System's POV

"Zion, tell me honestly—what are you planning to announce tomorrow?" Erica asked.

During their pillow talk, Zion mentioned that after tomorrow's battle, he would make an announcement that would surprise everyone.

"Can't you just wait until tomorrow?" Thirteen smiled. "The surprise factor will be better that way."

Erica sighed because she knew that Zion was a tough nut to crack. "Fine. I'll wait. But it better be good!"

"Well, whether it's good or not, it's subjective to interpretation," Thirteen replied. "However, I will promise you this—it will definitely spice things up a notch in the tournament."

Sherry was also wondering what kind of surprise was waiting for the participants tomorrow.

She and Erica were familiar with the expression Zion had at the moment. It was the expression he wore whenever he was up to something bad, which would definitely be a bad thing for some people.

***

Several hours later…

Thirteen stood on the stage and introduced the two combatants that would be fighting in today's match.

"On the left is one of my Squad Captains in the 69th Battalion," Thirteen shouted. "Make way for Colbert Riggs!"

Applause spread in the Colosseum as the young man walked towards the arena with a serious expression on his face.

The Riggs Family was one of the Prestigious Clans of the Dvalinn Federation.

However, Colbert's position in the Family was very low since he was a "bastard" son.

He only recently became important in the eyes of the Patriarch of the Riggs Family because of his close connection to Zion.

This granted Colbert a special position in the Riggs Family, and the Elders put great importance on him.

After all, Zion was the Commander that allowed them to liberate the Northern Regions of the Rigel Continent.

As such, anyone close to him was given special treatment by the Dvalinn Federation, as well as the Griffin Family of the Cygni Continent.

"And on my right is none other than the heartthrob of Freedom City!" Thirteen declared. "The one and only… Vincent… Osborn!"

This time, a thunderous cheer rang inside the Colosseum as Vincent walked to the arena.

The young man smiled and waved at the ladies, who were all cheering for his name.

This made all the guys look at Colbert and wish that he would win his match against Vincent, who was known as a lady's man in the Sirius Continent.

His infamy had spread far and wide, and many young men in Freedom City treated him as their mortal enemy.

When Vincent was finally standing on the stage, he sized up his opponent and offered a greeting.

Colbert gave him a nod of acknowledgment and returned his greetings.

Thirteen then asked if both of them were ready, and the two unanimously nodded as a reply.

"Battle Start!"

Vincent summoned his sword and pointed its tip on the ground beside his feet.

He stood perfectly still like a sword, and the aura he radiated was as sharp as a sword blade.

Colbert, on the other hand, didn't charge mindlessly at his opponent.

He summoned a spear in his hand and made a slashing gesture, creating a line in front of him.

It was as if he was telling Vincent that if he went past across the line, he would be cut down immediately.

A chuckle escaped Vincent's lips because he found this quite amusing.

He planned to let his opponent charge at him so that he could strike him down with his technique.

However, his opponent was thinking the same, not moving from their place.

The two stared at each other for nearly two minutes, making the audience wonder if they were having a staring competition.

But before they could voice out any complaints, the two young men suddenly moved and charged at each other at the same time.

It seemed that they had come to an agreement that they should just scrap their Plan A and proceed with Plan B!

Colbert twisted the handle of his spear, making it rotate like a drill.

He then thrust it forward, sending it flying toward Vincent's direction.

The audience and Vincent were caught completely by surprise by this move.

He didn't expect that his opponent would throw his weapon in this manner, making him wonder what Colbert was up to.

But seeing that the spear was headed in his direction, Vincent no longer thought of anything else and tried to deflect it.

However, the moment his sword blade touched the spinning spear, his sword was repelled by its spinning body, which almost made him lose his grip on his weapon.

Suddenly, he saw Colbert approaching him from the corner of his eye and no longer had any time to spare to think of what just happened.

To his surprise, Colbert was holding an identical spear in his hand, which was extremely similar to the one he threw.

If Vincent didn't know better, he might have thought that the spear had somehow instantly returned to its Master after flying at a certain distance.

However, a quick glance behind him proved that the spear had pierced the barrier and was stuck hovering in mid-air.

The sound of metal clashing against each other rang as Colbert and Vincent finally clashed.

Just like what happened earlier, Vincent felt a repelling force that made him almost lose his balance.

Colbert quickly noticed this opportunity and swung his spear sideways.

Vincent, who just barely managed to use his sword to block his opponent's follow-up attack, skidded several meters on the ground.

His right hand was feeling numb as he held the handle of his sword.

The attack that he received from Colbert was so strong, making Vincent wonder if the weapon that his opponent was wielding weighed more than a ton.

Forcing himself to calm down, he took a fighting pose, holding the handle of his sword with both hands and pulling back his arms, preparing to strike.

On the stage, Thirteen watched this match seriously.

Although there were some differences, he noticed that the Martial Style that Vincent was using was the Martial Technique called Heavens beyond the Heavens.

It was one of the Martial Techniques that his former host, Vincent, had used in the past.

This was also the same Martial Style that made his Host's name spread far and wide in the cultivation world, earning him the admiration, jealousy, and envy of many people due to how outstanding he was.

'Is it just a coincidence? Thirteen thoughts as his expression became more solemn.

Suddenly, Vincent roared and swung his blade in front of him, forming a cross.

A moment later, a cross energy blade flew towards Colbert at great speeds, forcing the latter to once again rotate the spear in his hand.

"Spinning Dragon Strike!" Colbert shouted as he threw his weapon toward the energy blade, creating a rumbling explosion that made the arena tremble for a brief moment.