"Match 2, End!"
The stage became clearer and acuter to the audience.
They had heard the referee announce the end of the match, but they didn't know what the outcome was.
Even the two participants didn't know who won!
Jaya looked at her position. Her feet were just an inch away from the stage's border.
Exuding a relieved sigh, she checked for her opponent.
Her opponent, Sierra, was also standing. However, the problem was where she was standing.
It came as a surprise that she was just on the borderline. Yet, following the rules, she had been disqualified!
The two participants smiled at each other, despite one of them losing.
They walked out of the stage together, knowing that if the exact same scenario should play out again, the victor might be different.
The touching display of respect the two had for each other earned the claps of the crowd.
In that match, there were two winners but only one official victor!
.......
After a few minutes, the referee announced the start of the third match, "Match 3, Nico vs. Alex Bell."
He waited for the two competitors to come to the stage, all the while examining the status of the stage and if it would be okay to continue battles on the stage.
'It is true that each generation is better than the last!' smiled the referee.
In the past, most of the fights didn't reach this level. There weren't many hidden stages of cultivators emerging.
However, years later, even the first few fights of the Ranked stages rivaled the final fights of the previous competition.
Most of the participants had already awakened the destructive potential of their elements.
Still deep in thoughts, he spotted the participants on the stage and got back to business.
"Match 3, Start!"
Unlike the previous matches, the crowd became quieter.
"Who do you think would win?" asked one of them.
"Isn't it obvious?" mocked another.
They had already forgone the outcome of the match.
Part of the reason for that was due to them not having an accurate understanding of the participants, so they favored the one they knew better.
"They shou---"
*Thud!!*
The fight kicks off with Nico launching himself at Alex.
He attempts to punch Alex when he is blocked by a hidden dagger in Alex's sleeves.
Still not giving up, Nico charges his fist with yellow [Spirit Essence] and smashes the cheek of Alex.
This attack stunned the crowd.
Most of them were knowledgeable and quickly found out what was happening.
They knew that Nico was at [Realm-1 Hidden Stage]!
One of the ways to spot a [Realm-1 Hidden Stage] cultivator was their energy. Their energy would not more be blue but different colored, which would signify their element.
So, instantly, they knew Nico had awakened his element, which was likely fire.
"Give up," heroically said Nico.
He had revealed his cultivation to make his opponent give up the fight.
He told Alex, "You are at [Realm-1 Stage-8], right? Two stages were lower than mine. You have no chance!"
His words, instead of making Alex surrender, made Alex's resolve become stronger.
Alex didn't take to account the difference in cultivation base. There were many people who were able to bridge that gap. Some of the participants were capable of this feat.
So, he didn't fall into Nico's trap and opted to challenge his limit in the battle.
He kept blocking Nico's attack, which burnt, as he observed, 'I can't continue like this. He is like a fierce tiger. I am like the lamb with a weak body. I need to put on some distance.'
Opening his jacket like a villain, Alex revealed countless daggers in his dress.
He made a hand-sign and the daggers began to levitate like a bird in the sky.
With his [Flying Dagger Tactic] style, he manipulated the daggers to shoot at Nico, going on the offense.
Nico began dogging for his life as rains of dagger fell on him.
Most of them were too thin and he couldn't see them.
Using his energy, he managed to dodge a round of attack.
"Shit!" he exclaimed when he saw the dodged dagger boomerang back to him.
On the verge of death and disqualification, Nico's brain began to oil itself and work for the first time in a while.
While he kept evading, he looked at his opponent, who had put up quite a distance between them, 'What is he doing. He is dancing while his eyes are open. There is no way he is levitating them. I believe he is controlling them with something, hence his strange movements!'
Nico decided to test out his guess. He let himself be hit by three daggers and as blood dripped down profusely, he saw it!
There was a string attached to the daggers through a tiny hole. Nico marveled as he couldn't understand how much control was required to control a set of objects through strings.
However, he didn't forget his objectives.
He chopped his hands at the strings, but instead of the string cutting, a sharp cut appeared on his hand.
'It is strong!' thought Nico.
He figured out why Alex was so sure of his weapon choice as anyone would be able to notice the trick behind it, but apart from making the string extra tiny, he left it vulnerable to his enemies.
It was because he was confident that none of his opponents would be able to break his string!
However, Nico was no normal opponent!
Using an abnormal strength, that was even praised by Jake, Nico grabbed the tiny straight string with his left hand and chopped at it.
He didn't need to worry about his hands, as he wore thin gloves which were made up of a medicinal material that would heal his hand subtly after any injury.
*Peng!*
The string cut and the daggers slowly descended to the ground.
Nico used this opportunity to finish what he started. He rushed to Alex, but all he saw was Alex's smile.
It managed to put him on the edge and the next thing he knew was alarms ringing in his head.
He looked towards his target and saw Alex briefly shook his right hand.
At the corner of his eye, Nico caught a glint that could only be caused by the reflection of light.
Suddenly, without giving time to react, Nico found himself buried in a storm of daggers.
They swam around him and he was left with multiple wounds covering his body like a set of clothes.
Nico screamed in pain as he felt the cold metals cut deep into his skin.
He heard the voice of Alex shouting, "You can choose to not bear this pain anymore. All you need to do is to forfeit!"
The words ringed deep in the meed of Nico who had fallen into a gruesome trap.
He tried to endure the pain, but every succeeding cut was greater than the other.
'What can I do?!' panicked Nico.
He never thought of giving up!
"What would he do?" Nico asked himself.
He had watched all of Jake's fights and noticed that the latter was always carefree in his battle.
Yet, Jake was one of the most observant people he has ever known. This could be backed up by the fact that he was the first to notice an escape route in the Zombie mine or that he was also the first to suspect Ray.
Despite Ray not being an intellectual type, for the current moment, he had to act the type, 'Think. Think. Think! Eyes. Hand. Fingers. String. Strings? Sight!'
His mind processed the gibbering that only he could understand.
Still bearing the pain, Nico spread his arms and charged his body with his Fire[Elemental Spirit Essence].
His yellow energy brightened the storm of daggers.
After his arms had reached the limits, in a very quick motion, Nico brought back his two arms and clapped them together.
*Boom!*
A low-pitched sound was heard as the whole stadium lost its sight for a few seconds, due to the radiance of the attack Nico did.
The perpetrator of the event was already prepared.
The moment he dished out his attack, the daggers fell and his opponent was left defenseless, covering his eyes, as he was the closest to the radiance.
Nico didn't have to walk much. His eyes were already close and he knew the location of his opponent.
Using his remaining [Elemental Spirit Essence], he conducted it into his hand and sent a devastating punch at his opponent.
"[Sunset Fist]!"
His fiery fist met with Alex's body and the latter ignited in flame.
Before he could burn beyond repair, the referee who was not affected by any of their attacks, interference and blew out the flames with his breath.
After he called for the medics to take away Alex, he announced, "Match 3, End!"
Nico smiled listening to the announcement.
Despite his superior strength, it had been a very tough match for him.
If it wasn't for him notices that Alex's eyes were always attentive when manipulating his danger, he might have lost.
In a speed burst, he chose to blind Alex and make a quick counter-attack and it did work!
Now, he was cheered by the entire audience who were amazed by the beautiful win!