"Match 6, Dean Forst vs. Blaine Decker."

A loud shout ringed through everyone's ear.

It was already ten minutes after the previous match and they were still unattentive and rambling about.

However, when the referee announced the participants for the next match, they knew to keep quiet and let the competition go on.

In the waiting section for the participants, Jake sat with his eyes closed.

He laid on a row of seats since they were not many people left after the completion of four matches, which eliminated exactly five(5) participants.

So, Jake had a row to himself. No one worried about him as they instead focused on planning their battles.

Jake was the only one that didn't need to go to the med bay. He had eliminated his opponent in a very easy manner, with little to no injuries.

It was not an exaggeration to say that Jake had already built his own reputation. This could be seen from the way no one bothered about him, or rather, they were too scared to bother.

Such was a natural reaction and also what Jake wanted. In that way, he would have a peaceful state of mind.

It was similar to the concept of a scarecrow.

They were decoys used by farmers to scare off birds from eating their crops. They were extremely harmless and non-living, yet the birds were always scared of them.

Likewise, while Jake wasn't harmless, as he was in a governed and systemized territory, he could not go above the law. He couldn't kill wantonly.

Yet, most of the participants didn't think of that. In contrast, they kept on imagining what would happen if they crossed him, and that imagination turned into fear. They became locked in a self-inflicted illusion.

'Such a sad life,' Jake sighed.

It was worth knowing that this hidden "mind" dilemma could only be observed from a different perspective.

To the subject of the experience, they would think of it as a reaction, a natural reaction. When in fact, it wasn't, it was merely a product of their imagination.

This study was extremely interesting to Jake.

It was reflected in psychology theories, and Jake absolutely loved psychology.

It was a very undermined aspect in life as people tend to not believe it.

However, it was extremely useful if one knows how to implement the topics learned underneath it.

For example, hypnosis. Some psychologists in Jake's previous world were very proficient in the art of covert hypnosis.

Just like what Jake did know, they could hypnotize someone without their knowledge.

Jake had tried to master this art, but it took decades to master so he gave up due to his strict time, but he always regretted it years later.

The thing about hypnosis was that it was just a suggestion, be it verbal or not. It was a suggestion to the brain, not seduction!

Just implementing part of its principles would enable one to manipulate someone like a doll.

Jake was in love with subjects that involved the mind. He remembered one of his previous favorite words were, "The mind is limitless."

Anyway, Jake opened his eyes when the participant for the next match had already gone upstage.

Before he planned to take a nap, but he dismissed that plan. It was way better to assess his future opponents.

"Hmmm...this should be rather easy," commented Jake as he watched the sixth match.

Just like he said, it was rather easy to conclude the winner of the match.

Although it was normally stupid to judge a book by its cover, such a situation did not apply here. Most of the participants have shown bits of themselves, so it would be easy to assess them in their second fights.

That was the case here!

Dean Forst was one that could go toe-to-toe with Cheyenne Aztec. Besides, he was in [Realm-2], which the highest cultivation base in the competition, currently.

His opponent was Blaine Decker, a [Realm-1 Stage-4] cultivator. She hadn't even mastered her family technique yet due to her poor strength.

So, it seemed like the match was set in the stone, except if a miracle happened.

"Match-6, Start!"

Just like Jake expected, Dean took charge of the battle.

He didn't use any technique or energy, but only his brute strength to pressure Blaine.

It didn't take more than a minute before Dean utterly decimated his opponent with a lot of fast punches, and the match came to an end after Blaine forfeited.

"Match 6, End!"

Jake mentally shook his head at the concluded battle.

While it was understandable for Blaine to lose, her performance was extremely lackluster, just like the expression on Dean's face.

Jake reckoned that Blaine could have at least made the battle more interesting to watch.

He wondered if her poor result was due to her low morale or it was just her pitiful combat ability.

He was inclined to believe in the latter.

Jake sighed at the poor display and focused back on the stage.

He found it interesting that Dean Forst had multiple covered injuries on his body. At first, he thought they were because of his previous battle, two days ago, with Cheyenne, but later, he realized that such injury should have healed by now.

'His injuries. His previous scared demeanor after his loss in the previous competition stage. His outwardly strong, but inwardly weak personality. Interesting.....,' observed Jake.

Anyone with three eyes would be able to use the facts stated to arrive at a conclusion.

It was so clear, at least to Jake, that Dean was being abused at home. He was the type of person that never lets anyone know they are being abused but still gives it away due to his behavior.

Jake was familiar with those types due to his job as an assassin. He had met with almost all types of people; those that have an animal fetish, those that are exhibitionists, and many more types of degenerates.

It was his job to be able to recognize them.

However, this made him wonder why Dean was being abused. There was no sensible reason as Dean was the role model of most teens, so his family should be proud of him, shouldn't they?

Well, it was not his concern anyway.

Jake ignored the issue and wondered what the next few matches would be like. He realized that most of the qualified participants are insanely strong and would next full concentration to defeat them!