Uru floated above the tournament ring, drawing a wave of astonished gasps!
Throughout the previous matches, he had never once displayed the ability to fly! And judging from the close-up shot on the screen, even Uru himself looked ecstatic! Observing his slightly clumsy and unpolished floating posture, it was clear—he had likely just learned how to "fly"!
He couldn't before, but now he could.
Naturally, all eyes turned to Uru's opponent… Everyone was whispering—the mysterious contestant was said to be the powerful martial artist who had once founded the enigmatic martial arts school known as the Muten School. And now, people recalled just how strong the two Muten School disciples competing in the tournament were! They could fly, they could do it all!
Could it be that Uru had learned to fly under the guidance of Taro?
"I wish Master Taro would teach me too…" someone muttered enviously, their eyes practically turning green with jealousy. Another person sighed wistfully, "Flying… I'd love to experience that feeling." Of course, there were skeptics who scoffed, "Yeah, right! Even if Uru was taught by Master Taro, look at all the opponents Taro has faced so far—have you ever seen him instruct anyone else?"
Regardless of the murmurs around them, both Taro and Uru stepped off the stage.
The second match of the second round was about to begin.
The announcer took the mic, briefly introducing the two fighters about to face off.
With the sound of the names echoing through the stadium, the two competitors calmly stepped onto the stage from opposite ends.
Noah Robe vs. Lanton!
"Go, Lanton! Lanton!!"
"Don't lose, Noah Robe!!"
"Take him down!"
"Cut him down!!"
---
As the cheers intertwined, some for him, some for the silent warrior standing opposite him like a statue, Lanton—an older, rugged fighter—sighed as he looked at his opponent. "Honestly, I'd love to be sporting enough to let you use your real blade instead of that wooden one you've been polishing… but even I would find that way too dangerous."
Even a wooden sword in your hands is dangerous.
Noah Robe couldn't be bothered to reply. Silently, he reached for his waist and slowly drew the wooden sword strapped there.
Its hilt was about three inches long, while the blade measured around two feet and six inches—identical in size to the refined steel longsword he usually wielded. However, since it was made of wood, the difference in weight was significant. Moreover, the wooden blade couldn't withstand the full force of his attacks, so every strike required him to calculate whether the sword could endure the impact.
But…
There was no other choice. He would simply strike with it as is.
"Second round, third match—Noah Robe versus Lanton! And now… begin!!"
Their gazes sharpened at the same time—one raised his palm and stepped forward, while the other gripped his sword and lunged!
From opposite sides of the arena, they charged toward the center. Noah Robe lifted his sword and swung down—slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
Lanton, of course, wasn't going to let himself get hit so easily. Even though it was just a wooden blade, when wielded by this man, its power was nothing to scoff at! Using a Ki blast was out of the question—not only was it too powerful, making life-or-death situations unavoidable, but the energy cost was high. If he missed, it would be a waste of his own stamina!
Noah Robe's wooden sword weaved a flurry of dusky yellow streaks in the air. The audience could only catch the blade's trajectory through the slow-motion playback on the high-speed cameras!
On the massive screens surrounding the stadium, the two fighters' silhouettes blurred as they clashed at the center of the ring. Noah Robe, gripping his wooden sword, maintained a cold and distant expression, his every swing slicing through the air with visible force. Each strike was aimed directly at Lanton's body!
Lanton, on the other hand, remained incredibly focused, his eyes sharp like lightning. His footwork was swift and precise, narrowly evading each strike at the last possible moment… When the audience shifted their gaze from the slow-motion replay back to the stage, they realized—Noah Robe and Lanton had already exchanged countless blows!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Lanton seized an opening and restrained Noah Robe's sword-wielding hand, launching a rapid flurry of close-range strikes! Fists and feet flew as he clung to Noah Robe at close quarters. Noah Robe tried to retreat to create space for a counterattack, but Lanton stuck to him relentlessly! Strike! Strike! Strike! Strike! He had to unleash as much damage as possible in this brief window of opportunity!
Within just a few breaths, Noah Robe had taken countless blows—his chest, abdomen, ribs, shoulders, and neck all throbbed with intense pain!
Yet, under this storm of attacks, his mind only grew calmer—so coldly calm it was almost ruthless.
As he stumbled backward under the assault, suddenly, he stomped both feet forcefully onto the ground!
Crack! Crack!
His cloth shoes struck the solid stone arena like thunder, and the ground beneath him fractured into a dense web of cracks!
Lanton instinctively pushed away Noah Robe's sword-wielding arm to prevent him from swinging his blade. At the same time, he landed a solid punch to Noah Robe's cheek—thud! A tooth flew from Noah Robe's mouth. However… his body remained firmly rooted in place, as if he had grown into the earth itself!
"Huh?"
In a split second, because Noah Robe had planted himself unmoving, Lanton found himself pressed against his opponent's chest. As Noah Robe turned his battered face, his fierce, imposing gaze locked onto Lanton's slightly surprised eyes…
With a twist of his wrist, Noah Robe reversed his wooden sword's grip, pressing the handle firmly against Lanton's abdomen.
His center of gravity sank as his feet dug even deeper into the ground. Power surged from the earth, flowing through his legs, thighs, waist, abdomen, chest, and arms, passing through countless muscle contractions and tensions, all converging into his right hand gripping the sword handle. At that moment, Noah Robe and his weapon became one, unleashing an explosive force within mere inches!
BOOM!
Lanton was instantly sent flying! Thud! Thud! Thud! He tumbled uncontrollably toward the edge of the ring, rolling over and over before finally slamming both hands against the ground. Crack! The floor splintered like a spiderweb, but at last, he managed to stop himself. His stomach burned with pain, and worse yet, the force that had transferred from that sword handle into his internal organs made his entire body tremble, his very bones rattling from the impact.
"What happened?! How did Lanton suddenly get sent flying?!" Some spectators were baffled—they hadn't seen Noah Robe throw a punch or swing his sword, so how had Lanton been knocked away?
Only in the slow-motion replay did the audience finally see the truth.
"Incredible! That was a terrifying short-range explosive strike… Senior Brother is in trouble…" Among the spectators, Monkey D. watched in shock. Meanwhile, Fan, his head still wrapped in bandages, remained intently focused on the fight. Seeing Noah Robe use the sword handle to unleash such a devastating burst of power, he couldn't help but clench his fists.
Lanton wasted no time expressing his shock or frustration—he knew his opponent wasn't the type to hesitate after gaining the upper hand. The moment he steadied himself, he immediately leaped sideways!
Whoosh!
A sharp air current sliced down right where Lanton's head had been an instant ago. Boom! As Noah Robe's kick came flying toward him, Lanton raised his leg to block, using the impact to propel himself away.
The sword came slashing toward him again.
"Damn it!"
Lanton leapt into the air. The exertion drained both his stamina and his ki, as the two were inherently intertwined. But he wasn't about to take a cheap way out by lingering in the air to recover. The moment he landed, he decisively brought both hands together at his waist—
"It's Kamehameha! Lanton has finally used the signature technique of the Muten School, Kamehameha!!"
A brilliant white light surged from between his cupped palms.
But Noah Robe's expression remained unchanged. Swish! Swish! He flicked his sword twice and, with an impassive face, charged straight toward Lanton as he gathered energy!
"What's he doing?! Is he crazy?! If he takes a direct hit from Kamehameha, he could die!" The audience erupted in gasps. Yet, no matter their shock, Noah Robe's charging steps showed no hesitation. Instead, it was Lanton—midway through gathering his energy—who looked momentarily stunned.
Watching from the sidelines, Monkey D. sighed and shook his head.
"This guy… is ruthless. Senior Brother lost."