Chapter 39 The Death Arena

There was no presence that could be felt; no obvious or physical tell-tale signs of something--or maybe, someone--so powerful about to strike. However, the mere existence of Dustin in the area was inescapable. As he was part of the top ten outer disciples, it would have been a foolish move for the other disciples to provoke someone who ranked much higher than they did. Moreover, they needed no further proof that Dustin was a being who was not to be messed with.

Just then, his eyes caught Watson's form rising from the battered floor, surprising the witnesses of the sudden battle in front of their eyes. Even Dustin, who acted rather aloof during the ordeal, raised his eyebrows in slight astonishment at the sight of Watson straightening up from his crumpled position on the ground.

As Watson was one of his subordinates, Dustin was well quite aware of his capabilities.

Closing his eyes and focusing on the auras of the individuals currently engaged in a clash, Dustin made a move to feel the level of power Ricky was exhibiting. With a hum, he blinked his eyes open and measured that Ricky was still under the ninth grade of Skin Refinement.

Now that he was fully standing up, Watson spat on the ground and shouted at his opponent. "Be ready to die!" The eyes of a brave and merciless warrior were reflected on Watson's face. It had seemed like at that moment, he was certain about his victory and was ultimately ready to risk it all for the fight. Running with all his might, Watson then brandished out his long and sleek steel sword from the scabbard hooked on his waist, poised to attack Ricky one more time.

As the onslaught of slashes was doomed to fail, it may have just been the first time he had brought shame on himself in front of numerous spectators ever since he had reached the ninth grade of Skin Refinement.

"Watson, it would be better for you to step down," Dustin stated coldly, choosing to step in the middle of the fight before his subordinate would lose any further than he already had. With heavy breathing, Watson wiped the grime and sweat running from his temple to his chin and reluctantly stepped back. Direct orders from his superior were supposed to be followed no matter what the circumstances were. Primarily, it was best to obey even if acting against it tempted him. "Yes, sire." Watson replied dutifully and lowered his gaze.

Sheathing his sword, Watson turned back to Dustin and walked towards him. It was made obvious to everyone, most especially to him, that Ricky was much too skilled to compete with Watson. 'It was a losing battle, anyway, ' Dustin disgruntledly thought, watching his subordinate limp towards where he stood.

"Now, stranger," Dustin remarked in a frigid tone and shifted his stance to regard the other man. "I am not interested in who you are, or in who you think you are." At this moment, the other people surrounding the area had gathered rather closely and watched the exchange between the two with keen interest. "You have trespassed into my territory and destroyed my gate." With heavy and calculated steps, Dustin strode to the other's position and pointed at his face menacingly before speaking again. "Now you have to be destroyed too." The murderous aura surrounding Dustin rose with purpose that it had reached high and far which made the folks observing the scene widen their eyes with the sheer show of power.

There were many things that Dustin was not aware of during his rigorous training and preparation for the Outer Competition which had lasted for two months. Due to his dedication to succeed and accompanied by his pure concentration, he was not informed that Ricky had been appointed as an outer disciple of the Snow Sect.

"Are you certain that you do not want to know who I am?" Ricky sneered and crossed his arms across his chest. "I'll bet you will so desperately want to know my identity after what I am about to tell you."

Stepping even closer to stare directly into the cold and heartless eyes of the man opposite him, Ricky shrugged his shoulders and smiled ominously before he opened his mouth and spoke.

"Remember your dear brother, Luther? I was the one who killed him." With a startled grasp from the crowd, Ricky continued to torment the other. "I was the one who forced him to face the Saber-toothed Tiger and when he almost survived that," With a dramatic pause, Ricky faced the shocked and appalled face of Dustin and his eyes twinkled with malicious intent. "I broke his neck and finished the job."

Finishing his spiel, Ricky did not have to wait for the violent reactions from the crowd formed around them. Even Dustin's face had taken an ashy and pale hue, clearly astonished by the information just presented to him.

The disciples held their deepening fear and increasing anxiety in their hearts. Moreover, their spirits could not bear to face the man directly, as they chose to look anywhere but the mad man's eyes.

"It was him after all!" They all whisper-shouted surreptitiously. With a sudden realization, the disciples gasped as they connecte

a nuisance to his duties.

The Elder stared straight ahead with an indifferent expression, not even a single shred of regret in his body as he felt no concern for both of them.

"He must die by my hand!"

A ferocious shout by Ricky suddenly cut through the arena, and the uproar of the crowd fueled his passion and intent to kill.

"I will mourn for my brother," Dustin then pointed at Ricky with his finger before continuing. "By removing his head."

The other man replied with just as much ferocity as Ricky.

With the clear challenge from Dustin, Ricky grins maliciously and steps into place. Then came the Elder Abbott's pronouncement, "Well you may begin now!" As the rules of the Death Arena were made well-aware for everyone situated in the area, there was no mistake to be made: the winner would live, and the loser would die. There were no exceptions to the rules and no one was above it. Breathing deeply, Elder Abbott practically sensed the intense amount of rage building up inside the two fighters, as well as the oh-so desperate intent to kill and to shed blood upon the ground of the arena. With the rising tension between the two, the Elder made a move to exit the arena for the deadly match to finally begin.

Another disorienting sound came from the main ground, which signalled that the fight had indeed started.

Without further ado, the two daring combatants aimed for each other in an instant to decapitate the other.

"Go!"

"Go!"

For a moment, only a flurry of movement could be seen from both men due to their agile and magically fast attacks. The audience below cheered even louder, clearly enjoying the battle between two highly-skilled individuals in their attempt to overpower the other.

"Fierce tiger power! Whiz Fist!" Ricky yelled, engaged with his power.

Confidently carrying an effective move, Ricky discharged his strongest punch as he was now expectant of the skills of such a formidable opponent like Dustin. Furthermore, he held nothing back from his attack, the intent to hurt and kill was high on his priority list when it came to the other man. As Ricky was impulsive and often showed recklessness, the idea of reservation was a foreign concept to him.

Amidst the chaos of his assail, he tried his best to land a punch directly on Dustin's face, which was just about to make the other groan in pain. An observable aura of tiger shadows from his spiritual energy completely surrounded his body and he felt as if he was invincible.

On the other hand, Dustin was just as focused on crashing his attacks on Ricky. The spectators could be heard gasping and shouting loudly at the match going on, for the two showcased spectacular skill in combat battle, as well as being able to defend their bodies from the onslaught of offensive magic.

"Bone Crashing Palm-----three palms in one!" Dustin howled while he deployed his special move.

In that moment, Dustin wielded three dark hand prints that hovered above the air ominously. With a victorious smirk, the three hand prints merged right in front of their faces, glowing with dark energy.

With their attacks happening simultaneously towards each other, a heavy bellow was heard which brought the battle to a momentary standstill. The crowd went silent before getting louder than they had ever been. The two fighters resumed to duel, with seemingly no end in sight.