"Alright then, who wants to come up first?"
The moment Ronald's words reached their ears, all the students snapped back to their senses.
Most of them hesitated to step into the ring, unwilling to be the first to face someone who currently stood at the very top of the class rankings.
It wasn't fear that held them back—rather, they wanted to watch Azrael a little longer, to study his abilities before acting, hoping to increase their chances of defeating him.
"Since no one wants to be first, I should do the honor."
A sudden loud voice broke the silence, and a bulky man jumped onto the ring.
With a deafening boom, he landed in the center of the ring and looked at Azrael with a confident smile.
The man stood nearly two hundred centimeters tall, his body packed with steel-like muscles. His black hair was slightly messy, and his brown eyes shone with fighting spirit.
'Dante Lucentis, ranked twelfth and a level 14 class warrior,' Ronald recognized the student instantly and gave a small nod.
"Both of you don't need to hold back during the spar. I will step in immediately if there is any danger," Ronald said as he moved aside, clearing the middle of the ring.
Azrael studied Dante closely and seeing the man's heavily muscled physique, he narrowed his eyes.
'His strength and defense seem quite good…' He thought as he walked toward the center, stopping about ten meters away from his opponent. 'I can test the results of re-refining the primary energy veins in this match.'
Dante also took his position, nodding at Azrael with a simple, honest smile.
"Good luck, fellow student. I am Dante Lucentis. Let's have a good fight."
Azrael was slightly taken aback by the sincerity in Dante's words. He looked at him carefully and realizing the other party truly wanted nothing more than a fair match, he nodded in return.
"I am Azrael. Good luck to you as well."
Dante took a deep breath, his expression hardening into focus. Although he was two levels higher than Azrael, he did not underestimate him.
No one present in the class was foolish enough to think that rankings meant nothing as there had to be a reason Azrael had secured first place.
Azrael also shifted into a fighting stance—both fists raised in front of his face, one leg slightly behind the other.
He did not summon Fallen Star as using his Soul Armament in a sparring match was far too dangerous, and if he didn't control its power perfectly, it could easily kill his opponent.
"Who do you think will win?" Xavier whispered under his breath.
"The Lucentis family is quite famous for their Metal Power," Hazel analyzed. "Dante is a direct descendant, so he must have awakened the power of metal due to his bloodline… Metal Power has both strong offensive and defensive capabilities. If that number one guy makes even the slightest mistake, Dante could have a very good chance of winning."
Hearing Hazel's words, Luo Bingqing and the others nodded as they felt the same way.
"Though Dante is strong, I am still leaning towards Azrael. I don't know what kind of power he has… but I just have a feeling he is not normal," Richard said.
Xavier and the others turned to look at him when they heard that.
Seeing their stares, Richard simply shook his head.
"Let's just wait. We will have our answer soon enough."
"Are you two ready?" Ronald asked once Azrael and Dante were in position.
Both men looked at each other seriously at his words and nodded.
Ronald glanced between them, then finally shouted—
The moment Ronald announced the start of the match, his eyes involuntarily widened in shock.
As soon as the match began, a thunderous explosion echoed through the area as Azrael took a step forward.
The air cracked like a whip, and in a blur of movement, a bulky man was sent flying out of the ring like a ragdoll struck by a speeding train
The body hit the ground outside of the ring with a violent impact, rolling several meters before finally coming to a stop.
Dante's limbs twitched weakly, as if he was trying to get up. But less than a second later, the movement ceased, and he lay motionless.
A puddle of blood began to spread beneath his body, and the entire room fell into an eerie silence.
In the next instant, Ronald appeared beside fallen Dante in the blink of an eye, cold sweat beading on his forehead. A green blob of energy manifested in his palm, and he quickly pressed it onto the injured man.
As soon as the healing energy touched Dante, the bleeding stopped instantly, and his injuries began to knit back together. His fingers twitched faintly, showing signs of movement, though he didn't regain consciousness.
Seeing the movements of his fingers, Ronald finally exhaled in relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
The students watched everything with their mouths agape, a chilling shiver running down their spines.
"Holy f**k, that guy is cooked," Hazel muttered, unable to stop herself from swearing.
Xavier and the others heard her curse, but none of them were in the mood to comment.
Like robots, Ronald and the students slowly turned their heads toward the ring.
There stood Azrael, in the exact spot Dante had occupied before the match began. One of his fists was still slightly extended in a punching motion, faint trails of smoke rising from it.
Parts of his clothes were scorched from the sheer speed and friction of his movement, and he wore a dumbfounded expression as he stared at the unconscious Dante.
Feeling several gazes on him, Azrael quickly regained his composure, took a deep breath, and looked at Ronald with a blank expression.
'Damn it, Ronald you bastard, didn't you say you would step in if something dangerous happened…?' He cursed inwardly. Feeling relieved that he had managed to hold back most of his power at the last second. Otherwise, Dante might not have survived.