The fight continued. One could still not see who had the upper hand in this fight. At first one believed that Flint was clearly stronger but currently both contestants were equally strong.
The green-haired boy slashed towards Flint. Flint dodged the slash and charged forward, closing their distance. In the same breath, he sent his fist flying towards the green-haired boy.
Instantaneously the green-haired boy stepped back, making the fist fly towards nothing. He then aimed his slash at Flint's leg. Flint jumped backwards, rolled away and then stood up again. This sequence happened in only a few breaths and left the crowd amazed. After that clash, they again started to charge at each other.
"Kid, this is why your battle experience is crucial. Even though your strength is higher than theirs, you can't use it properly." Zayn was amazed. The Infinite Star just confirmed what Zayn was thinking. The gap between their battle experience was immense. Zayn knew if he wanted to win this tournament, his only chance would be if he raised his battle experience highly enough.
"Listen, kid, you should also abuse the two next rounds and enhance your battle experience like you did before. In the semifinal, you should then fight for real and use everything you learned so you would have enough experiences for the final round. This is the only way you could have the slightest chance of winning."
"All right. But I first have one question, Infinite Star. You told me that Flint had suppressed his cultivation and that he could easily enter the 7-Star Body Refinement Realm. Why would he suppress his cultivation?"
"Well, I think, with regard to Flint's nature, he wants to show off. In this kind of fight where he fights someone equally strong as him, he would break through the next star and win the fight. Everyone would praise him, and he would have a story to boast about."
This made sense for Zayn. Zayn already encountered Flint's nature. He was so domineering and arrogant. After Zayn made him lose his face in the public he surely wanted to regain his face. The best way to do that would be to have an outstanding performance in the tournament.
.
The fight was already eight minutes in and the crowd was thrilled as to what both showcased. As to the new rules, they only had two minutes remaining. Someone had to win.
"Well, I think time's up! How about we end this fight?" Flint noticed that the round reached its end, so he wanted to end it in style.
"End it? Go on, if you want to lose that badly!" The green-haired boy noticed the change in Flint's expression. He immediately knew that something was wrong.
Flint stopped in his tracks and closed his eyes. The green-haired boy and the crowd were shocked. What was Flint planning? Everyone thought about that. Then they noticed the qi flow in the arena. Flint was actually absorbing qi right in the middle of the battle.
"He…He is trying to break through!"
"Breaking through? In the middle of the fight? Impossible! Cyrus, don't just stand there, disrupt him!"
The crowd went nuts. Even though many were cheering for Flint, they all agreed that this action was only pure arrogance. Disregarding his opponent and trying to break through in the middle of the fight.
The green-haired boy was also enraged. Being disregarded like that was not a good feeling at all. He knew he had to stop Flint immediately.
He charged at him, readied his sword and slashed at him.
*BOOM*
A qi explosion caused a smokescreen to appear and disrupted the crowd's view.
"Not again! Why does a smokescreen always appear when it's getting exciting?" The crowd wanted to know what was happening inside the smokescreen and what caused this qi explosion in the first place.
Not a sound could be heard from inside, but again the teachers and seniors saw through it. Flint was holding the Snake Tongue with both of his palms, locking it in position. The green-haired boy tried to pull his sword out, but it was not moving at all.
Flint, still holding the Snake tongue in between his palms, sent a kick flying towards the green-haired boy. As the boy was still trying to pull his sword out of the palms, he did not notice the kick coming towards him.
*BANG*
From within the smokescreen, the green-haired boy came flying out of there. In the next moment, one heard something metallic dropping. The crowd noticed the sound and also saw that the green-haired boy did not have his Snake Tongue. Out of the smokescreen, Flint appeared.
The tiny fire particles around his body increased in size. Everyone knew what happened. In the split second where the green-haired boy charged at Flint, he completed his breakthrough.
A 14-year-old 7-Star Body Refinement Realm Cultivator. Nearly everyone was amazed, including the teachers and seniors. The only exceptions were Zayn, Vown, and Ryu. They kept their cool.
The green-haired boy stood up in pain and saw Flint coming towards him. Flint slowly walked up to him, once again displaying his arrogance.
"I know that Martial Skills are only for display in the Body Refinement Realm, but how about I do the impossible? Let me demonstrate!" Flint arrogantly boasted about his next attack.
Standing in front of the green-haired boy, he held one hand on his other and pulled it back, as if charging it. The green-haired boy was still in pain after the kick. He could not believe that Flint broke through and had an instantaneous power increase. The kick really got him, and he could only try to block the incoming attack.
Flint was still charging his attack. The tiny fire particles around him concentrated on his fist. When they finished concentrating on the fist, it looked like a cheap version of the Fire Fist Martial Skill.
"It…It's the Fire Fist! Don't tell me…."
"No way! A Body Refinement Realm Cultivator can't use Martial Skill!"
Again, many in the crowd commented on the current situation. This time, it was a complete another story from before. Before, the fight had only exceptional and amazing parts, but nothing impossible was happening. But now, Flint attempted to use a Martial Skill.
After charging his fist completely, he released the hand on his fist and punched forward. The fire was traveling with his fist towards the green-haired boy and completely hit him.
Even though the green-haired boy was blocking the attack, its force was just too much, and he was sent flying. He only landed out of the arena and on his body, many burned spots could be seen. The green-haired boy was unconscious.
"The winner is Flint!" Teacher Bolt announced, but the crowd did not react at all. They were still speechless from Flint performing a Martial Skill.
"Vown? You told me it was impossible! What happened?" Zayn was also amazed by Flint's display of a Martial Skill. But Zayn was more enraged than amazed. Vown told him that it was impossible for a Body Refinement Realm to use Martial Skills and so Zayn never actually used one, he only displayed it. He was really interested in Martial Skills and if he was able to use one he would immediately use it.
"It's impossible. The thing the boy displayed wasn't a real Martial Skill. It was fake!"