Even though he had exerted himself to the extreme, Zen was still out of his reach. Since the
competition started, Zen had been combating only by the dint of his body and speed—he had not yet
even exercised a single bit of his life vitality.
'Is this guy really at the grade two of nature level?'
'He must be a monster…'
Seeing Zen strutting towards him with a smile not quite reaching his eyes and a chilling gaze, as if he
was staring at a dead man, York felt a shudder run up his spine. In haste, he yelled at the referee, "I…I
give up!
I, York of Sea Peak, give up!"
Void of any expression, the referee announced the result of the combat. "Zen won, York lost!"
As the combat came to a conclusion, the light curtain of the enchanted barrier retreated sideways.
Clutching at his chest, York blundered all the way off the arena as though there was a devil on his tail.
"Zen, you're awesome!"
"That's right! You have to be harsh to guys who eat their own words!"
The turnout of the combat left the disciples of Drizzle Peak pumped up. Meanwhile, those from Sea
Peak were left quiet and ashen-faced.
This time, Sea Peak not only lost the match but also their reputation. 'If York defeated Zen, we would
still have a chance to turn the situation around. In the world of martial arts practitioners, the winners are
considered heroes. If Sea Park won, we would be victorious. So what if one guy broke his word? Will
you Drizzle Peak disciples complain like a whining housewife?' thought the members of Sea Peak in
their hearts.
Believing that they would win, many of the Sea Peak disciples were ready to make a counterattack
against the potential accusation of they breaking their words with their snide remarks.
However, York lost to Zen. That was way beyond anyone's expectations.
It was utterly unimaginable for the disciples of Sea Peak. Even as they watched the battle unfold, they
could not understand why York fell so weak that he could barely strike a threatening attack, even as he
went above and beyond the three moves that he promised he would use to defeat Zen. Instead, he was
vanquished by Zen in a single blow.
The battle turned completely different from their expectations, so the disciples were still left in shock. In
the face of Drizzle Peak's mocking, they felt their prepared snarky replies and words fail them. Now
that they had just lost the match and disgraced themselves, they couldn't rack their brains enough to
even find a retort.
Although Zen didn't go all out in the match, he still undoubtedly drew much attention, continuously
changing the masters' opinion of him.
Another participant piqued their interest—Rocher, a man that was said to be a once-in-five-centuries
genius from Skytop Peak.
Rocher had always been confident about his speed, having accidentally obtained a secret manual on
the method of movement entitled The Mystical Pace. The manual spoke more of a special pacing
method than a method of movements—it contained a set of very unique prospects which could bring
one's speed to its maximum capacity.
Because he relied on the lessons of The Mystical Pace, Rocher was able to defeat an expert in the
Illuminating Soul Realm in one quick strike of the sword.
After seeing Zen's demonstration of instant bursts of speed, Rocher noticed something odd.
Although it looked intimidating, Rocher was not impressed by Zen's speed at all since it was still much
slower than when he used the Mystical Pace. Upon a closer look, he noticed that Zen did not resort to
any method of movement when he was in motion but instead seemed to have been moving solely with
his explosive force.
The fact that he had reached such a fast and flexible speed without practicing any method of
movement was what astonished Rocher the most.
'If Zen ever starts practicing those methods and picks up his speed…' Rocher contemplated Zen's
potential. 'This guy really is a freak.'
Oblivious to how Rocher perceived him, Zen simply made his way back to the Drizzle Peak team and
took a seat in the corner as if nothing had happened, waiting quietly for the next round.
Master Wen and the other disciples did not dare go to bother him. Having won the two matches he
fought in, he was probably Drizzle Peak's only hope.
Battles in the arena proceeded, one round after another.
At this year's All Peaks Competition, several amazingly powerful disciples of Cloud Sect showed up.
Both the lower-ranked peaks, such as the Vulture and Billow Peaks, as well as the top-ranked ones,
including Skytop and Blackrock, were proven to have some extremely gifted disciples participating in
the matches. The competition in the group match stage was unusually fierce.
Nevertheless, the performances of the Drizzle Peak disciples were far from satisfactory. Other than Zen
who won two matches in a row, and another who lost two matches and won one, all the others ended in
defeat.
Soon, it was time for Zen to fight his third match.
"Drizzle Peak's Zen versus Blackrock Peak's Mack!"
Upon hearing Mack's name, Master Wen's expression hardened, along with those of the Drizzle Peak
disciples, who let the fury surface onto their expressions.
As a magic array master, Mack was not only highly powerful but very resourceful. Above all, he was a
cruel man. It was Mack who tortured Yehudi, a seeded player of Drizzle Peak, right in the arena until he
was unforgivably maimed.
During the group stage of the competition, the loss of one match was not so much of a big deal. As
long as one won his following battle, he still had a chance to enter the next round. However, after being
mauled in such a way, even if some mystical medicine could work its magic and heal Yehudi, it was
impossible for him to take on another battle within such a short time.
It was no wonder that everyone from Drizzle Peak hated Mack.
"Zen, pay attention to Mack's magic array. The array that bastard sets up could be wicked," Yehudi
reminded Zen before he went up to the stage. After having fought him previously, Mack's magic array
still made Yehudi's heartbeat stutter with fear.
With a nod, Zen agreed. "Got it. I'll be more careful."
In addition, Master Wen advised, "If you find yourself no match for him, just throw in the towel. No need
to force yourself to persist to the very end. This guy is a real monster inside."
Given that Zen had gained two consecutive victories already and was almost guaranteed an
opportunity to make it to the next round, Master Wen didn't want Zen to push himself too much and he
hoped his advice would keep Zen safe and sound until the next battle.
Though Zen nodded, he did not take the advice seriously. When it came to participating in such
combat-based competitions, more often than not, the contestants were merely fighting for their esteem.
Now that Zen had entered the All Peaks Competition, he was determined to win.
With fiery eyes, Zen stepped into the arena.
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