The Supreme God

With a deafening sound, the tip of Billy's spear knocked into the pagoda. Time seemed to stop for a moment after which, violent
waves of power exploded out from the point of contact. It was as if the ground trembled and the arena was torn apart. All eyes
were fixed at the spot where the two objects had collided.
Then the shaft of the spear bent, little by little, before the eyes of an astonished audience. Within a fleeting moment, it was bent
completely into a bow, until it was on the verge of breaking.
Swoosh!
Astounded, Billy reacted quickly. He twisted his arms, drew back the spear and flew backward in an awkward gesture, pushed
back with a mighty acceleration due to the spring force when the bent spear whipped straight.
"It's not possible!" he yelled in disbelief as he collected his wits.
His cry of surprise was heard by all. But this time, no one dared to make a sound.
Finally, in front of Austin, Billy was no longer the superior and confident warrior he had always been. For the first time ever, his
face showed signs of alarm.
Austin on the other hand, felt elated. His long hair flew in the air conspicuously and there was pride rushing through him. At this
moment, he was showing an awe-inspiring demeanor, with domineering confidence and pride.
"That's just the start!"
He suddenly yelled, rushing forward. Grand Pagoda Summoning Skill was more powerful than he had imagined. And it had felt
so good that he wanted to use more of it on Billy, his supposedly strong opponent. With the pagoda in his hands, he attacked.
Grinding his teeth, Billy also let out a loud roar. All his vital energy gushed out through the veins of his hand and concentrated
itself into his spear. The spear hummed and trembled under the mighty and forceful surge. Suddenly, it spiraled out like a viper
and dashed towards the pagoda.
"Clink!"
"Clunk!"
"Clunk!"

Three times, the two weapons collided. Three times, the sound rang out. Beginning at the point of impact, violent and
extraordinarily powerful waves swept out across the arena like a stormfront, sending pieces of rock and concrete flying
everywhere.
With each stroke, Billy was forced a step backward.
Finally, under the gazes of more than a thousand shocked eyes, after the third crash, his body flew out of the arena and landed
heavily on the ground outside, leaving a long trail of blood behind him.
It was this very moment when victory and defeat were divided between the two contestants. Billy had lost. Clearly.
The pagoda had blocked every single one of his attacks and had penetrated through his defense like through a sheet of paper. It
had smashed his vital energy and damaged him severely.
Having witnessed the whole combat closely, all the outer disciples glared at Austin in horror and shock.
There were some who were less horrified and more awed, and they stared at him with hot envy.
Beyond almost everyone's expectations, Austin, the most unpopular candidate, had won!
His victory inspired all of the disciples present who weren't supporting Billy. Despite the risks, Grand Pagoda Summoning Skill
was indeed a powerful spell, and impressed everyone. As a fourth-grade martial arts skill, once mastered, it could even have
proved fatal to the enemy in combat.
And Billy's Dragon Winding Spear Skill was just not enough. Although he had learned to master half level of spear intent, the skill
he was employing behind it was merely third-grade, one stage lower than that of Austin's. His defeat came naturally.
Having seen the true power of the Grand Pagoda Summoning Skill, many of the outer disciples were itchy to learn it. They were
hoping they could also use it in their combats.
"This is impossible! I don't believe it!"
Billy yelled in protest, trudging away from the ground desperately. The corners of his mouth were stained with blood, and his
eyes were horribly red. His eyelids were a very violent shade of purple. He had intended to raise his reputation by fighting Austin.
But the fight had gone awry. He had been defeated beyond expectation, and defeated badly.

He was a man who always valued his prestige. How could he accept the fact that Austin was superior? Come again, how could
he accept a defeat as bad as Waterloo? His eyes blazed with fury when he looked at Austin, as if he wanted to devour him alive.
Suddenly there came a loud cheer.
"Tin has won! Tin! Tin! Hip hip hooray!"
Evan clapped and yelled at Austin's victory. He was obviously very excited. His eyes, too, were full of excitement and ecstasy.
In contrast to his joy, the dozen or so boys who had picked on Evan were all pale.
They were all Billy's companions, and had been proud to be so. But now, their idol had been defeated by Austin, who clearly
possessed greater strength than Billy did. They were too afraid of Austin and didn't dare pick on Evan anymore. They clearly
knew that he was Austin's pal. Thus, they quietly mingled into the crowd, careful not to draw any attention.
Standing in a corner, Denali breathed out a sigh of relief. She patted her chest a couple of times to steady her breathing. The
worried look between her furrowed eyebrows melted away with Billy's chances of victory.
'This bastard! He knows how to keep people who care about him worrying!' she thought.
In another corner, Mindy's frayed nerves relaxed too. Complicated feelings surged in her heart. She stared at Austin, seemingly
lost in her thoughts.
"How is this possible! How can this idiot win against Billy!"
Lara exclaimed in great disgust.
Standing by her side, Marvin looked sullen. He stared at Austin with dread.
... ...
"I am not defeated yet! How can I fall at your hands? Let's start over!"
Billy yelled in a sudden outburst of temper. The vital energy ran wild inside him when he pounced towards Austin once again.
And his spear flew like a flood dragon speeding across the sky.
"Swoosh!"

Austin's eyes were cold and indifferent. He didn't even move from his place. Simply changing his stance to his fighting posture,
he held the pagoda high. He was facing the spear directly.
"Bump!"
Once again, Billy thumped against the pagoda and flew across the arena, thudding into a corner.
But this time, Austin didn't stop at merely defending his own self against the attack. He followed Billy and swung the pagoda high
over his head.
In this moment of life and death, Billy suddenly recovered from his madness. Before Austin could hit him, his eyes suddenly
opened wide in horror, and he shrieked," I give up! Stop! You win! You win!"
With his words, Austin's attack came to a halt.
The forceful swing stopped just before the pagoda hit Billy in the face. However, some swirls of energy were still thrown out and
cut his skin open. Streaks of blood ran down his cheeks, along with tears and sweat.
Austin stared into his eyes, and asked slowly," You've really given up, haven't you?"
When Billy heard his words, his face twitched violently as his expressions changed. After a while, he nodded unwillingly, since he
didn't have any other choice. He struggled to climb up to his feet but his downcast eyes were filled with ferocity and
malevolence.