"Exactly like that! You were able to adapt our analyzation during this short exchange. But don't forget his strength will keep rising. You need to finish him when you reach your limits! I won't guide you, don't forget that!" Infinite Star commented after Zayn and Flint's blow.
"I know, don't worry!" Zayn reaffirmed Infinite Star.
Flint, now back on his feet again, mindlessly charged Zayn again.
Zayn's wound left him a bit weakened, but he still dodged the oncoming assault with ease.
This was Zayn's first real injury in this whole tournament, even in his whole adventure here. But even though it looked grave, he didn't feel much because of the adrenaline in his system. That's why he straight up ignored this injury and just kept focusing on raising his battle experience.
The fight went on and on, with both contestant constantly rising in strength and speed. Flint's body was now completely red, and his veins started pulsing and glowing.
The audience was really satisfied with this kind of battle. It didn't end that anticlimactic as the last rounds and became really exciting. The one hour wait for this fight was paying off.
Flint's Uncle, on the other hand, was despairing. He never would have believed that Zayn was able to keep up. If Flint wasn't able to win, how could he explain it to his grandpa? And the fact, that Flint turned red and his veins were glowing, made Flint's Uncle insecure about the safety of the Blood Qi.
Meanwhile, Vown and the principal were engaged in a conversation. This conversation, however, wasn't held with words. No one of them talked. They were using qi to talk to each other. This was a high-level technique to converse in secret. They used qi to transmit their thoughts to each other. It was a fairly safe technique to secretly converse with each other.
"You knew about his real strength, didn't you Vown?"
"Yes. I tested him right before I accepted him as a student. He showed promising results. Truly a freak!"
"A freak for sure! But he needs to be nurtured. His lacking knowledge and his inexperience are really slowing his true potential. He can truly redeem yourself."
"I know. If I nurture him right, I can bring him with me back to the Thunder Head Sect in a few years. Vernon had to shoulder all the pressure alone."
"Don't worry about Vernon. He's capable to do that, after all, he's the older one."
"Still, my leave should have put him under far more pressure than before. Principal, I want to take Zayn to the Python Beast Forest after the tournament, only for a few mere months."
"I told you many times... don't call me principal when we are alone! Don't worry, I'll take care of all formalities for your journey."
"Thank you! By the way... did you find anything?"
"Find anything?"
"I mean the price for the tournament. You were frantically searching for something to present as the price for the tournament."
"... Let's forget about that..."
Zayn and Flint's fight was still proceeding. Both of their prowess rose simultaneously.
The majority of the audience didn't even recognize Zayn and Flint's growth. Only a small number of students and the teachers noticed their growth. It wasn't that easy to discern it, because of both growing at the same time. They nullified each other's growth through their own.
'I think I nearly reached my limits. It became far harder to increase my strength, and there are only a few adjustments left to my fighting style.'
Zayn's fighting style right now resembled that of a boxer on earth. He solely used his fist to attack. His footwork was used for speed and also to add more strength to the punches.
Flint's fighting style, on the other hand, was animalistic. It was mostly instinctive. With his only goal being, to kill Zayn. What was obvious from Flint's Blood Qi consumption, was that his intelligence drastically diminished. He didn't plan his attacks or at least put any thought to it. He was also constantly switching from a two-legged stance to a four-legged stance, back and forth with those two stances. At one time resembling more a human and at others time resembling more a beast.
No one clearly had the upper hand in this fight. Zayn constantly received hits from Flint and also the other way around. It was the first time that Zayn began to feel slightly tired during a fight. It was really draining and a strenuous effort. Flint's vitality didn't seem to be affected, even after this whole fight. The Blood Qi was a terrifying resource to use.
*BANG*
*BOOM*
*PENG*
'I think this is it. This should be my limit. The 8-Star Body Refinement Realm' Zayn clenched his fist and felt quite satisfied with his results.
'Time to end the fight!' Zayn looked towards Flint.
"Hey, Flint! Ouh, right... well... I think you won't understand anything I say now, but still... Let's end this fight!"
The audience was surprised at Zayn's remark. Even the principal and Vown were wondering what Zayn planned now.
"Ouh, so you are finally using it! I told you that you had to use it in this fight. Still, I'm wondering about your results. You only learned it via book and didn't even try to use it once." The Infinite Star was finally relieved, after seeing Zayn reaching his limits, and wanting to end the fight.
Zayn stood in the middle of the arena and stared at Flint. This enraged Flint and he stormed at him. He drew closer and closer. Zayn just kept standing still there.
Everyone spectated this and started wondering what Zayn had planned.
Flint was now only a few breaths away from Zayn. But Zayn just stood there still. He continued to stare Flint down.
Right at the time, where Flint was only a hair's length away, Zayn vanished. His disappearance only left a few blue sparks there. And Flint just straight up clashed into empty air.
Zayn obviously didn't disappear, he transported himself behind Flint. And when Flint hit empty air, Zayn immediately struck at Flint with his full force.
*BOOM*
An enormous smokescreen appeared, the biggest in the tournament yet. No one clearly saw what happened after Zayn's striking. But everyone agreed that Flint lost.
"This... It- The boy... Formless like a Phantom and piercing as a Blade. The Phantom Blade Movement Arts!" The principal instantly recognized Zayn's movement. He found the Phantom Blade Movement Arts in an old mystic realm. He tried to learn them and use it, but he only failed. He wasn't able to perform them. He spent years to learn them and comprehend it. And after continuous tries and fails, he was able to perform them in the end.
But the first move of the Phantom Blade Movement Arts alone, took him years to even perform them. Zayn only had the book for a few hours. And from those few hours, he really didn't have time to spare it, as he was constantly fighting in the tournament.
After telling that all to Vown, Vown was also shocked. Vown knew that the principal wasn't stupid, his intelligence was pretty high, so the years should be justified, but for Zayn to be able to learn it that quickly only showed his monstrous intelligence.
What both of them didn't know, was that Zayn wasn't alone in learning the Phantom Blade Movement Arts. Infinite Star also helped him out in learning it, as he suspected that Zayn would need a hidden ace to counter Flint's Uncle plan.
But it still showed that Zayn had terrifying intelligence. As he learned it in a short time, even though it was guided. Everyone present wouldn't be able to do that same feat, even if Infinite Star guided them.
The smokescreen still continued. Everyone expected Flint to fly out of it, but it didn't happen. A few breaths passed. And then finally someone flew out of the smokescreen.
But contrary to everyone's belief, it wasn't Flint who flew out.
It was Zayn!