With Gojo Satoru unconscious, his Domain Expansion dissipated automatically.
Evangeline didn't finish him off. Instead, she grabbed his limp body and tossed it to Nanami Kento, taunting, "Care to come down and fight me, Four-Eyes?"
Nanami adjusted his glasses and replied coolly, "No, we concede."
What a joke. She was a six-hundred-year-old True Ancestor vampire, the legendary Dark Evangel.
He wasn't as reckless as Gojo Satoru. Why would he face such a terrifying opponent?
That was just asking for death.
With Nanami's surrender, the Team Gojo was officially out of the tournament.
Evangeline's Team Shinso advanced smoothly to the semifinals.
The next match pitted the Hachio Executioner Blade against the Team Ryozanpaku.
These two were old rivals.
Both teams were composed of martial arts masters, each one absurdly powerful, like monsters in human form.
The Team Ryozanpaku sent out Kensei first.
The Hachio Executioner Blade countered with Mihai Știrbey, the Poisonous Slayer.
In previous rounds, Mihai had shown his skills, but they were average at best.
While both were martial arts masters, the gap between them was clear.
Mihai barely lasted a few moves before Kensei overwhelmed him. The fight was like an adult toying with a child.
There was little to describe—the disparity was simply too vast.
If Kensei didn't adhere to his "Saving Fist" philosophy, refusing to kill, Mihai wouldn't have walked away from the arena alive.
After Mihai's defeat, the Hachio Executioner Blade sent out Rin Tachibana.
Seeing Rin take the stage, Shigure Kosaka from the Team Ryozanpaku couldn't sit still.
She stood and said to Kensei, "You, down. Me, up."
Kensei gave a wry smile but complied.
Rin Tachibana was the disciple of Shigure's master, making him her senpai. After joining the dark faction, Shigure had been itching to defeat him.
Now that the opportunity had arrived, she wasn't about to let it slip.
Entering the arena, Shigure wasted no words, drawing her weapon and slashing at Rin.
Rin let out a hearty laugh. "Still as hotheaded as ever, Shigure."
Facing her assault, he didn't dare slack. He drew a long spear from his arsenal, parrying her attack, and the two clashed fiercely.
This battle between master and apprentice was far more thrilling than the one between Kensei and Mihai.
Their fight filled the arena with the clanging of steel.
Rin, clad in armor and wielding an array of weapons collected from around the world, switched seamlessly between a spear and a halberd, each move executed with masterful precision.
This versatility was the origin of his moniker, Hundred Martial Arts.
Interestingly, the match stretched on for over an hour without a clear winner.
To outsiders, their skills seemed evenly matched.
But to those in the know, Rin was just a hair stronger than Shigure. If he wanted, he could've ended the fight thirty minutes ago.
For some reason, though, he held back.
Instead, he dragged the match out for a full hour.
It looked like they might keep fighting indefinitely.
But then, Shigure suddenly stepped back, putting distance between her and Rin.
"This move—you take it, or I concede."
She took a deep breath, and a powerful, chilling aura erupted from her, transforming into an invisible sword aura that enveloped her surroundings.
Shinmeiryu Swordsmanship.
Demon-Slaying Blade: Second Strike.
In an instant, a brilliant sword aura burst from Shigure, slicing through the ground with astonishing speed as it hurtled toward Rin, threatening to cleave him in two.
"Bring it on!" Rin roared, brandishing his spear. A misty aura swirled around the weapon as he smashed it against the incoming sword aura.
A muffled boom resounded.
Rin's spear flew from his hands, and he was sent hurtling backward like a cannonball, crashing into the stands' wall with a thunderous bang.
He looked utterly disheveled.
Yet Shigure declared, "I concede."
With that, her body slumped to the ground.
That last move had drained every ounce of her strength, leaving her without even the energy to stand.
Shio Sakaki from the Team Ryozanpaku rushed to her side, catching her before she collapsed and carrying her back to the stands.
"This time, I'll be your opponent."
But Rin, climbing to his feet, shook his head and raised his hands.
His wrists were torn open, the wounds deep enough to expose bone.
Though he had blocked Shigure's attack, it came at a cost. Fighting Sakaki in this state wasn't impossible, but it would only lead to an uglier defeat.
So he surrendered without hesitation.
After Rin's withdrawal, the Hachio Executioner Blade sent out their next fighter: Armored Martial Arts Emperor Marmaduke Brown.
Clad head-to-toe in Western knight armor, complete with a helmet, and wielding a massive poleaxe and shield, their face was completely obscured.
Yet Morpheus could tell—this was a woman.
It was rare to see a woman dressed like a battlefield-charging knight.
It left a strong impression on Morpheus.
Especially her poleaxe, a weapon of immense power. A single hit could sever limbs at best or leave no corpse at worst.
Morpheus had assumed the Armored Martial Arts Emperor's fighting style would be bold and aggressive, suited for battlefield charges.
But when Marmaduke swung her poleaxe at Sakaki, Morpheus realized he'd underestimated her.
The Armored Martial Arts Emperor Marmaduke Brown could fight both with overwhelming force and with fluid precision. In her hands, the massive axe moved like a sewing needle.
Her skill was astounding.
As expected of a martial arts master, the ability to wield heavy weapons with the finesse of light ones was ingrained in her very being.
Fortunately, Sakaki wasn't just any martial artist either. His strength surpassed Marmaduke's, and he deftly dodged her attacks while targeting her weaknesses.
Before long, he shattered her knight armor.
Literally shattered it.
A surging aura enveloped Sakaki's hands as he struck her armor, cracking it with each blow.
In the end, he demolished the entire suit, securing victory for the match.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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