Alex had started using some of his more advanced techniques against Eric now, and the reason was simple.
The wristband was gone.
Without it attached to his body anymore, Alex could no longer be properly tracked by the systems controlling the tournament.
At least, that was what Eric claimed.
And honestly, the more Alex thought about it, the more it started making sense.
The wristbands were not just ordinary devices. They monitored the participants constantly. Their health, their movement, their energy output, even sudden changes in their cultivation stage were all recorded through them.
That was how the tournament prevented cheating.
Anyone trying to hide a higher stage would eventually be exposed once their energy exceeded the allowed limit.
Now though, Alex no longer had that restriction tied to his body.
Even Eric had already said it himself.
To those outside, Alex was most likely already marked as eliminated. Maybe even dead.
Still, Alex did not fully trust it.
'There could still be other ways they monitor the tournament,' he thought.
'Cameras... hidden sensors... tracking formations... anything.'
The great clans were not stupid. A tournament this massive would obviously have layers of security behind it.
But despite knowing that, Alex still chose to take the risk.
Because right now, he no longer had the luxury of holding back too much.
The others could quit the tournament whenever they wanted.
Alex could not.
If he failed to survive until the final three participants remained, then his death would become absolute.
No escape.
No second chance.
That was why this entire tournament had always felt different for him.
For the others, it was competition.
For Alex, it was survival.
Because of that, he had finally decided to start using some of his real techniques.
Not his full strength.
Not yet.
He was still suppressing himself carefully.
Every movement, every strike, every technique was still being controlled around the level of a Stage Two warrior.
But even then, the difference was already beginning to show.
And Eric had noticed it clearly.
Alex and Eric dashed toward each other at full speed, neither of them slowing down for even a second.
Wind burst around their feet as they closed the distance rapidly.
'This one is the fake clone. I don't need to worry about it,' Eric thought confidently as he charged forward.
With the help of his system, he could already tell which Alex was real and which one was the astral body.
The astral body ran past him first, slipping to his back while the real Alex remained ahead.
Eric ignored the fake immediately.
His bladed arm sliced out violently toward the real Alex.
Shing!
The heated blade cut straight through Alex's body.
No blood.
No resistance.
Eric's eyes widened slightly.
At the exact same moment, a powerful kick slammed into the back of Eric's leg from behind.
Bang!
The force bent his knee instantly and forced him downward.
Before Eric could recover, the real Alex rushed in from the front and drove his knee straight into Eric's helmet.
Bang!
The metallic helmet rang loudly from the impact.
Even with the protection of the suit, Eric still felt the hit rattle through his head.
His vision shook for a brief second.
But before he could completely lose balance, the thrusters behind his suit activated.
Fssshh!
The burst of force lifted him upward before he could crash fully to the ground.
Eric reacted quickly.
While still airborne, he spun his bladed arm in a wide circle, trying to cut through both Alexes at once.
The sharp blade sliced through the air violently.
One of the Alexes immediately jumped backward to avoid the strike.
The moment Eric saw that movement, his eyes sharpened.
'Found you.'
The thrusters behind his suit exploded with power again.
Boom!
Eric shot forward far faster than before, the sudden burst even exceeding his own expectation.
The speed was insane.
Alex's eyes widened slightly.
'I can't block that,' he thought instantly.
The next moment, he swapped positions with the astral body.
Allowing Eric to pass straight through his body.
"What?!" Eric roared in shock.
He spun around instantly, only for Alex's kick to crash right into his face.
Bang!
Before Eric could recover, Alex jumped again and slammed another kick into his chest.
Boom!
Eric staggered backward from the consecutive hits. His feet dug into the ground as he nearly lost balance again.
But just before he could fall, the thrusters behind his suit burst alive once more.
Fssshh!
The sudden force stabilized his body mid-fall and pushed him upright again.
Eric's face twisted in confusion and anger.
'How can he do this?' he thought.
'I saw it. The system confirmed that he was the real one. But before I could touch him, before I could hit him, he switched and became the fake one instead. How is that even possible?'
His system reacted immediately.
[Astral Body detected]
[Allows the user to create a false afterimage of themselves]
[The false body is intangible]
[The user can swap positions with the astral body at will]
Eric's eyes narrowed after reading the explanation.
But he didn't even have time to fully process it.
Alex was already rushing toward him again.
Fast.
Relentless.
Alex swung a hook toward Eric's head.
Eric reacted quickly and raised his arm to block.
But the moment their bodies connected, Alex's fist phased straight through Eric's guard like it wasn't even there.
Eric's eyes widened.
The punch suddenly became solid again the moment it reached his face.
Bang!
The impact snapped Eric's head sideways.
Even so, Eric endured the hit and immediately prepared to counterattack.
But right at that moment, another Alex dropped from above.
His hands were clasped tightly together over his head.
Before Eric could move away, the attack came crashing down.
Boom!
Eric hurriedly raised both arms to defend himself.
The strike landed with terrifying force.
The ground beneath Eric cracked instantly as the impact smashed into him, and the next second, his body was blasted backward through the air.
Eric's suit thrusters fired at the perfect moment again, cutting his forward momentum and stabilizing him mid-movement.
Then, without hesitation, the thrusters twisted his body and launched him straight toward Alex.
Fssshh!
'Let's see how you handle this if I attack both of you at once,' Eric thought coldly.
He pushed forward, eyes locked on both figures.
But the moment he committed, one of the Alexes jumped.
"Ahh!" Eric shouted in frustration as his attack passed harmlessly through empty space.
He had overcommitted.
The strike carried him straight past the real target.
Behind him, the Alex who had jumped caught onto a nearby tree branch and stayed suspended there, steady and watching.
Eric skidded to a stop and quickly turned back.
His eyes snapped between both figures.
But the other Alex, the one still on the ground, was already moving in again.
Fast. Controlled. Real.
'The astral body has always been my safety net,' Alex thought while running.
'It lets me fight stronger opponents without getting destroyed instantly.'
During his time training with direct descendants of the Pendragon line, Alex had refined the technique further.
Not just using it to dodge.
But to switch timing.
Swap. Fake. Real. Hit.
A cycle he had repeated many times in survival training.
'The key is positioning,' Alex thought sharply.
'I must never let the astral body get too close to my real body. If they overlap, I lose control.'
He adjusted instantly while moving.
Eric narrowed his eyes.
This time, he could tell.
The one charging at him… was the real Alex.
Eric's body tensed instantly.
'Damn system… how am I supposed to hit something like this?' he thought sharply.
The interface flickered in his vision.
[To destroy the astral body, the user must strike the original body directly]
Eric clicked his tongue.
'So that's the rule.'
Across from him, Alex didn't hesitate.
He moved again.
Kicks came in fast.
One after another.
Clean. Controlled. Relentless.
Eric raised his arm, now reshaped into a shield form, and blocked each strike.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Metal rang out with every impact.
But Alex kept shifting.
Sometimes his body phased straight through Eric's guard.
Sometimes he reappeared behind him.
A hit from the back.
A step from the side.
Eric was forced fully on defense, adjusting constantly just to survive the rhythm.
'He's not giving me space…' Eric thought.
Then his suit changed again.
The arm reformed into a blade.
Sharp. Ready.
At the same time, his other arm launched forward like a rocket fist, cutting through the air toward Alex.
But it passed through empty space.
Nothing there.
The astral body.
The fist continued its trajectory, redirected mid-flight.
Straight toward the second Alex near the tree.
Eric's eyes narrowed.
'There. Timing.'
He started calculating instantly.
Step back. Guard. Wait for overlap.
Then—
He thrust the blade forward.
Perfect timing.
The blade pierced through the astral body.
"Got you," Eric muttered with a cold smile.
But there was no injury.
Only a mistake that created an opening.
The real Alex could no longer swap safely.
At the same moment, the rocket fist curved sharply in the air.
It changed direction mid-flight.
Alive with momentum.
It locked onto Alex near the tree.
'He figured it out… that fast?' Alex thought, shocked.
He pushed off immediately. Jumping from the tree. Then another branch.
Trying to escape the line of attack.
But the fist followed.
It curved again.
No loss of speed.
Only pursuit.
Like it had eyes.
Alex's breath tightened.
Before he could react—
Boom.
The fist hit his stomach clean.
The force lifted him off the ground and threw him upward into the air.