Chapter 85: One Punch to Silence the Arena

One Punch to Silence the Arena

The surrounding students immediately turned their attention toward him.

"Damn, that guy’s intense!"

"Who is he?"

"That’s Ethan from Redcloud No. 1 High. His beast-girl is an S-rank Divine Bird Pheasant. He’s really strong — top-ranked in the province, supposedly."

"No wonder he’s so arrogant."

"Exactly. The rest of us are just background noise. We’re not even in the same league."

"Tch. Haven’t you seen the guy on the other side? That’s Ryan from Redcloud No. 2 High. He’s got an S-rank Nine Stele Dragon Elephant. Word is, he’s even stronger than Ethan!"

"Another S-rank? How did both of Redcloud’s S-ranks end up in the same arena?"

"Definitely staying out of their way."

"Haha, that poor guy caught right between them? He’s screwed."

"Oh yeah. When two gods fight, the mortals get crushed."

The arena buzzed with whispers and murmurs.

Several students quietly moved farther away from Ethan and Ryan.

Nobody wanted to be caught between two powerful S-rank beast-girls.

A female spectator watching the live feed shook her head.

"Honestly, I wouldn’t even try to fight either of them. If I were participating in that arena, I’d run as soon as the countdown reached zero."

Her friend laughed.

"Same. Survival first. Pride later."

On the arena, Leon shot a cold glance at the one called Ethan.

He didn’t respond — just turned away.

His expression remained completely calm.

He’d already seen it. Ethan’s beast-girl was only S-rank. And no hidden evolution path.

Utterly uninteresting.

To Leon, there was no mystery surrounding Ethan.

No special potential.

No evolution possibility that caught his attention.

Just another S-rank.

His cold indifference instantly pissed Ethan off.

Ethan’s eyebrow twitched.

He had expected fear.

At the very least, he expected Leon to show some respect.

Instead, Leon hadn’t even bothered to look at him for more than a second.

"Hey — what school are you from? Acting all high and mighty? What, you got a problem with me?"

Leon didn’t say a word.

He treated Ethan like thin air.

The silence was far more insulting than an argument could have been.

Ethan’s fists tightened.

"Fuck! I’ve never seen anyone more arrogant than me. You’re the first one I’m taking down, motherfucker!"

"Damn, who is that guy? He actually pissed off Ethan!" A nearby student leaned in, clearly enjoying the drama.

"This is gonna be good."

"No kidding. Once the match starts, he’s gonna get thrown off the stage in seconds!"

"I feel bad for him."

"LOL. Serves him right for messing with Ethan."

"This is gonna be good."

"No kidding. Once the match starts, he’s gonna get thrown off the stage in seconds!"

"I feel bad for him."

"LOL. Serves him right for messing with Ethan."

"If he gets eliminated in under a minute, this placement match is worth 10 points max — he’ll only get 1."

"One point? That’s brutal."

A few students laughed.

None of them realized that Leon wasn’t even listening.

To him, the argument had already ended.

--------------------------

On Leon’s other side, Ryan had noticed the exchange.

Unlike Ethan, Ryan wasn’t laughing.

His black hair moved slightly as he looked toward Leon.

He had been watching the entire conversation.

He looked over apologetically.

"That’s just how Ethan is. He won’t shut up until someone puts him in his place. You’re from another city, right? Just stay out of the way when it starts — I’ll hold him off for you."

Leon shook his head.

"It doesn’t matter."

He opened his eyes and glanced toward Ryan.

"The outcome will be the same."

Ryan’s brow furrowed slightly.

What a confident tone.

He studied Leon carefully.

There was no nervousness.

No forced arrogance.

Leon simply seemed certain.

Could he be some kind of prodigy from another city?

Ryan’s expression became more serious.

For some reason, he suddenly felt that the unknown student standing beside him wasn’t nearly as simple as he appeared.

-------------------------

The countdown hit zero.

The entire arena seemed to hold its breath.

Then—

Fourth placement match — begin!

Leon’s eyes snapped open.

At the same instant, Selena moved.

There was no warning.

No unnecessary technique.

No dramatic shout.

She launched herself upward — her fist shot forward with brutal, unadorned power, aimed straight at Ethan’s beast-girl.

The air cracked beneath the force of her movement.

The gap in strength was absurd.

The Divine Beast White Tiger’s physical stats alone were on another level entirely.

Ethan’s beast-girl didn’t stand a chance.

BOOM!

An explosion of force erupted across the arena.

The shockwave rolled outward.

Dust burst from the ground.

A beast-girl with a streak of colorful feathers in her hair — and her master beside her — were both struck square in the gut, sent flying backward in an instant.

Ethan’s eyes widened.

For one brief moment, he couldn’t understand what had happened.

Then the world spun.

The safety barrier rushed toward him.

Five seconds had passed.

"Wh-What?! The first eliminated is Ethan?!"

The spectators fell silent.

In stunned silence, the crowd watched Ethan’s body fly like a broken kite, slamming into the safety barrier before crashing onto the ground below in a cloud of dust.

His blonde hair was covered in dirt.

His blue eyes stared blankly toward the arena.

"Th-This... how is this possible?!"

Ethan’s voice was hollow, his eyes locked onto the young man on stage.

Leon.

No wonder he had ignored me. In his eyes, I was nothing.

His face went pale.

The words he had shouted only moments ago suddenly felt painfully ridiculous.

His cheeks burned with shame as he recalled how confidently he had threatened Leon.

If he was a genius — what did that make the boy on stage?

Leon stood there, utterly indifferent to the chaos he’d caused, like an immovable mountain.

There wasn’t even a trace of effort on his face.

That punch had been casual.

Selena returned to his side.

Her long white-silver hair fluttered behind her, and her golden eyes remained calm.

Leon glanced at her.

"Good."

Selena smiled faintly.

"I thought you’d say that."

Evelyn, standing nearby, stared at the fallen Ethan before looking at Leon.

"You didn’t even give him a chance."