Without realizing it, Blade slowly began enjoying this feeling of being surprised by the strength of his opponent.

Why?

It was because, with things such as this transformation, Blade would be able to grow stronger once he was able to acquire such a transformation for himself.

In fact, he already had somewhat of an idea of how these people were able to get this great strength after the transformation.

He didn't know whether it was due to his High Human bloodline increasing his battle Iq and analysis or not, but he didn't care as he was more interested in growing stronger, something that he would have never thought of sometimes over a month ago!

...

"To actually leave a mark on my skin, truly interesting," Blade muttered as the image of his bruised chest could be seen by everyone. The last attack by Axel destroyed his upper clothing to tatters!

'Huh!?' Axel couldn't believe it.

He knew that he had used all his power, and coupled with a technique that multiplied his power, there was no way that any Level 3 Meridian Opening realm cultivator or lower could tank that attack and come out unscathed.

Seeing his expression, Blade smirked coldly as he then sent a punch containing a great deal of his full power toward Axel's chest.

BAM!

Axel's body was sent hurling back as blood escaped his mouth.

The right fist sent by Blade was soo strong that it caused Axel to spit a mouthful of blood uncontrollably.

URGH!

Struggling to get back to his feet, Axel's hazy consciousness finally registered what had just happened as his expression froze in shock and fear.

The shocking power contained in that punch was something that he couldn't believe was possible from such small and thin arms.

Those arms were almost feminine and didn't resemble anything to those of a man.

Those arms didn't showcase any type of struggle throughout Blade's existence, yet they were a pair of arms that made it known to Axel, it was a pair of arms capable of unimaginable destruction.

The once haughty and confident Axel suddenly felt as if a demon in human skin was standing in front of him.

'This...'

Axel's thoughts stirred as his expression morphed into one of coldness as he got up to his feet.

Tsk!

"You can use any backwater technique and even poisoning but, don't you dare think that you can overpower me in a fight using merely brawn might!"

Even if his opponent were to use an underhanded trick like poisoning, Axel wouldn't be nearly as pissed as he was now.

To someone who prided himself because of his unnatural level of brute strength, the existence of Blade who had shown to everyone that he held more brute force than Axel... this had brought great shame toward this man's dignity.

Even as blood trickled down his chin, Axel inched closer toward Blade as his whole body began to slowly release a reddish hue.

Something that he was once told was dangerous, increasing the physical power of his whole body and not just one limb, even if it was fatal, Axel would do it to prove his physical superiority toward the figure standing in front of him with a manner of total calmness.

WAA!

Axel followed his actions that began this fight as he once more lunged toward the figure of Blade while rocking his hand back.

With muscles contracted to the utmost limit, he could muster, bringing about an insane and dense hardness, Axel sent a powerful left fist toward Blade's face once more as this time...

This time, the punch he sent moved at an insane speed that was many times faster than what it was before.

It was soo fast that his previous punch couldn't even hold a candle compared to this one yet...

BAM!

Blade's emotionless eyes watched as the fist landed on his right cheek.

The force from the punch was enough to cause even him to be shocked as something then went on to leave everyone present stupefied.

The momentum coming from the punch caused Blade's body to spin in the same direction that Axel's left fist was traveling as before Blade even realized it...

BAM!

Using the momentum from Axel's punch, Blade's body spun a full 360 before sending a right hook that landed right on Axel's temple!

*Splatter*

Blood spurted out of Axel's temple region and splattered on the ground as his vision instantly turned dark.

...

Gazing at the scene of Blade landing a hit on Axel's temple, Athena muttered.

"Hmm, although it doesn't look like it, his body is even more durable than Axel's battle-honed body. The most shocking fact is that there isn't even a sign of a scar on his skin!

Surely, this one, he is truly a mysterious person.!"

With a slight smirk on her face, Athena looked on with glimmering eyes as the sight of Blade squashing Axel's unprotected head entered her vision.

...

The mysterious figure sitting in the crowds of people watching the shocking sight of Blade's dominance could only let out a cold smile as he said.

"So that idiot Axel still lost to this Blade.

Even if Axel was a muscle brain, he still held a great deal of strength that even common geniuses couldn't possibly hope to match.

It seems that this Blade is as the master claimed.

Blade Pure-Heart, someone capable of posing a threat to me, someone striving to become a member of the Cosmic Punishers...

Well, it is certain now, I will personally have to see to it that he dies with my very eyes and by my very hands!"

THRUM!

As killing intent escaped his eyes, he continued to observe as Blade leisurely exited the fighting platform and the re-emergence of the old man and Outer Sect Warden named Frederick.

...

Walking toward Axel's dead body, Frederick stamped on Axel's chest with seemingly no effort as the spectators and Blade watched on in shock as Axel's body exploded into a bloody mist.

'Such power! Hehe, when I acquire such power and then surpass it, who would dare threaten my life..?'

Blade thought in expectation and excitement as Frederick's voice then reverberated throughout the whole stadium.

"Now, I know everyone is excited about the final round but, we also know that the fighters need some rest. So, like every other year, the competition would take a short break and the competitors would be back tomorrow for the final round!"

Silence!

Pin drop silence was left in the stadium after Frederick's words as this warden was left slightly startled by the reactions of these spectators.

'Don't tell me they don't want the competitors to get a rest?'

Frederick completely overlooks the possibility that these spectators were still in a state of shock after seeing the sight of the competitor with the most odds of entering the Inner Sect just simply dying as his body then obliterated into a bloody mist if worth nothing.

Blade along with a few competitors on the other hand didn't have a care in the world for Axel's situation as they exited the arena and headed toward their cabins.

Poor Blade could only think in sorrow as memories of his upper clothing being turned to shreds by Axel's punch resurfaced in his mind.

'I guess I'll be half-naked from now!' Blade thought with a neutral expression.

...

Inside a small room with a bed, table, and a chair, Blade's figure could be seen with bent knees in a sitting position as he followed the manual movements and the new breathing form.

His whole body was dripping and full of sweat yet an expression of euphoria was apparent on his face.

The Life Energy that was soo hard to absorb while meditating was currently streaming into his body many times quicker as it caused him a great sense of ecstasy.

He wasn't exactly sure how long it would take for him to unclog another of his meridians but, he wasn't in much of a rush.

He knew from the memories and experience of that Meridian Opening realm expert he absorbed that he was already a third the way to reaching the peak of this realm.

Blade knew that he was already a third of the way to reaching the peak of this realm, so he did not think that it would take too much time... right?

Thud!

Blade's body dropped to the floor and on his ass in utter exhaustion as he followed the breathing technique to regain his bearings.

'Hmm, I think I need a bath!'

After regaining his breath, Blade got to his feet and entered the bathroom where he found something that shocked him to his core.

Laying on the wooden stool next to his bathtub, the appearance of a towel and also some clothes made its emergence as Blade could only mutter.

"It seems that these people don't understand that one shouldn't enter others' homes. Truly, in this world, there isn't any semblance of privacy whatsoever...!"