The guild members also fell silent at this moment.
Natsu and Qi Yan exchanged glances; his body instinctively told him that the opponent's strength was terrifyingly powerful, but the more terrifying it was, the more excited he became.
Hoo!
Flames ignited on Natsu's hands, and his body adopted a combat stance.
"Excellent! This way, I can use my full power without any reservations!"
"Start!"
Makarov announced the start.
"Wahoo!!!"
Natsu stomped his foot and charged towards Qi Yan, his clawed hands wreathed in flames, swinging at Qi Yan. Qi Yan seemed to not have reacted, still standing in place with his hands in his pockets. Many people thought the outcome was already decided when—
Whoosh!
Qi Yan's body suddenly vanished, then reappeared behind Natsu in the next instant, kicking him in the back.
"Ugh!"
Natsu was thrown off balance by the kick, tumbling forward.
"So fast!"
"Is that Teleportation Magic?"
In everyone's eyes, Qi Yan appeared behind Natsu as if he had teleported.
Makarov shook his head, "No, it's not Teleportation, but an extremely sophisticated high-speed movement technique. Because the speed is too great, it looks almost like teleportation."
Makarov was extremely shocked. This speed was too fast; he only barely caught a glimpse of an afterimage to deduce that it wasn't Teleportation, as Teleportation leaves no trajectory.
"What?!"
Salsuk was greatly astonished. His magic was God Leg, and his running speed was the fastest in Fairy Tail. Qi Yan's speed was even faster than his; this was too abnormal.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Natsu quickly got up, his fists wreathed in flames, attacking Qi Yan.
Qi Yan raised his left palm.
Clang!
Natsu's fist struck Qi Yan's palm.
Everyone thought Qi Yan would likely be sent flying, but then another astonishing scene unfolded: Qi Yan stood firmly in place, unmoving.
"He blocked it?!"
They had all witnessed the power of Natsu's Iron Fist; it could easily shatter even stone. Such immense power was steadily blocked by Qi Yan's palm. Was this guy a monster?
Qi Yan gripped Natsu's fist, then swung him forcefully.
Whoosh—!
Natsu's body flew out uncontrollably.
"Ugh ah ah!"
Crack—!
Natsu smashed through a rock.
Natsu quickly got up, took a deep breath, his chest swelling as he gathered magic in his throat.
Qi Yan pointed his index finger at Natsu, and emerald Reishi continuously condensed, forming a high-density emerald energy sphere.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!!"
Whoosh—!
A terrifying storm of flames rushed directly towards Qi Yan.
"Hollow Flash!"
"Buzz—Whoosh—!"
A beam of emerald energy shot from Qi Yan's finger, directly meeting the roar.
Boom—!!
The crimson flame storm and the emerald Hollow Flash collided, and the clash of the two powerful energies instantly created a terrifying impact.
"Wah ah ah ah!"
"Ya oh oh oh!" ... The impact spread outwards, and many guild members involuntarily screamed, some even being blown away by the shockwave.
After a while, the impact slowly subsided. Between Qi Yan and Natsu, a huge crater appeared, the destruction caused by the collision of the two energies.
Qi Yan seemed completely fine, but Natsu was injured and finally couldn't support himself, collapsing to the ground.
In the previous energy clash, Qi Yan clearly held the upper hand.
"The match is decided! Winner! Qi Yan!!"
Makarov loudly announced Qi Yan's victory, also greatly astonished. He hadn't expected Qi Yan's strength to be so immense. From his outward appearance, Qi Yan looked pretty much like an ordinary person who hadn't trained much.
But after using Take Over Magic, he seemed like a completely different person—calm and ruthless, clearly someone who had been through many battles.
"The rookie actually won?!"
"He actually defeated that Natsu!"
"His strength is truly too great! This is already S-Class Mage level, isn't it!"
"Absolutely! Only an S-Class Mage could defeat Natsu!"
"What a monster!!" ... Hearing Makarov announce Qi Yan's victory, the guild members finally came back to their senses. The rookie had won.
Although most had lost their bets, everyone was incredibly excited at this moment. The guild had gained another S-Class powerhouse, which was definitely a tremendous good thing.
Qi Yan let out a sigh of relief, dispelled his transformation, and returned to his original appearance. His magic power was already at its limit; if he hadn't ended the battle quickly, he would surely have been the one to lose.
But at this moment, he was also very excited. He had defeated Natsu, the male protagonist. As expected of Xiao Wu, the Arrancar ranked first in his heart; this victory gave him a great deal of confidence.
Qi Yan walked up to Natsu, extended his hand, and pulled Natsu up.
Although Natsu had lost his fighting capability, his injuries weren't serious, and he could still continue fighting. But such a battle would be somewhat unsightly. Qi Yan had suppressed Natsu throughout the entire fight—in speed, strength, and attack power. Natsu couldn't think of a way to win, so he no longer struggled and simply fell to the ground, admitting defeat.
"You're so strong! Just like that monster Erza. Next time, I want to have a decisive battle with you."
Despite losing, Natsu wasn't discouraged at all. It just meant there was one more opponent to surpass, which further ignited his fighting spirit.
"Alright!"
Qi Yan nodded. Although he had won this time, it was actually a very narrow victory. At the same time, as a man, he also didn't want to lose to anyone else, even Natsu, the male protagonist.
The guild members returned to the guild, all excitedly discussing the battle they had just witnessed.
Cana happily counted her money. This week's drink money was secured. If only she had known Qi Yan was so powerful, she wouldn't have spoken up; she could have earned even more.
"What am I going to do? There's another monster. When will the man Elfman become an S-Class Mage?! Oh oh oh! The path for the man Elfman to advance to S-Class is truly too arduous!"
Elfman groaned, clutching his head in distress. Everyone in Fairy Tail was a monster: Erza, Mira, Mystogan. He had just barely managed to see these few become S-Class, and now there was another Qi Yan.
Gray retorted, "You say that as if you'd become S-Class if Qi Yan hadn't come. The truth is, you haven't even qualified to participate yet."
Qi Yan was indeed a monster, and there was a high possibility he would become a new S-Class. But couldn't he just avoid Qi Yan? At most, it would just be delayed by a year.
Cana's face stiffened when she heard this. She had qualified for the S-Class Mage promotion exam for three consecutive years. The first year, she ran into that monster Erza and was eliminated. The second year, she ran into that monster Mira and was also eliminated. The third year, she had it relatively easy; she didn't even see her opponent, Mystogan, and was eliminated.
This year, Qi Yan had come. She had watched Qi Yan's battle the entire time. Facing Qi Yan, she would likely lose even more decisively than she did against those three opponents. Did she have to wait another year? Thinking of this, her mood completely soured.