"Senior brother Wayne," Claude said with a serious expression as he pulled back his katana. "I don't know about you, but I prefer to let my actions do the talking for me." "You're one cheeky little b*stard, aren't you?" Leroy said while clicking his tongue. "Don't worry, I'll make sure that you regret being cheeky in front of me!"

Both the contestants stared at each other with intense gazes, and the crowd erupted into cheers, waiting patiently for the match to begin! Elder Kenneth looked at both of the contestants and yelled out, "Start!"

Whoosh!

As soon as Elder Kenneth finished speaking, both Claude and Leroy charged forward without even a second thought. Claude swung his katana while Leroy swung his fist, and the two collided in mid-air as a bright light enveloped the arena!

BOOM!

A deafening boom exploded out after the emergence of the bright light, as strong ripples of spiritual energy spread out in every single direction with the collision point as the center, sending dust and debris flying back towards the spectator stands, as people tried to avoid getting hurt.

"What the hell? How powerful are these two?"

"We've underestimated them because they weren't as strong or well known as Javier and Russell Davies, but they truly have the right to be taking part in these rounds!"

"Quick! Move back a few metres. I assume this isn't going to be the last time rubble is going to fly back in our direction!"

"What a tremendous explosion. They really are powerful. I can't help but feel scared just watching the fight!"

The crowd began to whisper amongst themselves, but no one was taking their eyes off the arena.

Whoosh!

Both Claude and Leroy were pushed back due to the tremendous impact the collision force carried. Claude landed gracefully after a few steps and Leroy found his footing right afterwards.

'I thought that this was going to be an easy fight. But…' Leroy looked at Claude who was standing opposite to him, holding his katana close to his chest with an indifferent expression. Leroy's facial expression turned serious. '.... This is going to be a difficult one, huh.'

Leroy noticed that after the pushback from the tremendous force of the collision, Claude had found his footing first, followed by Leroy a split second later. For most people, it was only a split second difference, which meant nothing. But for Leroy, it was more than that. In the dangerous world of martial arts, even a split second difference could be the difference between life and death. And Leroy didn't wish to die. Not today.

"Hwup!" Leroy stomped his foot hard on the arena, resulting in a giant crack of the ground, before rushing forward, aiming for Claude with lightning speed!

"Take this!" He yelled out, and his voice echoed throughout the arena. Leroy swung his fist hard, aiming for Claude's face, and an extremely bright light had already lit up his hand.

"Hyah!" Claude raised his katana and yelled out as it began emitting a dazzling white light that suddenly burst out and began engulfing him. 

WHAM!

All of a sudden, his aura began to rise to the extreme and strands of spiritual energy began to circle around his entire body, making him glow even more bright. 

Zoom!

Right before Leroy's fist collided with his face, Claude's figure suddenly disappeared from the spot, and the fist touched nothing but air.

BAM!

Claude appeared right behind Leroy in an I and swung his katana, and the powerful sword energy burst out from the blade of the katana and collided with Leroy's back, sending a shockwave through his body and down to the ground, causing the ground to form a giant crack.

BAM!

A giant burst of energy emitted from the centre of the arena as a large vortex made up of air, dust and rubble formed around Leroy, culminating in a large and loud explosion that shook the ground below, causing the spectators to worry about their safety.

BOOM!

In one strike, Leroy Wayne was sent flying back a few steps while Claude landed on the ground gracefully once again. 

Leroy maneuvered his body in mid air and landed on the ground after bouncing once on the dirt floor. He then turned around and stared at Claude with anger and hatred in his eyes.

Drip! Drip!

Leroy felt something dripping from his mouth, and he rubbed his hands across his face, only to find blood. His mouth was bleeding.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" All of a sudden, Leroy Wayne stretched both his hands out and began laughing maniacally. The loud laughter resonated within the arena, echoing Within each and every one of the spectators, sending a chill down their spines.

"Ha ha ha… This is wonderful!" He said as he fixed his gaze on Claude, who was still looking at him with an indifferent expression on his face. Leroy pointed his finger at Claude and continued, "This is just wonderful! I thought I would be having a boring match, but this is turning out to be quite a difficult one! I must say, I'm impressed."

Whoosh!

His laughing expression suddenly turned serious for a brief second, after which he disappeared from everyone's view.

It was so sudden that no one had expected him to disappear like that!

"Damn it!" Claude cursed out loud as he twisted his katana to his left, as Leroy's figure appeared right next to Claude, his fist aiming right for Claude's left shoulder!

BAM!

The punch landed on the katana, but the force was enough to push Claude to the right, as he was flung up in the air a few steps before landing on the ground.

"I ain't done yet, boy!" Leroy's voice sounded once again, and he appeared right in front of Claude. 

BOOM!

This time, Claude swung his katana, and the two attacks collided with each other causing another wave of energy to burst out from the arena!

The two contestants were pushed back once again, but once they regained their composure, they charged towards each other yet again!

"You'll never win against me, boy!" Leroy yelled loudly as he swung his fist, aiming right for Claude's chest, but before the strike could connect, Claude instantly ducked down, narrowly avoiding the attack, before swinging his katana at Leroy's thighs.

BAM!

Leroy immediately kicked forward using his foot, which collided with the katana, and the two were once again sent flying backwards.

"I ain't done yet!" Leroy swung forward once again and Claude raised his katana.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The sounds of the attacks clashing together could be heard as Leroy's powerful fists and Claude's katana continuously hit each other in a split second. Leroy punched aggressively and Claude defended against the various punches.

"Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t!" Leroy, enraged that none of his attacks were landing where he wanted them to land, screamed loudly in rage and dashed forward.

"Why won't you just get hit, boy?" Leroy yelled out loud as he swung his fist right at Claude's face.

He was fast, but Claude didn't dare lower his concentration. He immediately shifted to the side, causing the fist to harmlessly slide past his face, before instantly striking back as multiple bright blade lights shot out from the katana and onto Leroy.

A long range attack at a close distance!

"Damn it!" Leroy Wayne gritted his teeth as he swung his fists in an attempt to block the incoming attacks, but by the time he pulled back his fists, it was already too late.

BAM!

Leroy was flung backwards and crashed onto the ground as Claude charged forward, raising his katana high up in the air, shining brightly.

Claude had used his entire strength, including his floating footsteps technique, and appeared right in front of Leroy, who had only just found his footing.

Leroy was caught off guard by the sudden presence of Claude that he simply had no time to react. Claude swung his katana as the large and bright blade light burst out of the weapon and crashed right onto a stunned Leroy's chest, immediately causing a large wave of spiritual energy to be released in waves as a burst of air, followed by a loud explosion that sent shockwaves throughout the area as the dirt and the dust on the ground were sent flying into the air.

BOOM!

The impact of the attack was so powerful that it slammed Leroy's body down on the ground so hard, causing him to bounce back up into the air.

Claude pulled back his katana once again and stared at the floating body of Leroy with an indifferent expression before he swung!

Leroy, who was still conscious but couldn't move, suddenly felt a large amount of pressure on his body. The pressure was so large that it felt as if his entire body was about to be crushed.

BAM!

The katana in Claude's hands began to glow and flicker rapidly, before a giant blade light shot out and collided with Leroy's body!