Seeing Hugh's unwillingness to accept defeat, Fly dismissed his Beast Totem and walked towards him.

  "Hugh."

  "I saw your courage."

  "You are indeed very strong!"

  "If you had faced any other contestant, you might have had a fighting chance."

  "It's just a pity... you met me."

  "Cheer up. There's always next time."

  Although Hugh was a freshman from Merit Academy and his opponent in this match, the courage and responsibility he displayed had earned Fly's deep respect.

  Moreover, Hugh's Beast Totem, the artificially mutated Primal Species Sarcosuchus, was truly no small matter. If Fly hadn't dodged that initial full-power strike, Sarcosuchus Bite, and had chosen to take it head-on instead, he wasn't sure what the outcome would have been.

  Over the next four years of high school, if Merit Academy poured resources into cultivating him, given Hugh's talent and hard work, no one could say for sure what heights he might reach.

  Perhaps he would even enter one of The Tulip League's Eight Elite Universities with excellent grades!

  Fly even suspected that if Hugh's opponent hadn't been him, but rather the one-armed 'Emperor' Valerius...

  Hugh might have had a very good chance of winning.

  As for Jett... well, he probably would have been soundly beaten by Hugh.

  "Hm?" Hugh lifted his tear-filled eyes and looked at Fly in surprise. He truly hadn't expected Fly to say such things. He had thought Fly was coming over to humiliate him thoroughly.

  It seemed he had

  "Thank you, Fly! After I go back, I will train hard. One day, I will challenge you again and defeat you!"

  Hugh composed himself, slowly stood up, and looked at Fly with burning eyes, speaking with firm determination.

  The two locked gazes for a long moment, and smiles involuntarily appeared on both their faces.

  "Alright, I'll be waiting!"

  The two young men clasped hands tightly, like old friends cherishing each other's company.

  Seeing this scene, commentator Jude couldn't help but be moved.

  "Although the winner of this match is Fly, Hugh has indeed shown ample courage and strength."

  "He is worthy of the title of Merit Academy's number one freshman!"

  "Let us give a round of the warmest applause for the brave Beast Warrior, Hugh!"

  Encouraged by Jude, thunderous applause erupted throughout the stadium.

  "Although two freshmen from Merit Academy chose to forfeit, judging by the final result, even if they had all fought, it wouldn't have changed the outcome. Fly definitely has the strength to sweep all four opponents by himself," commentator Leah added.

  While she respected Hugh's courage, deep down, she liked Fly more.

  In her opinion, even if all of Merit Academy's freshmen had attacked together, they probably wouldn't have been Fly's match.

  "Fly truly lives up to his name as the strongest freshman at Star City High!"

  "I feel like I'm witnessing the birth of a legend!"

  Leah said, her voice trembling with excitement.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "Indeed. It's been a long time since Star City has seen a Beast Warrior as exciting as Fly, not since Lysander Thorne."

  "However, the competition continues. Let's turn our attention back to the arena. Next up is the clash between Ironpeak Academy and Concord High."

  Jude skillfully directed the audience's attention back to the upcoming match.

  Meanwhile...

  As soon as Fly returned to the rest area, he was met with an "enthusiastic" reception from Dean Sterling and the others.

  "Well done, you show-off! You really hogged all the spotlight this time."

  'Emperor' Valerius punched Fly lightly on the chest, speaking with feigned ferocity.

  "Next match, you are not allowed to go first!"

  'Emperor' Valerius had come to this Freshman Invitational intending to make a big splash. But as it turned out, with Fly's performance, he had been reduced to mere background foliage...

  No, even foliage gets some screen time, right?

  Someone like Hugh, that's what you call foliage!

  Good grief, once the match started, he had sat in the rest area until every single Merit Academy freshman was eliminated!

  Moreover...

  Fly's improvement in strength had also shocked 'Emperor' Valerius to his core.

  Valerius had been present during the practical combat class earlier, when Fly was sparring with Dean Sterling. He clearly remembered that while Fly was strong then, it was still within his expectations.

  But just now on the stage, the speed Fly had displayed was something his eyes could barely track.

  How much time had passed since then?

  Was it because of that Grade-Two Aqua-Marrow Cleansing Pill he gave him?

  But as the second son of the Tarantino family, Valerius used plenty of pills himself, and he had never seen such terrifying progress!

  With his current combat power, never mind a second-rate school like Merit Academy.

  Even if he faced Ironpeak Academy, he could probably sweep all four of them by himself, couldn't he?

  If Fly continued to lead the charge in the next match, Valerius feared he wouldn't get a single chance to step onto the stage.

  Then, all the credit would go to Fly, and he would be seen as a freeloader riding on Fly's coattails.

  'Emperor' Valerius could already imagine how the Star City High campus forums would gossip about him.

  "Valerius..." Seeing the tension in the air, Jett wanted to step in and smooth things over. But before he could finish his sentence, he was met with a cold glare from Valerius.

  "Do I look like someone you can address by name?" Valerius had never liked Jett to begin with.

  In Valerius's eyes, if Jett hadn't used his family connections, he wouldn't even be qualified to participate in the Freshman Invitational alongside him.

  "Uh, Mr. Valerius," Jett scratched his head with an awkward laugh. "Sorry."

  "What I wanted to say is..."

  "Fly," Jett turned to Fly, "we all know you're strong."

  In reality, seeing Fly's performance on stage just now, Jett was completely dumbfounded.

  As someone who had fought Fly on the first day of school, Fly's terrifying strength was deeply etched in his mind.

  That horrific attack in the darkness had even caused him to wake up from nightmares for several days straight.

  But the Fly of today was clearly transformed compared to back then. His speed, power, and judgment of the situation... he was even better than Jett's own father, who had run a dojo for years.

  Such formidable skill...

  In Jett's eyes, no freshman in all of Star City would be Fly's match!

  If Fly continued to lead the charge, then they really might not have to do anything at all, just sit back and wait for victory.

  "Fly, could you at least consider us and let us have a chance to perform too?" Jett pleaded.

  Genevieve, standing to the side, looked indifferent.

  She didn't have a strong desire to show off. They were all one team; as long as they won in the end, that was fine. As for who fought and who didn't, in her eyes, it didn't matter.

  "Valerius and Jett are right," Dean Sterling chimed in, speaking to Fly with earnest gravity.

  "You are a team, a whole unit. Perhaps the contestants from Merit Academy were weak, and you could easily defeat them with your strength alone. But the world is vast. Sooner or later, you will encounter stronger opponents. When that time comes, you will understand that individual strength is insignificant in the face of a united front."

  "So, Fly, in the next match, you will be the last to go out."

  With that, Dean Sterling pushed up his glasses, his tone leaving no room for argument.

  There were fifty states in the country, and thousands of cities. Star City was just one of them.

  Fly might be considered a top genius in Star City, but looking at the whole state, he might not necessarily be the strongest freshman Beast Warrior.

  If Fly didn't realize the importance of teamwork soon, he would suffer a great loss sooner or later.

  Especially when he eventually encountered Beast Warriors as talented as himself.

  However, Fly wasn't thinking that far ahead.

  All he wanted was to win the competition quickly and get his hands on that prize money.

  "Fine, fine, fine," Fly nodded, agreeing readily.

  ...

  Discussion over, everyone's attention turned back to the screen in the rest room, beginning to observe the match between Ironpeak Academy and Concord High.

  However...

  Although Concord High was also one of the "Star City Big Four," their overall strength was far inferior to Ironpeak Academy.

  Before Gideon King could even make an appearance, all four freshmen from Concord High had already been defeated.

  "As expected..." Dean Sterling sighed helplessly.

  He wasn't surprised by the result, only that the freshmen of Concord High hadn't even managed to force Gideon King onto the field.

  "I was hoping they could wear Gideon King down a bit, and give us a chance to observe his strength," Dean Sterling said with resignation. "Now it seems Ironpeak Academy's overall strength is greater than I anticipated."

  "Next up, you all need to be careful!"

  Dean Sterling said seriously to the Star City High freshmen.