Although Kai appeared to be standing completely still in the face of the fearsome tiger, he had already activated Focus Technique in his core.
At that moment, Kai had a very bold idea.
Focus Technique is capable of absorbing someone else's martial energy into my own body. While I can't be going around hunting people down to absorb their martial energy for the sake of training, what about martial energy that has been released and materialized like this tiger over here?
With that in mind, Kai reached out with both hands and grabbed hold of the tiger's head.
He then began channeling Focus Technique to absorb the martial energy, all while being careful not to use any force or the tiger would dissipate instantly.
The floor beneath his feet began to crack from the impact, and his knees began to bend from the enormous force of the attack.
"I knew Kai was too young to go against Zachariah!"
"It's a miracle that he's even surviving this long in the arena with him!"
The crowd could be heard murmuring in the distance.
Josephine clutched at the hem of her shirt with her sweaty palms.
"Mr. Chance is going to lose! I'm going to save him!" Phoenix muttered through clenched teeth as she leaped to her feet.
She wouldn't just sit by and watch Kai get killed, even if saving him would put her life at risk.
Tommy grabbed her by the arm and said, "Given your body's current condition, you won't be of any help even if you charge in there. Let's just wait a little longer. I believe Mr. Chance won't go down that easily!"
Despite what he told her, Tommy was also feeling incredibly anxious at the time. He hated himself for being so weak and useless in such a situation.
Due to his status as the underground king in Horington, Tommy had everything at his fingertips. As such, he never bothered to train at all.
However, having witnessed the battles in the arena earlier, Tommy began to regret not putting in the effort back then.
Instead of following up with more strikes, Zachariah simply stood there and watched as Kai struggled to defend against his attack.
"I'll make sure you die slowly in fear and terror!" Zachariah said coldly.
Kai ignored him and continued channeling Focus Technique to absorb the martial energy around him. As it was his first time attempting such a feat, he had some difficulties getting used to it.
Nonetheless, he could feel the surrounding energy being absorbed into his body. All he had to do was process it in his core, and he would be able to use it for himself.
Over time, the tiger made out of martial energy began to fade and eventually disappeared before their very eyes. Both of Kai's feet had been planted deep into the ground by the time he straightened his back.
"I'm impressed that you were able to survive that attack," Zachariah exclaimed in surprise when he saw that Kai was perfectly fine.
"Your son's corpse is still lying on the ground over there. You'd better give me everything you've got if you wish to avenge him!"
Because it would be inappropriate for him to just drain Zachariah of his martial energy in front of everyone, Kai decided to provoke him into releasing it all in his attacks instead.
That way, he would be able to absorb Zachariah's martial energy without looking like a villain.
Sure enough, Kai's taunts worked wonders and caused Zachariah to explode in anger. "You insolent fool!" he shouted while leaping into the air.
The surrounding martial energy condensed into the shape of sharp blades before they rained down on Kai from above.
Not only did Kai not dodge the incoming attack, but he even moved toward the martial energy blades.
To everyone's surprise, the martial energy blades vanished into nothingness after making contact with Kai's body.
"What the..."
Zachariah's eyes were wide with shock.
The crowd, too, was dumbfounded by the sight before them. It was the first time they had witnessed anything like this. The martial energy attacks from an Internal Energy Grandmaster are insanely powerful! How did they just disappear without a trace after hitting his body?
"Do you think Kai used Golden Armor?" someone asked.
Everyone then turned to look at the men from Iron Gate Academy as they were the only ones in Summerbank capable of using Golden Armor.
Noticing their reaction, the head of Iron Gate Academy, Master Iron, waved at the crowd awkwardly and explained, "Hey, don't look at me like that! Golden Armor isn't sufficient to withstand an attack from an Internal Energy Grandmaster!"
Just two days ago, I had boldly sought out Kai for revenge. Now that I have witnessed his strength in this fight, I realize that I'm not even worthy of thinking about challenging him!
"Do you have any more tricks up your sleeve? Come on, I'm waiting for you!" Kai taunted Zachariah with a cold sneer.
Zachariah stared long and hard at Kai, but he wasn't in a hurry to attack this time. At that moment, the guy wearing a hat that had been standing among the Jantz family's men finally looked up at Kai.
Sensing his gaze, Kai turned to look in his direction as well. Having gotten a clear view of the man's face, Kai saw that he was actually an old man.
He then decided to ignore the old man and shifted his gaze back toward Zachariah as he continued, "Don't you want to avenge your son and your daughter's family? Come on! I'm standing right here!"
Despite the provocations from Kai, Zachariah simply stood there and stared at him with a frown on his face.
The explosion pill did give me a boost in power, but it doesn't provide me with an infinite supply of martial energy. At this rate, I'll run out of martial energy after delivering two more attacks. When that happens, I'll be completely vulnerable like meat on the chopping block!
Noticing that Zachariah wasn't falling for his taunts anymore, Kai let out a snort as he said coldly, "Fine. If you don't have the guts to make a move, I will!"
With that, the air around him became charged with an explosive surge of martial energy.
Like a tornado, his energy levels sent the tables and chairs flying everywhere. Unable to withstand the intense force, the arena crumbled beneath his feet.
The dust cleared after a while, but the energy surrounding Kai's body was unaffected as he stood atop the rubble.
It was so overwhelmingly powerful that Zachariah had no choice but to unleash all of his remaining martial energy just to block it.
Enveloped by a faint mist, Kai looked like an angel when he levitated above the ground.
Zachariah's eyes were filled with fear as he could feel his martial energy draining rapidly like it was being sucked out of him.
By the time he realized something was amiss and prepared to deactivate his martial energy, his body had already been completely depleted of it.
"W-Who the hell are you?" he asked in horror.
Now I see why he kept taunting me earlier! He's trying to provoke me into attacking him so he can absorb my martial energy! That's how he was able to make all those blades disappear into thin air!
"I am the person who is going to kill you!" Kai shouted while glaring coldly at him from above.
To him, Zachariah was nothing but a dead man walking.
"N-No... You can't kill me..."
Zachariah's face went pale as he stepped back, only to trip over a piece of rubble and fall on his behind.
