Cole's punch landed on Nathaniel's shoulder and sent him stumbling backwards.

The wave of pain coursed through his veins like a raging river.

Nathaniel jumped away to a safety distance but noticed that Cole just chased right after.

He didn't plan on giving him even a second to catch his breath.

'What would Kiernan do in my place?' Nathaniel kept thinking. 'What would he do?!'

Cole's punch came suddenly and landed right at Nathaniel's nose.

SMACK!

'Fuck it!' Nathaniel grabbed his hands together.

It was the starting motion for his Three Technique move!

Cole's eyes widened suddenly, and he immediately plucked his ears with his fingers.

CLAP!

Nathaniel grabbed his hands tightly together and was about to walk over to Cole to do the second phase, but then Cole's fist came flying at him.

"?!"

SMACK!

The punch landed on his face and sent him sliding to the edge of the ring.

'He covered his ears so he wouldn't get influenced by my move?!' Nathaniel thought in shock.

"This is bad!" Jin said out loud. "He knows the weakness of Nathaniel's attack!"

"How though?" Ryan frowned.

"You fool!" Cole screamed to Nathaniel. "I spent the last night checking every team's videos that were still left in the tournament.

"I saw you do this same against Raimei. I saw that your opponent immediately started covering their ears, so I knew that it must be something to do with noise!"

'Shit!' Nathaniel's expression turned ugly.

"That's what the weak must do!" Cole shouted. "We must work harder!"

Smack!

Another fist landed at Nathaniel's face.

'My strongest weapon has been defeated!' Nathaniel almost choked on his own words. 'This is bad!'

Karuza High's fans in the crowd seemed unnaturally quiet. They weren't cheering like the other schools.

While they wanted to cheer for Nathaniel to give him energy to fight back, it was clear to everyone that it wasn't matter of energy.

It was a matter of fighting spirit, which Nathaniel really didn't have any.

'Why is this happening? I wasn't feeling nervous, so why…' Nathaniel gritted his teeth. 'I thought I was confident in my abilities, but I guess I was wrong.'

Jin grabbed the white towel and said, "I don't want to look at this anymore…"

With a toss, the white towel landed on the ring.

"The match is over!" The referee shouted. "Winner is Cole Nick!"

"E-eh?" Nathaniel looked stunned and turned to the coach with a look of betrayal. "W-why?"

"Hmph." Cole stepped back and returned to his corner.

With his lips trembling, Nathaniel stepped down from the ring and plopped down on the bench before putting a white towel over his face.

"Coach Jin, why did you do that?" Klaus asked angrily. "Nathaniel could've still had it!"

"…" Jin looked at Nathaniel. "What the hell were you doing?"

Nathaniel didn't answer and kept looking down at the ground.

"Nathaniel did his best, coach," Timothy said.

"No." Ryan suddenly said. "Nathaniel wasn't giving his all."

"E-eh?" Klaus and Timothy looked surprised.

"How do you plan on winning if you abandon your martial arts?" Jin asked and touched his chest. "The Martial Soul won't help those who abandon theirs."

"H-he abandoned Kamala Style?" Timothy looked thoughtful.

"He tried to copy Kiernan like a fool," Ryan said. "When he tried to use his Three Technique move out of desperation, it was the only time he used Kamala Style in the fight."

Nathaniel gritted his teeth and said. "I am sorry, but I just didn't have faith in Kamala Style…"

"That's why you were weaker than normal." Jin said. "Martial Soul didn't give you any power."

…

In the VIP Room.

"That guy's Martial Soul turned really ugly." Muriel said while leaning against her arm. "It looks like he suffered from abandonment."

"Who?" Godfred asked.

"Karuza High's fighter." Muriel pointed to that ring. "The one who is hiding under that towel."

"Why do you keep paying attention to that weak school anyway?" Cadell asked with slight anger.

"I want to see Kiernan lose, that's why." Muriel replied with a glare.

Godfred looked surprised. 'I thought she was fond of him for a moment. I guess young lady's mind changes quickly. That's good, though. That young man is just trash talent from a weak country.'

"Abandonment is a serious issue." Godfred said. "It is plaguing the martial arts world more and more. Those who don't trust in their martial arts anymore will lose all their strength."

…

In the crowd.

"Oh no, they lost the first fight." Karma's friend said.

"…" Karma looked at Nathaniel with a deep look. 'Abandonment…'

With his left hand, he touched his chest and felt his Martial Soul faintly. It felt weak.

…

Back in the ring.

"Karuza High, bring your next fighter!" The referee shouted.

Ryan stood up and rubbed the back of his head as he made up the stairs.

Klaus and Timothy cheered for him. It was an important fight.

If Ryan lost, Kiernan would have to fight through three people to advance to the round of 16.

It sounded very difficult because they were quite a bit afraid of Tyler, who seemed to be a monster at the same league as Kiernan!

"The second fight is between Ryan Lee and Cole Nick!"

The referee shouted and looked at the two fighters.

"Are both of you ready?!"

"I am." Cole hopped on his toes. 'Ryan Lee, his speed is dangerous.'

"Yes," Ryan said, looking Cole straight in the eye.

"FIGHT!"

The referee screamed and swung his arm down as if it were a sword.

Without even a wasted second, both fighters lunged forward with full force.

With their fists clenched, they swung their arms and clashed their fists together.

Spurt!

As a result of powerful blows, both fists started bleeding.

"Argh…" Cole groaned slightly.

Ryan didn't make a single voice and instead whipped his leg at Cole's thigh.

SMACK!

It was a flesh-resounding sound that echoed far and wide.

'Was that a kick or whip?!' Cole thought with a look of anguish.

Ryan's right arm twitched, and then dozens of jabs landed at Cole's face.

The jabs were so fast that Cole didn't even see them before they landed on his face.

'It isn't just his running speed. His punches are fast as well!' Cole thought with blood flowing from his nose. 'This guy is a freak of nature.'