<h4>Chapter 279 Link, The Menace... Part-2.</h4>


    "We finally came face-to-face! This time, I will go all out on you! Link Rex!"


    A smile appeared on Vanya''s beautiful face, causing the whole audience to shout and cheer for her.


    Vanya is famous for her beautiful appearance all over the world, so whenever shees to the stadium grounds for her match, the whole audience cheers for her loudly.


    Today is the same as before, but the only difference is that Link has more supporters than her.


    Although her appearance got her a lot of fan following, she still can''tpete with Link in terms of fan following.


    Not only does Link have a ton of fan girls due to his handsome appearance, he''s also an icon of strength for all martial arts enthusiasts.


    Link has actually been invited for magazine photo shoots before, and he has also been invited to take leading roles in movies. (Yeah, he''s as handsome as a superstar….)


    But today was different.


    Usually Link is calm and collected most of the time, and you would feel that he is an easygoing person, but today the aura that Link was emitting didn''t seem easygoing at all.


    His eyes were half-bloodshot, and the aura around him was so dense that it seemed like he was about to murder people.


    Clearly, Link was in a terrible mood today.


    He nced at Vanya and nodded his head.


    "Yeah, let''s go all out this time… Last time, we didn''t get to finish the fight between us… We can do it now…"


    Vanya was excited to meet a strong opponent after so long.


    In all of her previous matches, she had won quite easily, and only now has she met someone strong.


    (By the way, Rio wiped out most of the strongest candidates all by himself… like Arner, Lia, and Liam…)


    Link and Vanya shook hands ording to the game rules, then jumped back to make distance for their attacks.


    *After a long wait! We have finally reached a long-awaited battle! On one side is the strongest martial artist of the elven race, Princess Vanya!*


    *And on the other side is the famous martial artist, the one and only Link Rex! This battle will determine who the strongest martial artist is in the whole younger generation!*


    * 3!...2!...1!... Fight!*


    [Dragon Arts: Overload: Dragon m!]


    Before Vanya could even react, Link had already used one of his strongest attacks from the get-go.


    Truthfully speaking, Link is in a hurry right now.


    He wants to end this match early and return to the cafeteria to see if Riya has returned or not.


    During the team battle phase, Link wasn''t worried about Riya''s safety because Lia and others were protecting her, and with them beside her, Link didn''t need to worry about anything.


    He trusted that Lia was capable of protecting Riya, and thus he fully immersed himself inbat.


    But things are different right now; not only is his intuition screaming at him that something is wrong with Riya, he also doesn''t know if there is anyone taking care of her.


    So, he''s in a hurry.


    His very first move carried so much power that the air pressure alone from that attack caused the ground of the whole stadium to crack.


    However, Vanya refused to concede defeat so early in the match.


    [Blessing of the World Tree: Transformation!]


    Vanya''s became extremely muscr and three meters tall in an instant, and she immediately sidestepped to dodge Link''s iing attack.


    But even then, a small wound appeared on her shoulder, as Link''s punch barely scratched her.


    ''This is insane strength… He''s really going all out from the very start… It seems he isn''t going to stall like he did during the team battle phase…''


    ''Well, if that''s the case, then I better get serious too!''


    [Blessing of the World Tree: Elemental Enhancement!]


    Mana in the surrounding area slowly whirled around Vanya and blessed her with elemental properties.


    [Vanya style: wind type: hundred wind breeze!]


    The wind element covered Vanya''s body and enhanced her attacks ordingly.


    Not only did her speed increase, but her attack range also improved a lot.


    With each attack, she fired massive wind sts, which were enhanced by her ''unique art''.


    Unlike Miki Kotov, she created her own unique art with the blessing of the world tree.


    Her unique art revolves around using the blessings of the world tree more efficiently.


    She utilized the ''elemental enhancement'' aspect of the world tree''s blessing and then applied her ''unique art'' to incorporate the elemental enhancement into her attacks.


    Her move was extremely creative and lethal.


    If it was Rio or Liam, then they could have faced some difficulties against this, but today she was really low on luck.


    She wasn''t only against Link right now; she was also facing him when he was already in a bad mood.


    [Dao Rhythm!]


    Not only Link didn''t dodge any of Vanya''s attacks; he didn''t even bother to hold back anymore.


    All of Vanya''s attacksnded on Link directly, but due to ''Dao Rhythm'', they had minimal effect and only caused small wounds on Link''s body.


    But Link didn''t care about them at all.


    [Dragon Arts: Overload: Maximum output!]


    *Boom!*


    Link''s punch hit Vanya directly in the stomach, and she flew away like a cannonball.


    Her body hit the SS-rank barrier at the edge of the stadium grounds, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood in an instant.


    Before she could collect herself,.


    Link''s next punch arrived near her face in an instant.


    [Vanya Style: Earth Type: Defensive Earthen Core!]


    Vanya raised her hands in front of her face to defend herself; she poured a lot of mana into her hands to do so.


    But it was all futile.


    Enhanced by Dao Rhythm and at his maximum output of ''overload'', Link was already significantly above his peers.


    *crack*


    Link''s attack directly crushed Vanya''s right forearm and then hit the SS-rank barrier.


    A small crack appeared in the barrier, causing even the SS-


    rankers to feel goosebumps. (It''s the effect of ''Dao Rhythm''…)


    Link''s intense emotions influenced his ''Dao Rhythm'' and caused the w'' in it to get stronger.


    If not for the fact that Vanya had used her forearm to buy time and then dodged the attack to the side, that punch would havended directly on her face!


    Vanya immediately jumped away to make some distance from Link.


    Although that crack in the barrier was barely the size of a baby''s finger, and it also healed quickly due to the barrier''s repair mechanism, Vanya still felt a chill run down her spine after seeing it.


    To create even that small crack in an SS-rank barrier, you''d need an S-ranker to put his all into attacking.


    But Link did it with ''Dao rhythm'' while still being an A-ranker.


    Even the SS-rankers were speechless at this incredible feat, and the entire VVIP area fell silent thereafter.


    …


    VVIP Area.


    "Uh… what do you feed your son?..."


    Ryul wiped the sweat from his forehead and questioned Ashtel in an awkward tone.


    Hearing those words, ck lines appeared on Ashtel''s face.


    "Uh, well… Even I didn''t know he could do that too… I am just as bewildered as you…"


    Ashtel himself didn''t know how much stronger Link had be after getting ''Dao Rhythm''; thus, he was also shocked after seeing Link break a crack in the SS-rank barrier.


    Gradba rubbed his forearm to ease the goosebumps and spoke in a solemn tone.


    "He''s already influenced the ''space-time fabric''… It won''t be long before he can rip apart holes in the space-time fabric… just like you…"


    When Gradba spoke, other SS-rankers nodded their heads.


    Ashtel is known for his amazing feats of forcefully ripping apart ''space-time fabric'', but even Ashtel needs to be an SS-ranker to be able to do that.


    However, Link is already starting to show signs of it at rank A.


    This demonstrates the extraordinary capabilities of Link.


    None of the other candidates made the SS-rankers feel threatened, but Link alone made them all feel ufortable.


    They all could feel that it would not be long before Link would rival them all in sheer power.


    Ashtel briefly nced at Link before speaking,


    "Ahem… I am afraid I won''t be able to hold a candle in front of him after he bes an SS-ranker… My days of acting like a superior are numbered…."


    Although Ashtel knew that Link would eventually surpass him, he wasn''t worried at all.


    Instead of being happy to see Link''s growth, what actually shocked him was just how fast Link was improving.


    Although Link was already born as an awakener, Ashtel had sealed his powers so that his body could mature and withstand that power.


    Only after Link turned 15 years old did Ashtel remove that seal from him.


    It''s only been one and a half years, and Link is already at the peak of his A rank.


    A thought came to Ashtel''s mind.


    ''At this speed, Link will already reach S-rank around his 18th birthday…''


    This growth rate is terrifying, even from Ashtel''s perspective.


    Not only was Link improving at an insane pace, but Rio and the others were also making significant progress. It was as if all of them were getting a boost from each other.


    As soon as one of them achieves a higher level, others follow suit! They arepeting with one another and improving extremely quickly.


    Link felt threatened by Rio''s ''Sword intent'' so he awakened ''Dao Rhythm''. He wasn''t able to catch up to Rio''s speed, so he improved his defense to a ridiculous level so that Rio''s attacks would have a minimum effect on him.


    And now that all this hase into y at once, Link is basically like an unstoppable force when fighting opponents of the same rank.


    …


    …


    Author''s Notes.


    Yo! It''s your beloved author here! It seems being worried about Riya really caused a massive impact on Link… Let''s see what happens next.


    By the way, don''t forget to use those power stones and also leave a review if you like the story. Comment your opinion about the chapter. Your support is my motivation.