Powl was a thin, gentle-looking man, he gave a small bow as he entered the arena.

"Let us have a fair and honourable match."

Ironius said nothing in response, staring back impassively. Like most of the Black Death disciples in the tournament so far, he seemed a man of few words.

"Begin!" Elder Fred shouted.

Immediately, Ironius exploded into motion. With startling speed, he closed the distance to Powl in two quick steps and launched a blistering combo of palm strikes and kicks.

Powl's eyes widened in surprise at the ferocity of the opening assault. He quickly raised his arms to defend, but Ironius's attacks came from tricky angles that made them difficult to anticipate and block.

A palm strike to the shoulder sent Powl stumbling back.

A sweeping kick took his legs out from under him.

A follow-up knee to his stomach knocked the wind from his lungs.

Powl wheezed and clutched his midsection, but he had no time to recover before Ironius pressed in again, raining down punches and elbows.

Up in the stands, Leontius stroked his beard as he watched the battle. "Most impressive. Supreme Elder Vowron, it seems your Black Death disciples have quite a high level of skill in martial arts."

"There has been an increased emphasis on martial arts training in our sect recently,” Vowron smiled. “I felt it was an area we needed to improve upon."

"An unusual decision," Zofia muttered, frowning. "Martial arts have limited usefulness for spiritual cultivators. Our true strength lies in spiritual techniques. No number of kicks and punches will overcome that gap in power."

"Sometimes going back to basics provides unexpected benefits," Vowron replied vaguely.

Internally, Slifer nearly laughed out loud. Focusing on martial arts training, my arse! He's just making sure his demon disciples keep their qi suppressed. Can't have them losing control and revealing their true natures after all.

Down in the arena, Powl finally managed to disengage and put some distance between himself and Ironius.

Placing his palms together, he began chanting under his breath. A soft glow emanated from his hands.

"Soul Snare!"

A pair of glowing purple bands shot out towards Ironius. But the Black Death disciple twisted his body to narrowly avoid one band while slapping aside the other.

"Soul Shockwave!"

Ripples of violet energy pulsed from Powl's palms, distorting the air as they sped towards Ironius. The vibrations slammed into the Black Death disciple's body, causing him to stumble briefly. But after a second, Ironius shook off the disorienting effects of the spiritual attack. His red eyes narrowed, and he resumed his advance on Powl.

"Im...impossible..." Powl stared, dumbstruck.

A brutal side kick crashed into Powl's torso, cracking ribs and sending the Pure Soul disciple flying backwards.

Up in the stands, Slifer shook his head as he observed the one-sided thrashing taking place below.

As a soul cultivator, Powl was at an inherent disadvantage in this match-up. Demons possessed greater soul strength compared to humans at the same cultivation level. Powl's soul techniques were simply not potent enough to threaten a demon like Ironius.

This battle's outcome had been decided the moment the two stepped into the arena.

Down below, Ironius moved in a blur of motion, raining down an endless barrage of punches and elbow strikes on the overwhelmed Powl. The force of the impacts could be felt even in the spectator stands.

Within seconds, Powl had been battered into a daze, barely able to stand. With Powl totally exhausted, Ironius delivered the finishing blow - a devastating palm strike that exploded against Powl's chest.

A visible shockwave rippled out from the point of impact. Powl let out a choked gasp as he doubled over and crumpled to the ground.

Elder Fred flew over to check on him. Powl was still breathing, but blood leaked from his nose and mouth. The elder waved his hand.

"Victory to Ironius of the Black Death Sect!"

"A pity for young Powl. He fought bravely, but was simply outmatched," Leontius sighed.

“I’d like to see how Ironious would fare against one of my disciples who use martial arts to enhance their spiritual techniques," Astrid remarked.

"As would I," said Zofia, a small frown on her face. "Relying solely on physical techniques seems...limiting."

Vowron simply smiled and said nothing more. The less attention drawn to his disciples, the better.

"The second round is now complete! We will begin the third round in fifteen minutes. Disciples, take this time to rest and prepare yourselves," Elder Fred announced.

There was a general murmur through the crowd as spectators and participants took the opportunity to stand, stretch, and gossip about the battles seen so far.

Slifer inclined his head to the other elders. "If you'll excuse me, I should check on my disciples' conditions before the next round."

He made his way down to the Black Rose waiting area. Though he maintained an air of calm authority on the outside, inwardly, Slifer's mind was racing.

The tournament so far had gone smoothly, with his disciples scoring victory after victory as expected. Yet Slifer could not shake the feeling that something was off. There was an undercurrent of tension in the air that left him uneasy. He didn't know whether it was due to the presence of so many powerful sects gathered in one place...or the fact that his own impostor status left him constantly paranoid of being uncovered.

I feel like something big will go down once the tournament ends…that Vowron fella, he doesn’t seem too concerned about the results of the matches. Is he going to make a move when the Sealed Realm opens?

Slifer wasn’t sure but either way, he still had a few insurances he could rely on to deal with Vowron, even if the Black Death Supreme Elder was a half-step Immortal.

On entering the Black Rose waiting area, Slifer was not surprised to find Zack practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as he grinned at Caelum.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Did you see that, Senior Brother? That big White Tiger dude was a beast! I can't wait to throw down with him next."

"Ashton does possess both formidable strength and skill,” Caelum offered a rare smile. “You will have quite the challenging battle ahead."

"I know right?" Zack laughed. "These Heavenly Light chumps and random fodder are getting real old. I wanna fight someone who can actually give me a workout, you know? Get the blood pumping! Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll finally get to cut loose for real out there!"

"An admirable desire for challenge," Slifer cut in smoothly as he entered the room. "But do not let eagerness make you careless. Facing a powerful opponent requires an even sharper mind, not just greater strength."

Zack spun around, immediately standing straighter. "Master! Uh, I just meant I'm tired of holding back so much. Testing myself against strong rivals is the only way I can improve."

Slifer studied Zack for a moment, a part of him couldn’t help but envy his avatar. Unlike himself, the avatar was able to act more carefree and have a bit of fun. “Remember, your safety is the priority, I would rather you forfeit than die…”

After all, I can always give myself the free slot for the Sealed Realm, this tournament is just so I can gain some battle experience. But if Zack dies so soon, then that’s just an Avatar Card wasted, who knows when I’ll get another one?

Zack looked slightly abashed. "Yes, Master. I’ll stay safe."

Satisfied, Slifer patted him on the shoulder and then checked on the others. Amelia was practically glowing following her last victory, while Dentos looked unharmed, though mildly disappointed his opponents had not put up much of a fight.

As for Hughie, he seemed to be in the middle of an argument with that immortal grandpa of his.

"What do you mean play it safe?" Hughie suddenly exclaimed to the air. "We're talking about me here! Quadrupling my strength and speed is like my whole thing!"

He nodded along absently for a few seconds. "Okay sure, no need to get personal, just saying I look way more badass when I'm over 8 feet tall and rippling with muscles...it really shows off these.”

Hughie flexed an arm and kissed his bicep.

"Anyway, you know caution isn't my style, Gramps. I'm the 'punch first, ask questions while punching' type."

He mimed a series of jabs and uppercuts.

"Uh huh, uh huh, I hear you but-.”

Not wanting to get involved, Slifer made his way back up to the spectator stands. The third round was just about to begin.

----------------------------------------

The third round saw the remaining contestants whittled down even further in both the Foundation Establishment and Core Formation tournaments.

In the Foundation Establishment tournament, William took the stage against a Black Heart Sect disciple. The battle started off fairly evenly matched, but slowly began turning against William's favour as his opponent unleashed several elemental techniques that William struggled to counter.

Gritting his teeth, the young prodigy somehow endured through a combination of quick thinking and raw talent, managing to reverse the tide at the last second to barely eke out a win. He left the stage looking quite battered. The difference in cultivation levels was beginning to show against the more talented Peak Foundation Establishment opponents he faced, but at least he won.

Nomed's fight went much smoother. His protagonist-like strength allowed him to dominate the matches. He calmly weathered the desperate attacks of his third-round challenger before picking him apart with surgical precision.

In the Core Formation tournament, the match-ups were quite lopsided.

Ziven’s opponent took one look at him and immediately forfeited. The man's legs had been shaking so badly he likely would have collapsed if he tried to fight.

Caelum was also awarded an automatic win as his opponent from Black Heart Sect refused to set foot into the arena.

As for Amelia, when her name was called, the female disciple meant to face her stared wide-eyed for several seconds before fleeing from the waiting area, screaming about not wanting to die.

"Well, that's unfortunate, I was so hoping for some playtime," Amelia pouted.

Elder Fred could only shrug helplessly. "Er...victory to Amelia by forfeit."

Slifer kept his poker face on but was chuckling inside. His little sadist was carving out quite the dreadful reputation for herself.

“Hughie of the Black Rose Sect vs Anne of the Heavenly Light Sect!”

In the elder’s booth, Zofia leaned forward with interest. Anne was one of their sect's most gifted illusionists. Even Nascent Soul cultivators sometimes found themselves ensnared by her techniques. This Black Rose brute didn't stand a chance.

“Oh yeah!” Hughie cheered as he jumped down into the arena. He rolled his shoulders and neck, loosening up in preparation for the fight.

Across from him, his opponent Anne descended the steps gracefully. She was a cute blonde girl who looked to be around sixteen or seventeen years old.

"Please go easy on me, okay?" Anne smiled, blinking her big blue eyes at Hughie.

Hughie froze momentarily, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, uh...well, I wouldn't want to hurt a little girl like y- OW!"

He yelped as a phantom smack upside the head made him stumble. Right, Gramps was watching too. The old man hated when Hughie went soft on female opponents just because they were cute.

Hughie straightened back up. "Er, what I mean is, this is a tournament. We should both do our best and have a fair match."

Anne looked slightly disappointed, but she nodded. "You're right, my apologies."

Up in the stands, Oliviare felt a small frown form on her face as she watched the blonde interact with her Hughie. There was just something about Anne's body language that seemed overly friendly and familiar.

And was Hughie blushing slightly? Oliviare's frown deepened. She didn't like how openly this Heavenly Light girl was flirting with her man.

"Begin!"