As soon as the compet.i.tors entered, the crowd started cheering. It felt almost as if the world would come cras.h.i.+ng down on them as the ground quaked and the deafening sound of the spectators reached their ears.

The platforms surrounded a few cus.h.i.+oned seats and a long and black table. A s.h.i.+ny box was sitting on the table, glowing with a golden light that made it seem like a small sun. Two beautiful women were on each side of the box, wearing golden clothes.

As the first in the line of compet.i.tors approached the box, the Third Elder's voice echoed through h.e.l.l's Keeper Arena. "The compet.i.tors will now draw lots to decide the pairings for the second round!"

The pair of women by the box slightly bowed and gestured for the first in line to touch it. A young man with scarlet hair stepped forward with confident steps. His hair seemed to be on fire as the strong light from the box shone on it while he extended a hand to touch it.

The moment his fingers touched the box, a click was heard, and a huge number 6 was projected above it, making the crowd gasp. The youth was then directed to sit in one of the luxurious cus.h.i.+oned seats as the next in line approached the box.

Number after number shone on the air as more and more compet.i.tors took a seat. The highest number so far had been sixteen, and a lot of them had been repeated. Soon it was Amon's turn.

He showed no hesitation as he firmly grasped the box. A wave of heat spread through his fingers and the box shuddered once, before flas.h.i.+ng and projecting a huge number 6 on the air.

"Seems like I'll face that red-haired guy." Amon thought as he walked to his seat. He turned his head and locked eyes with the youth. The youth sent him a piercing glance with his clear eyes, but Amon didn't bother. He carefully examined the youth.

The red-haired youth was wearing red clothes embroidered with golden threads. His tightly packed muscles slightly bulged from underneath his clothes. Amon could see that he had a well-trained body, as expect form someone of the Inner Ring.

His eyes were bright and energetic, but he couldn't hide the cold glint of pride in them. Adding that to the overbearing confidence in his face made him seem extremely arrogant. Using his divine sense, Amon could see that his body was glowing with a bright light. The youth was clearly in the late stages of Body Tempering, maybe in the threshold to Elemental Purification.

He should be even above Cecilia's level, but he didn't seem to be one to play around. He was going to be a tough opponent. Amon would have to rely on his wits again to win his next fight. Maybe he could make use of the boy's arrogance in some way…

As Amon was looking at the red-haired youth, the man clad in black took a step forward. All the sound he made as he walked was m.u.f.fled by the crowd, making him seem like a silent shadow. He extended his left hand and touched the box. The number 1 shone with a bright light above him, making for quite a scene.

After he took his seat, the Third Elder spoke again. "As you all might have guessed, the duels will be between the compet.i.tors that drew the same number. The eight compet.i.tors that drew numbers 1 to 4, please proceed to the platforms."

The eight compet.i.tor stood up, glaring at their opponents with cold eyes. They jumped to the four platforms surrounding the seats, and the crowd started cheering even more. Amon fixed his golden eyes on the man clad in black.

As the man in black landed heavily on the platform, he slapped his Bottomless Pouch. He took out a golden buckler and held it on his right hand. The buckler was so polished it seemed to glow, reflecting the strong lights in the Arena and making people squint their eyes and avert their gazes due to the uncomfortable brightness. He also took a silver sword from the Bottomless Pouch, wielding it with his left hand.

Facing him was a beautiful girl on her late teens. Her silky black hair fell over her shoulders like a waterfall, and her charming dark eyes drew one in, like the undertow during a storm. Her delicate brows were deeply furrowed as she looked at the man in front of her with apprehension. She had long white robes that fluttered as she walked, and long sleeves covered her slender arms.

To Amon's surprise, she was not wielding any weapons. One had to be incredibly confident in their fighting skills to go into combat barehanded. It was the same as putting one's self at a disadvantage. If she was going to fight barehanded, this meant that she was an incredible expert in hand-to-hand combat and should not be underestimated.

"Clara White." The girl said as she gave a polite bow. She was not dumb. Every single compet.i.tor in this round was powerful, even if they were not form the Inner Ring. This actually meant that their talent and effort was higher than those of the Inner Ring. She would show nothing but respect for such people.

The man in black didn't utter a word, but gave her a bow too. Clara's brow furrowed even further as she saw this. The Third Elder's voice echoed again as the compet.i.tors sized each other up, "May the second round begin!"

Clara kicked the ground and rushed to the man in black's position. She wouldn't let him make the first move and put her in a pa.s.sive situation. She raised a fist and threw a punch at the man's face with unstoppable momentum.

'Clang!'

The buckler rang like a bell as it intercepted the punch. Clara tried to force the punch in, but the man's stance was incredibly stable. She raised her left fist to punch him again, but she was forced to give up. She twisted her body and hastily dodged as the sword violently whistled through the air. The blade shone with a cold light as it barely missed her.

She used her momentum to spin in her feet and send a kick at the left side of his head, but the man simply lowered his head. His hood fluttered lightly at the wind created by her kick, but he didn't even flinch as he bent his knees to stabilize his stance as he slashed with his sword again.

Clara seemed annoyed as she punched at the man's left wrist with lighting speed. It was a very swift strike, made even more impressive by its precision and power. Her fist smashed into the man's wrist, deflecting his strike. Clara could clear feel the man's bones cracking under her punch, making her satisfied.

'Clink'

The sword fell to the ground and spun in the air. Before Clara could enjoy a small victory, a knee hit her chest, making her lose her balance and take a step back. The man didn't gave Clara any breathing s.p.a.ce. As she retreated, he advanced with a s.h.i.+eld bash. Clara grunted as the s.h.i.+eld hit her waist, sending her tumbling away.

Amon narrowed his eyes as he spread his divine sense. There was something strange about that man. Amon could feel a slight movement of Qi every time the man moved the s.h.i.+eld. It was almost as if the Qi itself was sustaining the s.h.i.+eld, not his arm.

Clara fell back even further, trying to retrieve her balance. She narrowed her eyes as she gazed at the man in black. Dark lines creased her forehead as she tried to find a way to deal with him. Just that short exchange was enough for her to know how tough an opponent he was.

She took a deep breath and her eyes turned cold as she stared at the man carefully. He had a strong defense and good movements. He knew how to use her openings to his advantage and he gave no openings of his own.

The only way Clara would be able to deal with such a fighter would be to force him into a situation where he couldn't help but give her an opening. She would have to either overwhelm him or bait him into attacking her, as she had done just now. Thankfully, she now held the upper hand in the fight.

To her surprise, the man extended his left hand and retrieved the fallen sword. Clara couldn't hide her confusion, as she was sure she had broken his wrist. What was happening?

Unfortunately, the man wasn't going to give her a chance to think properly. The ground cracked beneath his feet as he shot towards her like a cannonball, curling up his body behind his s.h.i.+eld. She fixed his gaze on him, focusing.

Clara quickly jumped to her left. If she jumped right, the man might strike at her with his sword. A fierce wind hit her face as the man flew past her. As the man stomped the ground to bring himself to a stop, Clara rushed to his direction, trying to attack his exposed back.

As the man recovered, Clara came cras.h.i.+ng down on him, sending a flurry of punches and kicks. The man took a step back at every step forward Clara took, keeping their distance the same while he skillfully parried her attacks with the s.h.i.+eld, hiding his body behind it.

Clara narrowed her eyes as she punched slightly to her left on purpose. The man in black promptly moved his s.h.i.+eld to his right to block the strike. Clara smiled as she rose her right knee, kicking his s.h.i.+eld even more to his right.

The man's stance was broken as his arm forcefully moved, exposing his body. As Clara was about to give him a punch that would ensure her victory, her smile disappeared.

"No way." She thought as she saw why the man had only been defending while hiding his body. His left arm was grasping nothing. His sword was gone.

'Crack!'

A layer of light surged from her suddenly. Clara looked in shock as she turned he head to see a s.h.i.+ny sword hovering in the air, that incredibly sharp blade mere millimeters away from her neck. She was dumbstruck as the sword slowly hovered back to the man, circling around him slowly.

"What insane control." She couldn't help but mutter. "Did you drop it while you were rus.h.i.+ng to me?"

As she expected, the man said nothing, but only gave a nod. He had reached the same conclusion as she had. He would have to either overwhelm her or bait her into attacking to create an opening. That flashy move earlier was nothing but a ruse to distract her from the sword he dropped close by, waiting to strike at her back.

"How the h.e.l.l did you train your control over Qi to such level?" She asked, genuinely curious.

The man shook his head. He would not talk about it. Clara could only give a wry smile as she was pulled away. The man climbed down the platform calmly. No one could say what he was thinking, as he didn't show even an inch of skin. Like a shadow, he left to the waiting hall, unaffected by the crowd cheering madly for him.

Amon kept his eyes glued on him the whole time. Not even minding the other fights. Somehow, he felt that he knew who that person was, but he had no idea why he would act like that. He shook his head and closed his eyes, focusing for the next fight.

After a few minutes, the Third Elder's voice echoed in their ears again. "Compet.i.tors that drew numbers 5 to 8, please stand on a platform."

Amon opened his golden eyes, looking at the red-haired youth. In silence, they both jumped into a platform, never taking their eyes away from each other. Amon firmly grasped the stick in his hands as the youth took a saber from his Bottomless Pouch.

"You may start!" The Third Elder announced.

Amon's eyes glistened as the red-haired youth moved.