Zack and Urion circled each other slowly. Zack continued pretending that his shoulder was still injured by favouring his unbandaged side.

“I’ll show you!” With a roar, Urion charged forward surrounded by halos of light. Just before reaching Zack, he thrust out both palms.

"Heavenly Radiance Burst!"

Rays of golden light erupted towards Zack. But Zack was ready as he jumped into the sky.

"Dragon Wings!"

With a crackle of electricity, lightning wings sprouted from Zack's back. With a single flap, he easily evaded the Heavenly Radiance Burst as it scorched the ground where he had been a moment before.

From above, Zack smirked down at Urion. "Too slow!"

He then dive-bombed straight towards his opponent, fist cocked back.

"Thunderclap Palm!"

Urion crossed his arms, manifesting a shield of light to block the blow. Zack's palm collided with a resounding boom that shook the entire arena. Urion slid back several meters from the force, but his shield managed to absorb the worst of the attack.

Up in the stands, Slifer shook his head as he watched the battle play out. It was obvious to him that his avatar was merely toying with the Heavenly Light disciple. After all, what could someone at the Peak Foundation Establishment Realm truly do against the full power of his avatar?

The difference between their battle prowess was like an adult wrestling with a child. No matter how crafty the child was, victory would require a miracle. Or utter carelessness on the adult's part.

In other words, Zack could end this battle anytime he wished. The only question was how long he wanted to draw things out for the spectators' entertainment.

Judging by the theatrical performance so far, Slifer guessed his avatar planned to milk this for all it was worth.

Eh, let him have his fun.

Down below, Zack landed back on his feet. "Not bad," he said to Urion. "Now it's my turn!"

Once more he took to the air on wings of lightning, zig-zagging randomly around Urion. Confused, the Heavenly Light disciple tried to track Zack's erratic movements, but it was hopeless.

Zack suddenly dove, appearing right in Urion's face. "Boo!"

"Gah!" Urion shouted in surprise, stumbling backwards.

Zack laughed and resumed zig-zagging overhead. "What's wrong? Eyes too slow to keep up?"

Urion growled in frustration. Losing a battle was understandable but it was humiliating being toyed with like this.

"Try my Heavenly Gaze then!"

Closing his eyes, Urion channelled his qi. When his eyes opened, they glowed with an azure light. Everything seemed to slow down as his vision locked onto Zack's lightning-fast form, allowing him to perfectly track the movements.

“Woah, cool dojusts-!”

Just before Zack could finish, Urion thrust out a palm.

"Heavenly Snare!"

A glowing lattice of light manifested in midair right in Zack's flight path. Too fast to change direction, Zack smashed right into it. The snare instantly coiled around him, completely immobilizing his limbs no matter how much he struggled.

Urion smirked, closing his fist. The snare contracted, crushing Zack in its grip.

"How's that?" Urion leered up at his captive. "Still having fun?"

Zack groaned dramatically. "Oh no...I can’t get out and my shoulder…it hurts.” He made a show of clutching his bandaged arm.

For a moment, a flicker of hope appeared in Urion's eyes. Was it actually over?

But in the spectator stands, none of the elders seemed particularly concerned by the sight of Zack trapped. If anything, most looked mildly amused.

"Supreme Elder, your disciple has some skill," Leontius remarked. "His mastery over lightning at such a young age is really quite impressive."

“This Zack…he seems interesting,” Vowron murmured.

The only one not looking impressed was Zofia. "Do not be taken in so easily," she warned. "He may have some meagre talent for his age, but in the end, no demonic cultivator can match the Heavenly Light Sect."

Slifer bristled slightly at that, but held his tongue, he didn’t let it stop him from feeling smug under the praise. Even though it was aimed at his avatar rather than himself, he still enjoyed the attention.

Down in the arena, Zack's eyes narrowed. Playtime was over. With a pulse of lightning, the Heavenly Snare imprisoning him shattered into sparks.

Urion stared, dumbfounded. "But how—"

Before he could react, Zack shot forward and landed a solid kick to Urion's chest, knocking him flat on his back.

"You peacocks are all flash and no substance," Zack said, standing over him. "Time to pluck those feathers for real."

Urion shakily rose to his feet. He took a few steps back from Zack, no longer so bold.

"D-don't get cocky!" He shouted, though it sounded like he was trying to convince himself. "I'll show you the ultimate power of our Heavenly Light techniques!"

Taking a deep breath, Urion adopted a wide stance. He brought his palms together in front of him as brilliant halos of light sprang up around his body. The arena shook from the sudden spike in spiritual pressure.

"Behold the Heavenly Radiance Cannon!"

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Between Urion's hands, a small orb of light appeared, deceptively innocent at first. But it quickly expanded, intensifying into a miniature sun that grew larger and larger, until Urion finally thrust it forward with a roar.

The orb transformed into a massive beam of blazing light, seeming to set the very air aflame as it annihilated everything in its path.

In the stands, Zofia smiled proudly. This was one of the Heavenly Light Sect's strongest techniques. No mere Foundation Establishment cultivator could possibly withstand a direct hit. This match was over.

But Zack did not look worried. As the Heavenly Radiance Cannon bore down on him, his posture shifted. His injured arm dropped back to his side. With his functional hand, he calmly unsheathed his sword.

"Stellar Nova Strike!"

Zack's sword blurred as he executed a blinding series of slashes. Each cut left behind a trail of light that hung in the air.

Within seconds, Zack was enclosed inside a dome of condensed starfire. At the same time, the Heavenly Radiance Cannon struck.

But the stellar nova barrier easily swallowed up the attack, diffusing it harmlessly.

"How...that's impossible!" Urion gaped as he fell to his knees.

His strongest technique had been completely overpowered. At this point, he knew he had no chance of victory.

Up in the stands, Zofia's smile had slipped into a look of astonishment. She too was having difficulty comprehending what she had just witnessed.

Zack blew out a breath, scattering lingering motes of starlight as he shook his head.

"Not gonna lie, I thought you'd put up more of a fight. But if that's really all you've got..."

In an instant, he flickered out of sight, reappearing directly behind the stunned Urion, sword lightly resting across the Heavenly Light disciple's neck.

"...then this match is over."

"...I submit," Urion choked out.

Zack released him and spun his sword around before sheathing it. He patted Urion on the shoulder.

"You've got decent skills. Work on that temper though, and don't underestimate your opponent next time."

With that, he strolled away, leaving behind a dumbfounded Urion. The Heavenly Light disciple stared after him for several seconds before his knees gave out and he plopped down hard on his behind.

Just how? That lightning, the spatial teleportation, the sword and light techniques...he wielded them all perfectly. Urion shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't understand how someone at the same realm had outclassed him.

Stumbling to his feet, he quickly retreated from the arena without another glance back. There were murmurs and whispers from the Heavenly Light section.

Ziven in particular looked outraged. "How could he use light techniques?" He spat, knowing just how hard it was to gain access to the light element, it was one of the reasons he himself joined the sect. "He must have stolen our sect's secrets somehow!"

But Zofia shook her head as her voice carried down to him. "No. His skills did not come from our sect. I'm not sure where he learned these techniques, but they do not originate with us."

Inwardly, she was more troubled than she let on. Even though the light techniques demonstrated were only at the Foundation Establishment level, she could see their potential, they were at least Mid-Earth Rank techniques. Now how did a demonic sect acquire such high-level light techniques?

Up in the participant waiting area, Caelum shot to his feet, staring down at the arena with shock written across his normally stoic features. Sunrise Slash!

Zack’s at the Sword Qi Realm at the very least...and that other sword technique? He really is master’s protégé.

"Ahem.” Elder Fred cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “Victory goes to Zack of the Black Rose Sect!"

Cheers erupted from the Black Rose section as Zack lapped up the attention. He spotted Amelia blowing kisses at him from the waiting area and responded with a roguish wink.

As he made his way off the arena stage, Slifer leaned back. His avatar's performance had certainly made an impression on the other elders.

While part of him enjoyed the prestige, he also hoped no one looked too deeply into things. He trusted Zack not to break character unless absolutely necessary. Still, the more eyes on them, the greater the risk someone might uncover their secret.

Even though I don’t trust the System, it is good at what it does. And if that old man Li Fenghao hasn’t noticed, then I have nothing to worry about here.

For now, Slifer decided to just enjoy his sect's momentum. One victory at a time. After all, this was only the second round of a five-round tournament.

Ding! Your Avatar Has Won His Battle! 200 Karmic Credits Gained!

Let the games continue.