High above, inside the Professor’s and Vice Principal’s chamber, Brant watched with a pleasantly surprised expression. "Are you teaching her my fighting style?" he asked, turning toward Katherine. She nodded calmly. "Out of every wind user I’ve seen, your style was the best. So I am teaching it to her." "Hahahaha!" Brant laughed loudly. "I know, I know—your husband is the best!" Lily’s wind element had caught him off guard. He had only known about her wood element through the treant. It seemed she had hidden her strength remarkably well. Back in the top-10 room, Uraan looked utterly baffled. "What the hell..." he muttered. "Hurricane, I guess you’re in serious trouble when you face her..." Even so, he remained optimistic. Lily didn’t seem to possess any special techniques—only overwhelming control and brute force. Leo had already evaluated him. Uraan’s personal strength sat at Low-3-star, and having trained since childhood, he truly did have a chance to defeat Lily, even if she currently held the advantage. "S-stop it..." Dhalia groaned as she was flung left and right through the air. "I feel like vomiting..." Yet despite her nausea, she wasn’t defeated. Even in that state, she continued to parry Lily’s sword strikes with her bare fists, maneuvering around the blade mid-air with pure instinct and skill. Lily had to admit it—Dhalia was truly trained and skilled.As for her, she was brute-forcing her way through the fight. Below them, the beasts were locked in a stalemate. Neither was willing to yield. The treant’s glow had dimmed, its mana nearly exhausted, while the Boreal Shellbeast panted heavily, its movements sluggish. Leo checked Lily’s mana. Mana: 8,000 / 26,000 | 3,000 / 12,000{The 12,000 is from Lunaria’s Spirit Integration} Lily was clearly alternating mana usage between herself and Lunaria, extending the fight for as long as possible. Grinding her teeth, Dhalia finally snapped and poured everything she had into one desperate move. [Ice Burst]! Her eyes turned white as an explosion of icy mist erupted outward from her body, blanketing the arena. Using newly formed footholds on ice spears, she ignored everything else and hurled herself straight down toward Lily from high above, her fist coated in dense ice energy. "HOW MUCH MANA DO YOU EVEN HAVE?! GIMME SOME—!!!" She didn’t get to finish. Lily sidestepped mid-air and caught her wrist. "Oh damn..." Dhalia instantly realized the mistake she’d made in her frenzy. Lily twisted her body and, with a sharp jerk, hurled Dhalia straight down with more greater force. THAM! The ring—already transformed into a frozen tundra by relentless ice and wind—shattered further as Dhalia slammed into it. Crystal shards and frost exploded outward. Before the mist and dust could even settle, the Shellbeast was teleported away. "Just an awesome match!!!" The Host shouted loudly, which was met with even louder cheers from the crowd. They were clearly entertained. Especially with two girls. Lily waved her hand to the crowd like Aaron, and the direction she was waving made the boys go mad. Some even threw marriage proposals, which were received with Lily’s disdainful face. Her face turned ice cold, shutting the crowd up. She vowed never do just actions again. Ting! Balance: 1,257,090 [500,000] → 1,532,090 AC This time, even the 3 girls recovered some credits. When Dhalia was brought into the top-10 room, she grabbed a bucket and slumped into a corner. "Blerrrggggg!" She vomited violently. "I will never fight her again... haaah... hahh..." Soon after, Lily arrived—and without warning, jumped straight at Leo, wrapping her arms around him. "I won!" She beamed as Leo gently patted her back. Meanwhile, the other boys turned their heads away with visible disdain. How the hell did he even bag with her with that average look?!!! Soon, Ronan and Marco were teleported away.