With a deafening sound, the tip of Billy's spear knocked into the pagoda. Time seemed to stop for a
moment after which, violent waves of power exploded out from the point of contact. It was as if the
ground trembled and the arena was torn apart. All eyes were fixed at the spot where the two objects
had collided.
Then the shaft of the spear bent, little by little, before the eyes of an astonished audience. Within a
fleeting moment, it was bent completely into a bow, until it was on the verge of breaking.
Swoosh!
Astounded, Billy reacted quickly. He twisted his arms, drew back the spear and flew backward in an
awkward gesture, pushed back with a mighty acceleration due to the spring force when the bent spear
whipped straight.
"It's not possible!" he yelled in disbelief as he collected his wits.
His cry of surprise was heard by all. But this time, no one dared to make a sound.
Finally, in front of Austin, Billy was no longer the superior and confident warrior he had always been.
For the first time ever, his face showed signs of alarm.
Austin on the other hand, felt elated. His long hair flew in the air conspicuously and there was pride
rushing through him. At this moment, he was showing an awe-inspiring demeanor, with domineering
confidence and pride.
"That's just the start!"
He suddenly yelled, rushing forward. Grand Pagoda Summoning Skill was more powerful than he had
imagined. And it had felt so good that he wanted to use more of it on Billy, his supposedly strong
opponent. With the pagoda in his hands, he attacked.
Grinding his teeth, Billy also let out a loud roar. All his vital energy gushed out through the veins of his
hand and concentrated itself into his spear. The spear hummed and trembled under the mighty and
forceful surge. Suddenly, it spiraled out like a viper and dashed towards the pagoda.
"Clink!"
"Clunk!"
"Clunk!"
Three times, the two weapons collided. Three times, the sound rang out. Beginning at the point of
impact, violent and extraordinarily powerful waves swept out across the arena like a stormfront,
sending pieces of rock and concrete flying everywhere.
With each stroke, Billy was forced a step backward.
Finally, under the gazes of more than a thousand shocked eyes, after the third crash, his body flew out
of the arena and landed heavily on the ground outside, leaving a long trail of blood behind him.
It was this very moment when victory and defeat were divided between the two contestants. Billy had
lost. Clearly.
The pagoda had blocked every single one of his attacks and had penetrated through his defense like
through a sheet of paper. It had smashed his vital energy and damaged him severely.
Having witnessed the whole combat closely, all the outer disciples glared at Austin in horror and shock.
There were some who were less horrified and more awed, and they stared at him with hot envy.
Beyond almost everyone's expectations, Austin, the most unpopular candidate, had won!
His victory inspired all of the disciples present who weren't supporting Billy. Despite the risks, Grand
Pagoda Summoning Skill was indeed a powerful spell, and impressed everyone. As a fourth-grade
martial arts skill, once mastered, it could even have proved fatal to the enemy in combat.
And Billy's Dragon Winding Spear Skill was just not enough. Although he had learned to master half
level of spear intent, the skill he was employing behind it was merely third-grade, one stage lower than
that of Austin's. His defeat came naturally.
Having seen the true power of the Grand Pagoda Summoning Skill, many of the outer disciples were
itchy to learn it. They were hoping they could also use it in their combats.
"This is impossible! I don't believe it!"
Billy yelled in protest, trudging away from the ground desperately. The corners of his mouth were
stained with blood, and his eyes were horribly red. His eyelids were a very violent shade of purple. He
had intended to raise his reputation by fighting Austin. But the fight had gone awry. He had been
defeated beyond expectation, and defeated badly.
He was a man who always valued his prestige. How could he accept the fact that Austin was superior?
Come again, how could he accept a defeat as bad as Waterloo? His eyes blazed with fury when he
looked at Austin, as if he wanted to devour him alive.
Suddenly there came a loud cheer.
"Tin has won! Tin! Tin! Hip hip hooray!"
Evan clapped and yelled at Austin's victory. He was obviously very excited. His eyes, too, were full of
excitement and ecstasy.
In contrast to his joy, the dozen or so boys who had picked on Evan were all pale.
They were all Billy's companions, and had been proud to be so. But now, their idol had been defeated
by Austin, who clearly possessed greater strength than Billy did. They were too afraid of Austin and
didn't dare pick on Evan anymore. They clearly knew that he was Austin's pal. Thus, they quietly
mingled into the crowd, careful not to draw any attention.
Standing in a corner, Denali breathed out a sigh of relief. She patted her chest a couple of times to
steady her breathing. The worried look between her furrowed eyebrows melted away with Billy's
chances of victory.
'This bastard! He knows how to keep people who care about him worrying!' she thought.
In another corner, Mindy's frayed nerves relaxed too. Complicated feelings surged in her heart. She
stared at Austin, seemingly lost in her thoughts.
"How is this possible! How can this idiot win against Billy!"
Lara exclaimed in great disgust.
Standing by her side, Marvin looked sullen. He stared at Austin with dread.
... ...
"I am not defeated yet! How can I fall at your hands? Let's start over!"
Billy yelled in a sudden outburst of temper. The vital energy ran wild inside him when he pounced
towards Austin once again. And his spear flew like a flood dragon speeding across the sky.
"Swoosh!"
Austin's eyes were cold and indifferent. He didn't even move from his place. Simply changing his
stance to his fighting posture, he held the pagoda high. He was facing the spear directly.
"Bump!"
Once again, Billy thumped against the pagoda and flew across the arena, thudding into a corner.
But this time, Austin didn't stop at merely defending his own self against the attack. He followed Billy
and swung the pagoda high over his head.
In this moment of life and death, Billy suddenly recovered from his madness. Before Austin could hit
him, his eyes suddenly opened wide in horror, and he shrieked," I give up! Stop! You win! You win!"
With his words, Austin's attack came to a halt.
The forceful swing stopped just before the pagoda hit Billy in the face. However, some swirls of energy
were still thrown out and cut his skin open. Streaks of blood ran down his cheeks, along with tears and
sweat.
Austin stared into his eyes, and asked slowly," You've really given up, haven't you?"
When Billy heard his words, his face twitched violently as his expressions changed. After a while, he
nodded unwillingly, since he didn't have any other choice. He struggled to climb up to his feet but his
downcast eyes were filled with ferocity and malevolence.
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