BOOM!

A deafening shockwave rolled through the arena.

Hector’s body slid back over the floor, a blue barrier surrounding his body.

Theo stood a few yards away, his umbrella still in hand.

’Good,’ he thought, nodding once. ’Perfectly according to plan.’

Only two minutes had passed since the start of the fight.

Yet, it was already over.

The blue barrier remained around Hector as he groaned and pushed himself onto one knee.

He glanced at Theo for a moment before letting out a bitter laugh.

’’Carajo, eres fuerte!’’

Theo blinked once, not understanding the words.

Only a second later, the announcer’s voice rang out loudly above them.

’’Winner... Theo Lane!"

Applause rang out all throughout the arena.

’’Now, a five-minute break,’’ he continued. ’’Up next, challenger Blake Turner, the current rank 8.’’

A few whistles rang out while the applause grew louder.

But Theo didn’t pay any attention to it.

As the staff carried Hector out and repaired the cracked ground and molten craters, he sat down with his eyes closed.

’The time is short,’ he thought. ’But I need to regain my core’s strength as much as possible.’

Minutes slowly ticked by.

As he cultivated, his mind quickly went over the previous battle.

’I’ve lost about 20% of the mana I can use,’ he thought.

It wasn’t an entirely satisfying result, since Theo felt like it could’ve been a lot less had he not been caught off guard by the sound element.

But at the same time, he was quite lucky since his water countered Hector’s fire element perfectly.

’His mutation did make it burn far hotter than any other flames I’ve seen,’ he thought. ’But my water’s pressure just sucked the flames away with ease...’

DING!

The sound echoed throughout the arena, snapping Theo out of his thoughts.

He slowly opened his eyes and rose to his feet.

The cracked ground had already been restored, leaving almost no trace of the previous battle.

A booming voice followed shortly after.

"Ladies and gentlemen! The five-minute break has come to an end!"

Whistles rang out from the crowd immediately.

’’Please welcome our next challenger... Blake Turner!’’

Across the arena, the entrance doors slowly shifted open.

A lean young man stepped through the opening, his movements calm and patient.

Unlike Hector, he didn’t carry a massive weapon.

Instead, a simple but long whip rested at his waist, while a set of dark gloves covered his hands.

His eyes immediately fixated on Theo.

He stopped several dozen yards away before slowly unfastening the whip from his waist.

SNAP.

With a flick of his wrist, the leather cracked through the air, drawing a few cheers from the audience.

Theo’s gaze lingered on the weapon for a moment.

’A whip?’ he thought. ’That’s not something you see every day.’

Blake rolled his shoulders before resting the handle loosely in his hand.

"I’ve been looking forward to this match," he said calmly.

Theo pulled out his umbrella and calmly raised it in front of him.

’’Good luck.’’

Nodding once, Blake also got into a proper stance.

The judge had barely reached them when purple lightning already crackled around his whip.

Theo raised an eyebrow.

’Oh?’ he thought. ’Lightning element?’

A faint smile appeared on his face.

’Doesn’t seem to be mutated though.’

Without another word, he put his umbrella on his back.

Then, under Blake’s confused gaze, he pulled out the trident.

’’What are you doing?’’ Blake asked, his brows furrowing. ’’Fight with your main weapon.’’

Crackle!

Bright yellow lightning gathered between the trident’s tips.

’’I would’ve loved to,’’ Theo said calmly. ’’But I have more battles to fight after this, and I’d like to save as much mana for those.’’

For a brief moment, Blake froze.

Then his expression twisted as his face flushed red with anger.

’’You!’’

The judge stepped between the two before the situation could escalate any further.

His sharp gaze swept across both contestants.

"Save your words for after the match," he said firmly. "Take your positions."

Blake let out a slow breath, though the anger on his face remained.

He lowered himself into a combat stance once more, his purple lightning crackling even more violently now.

Theo calmly spun the trident once before pointing it toward the ground.

Yellow arcs danced between each of the trident’s tips, illuminating the stone ground.

’Getting emotional before the fight even starts?’ he thought. ’That’ll only make things easier.’

The judge glanced between them one last time before slowly raising his hand.

As the arena gradually fell silent, the same countdown appeared far above.

’’Three...’’

’’Two...’’

’’One...’’

The judge’s arm sliced down.

’’Begin!"

SNAP!

The whip shot toward Theo in an instant.

Theo didn’t retreat, only narrowing his eyes slightly.

Just as it was about to reach him, he swung his trident around, yellow lightning exploding around it.

BANG!

The whip tangled itself around the trident’s tips.

Theo moved as fast as possible, immediately slamming his weapon into the ground.

Crack!

The whip was trapped several feet underground.

’’Shit!" Blake cursed, desperately trying to pull it free.

Massive surges of purple lightning crawled along the whip’s rope in an attempt to explode the ground.

But Theo didn’t give him a chance.

He channeled his own lightning mana into his trident.

In only seconds, the yellow lightning completely devoured the purple lightning.

It wasn’t done there, though.

The yellow lightning raced toward Blake, reaching him within a second.

BOOM!

Blake staggered back.

A bright blue barrier had popped up around his hand, slowly covering his entire body as his hair stood up from the electricity.

’’What?" he muttered, eyes wide in disbelief.

Theo calmly pulled the trident free from the shattered ground.

The trapped whip flew a few feet into the air, clattering to the ground near Blake.

’’What happened?’’ Blake muttered. ’’Why am I out already?’’

’’I haven’t even used my second element or a Silver Core spell yet!"

Theo didn’t respond.

He immediately sat down and closed his eyes.

’That went fast,’ he thought. ’Only cost ten percent of my mana too.’

The image of his lightning devouring Blake’s shot through his mind, making him smile.

’Was it because mine was mutated? Or was it just stronger?’

Blake’s voice still echoed faintly in the distance.

’’No!’’ the young man said. ’’This is bullshit! It has to be faulty equipment!"

His gaze switched to the judge, clearly furious.

’’I want a rematch!’’

The judge only shook his head.

’’Do you really not understand what happened there?’’ he asked in a low voice. ’’Had the barrier not intervened, that hand would’ve been burned off.’’

Blake fell silent with his mouth still open.

’’Your lightning got outclassed completely,’’ the judge continued coldly. ’’And due to your emotional state, your decision-making became clouded too.’’

A moment of silence fell over the arena.

Even the crowd had barely had time to react.

Finally, the announcer’s voice rang out loudly.

’’Another spectacular victory for Theo Lane!’’ he practically shouted.

The applause finally erupted.

It rolled through the arena far louder than before, accompanied by cheers, whistles, and countless conversations breaking out all at once.

Theo ignored all of it.

Each mana thread that went back to his core was a step closer to bringing it back to its peak state.

’A little over 80% now,’ he estimated after a quick check. ’Not bad at all.’

The last attack had contained ten percent of his mana, which was almost equivalent to a Silver Core spell.

Though it hadn’t been a flashy move, and had even been a bit wasteful since it wasn’t a spell... it was the perfect solution at the time.

Across the arena, Blake still looked unwilling to accept the outcome.

He stared at the whip lying on the ground before lowering his head with a bitter expression.

Without another word, he picked it up and allowed the staff to escort him away.

The giant screens above immediately updated.

Hector Vargas — Eliminated.

Blake Turner — Eliminated.

Only two names remained beneath Theo’s.

A murmur spread through the audience as countless eyes shifted toward the updated bracket.

"Only two left..."

"Both of them are monsters, right?"

"I heard rank five has been at Silver Core for two weeks already."

"Forget him. The girl in fourth reached her ranking while hiding her second element."

The whispers reached Theo’s ears, catching his attention.

He ran several calculations through his mind while recovering, trying to find more ways to conserve his mana for the next stage too.

’What if I fight both of them at the same time?’ he thought. ’Would it save me mana or make me lose more?’

Theo quietly weighed the possibilities.

If either of his final opponents were even a bit like Lucienne, he’d be forced to use his Silver Core attacks.

But most of those attacks were large-range, which could make it easier if he faced two at once.

’No,’ he thought, shaking his head. ’It’s far too risky.’

If they knew escape spells or simply split up from each other at the start, it’d make his efforts to preserve mana useless.

DING!

A loud bell echoed through the arena.

Theo opened his eyes slowly, frowning.

’There’s supposed to be another minute left,’ he thought, glancing up.

Just then, the announcer’s voice echoed out loudly again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have just received a very special proposal from one of today’s sponsors!"

The murmurs throughout the arena immediately died down.

Even Theo looked up from his cultivation.

"After witnessing Theo Lane’s overwhelming performance so far, a sponsor has issued him a unique challenge."

The giant screens above flickered, displaying a large golden question mark.

"If Theo voluntarily chooses to fight his remaining two challengers at the same time... every reward from this phase will be doubled!"