20 Third Phase

\"4 black coins, that's 400 golden coins!!!\"

\"Arger Dal wasn't kidding at all when he said 'the prize this time is more plentiful than ever before'!\"

\"Although only the first place will win the money, the prize is like the accumulated prizes of two previous tournaments!\"

\"Oh dammit! Why didn't I convinced my cousin to participate in the tournament?!\"

The public fervently exclaimed.

On the southern seats, the participants glared at each other, their eyes burning with the desire to get savage.

Rose was clenching her fists, a very serious expression on her face. She made her Complex Energy reach Thorn's ears and activated her Awakened Skill.

\"Win, even if to do so you have to break through your current level of shamelessness.\" Her voice clear and firm.

After hearing this, Thorn was taken aback. He turned his head to look at her, and his eyes met her solemn gaze. At that moment, he smiled, firmly nodded at her, and casually said \"That money is already yours, boss!\"

Lenna Zelu ascended and instructed: \"Participants, get on the arena!\"

In no time, Harl Rora, Chloe Tara, Eli Bullo, Allen Bullo, Derek Niun, Jef Ter, Huns Luna, Cure Song, Berean Drunnel and Thorn each stood on a different small platform separated by the water of the artificial lake.

Their postures and expressions showed how ready they were to fight.

The master of ceremonies got out of the combat area, and roared lifting up her fists: \"Let the final battle begin!\"

After which, every one of the competitors made their move at the same time.

Jef Ter unhesitatingly nose-dived into the lake with a splash. Eli Bullo and Allen Bullo jumped toward an empty platform which was between the two of them. Chloe Tara shot toward Harl Rora, shield pointed at him. Harl Rora used all the energy minerals and zenaniums from his backpack to completely cover himself, he basically took the appearance of a metallic golem. Derek Niun ferociously jumped toward Thorn. Huns Luna made 31 clones and flew with them in the direction of the Bullo twins. Cure Song and Berean Drunnel headed toward the Bullo twins as well. As for Thorn, he just created a powerful wind barrier around his body.

Chloe Tara heavily struck Harl Rora with her shield and he shot like a cannonball toward the Bullo twins.

Standing on the same platform, the Bullo twins didn't even blink at the fact that they had become the target of so many participants. They calmly smiled as they took a combat stance. Eli Bullo used her right hand to blast a terrific column of burning light toward the incoming Harl Rora, and used her left hand to blast a similar column toward the incoming harpies. Allen Bullo invoked the darkness to surround himself and his sister.

Feeling the approaching aura of Derek Niun, Thorn thought: (Going after me this soon? That's not good, I would prefer to face you when you are at least a little psychologically tired.) He then disappeared and reappeared a dozen meters above the lake surface.

*Bum!*

Derek Niun landed with a great momentum onto the platform Thorn had just been standing on as he cast his ferocious glare at the slippery fellow.

Thorn playful smiled at him and said: \"Someone so slow doesn't have the right to touch me.\" He then flew toward where most participants where at.

\"Challenge accepted!\" Derek Niun bellowed as his feet leaped in Thorn's direction.

\"Aaaaahh…!\" Harl Rora shrieked out as the burning heat of Eli Bullo's column of light passed through the thick layer of energy minerals and zenaniums that covered his body.

When the burning-golem-like Harl Rora was about to reach the Bullo twins, Allen Bullo's darkness hit him changing his direction.

Eli Bullo now used both hands to shot columns of light toward Huns Luna's clones.

\"Arg…!\"

\"Anmm…!\"

\"Aaahh…!\"

One by one, Huns Luna's clones were falling and disappearing.

Eli Bullo's columns of light were so fast and powerful that, in a second, half the clones were already gone.

The harpy didn't stop creating clones, and she in conjunction with her clones started to send wind blasts toward the Bullo twins. However, those attacks were instantly devoured by Allen Bullo's darkness the moment they touched it.

At that instant, Chloe Tara, Cure Song and Berean Drunnel reached the twins' platform, and began their assault. Chloe Tara slashed at Eli Bullo. Cure Song's speed burst while he punched at Allen Bullo. Berean Drunnel's hands shot toward the two twins with the intention of throwing them into the lake.

It was since long ago that Allen Bullo had been prepared to receive this three guests. An instant before the three attacks came into motion, his darkness had already erupted out.

The attacks collided with the darkness and were stopped like rain striking earth.

At the same time, the darkness disintegrated the surface of Cure Song's right armguard, Chloe Tara's sword and Berean Drunnel's armor with little to no effort.

The three of them immediately retreated and looked down at the disintegrated parts in amazement. They could hardly believe how strong Allen Bullo's darkness actually was!

*Punmp*

An instant later, Berean Drunnel slumped over the platform, unconscious.

When Chloe Tara and Cure Song looked over at him in confusion, they discovered that the armor around his fists was totally disintegrated and blood was oozing out of his knuckles.

His armor was too thin, and the poison in the darkness had reached him rendering him unconscious!

In the next instant, water devoured Berean Drunnel, and transported him to the side of the middle-aged blue-skinned gargoyle Captain Fou Tre. It was evident that Fou Tre was a Water Element Awakened Skill user, and that he had already stepped into the Control of the Skill understanding degree.

Harl Rora was standing on a pile of energy minerals and zenaniums, his face unsightly. He had somehow managed to activate his Earth Element Awakened Skill to alter the materials he had on his body to create an improvised boat while he was in midair. He looked with rage at Chloe Tara and the Bullo twins. Without hesitation, he led his boat toward them.

While Chloe Tara and Cure Song were at a loss, Thorn descended besides them and began to glide around through the wind, his smile as carefree as it could get. After which, Derek Niun descended besides them as well, and continued pursuing Thorn.

\"Aaahh…!\"

Huns Luna's painful scream echoed out. A column of light had just reached her. Inevitably, she fell unconscious and was carried away by the Captain Fou Tre.

Eli Bullo then turned her abyssal black eyes to Chloe Tara and Cure Song.

They shivered in fright after seeing such menacing glare.

But before Eli Bullo could attack them, all of a sudden, a gigantic water column descended over the entire platform!

It was Jef Ter! He had been patiently waiting for an opportunity to strike and that opportunity was now when most of the participants were on the same platform.

But the participants who had reached the third phase weren't pushovers.

Allen Bullo reacted extremely quickly and used his darkness to protect himself and his sister. Chloe Tara stabbed her sword on the platform and used her shield to cover herself up. Derek Niun just activated his Absolute Reflect skill and the water just bounced off his barrier. Thorn didn't do much, he had already had a powerful wind barrier around him which protected him from the water quite efficiently. As for Cure Song, he hadn't had a countermeasure against such a sudden attack and ended up being dragged into the lake.

The water column slowly dissipated.

It was at that moment when Harl Rora arrived, he stretched out his tiny hand, grabbed the platform, and activated his Link Control Racial Skill. Then, with cracking sounds, the platform shattered into thousands of small pieces.

After this, the goblin tried to escape as quickly as he could; but before he could go too far, Chloe Tara reached his improvised boat in a single leap.

After the shattering of the platform; Allen Bullo grabbed his sister and made a small platform of darkness under his feet, Derek Niun constantly jumped against the water surface to avoid sinking, and Thorn just flew about.

In the depths of the lake, Cure Song began to swim upward like an expert; however, before he could move for too long, water bullets assaulted him. After two bullets reached and wounded him, he used his speed boost to shoot toward his assailant: Jef Ter.

In the arms of her brother, Eli Bullo began to attack Thorn with columns of light.

Thanks to the fact that Eli Bullo couldn't aim perfectly due to her brother's unsteady footing and her awkward position, Thorn was able to dodge her attacks.

\"Hey, hey, hey! She is mine to take down!\" Derek Niun bellowed as he jumped toward the Bullo twins.

At that point in time, Chloe Tara was fighting with Harl Rora on the boat of energy minerals and zenaniums. Harl Rora constantly altered the boat to break Chloe Tara balance while he threw at her metallic bullets. Chloe Tara cut those bullets with ease. And shortly after, she became more proficient fighting on such terrain, which allowed her to finally close in Harl Rora. Without saying a word, she mercilessly struck his head with her shield. The blow sent him flying away; and, in midair, he lost consciousness pathetically.

A giant wave then brought Harl Rora out of the combat area.

Inside the lake, Cure Song continued pursuing Jef Ter as he became aware of the fact that he wouldn't be able to catch him. Their speeds within the lake were almost equals! He couldn't let this persecution go on because he would run out of oxygen. So, he reluctantly gave in and got out of the water.

Seeing Cure Song actions, Jef Ter heaved a sigh of relieve. He had never thought Cure Song would be so quick under water. Only after using all his capabilities and concentration had he managed to barely reach just his same level of speed. After some thought, Jef Ter decided on his next opponent, and headed toward Chloe Tara.

Allen Bullo frowned deeply at the incoming Derek Niun as he erected a big barrier of darkness in front of him and moved the platform under his feet backward.

Not showing any concern, Derek Niun let his entire body collide against that spine-chilling darkness. Impressively, he wasn't stopped at all, and passed through the barrier as easily as passing through a thin curtain of water. The reflect barrier around Derek Niun's body was just too useful!

He soon caught up with the Bullo twins and unhesitatingly punched at Eli Bullo. His reflect-barrier-covered fist broke every defense and resoundingly hit her head.

Eli Bullo flew out of Allen Bullo's arms spraying blood out of her head, and lost consciousness.

Derek Niun's strike was twice as strong as a normal strike because his punch not only had the 'action', but, thanks to his reflect barrier, it also contained the 'reaction' force as attacking force.

\"Aaahh!!\" Allen Bullo cried out in rage, but before he could do anything else, Derek Niun punched his head too.

Flying away, Allen Bullo fainted.

Both twins then got carried out of the combat area by Captain Fou Tre.

Thorn looked over at Derek Niun and chuckled. \"Slow boy.\" Immediately after, he flew away.

A vein popped out in Derek Niun's forehead. He muttered gnashing his teeth: \"Your plan is too stupid. With so few opponents, there's no way I'll get tired before I kick your flat ass.\" And he proceed with the persecution.

Chloe Tara stood lazily, trying to select a suitable opponent to attack; and then, all of a sudden, the water around her came bursting out of the lake and devoured her along the small boat.

She didn't panic and just calmly looked at Jef Ter. (He'll do just fine.) She thought.

But then, she froze. Jef Ter had, in an instant, transported behind her. When she turned her head, the only thing she saw was an incoming fist.

Jef Ter's fist landed heavily on Chloe Tara's face. The punch didn't just have Jef Ter's raw strength, it also possessed the impulse of the water controlled by his Awakened Skill, but that wasn't all, it also contained the immense weight of his Weight Powering ability activated by his Monster Powering Racial Skill.

The crushing strike sent Chloe Tara directly to the bottom of the artificial lake.

When her body roughly hit that bottom, she was already unconscious.

Captain Fou Tre could clearly see what was going on inside the water, so he brought Chloe Tara's body to his side.

After noticing that there was only three remaining opponents to defeat, Thorn's gaze turned serious. (Let's begin.) He thought as he began to rotate an immense current of wind around Jef Ter.

At first, the moving wind didn't seem like much, but gradually it took the shape of a furious hurricane!

This scene startled Derek Niun, Cure Song and Jef Ter. It was the Wind Technique: Tornado!

The water was forced to open up, revealing a paralyzed Jef Ter.

Without warning, a rain of wind bullets fell upon his head.

\"Arhhggg…!!\" Jef Ter's scream loudly echoed out, but after a single second, it ceased. Jef Ter was now unconscious.

Following which, his body disappeared in a current of water.

Thorn turned his back to the hurricane, and looked at Cure Song with a wide smile. \"I got you.\" He joyful said.

\"Ehh..?\" Perplexed, Cure Song involuntary muttered. His body then floated toward thorn's position. \"Oh, damn it!\" He cursed after understanding that he had let Thorn's wind catch him.

It didn't matter how quickly Cure Song could move, he still wouldn't be able to escape the grip of the wind.

Thorn put Cure Song in front of him and magnanimously asked: \"Would you like to surrender? Or would you prefer to be knocked out by me?\"

Cure Song decisively answered: \"The second option; and please, make it as painful as you can. Just to shake off some of my carelessness.\"

\"Hahaha…!\" Thorn couldn't help but laugh out loud. \"You are an interesting fellow!\" He complimented as he threw him toward a small platform.

*Boom!*

Thorn didn't stop, he heartily continued smashing him against different platforms.

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

.

.

.

Soon, blood covered every single small platform, and yet Thorn earnestly continued with the thrashing.

The spectators were left flabbergasted.

(Why do you have to take his words so seriously?!)

(Have some mercy for heaven's sake!)

(Goddammit! She is so cute when abusing someone!)

These were some of their thoughts.

A few moments later, Thorn finally stopped and let Captain Fou Tre retire Cure Song's bloody and unconscious body.

Derek Niun looked over at Thorn, cold sweat flowing down his back. He had never thought that a Wind Element Awakened Skill user could be this terrific. With some difficult, he calmed himself down and thought: (It doesn't matter. In the end, his wind will never be able to touch me!)

\"Hey, do you want to see who can last longer?\" Thorn suddenly asked him, a confident smile on his face.

Derek Niun instantly understood his intentions, so he bellowed: \"Bring it on!\"

Thorn closed his eyes, took a deep breath and made thousands of wind bullets around Derek Niun's body.

The bullets then battered Derek Niun's barrier at the same time; still, every single one of them was reflected with ease.

Only now did Thorn open his eyes. He handsomely smiled; and then, all of a sudden, screamed out clenching his fists: \"Aaaahh…!!!\"

Along with the war cry, more wind bullets appeared; this time, however, there were tens of thousands of them!

The bullets once again assaulted the reflect barrier.

But then, just after the bullets shot, another batch of tens of thousands bullets appeared, and they also shot toward Derek Niun. It wasn't the end, soon, another batch of bullets followed, and then another, and another, and another; there wasn't an end to it, the bullets just continued appearing as though they were endless.

Every single witnesses of this scene trembled. (Even if one's understanding degree reached the Final-Star Control of the Skill, is it really possible to muster such insane attack that could bring down an entire army of cultivators of one's same cultivation base?!)

Derek Niun was using his Complex Energy like a madman. Just by doing so his barrier was able to support such barrage. Cold sweat ran through his spine; he knew very well that if his barrier was shattered, he would be reduced to a meat paste in an instant. (She is going too far! Moreover, how come she can do this?! How could she use this much Complex Energy at the same time?! I never heard about such a ridiculous thing!) He complained clenching his teeth.

And then, Thorn's war cry became even louder: \"AAAAAAHHH….!!!\"

After that, something incredible happened: behind Derek Niun, in his blind spot, ten thousand wind bullets appeared forming a straight line, even though the rain of wind bullets didn't stop in the slightest!

The spectators gaped in utter shock.

The ten thousand bullets shot toward Derek Niun as one. It was like a gigantic spear that could pierce through any defense. It instantly struck the reflect barrier at the back of Derek Niun's head.

At that moment, Derek Niun's pupils dilated as he felt a single overpowered wind bullet penetrating his reflect barrier. And then, he only saw darkness.

Just when everyone was thinking that Derek Niun was going to be turned into minced meat, the wind bullets disappeared in a puff.

*Punmp!*

Thorn fell over a small platform, completely exhausted. He didn't even have enough Complex Energy to fly.

From the beginning, he wasn't planning on letting the battle become a battle of attrition where only the one with the highest reserve of Complex Energy would win, and in actually, he was planning on ending the combat as quickly as possible. To do so, he needed to make his opponent distribute his Complex Energy to a great area so the barrier couldn't get too thick, and then he just had to attack a single point with all his remaining strength.