Eventually, the other disciples at the premium stage of King Level began leaving one by one. Truman was one of the first to go. Goliath cast a glance towards Zachary, and then left as well.
Meanwhile, Katrina went to speak with Queenie, Rebecca, and Scott. The four of them stood together as Zachary flew towards them.
"What magical opportunities did you encounter in the Dark Prison?" Queenie demanded. She had mostly recovered from her injury.
"You'll see for yourself once you go to the Dark Prison," Zachary said with a grin.
"Great job! The big shots at Shura College were all shocked by your performance!" Katrina told Zachary. She looked very pleased.
"Sure, sure," Zachary said indifferently. He found it hard to take the praise seriously.
"I think Harley will win the strength contest too. Goliath is quite strong, but I'd say Harley is just a tad stronger than him," Rebecca said. Having fought against Goliath earlier, she was familiar with his level of strength, and knew he was quite powerful. But she had also watched Zachary defeat Truman and Anthony in a single move. She had seen the disciples at the premium stage of King Level withdraw from the contest due to Zachary's strength. He was perhaps the strongest among the disciples at the King Level, and thus, even Goliath might be no match for him.
"I wouldn't say for certain whether I can beat him or not. Goliath seems to have some hidden strength of his own," Zachary said, looking thoughtful.
Queenie, Rebecca, and Scott all turned to look at him with surprise.
"What do you mean by that?" Katrina asked, frowning. She was surprised too, and curious as to what he meant.
"You'll know when the time comes," Zachary said mysteriously. With that, he left them.
"Master Katrina, it seems that Harley is becoming more and more enigmatic. He just loves to keep secrets," Queenie complained, looking after Zachary's receding figure.
"That's who he is," Katrina replied. By now, she was used to Zachary's perplexing way of doing things.
With Zachary gone, Katrina and the three disciples left as well.
When everyone had gone, something stirred in the ruins. It was a figure covered with blood, crawling out of the pile of messy stones on the ground. He looked disheveled and seemed to be seriously injured. He had a ferocious expression on his face. Blue veins stood out on his temples as he cried, "Harley Bai! I will kill you! You're doomed!"
The news of Zachary's strength spread quickly throughout Shura College. Everyone whispered abo
turned out to watch the contest. The members of senior management were there as well, including Marvin.
Representatives of major clans and sects were also present to watch the battle. Many of them were Sage Level warriors. Jaxon and Holy Phoenix were in the crowd, having arrived early to secure good seats. They sat in separate sections of the audience, wearing looks of anticipation.
Most of the people in the audience had already made their predictions about the outcome of the battle. Zachary's outstanding performance had won him a dedicated and vocal fan base, who told anybody that Zachary was going to win it all.
Unlike Zachary, Goliath had not made any waves in the contest. Because he was a relative nobody. Everyone believed he was just one more obstacle for Zachary to conquer on his way to victory.
As a matter of fact, before the strength contest had started, there was nobody in the audience who had thought that Zachary and Goliath would end up being the final two competitors. There was an air of suspense in the crowd as everyone waited excitedly for one of the most anticipated battles in recent memory.
Zachary and Goliath stood face to face in the arena, sizing each other up.
"I never thought you would be my final opponent," Goliath admitted. He studied Zachary. From the moment he first saw him, he had sensed that there was something different about him; still, he had been as surprised as everyone by Zachary's unexpected display of power in the first stage of the strength contest.
"Same to you. You must be stronger than you look," Zachary said, smirking.
"I won't show any mercy," Goliath warned. He wore an arrogant and confident expression.