Ch 538 – Finish It!

Alex pushed his inner power into both of his hands, and a glow formed around them.

I think he really is a divine master! Jacob thought, staring at him.

He had spent many years studying martial arts, paying close attention to the higher realms of power. The martial arts used by masters eluded most people, but then there was another level of skill seldom reached, even by masters.

Jacob's cloud skill was achievable only by those who had reached the level of master, and ordinary people were nowhere near that level of skill.

Jacob was even more powerful than Tyson Slade had been.

And yet Alex, who was still a young man, commanded such strong inner power it seemed he had surpassed the level of a normal master.

Alex formed the energy in his hands into a ball, which thrummed with power.

Jacob stepped back, his heart pounding with terror. He had never been so scared in his life, and he knew he couldn't allow that energy to hit him. If it did, he wasn't certain he would survive.

He eluded the strike, and the energy hit the wall behind him, exploding and sending fragments of brick everywhere. Part of the wall collapsed, sending dust billowing out.

The bystanders were speechless, never having seen such a thing before. Alex's power had carried the force of a grenade.

Alex rushed forward, engaging Jacob in a fight.

His fighting style was simple and elegant, and the movements were so graceful he almost seemed to be dancing. Although his attacks were not flashy, they contained a lot of force, and each hit had the potential to do a lot of damage.

But Jacob's hands continued to trace patterns in the air, forming clouds from his inner power to surround him and give him protection.

"Very pretty," Alex taunted him. "But not very useful."

Alex smashed a cloud with his fist, and then he shot a bolt of power at Jacob, evading the clouds and singeing Jacob's clothes.

"You know, I'm really enjoying this," he said, chuckling.

Alex's attacks were endless, but he had stopped using any of his extra gifts, relying more on his physical moves. Jacob, meanwhile, was still using clouds infused with large amounts of inner power to fend off Alex's strikes.

Alex wasn't surprised, but he was happy to be using a simpler form of fighting as he punched and kicked his opponent. Fighting in hand-to-hand combat against a suitable opponent in an open-air arena was refreshing, and he had never felt so at one with his inner power.

His eyes shone with happiness. He had wanted to try something new, but he had been worried about damaging the arena. Not that Jacob seemed to care. He seemed willing to do anything to win, regardless of the cost.

Alex knew if he stepped up his assault, he could easily defeat Jacob, but he was reluctant to end their fight so quickly.

Meanwhile, Jacob didn't know how much longer he could hold out. His limbs were shaky, and he was beginning to feel sick and dizzy.

That man is a machine! He thought. He never seems to run out of strength, and his body appears to be indestructible. He can summon an inexhaustible amount of inner power, and he really knows how to fight. His martial arts skills are outstanding, but he's only in his twenties, so how did he manage to progress so quickly?

It was becoming increasingly obvious he was battling against a superior master who was skilled at both physical fighting and the use of inner power.

Alex seemed to have no weaknesses, and nothing Jacob did seemed to hurt him. The few strikes Jacob managed to land had little effect, and Alex merely shrugged them off.

Jacob felt helpless in the face of such an opponent, and he had no idea what to do. Unlike Alex, Jacob was hurt by the blows Alex rained down on him, and he couldn't continue like this forever.

He used all his skills, but all he could do was hold steady, and he had no chance of gaining the upper hand.

"This is incredible," one member of the crowd said. "It's no wonder masters are spoken about so often. Even though science and technology are now taking the place of martial arts, they could never produce anything like this."

Someone else sucked in a breath. "I can't believe we're lucky enough to witness this."

Everyone could see that the two men were powerful, but they also recognized that Alex was doing most of the attacking, and Jacob was trying to evade him. It seemed inevitable that Jacob would eventually lose to Alex.

Hugo scowled as he watched the fight. At first, he had been annoyed when Alex had hidden from Jacob, but then Alex had finally begun to fight back. Now Hugo was growing angry again because it was clear Alex was drawing this out.

"Alex, what's your problem?" he yelled. "This is an important battle, so stop playing and finish it! Not only are you being disrespectful to Jacob, but you're also wasting everyone's time. I can't allow you to carry on like this, so stop messing around and fight properly."

He was furious, but a part of him suspected Jacob was still in control and was merely toying with Alex. But it was making Alex look good, which would upset Seth.

After all, Seth wanted to see Alex embarrassed and begging for mercy, and that hadn't happened. Alex was clearly enjoying himself, and Hugo couldn't understand how Alex had obtained the skills needed to face a master like Jacob.

He glanced over at Seth, whose expression was stony as he watched Alex.

Kenneth realized something was wrong. Jacob had staggered back after being hit, and Kenneth was certain he wasn't pretending to lose. No, Jacob looked worried, so Kenneth knew the fight was not going well for him.

"Get on with it!" Hugo roared, running out of patience. "If you don't stop playing around, I will declare you the loser and let everyone attack you."

"What's he talking about?" someone asked, shocked at Hugo's blatant disregard for the rules.

Other onlookers frowned. Although they didn't all support Alex, they weren't pleased by Hugo's obvious bias. It simply wasn't how things were done in martial arts competitions.

Seth remained expressionless, but he clenched his fists as he stared at Alex and Jacob. He realized Jacob was in a weak position and that Alex could have ended the fight some time ago.

"Fine," Alex said. "I'll finish it."

He pulled on his inner power and struck out at Jacob, hitting him so hard that he sent the man flying through the air.

"No!" someone called out from the crowd.

Jacob had been unable to defend himself, and he hit the wall, feeling several ribs crack. He coughed, struggling to get up, but he was injured, and every movement was slow and painful.

Alex stalked over to him, drew back his foot, and kicked Jacob hard.