A sharp kick flashed in front of Zayn's face. The kick cut off small strands of Zayn's hair.
'That was close! Her kicks are really fast. I need to abuse the gravity more to enhance my speed.'
"What a sweet kick. You know, you have to hit me, right?"
"You damn cockroach!"
Their own private trash talk session continued. The crowd now was accustomed to their trash talking. It was not something unordinary to do that, but it was the first round in the tournament where trash talking happened.
Everyone was rooting for the girl. Zayn's first comment about her resulted in the crowd hating him. They could not believe that she was still increasing her speed. This round counted as one of the more exciting rounds.
"You fucking loser! Fight like a man! … I mean like a real cultivator!"
"What do you expect from a pussy! … I mean… from a scared cat?"
The crowd obviously shitted on Zayn. For them, he was not worthy to be on the arena. They did not know how the four students, from before, crippled their hand, but the other fight only resulted in his win, because the other student got tired and just gave up. He still did not attack once in the tournament. What was he trying to accomplish on the stage?
Zayn noticed the crowd's attitude towards him and was not that happy about it, but his first priority was to gain enough battle experience to win the tournament. Everything else was secondary for him. He really was not interested in finding out what kinds of punishment a System, which could easily transport him from earth, would issue.
"Good, kid! The girl is finally getting serious. And your footwork is constantly improving. I have to say, I think what improved the most out of the battle was your ability to trash talk. At least you are not going overboard with your trash talk now."
"…"
'YOU TOLD ME TO TRASH TALK! How could I know that I was going overboard!'
The fight continued, and Zayn constantly improved. The Infinite Star told him that his footwork was now basic enough to keep up with the others in the same realm. Zayn felt so relieved to have learned the basics of footwork. It was a strenuous effort and only with the Infinite Star's guidance was he able to achieve that so fast.
Ryu was speechless after seeing Zayn's improvement. He was the only one, besides, Vown, who knew that Zayn did not have any battle experience at all. To be able to learn the basics of footwork, during a fight, in under 10 minutes. Only one word could describe that. Monster! Zayn's progress was just too terrifying.
"Teacher Bolt, are you seeing what I see? Why aren't you the least bit surprised?"
"Ryu, your worldview is just too tiny. In the future, there will be much more abnormal situations like that." Vown did not want to admit that he was amazed by Zayn's progress. In the whole Royal Blue World, this feat would still be able to shock everyone. Even those at the highest peaks in this world. So, it did not have to do much with worldview. It was just, that Vown was accustomed to Zayn's freakish nature. Everything around him does not make sense at all.
"But I have to say it shouldn't be only his intelligence that created this kind of improvement. I think his combat talent and his battle sense are pretty high."
The fight neared its limit. Infinite Star reminded Zayn that there were only two minutes left.
"Kid for the last two minutes, try to attack her. But, be careful, your regular punches are far stronger than what a 4-Star Body Refinement Realm can handle, so you have to hold back. Holding back will also help you establish a better attacking foundation. While holding back you also have to expect where she would dodge or intercept and counter that. If you don't hold back your punch will be too fast and too strong to be stopped. We want real battle experience, not an easy fight!"
Zayn nodded to Infinite Star's suggestion. He was currently still in the fight and focused on his footwork, but he noticed that his improvements got slower. The pressure was sinking, as the girl reached her limits. Trying to force on his footwork would not benefit him that much. So, a change in skills had to come.
"WHAT?!? Look, everyone! He's… he really… is going to attack!"
"OMG! What the hell happened? Did I miss something or why is he attacking?"
"He really is going to attack! Finally! The time limit fulfilled its purpose. Thank you!"
Zayn readied himself to attack when he noticed the crowd's exclamations. He stopped in his track and just turned around. Staring down the crowd, one could see Zayn's empty expression. 'What the hell?!? I am only attacking! I am not going to cure cancer or something like that!'
The girl used this moment to get a sneak attack on Zayn. Because of the crowd, Zayn was distracted and did not see the kick coming towards him.
"BE CAREFUL!" The Infinite Star warned Zayn and immediately after his warnings, Zayn noticed the kick.
In the last second, he skillfully displayed what he learned. He dodged the attack and moved really fast behind her. In a rush of adrenaline, he punched forward and hit her on her back. This development was not expected by the girl. She could not react at all.
*BANG*
As if an explosion occurred, the sound surprised everyone. The girl was instantly sent flying and only stopped, after hitting a pillar, in the crowd's area. This force surprised everyone again.
They thought of Zayn as someone who only got in the Eighth-Finals, because of luck. They admitted he had incredible speed and a tough body for his cultivation stage, but speed and a tough body were ultimately useless if he did not attack. After witnessing his attack and the situation, the majority concluded that Zayn was holding back in the fight.
"What the hell, kid?!? I told you to hold back!"
"I did! Well not entirely… I was just surprised! But I am sure I did not use my full force in the punch. Maybe she was just too weak."
"No, quite the opposite! She wasn't weak, you are just too strong! The Infinite Star Arts was created for the reason of being invincible in one's own realm. You have to hold back the next time remember that!"
Zayn agreed and immediately rushed to the girl to check if she was ok. When he got there, he noticed that she had minor injuries and was bleeding, but nothing major. He was relieved to see that, he was indeed holding back. But, still to have survived this kind of force and impact, was amazing.
"Well, cultivators, in general, have a stronger body than normal, especially in the Body Refinement Realm. You don't have to worry about something like that!"
The fight ended and with it the Eighth-Finals. Zayn was declared as the winner. He immediately rushed back to Vown and Ryu and ignored the crowd. Teacher Leaf announced a small break, and everyone could rest for a bit.
Zayn was chatting with Vown and Ryu, asked about their insights into the fight and obviously tried to explain his trash talk. In the middle of their conversation, they got interrupted. Flint visited them.
"I don't know how you did it, but you did not fool me! I am certain that your cultivation was in the 1-Star Body Refinement Realm a week ago. Everyone else thought they were misinformed or gauged your cultivation stage wrong, but I know you were a weak worm a week ago! The principal must have helped you. Do you think only rising in your cultivation is enough? You think you can embarrass me again? In your dreams! Watch my next fight!"
After saying that he immediately left them. He did not even look back once. Zayn and the other two did not know how to react at all. Flint was really hurt after the last "battle" against Zayn. His pride seemed really important to him.
Flint left Zayn, Vown, and Ryu and entered the arena once again. Teacher Leaf announced the start of the next round and a 4-Star Body Refinement Realm Cultivator entered the realm. He was really nervous and afraid. One could see that he did not want to fight against a 7-Star Body Refinement Realm Cultivator. Who would blame him? Normally, a cultivator was only able to fight against those at his own cultivation stage, maybe if they were a genius, skip a star, but to fight against Flint was impossible for the young boy.
"Start!" The round began.
"I give u-" Even before he could end his words and end this fight, Flint ran towards him. His speed was too fast for his opponent to react at all. In front of him, Flint gathered his power and once again used his Fake Fire Fist. He used his full power and hit him right in the stomach.
*BANG*
An even louder sound than in Zayn's fight could be heard.
The force of Flint's Fake Fire Fist catapulted his opponent into a pillar, destroying it and then smashing into the wall. After his attack, he stared at Zayn and once again looked down on him.
The crowd was terrified by the attack. Everyone could hear that the young boy was about to give up. There was no need to use such an attack against him. When the first few got to the young boy, they noticed his state. He was bleeding from nearly every part of his body and most of his limbs were crushed. With the help of the academy, he would at least take a year of recovery. This fate was just too cruel. The crowd did not dare to voice this cruelty to Flint. He would definitely become a powerful figure in the future, no one wanted to ruin his relationship with him.
Zayn also saw the state of the young boy. He was enraged. This time the rage flowed through his whole body. He knew Flint only used this kind of an attack to scare him. Looking at Flint, he did not need the Quest anymore to want to beat the shit out of Flint.