Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

"Damn..." clutching his chest, he endured the intense pain and turned around with difficulty, looking at the girl floating in midair.

"How despicable, to keep hiding your true strength." Failure was surely not his fault; it could only be attributed to this cunning girl's tactic of not revealing her best moves from the start, which had given him false hope.

For the first time, Tilan felt a bit embarrassed after defeating her opponent. Was this big guy too naively straightforward? She never liked to manipulate people, and when facing someone with a simplistic nature, she couldn't help but feel a degree of sympathy, having been that kind of person herself once.

"Sorry, sorry, I'll make it quick next time so it won't be so painful for you." The girl's toes touched back down on the face of the clock, and with a reverse swing, she once more deflected the falling sword edge. This time, however, the result was different from before; the sword light in her hand directly sheared off the opponent's blade.

The big contestant, now weaponless and too injured to move or exert force, was ruled out by the referee. As he was leaving, he shouted, "I'll be back." This made the girl smile wryly, thinking to herself that this competition didn't seem to have a loser's resurrection mechanic.

When the girl turned her attention back, the sword fights on the other two fronts had also ended; Pelola and Li Xing each eliminated their opponents.

Now, only three remained. By rights, they only needed to eliminate one more contestant to conclude the fight. There would be plenty of strategic decisions and choices among the three. Yet after witnessing Tilan's strength, Li Xing and Pelola exchanged a look and decided to join forces against the dark-haired girl not far from them.

"Ah, they've reached an agreement so quickly," the girl blinked, slightly surprised, but she soon caught on and with a swift move, she split the magnetically charged blade slicing through the air towards her.

If she compared these newcomers to a foe she was familiar with, Li Xing's strength might be about seventy percent of Sweitevi's—not on par with the Thunder Edge prodigy, but still someone who would last for a decent fight before defeat. As for Pelola, her swordsmanship unfolded like a blooming flower, but it was somewhat flashy without substance; against top-notch opponents, overly complex moves tended to be cumbersome, with many parts that were form over function.

Probably around the same level as Sitasia. Actually, Pelola's talent should be significantly higher than Sitasia's, but it seemed she hadn't fully unleashed it, as if she had taken a wrong path.

Analyzing the two opponents' strengths, weaknesses, and styles in her mind, Tilan effortlessly parried their combined attacks. Yet it appeared as though, if only their swords were a bit faster or their strikes more vicious, they would break through her defenses.

"Break for me!"

After drawing the two blades back, Li Xing gripped the hilts, and the magic power he infused made the entire blades tremble. Intricate and precise branding patterns emerged, causing both swords to resonate with one another, where before there was an attraction and repulsion stance.

Then the two blades were thrown with force, tracing intersecting red and blue arcs in the air and aiming straight for the girl's face.

For such a move, if she simply blocked in the usual way, she would likely be overwhelmed and struck by the other blade. Moreover, the dual swords moved too fast to change tactics... These thoughts flashed through the girl's mind, and then her sword flashed with an electric gleam, a dazzling purple current suddenly emerging to split the oncoming dual swords.

The lightning exploded, violently tearing apart the magic power and the added force field on the blades. The other sword, too, lost its momentum and was struck out of the air by Tilan, tumbling into weightlessness, never to return.

As for Pelola, who had moved in during the attack with the twin magnetized blades, Tilan leapt toward her before she could retreat, passing by in a cross. Three slashes of purple electric sword marks cleaved into Pelola, paralyzing her movements as she collapsed to the ground, dazed.

Watching the black-haired girl walk towards him with her sword in hand, Li Xing looked at his empty hands and resolutely decided to surrender.

Can't beat it, might as well stop making a fool of myself.

"The third round, sixth match has ended. Congratulations to Miss Dantalion for achieving first place and advancing. This match was truly an eye-opener. Our Miss Dantalion finally unveiled her unique swordsmanship, which seemed to be a style of lightning-fast moves that doesn't at all match her previous demeanor. It seems we may need to reconsider her title. How about we call her 'Purple Lightning Sword Princess' Dantalion from now on?"

The host's passionate commentary was undoubtedly part of the tournament's entertainment. As for the titles, they often become the highlight of discussion, and the competitors' own opinions are somewhat less important. Tilan could only helplessly shake her head at this. It's not like she could reveal her identity over something so trivial. Even if she were to come clean, it would be after the competition ended. Otherwise, revealing her identity now would mean she wouldn't have peace during the remaining days of the competition. Headlines like "New Songstress Hexia surprisingly enters the 'Dawnstar Lake Sword Fighting' tournament" or "Is she a songstress or a Sword Princess? The dazzling Hexia" would likely be plastered all over the news.

After this round ended, the fifth round of the tournament quickly progressed, indicating that today would decide the final 64 competitors.

Among the students accompanying Tilan, two of them made it into the top 64. One was Wei Ke, and the other was Zhuo Gexi.

Zhuo Gexi was not particularly famous in Edith Academy, consistently hovering around the 60th to 80th rank. His strength was decent, but not outstanding. He wore a black robe and had shoulder-length black hair, a slightly high nose bridge, and grey-blue eyes. He was one of the rare students from the Withering Sequence.

In the competition, Zhuo Gexi, like a black owl, hid his sword light beneath his cloak and blade of black feathers, defeating opponents before they realized what was happening. Rather than a swordsman, he seemed more like an assassin, moving silently.

During their journey as a team, Zhuo Gexi didn't talk much, only occasionally asking Tilan for advice. He was very measured in his inquiries, never asking too much, and always articulated his questions extremely clearly. All Tilan needed to do was explain a single point for him to understand.

He was someone who had a clear goal and focused on being cautious yet resolute and ruthless. That's how Tilan assessed her classmate. He seemed more mature than those around him, probably also having had extraordinary experiences.

The first four days of competition ended, followed by a three-day break. During this time, the 64 selected competitors would receive commemorative swords as rewards for the Dawnstar Lake tournament. The sword edges were of the rare Radiant Gold Level, crafted with Red Marrow Crystal, excellent for breaking through magic power barriers, making them fine Transcendent Blades.

The 64 competitors wore the official blue and white capes and jackets distributed by the event's organizers and held sword edges adorned with Dawnstar Lake emblem tassels. They stood together for a group photo, which was followed by massive media coverage and photography to increase the hype and attention for the upcoming finals.

Time quickly moved to three days later, and the 64 selected competitors entered the tournament venue amid countless screams and cheers. At this point, the giant mechanical clock that served as the stage was completely different from before.

The long clock hands measuring approximately a hundred meters slowly moved, their sharp pointers tracing over the dial. The dial itself was roughly semicircular: half revealing the complex inner gears, half perforated with varying sizes of hollow circles through which one could see the inner parts or directly pass to the back of the clock.

In space, there was an inclined elliptical orbit intersecting with the dial, with flying copper chariots, copper swans, copper doll princesses, copper battlefields, copper elephants, and other creations, all in bronze. Each of these artifacts was exquisitely delicate and yet appeared vividly lifelike, displaying both a sense of retro elegance and luxury.

These objects flew on intersecting tracks with the dial, occasionally passing through the holes then looping back around, constantly rotating, creating a dazzling spectacle. It was said that these intricate artifacts came from a mechanical clock presented to a king during the third era, with each artifact representing an hour.

For instance, "The Time of the Chariot" at 8 in the morning, "Princess's Tea Time" at 10 a.m., "The Elephant's Snout Elevation" at noon, "March of the Fierce Sun" at 2 p.m., "The Hour of the Swan" at 4 p.m., and so on.

In the competition, these artifacts were naturally not to be damaged, but they are extremely fragile and intricate. How competitors utilize these artifacts in battle will be one of the interesting aspects of the competition and a feature of the Dawnstar Lake Sword Fighting Tournament.

After showcasing the venue, the host once again read out the rules and regulations. Finally, amidst the eager anticipation and cheers of thousands of spectators, the finals commenced.