Cain decided he spent enough time just casually playing around. It was time to start the true domination.
In this instance, he released both his Astral and Spirit energy!
These different forms of energies linked perfectly with Cain's Soul, causing his prowess to instantly rise.
"Haah!!"
With a warring shout, Cain flexed his arms and poured all of his strength into the Spiral Sword.
An overwhelming force suddenly tore through Joel's arm. His pupils shrunk to needle-sized as he felt his arm nearly go entirely numb!
Before he could react to this dramatic change, a painful tearing force crushed upon his body.
With a swipe of Sprial Sword, Cain sent Joel's war hammer flying into the wind like it was a useless sack of potatoes. Its immense weight was treated like utter garbage!
And Cain's assault didn't stop. His speed surpassed anything Joel could react. With another swipe of his Spiral Sword, Cain unleashed a burst of golden Sword Light that struck right onto Joel's chest.
The sound of glass shattering loudly reverberated as Joel's proactive Innate Aura cracked apart.
The burst of golden Sword Light tore through all of Joel's defenses, causing him to vomit blood as his body shot off like a bloody bullet.
In his seemingly defenseless state, Cain wanted to give chase. But before he could, Joel ferociously roared, overdrawing on his Qi reserve and stopping his soaring momentum.
All manners of pain running through him were suppressed. Joel didn't care about anything else; he rushed suddenly flew high into the skies, leaving behind a trail of blood from his wounds.
At the highest vantage point he could muster, Joel came to a screeching halt.
Clear as day, everyone bore witness to a large hole tearing his robes open, showcasing a bloodstained chest.
Blood as well poured from Joel's mouth, soiling his body with a chilling crimson glow, causing him to look a bit terrifying.
This fight was too mind-shaking for the audience. Only a short time has passed, and Joel was already injured to this degree!
He had even lost his Earthen Spirit Weapon! No weapon in hand will only make his combat prowess drop to the depths of the Earth.
And yet, despite his overwhelming disadvantages, a feral grin split across Joel's face.
"No matter how great your prowess is, you can't match my flight! It's over now!" True viciousness fueled Joel's entire being. His ferocious gaze seemed worse than a demon coming from hell.
Pain, humiliation, and inferiority made him Joel's Martial Heart intensely surged.
Under such immense pressure, his prowess was greatly surging beyond anything he could ever muster up before!
"So he really took to flight! If this was anyone else, it would be unfair. But this…"
"Indeed, flight may be Joel's only advantage!"
Many across the audience believed they were going to see Cain put his wits to the test.
After all, since he couldn't fly, he could only find some effective range attack to knock Joel out of the skies. At least, that what's thousands of others believe.
But as Kali and Amber watched the duel, they both knew it was nearing the end.
"Haah~. It's already over. This won't bode well for those guys' overwhelming arrogance." Amber quietly sighed, her head shaking in seeming pity. Though, her lips were curled in amusement.
"Heh. They should be grateful that Cain is only stretching around. Their arrogance is unfounded in my eyes." Kali was entirely unimpressed.
Throughout this whole battle, she never once gained any impression about this supposed Azure Lightning genius. Like she thought, he's nothing more than a jumping clown.
High up in the skies, Joel put all any other thoughts from his mind. Both of his hands raised up, and an immense surge of Azure Lightning energy discharged.
Azure Lightning energy soared out of his palm, rapidly converging to form two massive Azure Lightning energies palms!
The instance the Azure Lightning palms formed, Joel's prowess rose to the very pinnacle!
"It's finally becoming White Hot! Joel bringing out an Earthen Martial Skill!"
"This power is a true marking of a genius!"
The audience was stunned by the magical spectacle.
Both Azure Lightning palms were over 15 feet long and tall, covering the skies in a beautiful show Azure Lights.
As Joel's Aura reached its peak, many peak Early Stage Innate Lords could feel the pressure.
"His Perception of Minor Lightning Law reached this degree! Perhaps he already went beyond Threshold Success and reached Small Success!"
A Martial Cultivator with high attainments in Minor Lightning Law critically analyzed Joel's Lightning and, after a moment, said, "It's not precisely Small Success, but he's just a fine line away from it!"
When an cultivator reaches the Innate Lord Realm, they must comprehend some form of any Minor Law in order to fully complete their Innate Lord breakthrough.
And Minor Laws similarly have degrees of completion that can only be reached with a high enough Martial Perception. This would be referred to as the Martial Law's Perception, something related but also entirely different from regular Martial Perception.
And with each degree of Success one can attain in a Minor Law, their prowess will be massively boosted without even needing to improve their cultivation base!
Even just reaching the peak of Threshold Success can tremendously amplify anyone's prowess. Even other Early Innate Lord geniuses can't necessarily achieve this degree of Success!
Just how can anyone on the same level possibly defend against this?!
In Joel's mind, perhaps this Martial Skill could brutally injure Cain. Or at least, he will get swept up by the shockwaves if he dodges.
Either way, Joel was determined to see the blood spewing out of Cain!
"Azure Twisting Palms!!"
Swinging his hands down, Joel unleashed the Azure Twisting palms, both Lightning palms crashing straight down at Cain like massive meteorites!
Cain narrowed his eyes just slightly. In the face of this strike, he sensed he would need to try harder for complete victory. And since he wants total domination, Cain decided it was time to end the charade.
His Spiral Sword pointed straight up while his body stayed entirely still, unmovable, just like a real sword. Cain instantly revolved his Draconic Lightning Arts, causing his energy to intensely surge.
His brief surge of Aura washed over the entirety of the Plaza, climbing to heights that utterly dwarfed Joel's overdrawn prowess! Then, from the tip of his blade, a bright blue light dazzlingly flashed.
Draconic Lightning Claw!
A massive Draconic Lightning Claw soared from the tip of the Spiral Sword, billowing out an invincible Draconic Might! As the Draconic Lightning Claw flew, it seemed to cut apart the void itself.
'Chiii~!!'
The massive Azure Twisting palms exploded into tiny wisps of energies by the Draconic Lightning Claw. It was like an egg striking an iron wall; the difference couldn't be compared!
And with unstoppable momentum, the Draconic Lightning Claw reached Joel's horrified face.
Bearing the brunt of a prestigious Draconic Might wasn't anything an average human like him could handle.
For the first time in his life, Joel felt genuine, unnerving fear!
This was fear that birthed from the depths of his Martial Heart and bloodstreams; it overshadows any semblance of regular fear!
In a hasty attempt at a last stand, Joel hurriedly revolved all his energies to the absolute limit, forming a protective Azure Lightning barrier.
However, his efforts were all in vain.
The Draconic Lightning Claw exploded the Azure Lightning barrier, decimated Joel's proactive Innate Aura, and detonated upon his entire body.
A fierce explosion discharged into a Lightning storm that seemed to swallow all light, becoming a dazzling radiant blue flash that many had to shield their eyes from.
A Profound Soul genius was causing such power…this was genuinely terrifying strength!
The blinding flash only lasted a few moments before quickly disappearing.
As everything became clearer, everyone snapped their eyes right onto the Spirit Platform. What they saw left them stunned into silence.
Now on the Platform was an several feet large crater. Extending from the crater were enormous cracks that split across the Platform, causing fissures like holes to open up.
But beyond the destruction, what was most shocking was the bloody body inside the crater.
Joel could barely stand anymore, kneeling on the ground as blood oozed from every orifice of his body. His Soul Form dispersed, his luxurious Azure Robes were tattered, and he was in agonizing pain.
The remnants of Draconic Lightning energy fried his Qi Veins, making him unable to summon any energy or even move his body. He was teetering on the verge of unconsciousness.
But even with such injuries, his eyes had a vicious light as he stared at Cain's perfect form.
This crushing defeat would be a shame he wouldn't be able to clear away for the rest of his life. It will forever be craved deep into his Martial Heart, the ultimate sense of inferiority.
"Spirit Master Cain…he's a genius! A true genius of this generation! Nobody can compare to him!"
"Boundaries don't matter to him! He's a perfect Martial Talent!"
Nearly everyone in the audience gushed over this result.
Even just Cain standing upright with an indifferent face was heightening his prestige. His dashingly handsome frame seemed utterly unbearable.
Any genius who will dare to say they are superior Martial Talent will only end up being ruthlessly suppressed by him!
"This-this…haah…I can't believe this happened to Junior Brother…"
Those from the Azure Lightning Sect were evidently far less thrilled over this result. Each of them could only feel a sense of overwhelming suffocation.
From here on out, it wouldn't matter the kinds of geniuses they produce. With Cain here, Crimson Sea Academy can confidently say they're the superior Martial Talent in the entire City!
Such a notion made these lofty Azure Lightning Sect disciples sick to their stomachs. Yet, there was nothing any of them could say or do in this moment to reverse this reality.
As Cain stood proudly on stage, he had a slight satisfied smile over this battle. He still didn't need to unleash his Soul Form, but he did need to use a considerable amount of energy to thoroughly crush Joel. For sure, the power behind a Minor Law was something even he couldn't underestimate.
But this only fueled a burning drive within Cain. The pangs of battle excitement still flowed through him.
Cain was determined to seek more incredible opponents like this in the future. With this, his mental state can improve, and he can fulfill a new thrill that's etched deep into his Martial Heart.
As Cain mindlessly pondered about this, his eyes subconsciously glanced over to Joel. And he, of course, could see the apparent hatred swirling within this proud youth's eyes.
If looks could kill, Cain fathoms he would've sliced to thousands of pieces.
However, no matter how much hatred Joel harbors towards him, Cain didn't have to worry even a single bit.
Joel's backing is naturally far inferior compared to him. The hatred and humiliation he was served could never be made up, only sallow into the depths of his Martial Heart, never to clear away.
Thinking upon this, Cain faintly realized a critical thing.
Seeking rivals to push himself to the limits will also come with the costs of having a powerful backing behind him.
If he didn't have this type of immense status, much less the Azure Lightning Sect, even any other top powerful Sect could seek trouble with for maiming their disciples.
In the eyes of others, this may seem vicious, unfair, and or brutal. However, after experiencing numerous changes in mental state, Cain could see why such an importance is placed on face and pride.
These kinds of feelings naturally develop the farther down one walks either the Martial or Spiritual Road.
With the hurdles, tribulations, evolutions, and immense prowess one can achieve from these Roads, it would be impossible for anyone to not develop a sense of pride.
This is especially apparent in the ones granted the title of geniuses. These youths can shine brighter among countless other individuals inhabiting this endless world. Naturally, their arrogance will develop to an extreme.
Of course, matters like seeking out revenge don't always happen.
Cain had read about numerous fair Sect-like organizations where the abuse of status power is heavily restricted.
Still, to be on the safer side of things, going into duels with proper backings will eliminate nearly all of the after troubles.
The only times where these rules wouldn't apply is when Martial cultivators or even World Spirit Masters go on adventures, seeking out their own lucky chances.
These times, all pretenses drop.
After all, if on some random adventure, a high status happens to fall prey to impossible to avoid death and nothing can be recounted, then their backings simply can't do anything about it.
For sure, if Cain ever invites trouble that can be immediately solved, sneakingly killing was always the best option. He didn't necessarily have to worry about this now. But being a bit overly cautious was somewhat in his nature.
Suddenly, Cain was torn from his thoughts when detecting a familiar presence entering his senses.