Thinking of something, Jake glanced at Cheyenne.

It seemed that she sensed his stare as she looked back at him and smiled.

'What a sad life?!' commented Jake as he flashed a smile back to her.

He had determined her to be his strongest opponent. Nonetheless, he wasn't aiming for the top. He was aiming for a comfortable spot, and if he meets her before he gets to his "comfortable" spot, he might have to put in a great amount of effort.

Plus, despite Cheyenne hiding it, he could tell that she still had a few hidden tricks up her sleeve.

This could discern from her tranquil attitude which showed no stressed signs apart from the sweats rolling down her skin.

Not bothering anymore, Jake shifted his glance away from her onto the stage.

He looked just in time as the referee announced the start of the next match, "Match 3, Dean Forst vs. Nico."

Quickly responding to their calls, the two opponents walked up to the stage.

Jake was kinda interested in this match-up.

On one side was Nico, the extremely talented youngster, who was always surprising the crowd.

While he didn't make such an exaggerated impression on Jake, Jake knew that Nico was in a growing phase. He was absorbing a lot of experience and processing it fast. This could be seen from how he broke out of his pinch in his last battle.

On the other side was Dean Forst, who was also extremely talented in his own right. He was able to go toe-to-toe with the famous Cheyenne Aztec.

This was no easy feat judging from Cheyenne's recent display of strength.

However, if Jake were to pick who he thought would win, it would be Dean. Simply because Dean was just like him and the other few participants.

Dean was used to "real" battles, and while Nico could be argued to possess that experience, Jake begged to differ!

Nico's so-called Dark Forest Training was only to gain combat experience and not "real" experience. This real experience could only be gotten from situations when one's life is on the line, not from the situation, in which the mind still records it as being under control.

If Jake was to mention the difference between them, it would be the thought process of the individuals who possess them.

The combat-experienced individual would make good decisions that are rational, while the "real"-experienced individual would go beyond rational and execute actions that might be deemed stupid, but would actually work on a battlefield.

Still, anything can happen when in battle, so Jake was not absolutely sure who would win.

"Match 3, Start!"

Jake watched as Nico and Dean engaged in a stare-off.

Different from their predecessors, they did not initiate an attack and tried to visually assess their opponent.

He was wondering who would take the first step when Nico jumped at Dean.

It turned out that Nico had been charging his speed, but Dean had predicted that and used his technique, "[Blink]!"

He disappeared from his position and reappeared ten feet away.

Watching this, Jake murmured, 'this technique….'

The [Blink]! technique was similar to his [Sword Drawing Technique]. It embodied the concept of a linear speed movement, but that was where his technique differed!

The [Sword Drawing Technique] contained the principles for curving while at full speed and was more flexible than the technique shown by Dean.

Plus, Dean's technique only concerned foot speed and nothing else, where else, the [Sword Drawing Technique] was originally only for the sword but could be fully implemented into various actions like running, punching, or even jumping.

It was extremely versatile!

Having contrasted it with another technique, Jake gain a further understanding of the value of the technique. He knew there was absolutely no way that such a precious item could be given for free.

His left blue eyes ferociously froze as Jake wondered when next he would see the strange man that gave him the technique. He was definitely sure he would meet the man, and at that time, the man would demand something from him!

If Jake was the man, he would also do the same!

*Boom!*

Jake was brought back from his thoughts by the sound coming from the battle going on on the stage.

He looked down and saw Nico's gloves and Dean's sword meet which created another soundwave.

*Boom!*

By the time the two distanced themselves again, Nico was left painting due to the amount of energy he has expended.

Jake noticed that he coiled his fist and a spark of flame ignited on it.

He sighed at the sight of this, 'I see. He is betting it all on his fire attributed technique.'

However, Jake had to wonder whether Nico understood the energy cost of his technique.

There was a reason why most hidden stage cultivators still used [Spirit Essence]. It was because at their stage, while they could condense [Spirit Essence] into [Spirit Droplets] and use it as energy containers, the same couldn't be said for [Elemental Spirit Essence].

During his experimentation with [Elemental Spirit Essence], Jake found out that it was very hard to condense it into [Spirit Droplets].

Worst of all, any elemental attributed attack would rapidly expense [Elemental Spirit Essence].

It was not worth it, in the long run, to use your elements before entering [Realm-2] or even going further to [Realm-3 Stage-3].

Jake looked back at the fight and saw Nico send a fiery punch towards Dean.

The attack was devastating as it latched on to anything it touched, but Dean didn't dare to confront it and blinked away from the situation.

He waited for the fire to extinguish and dished out his attack, swiftly ending the match.

"Match 3, End!"

After the conclusion of the match, the referee called two more matches which were also good.

The fourth match was between Isabella Hayden and Jaya.

In the match, Jaya once again displayed her ability and utterly dominated her opponent, proving to be a strong obstacle for the other qualified ones.

The fifth match, between Joshua Vargas and Melania Aztec, was definitely surprising.

Contrary to the thoughts of the crowd, while under the pressure from a royal child. Joshua suddenly bursts up with energy that seemed inexplicable and defeated Melania.

After the end of the match, the day got to the evening, everything was finally clear.

The top five already climbed their way from the masses of participants, and all that was needed was for them to establish superiority between one another!