This scrawny pipsqueak doesn’t look like much. He probably hasn’t even reached the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, Varoom scoffed, looking down at his opponent.

"Boy, I won't even need any techniques to beat you. I'll just slap you to death!"

"Give it a try, big guy,” Zack responded with a smirk.

Varoom grunted. This kid was clearly all talk, and that smug attitude just made Varoom want to pound his face in even more.

Without warning, Varoom flickered out of view. In the blink of an eye, he appeared directly behind Zack, already swinging a massive fist towards the back of his head.

But to his shock, Zack reacted instantly, whipping around and casually catching his punch with one hand.

"Too slow," Zack said, clicking his tongue. With his free hand, he delivered a lightning-fast jab straight towards Varoom's nose.

Varoom stumbled back, blinking rapidly. How could this pipsqueak stop his full-powered punch with just one hand? Just how strong was this guy?

After gathering himself, Varoom spat out, "So you're just a freakish body cultivator, is that it?"

"Something like that," Zack said, rolling his injured shoulder with a slight wince. Can't play around for too long with this bum arm.

Gritting his teeth, Varoom changed tactics. He slammed his foot down, sending a spike of stone shooting up beneath Zack's feet.

But Zack merely raised an eyebrow at the incoming attack. With a sigh, he thrust out his palm, meeting the stone spike head-on.

"Thunderclap Palm!"

A resounding shockwave boomed out, obliterating the spike into tiny pebbles.

Varoom's eyes narrowed as understanding dawned on him. This was no ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. The kid's comprehension and control over elemental forces was clearly at the level of Core Formation at least!

Zack considered bringing out a sword and using Sunrise Slash to end the fight quickly. But no, that would definitely rouse suspicion about his true identity. For now, he'd have to rely only on his own techniques.

"Let's wrap this up, shall we?” Zack inhaled deeply before letting out a roar. “Dragon Roar of the Thunderous Sky!" Visible shockwaves rippled through the air, crackling with lightning.

Just before the attack could land, a bolt of pain shot through Zack's injured shoulder, disrupting his control. The thunderous roar fizzled out pathetically mid-flight.

"Crap!” Zack cursed under his breath.

“Pathetic!” Varoom seized the opportunity.

Stomping again, he raised up earthen walls in a spherical formation around Zack, creating a stone prison. Rune inscriptions along the prison walls rapidly siphoned away Zack's qi.

Looking through the prison's single barred window, Varoom smirked. "Not so cocky now, are you? That's what you get for underestimating me."

Inside the cell, Zack grumbled in annoyance. He had let himself get too carried away showboating. Now he was stuck in this stupid rock box like a misbehaving child sent to the naughty corner.

Meanwhile, in the spectator stands, Slifer watched the situation unfold with a shake of his head. Zack was acting just as rash and short-sighted as Slifer himself tended to be. But unlike Slifer, who had to restrain himself constantly for the sake of his Supreme Elder image, Zack had no such obligations.

It’s strange seeing myself from a different perspective…

Ding! New Task: For Every Battle Your Disciples Win In the First Round, You Will Gain 150 Karmic Credits!

150 Karmic Credits just to bully others, why not? Slifer smirked.

"My, it seems your disciple has gotten himself into quite the predicament," Zofia laughed.

Slifer waved a hand dismissively. "I thought someone of your cultivation would be more…perceptive.”

Zofia's smile froze. She opened her mouth to snap back with a retort, but then a distant rumbling suddenly drew her gaze to the sky.

A massive thunderbolt tore through the clouds, descending rapidly towards the arena grounds. With a resounding crack, it struck the stone prison, blasting it to pieces in an instant.

As the dust settled, Zack stood smirking amidst the rubble, wisps of electricity still dancing across his skin.

"A useful little trick, that one.”

The Celestial Lightning Tribulation technique let him call on one lightning bolt from the heavens. He normally used it to temper his body, but it worked in situations like this, after all, lightning was the weakness of earth techniques.

“How?” Varoom stumbled back in shock.

No matter what he tried, this kid seemed to have the perfect counter. Just what would it take to defeat him?

Sensing his injured shoulder continuing to worsen, Zack sighed. "Sorry big guy, but I'm gonna have to wrap this up quick before my arm falls off."

In a flash, Zack appeared behind Varoom, electricity cackling from his wings. Varoom hurriedly raised a stone barrier, but Zack's Thunderclap Palm blasted straight through it and slammed into his chest.

Varoom soared backwards through the air.

"The winner is Zack!" Elder Fred declared.

Satisfied, Zack made his way off the arena stage, rolling his bad shoulder slowly. That fight had been way too close for comfort. He sent a reminder to the Main Body. "Yo bossman, gonna need that poison antidote pronto before my whole arm rots off!"

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

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William watched as Zack strolled casually from the arena.

Zack had come out of nowhere and somehow managed to become the Supreme Elder's disciple. William didn't understand how a nobody like Zack deserved that honour when he, a young master, did not.

But what grated on William even more was how talented and powerful this newcomer seemed to be, much more so than William himself.

It was unacceptable!

No!

William shook his head; he couldn't keep thinking like this. It was this attitude that had gotten his family involved with that ‘mess’ in the first place.

"Next match - William versus Alfie!" Elder Fred announced.

William grit his teeth. Just his luck to face a Heavenly Light disciple at the Late Foundation Establishment stage right off the bat. As an Early Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was definitely at a disadvantage.

Walking onto the platform, William kept his nerves hidden. He would not let this opponent sense any weakness.

"Begin!"

Alfie smirked, not even bothering to take a battle stance. "This should be quick. I hope you've made your peace, kid."

William's face burned, he wasn’t used to being talked down to like that, but he kept his anger in check. Losing his cool now would only lead to a quick defeat.

"If you are done talking, let’s fight."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Alfie taunted. He casually summoned flames to his hands and tossed a fireball at the boy. "Here, catch!"

As the fireball flew at him, William executed the Gale Force Palm, shooting out a gust of wind from his palm. The wind collided with the fireball, causing a small explosion between them.

"Not bad," Alfie remarked, clearly just toying with him. "But wind techniques won't get you far against my Phoenix Immolation!"

Alfie thrust his palms forward, unleashing a massive firebird. The phoenix screeched as it shot towards William with terrifying speed.

Reacting quickly, William activated his Wind Step technique, using the wind to propel himself out of the phoenix's path. He appeared twenty meters to the left, barely avoiding the collision.

But Alfie simply turned and sent the phoenix chasing after William once more. "You can't run forever!"

William was forced to keep evading the phoenix, using all his speed and agility to avoid its swooping attacks.

Alfie just stood back with an amused expression, controlling the phoenix's movements with casual flicks of his fingers.

After a few minutes of this cat and mouse game, William was panting heavily. Alfie seized the chance to attack again.

"Try my Phoenix Talons!" He cried, morphing the firebird into two gigantic claws of flame. The talons shot forward to grab a hold of William.

Reacting on instinct, William sent a Spiralling Wind Blade towards the left claw, disrupting its form and causing it to dissipate. But the right talon remained intact, slamming into William's side.

"Argh!" William cried out as the intense heat seared his robe and flesh. Dropping to one knee, he quickly patted out the flames before they could spread. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he stood back up to face Alfie once more.

By now, Alfie looked slightly annoyed that the match was still continuing. "Just give up! You'll never win with that pathetic cultivation of yours."

William frowned, mind racing for a solution. Alfie was clearly the superior cultivator in terms of pure power. William's only advantage lay in the natural counter that wind held against fire. If he could just exploit that somehow...

When Alfie sent another fireball whizzing towards him, a plan formed in William's mind. He deflected the first fireball with a wind palm, then watched closely as Alfie followed up with a second, larger fireball.

Just before impact, William executed his Wind Accelerator technique. This greatly enhanced the speed and power of the oncoming fireball, sending it crashing straight into its unsuspecting caster.

"Arghhhh!" Alfie screamed in shock and pain as his own fireball exploded against him with twice the force. The Heavenly Light disciple fell to the ground, frantically trying to pat out the flames that now devoured his own robes.

After a few minutes, the fire finally died out, leaving Alfie groaning on the floor with smoke rising from his clothes.

"The winner is William!" Elder Fred announced.

One down, four to go…William sighed as he walked off the stage.

If it wasn't for his quick thinking, he would have been the one rolling around on the floor.

Still, he had expected no less from someone of his standing. This Alfie had learned the hard way not to underestimate a young master.

Watching from the stands, Slifer nodded in approval. It seemed this William fellow wasn't as stupid as Slifer first thought. The boy had managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by using his opponent's strength against him.

Maybe I was too quick to dismiss him…

"Next match: Hughie of the Black Rose Sect versus Paddy of the Pure Soul Sect!" Elder Fred called out.

"All right! It's finally my turn!" Hughie whooped, leaping down into the arena. Across from him, a young man in white robes stepped forward.

"I take no pleasure in violence, but do not believe I will hold back," Paddy said gently, bowing.

"Bring it on, pretty boy!" Hughie shouted, bouncing on the soles of his feet. "I'm gonna mop the floor with ya!"