Neophyte Nexus III

Seo Yeong-Ha glared at Baek Jin who was standing a few paces away from her and asked.

"Are you underestimating me, Jin?"

"What do you mean?" Baek Jin replied, flexing his fist and stretching his body.

"Use your sword!" Seo Yeong-Ha insisted.

"Don't wanna," Baek Jin replied while massaging his neck. A crisp cracking sound could be heard as he did so, suggesting his body was stiff from sitting too long.

Gritting her teeth, Seo Yeong-Ha clenched her fist so tightly that her palm turned pale, revealing the intensity of her frustration and annoyance.

"You will regret this, Jin!"

"I won't," Baek Jin smirked.

Seo Yeong-Ha and Baek Jin faced each other, standing a few feet apart. The tension between them was palpable, as they each prepared to enter their martial art stances.

Seo Yeong-Ha's body was taut and her gaze was fixed on Baek Jin. She raised her arms and assumed a fist art stance, her fists clenched tightly as she coiled her energy, ready to strike.

Baek Jin's stance was different, his arms loose and relaxed at his sides, with his palms facing outward. He possessed the palm art, and his stance reflected his style, emphasizing fluidity and open-handed techniques.

Then, came the signal from the referee that indicated the start of the round.

"Both fighters are ready!"

A moment of pause was deliberately created to increase tension between Seo Yeong-Ha and Baek Jin.

"Start!"

Although the referee had signaled the start, both of them were refusing to move immediately.

Instead, for a moment, they stood in silence, each assessing the other, waiting for the right moment to make the first move. Then, without warning, Seo Yeong-Ha dashed forward and launched a lightning-fast jab with her right fist, aiming for Baek Jin's midsection.

Baen Jin deftly sidestepped the attack, his movement smooth and fluid as he pivoted on his left foot and countered with a sweeping palm strike aimed at Seo Yeong-Ha's temple.

Seo Yeong-Ha ducked just in time, and the strike missed her by inches.

"After all these years, you're still slow, Yasaeng."

"Don't call me that!"

The fight continued relentlessly. They both knew that they were evenly matched, and the tension in the air continued to mount as they each sought to gain the upper hand in the fight.

Outside the arena stage, a couple of students were watching the fight, each with fascinated expression.

"They're evenly matched."

The white-haired boy–Lux said as he focused on each of the fighters' movements. Then, a snorting sound was heard coming from behind him.

"Even blind people can see that they're matched. You're stating the obvious, genius," said the voice, there was a little sarcasm included.

Lux, as well as Zio who stood beside him, turned around to face the source of the unfamiliar voice, a tall boy with blond hair and an annoyed grin on his face.

Zio's eyebrows raised in recognition of that person.

'Leonardo Miguel,' he said inwardly.

"Uhh. Who are you?"

Leonardo's eyebrows twitched the moment he heard an unbelievable from Lux's mouth. His face looked in disbelief as if it was telling Lux a 'Are you for real?' question.

"Really? You don't know who I am?"

A pang of annoyance was shown in his voice.

"No. Sorry."

Leonardo spitted on the ground and stepped forward, trying to domineer Lux by height difference, but it just didn't work. Because he was barely higher than Lux, like 7cm higher.

"Tch. Did you just leave a cave or something?"

Did not want to lose, Lux straightened his body and challenged Leonardo. His eyes were narrowed but his face still kept composure.

"What is your problem?"

Leonardo chuckled at Lux's response, finding his bravery amusing.

"My problem is that you're stating the obvious, and I don't like obvious things."

Zio rolled his eyes at Leonardo's response, knowing that he was just trying to provoke Lux. He decided to ignore them and focused on Seo Yeong-Ha and Baek Jin.

'Let's just ignore them, it's not worth my time to join in their argue…'

Back to the arena stage. The seemingly even match before had now turned in Baek Jin's favor.

Every blow exchange made Seo Yeong-Ha breathe for air, she was suffocated by her own movement that was being parried and countered by Baek Jin's technique.

Eventually, Seo Yeong-Ha backed up a few paces away to recuperate. But, Baek Jin didn't want to let her rest, he kept pressing Seo Yeong-Ha.

Baek Jin was determined to seize the opportunity and not let Seo Yeong-Ha recover. He knew that every second she had to catch her breath was a chance for her to gather her strength and come back stronger.

Baek Jin charged forward, launching a series of quick and powerful strikes aimed at Seo Yeong-Ha's head and torso. Seo Yeong-Ha tried to dodge and block the attacks, but she was unable to keep up with Baek Jin's speed and agility.

Seo Yeong-Ha felt the impact of the blows as they landed, and she knew that she couldn't keep taking hits like this. She needed to find a way to turn the tide of the fight in her favor.

With a burst of energy, Seo Yeong-Ha launched herself forward, surprising Baek Jin with her sudden movement. She aimed a powerful kick at his side, hoping to catch him off guard and knock him off balance.

Baek Jin was quick to react, however. He blocked the kick with his forearm, then used his other hand to strike Seo Yeong-Ha's temple with a lightning-fast palm strike.

Seo Yeong-Ha stumbled back, her head spinning from the blow. She knew that she was in trouble and that she needed to find a way to turn things around quickly if she wanted to win the fight.

— "Finish her, Baek Jin!!"

— "Show our junior what we made of!"

The second-year students were shouting as the fight got more intense.

— "You can do it, Seo Yeong-Ha!!

— "Don't lose!!"

Even the first-year students, whether they know Seo Yeong-Ha or not, everyone was cheering for her. It was a battle of pride, after all.

"Looks like you need more training, Yasaeng."

"Shut up, Jin. I'm trying here…"

Gathering her strength, Seo Yeong-Ha charged forward once again, a surge of hot ki gathered around her. Baek Jin's eyes widened as he noticed the hot ki around Seo Yeong-Ha, but he didn't flinch.

"I take my word back. You're a real monster yourself too, Yeong. But, that's not enough…"

Baek Jin prepared his own firm stance, his left hand stretched forward with his palm facing outward while his right palm was ready to strike after a successful counter.

"Take this if you can, Jin!"

Hot steam billowed from Seo Yeong-Ha's fist as she prepared to strike Baek Jin with her ultimate technique. But, unknowingly to her, Baek Jin launched himself forward, meeting Seo Yeong-Ha's fist with his palm.

"Wha—?!"

"Do you think I'll let you use the Formless Fist?"

With his palm, Baek Jin's successfully stopped Seo Yeong-Ha's technique before she could release it, the Formless Fist.

"Sleep well, Yasaeng."

Baek Jin executed the Dragon Palm Strike, hitting Seo Yeong-Ha with a powerful whipping motion that connected with the base of his palm and fingers. The strike was aimed at her stomach, and the impact was so powerful that Seo Yeong-Ha lost consciousness immediately.

The spectators fell silent as they watched her lie there motionless.

Then, when it was confirmed that Seo Yeong-Ha couldn't continue the fight, the referee announced Baek Jin as the winner.

"Baek Jin, rank 14 of the second year has won against Seo Yeong-Ha, rank 27 of the first year!"

The audience, mostly the second-year students erupted in cheers and applause as Baek Jin stood victorious in the center of the arena.

The medical teams brought Seo Yeong-Ha to the treatment room, she was unconscious but her life was not in danger. With Baek Jin's proficiency in executing the Dragon Palm Strike, he had made sure that it won't injure Seo Yeong-Ha badly.

As Baek Jin walked off the stage, he passed by the first-year students which were Lux, Zio, Leonardo, Ember, and the rank 1404th.

"Good luck, guys," said Baek Jin as he grinned.

Among the five first-year students, only Lux bowed toward Baek Jin as he thanked him for the good luck. Ember and Zio ignored him, their attention was somewhere. Leonardo clenched his fist as he gritted his teeth and then spitted on the ground. Meanwhile, the rank 1404th was trembling nervously.

Neophyte Nexus continued to the next round.

The rank 1404th had picked the number 1666th and he emerged as the victor of the showdown.

'Two wins for the first year, and two wins for the second year…'

Zio's mind was in absolute focus as tried to recall what would happen in Neophyte Nexus next.

'The first year will have another two points from Lux and Leonardo,' Zio thought, then his eyes drifted to Ember. 'Might be three points if she could win.'

As he contemplated, suddenly, Leonardo brushed over him. He walked to the stage as his name was called.

"Get out of the way," Leonardo said, irritatedly.

Looking at him, Zio couldn't help but shake his head.

'I wonder why I didn't make Lux punch him in the face in the novel… Now that I experienced it first hand, his personality is really annoying.'