Dominating Evolution of the Cosmos

Steve fielded Arnold's punch easily. In contrast, Steve's punch sent Arnold flying.

The difference in their strengths was clear to all. The spectating recruits were silent for quite a while, as they were all too shocked to say anything. If they had not seen Arnold's defeated form right before their very eyes, they wouldn't have believed it.

"The competition is over! Arnold has lost the ability to fight, so Steve has won!" The instructor's voice rang out over the crowd.

The crowd had only just recovered from their shock. What followed was a series of excited exclamations.

"Steve won!"

"My goodness! He actually won!"

"I must be dreaming, as he was just completely useless seven days ago! Now, he's as strong as a superhero!"

"How could he be so powerful?"

"Knocking out Arnold with one punch! He really did it!"

"Even the top 50 wouldn't have these kinds of capabilities, right?"

The latter exclamation was a doubt that plagued everyone's minds, as on the test seven days ago, anyone with eyes could see that, had Steve's good luck not allowed him to kill the black frost wolf, he would not even have been able to enter the new recruits camp!

But, in such a short time, his skills and abilities had improved by leaps and bounds. Now, as compared to seven days ago, it was like a normal person suddenly became a superhero!

Steve walked out of the ring, and despite themselves, the crowd could not help but make way for him. Astonishment flashed across Sofia's eyes, as she watched Steve enter the waiting stand. She had not expected that Steve could improve so much within such a short time.

"Hmph! Even if he could defeat metal fist Arnold, he'd still be unworthy of Lucy." Sofia had already turned up her nose at him. "I will never allow him and Lucy to be together."

"How did this fellow become so strong? But, it's better this way, as now I'll have the chance to meet him and walk all over him, avenging all of the humiliation I've suffered at his hands." Stuart looked at Steve, malice glinting in his eyes.

He was still unable to forget how Steve had snatched first place from his hands. He was always the first in the new recruits camp, but because Steve had gotten lucky and passed the previous test, Steve had snatched first place away.

"Why is he improving so fast? Could it be that he's taking some forbidden serums?" Leikas looked at Steve, frowning.

In the past, some new recruits had used forbidden serums that drained them of all their power in order to increase their strengths quickly. In fact, this kind of thing happened every year.

"No. His base is sturdy and there are no signs that he's using a forbidden serum. Maybe he's just really talented in the field of cosmic force training," Wendy said calmly.

Before training in the practices of energy absorption, one can only rely on magical beasts' meat and physical training to absorb cosmic forces. But, because some of them had special physiques, after training in the practices of energy absorption, they were able to absorb cosmic forces easier, thus increasing their training speeds faster than others.

This was equivalent to normal people training in the "Fundamental Practices of Energy Absorption," and they'd reach their limits after increasing by 0.5% to 2%. But, people with special physiques could still only reach their limits after absorbing 5% or 10%.

As such, the same one or two hours of training would gradually stretch the difference in strength, assuming it was paired with innate talent. It was precisely due to this that Leikas regarded Steve as being an unique kind of genius.

"Maybe…he could be that kind of genius?" Wendy was also unsure.

This was because, to be that kind of genius, he would naturally have an affinity for the cosmic forces. Even if he had not come into contact with the practices of energy absorption before, his level of cell activation would be able to increase quickly on normal days, much faster than normal people.

Yet, Steve's performance before had been mediocre at best. However, Wendy was unable to think of any other explanations at the moment.

Thus, she could only conclude that it was because of Steve's natural talent. Meanwhile, the competition continued..

As Steve dropped another punch on Arnold, it shocked everyone. After gaining insight into Steve's intimidating capabilities, a lot of people immediately admitted defeat to him in the following competitions.

After all, their rankings were even lower than Arnold's, so they could only count themselves unlucky and admit defeat when they encountered Steve. Even if their rankings were higher than Arnold's, Steve still managed to defeat them with a single move.

As they continued to battle, Steve maintained his record of defeating his opponents with one strike. In all of the history of this battle, there had only been three people who had managed to achieve this impressive record.

After numerous rounds of battles, Steve finally reached the top 20. Sofia, Stuart, and Lucy each sailed through the competition easily as well.

"Ring number 7, Steve versus Howard."

The battle arrangement rang out from the megaphone. This battle instantly attracted the attention of everyone present.

"Howard is a prodigy!"

"Steve's good luck ends here!"

"Hahaha, he's done for! All the others that he met before have been nothing compared to Howard!"

The opponents that Steve had met previously had mediocre skills, and they could not even get into the top 30 places during their tests. Now that he had suddenly encountered Howard, who was in eighth place, in the eyes of others, he was done for this time.

The top 10 spots were considered to be a dividing crest among the contenders. Under normal circumstances, the top 10 were a lot more powerful than the other recruits.

Howard's level of cell activation had already reached 50% during the test, and should at least reach 60% after seven days of training. After the level of cell activation reached 50%, one's skills would improve rapidly once more. With Howard's skills, it was not difficult for him to defeat Arnold.

Even if Steve's skills had improved by leaps and bounds, it was unlikely that he would increase from 10% to 60% and above in a mere seven days. If that were to happen, a normal genius would no longer be able to describe Steve, as he'd be a true genius prodigy!

The crowd predicted that Steve's level of cell activation probably had not reached 50% yet. Otherwise, that would be too astonishing!

"I never expected that you'd actually rise all the way to reach the top 20 places."

Howard stood opposite Steve, the armor on his body resembling a mid-century knight's. The silver and white armor looked poised and beautiful. As the red tassels on the helmet were fluttering and a slender sword was at his waist, he looked like a knight who had walked straight out of a painting. He had a head of gold, paired with blue eyes and an indifferent expression.

"When I heard that you had gotten first place and kicked that ba*tard Stuart down, I was actually pretty happy!" Howard smiled and said. "But, Sofia's right, you're not good enough for Lucy. I tell you this because it is a knight's duty to protect any pure young lady."

"Could it be that you like Lucy?" Steve asked abruptly.