Death... and me

There were no skills in the battles whatsoever. Everything was resolved through pure speed, strength, and fighting style. The elders also made sure that no Divine Energy or Soul Power was used during the fights. Because of that, the show of lights and explosions that would normally happen couldn't be seen in the arenas.

In any case, it still served to show who could still hold on their own without the support of the skills they were so used to using. One of them was obviously Rean. After all, Roan made sure to prepare him for all possible situations, including ones where he didn't have access to his Divine Soul Power abilities.

'Death Style, First Form, Stellar Piercer!'

Rean's body shot forward like an arrow, piercing through the defense of his opponent. Although Roan's Death Style used Divine Soul Power and Elements, that didn't mean they couldn't be used without them.

*Bang!*

Rean's first opponent, after the first phase, raised the shaft of his spear, wanting to block Rean's attack. Unfortunately, the fusion of speed and strength sent him flying like a cannonball. His body then hit the protection formation of the arena, breaking a few of the man's bones in the process.

"I give up..."

That was everything he could say before he passed out. Well, Rean wouldn't attack him anymore anyway.

"Winner, Rean Larks!"

Rean nodded before coming down from the arena. 'I was lucky in this second fight. To think I would fight a Core and Soul Fusion Realm cultivator.'

Rean could have destroyed the guy's spear, but he chose not to do so since he knew how hard it was for disciples of small powers to get them. It wasn't like he took pleasure breaking things, let alone killing.

He then looked around and could see many participants giving up or being defeated. However...

*Arrrgh!*

He could also see some who died. Everyone was desperate to advance in the competition, so it wasn't hard to see both sides pushing too hard in battles where their strengths were similar. Neither one wanted to lose, so even though a victor was most likely decided at some point, they still continued until one side killed the other. 'There's only one Divine Vein. Is it really worth dying for it?' If it was Rean who was in danger of dying, he would definitely give up without even thinking twice.

Once all battles were over, the 8192 cultivators had reduced to 4096. As promised, Ravio gave everyone thirty minutes of rest after the last battle was over. However, it was easy to see that many cultivators wouldn't be able to recover with so little time.

Ravio couldn't care less, though. As soon as the thirty minutes were over, he started the next round of matches. "Alright, everyone has five minutes to enter the arenas. Those who aren't inside until then will be disqualified."

Rean was still fine, so he went straight to his arena. He quickly jumped on it, just to see that his opponent was there already. However, he also found out with his Divine Sense that his opponent this time wouldn't be easy. 'Initial Stage Saint Realm!'

Rean's opponent wasn't surprised, though. After all, he did check the brackets... which Rean didn't. "You're one of the famous twins, right? You can call me Galer. I'm sorry, but I have no intention of letting you take more Divine Veins."

Rean smiled in response as he said, "Well, that'll depend on whether you're stronger than me or not."

Of course, the judge didn't wait for their trash talk to continue. "Ready...start!"

'Death Style, First Form, Stellar Piercer!'

Rean reacted swiftly, aiming to end the battle as fast as possible, like always.

However, his opponent wasn't a weakling. He took out his saber and quickly brandished it exactly against the tip of Rean's Black Star.

'Overwhelming Push!'

*Clang!*

Both sword and saber hit each other, forcing Rean and Galer back from the sheer strength of their attacks. However, Galer was truly surprised by Rean's strength. After all, not only was his cultivation higher, he was part of the Truik Race, one of the races with innately higher strength.

Naturally, Rean was also surprised. However, not because of his opponent's strength, but because of his saber. 'Silver Peak-level! My Black Star is still at Silver Middle-level, so it could only match that saber's power. It couldn't damage it. Also...' Rean looked at the muscles of his opponent. 'Definitely quick reaction time for someone with a body like that.'

Rean knew that his advantage wasn't in raw strength. Instead, it was the combination of both strength and speed. With that being said, staying still was the worst thing he could do.

'Death Style, First Movement Form, Shadow Steps!'

'Life Fire, Flame Emperor Slash!'

'Death Style, Second Form, Crescent Moon!'

Once again, Rean used his skills, but without the support of Divine Energy nor Soul Power. Only the movement and the raw force behind the skills were present. Nevertheless, he launched attacks nonstop from everywhere.

His opponent wasn't as fast as Rean, but he was used to his own shortcomings. He knew that speed wasn't the thing he excelled in the most, so he formed a very good self-defense form.

'Overbearing Field!'

His saber moved around his body, seemingly covering every corner that Rean could attack from. Galer's eyes also followed Rean's movements closely, making sure that the direction from where he defended would be correct.

Sure enough, without Divine Energy and Soul Power, it was much easier to follow the opponent's movements. That was very true for both sides.

The other battles in the surroundings quickly settled down as one would usually find stronger opponents against weaker ones. That's how the random selection of opponents worked. Because of that, Rean and Galer's battle quickly gathered quite a small audience.

Obviously, the illusory formation showing the happening of the test eventually settled on Rean's fight as well.

'Life Fire, Third Form, Flaming Blade Arc!'

Once again, another attack without Divine Energy, Soul Power, or Elements was sent.

'Gotcha!'

However, Galer saw an opening in Rean's attack pattern and used it to counterattack the moment Rean arrived!

'True Charge!'

Galer's Truik Race's leg muscles exploded with strength for a moment before he shot against Rean's attack like a mad bull. Rean's Flaming Blade Arc scratched Galer's shoulder, but that was all that happened. Meanwhile, Galer's sudden charge brought him and his saber right in front of Rean's face!

"Die!"