Wang Tong stared at his friends' shirts and asked, "What are you guys wearing?"
"Isn't it pretty? Lumi came up with the idea." Zhou Sisi announced.
Everyone sewed the emblem of the S-Club to their shirt; some sewed it on the chest pocket, and some did it on their back.
"Club leader, we are all counting on you!"
"No kidding, you are our last hope!"
"Don't let them look down on us!"
Sensing everyone's high spirits, Wang Tong felt the responsibility on his shoulder grow. He knew that he had to win this tournament for his beloved friends.
On the other side of the resting room, Karl and Hu Yangxuan was chatting about something, and then they both burst out laughing.
"Haha! Well said, 'the sickness of arrogance'… It's rich! "
"Listen up everyone, our boss's expertise is curing those hotshots' arrogance! Let them taste our real power!"
"You bet!"
Amidst the clamor, Wang Tong patted Hu Yangxuan's shoulder and said, "Your fight this afternoon is going to be a challenge. Are you ready?"
"Don't worry! I am prepared." Hu Yangxuan replied calmly.
Hu Yangxuan's next opponent was Ye Kai, the Gentlemen sword. He was not only the second-seeded fighter of his section, but also one of the four inner court disciples that got sent to the tournament.
Wang Tong didn't press Hu Yangxuan with more questions, as he knew that words wouldn't make the fight any easier. However, he was still concerned about Hu Yangxuan, since he knew that Ye Kai was a powerful young Templar.
In the afternoon, Hu Yangxuan faced Ye Kai in the fifth section.
Except for a few earthling students and members of the Templar's court, there weren't many other audience members at this match, since the two fighters were both from the earth.
The members of the S club watched eagerly as both fighters entered the arena. Hu Yangxuan was one of the toughest fighters from the S Club, and since the club had already lost Cao Yi, he had become the club's only representative in this tournament in addition to Wang Tong.
"This guy looks so young. Maybe, Hu Yangxuan has a chance at winning this round. " Karl said lightheartedly.
"There is a gap in power between the Inner and the Outer Court. I don't think being older would help Hu Yangxuan much." Cao Yi grinned.
"Come on, don't be so pessimistic! Look at him, he looks wimpy!" Karl rebutted.
Cao Yi shook his head and decided to drop the matter. Although he and Hu Yangxuan had improved a lot during their boot-camp training, they had also opened their eyes to the existence of a greater power that they had never imagined of. Therefore, Ca Yi knew this fight would not be easy for Hu Yangxuan.
Wang Tong sat quietly; he reckoned that Hu Yangxuan had trained harder than most people, and it would be a pity if he lost this fighter so early in the game.
However, Wang Tong also registered that Ye Kai could be the strongest, even among the four inner court disciples.
Ye Kai bowed to Hu Yangxuan and greeted him with a smile, "Nice to meet you, Court Brother."
"No need for the formality, we are opponents now." Hu Yangxuan replied in a serious tone.
"Hehe! Court brother, I really don't want to hurt you. Why don't you just give up?" Ye Kai asked with an earnest expression. The audience boiled over at the question, as they wondered why the young Templar would ask such a preposterous question.
However, Ye Kai didn't look like he was jesting, while Hu Yangxuan didn't seem to be offended either. The other three inner court disciples remained calm, as if they had anticipated such a proposal.
"I won't surrender until you slit my throat with your sword. " Hu Yangxuan replied.
"Fine, if that is what you wish!" Ye Kai said as he inched towards Hu Yangxuan. Hu Yangxuan stared at his opponent and stepped back, maintaining the distance between him and the inner court disciple. All this while, both fighters had cranked up their soul energy, and the scene on the stage was extremely intense.
"Balls! What are you afraid of? Do away with him already!" Karl shouted at the top of his lungs. But before Karl was able to utter another word, he was pressed back to his seat by Zhou Sisi.
Hu Yangxuan took another half step back and then he attacked as he hewed his blade at Ye Kai.
They both moved too fast for the audience to see clearly what was going on. As the two fighters passed each other, a gush of blood spattered onto the ground; the blood belonged to Hu Yangxuan.
Ye Kai had cut into the flesh on Hu Yangxuan's chest. However, the latter didn't mind his wound as his eyes remained fixated on the young Templar.
Ye Kai was impressed by Hu Yangxuan's speed; that cut was supposed to be much deeper than just cutting into the flesh.
"Congratulations brother, you have improved a lot!"
No one at Ayrlarng knew what to make of the young Templar's comment. To most in the audience, the actions were too fast for them to follow, and all they saw was Hu Yangxuan getting injured for no apparent reason.
"Amazing swordplay!" Wang Tong was impressed by Ye Kai's skills. He had reckoned that the young Templar didn't even unsheathe his sword in the last attack.
From the other side of the arena, Zhang Buyu threw Wang Tong a glance.
Zhang Buyu knew that Hu Yangxuan was much weaker than Ye Kai. Ye Kai was able to counter every single technique used by the Templar thanks to his inborn ability to see through the flow of energy in every move. Zhang Buyu knew that for the sake of Hu Yangxuan's life, he should surrender right away, because once Ye Kai unsheathed his sword, his life would be at stake.
Hu Yangxuan took a few steps back and attacked again. He was aware of Ye Kai's special ability, and therefore, he reasoned that anything he learned from the Templar would be useless. The only moves at his disposal were the ones that he learned from the TNN boot camp. However, since he had just picked up those techniques, he was not very confident in his proficiency.
As the two fighters exchanged another blow, Hu Yangxuan's body gained another deep wound. This time, the cut had reached his bones.
Hu Yangxuan had received two deadly blows right at the beginning of the fight, but worse, he could not even make out how his opponent had done it.
"Brother, just surrender already. You won't win this match." Ye Kai almost sounded like he was pleading.
"Buzz off! Draw your sword, NOW!" Hu Yangxuan rebutted.
Ye Kai shrugged and then said, "What's the point? We have done this before. "
"Ye Kai, stop dawdling! Finish him off!" Yao Bai shouted to his fellow inner court brother from his seat.
Although Karl and his friends were not sure what had happened between Ye Kai and Hu Yangxuan in the past, it sounded like the two had already fought before and the latter had lost that fight.
Despite his nickname of the Gentlemen Sword, everyone at the Templar's Court knew him as a reckless martial arts enthusiast. He could be an even-tempered and polite fellow on a normal day. However, once he drew his sword, he would turn into a monster in a heartbeat.
Hu Yangxuan had fought him before, and he had chosen to surrender, as he had thought that was the sensible thing to do then.
However, even since Hu Yangxuan left the Templar, he had changed a lot, and he could no longer surrender to an opponent before he shed his last drop of blood.
"Draw your sword! Otherwise, we will be doing this forever!" Hu Yangxuan demanded.
Ye Kai's body swayed to the side and disappeared, reappearing right in front of Hu Yangxuan. His sword was still sheathed. Hu Yangxuan didn't retreat this time. Instead, he closed in towards his opponent, blocking the sheathe attack with one hand while delivering an uppercut to Ye Kai with the other.
Hu Yangxuan's aim was on point. He stumbled back a few steps due to the impact, but was pleased to see that his punch had opened up a wound on Ye Kai's face.
Ye Kai covered his face with the palm as pain burned like fire in his eyes.
"Shit! Hu Yangxuan is asking for it!"
"He hates being hit on the face the most!" Wu Gang heaved a sigh; he had learned it the hard way.
Even inside the inner court, only a handful of people were able to injure Ye Kai in a battle. Ye Kai had overlooked Hu Yangxuan's mettle, and was caught off guard by his counterattack.
As Ye Kai uncovered his face, an eerie smile hung on his lips. Hu Yangxuan knew that the real Ye Kai had just arrived on the stage.
Hu Yangxuan dropped the formality as he curled his fingers at Ye Kai and taunted him, "Come on now, show me how powerful you are."
With the two wounds on his chest, Hu Yangxuan had never looked more macho before.
With a sudden din, Ye Kai disappeared into thin air, and then the audience saw a bright light pierce through Hu Yangxuan and explode.
Hu Yangxuan's body was blown away, but he knew that the energy in the form of light was released as Ye Kai pulled out the sword.
Ye Kai hovered over Hu Yangxuan like a wraith, and then the young Templar struck with his sword again.
Hu Yangxuan didn't have much time to think, so he blocked the attack with his blade. Another explosion blew him a dozen feet away.
As Ye Kai landed on the ground lightly, everyone finally saw the long glinting sword in his hand; its name was the Gentleman.
With only two strikes, Ye Kai had gravely injured his opponent, as his attack was capable of ignoring any defense or armor.
Karl was shocked by the development. Although he was not a METAL fighter, he could feel the immense power of the boy from the Templar's Court.