"Don’t worry. I take every opponent seriously,"

"but they have to be worthy of being my opponent first."

Samuel Sullivan’s Wood Element Superpower flared around him, and a dozen vines shot out in all directions!

"Come on! Let me see how a team that only got here on a bye gets utterly thrashed!"

All the vines lashed out, their power seemingly immense, but they lost their target in midair.

His opponent had vanished!

Samuel Sullivan quickly retracted the vines to protect himself, guarding against a surprise attack.

"Making it to the top 12 is no simple feat, that’s for sure."

From the special viewing section, Justin Stone commented with praise. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"It’s not hard to use a Superpower. The hard part is anticipating your opponent’s next move at any moment on the battlefield."

Samuel Sullivan had clearly anticipated that his opponent might use a Speed Element Superpower to get close to him.

But the next second, a fist came out of nowhere and landed squarely on his chin.

Samuel Sullivan was nearly knocked to the ground.

The entire audience stared wide-eyed. It all happened too fast. When did Holden Shaw even get inside the barrier?!

Seeing Holden Shaw suddenly appear inside his ring of vines, Samuel Sullivan quickly tightened the Wood Element Vines.

"You walked right into my trap!"

Samuel Sullivan growled, gritting his teeth.

Several wood thorns sprouted from the vines. As long as he could trap Holden Shaw, death was certain!

Just then, however, he heard a soft chuckle from a distance.

"What are you doing over there?"

Holden Shaw asked from several meters away, a smile on his face as he watched Samuel Sullivan still trying to furiously attack thin air.

Hearing the waves of laughter from the stands, Samuel Sullivan’s face instantly flushed red with humiliation.

Volleys of wood thorns and serrated flying leaves shot toward his opponent once more.

But Holden Shaw’s figure once again dodged with ease. From the stands, the audience could only see a blur moving at high speed around the perimeter of the arena.

"Once I get my hands on you, you’re dead!"

Seeing that it was impossible to even touch his opponent, Samuel Sullivan sent his vines spreading out in all directions again, their length reaching the edges of the field.

The arena was divided into several sections, greatly restricting movement.

At the same time, an incredibly fast vine shot toward Holden Shaw’s side!

However, before the vine could even reach him, Samuel Sullivan’s eyes widened in shock. Holden Shaw had somehow leaped onto the vine itself!

BAM!

Using the vine as a path, Holden Shaw dashed forward and landed a solid kick right on Samuel Sullivan’s head!

"If you had run into a speed-type zombie out in the wild, you’d be dead by now."

With that said, he flipped down from the vine, his movements unhurried and graceful.

"When you run into a speed-type zombie you can’t beat, the first thing you should do is strengthen your defenses."

BAM!

With another punch, Holden Shaw knocked Samuel Sullivan back to the ground just as he was trying to get up again.

"Your attacks aren’t weak, but they’re too scattered."

As wood thorns materialized in midair, Holden Shaw tilted his head to dodge one while still speaking, then casually caught several more with one hand.

"This kid... He’s surprisingly a good guy."

Ansel Warner remarked, unable to help himself as he watched the arena.

’Is he giving a live tutorial?’

Myra Lawson, who was beside him, smiled. "It’s very much her style."

’To win with skill, but not to ridicule others. Just as you’d expect from one of Stella’s people.’

’Her?’

Landon Hayes looked down at the arena. ’Is she talking about Nina Jacobs?’

The match ultimately ended in a victory for Stella. Although Samuel Sullivan refused to concede, Holden Shaw had beaten him so badly he couldn’t even get to his feet.

It was only when the referee announced the result that everyone present gradually realized something.

"Did you guys notice? That Holden Shaw from Stella never once drew his blade!"

"Gods, I wanted to see how a Speed Element Superpower User fights with a blade! I heard a speed-type who can use a blade can kill without a trace!"

"You think maybe because this is just a tournament, he wasn’t even going all out?"

"..."

Listening to the crowd’s chatter, Alaric Fletcher couldn’t help but chime in.

"If Holden had used his blade, that guy wouldn’t have lasted three seconds."

His own teammates knew. It wasn’t just that Holden Shaw wasn’t going all out; he hadn’t even used half of his true strength.

"Here comes the match I’m most worried about," Daniel Hale said, watching his son take the stage.

To be honest, he wasn’t worried about any of the other fighters. Every one of them had been hand-picked by Nina Jacobs; the chance of failure was minuscule.

But Leo Hale was different.

He had volunteered for this match himself.

’All bark and no bite.’ Daniel Hale recalled the phrase Chelsea Walsh used to use for him.

"Worried? You don’t need to be worried about him," Nina Jacobs said after hearing his concern.

"Leo Hale only seems a little unreliable on the surface."

In the arena, Leo Hale’s opponent was an Earth Element Superpower User.

After seeing the previous match, this opponent was clearly taking things seriously.

The moment the match began, his opponent launched a fierce attack.

Leo Hale had planned to greet him, but seeing the attack, he had no choice but to defend.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Several Earth Spikes slammed into a Metal Shield, and Reynolds quickly dashed to the other side.

The ground began to ripple, a fact Leo Hale did not miss.

However, he didn’t change his position. Instead, he controlled a swarm of Metal Flying Blades in midair.

Reynolds had never seen such a massive swarm of Metal Flying Blades.

But the blades weren’t attacking him; they were just hovering around Leo Hale.

’What in the world is he planning?’

With no time to overthink it, Reynolds activated his Earth Element.

BAM!

Just as a rock serpent made of earth was about to strike Leo Hale, the flying blades rapidly fused into several enormous blades, instantly dicing the serpent into pieces!

Reynolds frowned. He was shocked that Leo Hale could meld his Superpower so quickly.

No matter. ’The trap is already set.’

Just as he was luring Leo Hale step-by-step into his trap, Leo Hale broke into a wide grin, showing off his pearly whites.

"Break!"

Although he didn’t know why Leo Hale was smiling, Reynolds wasn’t about to miss this golden opportunity.

Rows of Stone Spikes suddenly erupted from the ground, right where Leo Hale was standing.

He had been certain the Stone Spikes would hit Leo Hale, but he was completely unharmed.

"Didn’t you notice the Metal Flying Blades around me are gone?"

Seeing his opponent’s shocked expression, Leo Hale couldn’t resist pointing it out.

The ground beneath his feet had already been turned to metal. Only then did Reynolds realize that Leo Hale had been prepared all along.

In an instant, those Metal Flying Blades had transformed into a shield beneath his feet!

"My turn."

Leo Hale waved his hand, and the Stone Spikes on the ground were shattered one by one by newly-formed Metal Flying Blades.

Reynolds once again formed a Stone Shield to block, but the Gold Blades flying toward him suddenly transformed into threads of golden wire.

The cutting power of the golden threads was not to be underestimated; the Stone Shield was instantly sliced into dust.

Just as Reynolds was about to make another move, he discovered the threads had already wrapped around his legs!

Remembering how the Stone Shield had just been pulverized, he didn’t dare move a muscle.

"That kid..."

Daniel Hale chuckled, beaming with pride.

"Only Jessica Vance is left."

Wendy Marshall and Yvonne Willow were both nervous for her.

The Wind Element user, Jessica Vance, was up against a Gold Element Superpower User.

Everyone had expected a tough fight, but to their surprise, Jessica Vance still won beautifully.

"A Wind Element user can fly?! How in the world did she do that?!"

"Stella’s captain hasn’t even shown up yet. Could she be weaker than her own team members?"

"..."

After Jessica Vance left the stage, a number of Wind Element Superpower Users crowded around to ask for advice about their shared Superpower.

She didn’t mind at all and generously shared her insights with the group.

This act earned Stella another wave of goodwill from the crowd.

"Have you guys heard? Someone’s already started a private betting pool," Chelsea Walsh said, walking over with a displeased look on her face.

"A betting pool?" Nina Jacobs asked in confusion.

"People are betting on who will win tomorrow’s matches, using Crystal Cores as stakes.

The problem is, a lot of people are betting on that guy, Tyson Hughes," Chelsea Walsh said.