Chapter 2478 - 355 - 364

Chapter 355: Look Down on The Templars

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Wang Tong and Karl's feeling was shared among the audience. They came into the arena already with prejudice against the covert Mastery sects, and Han Linu's defeat seemed to have lent credence towards their bias.

Head lowered, Han Linu walked off the stage; it was an embarrassing fight indeed. He was quickly surrounded by his fellow sect members and was bombarded with questions. The sect members were well aware of Han Linu's strength, and they had never thought that he would be trounced. One thing they were certain was that Han Linu's defeat was not because of a slip-up, but rather due to the extraordinary opponent.

The outcome of the match had taken the wind out of the Lunar Mastery's sail, as the members of the sect plodded out of the arena, faces reddened with anger and shame. Should their opponent be any famous fighter, such as Patroclus or Michaux, the defeat would be much less humiliating.

Nevertheless, a defeat was a defeat. However, there was still a silver lining for the Lunar Mastery sect, since Han Linu still had two more matches to prove himself.

Wang Tong had won the match, and that was something worth celebrating for the Ayrlarng's students.

Hu Yangxuan pulled Wang Tong aside and asked, "How did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Don't pretend you don't know what I am talking about. How did you break the Mastery's spell?"

Wang Tong cracked a smile and conceded that he could not beguile Hu Yangxuan, the former Templar disciple. "It's nothing new, just a different way of controlling soul energy. My soul energy happened to be particularly effective in breaking the Mastery's spells." Wang Tong had spoken the truth, since there weren't any sophisticated techniques used during the fight.

Hu Yangxuan nodded, and he knew Wang Tong was telling him the truth. From the battle, he could tell that Wang Tong's moves were very straightforward and lacked finesse. Plus, everyone at Ayrlarng knew that Wang Tong's soul energy was extraordinary, so Wang Tong's claim about his soul energy's effectiveness against spells was not unthinkable.

Although the web-like soul energy—an inborn attribute of a fighter— had made Han Linu an extremely powerful caster, Wang Tong, on the other hand, was even more powerful.

"Wang Tong, I'm glad you can teach these pricks a lesson about never looking down on grass-root fighters!" Hu Yangxuan announced, his filled with resentment. Ever since he had met his inner court brothers, Hu Yangxuan seemed to carry a chip on his shoulder constantly.

Hu Yangxuan's second match went smoothly, and his opponent was also a fellow court brother from the moon.

Despite the Ivantian's futile resistance, Ha Yangxuan had achieved a decisive victory. It was evident that his strength and skills were much superior to his fellow court brother. Not only had Hu Yangxuan improved his fighting skills during his boot-camp training under Ma Sa, but the excruciating sparing with Wang Tong had also significantly toughened his will.

Although Ayrlarng had lost one of three contestants, the other two fighters were already on their way towards the final playoff matches.

Bernabeu and Ayrlarng were sister schools, and therefore, they both followed each other's match results closely. So far, there were only Apache and Cao Yi who remained in the game, although Cao Yi had already lost one round.

Apache, on the other hand, had improved his skills significantly ever since he joined the military. Therefore, he had remained undefeated.

By then, almost all the players had fought at least one match, and the competition was extremely fierce. Everyone agreed that this year's tournament was the largest gathering of the world's toughest fighters, some of whom were relatively unknown before the tournament.

It was worth mentioning that fighters from the Planet Ceres and Andromeda Galaxy had also fought ferociously like everyone else. Despite the consensus that they were most likely not to be seen at the final stage, their display of strength had caught many off guard.

After another three days of fierce battles, one hundred and twenty-eight fighters had finally made it into the final playoff. These fighters represented the strongest of the young generation, as they included top fighters from all factions and planets.

Even for a significant event such as the pan-solar tournament, the strength of the players varied greatly from year to year. The last tournament, for example, had no top fighters except Li Shiming and Lie Jian, despite it being an improvement compared to the one before it. Not only had there been ten times more players than an average year, but the incredible prowess of these players was also unprecedented.

The most anticipated segment of the tournament was finally about to draw back its curtain.

From then on, every round was a playoff, and only the winner would earn the rights to fight in the next round; there were no second chances.

Lie Jian, the strongest fighter of the Martian coalition, and his opponent, the wielder of the Heavenly Halberd, Wu Gang from the Templar's Inner Court, kicked off the final playoffs.

No doubt this would be a fight to remember, since both combatants were renowned fighters from prestigious backgrounds.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the first battle of the playoffs for the top-sixty-four positions is about to start! On one side of the arena stands the heir of the Tactics of the Blaze, symbol of the martian's spirit! LIE—JIAN!"

All martian audiences stood up from their seats at the announcement, howling and shouting the name of their champion. Lie Jian was in a vibrant red gym suit. His eyes held an unswerving belief that he would annihilate whoever stood in front of him.

"Lie Jian's opponent is from Earth, the birthplace of all tactics, the powerful, mysterious and sacred Templar's Court! His name is Wu Gang, the HEAVENLY HALBERD!"

Waves of cheers and applause erupted from the audiences. This match was bounded to be an uphill battle for both contestants. However, the poll had suggested that eighty percent of the audiences believed that Lie Jian would come out as the winner. It was evident that the public still held the five major tactics with high regard.

At the announcement of his name, Wu Gang sauntered onto the stage with a halberd strapped to his back.

After the two fighters bowed to each other, the fight finally began amidst a tsunami of cheers and shouts.

Even though Lie Jian was faced with the Templar's inner court disciple, he held the Martian's signature haughty expression. On the other hand, Wu Gang looked indifferent as he slowly loosened the halberd on his back.

"Show me what a Templar's Disciple can do!"

"Be careful what you wish for!" Wu Gang answered as he brandished the sharp halberd.

"Hehe... Why do I feel that I will be disappointed?"

The Martian's insult had angered Wu Gang. The young Templar cranked up his soul energy to three hundred and ninety as he charged at Lie Jian, the tip of his halberd pointed squarely at the Martian's chest.

Sensing the incoming attack, Lie Jian started his tactics as a burst of soul energy shot through his body. Fist infused with blazing power, Lie Jian pounded directly at his attacker without any hesitation.

With a deafening blare, Lie Jian's body jerked forward slightly to finish the punch, as Wu Gang staggered backward after the impact as the force of his attack fell short. It was evident that Wu Gang was just probing his opponent, as he didn't use his full strength.

Wu Gang quickly regained balance and pushed forward with a wave of halberd attacks. Each thrust of the halberd was faster and more powerful than the last. Meanwhile, Lie Jian held his ground and met the attacks head-on with fiery fists. It had become clear to Lie Jian that he could not waste time on defense and evasion while facing such belligerence. His only hope lied in subduing his opponent with an overbearing aggression.

In the heat of the battle, the stage turned into a crazed swirl of glowing fire, and silvery steel. The impact of the fist and the halberd sent explosions after explosions. Suddenly, the audiences watched as a burst of fireball exploded on the stage, and Wu Gang was sent flying by the intense wave of heat.

Lie Jian paused and watched as Wu Gang struggled back to his feet. "Hehe...Is that all you got?"

Wu Gang held back the pain and swallowed down the anger as he conceded that his opponent was truly powerful. Not only he needed to counter Lie Jian's attack, but he had also needed to watch out for the deadly Poison Fire constantly. Although he had learned a great deal about the Tactics of the Blaze from the books, Wu Gang conceded that it was much harder to overcome the deadly tactics than it had appeared on paper.

The other three inner court disciples remained calm at the development. They had anticipated that Wu Gang would have to fight an uphill battle. However, they were also confident that their court brother would be able to pull it through.

"Don't hold back your strength. Show me the Heavenly Ten Strikes!" Lie Jian demanded. It was evident that House of Lie was also familiar with the power of the Templars.

Without saying a word, Wu Gang charged up his soul energy, and in a blink of an eye, his soul reading had broken through four hundred—the top limit of level five soul energy. This impressive amount of soul energy spoke loudly about the power of inner court disciples.

By then, deadly GN force had been burning at the tip of Wu Gang's halberd. The young Templar bent backward and held the halberd like a spear, then hurled it with all the force he could muster. Even as the halberd pierced through the air with lightning speed, Wu Gang ran to the projectile at an even faster pace and kicked its end, giving it even more velocity.

Heavenly Ten Strike—Flying Serpent!

Faced with such a deadly attack, Lie Jian didn't even flinch, and he punched at halberd with abandon. As the impact sent a shock wave throughout the arena, Lie Jian staggered back a few steps, almost losing his balance. Wu Gang quickly followed with another attack, pointing the halberd at Lie Jian's head while sweep-kicking below his opponent's knees.

Chapter 356: Belligerent Force

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Wu Gang's technique was called the "Double Dragon Sprout."

However, Lie Jian was unruffled by the deadly double attack, and he channeled soul energy into his upper and lower body to form a defense. Even as the double attack inched closer to its target, Wu Gang doubled down on his attack. The young Templar yanked his halberd, lending him enough force to launch himself forward to deliver three GN force infused kicks. This was the next level of the Templar's technique, the Three Essences of Heaven and Earth! The three kicks were aimed at face, chest, and belly.

So powerful were the attacks that Lie Jian realized that meeting the attack head-on certainly meant injury. Therefore, to cushion the triple blows with both hands, Lie Jian took a step back to alleviate some of the forces.

As soon as Wu Gang finished the three kicks, he immediately followed with an attack with the halberd, striking the Martian from the above. Wu Gang had learned to use his soul energy to control his halberd, and therefore, his hands were free, which allowed the genius young Templar to repeat his triple attack while his opponent was distracted by the blow from above.

Lie Jian swayed his body to avoid the halberd bearing down on him. However, he was hit by a heavy kick to his legs. This was the first time since the beginning of the tournament that Lie Jian had been hit. He was hit by the fourth level Templar strike called "Four Seals of the Templar."

Each one of Wu Gang's strike carried a tremendous amount of soul energy and GN force. As he was carried away by the sheer momentum of his attacks, the young Templar soon entered a battle trance. Without thinking, he unleashed the next level of attack, the Fifth Annihilation!

Wu Gang brandished the halberd in both hands; each strike was faster than the last, until the halberd had turned into a blurry shadow of sharp edges and pointy tips. This technique was very similar to that used by sword masters. However, the use of halberd had significantly increased the attack's potency. If Lie Jian were hit by the blow, he might as well have lost this match.

As the audiences started to worry for Lie Jian, They watched as a smug crept onto the Martian's lips while he steadied his body. Suddenly, a pair of flaming hands reached into the blurred shadow and gripped the halberd, stopping its dance.

Wu Gang's attack was supposed to be his finishing move, however, not only was his weapon snatched away, but the sudden halt of the attack had also hampered his energy flow and caused some energy to go rough, damaging the internal organs.

The kick that Wu Gang delivered to the Martian had also come at the costly price; the fire poison coated on Lie Jian's body had latched onto the young Templar's feet upon contact, and by then, it had already seeped into its victim's bloodstream.

As soon as Lie Jian gripped the handle of the halberd, he channeled another gush of poisonous flame at the unsuspecting Wu Gang. The two injections of poison had given Wu Gang so much pain that the agonizing burning sensation almost immobilized him.

However, Wu Gang gritted his teeth and forced another burst of GN force from his body, which gave him enough strength to hold onto the halberd and tug it hard towards himself. To Wu Gang's surprise, the Martian suddenly released his hold on the halberd, and the Templar's force made him lose his balance.

After Wu Gang had gathered himself, he heard Lie Jian clap his hands. "Good technique! But unfortunately, you have only learned the first five of the ten strikes in the Ten Heavenly Strike. You need more practice."

Wu Gang checked his condition and registered that the poison flame had reached deep into his system and bonded itself with the free-flowing energy. The bond was so deadly that any attempt to draw soul energy would result in an insurgency of damaging poison flame.

Even as the top fighter at the Templar's inner court, Wu Gang was helpless against the poison flame inside him, and the only thing he could do was to suppress the poisonous effect with more soul energy.

The Martians were elated by the turn of events. Their breath was caught in their throat while they watched as their champion was under the five waves of deadly attacks. After all, the Templar's power was no joke.

Sensing that the poison flame and seeped deep into his opponent, Lie Jian reckoned that the fight was over, so he turned around and started to get off the stage.

"Hold on! The fight is not over...yet." A few words tumbled out of Wu Gang's blood-smeared lips.

Lie Jian paused and turned around slowly. "You are courting death." His voice was eerily calm.

Wu Gang gave him an ugly grin and then said, "The Tactics of the Blaze, haha... It was powerful indeed, but don't forget that you are fighting a Templar! I will show you the true meaning of power, the Hexii-Hex!"

"Hexii-Hex? In the miserable condition you are in?"

"Doesn't matter. I can do it as long as I have one breath left in me."

Wu Gang started to channel soul energy again, and his hand gripped the halberd so tight that his knuckles turned white. Suddenly, a burst of GN force shot though Wu Gang's body. Wherever the GN force reached, the poison followed, burning the Templar from the inside. Wu Gang screamed from the unbearable pain, but he didn't reduce the intensity of his GN force. Then came another burst of energy inside the Templar, with even more intensity than the last burst.

"Brother Wu, stop! It's too dangerous!" Ye Kai shouted at the top of his lungs. However, the heart-wrenching screams of Wu Gang drowned out his voice.

Suddenly, Wu Gang's scream stopped, and he started to recite a chant to himself as the outline of his body started to become blurry. The audiences watched in astonishment as two more "Wu Gang" appeared side by side with the real one. The pain had contorted the Templar's face, as the poison started to wreak havoc inside his body.

"Ten Heavenly Strike—Hexii-Hex!"

Wu Gang and his doubles charged at Lie Jian simultaneously, each carrying a sharp halberd.

Lie Jian had remained calm and counterattacked methodically.

Right after the impact, the doubles disappeared instantly. As the audiences heard the clank of the halberd hitting the ground, they saw only Lie Jian's haughty figure standing still with pride.

Body red with the fiery poison, Wu Gang struggled a few seconds to get back to his feet before he eventually collapsed to the ground.

Lie Jian turned around and didn't even spare his opponent a glance as he walked off the stage. All around him, the arena was filled with cheers and chants of his name. "Lie Jian—Lie Jian..."

Even the Templar's Court was no match for the belligerent Tactics of the Blaze.

Meanwhile, in the second section, Li Shiming was fighting against a fighter from Planet Ceres, who cultivated unique tactics called the Tactics of Lightning. The tactics allowed him to fight with such speed that all his previous opponents had been defeated without having the time of making a move.

Montaly, the Ceres fighter circled Li Shiming with incredible speed while taunting him loudly, "See this? Can the wind god Vayu be as fast as me? Haha! Wind will never be faster than light!"

Li Shiming stood motionlessly, while Montaly started to accelerate. A few seconds later, the Ceres fighter seemed to have disappeared, as there was only a circle of shadows around Li Shiming. Many figures danced in and out of the darkness, but it was hard to tell illusion from Montaly himself.

Feeling confident that his display of strength had dazed his opponent, Montaly suddenly appeared behind his opponent and stabbed his back with a pointy dagger. Speed and the element of surprise was the perfect recipe for victory, and once he took Li Shiming down, Montaly reasoned that he would become one of the most popular fighters in the Confederation.

"What? Where—"

After losing his target, Montaly started running again, but his opponent was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, he felt someone was following him, so he paused and turned around. Despite the unmistakable feeling of being stalked, he had seen no one behind him.

The development had unnerved Montaly, and he started to pick up speed to lose his follower. However, no matter how fast he ran, he could always feel that Li Shiming was only one step behind him.

Tired of playing the game, Li Shiming caught up with his opponent, grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up from the ground. Montaly shook his limbs and wiggled his body helplessly, then finally conceded his defeat.

The winner was —Li Shiming!

Meanwhile, in section one, Cao Yi had met the toughest opponent he probably would ever face as a fighter—Patroclus.

In Bernabeu, even the air breathed like despair, as no one hoped of seeing their classmate winning this match.

Cao Yi studied the calm and placid Ivantian in front of him and found it hard to make the connection between him and a god-like warrior.

Despite the challenge ahead, Cao Yi knew that this was his once in a lifetime opportunity to make a name for himself. He reminded himself to remain calm and not be affected by his opponent's overbearing fame.

Cao Yi tensed up his muscles while he poised two curved blades in front of him. His slightly curved posture made him look like a Zerg ready to attack. Suddenly, Cao Yi bolted forward and raised his blades at Patroclus. The two curved blades had already gained a layer of shimmering blade aura.

As the blade aura gained intensity, the audiences gasped as they were astonished to see such powerful blade aura from a level five fighter. Some of the Ivantian audiences even turned to the fighter profiles, trying to find out more details about the earthling boy.

However, what happened next reminded everyone of the unbridgeable gap between the level five fighter and the heir of House Dower.

With a nonchalant and straightforward wave of a hand, Patroclus had snuffed the brilliant shimmer on the blade. The force also hit Cao Yi's body and stopped him cold in his track.

Cao Yi collapsed to the ground, and that was the end of the fight.

Even with the blade aura, a level five fighter stood no chance against the perfect human.

Chapter 357: Instant Kill

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

In the fifth section, Michaux Odin was patiently dispatching his first opponent, an Ivantian named Miao Xiu. He too was a disciple of the Templar's court.

After having experienced combat against Patroclus, Miao Xiu feared no one by then, not even the young master of the Divine Master sect.

The atmosphere inside the arena was heavy. As a Templar's disciple, Miao Xiu had a basic understanding of his opponent's capability. He knew that the Divine Master sect's techniques excelled at attacking using soul energy. However, he was also very confident in his ability to defend against soul energy attacks.

The key in defending against the soul energy attack was to protect the head. As a matter of fact, a typical soul energy attack's effectiveness was greatly limited by this countermeasure. Some audiences who knew about the defense strategy reckoned that the young divine master had met a worthy opponent, as Miao Xiu channeled all his defensive soul energy to his head.

Luv Ma heaved a sigh of relief while watching the match from the audience seat, although everyone else from the Starry Sky Academy had been worried for Miao Xiu ever since they learned that he would be standing up against Michaux in his first round of playoff match. The tournament had always been a great stage for students from the S-Class academies. However, with the participation of the members of the great houses, many top fighters from the S-Class academy had tasted defeat. Even as the S-Class academy of the host city, the Starry Sky Academy had also been plagued by stronger fighters. There had been twenty students from the Starry Sky that had made it to the final playoff. However, in just a couple days, the number had reduced by half.

Miao Xiu had spent a lot of time coming up and practicing this soul energy defense strategy. Although the soul energy of the young master was a force to be reckoned with, many believed that the physical strength of the sect members was sub-par. Therefore, Miao Xiu had shutoff his sea of consciousness altogether, and instead, planned to rely solely on his physical prowess to overcome his opponent.

Miao Xiu was well prepared for this fight. To him, the young master was not nearly as powerful as his would-be opponent, Patroclus.

"Are you ready?" Michaux cracked a smile and then asked.

"I am whenever you are. I will try not to hurt you too much, only a little." Miao Xiu answered with a threatening voice as he cracked his finger joints loudly.

With a whirl of air around him, Maio Xiu hurled a fist at the young master at lightning speed. He doubted that the wimpy looking young master would be able to evade his attack.

Michaux remained calm as he crossed his hands and made a simple sign.

"Break." The young master announced lightly.

An unseen force suddenly struck the unsuspecting Miao Xiu, and landed a heavy blow on his forehead. The Ivantian suddenly collapsed to the ground and stopped moving altogether.

"The winner is Michaux Odin!

The young master's decisive victory crushed the dream of his would-be opponents of using deference strategies to counter his attacks. So powerful was the young master that a level five fighter was completely defenseless in front of him.

Meanwhile, Wang Tong had also met a tough opponent, the seeded combatant of the third section, Guan Dongyang, the heir to the sect of the Hidden Path. Guan Dongyang was 25 years old, and had established himself as one of the most fearsome fighters on Mars. Rumors had it that his mastery techniques were so deadly that even the Enchantress, Li Ruoer would not be able to best him in combat. Some still doubted the strength of the enchantress, and believed that it was mostly her family fame that had helped her make it to the list of seeded combatants.

Guan Dongyang's powerful abilities had not only shaped the Hidden Path into a formidable presence on Mars, but had also earned him a nickname—Agni, god of fire. He had annihilated all his opponents ever since he had entered the tournament.

In contrast to his opponent's reputation, Wang Tong was an unknown no-account. Therefore, in the public's eyes, Wang Tong had finally spent his luck that had helped him in winning over the previous fighters, and he was about to face his defeat. The public's sentiment was also shared by Wang Tong's classmates at Ayrlarng, as they sat nervously in the arena, fearing for his imminent defeat. On the other hand, the audiences from the Mars seemed much more relaxed, as they were confident that they already had gotten the victory in the bag.

Although Wang Tong had defeated a powerful opponent in his last fight, the public believed that Wang Tong's victory was due to Han Linu's puppeteer-equipment failure rather than his inferior power. In addition to marveling at Wang Tong's luck, the public was also deeply impressed by Han Linu's skills. Despite the minor setback, Han Linu had defeated both opponents he had encountered after the fight with Wang Tong, and pushed the popularity of the Lunar Mastery to a new height.

Both Karl and Hu Yangxuan were sitting in the audience for Wang Tong's fight. Although Hu Yangxuan was well aware of Wang Tong's power, he still could not stop worrying about his friend. Little was known about Wang Tong's opponent, since the Hidden Patch was very secretive, and they kept their tactics and abilities hidden from the public's eyes. Based on the recording of Guan Dongyang's previous tournament fights, although it was clear that his soul energy had reached four hundred, the exact cause of his opponent's defeat escaped Hu Yangxuan. Not only did Guan Dongyang possess solid soul energy, but he also had the elements of surprise on his side, since no one knew what to expect from him.

Despite his concerns, Hu Yangxuan had a gut feeling that Wang Tong would win the fight.

Ever since he had entered the playoffs, Wang Tong had become more excited about fighting against increasingly tougher opponents. There would be so much to learn from so many powerful fighters.

Guan Dongyan studied the excited expression on the face of the boy who was eight years younger than him, and thought how naive he was to be so brave even as he was faced with an inevitable defeat.

Guan Dongyang didn't come to the tournament to seek personal glory. At his age, he couldn't care less about fame. Instead, he had come to the tournament to promote schools of Mastery, and let the world know that the five tactics no longer dominated the confederation. The five tactics had grown old and tired, and it was the Mastery's turn to lead the humans towards victory.

With such a great mission in mind, Guan Dongyang didn't want to waste too much energy on the fledgling in front of him. He planned to finish the fight fast, preferably under one minute, if possible. Although Guan Dongyang had set his first choice of opponent to be Li Ruoer, he was convinced that, unlike the "Magnificent Five," Li Ruoer was not his worthy opponent; she was only a stepping stone.

While Wang Tong warmed up his body, he was increasingly excited about the fight, as he could feel that there was something powerful hidden deep underneath Guan Dongyang's seemingly placid sea of consciousness.

Ever since the start of the playoff matches, the organizer had set aside a dozen rows of seats for fighters who were still in the game. Those seats had a much better view of the arena than even the most expensive seats, and therefore, Hu Yangxuan gladly took up a spot in the middle.

There weren't a lot of people sitting with Hu Yangxuan when he first arrived. However, a moment later, someone else showed up and sat right next to him.

"Long time no see. I hope there is no one sitting beside you?" Hu Yangxuan heard an icy but familiar voice, and recognized the voice immediately. It was the Enchantress, Li Ruoer!

Hu Yangxuan wondered why the enchantress didn't stay in the resting room, since she had a match right after Wang Tong finished his.

Enchanted by Li Ruoer's beauty, Hu Yangxuan cracked a smile and said incoherently, "No, no one. Sit, sit here, please."

After Li Ruoer sat down, she was appalled to see Wang Tong's exaggerated and cartoon-ish warm-up exercises. "Is he ever serious about anything?"

"Hehe, it depends. He could be very serious about certain things and certain people." Hu Yangxuan said, alluding to Wang Tong's personal life.

Li Ruoer remained quiet. If she had registered the allusion, she didn't show it on her face.

"Look! It's Li Ruoer!"

"Why is she here?"

"Of course, she is here to watch Guan Dongyang! He is the toughest opponent in her section."

"Ah...maybe. I wish Wang Tong could last longer down there. I just can't get enough of the nice view."

"Watch your tongue! You don't want to mess around with the Li."

Chapter 358: Fire Breathing Serpent

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Based on the opinion poll from the online magazine "VAIN," Li Ruoer was most men's dream girl. Not only did she have a look that belonged to the centerfold, but her Tactics were also rumored to have enhanced her cardinal knowledge. Any hot blooded man could not resist fantasizing her naked body under that cold and aloof cover.

As everyone fixated their eyes on the Enchantress, Han Linu, the puppeteer, also walked into the arena. As a seeded player in the third section, he decided to study his opponents carefully. After the fight with Wang Tong, he had quickly patched up his puppets. However, the defeat still took a toll on his confidence. Before he had met Wang Tong, he had thought that there were no real roadblocks for him in the third section— not even Li Ruoer or Guan Dongyang. He had wagered that the fight against the two-seeded fighters would be tough, but it was not impossible to win. However, the fact that the no-account Wang Tong had so easily defeated him had made him doubt his previous estimate of his opponents' strength. Even the Lunar Sect could not figure out how Wang Tong was able to disable both of their sect's secret weapons.

Han Linu pondered over the cause of his defeat as he sat quietly, waiting for the start of the fight. Sooner or later, he would have to meet either Wang Tong or Guan Dongyang, and he did not want to be humiliated again.

Right before the match started, another famous fighter, Michaux Odin, showed up.

The young master had just finished a fight mere minutes ago, and he had come to watch the match without even taking a break. But, why? Did he really think that either of the fighters was worth his time? If so, was it Guan Dongyang who he had come to see? Unlikely! Although the members of the Hidden Path were brave fighters who wouldn't flinch even when they were up against the House of Lie, they would never dream of challenging the absolute authority of the Divine Master.

Although Guan Dongyang had never met Michaux Odin, he had publicly claimed that the latter was his only equal and worthy opponent on Mars. He didn't even care to acknowledge the House of Lie.

In fact, Guan Dongyang feared to fight the young master, especially after watching his last fight, which had proved how futile soul energy defense methods were when used against Michaux.

The audience was surprised by Michaux's sudden appearance, but they failed to find a reason for it. Some had even speculated that Michaux had shown up because he had taken an interest in Li Ruoer, despite the sect's celibate doctrine.

Michaux didn't mind the murmurs that surrounded him. He walked to the other side of the arena and sat down quietly by himself. Nothing in this world could interest the young master, as he cared only one thing and one thing only—immortality.

Michaux had heard many stories about Guan Dongyang on Mars, and he knew that he was not an easy target, even for himself. Therefore, he was interested to see how Wang Tong would deal with him.

By then, Michaux was sure that the Einherjar Wannabe that had defeated Zambrotta was not Wang Tong, as he could tell that the latter was not as strong as the former.

As the referee finally announced the start of the match, Guan Dongyang started the attack right away. Guan Dongyang crossed and layered his fingers as they quickly changed through a few dozen different hand signs. As the Martian's soul energy soared, he suddenly folded his hands and thrust his arms out at Wang Tong.

After a blaring explosion, Wang Tong was struck by a hidden force, as if he were struck by lightning.

"Thunder Fingers!"

It was an advanced version of the soul energy burst attack.

Invented by the members of the Mastery, the soul energy attack was miraculously enhanced by deadly GN force. Although GN force deteriorated quickly upon contact with soul energy, the Hidden Path had invented a method to prolong the effect of GN force after it was fused with soul energy. Thanks to the Thunder Fingers' long range, it was a very deadly strike that was almost unavoidable.

Guan Dongyang threw a glance at the referee, suggesting him to announce the end of the match. He was convinced that Wang Tong was already defeated, since his Thunder Fingers was as powerful as any attacks used by Michaux Odin, although it was less well known.

Just as Guan Dongyang was about to turn around and start off the stage, he saw Wang Tong stand up, dust himself off, and then crack a smile. "Is that all you got?"

Guan Dongyang gasped as he saw his opponent was well and alive after sustaining a deadly blow. The Thunder attack was not only able to subdue any level five fighter, but it would also gravely injure any level six fighter. Looking at Wang Tong, the Martian noticed that he was practically unscratched.

Wang Tong's patience was wearing thin, so he attacked with his arms open and disappeared into thin air.

"The Earthling's Inch Step?"

Sensing attacks coming from his front, Guan Dong sidestepped and evaded the invisible blow. However, he suddenly felt a chill against the nape of his neck—Wang Tong's fist was already bearing down on him at lightning speed.

Guan Dongyang fumbled to get out of harm's way, and finally evaded the deadly blows after a few close calls.

Wang Tong appeared right where he was standing and announced with a smirk on his face, "Hurry up and show me your true power while you still can!"

Wang Tong could feel the unmistakable sense of power inside his opponent. Although he had learned a great deal from Mr. Wannabe, the Mastery's arcane method of cultivation and channeling energy still escaped him.

With soul essence in his possession, Wang Tong thought that it would be a pity if he didn't master all forms of cultivation in the world. When the GN force was first discovered, everyone felt that they had found the ultimate source of power. However, by then, mastery seemed to have provided human an alternative method to achieve even greater power. The human race was such a fabulous race; driven by their curiosity and will to improve, they were able to continuously broaden the scope of their abilities, and inch towards immortality, slowly but surely.

That being said, the arcane knowledge of the Mastery was well hidden and fiercely guarded. Therefore, only during the tournaments could Wang Tong have a chance to peek into its true power.

Guan Dongyang glanced over the shoulder of Wang Tong and saw Michaux staring at the earthing boy attentively.

Guan Dongyang folded his hands again. As the Martian's lips moved softly, a layer of soul energy appeared and covered his body.

As the soul energy accumulated, everyone was astonished to see that Guan Dongyang didn't channel any GN force out of his body.

"Drake Fire!"

As the Martian shouted out the name of his technique, a dragon made of dancing flames spurred out in between his palm and flew towards Wang Tong. The sudden attack caught everyone off guard.

"Is this magic?"

"The dragon has to be an illusion; it must be useless."

The fiery serpent hit the ground under Wang Tong's feet and caused a massive explosion. Amidst the dust and smoke, Wang Tong saw Guan Dongyang had moved to his side, and his firefly fist was already bearing down on him.

"Fist of the Fire Drake!"

The first punch hit squarely on Wang Tong's chest, and the Martian immediate followed with another punch, which landed on Wang Tong's belly.

Wang Tong stumbled back for a dozen feet and finally lost his balance as he fell to the ground.

Everyone's hearts were caught in their throats as they realized that the fire-breathing serpent was not an illusion. The crumbled floor where the blow landed was a testament to its existence.

"What kind of an attack was that?"

"It is not GN force. It is something much more powerful!"

Guan Dongyang about-turned to face Michaux as he pointed at Wang Tong on the ground and then at himself. Guan Dongyang wanted Michaux to know that the Hidden Path was no any less potent than the Divine Master, and eventually, he would defeat the young master like he did to Wang Tong.

Seeing the martian's incredible power, Li Ruoer furrowed her brows. What troubled her most was the martian's unique technique, as she doubted if anyone in the House of Li would be able to repeat it.

Under most circumstances, the soul energy was merely a medium to release GN force. However, not only could Li Ruoer not sense any GN force in the martian's attack, but she also felt something entirely different and new to her.

Michaux Odin studied the martian as if he had just solved a riddle. He was one of the very few in the arena who knew that they had just witnessed the Mastery cultivators' greatest contribution to the world.

Although Guan Dongyang was far from the strongest soul mastery cultivator that Michaux had ever seen, the young master conceded that his power was immense.

Wang Tong didn't disappoint the audience, as he quickly stood up from the dust and gathered himself.

By then, Wang Tong's clothes had already been reduced to pieces and strands. While he marveled at his opponent's power, he was also disappointed that he had once again failed to comprehend the Mastery's technique. But, he knew that he was close.

Without wasting any further time, Wang Tong started the attack. He conceded that he needed to force his opponents to unleash even more powerful attacks for him to learn the mysterious technique.

Wang Tong stormed at the Martian using the most popular move on Mars, the "Martian Dash."

Enraged by Wang Tong's audacity, Guan Dongyang charged up his soul energy until his right arm was engulfed in flame. Then, he hurled the flaming fist at Wang Tong as he shouted, "You are courting death!"

Wang Tong did not waver at the counter-attack as he carried out his move with unswerving determination. As Wang Tong's soul energy reached four hundred and thirty, he finally unleashed his famous fist strike—the Layered Fist of Tong!

Chapter 359: The Source of Power

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Wang Tong charged into the ball of blames and delivered a blow to Guan Dongyang, snuffing out the fire in the process. Wang Tong's attack struck home, as Guan Dongyang stumbled a few steps back before he finally collapsed to the ground.

Wang Tong calmly put out the fire on his arm. "Use your coup de grace. These little tricks are useless on me."

The desire to learn the arcane energy of the Mastery burned brightly in Wang Tong's eyes. He knew he was very close to unlocking the secrets.

Guan Dongyang swallowed the pain and managed to pull himself up. He marveled at the power of his opponent, as fear started to set in. Guan Dongyang knew that the power between casters of the Mastery was not that much different than any ordinary fighter of the same level. Despite the few tricks up their sleeves, the mastery casters were significantly weaker physically compared to their regular counterparts.

By then, Guan Dongyang finally realized that his opponent was as powerful the heirs of the great houses. No wonder even Michaux had shown up to watch the fight.

The pain in Guan Dongyang's body had awakened him from his dream of defeating the Great Houses. He had registered that the overall power of the earthling boy was at par with his. However, the boy's physical prowess was superior; to fight him with fists would only mean defeat.

With one of his arms injured, Guan Dongyang suddenly lost access to many of his powerful spells. However, he reckoned that this might be the only opportunity for him to unleash his ultimate power before his opponent started to get the upper hand of the battle.

The Martian suddenly charged up his soul energy to four hundred and fifty. The powerful energy surrounding the martian's body spiraled outward quickly, forming an ever-expanding circle. As the Martian's lips moved softly, something else started to lurk inside the sphere of energy. The temperature inside the energy sphere rose dramatically, and in a blink of eyes, Guan Dongyang was engulfed in flames.

"Is that real fire?"

Wang Tong gazed at his opponent while he expanded his soul energy to gauge the flaming power and search for its source.

Although Guan Dongyang was only a level five fighter, his power right then had exceeded that of a level six fighter. Without the enhancement of GN force, it was impossible.

The temperature on the stage kept on rising, as the red-hot energy soon breached the energy shield and set off the alarm in the arena. By then, Guan Dongyang's entire body had already been engulfed by the flame. Although he had lost his right arm, his will was still strong enough to pull off this powerful spell.

As the strongest caster of the young generation of Mastery cultivators, he carried the hope and responsibility of his entire sect. He could not be stopped so quickly by a no-account, since it would not only be a humiliation to himself, but also to all Mastery cultivators.

The area had fallen into chaos as the audience sitting in the front row scrambled to escape the encroaching heat-wave. Some members of the audience had initiated their energy shields to protect themselves from the harmful energy. Despite the havoc it had wrecked, everyone marveled at Guan Dongyang's tremendous power. No one had ever seen such horrible power in real life, much less during a tournament.

The tournament organizer quickly patched up the energy shield and contained the flaming power.

Inside the energy shield, Wang Tong felt that he was parched. However, his opponent seemed to be unaffected by the heat as the Martian watched him with a joyful expression.

"Come on, Wang Tong! Be proud of yourself. You have just witnessed the ultimate form of energy in our world. You are a part of a change in history! Haha!"

Guan Dongyang shouted out in hysteria. The power he had unleashed had reached at least the entry level of level six, if not even higher—an incredible amount of energy at such a young age.

The development dumbfounded everyone, including Han Linu. Han Linu had believed that his soul Mastery was the most powerful among all of the Mastery cultivators. However, his power seemed to have paled in comparison with Guan Dongyang's fire bending spells.

As if the scorching heat were not enough of a punishment for his opponent, Guan Dongyang waved a hand and summoned a giant fireball to fall from above Wang Tong's head. As the fireball was only inches away from Wang Tong's scalp, it exploded into thousand pieces of molten metal. It seemed that Wang Tong had only one option—run!

However, Wang Tong knew that he could not run away from the stage, so the best defense right then was to be aggressive. He charged up his soul energy to employ a protective shield around his body, as he launched towards the fire-bender.

Seeing Wang Tong's incoming attack, a curl found the corner of Guan Dongyang's cold lips. He waved his left hand gently, and out of nowhere, a giant firewall suddenly appeared in front of Wang Tong, stopping him cold. The Martian waved again, and another firewall erupted. This time, it was even closer to Wang Tong. Wang Tong was forced to channel more soul energy and GN force to protect himself from the inferno-like environment as he retreated.

Guan Dongyang made a hand sign with his left hand as he uttered a spell from his mouth. Suddenly, a fiery serpent came alive from the firewalls, slithering towards Wang Tong at lightning speed. Having spent most of his soul energy, Wang Tong didn't have any means to protect himself, so he turned around and ran with the serpent at his heel.

"Hahaha! This is my real power that you had wanted to see so bad! Now you have it! A new era in human history will begin today, and everyone will remember that it started with your defeat!"

The fire serpent had forced Wang Tong into a corner, as it latched its fangs onto Wang Tong.

Guan Dongyang's sudden burst of power had attracted everyone's attention. By then, all media personnel had started live-streaming this fight. Everyone was impressed by the martian's unique power, and thought that his techniques were revolutionary.

Although the Ivantians and the Earthlings had dominated the landscape of METAL combat, Guan Dongyang's display of strength had shown that the Martians were catching up very quickly.

With a blaring explosion, the fire serpent's attack hit home. Guan Dongyang stood proudly inside a circle of dancing flames, ready to claim his victory.

Han Linu heaved a sigh of relief, cherishing the fact that he didn't encounter Guan Dongyang early in the tournament.

As the dust settled, the audiences saw the martian's attack had created a giant crater on the floor. Not only the force of the fiery attack had gone beyond that of any GN force strike, but it was also a ranged attack, unlike most GN force strikes.

It was an ability that no one had ever seen before.

The earthlings and the Ivantians were stupefied by the display of power, while the martian audiences had already boiled over at the promise of their victory. Meanwhile, it was deadly quiet in the campus of Ayrlarng and Bernabeu as they moaned Wang Tong's defeat. As the leader of the S-club, Wang Tong had been everyone's only hope. However, his opponents were simply overpowered. Wang Tong did not stand a chance while fighting against such unprecedented techniques and the insane amount of power.

Guan Dongyang waved at the referee, willing him to call in the medics. However, as the referee scanned Wang Tong's vital signs, everything seemed to be normal. For the sake of contestant's safety, the referee decided to enter the stage to check on Wang Tong.

However, right before the referee was about to step onto the stage, a human-shaped flame suddenly appeared out of nowhere, starting to dance and swirl wildly. As the fumes and the flame thinned, Wang Tong appeared from the fire.

"Awesome! It was AWESOME!" Wang Tong shouted with an excited but strange expression on his face. Wang Tong felt a euphoria shoot through his body as he realized that he had finally cracked the door to the secret power of the Mastery.

In the moment of epiphany, he had learned that the fighter's power and cultivation for the Divine Path were not mutually elusive. In other words, the closer one was to the Divine Path, the more power one had. Wang Tong wagered that the Divine Masters had long since discovered the secrets, but they had kept it to themselves all the while.

Seeing Wang Tong was unharmed, both Li Ruoer and Hu Yangxuan heaved a sigh of relief as they threw each other a knowing glance. Michaux Odin remained calm, as he had expected this turn of events. However, he was also clueless as to how Wang Tong had done it.

Michaux was further perplexed by the stark contrast between Wang Tong's incredible ability and his lack of understanding of his power.

Chapter 360: Cure For The Sickness of Arrogance

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Guan Dongyang was speechless at his setback, "How... How come?"

Although his attack was powerful and covered a large range, it was spread too thin across a large space, and therefore gave Wang Tong ample time to absorb his energy.

Wang Tong had discovered that the secret of Mastery's technique was to finetune the vibration frequency of soul energy to that of the arcane power to control the unseen power that filled up the world. From this discovery, Wang Tong drew three basic conclusions about the mastery's power: first, the higher the soul energy, the more arcane power could be brought under control; second, the key to unlocking the power, once the resonance was established, was those cryptic hand signs; and third, the Martians were fond of fire, and hence the arcane energy he had summoned attained a fire attribute.

Wang Tong conceded that this unique technique was superior to the traditional GN force in terms of attack power. However, its defects were also very obvious.

As the ground exploded under Wang Tong's feet, Wang Tong suddenly disappeared from the arena, and half a second later, reappeared right in front of Guan Dongyang. Guan Dongyang was fast to react. However, his physical strength and speed was not even a fraction of Wang Tong's.

Before Guan Dongyang was able to defend himself effectively, Wang Tong kicked in his side, and the Martian immediately collapsed to the ground. By then, Wang Tong had already gotten a number on his opponent. Based on the meager GN force the Martian had offered throughout the fight, Wang Tong wagered that although Guan Dongyang's Mastery attack was powerful, his physical conditioning was inadequate.

Silence fell into the arena as the audience waited for Guan Dongyang to stand up. However, he never did.

"The winner is Wang Tong!"

There was no doubt that Guan Dongyang's performance was historical, as he had introduced a revolutionary technique to the world. However, he had lost the match for no explicable reason.

Standing on the crumbled floor and walls of the arena, Wang Tong smiled satisfyingly.

Han Linu was stupefied by Wang Tong's victory as he murmured to himself, "What...What happened?"

"Is he made of Adamantine Alloy?"

This was the first time that the arena called in the repair crew to patch up the facility. However powerful Guan Dongyang's attack had been, he was still defeated by a no account.

Zhang Mi, the journalist, was elated by the outcome, and a bold headline appeared in her mind, "The Bane of the Fire God."

As if annoyed by the smug look on Wang Tong's face, Li Ruoer pouted her lips and grunted lightly. Li Ruoer's bitterness was loud and clear to Hu Yangxuan; he knew that the Enchantress was jealous.

"Li Ruoer, do you know what Wang Tong's expertise is?"

Li Ruoer was caught off guard by the question, then she shook her head.

"Curing the sickness of arrogance." Without sparing the enchantress a glance, Hu Yangxuan sauntered out of the arena.

Ever since the tournament progressed to the playoff matches, all the fighters, except for the Magnificent Five, no longer held back their power, as they were all eager to prove themselves in front of the world.

In contrast, the heir of the great houses had by far only used a fraction of their full strength. But even so, the power at display was already impressive. This was particularly true about the only two female seeded players—Heidi and Li Ruoer.

The other two seeded fighters—Li Xin and Zhang Buyu, had also demonstrated their incredible abilities. With his Thunder Blade, Li Xin had been invincible. His sword attacks were infused with thunder attributes, which would paralyze his opponents upon contact.

So far, Zhang Buyu from the Templar's inner court was able to finish off each one of his opponents with a single strike, regardless of the type of opponent he was faced with. After enduring so many fights, there was not a single scratch that could be found on his body, all thanks to his incredible sword techniques.

Although no one was certain as to who would be the winner should the two fighters pit against the Magnificent Five, time would offer the answer eventually.

In addition to these renowned fighters, another previously unknown fighter had come to light, and he was Wang Tong. His name became popular ever since he had unexpectedly defeated Guan Dongyang, the second strongest fighter from the Mars.

Some METAL enthusiast had uploaded the sorry condition of the battleground to the internet, and the video immediately went viral. Not only the structure was damaged, but some parts of the arena had also been scorched by the intense heat, becoming crystallized. It was hard to imagine how Wag Tong had survived such a deadly bombardment.

Soon, a reporter from the ETV had published an article detailing the background of the dark horse Wang Tong.

The article had indicated that he was not only a METAL fighter, but also the champion of this year's Fleet combat tournament. He had defeated not only the Perfect Commander Flash but also demolished the confidence of the notorious Ivantian player KKK. Ever since he joined the METAL combat, he had made his way to the playoff with ease and finished off the Puppet Master Han Linu. While faced with the second-seeded fighter of his section, Wang Tong had displayed unimaginable power and incredible skills.

If there had been any doubts regarding the strength of Guan Dongyang, the crumbled arena had cleared all of them. However, the same destructive energy that had almost demolished a building had barely scratched Wang Tong.

Ever since the beginning of the tournament, all fighters except for a handful of overpowered fighters had sustained injuries to some degree. However, there was not a single scratch on Wang Tong even after his fight against the strong fighters from the Mastery.

People couldn't help but wonder what was behind Wang Tong's winning streak.

Even if it were true that Guan Dongyang had overlooked his physical training, his level six soul energy would have made him a nightmare for any fighter.

All clues pointed to the same conclusion—Wang Tong was a much more powerful fighter than any of his opponents.

After Zhang Mi had published her in-depth analysis about Wang Tong, the article became highly referenced by other newspapers.

Zhang Mi had been following Wang Tong for a while, and the more she observed, the less she found she knew about this mysterious fighter. However, Zhang Mi was very certain that Wang Tong was very powerful. Otherwise, he wouldn't become the leader of the influential student group, the S club.

This tournament had provided an opportunity for the S Club members to meet with each other. There were many student groups such as the S club in different academies. However, almost all of them had served as a promotion club for one or more of the great houses. The S Club's rise to power spoke loudly of the ordinary students' desire to be recognized. No one wanted to forever live under other peoples' shadows.

Another great aspect of the S Club was its openness. The members shared their experiences freely, and never tried to hide anything from fellow club members. The transparency had nurtured a healthy club culture, which reinforced its reputation.

The S-Club covered many subjects. Not only did it have branches set up for METAL and Fleet combat, but it also had members from the Information Warfare and Heavy METAL.

Although Li Ruoer signing up in the club was a part of her scheme, her action had, although unintentionally, helped the S Club to spread its influence to the S Class Academies.

Wang Tong never cared about the fame of the club. To him, what was the most precious about the club was the relationship he had built with his fellow club members. Wang Tong's sentiment was shared by all the other S-Club members, as they found the club activities had filled the void during their dull and tedious school life.

Slowly, the S-Club had become the most prominent student club in the confederation, although its leader was still oblivious to how popular he had become.

Each one of Wang Tong's victory tugged at the heartstrings of thousands of club members. Their leader's victory had empowered them and given them a sense of belonging. Although the members of the S Club were from different schools with different backgrounds, they were united under one banner like one family.

Despite the overwrought efforts of Li Shiming and his sister to win over the public's hearts, the brother and sister pair would never have achieved as much recognition and approval of their classmates as Wang Tong did. As the heir of House Li, no ordinary students would find Li Shiming as approachable as Wang Tong.

As Zhang Mi's article gained popularity, she was assigned to follow up with Wang Tong and the S Club. She knew that for Wang Tong to maintain his fame, he would need to continue winning battles.

Chapter 361: Gentleman From the Templar's Court

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

The resting room was already packed with students from Ayrlarng. Although some of them had lost in the tournament, they decided to stay and enjoy watching the rest of the tournament.

Wang Tong stared at his friends' shirts and asked, "What are you guys wearing?"

"Isn't it pretty? Lumi came up with the idea." Zhou Sisi announced.

Everyone sewed the emblem of the S-Club to their shirt; some sewed it on the chest pocket, and some did it on their back.

"Club leader, we are all counting on you!"

"No kidding, you are our last hope!"

"Don't let them look down on us!"

Sensing everyone's high spirits, Wang Tong felt the responsibility on his shoulder grow. He knew that he had to win this tournament for his beloved friends.

On the other side of the resting room, Karl and Hu Yangxuan was chatting about something, and then they both burst out laughing.

"Haha! Well said, 'the sickness of arrogance'… It's rich! "

"Listen up everyone, our boss's expertise is curing those hotshots' arrogance! Let them taste our real power!"

"You bet!"

Amidst the clamor, Wang Tong patted Hu Yangxuan's shoulder and said, "Your fight this afternoon is going to be a challenge. Are you ready?"

"Don't worry! I am prepared." Hu Yangxuan replied calmly.

Hu Yangxuan's next opponent was Ye Kai, the Gentlemen sword. He was not only the second-seeded fighter of his section, but also one of the four inner court disciples that got sent to the tournament.

Wang Tong didn't press Hu Yangxuan with more questions, as he knew that words wouldn't make the fight any easier. However, he was still concerned about Hu Yangxuan, since he knew that Ye Kai was a powerful young Templar.

In the afternoon, Hu Yangxuan faced Ye Kai in the fifth section.

Except for a few earthling students and members of the Templar's court, there weren't many other audience members at this match, since the two fighters were both from the earth.

The members of the S club watched eagerly as both fighters entered the arena. Hu Yangxuan was one of the toughest fighters from the S Club, and since the club had already lost Cao Yi, he had become the club's only representative in this tournament in addition to Wang Tong.

"This guy looks so young. Maybe, Hu Yangxuan has a chance at winning this round. " Karl said lightheartedly.

"There is a gap in power between the Inner and the Outer Court. I don't think being older would help Hu Yangxuan much." Cao Yi grinned.

"Come on, don't be so pessimistic! Look at him, he looks wimpy!" Karl rebutted.

Cao Yi shook his head and decided to drop the matter. Although he and Hu Yangxuan had improved a lot during their boot-camp training, they had also opened their eyes to the existence of a greater power that they had never imagined of. Therefore, Ca Yi knew this fight would not be easy for Hu Yangxuan.

Wang Tong sat quietly; he reckoned that Hu Yangxuan had trained harder than most people, and it would be a pity if he lost this fighter so early in the game.

However, Wang Tong also registered that Ye Kai could be the strongest, even among the four inner court disciples.

Ye Kai bowed to Hu Yangxuan and greeted him with a smile, "Nice to meet you, Court Brother."

"No need for the formality, we are opponents now." Hu Yangxuan replied in a serious tone.

"Hehe! Court brother, I really don't want to hurt you. Why don't you just give up?" Ye Kai asked with an earnest expression. The audience boiled over at the question, as they wondered why the young Templar would ask such a preposterous question.

However, Ye Kai didn't look like he was jesting, while Hu Yangxuan didn't seem to be offended either. The other three inner court disciples remained calm, as if they had anticipated such a proposal.

"I won't surrender until you slit my throat with your sword. " Hu Yangxuan replied.

"Fine, if that is what you wish!" Ye Kai said as he inched towards Hu Yangxuan. Hu Yangxuan stared at his opponent and stepped back, maintaining the distance between him and the inner court disciple. All this while, both fighters had cranked up their soul energy, and the scene on the stage was extremely intense.

"Balls! What are you afraid of? Do away with him already!" Karl shouted at the top of his lungs. But before Karl was able to utter another word, he was pressed back to his seat by Zhou Sisi.

Hu Yangxuan took another half step back and then he attacked as he hewed his blade at Ye Kai.

They both moved too fast for the audience to see clearly what was going on. As the two fighters passed each other, a gush of blood spattered onto the ground; the blood belonged to Hu Yangxuan.

Ye Kai had cut into the flesh on Hu Yangxuan's chest. However, the latter didn't mind his wound as his eyes remained fixated on the young Templar.

Ye Kai was impressed by Hu Yangxuan's speed; that cut was supposed to be much deeper than just cutting into the flesh.

"Congratulations brother, you have improved a lot!"

No one at Ayrlarng knew what to make of the young Templar's comment. To most in the audience, the actions were too fast for them to follow, and all they saw was Hu Yangxuan getting injured for no apparent reason.

"Amazing swordplay!" Wang Tong was impressed by Ye Kai's skills. He had reckoned that the young Templar didn't even unsheathe his sword in the last attack.

From the other side of the arena, Zhang Buyu threw Wang Tong a glance.

Zhang Buyu knew that Hu Yangxuan was much weaker than Ye Kai. Ye Kai was able to counter every single technique used by the Templar thanks to his inborn ability to see through the flow of energy in every move. Zhang Buyu knew that for the sake of Hu Yangxuan's life, he should surrender right away, because once Ye Kai unsheathed his sword, his life would be at stake.

Hu Yangxuan took a few steps back and attacked again. He was aware of Ye Kai's special ability, and therefore, he reasoned that anything he learned from the Templar would be useless. The only moves at his disposal were the ones that he learned from the TNN boot camp. However, since he had just picked up those techniques, he was not very confident in his proficiency.

As the two fighters exchanged another blow, Hu Yangxuan's body gained another deep wound. This time, the cut had reached his bones.

Hu Yangxuan had received two deadly blows right at the beginning of the fight, but worse, he could not even make out how his opponent had done it.

"Brother, just surrender already. You won't win this match." Ye Kai almost sounded like he was pleading.

"Buzz off! Draw your sword, NOW!" Hu Yangxuan rebutted.

Ye Kai shrugged and then said, "What's the point? We have done this before. "

"Ye Kai, stop dawdling! Finish him off!" Yao Bai shouted to his fellow inner court brother from his seat.

Although Karl and his friends were not sure what had happened between Ye Kai and Hu Yangxuan in the past, it sounded like the two had already fought before and the latter had lost that fight.

Despite his nickname of the Gentlemen Sword, everyone at the Templar's Court knew him as a reckless martial arts enthusiast. He could be an even-tempered and polite fellow on a normal day. However, once he drew his sword, he would turn into a monster in a heartbeat.

Hu Yangxuan had fought him before, and he had chosen to surrender, as he had thought that was the sensible thing to do then.

However, even since Hu Yangxuan left the Templar, he had changed a lot, and he could no longer surrender to an opponent before he shed his last drop of blood.

"Draw your sword! Otherwise, we will be doing this forever!" Hu Yangxuan demanded.

Ye Kai's body swayed to the side and disappeared, reappearing right in front of Hu Yangxuan. His sword was still sheathed. Hu Yangxuan didn't retreat this time. Instead, he closed in towards his opponent, blocking the sheathe attack with one hand while delivering an uppercut to Ye Kai with the other.

Hu Yangxuan's aim was on point. He stumbled back a few steps due to the impact, but was pleased to see that his punch had opened up a wound on Ye Kai's face.

Ye Kai covered his face with the palm as pain burned like fire in his eyes.

"Shit! Hu Yangxuan is asking for it!"

"He hates being hit on the face the most!" Wu Gang heaved a sigh; he had learned it the hard way.

Even inside the inner court, only a handful of people were able to injure Ye Kai in a battle. Ye Kai had overlooked Hu Yangxuan's mettle, and was caught off guard by his counterattack.

As Ye Kai uncovered his face, an eerie smile hung on his lips. Hu Yangxuan knew that the real Ye Kai had just arrived on the stage.

Hu Yangxuan dropped the formality as he curled his fingers at Ye Kai and taunted him, "Come on now, show me how powerful you are."

With the two wounds on his chest, Hu Yangxuan had never looked more macho before.

With a sudden din, Ye Kai disappeared into thin air, and then the audience saw a bright light pierce through Hu Yangxuan and explode.

Hu Yangxuan's body was blown away, but he knew that the energy in the form of light was released as Ye Kai pulled out the sword.

Ye Kai hovered over Hu Yangxuan like a wraith, and then the young Templar struck with his sword again.

Hu Yangxuan didn't have much time to think, so he blocked the attack with his blade. Another explosion blew him a dozen feet away.

As Ye Kai landed on the ground lightly, everyone finally saw the long glinting sword in his hand; its name was the Gentleman.

With only two strikes, Ye Kai had gravely injured his opponent, as his attack was capable of ignoring any defense or armor.

Karl was shocked by the development. Although he was not a METAL fighter, he could feel the immense power of the boy from the Templar's Court.

Chapter 362: Commando Hu

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

By then, even Karl wished that Hu Yangxuan would give up the fight then and there, as he started to fear for Hu Yangxuan's life.

Hu Yangxuan quickly gathered himself and closed in towards the boy. Although the attack had mutilated his left hand, Hu Yangxuan didn't show a hint of faltering.

Ye Kai's face became eerily strange again. With a light din, the inner court disciple disappeared and reappeared above Hu Yangxuan, as he bore down on him with the sharp tip of the sword.

Wang Tong had understood the young Templar's basic strategy by then: fast movement speed and formidable swordplay. Wang Tong conceded that this was a deadly combo, and Hu Yangxuan's defeat was imminent.

Hu Yangxuan raised his right hand and blocked the first two attacks. However, the second strike had slit open his palm, and he was not able to defend himself against the third blow.

The sharp edge of the blade landed on Hu Yangxuan' shoulder—inches away from the neck—as it cut into the flesh against the collarbone.

This third blow was much worse than all the other injuries that Hu Yangxuan had already sustained. Everyone felt that Hu Yangxuan had done enough to prove his mettle, and it was time to call it off.

However, Hu Yangxuan ignored his grave wound, and laughed out loud."Haha, brother, your sword is soft like a grass blade."

Hearing the taunt, Ye Kai's face contorted, but he slowly gathered himself and replied, "I can tell that you have improved a lot ever since you left the court, but you are still no match for me. So, don't push me any longer."

"Are you sure?" Hu Yangxuan was unruffled by the young Templar's threat, as he stared back into his eyes.

"So be it! To honor our brotherhood, I will show you the Templar sword master's ultimate technique."

Ye Kai slowly lowered the sword to his chest as he burst open the sea of consciousness, letting out a flood of soul energy. In a blink, the young Templar's soul energy had soared above three hundred and fifty. Although it was not the greatest sol reading in this tournament, considering his young age, it was rather impressive, and would be too much to handle for Hu Yangxuan.

Ye Kai started his attack by charging at Hu Yangxuan. The tip of the sword pointed directly at its target, and all the while, the sword shimmered and traced out a shiny path in the air.

"The Churning Strike"

Hu Yangxuan also charged forward as soon as the young Templar shouted out the name of his technique. Hu Yangxuan hurled his blade at the incoming attacker while he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Churning…my a*s!"

Ye Kai was caught off guard by Hu Yangxuan's sudden outburst of profanity. However, after only the slightest hesitation, he carried on his attack. The sword that Hu Yangxuan had hurled at the young Templar didn't even make it to its target before it crumbled into pieces. The Churning Strike was closing in onto Hu Yangxuan quickly. Without anything to protect himself, Hu Yangxuan would be paralyzed, if not killed instantly, if the strike landed with its full intent.

Truth be told, the audiences were very impressed by Hu Yangxuan's perseverance. He went into the battle with a decisive disadvantage. However, he didn't waver, and held his ground firmly, despite the grave injuries he had sustained.

Suddenly, Hu Yangxuan darted forward and extended his right arm, trying to grab onto the shimmering sword.

This was a suicidal act, since the shimmering Blade Aura was capable of slicing and dicing Hu Yangxuan's arm like a piece of butter. The frightening scene had forced some fainthearted girls such as Zhou Sisi and Lumi to cover their eyes. Karl was stupefied by the sudden change of Hu Yangxuan's personality; he found it hard to make the connection between the commando Hu and his usual playboy persona.

If Hu Yangxuan were betting on his court brother to hold back the devastating attack to avoid the consequences, he would be greatly disappointed. A swordmaster such as Ye Kai would never forsake an attack once it had been carried out. Lo and behold, Ye Kai hewed the blade at his former court brother without any remorse or hesitation.

However, what happened next had surprised everyone. Despite the fame of being the prodigy of the inner court and the number one sword master of the Templar, Ye Kai's sword was stopped cold in its track, as it was grasped firmly in Hu Yangxuan's hand.

With glowing energy and blood covering Hu Yangxuan's right arm, his fingers looked more like claws.

Zhang Buyu stood up from his seat in astonishment.

"No one had ever been able to stop Ye Kai's sword attack with bare hands. It is incredible!"

As a deep growling came from Hu Yangxuan's throat, his eyes burned with ember luster that threatened to kill. While holding his opponent's blade firmly in one hand, Hu Yangxuan rained fists on to Ye Kai's face with the other hand.

Ye Kai was not prepared for such a desperate situation, as he had never thought that anyone would catch his blade. After a shower of fists and knuckles, Ye Kai's face was smeared with blood and was covered with open cuts.

As Hu Yangxuan was about to rain another bout of punches, he sensed a wave of energy was being forced into the blade, so he let go of the sword and kicked the half-conscious young Templar away from him.

Ye Kai stumbled back a dozen feet and was finally able to regain balance, along with much of his consciousness. Hu Yangxuan also breathed heavily, as the last bout of the attack had spent a lot of his energy.

Although his counterattack was successful, the energy in the blade he had just felt unnerved him. Nevertheless, Hu Yangxuan figured that the knuckle sandwiches he had fed his opponent should have interrupted the young Templar's momentum.

Members of the S club stared at the stage with their mouths gaping in surprise, as they marveled at the miraculous turn of the tide.

Inside Ayrlarng's Zerg Lab, Gansus gulped down hard liquor as he munched on Zerg meat. As a member of TNN, he had never thought of taking an apprentice. However, not only had Hu Yangxuan's talent deeply impressed him, but the boy's will to improve himself had also moved him. He had witnessed Hu Yangxuan's transition from a spoiled rich kid into a responsible and iron-willed soldier. Hu Yangxuan's transformation had reminded Gansus so much about his own teenage years.

Gansus was born into a wealthy family and had wasted his talent in debauchery. However, his life was forever changed after his parents were murdered during a Zerg raid. Filled with regret and guilt for not being able to protect his family, he dived into cultivation head first. After years of gruesome training, he has finally earned his nickname—Tiger Dynamite.

Only a few people had seen his coup de grace, the "Tiger Claw", and many of them had only seen it before their death.

"Good lad! Be a man, do the right thing! Haha!"

"Hu Yangxuan! You are badass!" Karl jumped out of his seat, took off his shirt, and waved it the air while shouting loudly. A cameraman captured the moment, and the reporter quickly identified him as the famous Karl, the creator of the "Way of Karl."

Everyone from Ayrlarng stood up to cheer for Hu Yangxuan's bravery and astuteness.

Hu Yangxuan's Tiger Claw would never work if he had not beguiled his opponent by slowly coaxing him into taking a more and more offensive stance.

Despite his temporary success, Hu Yangxuan was exhausted, as he had overspent his energy in the attack. On the other side of the stage, Ye Kai leaned on his sword and was still trying to gather himself, but he seemed to be recovering by the second.

"Hahahaha...." Ye Kai laughed hysterically, looking nothing like a 'gentlemen.'

Feeling worried for Hu Yangxuan's life, the other three inner court disciples furrowed their brows and shook their heads. They knew that Ye Kai was about to lose himself, and there would be bloodshed.

Only Zhang Buyu knew how Ye Kai had gotten his nickname. He was there when the boy injured the Templar swordmaster. Later that day, the master had given the boy the nickname 'Gentleman' as a reminder for him to restrain his reckless power.

As Ye Kai continued his uncontrollable laughter, his soul energy burst to four hundred and fifty.

He was not the gentleman of the Templar's court; he was a monster.

If Hu Yangxuan were still the playboy that everyone was familiar with, he would have already abandoned the fight. However, the new Hu Yangxuan didn't even think of giving up. Instead, he seemed to be even more focused on the fight.

Hands clutched into fists, Hu Yangxuan pounded on his chest and howled. The action sent a wave of GN force throughout the arena. Hu Yangxuan's eyes had turned into pools of molten lava, and his muscles seemed to have bulked up significantly.

"What kind of a technique is this!"

The audience jumped out of their seats as they were astonished to see that Hu Yangxuan's sol reading had reached four hundred.

As Hu Yangxuan started howling, his red-hot body has grown a few sizes larger; he must have been stimulating his tissue growth with some energy.

Chapter 363: A Real Man's Desire

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Gansus sat on a pile of Zerg carcasses while chewing the rubbery Zerg meat.

"Balls! Ma Sa has taught him some stuff too! My Tiger Claw combined with his Blood Rage… Haha! It's going to be interesting!"

Ma Sa's special power called the "Blood Rage" could boost the user's soul energy output by more than two folds, and it was this ability that had earned him his nickname—the Hell-bound Stallion. Needless to say, the training for this ability was excruciating. However, Hu Yangxuan had made it.

Standing on the stage, Hu Yangxuan looked no longer like a dandy young stud. Instead, he had become a bloodthirsty stallion from the inferno—a symbol of destructive power.

Power was what he had been thirsting for. Seeing Wang Tong's improvement, Hu Yangxuan didn't want to fall behind his friend. Despite his carefree and nonchalant personality, when Hu Yangxuan had his mind set on something, he could be fiercely adamant.

The two fighters stood on the stage; one was an elite sword master, and the other was a level five warrior with mysterious powers.

Ye Kai attacked first as he charged at Hu Yangxuan with the shimmering sword. Ye Kai had already lost control over his power, while Hu Yangxuan had also fallen into a battle trance. So overwhelming was the Blood Rage ability that Hu Yangxuan no longer had the mental power to think about the consequences of his attacks. He knew that this was his only chance at defeating his old opponent and avenging his old wound. As a real man, what else could Hu Yangxuan ask for other than his honor and pride?

Blood splattered with an audible "zing." Hu Yangxuan allowed the deadly sword to pierce his body, letting it get stuck in between his ribs. All the while, energy powered out from the wound along with blood.

Ma Sa had told him to refrain from using the "Blood Rage" unless necessary, because once the "Blood Rage" was triggered, it could drive even the most level-headed fighter into madness in exchange for the overwhelming power.

Hu Yangxuan used Tiger Claw and clamped the blade with his right hand, while hewed his left fist at his opponent. Ye Kai didn't let Hu Yangxuan land a solid blow this time as he shifted his body in the most unnaturally flexible way and dodged the attack. Meanwhile, he charged up some soul energy into the blade-wielding hand, and was able to pull the stuck blade out from Hu Yangxuan's rib cage. Even as the blood smeared blade was being forcefully extruded from the flesh, the deadly Blade Aura had started to shine through the caked blood.

The match had by then turned into a battle for life and death between a berserk Tiger and a cold-blooded hunter. It was more visceral an experience than watching thousand-men strong armies crashing into each other.

The ding of the two powerful fighters exchanging blows grew louder by the second. A few seconds later, both fighters were gravely wounded by their opponents, but neither was able to gain an edge over one another.

Hu Yangxuan felt the pain, but he continued the fight. Along with the pain, he felt pride; he had finally caught up with Wang Tong, Wang Ben, and Karl. He finally saw the world for what it was—a cruel and harsh place, where nothing could be taken for granted without fighting hard for it.

After an ear-deafening explosion, the two fighters were engulfed by a burst of intense light. When the light and the clamor faded, the audiences saw two fighters standing still on each end of the stage, both covered in blood.

Finally, Hu Yangxuan collapsed to the ground, as the "Blood Rage" subsided. Before Hu Yangxuan's knee was about to drop to the ground, Ye Kai rushed to hold his collapsing body, blood dripping from the tip of the "Gentleman."

"Brother, this was one of the most satisfying fights I had ever fought. " Ye Kai announced calmly but sincerely.

"The winner is —YE KAI!"

This was a fight that every earthling should feel proud of. The audiences stood up to applaud the two fighters' excellent performance.

There was no place for cowardice in the war with the Zergs. Every fighter should be ready to fight until the last drop of blood. This fight between the two earthling boys was not infighting, but a testament to the earthling warriors' mettle and spirit.

During the days of its conception, the pan solar system tournament was designed to inspire the fighting spirit. However, hundred years of peace had turned the tournament into a feast of personal glory.

"OMG! Commando Hu, I LOVE U!" Karl shirked as tears streaked his face. After this fight, everyone would remember Hu Yangxuan as the young warrior form the A-Class academy, Ayrlarng.

Even Zhang Buyu and other inner court disciples watched Hu Yangxuan with a newfound respect. He had broken the inner court disciple's prejudice against the outer court, and proved that anyone with hard work would able to become a worthy fighter.

A flurry of reports about the details of the match came after the fight. Although Hu Yangxuan was not a renowned fighter, his perseverance and bravery had become the focal point of all reports.

It was unfortunate that Hu Yangxuan would not be able to enjoy the flashlights of the journalist until he had awoken from a coma. The Blood Rage had overdrawn Hu Yangxuan's soul energy, and therefore, he would likely be bedridden for a long time to recover.

That being said, it was a small price to pay for his dignity. After the fight, Hu Yangxuan no longer feared any opponent, as he was confident that he could pull through just about anything.

Thanks to Hu Yangxuan, the A-Class Academy Ayrlarng had once again come to the public's attention. As people noticed the vast improvement of the school ever since the new principal's arrival, Samantha's fame also soared quickly. With its fast growth, the public started to anticipate the old school to reinstate its former glory.

Every S-Club member could not be prouder of their membership on that day. Slowly but surely, the S-club started to gain strength and influence across all schools in the confederation.

After the match, Zhou Sisi wrote and published an article, praising the fighting spirit of Hu Yangxuan and insisting on the academy's responsibility of nurturing such mettle in every student's heart, in addition to passing down technical knowledge.

Meanwhile, in the arena, Ivantians took up most of the seats to watch their prince Patroclus's fight. The Ivantian audiences didn't know anything about Patroclus's opponent, and neither did they care.

Patroclus's opponent was another warrior from the S-Club—Apache. He was considered by the club members as the second strongest fighter within the club, closely following Wang Tong. However, his opponent was the invincible Patroclus.

Everyone, including Apache, was convinced that the Ivantian would come out as the winner. But, it didn't dull Apache's anticipation for the match at all.

"Don't let the Ivantians look down on us!" Cao Yi encouraged Apache before the match.

"Do it for Bernabeu!" Luo Manman said.

"Hehe, don't worry. Even Hu, the pretty boy, had turned into a commando, much less me. I won't give up that easily."

Apache sauntered to the stage, and as he watched the placid face of the Ivantian prince, he drew a deep breath to ready himself for the toughest fight of his life.

Patroclus didn't bring any weapon. It appeared that no one so far was worthy of seeing his lance.

The referee blew his whistle—the match had finally started.

Apache was well aware that his advantage was his speed. With his level five soul energy, Apache reasoned that he might have a chance after all, despite it being a very slim one.

'Slow and steady wins the race, but fast and furious can set the pace.'

Before the referee's whistle blow had faded, Apache had stormed towards his opponent like a gale. Instead of attacking right away, he had used the large space on the stage to put on speed and charge up the kinetic energy in one decisive blow.

Apache never dreamed of fighting a prolonged battle with a far superior opponent.

He ran around Patroclus in a circle and soon, he had gained such speed that his body had turned into a blurry shadow.

Chapter 364: Nearly Immortal

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_

Apache didn't slow down. As he increased his speed, his movement had drawn the air away from the center and created a wind wall around Patroclus.

When Apache finally reached the limit of his speed, the space in the middle of the circle had become a complete vacuum. By then, if Patroclus wished to break through the encirclement, it would already be too late.

As the wind wall shrunk in size, a tornado appeared at the center. Suddenly, a glint appeared above Patroclus's head that was unmistakably steel.

It was Apache's coup de grace—Vacuum Tornado!

Apache wagered that Patroclus would allow him time to deliver his coup de grace due to the Ivantian's personality. However, once Apache's coup de grace was released, he doubted if Patroclus would be able to counter it.

Apache bore down his blade on Patroclus, who was restrained by the vacuum from all sides. When the blade was only inches away from him, the Ivantian prince raised his finger and blocked its tip. The tip of the steel blade started to lose its edge and become dull.

Apache spun his body and turned the blade into a drill as he continued forcing the blade down. However, no matter how hard Apache pushed on the blade, the spinning tip didn't move forward even by a hair. As the vacuum effect waned, Patroclus swept his left hand and forced Apache to spin even faster like a top, although unwillingly. When the wind wall dissipated completely, Patroclus swept his right hand again and forced Apache's spinning to go further out of control. Apache was carried by the uplifting force of his motion and flew away like a wild kite. Finally, he hit the energy barrier and thudded heavily to the ground.

After collapsing to the ground, Apache fell unconscious, and was not able to get up again. He was not even able to harm a single hair on the Ivantian Prince.

Not until the big screen played a slow motion of the earlier fight did the audiences realize what had happened on the stage. Not only did the audiences finally realize that Patroclus had been standing in a vacuum all the while, but they had also witnessed him defend himself with a single finger.

Patroclus's display of power had unnerved all of his would-be opponents.

"The winner is—PATROCLUS!"

With the host's final announcement, the match closed its curtains. Although Apache had prepared well for this fight, he was still far too weak to stand up against Patroclus.

By the evening, the first round of the playoffs was concluded. There were no surprises in the outcomes of battles, except for the defeat of Guan Dongyang, the so-called fire god Aegis.

Among all the fighters that had made the cut, Wang Tong knew only one of them personally—Wang Ben.

The remaining fighters mostly came from the Earth, Moon and the Mars. However, there were a few from the Andromeda Galaxy that had also made it.

The second round was about to draw back its curtain, and everyone knew that the competition was only going to become fiercer.

The Puppet Master, Han Linu, had encountered Li Ruoer. Unfortunately for him, his puppets were quickly sliced and diced out of commission by Li Ruoer's blade "Rosy," and he was forced to surrender.

Although the Puppeteer Soul Mastery was powerful, it fell short in front of the top fighters of the Confederation. That being said, people did see hope in the mastery, as some believed that Han Linu might have a chance of winning the match should he have brought more puppets with him.

Wang Tong didn't hold back his power during the second round of the playoff, so he quickly finished off his opponent, who was a top-notch level five warrior.

After three days of intense competition, thirty-two warriors remained in the tournament. They were one step closer to their ultimate goal. The name of the fighters was listed below:

Section one: Patroclus, Jiang Long, Samuel, Zader

Section two: Li Shiming, Gong-son Wuce, Gladelus, Victor

Section three: Li Ruoer, Wang Tong, Athena, Lei Long

Section four: Lie Jian, Wang Ben, Tervis, Mo Xie

Section five: Michaux Odin, Ye Kai, Zhang Fan, Qin Yue

Section six: Heidi, Turbolix, Ye Bai, Ma Tiangang

Section seven: Li Xing, Wu Ma, Zhuo Bufan, Euler.

Section eight: Zhang Buyu, Allen, Smite, Dolores, Duan Ren.

The rest of the competition was not only a matter of strength, but also that of luck. For example, one fighter could be slightly stronger than the other in a different section. However, the stronger fighter might be defeated quicker if much more powerful foes surrounded him than his weaker counterpart.

The involvement of the great houses in this year's tournament had also shaken things up a lot for the S-Class students. In the previous tournaments, most top students from the S-Class academies were able to make it to the top 32 list. However, they were all eliminated early on during the game this year.

In addition to the surge in the number of great house members, this year's tournament also had increased number of fighters outside of the traditional three big players—Earth, Moon, and Mars. One of those fighters, Zader from Ceres, had made it to the top 32 largely due to his luck that kept him away from the powerful fighters.

In addition to Zader, another dark horse of this year's tournament was Wang Tong. Unlike Zader, Wang Tong didn't lack powerful opponents during the tournament.

Both Wang Tong and Zader had made the history as the first non-Great-House, non-S-Class, and non-sect fighters ever to have made it into the top 32.

Meanwhile, on Earth, a girl was closely following Wang Tong's fights. During some nights, she even dreamed of Wang Tong's victory in the final.

Ma Xiaoru had never been happier than when she saw Wang Tong successfully enter the top 32. Also, Wang Tong's performance during his fight with Guan Dongyang had greatly impressed Ma Xiaoru's parents. Wu Xin finally budged under her daughter's incessant pleading and agreed for her to watch the rest of Wang Tong's fights live on the Moon under one condition: she would have to accompany Ma Xiaoru to the Moon.

Ma Dutian was not worried about his daughter at all. Therefore, he didn't disagree with his daughter's trip to the Moon. Plus, his attention right now had been completely on the new battery technology.

"Master, I have thoroughly investigated. Or initial suspicion was correct… Wang Tong's stepfather was not a simple character. He is very likely related to the incidence that happened in the Hall of Valhalla twenty years ago."

Ma Dutian nodded. "Have you found out his whereabouts?"

"Not yet. He is in hiding."

"Keep looking… I need more details."

"Yes, master."

Ma Dutian paused for a second and then said, "Be careful! I want no bloodshed."

"Understood, master."

Ever since the match entered the top 32 playoffs, even some Einherjars started to pay attention to the fights. The outcome of the battles would not only affect the fighter's personal fame, but it was also pivotal for the future of the sect or house the fighter represented. Despite the paramount importance of the tournament fights, another event was able to steal some of the audience's attention away from it.

Qin Lanyue, the lord of the Soul Devouring Sect who had retired more than twenty years ago, wanted to challenge Einherjar Wannabe to a fight in the PA system. Not only was Qin Lanyue a top fighter among Ivantians, but her stepdaughter, Qin Yue, had also out-performed her opponents and entered the top 32 in the tournament.

Einherjar Wannabe had promptly accepted the challenge and arranged the time of the fight. The news of the fight had surprised most top fighters of the Confederation, since they knew that Qin Lanyue was not the kind of person who would easily challenge another warrior.