Cale completely broke the bonds that hid his true power, enveloping the whole arena in his tense aura. Everyone fell silent at the sight of Cale slowly walking towards them, as even the ever-loud cheers could no longer be heard.

-"What's going on?"

-"Damn it! Has he always been hiding his true power?!"

-"How shameless!"

Every warrior around the arena voiced their displeasure as they all clutched their weapons at the same time. The three beasts, who have managed to stay alive, also rose from the ground, but contrary to everyone's expectation, they moved away from Cale.

"This is...unbelievable! Even though he's only at the Peak-Disciple Rank, I can feel his strength breaking through the restraints and almost reaching Early-Disciple Rank's power! What kind of divine power does he wield?!" One of the elders jumped up in shock.

"His divine power is unusual, but can he really fight anyone in this arena? So far, he hasn't done anything except running away from every fight and only sometimes landing a few punches on the warriors"

"I am still more interested in that man, even though he's been violently attacked by everyone, he's still managed to stay calm and counterattack without killing anyone"

'How interesting' Darius thought, ignoring the conversation between the elders and focusing on the ongoing battle.

Bang!

Cale charged towards the group and delivered a blow to a warrior, sending him several feet away. Everything happened in the blink of an eye, and everyone didn't manage to respond until they saw more and more warriors being eliminated.

"What kind of monster are you?" A person, whose face was immersed in limitless fright, mumbled at the sight of Cale appearing before him. Yet, he heard no reply and only felt a piece of alloy drive through his stomach, ripping his lungs open.

"Stop!"

Unexpectedly, Zayn, the pale-haired man with two small shields on both hands, suddenly appeared in front of Cale, stopping him from killing the warriors any further.

'I didn't expect my prey to come to me by itself' Cale smirked as he prepared for the battle. Zayn was undoubtedly the strongest in this group and he was the person Cale particularly wanted to kill. Cale still didn't know if Zayn possessed any divine powers, but he wanted his light sphere either way. The Qi of an Early-Expert Rank would already be enough to satisfy him.

"Why did you suddenly start killing everyone? I had thought you were a good guy!" Zayn shouted while wrinkles formed on his pale forehead.

'A good guy? What's he talking about?' Cale thought before pouring Qi into his blade and swinging it towards the opponent's neck. Zayn was even angrier after being ignored as he promptly put his hands up and countered the incoming attack with two shields.

Stolen story; please report.

As the fight between the two men began, all the other warriors retreated from the fray and didn't even attempt to fight each other anymore.

"Evil people like you should be killed immediately!" Zayn shouted, hurling a punch forth. For the first time since the fight began, Cale felt killing intent emanating from this man.

Without waiting for a second, Cale expertly dodged to the side and swung at the opponent with his sword. Unexpectedly, two shields suddenly appeared in front of his blade, preventing any further advance.

'Even though he's already exhausted, I can't be careless. He's still an Expert Rank warrior,' Cale thought as he deftly dodged another blow coming his way. Zayn was not only powerful, but he had impressive intuition. It almost seemed like he had two more eyes on his back.

Bang!

With another loud bang, their weapons clashed together while incredible Qi overwhelmed the entire area. All the participants looked shocked at this scene.

'Damn it! This fight isn't going anywhere. I'm still too weak to kill him...I need more strength,' Cale thought as his gaze wandered all over the area, stopping at the sight of several competitors, 'There doesn't seem to be any other way.'

"What are you doing!?" Zayn noticed Cale suddenly hurl a few punches into the ground, sending the entire arena into dust. Whether it was Zayn or the spectators, everyone held their breath. No one could see through the rising dust, no one knew what was happening in the arena right now.

Zin! Thrust! Zin! Blow!

Various screams, filled with desperation and agony, reached the ears of everyone watching. Zayn, as much as he wanted to, couldn't even move from the spot. Although he was stronger than Cale, under such circumstances, he could be easily killed.

'Hahaha...How wonderful,' Darius smiled.

After a few more seconds, all the dust covering every inch of the surroundings finally scattered away. However, no one could even mutter a word at the sight of such a gruesome scene.

Hands, legs, and even heads, at this moment, all these body parts were dispersed around the arena. The sheer smell of blood flooded the entire field as even Darius shook in excitement.

Amid these corpses, Cale stood with a bloody weapon in his hand. With an inner grin, he looked at the glowing sphere in his hand, which, fortunately, could be perceived by no one.

"What...What have you done!" Zayn looked around, startled. Not a single competitor was to be seen nearby, leaving Cale the sole survivor.

"You son of a bitch!!!" Zayn roared in a hoarse voice as he lunged at Cale with inexplicable speed. Surprisingly, Cale didn't move or look at the incoming opponent. His entire attention was fixed on the already disappearing sphere in his hand.

"Time! The first phase of the competition ends now!" Darius shouted loudly, but Athalos didn't pause and continued to charge at Cale with deadly intent in his azure eyes.

"Die!!!" Just as the edge of his shield was about to collide with Cale's helmet, Darius appeared right in front of him. Even though he tried, but it was too late to stop the attack.

"I said enough, young man," Darius calmly stated as he extended his finger forward. Unexpectedly, the shield was easily stopped by a single thumb.

Zayn was surprised for a second, but after seeing the person's face, he immediately withdrew his weapon.

"It's an honor! King Darius!" Zayn bowed slightly before his eyes flooded with killing intent, "I wish to demand a duel against this coward! How dare he kill his own troops! Such perfidy should not be forgiven!"

"Oh...A duel," Darius said with a smile, and after looking around the arena where countless corpses lay, he added, "Since you two are the only ones still alive, I don't think it's such a bad idea. Do you accept such conditions as well?"

"Hmm," Cale nodded, trying to sound as natural as possible. Deep inside, however, he felt an inexplicable pain after absorbing the light sphere.

"Then it's decided! The next competition will be held in five days! And the winner is going to marry my daughter Anne!"