"These two…" The Headmaster leaned forward. Even he was getting excited because of the fight. "...They're true warriors." Claude, who was watching the fight, clenched his fists, as a wide grin appeared on his face.

"Let's finish this." Javier rose from the ground, his eyes fixed on Russell. Russell simply clicked his tongue in response. He then raised his saber high up as a bright red circle appeared behind him. Javier waved his hand, and the giant sword appeared right beside him. However, this time, it didn't strike the ground, but instead floated horizontally, its tip aiming at Russell.

"Scarlet Saber Technique." Russell whispered and he swung his saber hard, as the bright red circle behind him divided into multiple red discs that surrounded his saber, shooting out with the saber blade light! "Golden Shooting Star Technique!" Javier yelled out, as the floating sword beside him transformed into a streak of bright light, aiming right towards Russell's blade light!

The two attacks moved towards each other with such frightening speed that most of the spectators couldn't even keep with the motion. Their speed was simply too fast for their eyes.

"Damn it! First row! Move back!" Elder Kenneth was alarmed, and he yelled out to the people who were nearest to the arena, urging them to move back a few metres, which they immediately did. They knew how scary Elder Kenneth was when someone didn't listen to him.

BAM!

The streak of bright golden light collided against the red circles, and for a split second, the two merged together and shone brightly. The amalgamation of the two vastly different attacks was like the scorching sun itself, as though it was about to explode any moment! The audience who were in the spectators stand stared at the amazing amalgamation of cultivation techniques with wonder and awe. They were completely mesmerized by the marvelous sight that was in front of them, unable to look away.

But the merged form remained only for a split second, after which the burning ball of flames began to get bigger and bigger, as dust and debris began to get sucked into it, as though it was pulling these particles towards it.

The people standing on the front row of the spectators stand could feel an invisible force trying to pull them towards the giant ball of flames, which immediately made them move back, fear in their eyes.

Whoosh!

All of a sudden, the giant scorching ball of flames began to shrink rapidly, and in just a split second, it had shrunk into a size that was not visible to a normal human eye, and in its previous spot, there was an explosion!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosion was extremely strong, sending shockwaves in every direction, as the air and the dust particles that were sucked in by the giant ball of flames were spat back out with frightening speed. The strong energetic impact of the explosion caused a few of the audience, who were in the front row seats, to be flung back in the air and came crashing down onto the ground. 

"Damn it! What the hell?"

"Look the spiritual energy that's been produced by the explosion! Simply unreal!"

"Dammit! My back! Oh, my back!"

"Should've taken the back seat!"

People began murmuring amongst themselves, but the shockwaves continued to spread across the arena, as dust and debris filled the atmosphere. The impact of the explosion still hadn't completely subsided yet.

"Headmaster!" One of the Elders who were standing next to the Headmaster turned to look at him. "Are the spectators going to be alright? Should we do something?"

"Calm down." The headmaster waved his hands at the Elder who spoke, urging him to not do anything. "It'll be over in a few seconds. You do not need to get worked up over something as simple as this."

He then pointed his finger at the arena. The Headmaster was right. Although it took a few seconds, the shockwaves had now completely dissipated, and the dust particles began to settle down on the ground. 

People who were concerned for their safety let out heavy sighs of relief, while the rest of the audience had their eyes fixated on the arena, anxiously waiting for the victor to emerge from the dust.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The sound of footsteps could be heard, and the audience began to get excited. Who had won and who had lost? They needed to know, and they needed to know fast.

A figure could be seen appearing from behind the dust filled arena. 

Thump! Thump! 

The crowd watched breathlessly as Javier Banderas appeared from within the dust cloud. His giant sword was nowhere to be seen, but the audience didn't care, and immediately erupted into cheers.

"I told you, didn't I? I knew it. I knew that Senior Banderas would be the one to win. He won against Senior Davies once, and he can do it again!"

"I'm rich! Oh heavens! I can't believe I hit the jackpot! I knew that I made the right choice by placing a bet on Senior Banderas!"

"Poor Senior Davies. He trained so hard, and yet, he lost to the same person a second time in a row. Nevertheless, he did perform extremely well against someone like Senior Banderas. He deserves respect!"

The people in the audience began whispering amongst one another; they were talking about the fight as well as the final match that would happen right after this match.

Thud!

But right when they were discussing the outcome of the next match, Senior Banderas suddenly fell to his knees, which made the entire crowd turn silent. They shifted their gazes towards the arena, and saw Javier Banderas waving his body back and forth until he fell down like a puppet who had his strings cut, slamming face first onto the ground with a loud noise.

Silence.

As the audience stared at the unconscious Javier Banderas lying on the ground with disbelief in their eyes, the sound of footsteps could be heard again.

The crowd watch with amazement in their eyes as from the dust emerged the figure of Senior Russell Davies, holding his long saber high up in the air in a triumphant manner.

Whoosh!

A deadly silence spread in the arena. The realization of what had happened finally hit the spectators, and all of a sudden, everything seemed like a dream. They were all in complete shock. 

Just moments ago, they had declared Senior Javier Banderas as the victor of the match. And now, it turned out there was one last twist remaining. Who would've thought that this fight would take them on such a rollercoaster of emotions?

One second, two seconds…

After a full minute of silence, a thundering applause suddenly rang out all around the stadium.

People who were cheering and boasting for Senior Javier Banderas had their mouths shut, and those who had placed their bets on Javier Banderas now looked pale, as though they had seen a ghost. 

"Wow! What a match! Now that's what I call thrilling entertainment!"

"Congratulations to Senior Russell Davies. He managed to defeat Senior Javier Banderas and take his revenge!"

"He managed to overcome the mighty Javier Banderas and win! Now I'm sure that he'll win the final round as well!"

"I know that Claude Rayforth fought well against his enemies, but let's be honest here; he's no match for Senior Russell Davies!"

Everyone was applauding Senior Russell Davies for winning against Javier Banderas. Even people who had lost bets, had to admit that the match was nothing short of exciting. It had everyone on the edge of their seats.

"He managed to defeat Senior Banderas, huh…" Claude, who had been watching the whole fight, stared at Senior Russell Davies, who was standing on the arena and waving his long saber in the air, with a smile on his face. "Interesting…"

Claude knew that Senior Russell Davies had been aiming for Senior Banderas' stomach. He knew that Senior Banderas had taken a heavy hit against David Moriarty back in the restaurant. It was an injury that couldn't be solved so easily. 

Not only that, Claude was also interested in the way Senior Russell Davies fought against Senior Banderas. When he was down in a disadvantageous position, Russell Davies used cheap tactics, such as spitting dirt, in order to catch the opponent off guard. 

Although most fighters would condemn such methods, Claude on the other hand was intrigued by them. Facing an opponent who could use even the dirtiest of the tricks in an attempt to escape a disadvantageous position; that's an unpredictable foe. 

"I can tell already.." He murmured under his breath, as his eyes sparkled with interest. "The final round fight is going to be an interesting one."

In the arena, Elder Kenneth ran up to the unconscious Javier Banderas, and after checking to see whether he was seriously injured or not, he turned around and motioned his servants to bring him to the infirmary, before heading off towards Russell Davies.

Elder Kenneth pulled his hand up in the air and announced, "Javier Banderas has been knocked out! Russell Davies advances to the final round!"