Avro roared as he raised his axe high into the sky. "[Earth Shatter Cleave]!"

Root appeared again from the ground and went straight to his axe, forming it into a giant root axe like before.

Avro smirked as he jumped into the air and came crashing down, aiming straight for Arden's head.

Arden looked at him and simply shifted his stance again. He slid his right foot back and lowered his arms into a clean guard.

His eyes were locked onto the axe, clearly calculating every possible move that Avro was able to make.

Avro looked at Arden, who didn't move at all and only smirked. "Take this, pretty boy!"

The moment the massive axe came down, Arden didn't dodge back but instead stepped forward and smirked. "Too predictable."

The axe cut right through the air, missing his head by inches, and Arden didn't even care about the aura of the axe.

He just let his body move with the flow beneath the descending attack.

Avro's eyes widened in shock as he saw the situation. "Wh-What?!"

Before Avro could land, Arden was rushing toward him, not wanting to miss the chance.

He rotated his body and twisted it for power, launching a strong and quick forward straight punch right in Avro's ribs.

Avro gasped as the force sent him stumbling backward while he clutched his side.

Dahlia cheered from the sideline. "Clean hit! That's my junior brother!"

Arden exhaled slowly, lowering his fist. "You rely too much on power, and that's why you always miss."

Avro growled, shaking off the pain. "Don't mock me, you bastard!"

He slammed his foot on the ground, sending mana pulses through the earth, and soon the ground cracked open and roots erupted from the crack.

"[Earthen Grasp]"

The roots shot forward in all directions, aiming to grab and crush him.

Arden frowned, stepping back quickly. "This time, it's root snakes, huh? Fine. Let's see how you handle this."

He couldn't use karate for this, as there were too many directions and movements from the root snakes.

So he took a deep breath and lowered his stance as he bent his knees and relaxed his body as he shifted into [Muay Thai].

The roots lunged toward him, but Arden began to move like water, slipping between the roots.

He twisted his body, pivoted, and launched a powerful roundhouse kick straight into the nearest root, snapping it apart.

Avro frowned, gritting his teeth. "Not bad, but let's see how you dodge this!"

He raised his axe high, covering it with roots again, and swung down violently. "[Root Splitter Slash]!"

The axe's slash resulted in a mana wave that ripped across the arena toward Arden.

Arden rolled forward, dodging the mana wave as it tore the ground behind him, leaving a deep crater.

He stood up straight, locking his eyes on Arden. "Just as I expected. No control and just raw power."

Avro roared as he charged forward again, sending the axe's mana waves like before.

Arden only smiled as he moved forward, dodging all the mana waves, and when he got close to Avro...

He lunged, lifting his knee high to perform a flying knee strike straight into Avro's chest.

Avro was sent sliding backward, coughing hard as he stumbled back, struggling to breathe with saliva drizzling from his mouth.

And before he could recover, Arden didn't give him any time and quickly followed with some rapid strikes.

He used his elbows and fists one after another and hit Avro's arms and chest and shoulders in quick bursts.

Avro grunted, taking each blow but refusing to fall. "Don't get cocky!"

He slammed his foot down again, and the roots beneath them exploded upward, trying to entangle Arden.

Arden jumped, making the roots miss him by the air.

He twisted midair, pulling his leg back and bringing it down in a clean axe kick right into Avro's shoulder.

The moment it connected, Avro dropped to one knee, and also the ground beneath them cracked from the impact.

Avro growled, clutching his shoulder. "You damn brat..."

Arden exhaled, wiping a bit of sweat from his chin and grinning. "Still not enough, huh?"

Avro raised his head, glaring back at Arden. "I'm not done yet!"

He let his mana flare again and even stronger than before. "[Earth Pulse Explosion]!"

The ground erupted violently, shaking the entire arena, and a cloud of dust covered everything.

For a moment, no one could see what was happening. Then suddenly out of the smoke, a sharp voice rang out. "Behind you."

Avro turned just in time to see Arden appear behind him, and his knee came up fast, slamming into his chin, sending him off the ground.

Before Avro could even react, Arden twisted, grabbed him midair, and executed a brutal clinch.

Arden held Avro's body to stabilize him while delivering repeated elbows and knees to his body, and at the same time he yelled.

"Take this... and this... you bastard!"

The arena echoed with the sound of impact until, finally, Arden twisted his hips and threw Avro over his shoulder.

Avro hit the ground hard, raising the dust around them, and for a few, the whole place went silent.

He lay there, breathing raggedly, his arms twitching and his eyes rolled slightly, dazed.

Arden exhaled, stepping back and cracking his neck. "Still alive, right?"

Avro groaned weakly.

Arden looked down at him, then at the massive axe lying nearby. "Good. Because I'm not quite done yet."

Avro blinked in terror. "What?!"

Before anyone could stop him, Arden picked up Avro's axe, spun it in his hands once, and walked over.

Garion raised an eyebrow, amused. "Oh no. I know that look."

Avro's eyes went wide as Arden crouched beside him. "Wait...wait, what are you?!"

Arden grinned. "You've been asking for a haircut all day."

In a single swift motion...

FWSSH!

A chunk of Avro's big green afro hit the ground.

The arena went dead quiet.

Then Dahlia burst out laughing, nearly falling over. "He actually did it! He cut his hair!"

Garion clutched his stomach, laughing hard. "That's my disciple! Victory and a free trim!"

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.