"Artificially induced mutation?"

  Fly looked Hugh's Beast Totem up and down.

  "Interesting."

  Since Hugh was the captain of the Merit Academy team, he must be the number one freshman of his school, just like Fly.

  Although Merit Academy couldn't compare to the top two powerhouses in terms of strength, as one of the four high schools qualified for the Freshman Invitational, they naturally wanted to make a mark in the competition.

  At the very least, they needed to put on a good show for the city leaders. Even if they lost, they had to show their spirit, hoping to gain some leverage in the negotiations for next year's education funding.

  Seen in this light, it wasn't strange that Merit Academy had used a vast amount of resources to help mutate Hugh's Beast Totem.

  Of course...

  Having a powerful Beast Totem wasn't enough; Hugh himself needed to possess sufficient ability. The more rare and powerful a Beast Totem was, the harder it was to cultivate. If the Beast Warrior didn't have the matching capability, their progress would be negligible.

  And in terms of personal talent and strength, Hugh was clearly not lacking.

  His strength and talent were originally enough to get him into Star City High or Ironpeak Academy. He had simply weighed the pros and cons and chosen Merit Academy, which was willing to pour all its resources into cultivating him.

  And now, even when his teammates had chosen to forfeit one after another, he still chose to fight for the dignity of a Beast Warrior and the honor of Merit Academy. That kind of mindset was truly rare.

  A Beast Warrior with such a mindset was bound to have a bright future.

  "Then, allow me to make the first move!"

  "Fly, watch out!"

  "HRAAAGH!"

  Hugh let out a furious roar and charged at Fly with incredible speed. With every step he took, the entire stage seemed to tremble.

  Hugh tensed his entire body, utilizing every ounce of his physical strength. He gathered all his power, aiming to deliver a full-force blow to Fly, intending to stake everything on this single attack.

  The next second...

  Hugh formed his fingers into a claw, building up momentum for a ferocious strike, and swiped viciously at Fly's head.

  "Skill—Sarcosuchus Bite!"

  In an instant, a phantom crocodile head materialized over Hugh's hand. The crocodile head opened its bloody maw, looking as if it wanted to swallow everything whole!

  It all happened in a flash!

  Just as Hugh's Skill was about to crash down onto Fly's head, Fly miraculously vanished into thin air!

  "Gone?" His strike hitting nothing but air, Hugh's eyes widened like headlights as he frantically searched for Fly.

  This was a full-power strike Hugh had been determined to land. He had originally imagined that even if he couldn't defeat Fly in one blow, he could at least cause some damage. But who could have known... he hadn't even touched a hair on Fly's head.

  A look of astonishment gradually deepened in Hugh's eyes.

  It wasn't just Hugh; even the audience on the sidelines, and even the commentators, hadn't reacted in time to see what had happened.

  But in the competitor's rest area, watching the broadcast feed, Dean Sterling smiled.

  Perhaps he was the only one who knew just how strong Fly had become after undergoing Marrow Cleansing and body tempering.

  A cockroach's speed allowed it to cover a distance equivalent to fifty times its body length in a single second. Converted to human scale, that speed could reach over 320 kilometers per hour—nearly ten times the speed of Usain Bolt!

  Fly's figure suddenly appeared behind Hugh.

  Gripping his black scythe, he unleashed a sweeping slash at Hugh!

  "Damn it! Croc-Skin Armor!"

  Hugh's reaction speed was also extremely fast. Seeing that he couldn't dodge, he activated his defensive Skill, attempting to withstand Fly's attack.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Hugh's skin rapidly thickened, turned grey, and became rough. From a distance, it looked as if he were wrapped in a layer of crocodile hide.

  Although Fly's steel scythe was fierce and unyielding, Hugh's Croc-Skin Armor was no pushover either. After taking the slash, a scratch appeared on the surface of the crocodile skin. Although blood seeped out, the wound was shallow; clearly, it hadn't reached the vitals.

  "Oh?" Fly was only momentarily surprised. He immediately increased his force, and a second attack followed right on the heels of the first!

  Fly delivered a backhanded vertical chop, followed immediately by a diagonal slash.

  The two strikes were so fast they gave Hugh absolutely no time to breathe. From a distance, it looked as if the two slashes had happened at the exact same moment.

  The sharp blades created a whistling sound as they tore through the air, and the black scythe's strikes carried semi-transparent shockwaves. The ferocious attacks landed with pinpoint accuracy on Hugh's body.

  Under Fly's assault, the seemingly impenetrable crocodile skin was torn open, leaving deep gashes.

  Blood sprayed from the two intersecting cuts, splashing into the air like a dancing crimson butterfly!

  Under the immense impact, Hugh was sent tumbling away.

  "Aaaagh!"

  A miserable scream echoed throughout the entire stadium, lingering in the air.

  "No!" Seeing their captain suffer such a heavy blow, the teammates in the Merit Academy rest area couldn't help but scream.

  Gavin, ignoring his own injuries, struggled to rush onto the field, but was firmly blocked by the security personnel maintaining order.

  "The match is in progress! No unauthorized personnel are allowed to interfere!"

  The security personnel were high-level Beast Warriors themselves, and Gavin was held back firmly, unable to rush the stage.

  On the stage.

  Fly's figure shot towards Hugh with extreme speed.

  The arena was a place to decide victory and defeat, not a place for mercy or sentimentality.

  As long as the opponent had not lost the ability to fight and had not surrendered, a Beast Warrior should give their all. This was respect for the opponent, and respect for the arena.

  In the instant Hugh struggled to get up, Fly was already beside him.

  Fly planted a foot on Hugh, pinning him to the ground.

  "Surrender!"

  "Never!"

  BAM— BAM—!

  Two more heavy blows. The black scythe stabbed ruthlessly down towards Hugh's body.

  "Enough!" The referee, Carlos, shouted upon seeing this. He flashed forward to stop Fly. In his eyes, this was no longer a duel, but a one-sided beating.

  In an instant, the black scythe in Fly's hand hovered to a halt, almost touching Hugh's throat. A trickle of crimson blood slowly flowed from Hugh's neck.

  It was clear that if Fly hadn't stopped in time, that scythe would have pierced straight through Hugh's throat.

  The entire stadium fell deathly silent. The audience made no sound.

  In the eyes of the spectators, this wasn't a duel anymore; it was pure domination.

  Even the experienced commentators, Jude and Leah, couldn't help but fall silent.

  No...

  It wasn't silence.

  More accurately, it was shock!

  Both of them stared wide-eyed, their mouths hanging open as if they were about to swallow an egg!

  The other contestants participating in the Freshman Invitational were also dumbfounded.

  Especially the contestants from Merit Academy.

  Hugh was the number one freshman at Merit Academy, their undisputed leader, the genius Beast Warrior cultivated with all the school's resources.

  In this Freshman Invitational, everyone had thought that even if they eventually lost, Hugh would at least shine brilliantly, telling everyone that Merit Academy was no weakling!

  But who could have known...

  Faced with Star City High's number one, Fly, Hugh would be crushed so unilaterally...

  "Did I see that right? Is it over already?"

  "It was practically an instant kill..."

  "Is this the strength of Star City High's number one?"

  "Is this guy really a freshman? He's not an upperclassman in disguise, is he?"

  "Big Brother Hugh!" Gavin shouted with all his might.

  ...

  On the other side, in the competitor's rest area, the freshmen from Ironpeak Academy also began to whisper amongst themselves.

  "This Fly is too monstrous. What's the point of us fighting? We might as well just surrender."

  "A Mythical Species... and that freakish strength, he's almost catching up to a level-three Beast Warrior. We're no match for him at all!"

  "It's fine, we still have Gideon King. His Beast Totem is also a Mythical Species."

  "That's right! With Big Brother Gideon here, we can definitely win!"

  Compared to the despair and helplessness of Merit Academy, the freshmen of Ironpeak Academy hadn't completely lost their fighting spirit.

  Although they didn't think their own strength could match Fly's, they knew very well...

  Gideon King was Ironpeak Academy's ace!

  Not only did he also possess a Mythical Species Beast Totem, but his mother was the Vice-Principal of Ironpeak, wielding immense influence within the school and securing him plenty of cultivation resources.

  Gideon King surely held many trump cards in his hand!

  As long as Gideon King was there, Ironpeak Academy had infinite hope!

  "Fly..."

  Gideon King's gaze narrowed slightly as he stared at the majestic figure of Fly on the stage.

  He had thought he was fully prepared, that this Freshman Invitational would be the stage where he slaughtered all opposition and made a name for himself. But he hadn't expected Fly's strength to far exceed his estimations...

  "Heh heh heh..."

  Gideon King let out a sinister laugh.

  "Interesting."

  "The stronger you are, the better. The stronger you are, the more excited I get."

  "Enjoy the joy of victory while you can! Later, I will make you taste the bitter fruit of defeat."

  "I will thoroughly trample you underfoot, and let everyone see clearly who is the true number one freshman in Star City! Who is truly worthy of this crown of glory!"

  "Seize the time to enjoy this final happiness."

  Gideon King turned around, hands in his pockets, and walked slowly towards the competitor's entrance tunnel. Without looking back, he said to his teammates, "Let's go. Stop looking. Go prepare for the match. It's Ironpeak Academy's turn to take the stage."

  ...

  Back on the stage.

  Fly looked down at Hugh, his scythe still hovering three inches from his throat.

  "I... surrender." Hugh gritted his teeth. His eyes grew wet, and two lines of hot tears rolled down his face.

  Although he wanted to get up and fight again, Fly's grim reaper-like black scythe was already aimed at his throat.

  No matter what move he made, Fly could strike first and pierce his throat.

  The gap in strength between them was like the distance between clouds and mud. He understood that he had lost, lost so thoroughly. From the very beginning... he had absolutely no chance of winning!

  "Is this the strength of Star City High's number one freshman?" he murmured, his eyes hollow.

  "Even though I had made up my mind to challenge the Eight Elite Universities of The Tulip League as Merit Academy's number one..."

  "I never expected that the gap between the number ones of different schools would be this immense."

  As Hugh thought this with bitter resignation, the two lines of tears on his face turned into a silent downpour...