n.o.body had expected Steve, who had always been among the last few places, would actually be able to defeat Sofia and contend for first place. After all, Sofia and Stuart were the strongest pair among the contenders.

The fact that Steve had now defeated Sofia was a true miracle. This was precisely why the crowd was so excited. Many of them revealed their amazement audibly.

"In the fight for first place, will Steve be able to defeat Stuart?"

"It is rumored that Stuart is stronger and has a higher level of cell activation than Sofia. Steve was able to defeat Sofia because he had better technique, although his actual skills were still weaker than Sofia's."

"So, Steve just might be able to create another miracle..."

Although most of the people present still felt that Steve could never defeat Stuart, they had to admit that it was already a miracle for Steve to have come this far. However, there was still a small group of people, who felt that Steve could defeat Stuart, but that the chance was still very slim.

After he rested for an hour, Steve's injuries were healed and the second battle began. In this battle, if Steve were to win, he would become the champion, leaving Stuart and Sofia to fight for second and third place.

In the ring, the Steve and Stuart stood facing each other.

"I never thought that such a useless person as you could become my opponent!" Stuart mocked. "I've got to admit that your luck is really good though, but you're still far from being able to defeat me."

Stuart continued, "You know, I've always wanted to defeat you with my own hands, thus taking back first place, which always should have belonged to me anyway. I've finally gotten the chance to fulfil my wish."

Stuart's smile then turned savage as he said, "Don't worry, I won't defeat you easily, I want to let you suffer first, so that you understand the true meaning of despair. You also need to see how big the distance is between you and me."

He had wanted to rip Steve apart for quite a long time. In fact, if it were not for the fact that he could not kill anyone in the ring, he would've probably tried to kill Steve with his bare hands!

Not only had Steve taken first place, which belonged to Stuart, Steve had also taken away all of the privileges and advantages that came with that position. He had even molested Sofia, whom Stuart really liked! This made him even more jealous.

"You're right, so I will let you understand how big of a gap there is between us." Steve said, smiling, "To defeat you, I only need one move."

"You dare to look down on me?!" Stuart was enraged.

Stuart knew that Steve's battle against Sofia had been hard-won, so he was surprised at how Steve would dare to be so arrogant as to try to defeat him with one move!

It was basically the same as saying that Stuart was inferior to Sofia! Besides, even he would not dare be so arrogant as to try to defeat Steve with one move!

"You can take it that way," Steve said, calmly.

Hearing this, Steve was even more furious. Tons of spectators also thought that Steve's words were too flippant, as no matter what, Stuart was still the generally acknowledged rightful owner of first place and its accompanying rewards.

However, since Steve had actually dared to belittle him, if Steve were to be unable to defeat Stuart with one move now, he would surely become a laughing stock.

"The compet.i.tion begins!"

Just as the words were uttered, Stuart catapulted into action, as he wanted to let Steve know just how big of a gap there was between them.

"Prepare to die!" Stuart growled, charging forward like a bull and piercing straight ahead with his glaive in hand.

His aura was imposing, and a strong cosmic force gathered at the tip of his glaive, as if it would explode at any moment. Upon seeing such a ferocious attack, the recruits' faces all turned ashen.

Stuart's surprising speed, paired with the force of impact, gained him an advantage in terms of technique and weaponry. As such, n.o.body among the recruits would have been able to block such an attack!

However, Steve's expression was calm, as if he had not seen Stuart's ferocious attack. Then, all of the sudden, Steve charged forward too, light glinting off the Blade of the Spirit Hunter, while the Glowing Swordplay conjured up afterimages of the sword, the two joining together in the end.

"Claw Storm Attack!" Steve shouted.

As he did so, a cloud of black and white gas gathered around the Blade of the Spirit Hunter, the tip of the blade suddenly increasing in length by 30 centimeters. Its sharp tip then sliced through the air.

Without a hint of avoidance, Steve stabbed at Stuart at this exact same time. Both of their attacks were about to clash together...

A hint of malice flashed across Stuart's face. He then shouted, "Idiot, did you think that I'd confront your weapon with the same force? Dexterous Wind!"

Whoos.h.!.+

A typhoon wrapped around the glaive, as Stuart's glaive spun suddenly, dodging Steve's Blade of the Spirit Hunter and piercing straight towards his chest. The Dexterous Wind gathered on the glaive and, like tiny knives, ripped forth, slas.h.i.+ng the clothes on Steve's chest into pieces.

Stuart could tell that the weapon that Steve held was strong. Hence, the moment they fought, he had used the Dexterous Wind to change the direction of the attack.

During this time, the glaive's added length came into good use, as it was now a lot longer than Steve's Blade of the Spirit Hunter. As such, the glaive could reach Steve and pierce through his chest!

However, Steve had already predicted that Stuart would try that, so even before the compet.i.tion started, Steve had completed Stuart's 3D model. Including the fact that his level of cell activation was at 73% and he had mastered all four types of F-grade techniques, he had been able to figure everything out. Therefore, in the moment that Stuart changed his attacking direction, the 3D model of Stuart in his mind had already predicted his next attack.

"Traveler's Boots!"

"Claw Storm Attack!"

Steve shouted, then sped up all of the sudden, his nails lengthening and becoming as strong as steel. His mutated hand suddenly grabbed at the glaive, then shouted, "Watch as I chop off your hand!"

Viciousness flashed across Stuart's eyes, while the glaive moved upwards. He not only wanted to pierce through Steve's chest, but desired to chop off his arm as well!

Clang Clang Clang…

But, as Steve's hand collided with the glaive, sparks flew and his claws managed to scratch the glaive instead, sending it flying off to the side.

"How could your hand be stronger than steel?" Stuart exclaimed.

Steve had waited too long for this moment. In fact, he had hidden the Claw Storm Attack for so long, just for the sake of utilizing it at this moment.

"Dark Shadow!" he shouted.

The speed of the Blade of the Spirit Hunter increased by 10%, sweeping into afterimages. The sharp aura sliced the air apart, causing ripping sounds to resonate throughout the entire s.p.a.ce.