Chapter 325: The Winner [2] On the platform, Noah delivered another devastating combination—three rapid strikes to Kenzo’s midsection that doubled him over, followed by an upward strike under the chin that snapped his head back. Kenzo’s eyes had glazed over, consciousness beginning to slip as the accumulated damage overwhelmed his ability to remain aware. His legs finally gave out completely, sending him crashing to his knees on the platform. Blood dripped from multiple facial injuries, mixing with sweat and tears of pain that he couldn’t control. His arm hung uselessly at his sides, too damaged to even attempt raising in defence. The crowd had fallen completely silent, the earlier excitement replaced by uncomfortable recognition that they were watching something that transcended sport into the realm of personal vendetta being satisfied through sanctioned violence. --- Inside the crowd, a man was boiling with rage as he watched his junior disciple being destroyed. His knuckles had turned white from gripping the railing in front of him, and his jaw was clenched so tightly that several nearby spectators could hear his teeth grinding together. He could no longer hold himself back, even if the consequences for interfering in an official tournament match were severe. "How dare you do that to my junior brother!" The man’s voice erupted across the arena like thunder as he vaulted over the spectator railing with explosive speed that demonstrated exceptional physical conditioning and training. His movement was fluid and practiced, covering the distance to the platform far faster than any normal person could manage. A katana hung at his hip, and his hand moved to the weapon’s grip with the automatic precision of someone who had drawn it thousands of times in both practice and real combat. The blade cleared its sheath with a distinctive metallic ring as he charged forward at Noah, his killing intent palpable enough to make several nearby spectators instinctively step backward despite being safely away from the platform. Noah threw him a casual glance, his enhanced perception immediately assessing the new threat’s capabilities and intentions. He recognized that with this interference, the match would be called to an end regardless of what happened next. The official tournament structure couldn’t continue once outside parties had violated the sanctioned combat space. So Noah decided to finish what he had started before the interruption could save Kenzo from complete destruction. He had come here today not just to win a tournament, but to ensure that the poisoner who had tried to murder him would never threaten anyone again. Noah channeled significantly more strength into his arms than he had used for any previous strike, his enhanced attributes allowing him to generate force far beyond what his normal physique should have been capable of producing. The dull tournament blade became a devastating weapon when wielded with supernatural power behind it. He delivered a precisely calculated strike to Kenzo’s right shoulder—the dominant arm that would be essential for any future swordsmanship career. The impact carried enough force to cause catastrophic internal damage without breaking the skin, a level of controlled violence that required perfect understanding of both human anatomy and force application. The shoulder joint cracked entirely from the inside, the sound audible even over the crowd’s shocked gasps. Fractures spiderwebbed through the bone structure like shattered glass, each crack compromising the structural integrity that would be necessary for wielding a sword effectively. The joint remained superficially intact, still holding together by ligaments and muscle tissue, but the internal damage was devastating and potentially permanent. "ARGHHHH!" Kenzo’s scream of agony tore through the arena, a primal sound of suffering that made even the most hardened spectators wince with sympathetic pain. After the agonised shout escaped his lips, Kenzo’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed onto the platform floor completely unconscious. His body had finally reached the limit of what it could endure, shutting down to protect itself from the overwhelming pain signals that were overwhelming his nervous system. "Match concluded! Medical assistance required immediately!" The referee shouted as he rushed onto the platform, simultaneously trying to reach the fallen Kenzo while positioning himself to intercept the charging swordsman who was rapidly approaching with obvious lethal intent. "Stand down! This match is over!" the referee commanded with all the authority his position granted, drawing his own blade to physically block the path between the enraged senior brother and Noah. But the charging man didn’t care about tournament regulations or official authority. His junior brother had just been crippled in front of hundreds of witnesses, and his rage completely overrode any concern for rules or consequences. His katana met the referee’s defensive blade with explosive force that sent sparks flying from the impact. The referee was a skilled martial artist in his own right—tournament officials were selected specifically for their ability to handle dangerous situations and separate combatants when necessary. But the charging swordsman’s power was on a different level. Their blades clashed for barely two seconds before the referee’s weapon was forcefully knocked aside, his defensive stance completely overwhelmed by the superior technique and raw power behind his opponent’s attack. The referee stumbled backwards, off-balance and unable to maintain his position as a barrier between Noah and the incoming threat. The crowd’s shocked murmurs suddenly transformed into excited recognition as they finally identified the enraged swordsman now standing on the platform with his blade drawn and pointed directly at Noah. "Wait... isn’t that Saika?!" someone shouted with sudden realisation. "The previous tournament winner from three years ago?!" another voice added with growing alarm. "He’s Kenzo’s senior brother from the same dojo?!" a third spectator called out as the connections became clear. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂 "Noah is in serious trouble now," one of the eliminated competitors muttered with genuine concern. "Saika isn’t just a champion—he’s a powerful one at that; he can be regarded in the top three. He was able to overpower the referee like he was nothing!" The recognition rippled through the crowd as more people realised exactly who had just violated tournament protocol to confront Noah.