"It's young Kiernan!" Liam said with an expression that seemed half-drunk and half-nervous. "How harsh to put him as the last fighter! If he loses, all of it will be his fault."
Karma stayed quiet. His feet were impatiently tapping against the floor. It was clear that he was also nervous—perhaps it was one of the things Kiernan inherited from him.
"Hahaha!" Bernard shouted loudly in the VIP room. He could be as loud as he wanted, as the outside world couldn't hear them. "Your school's ace has been defeated. There's nothing to worry about anymore!"
"Oh, Kang is pretty injured." Azer said nonchalantly. "His collarbone is broken, he can't really use his left arm and he is pretty much half-blind for this fight."
"If you had put Klaus, perhaps I would be slightly worried, but not him." Bernard said with a laugh. "Sure, he might've shown promise when he fought Dominic, but Kang will break him like a twig."
Azer frowned. 'Kiernan…'
…
Kiernan stepped up the small steps to the ring.
He was instantly drowned by boos and hisses from the crowd. There were a few cheers from Karuza's sides, but they were almost inaudible.
Most of Karuza High's supporters didn't bother to cheer. They looked extremely serious. This was a very uphill battle.
As soon as he arrived on the ring, a strong aura locked onto him—it belonged to Kang, who looked like a mad beast. It didn't help that his right eye was bleeding profusely, making his appearance look crude.
Rio appeared at the center of the stage. He looked at Kang and then shifted his gaze to Kiernan.
As he looked at Kiernan, he couldn't help but show looks of pity. If he lost now, after amazing performances from Nath and Ryan, he would be a very hated individual in Karuza High.
Their fans were very passionate, but so were the students at their school. They didn't take losing lightly.
'Sending High Stage Martial Recruit as the final fighter…' Rio shook his head. 'What is Karuza High thinking?'
He then decided to focus on the match ahead.
"The final match between Karuza High and Irio High is between Kiernan Hunter and Kang Moon!"
"Are both fighters ready?!"
"Ready." Kiernan said and moved to his usual fighting stance. It was again the defensive stance of Iron Style.
"I am." Kang stated and moved into a throwing-punch stance. It looked like he would throw a punch as soon as the match started.
Rio gritted his teeth and raised his arm high. This was the last time. He then swung his arm down.
"FIGHT!"
All the audience members jumped up from their seats and started cheering loudly. Confident cheers came from Irio High's side. Desperate cheers from Karuza High's side.
"You Martial Recruit trash; you don't belong here!" Kang screamed and instantly threw a punch.
"Who is?" Kiernan smiled.
At that moment, deep inside him, his dazzling soul shed another layer. This time, a beautiful, sparkling soul bloomed. It almost looked like a diamond.
Ding, ding!
[Low Stage Martial Soldier Achieved!]
[50 XP Acquired!]
There were a select few in the stadium who were able to see the change in Kiernan.
Rio, Jin, Madigan, Azer, Bernard, and… Karma.
"This young man…" Rio's eyes widened in shock.
"Son…" Karma whispered slowly.
"What?!" Madigan and Bernard had the same reaction.
'Again…' Azer looked thrilled.
"GO!" Jin screamed.
Kiernan's fist flew with a speed that superseded all his attacks thrown previously. It was so fast that it even rivaled Ryan's speed!
SMACK!
His fist blasted into Kang's face, and he collapsed down on the ground with a shocked look on his face. Because of his momentarily shocked state, he couldn't even react.
"1!" Rio immediately started counting down. "2!"
Karuza High's supporters broke out in cheers. They were all looking at each other in shock, asking each other what the hell happened.
In the medical wing.
Shura and Nath looked at the television with their mouths wide open. There was another patient there now—Ryan—who looked at the screen with a small smile.
In the ring, the countdown continued.
"3…"
Kang shook his head and finally recognized what was happening.
"4…"
"Enough!" Kang screamed and stood back up with plenty of time to spare. "Argh!"
"Continue fighting!" Rio shouted and jumped off the ring once again.
This time, Kiernan moved back to his defensive stance. The rock-solid defense. It was even stronger now that he was a Martial Soldier.
In the audience, Dominic shuddered at the sight of that. It was something that didn't disappear from his nightmares. It was the most helpless he had ever felt.
A few rows behind him, Julia watched the fight with a nervous expression—it was almost like her heart was able to burst through her chest.
Kang rushed in with a mad look. It didn't matter to him whether his opponent tried to defend. He would break through.
He was able to break through Ryan's defense easily. He planned to do the same.
Kang's fist got unleashed. It created so much power that the air in front of the fist exploded. It was the strongest punch he had thrown.
Whether it was his desire to win or crush his opponent, somehow Kang found a new reserve of strength that had laid dormant inside him.
In that same moment, Kang started approaching a new level of strength—inside him, his soul started to peel. It was only a little bit, but it was enough to know that he wasn't far from achieving even greater power.
Martial Fighter was close to being born.
Kiernan breathed evenly and felt the approaching danger. That punch was too much for him to handle.
For his current self, at least.
'When they spoke about my defense and how good it was, I almost chuckled.' Kiernan remembered their conversations. 'It wasn't anything compared to my real defense. It is a cheap copy.'
'Since I couldn't use Iron Style, I had to make fake techniques that replicated the real technique as best as I could. It got me this far, but that's not enough now.'
"Iron Style…" Kiernan shot his hand forward and touched Kang's fist with the side of his hand. "Rendering Edge."
Kiernan, using the backhand side, steered Kang's fist away from him in a fluid motion. His attack wasn't anywhere close to hitting him.
It also broke Kang's posture. He was desperately trying to regain his balance.
But then Kiernan stepped forward and smashed his fist into his chest. Pow. The shock reverberated across Kang's body. He staggered backwards, gasping for air.
"I-Impossible…" Kang coughed in pain, and as he looked at Kiernan, his figure suddenly turned taller and taller. Soon, his figure inside Kang's mind looked so incredibly tall.
Kang, since his growth spurt, has never been forced to look someone up. It was the first time in a very long time that he had to look up.
Kiernan moved back to his fighting stance. He had the same stoic look on his face. However, his knuckles on his hand were bleeding.
There was still a drawback to using Iron Style—however, he chose to use it because Rendering Edge was the technique that taxed him the least.
During the previous week, he chose a selected few from his vast arsenal of Iron Style. Those skills were weak physically, but he was able to use them without completely breaking his body.
Rendering Edge was perhaps his greatest defensive skill. It allowed him to redirect his opponent's attacks away from him. It was what he tried with his fake technique, but it was weak.
Now, his defense has been raised to a whole other level.
If Dominic thought his previous defense was scary, this one would be terrifying.