Carolyn glanced at Solomon. She did not expect that he would use his trump card on Wang Zhong, instead of herself. Solomon smiled slightly when he felt Carolyn's gaze. Although they were currently in a state of 'hostility', Solomon remained gentlemanly.
Wang Zhong grew a little more serious. Although the guy in front of him was small-sized, he felt a little threatened. "What's your name?" asked Wang Zhong.
"Enoch, from the Kaiser Empire." He smiled widely, revealing his vampire teeth.
Zeng!
At the moment when the teenager revealed his teeth, he had already disappeared from his original position, charging toward Wang Zhong at lightning speed. At the same time, Salamander assumed his position as well in accordance with Wang Zhong's will. His flaming knife aimed and struck accurately on that swift figure's path of travel, but he surprisingly missed. The figure was completely unaffected by the Soul Guard's attempt to obstruct him. With a dodge to the side, the figure charged past Salamander with ease. To Enoch, Salamander's attack seemed to be in slow-motion. His merciless cold blade pointed directly at Wang Zhong in the distance as he charged forward.
At the same time, Salamander's chain began to take shape. While the figure was charging past Salamander, the chains had already formed an interception in the distance. There was a saying: the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Salamander's ace in the hole was actually his black iron chain. Although Salamander was not as fast as Enoch, its chain had the ability to penetrate voids and cross spaces, making him able to intercept Enoch in advance.
Almost instantly, Salamander's flames began to rage wildly. After the figure charged past him, Salamander spread out his hands, and a blockade of flaming chains was formed, blocking the path of the dark figure. The chains then began to extend wildly to the sides, just like when it was dealing with Gui Hao. Obviously, Salamander was trying to trap the figure in his chains.
However, before the chains could connect to form a circle and trap the figure, the dark figure took another abrupt turn and, surprisingly, surpassed the speed at which the flaming chain was extending. With a large S-shaped curve, the figure escaped the encirclement. In the blink of an eye, he had already arrived in front of Wang Zhong!
Wang Zhong retaliated with a punch. Although that punch seemed slow, Enoch, who was traveling at lightning speed, could sense imminent danger. If he went head-on with that punch, he would definitely be blasted apart by this seemingly simple punch. His premonition had never been wrong. He reacted swiftly and instantly changed his direction, charging toward Salamander instead. His speed was so fast that only a gray streak could be spotted. In comparison, Salamander's speed was obviously slower.
The initially undefeatable iron chain and the terrifying flaming blade of the first two matches both missed. They were of no threat to Enoch, who maintained his high speed. Enoch's on-the-spot response and judgment were much stronger than Gui Hao's. Those who were present were not idiots, and thus, some experts finally focused on the battle. Frankly, the previous two matches were child's play. This Enoch, on the other hand, was rather interesting. His combat experience and control of Soul Power were far better than Gui Hao's fancy moves.
A streak of light flashed across the arena. Enoch's sword was finally pulled out, and the surroundings lit up instantly.
Kaiser's Grade — Aurora Flash!
Salamander didn't even manage to put up a fight before he was destroyed by this rapid attack, and he exploded into sparks. This time, it was not a display of Salamander's evasion skills. He was truly defeated by Enoch. Wang Zhong's body shook slightly. It was clear that Salamander's forte was defending, but he didn't expect Salamander to be defeated so easily.
The atmosphere in the arena suddenly grew heavy. On the other hand, the audience was relieved. It seemed like there was nothing great about this strange Dharma Idol; it had only won previously because the opponents were too weak. Without it, it was the end of the line for Wang Zhong.
Enoch pointed his sword in the other direction swiftly, with no intention to belittle the enemy. From the beginning, he didn't think highly of that Dharma Idol. However, since the boss sent him to handle this opponent, he had to have a few tricks up his sleeve.
The final attack!
Enoch's Dharma Idol, the Son of Light, soared into the sky. Unlike many new Holy Disciples who were still in a state of confusion, Enoch was clear about the power of the Heroic Soul Stage. The strongest attack in this stage was an ultimate attack that combined the Soul Domination Ability and the power of the Dharma Idol. For Heroic Souls who truly knew how to fight, they would gather all their power into a single blow, then finish off their opponent with it.
Enoch slowly aimed his sword at Wang Zhong as all his power began to condense in his body. Some members of exploration teams, who had already almost fallen asleep from watching the idiotic combat styles previously, finally grew interested in the battle. They finally saw someone who was talented and truly knowledgeable. Heroic Souls were unlike Heavenly Souls who could give free play to their attacks. Often, victory or defeat was determined by a move based on their Soul Domination Ability; in other words, all the power and talents one possessed had to be released in a single shot.
It was obvious that this little dude named Enoch knew his stuff.
Marie Ji smiled and glanced at Lan Daier. "It seems like your employee is in danger. This little guy has excellent control over his Soul Power."
Lan Daier frowned slightly. She did not expect his opponent to be this strong. She had tried her best to help Wang Zhong reach the peak of the Heroic Soul Stage, but now, it seemed that it hadn't increased his combat effectiveness. Thinking about it, it was no surprise. She had used the most luxurious method, but there were many cruel but effective ways in the Holy Land that could achieve similar results.
Enoch's Soul Power condensed completely within his body. Obviously, Enoch also understood that the core of the Soul Domination Ability lied in the transformation of the Soul Sea. As such, the moment he struck, it was with the force of a thunderbolt!
The Son of Light — Light Slash!
It was no longer a matter of speed. At this moment, Enoch's entire body seemed to have transformed into a lightsaber, and he instantly hacked down at Wang Zhong. It was like reverting to original simplicity. With this blow of coercive power, the aura of his Soul Domination Ability enveloped the entire area. No matter where Wang Zhong dodged, it would be futile; there was no chance of escaping this sword move.
Almost everyone revealed an approving look. To be able to utilize techniques that were almost at the Heavenly Soul level when he was just a Heroic Soul meant that he had very skilled Soul Power control. He definitely had the chance to be a Dimensional Exploration Team Leader in the future!
On the other hand, Wang Zhong seemed to have been admiring his opponent's moves, as though he was just a spectator who was not involved in the battle. Enoch would never go easy on him as Solomon had already issued his orders, which was to try to kill Wang Zhong!
However, at the same moment, Wang Zhong let out a laugh, and a streak of darkness emerged. Light and darkness would always be the two most opposing forces in this world.
No darkness could hide in the light, but similarly, no light could hide in the darkness!
That streak-like figure became clearly visible as soon as the darkness appeared, and right in front of him, a black figure who had speed similar to his emerged from the darkness!
Zeng!
Darkness and light collided, and two opposing energy streaks charged past each other. Almost instantly, both figures had each arrived at different edges of the Soul Arena.
Bang!
It was not until the two figures stood on the edges of the Soul Arena that the delayed sound boom could be heard, accompanied by the sound of hoofbeats and by roars that came from the distant dark abyss.
Return~ my~ head~~~~~~~
Enoch, who had managed to remain unseen throughout, finally appeared at the leftmost edge of the Soul Arena. He knelt down on one knee, and the sword in his hand was surprisingly broken into two pieces. It was only with the half-broken sword acting as a support could he remain in that position. His chest was a bloody mess. Even though he was wearing soft armor from the alchemy workshop, his bloody ribs could be seen jutting out of his flesh.
At the same time, the darkness that had suddenly appeared, disappeared without a trace. No one saw what happened, but terror undoubtedly filled them. As such, the entire audience looked at Wang Zhong in shock.
Wang Zhong didn't feel any excitement, and he was not one to show off. In fact, if it wasn't for the requirements of the Holy Land, he would not have participated in this nonsense selection competition. They were just new Holy Disciples at the bottom of the hierarchy. What right did they have to be complacent?
Solomon? Carolyn? Were they truly something?
Again, look at the people surrounding the arena. What kind of people were they?
One type came to watch the show, while others came to see if there were people stupid enough to be cannon fodder.
As a newly promoted Holy Disciple, Wang Zhong knew that he was not qualified to be complacent, so he participated in this seriously. Now that the three battles were completed, Wang Zhong left. Just like that. He didn't even bother to watch Solomon and Carolyn's battles. Even if the two truly had some fight in them, so what?
Their levels were too low…
Neither Solomon nor Carolyn expected that Wang Zhong would leave like this after the battle. He didn't care what an amazing victory this was. With this, he shot to fame.
On the other hand, Hyde, one of the three premier experts among the new Holy Disciples, appeared deep in thought. As a member of the Holy Land, he had a much clearer view than Solomon and Carolyn. Why was he low-key? Because did anyone have the capital to be high-key?
Sometimes, he didn't know where Solomon and Carolyn got their confidence from. Although these dramas among the bottom class might seem like a big deal, they were merely a joke to the higher-ups. In the Holy Land, only when one became a Teacher would one be considered a 'person'. At the Great Teacher level, one would have the ability to decide one's own fate. Only when one became a Sacred Teacher would one be considered someone who had the power to control others' fate.
In this batch of newcomers, Hyde and Wang Zhong understood this. This was also the reason why the Federation's standard had been getting lower and lower the past few years and why the higher-ups began to accept more people from the Empire. However, it seemed that Solomon and Carolyn were not aware of this, and therefore, they thought too highly of themselves.
Soon, Hyde completed the three challenges nicely. It was all won with a single blow, but there was nothing to show off about. This was merely a task to him. On the other hand, Solomon and Carolyn still did not understand this. It was said that their three challenge matches were a big deal, and they took the chance to display their skills. Originally, it was thought to be a competition between the Empire and the Federation, but it turned into a show for Solomon and Carolyn to boost their names.
Sadly, there weren't any big shots who came to watch.
Lan Daier and Marie Ji also left after Wang Zhong's victory. Surprisingly, Marie Ji was very satisfied with Wang Zhong's reaction after the victory. It meant that he knew his place!