Secrets of the Universe

*Clang!* *Clang!*

Multiple rounds passed by and the two opponents had not determined the victor.

Princess Cheyenne with her elusive fighting style and Dean with his aggressive but sharp fighting style.

After unleashing his speed technique, Dean was not to be trifled.

With his full power, he kept slashing his [Flash Sword] at Cheyenne, and anytime she evaded, he was there with his [Blink] technique.

This made the battle even, with the advantage bending by a considerable margin to Dean Forst.

However, Cheyenne didn't take it easy.

Her eyes fleeted around her opponent trying to determine his weak points.

She knew she could forever dodge the [Flash Swords] as they were astonishingly fast even for her.

She thought, 'His confidence and arrogance!'

Dean Forst was a proud teenager and he had every reason to be proud.

If she could bait him into thinking she lost, then he would be fooled which would give her enough time to deal a devastating attack. Luckily, she knew what attack to use.

While formulating her plans, her legs seemed to be possessed by the wind as she flipped sideways, evading an attack that was aiming straight at her.

'I have no time left. The [Sky Mortal] technique can't increase my physical attributes for long,' estimated Cheyenne.

She decided to go on the attack.

With a precise aim, she threw her spear with an unimaginable force at Dean.

*Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*

Her attack broke the wind barrier, catching Dean off-guard as tried to evade it.

"Shit," he shouted as he could not react in him.

At the last second before impact, he shifted his head and the spear grazed past his cheek, drawing a large scar on his face.

"Now, I'm annoyed---Wait, what?"

He didn't manage to finish his words of frustration, as the figure of Cheyenne appeared above him.

Gliding in the air, she super-man punched him so hard that some of his teeth fell off, also knocking his broadsword out of his hand.

Cheyenne, in her usual sly manner, didn't give the bloody-faced Dean time to recover.

She made sure to remove most of his teeth as she punched his face multiple times.

The next time she attacked, Dean raised both his arm up in her attempt to safeguard his face, but Cheyenne already predicted that.

She kicked on his knee, making him lose control of his body.

The moment he slipped in his defense, with her right knee, she kneed his face.

She gave a few more thrashing attacks which left Dean struggling to breathe as almost all her attacks had gone for his head.

Having seen the amount of damage she had done, Cheyenne squealed, "Nice."

There was a reason she had gone specifically for Dean's head.

It was known that a cultivator with a higher cultivation base had a stronger body. So, it was understandable that Dean had a stronger body than Cheyenne.

She could only bridge the gap by targeting his vulnerable parts. Out of all the parts, she identified, as while it was not easy to attack, she noticed that Dean was bad at defending it.

Also, attacks to the head would make one attentive to his surroundings and that was what she needed.

She needed to buy time.

It could also be argued that she could have finished off Dean during her attack, but she knew better. Dean had a higher healing factor, and it wouldn't be long before he counterattacked, and used his physical body to his advantage, as the distance between both of them would restrict them to a close-combat fight.

So, while Dean was unresponsive, she distanced herself from him, picking up her fallen spear.

She went into a stance, and surrounded herself to her environment, to the wind.

She felt the beautiful wind dance around her boy, coiling on her skin, and she never felt more loved.

She held her spear and channeling all that feeling, experience, and power into it.

In her view, she could already see Dean standing up. She could notice that blood stopped flowing from his mouth, but...

'It was already too late,' innocently smiled Cheyenne as she looked at Dean.

In a low whisper, she chanted, "[Wind Spear]"

Like a bird taking flight, she shot off her spear.

The spear made a squealing sound which captured the panicked Dean's attention.

He tried to dodge it, but the moment he blinked, it was already close to him and it was already too late!

The attack attached itself to his right arm in a terrifying show of accuracy, sending Dean off the stage.

Sadly, Dean was about to cross the border of the stage when a voice announced, "Match 1- End!"

"Woooo!" cheered the crowd.

Different from those on the stage, they had a different perspective. They could not only see Cheyenne and Dean's fight. They could watch the other one and they also the reason why the match ended when Dean was about to be eliminated.

......….

A few moments ago.

Alexander Grant had already begun battling Ollie and his two teammates.

They positioned themselves far away from the other two competitors as most of the time they would be affected by the clashes of the two competitors, Cheyenne and Dean.

"Give up. We are more than you," smiled triumphantly Ollie.

After establishing an alliance, he became more and more confident especially since they had only one opponent.

Alexander smirked, "You fail to understand. I should be the one telling you."

In a heartbeat, he displayed his current strength as wisps of energy coiled around him. It was the same phenomenon that happened with Cheyenne.

"What?! Could it be----You are in the last stage of [Realm-1] also!" exclaimed Ollie.

This was the second shock he had experienced after mounting the stage.

"Ollie, what do we do," asked Marley.

Kenai also stared at him, asking him the same question.

Gritting his teeth, Ollie replied, "It is not that bad. We can still win thi---"

He was interrupted by Alexander, "--Huh, what do you mean by winning?"

"Of course, qualifying for the next stage," replied Ollie.

"That's funny. You are only three. So, let's say you manage to defeat me. Would also defeat the victor of the princess and Dean's bout?" mocked Alexander.

He got his result as Ollie became tongue-tied, and the rest became vigilant.

Alexander thought, 'Nice. I have managed to sow discord.'

He smiled at the trio, "One or two of you would have to go. Well, it doesn't matter, let's fight."

Not giving them time to think, blue wisps of [Spirit Essence] entered his body.

His veins popped out subtly, donning the familiar blue light, as Alexander murmured, "[First Technique of the Grant Manual - Sensory Overload]!"

"Shit! He has activated his technique. Let's get him," rallied Ollie in an attempt to reunify his team.

"Yes."

"Ok."

The three teens dashed at Alexander. Due to their low cultivation bases, they could not unleash their family techniques.

So, they opted for physical combat.

With Ollie in the middle, they threw their respective attacks at Alexander.

While they did not expect to inflict damage, they expected to at least hit him, but to their surprise, their attacks landed on thin air.

They looked front and couldn't find their targets, "Where is he?"

"I don't know."

"What do----Shit!"

Ollie's body hair rose up as he sensed something behind.

In a fluid motion, he flipped, throwing a kick to whoever was behind him.

No, he already knew who it was!

His leg was caught by Alexander's hand as he amazing reacted fast.

*Baam!*

Alexander used the leg to drag Ollie forward, hold him by the choke and brutally slam him on the stage floor!

Without looking, he struck his left side with his elbow and acrobatically locked his right ankle at the attacker on the right, proceeding to slam her down!

When he was done, the three teens were on the floor squeezing their faces in pain.

"Give up," Alexander asked them.

He had personally used the [Sensory Overload] technique to fight as they were more than three opponent.

He also sowed little drops of discord on them, making them less compatible in a fight.

Everything had been going according to plan.

Laying on the floor, Ollie raised his head, "Never!"

"I ask you again, GIVE UP!" shouted Alexander.

He received the same reply, coming from the three, "Never!"

Alexander ruminated, "If I was in their shoes, I would also act the same. Fortunately, I'm not!"

With a determined expression, he raised his feet and slammed it on the head of Ollie, "Give Up!"

Under the feet, Ollie replied in a muffled voice, "Never!"

Too much was at stake for him to give up!

"Then so be it," smiled Alexander.

Quite frankly, he admired the three for their fierce determination and wasn't willing to use extreme force on them even though it was within the rules.

He de-activated his technique and made a strange hand sign.

Chanting to himself, he announced, "[Third Technique of the Grant Manual - Pain Deliverance]!"

Blue [Spirt Essence] with a hint of red, swam to his hands, not daring to escape.

He wasn't like Cheyenne. He hadn't achieved an extraordinary feat. He hadn't awoken his element.

He was the same as Dean, who despite breaking through to [Realm-2] had not awoken his element. That was how hard awakening an element was.

Yet, he knew, deep in his mind, that this fight advanced him a step forward to his goal.

In a thankful manner, he stabbed his palm at the chest of the trio.

The moment his [Spirit Essence] came in contact with their body, they screamed for a while and fainted.

And the referee announced the result, "Match 1 - End!"