There were some major reasons it was not advisable to use skills before advancing to the Cosmic Pearl realm and the most important of them all was that the body of an Energy sensing Realm cultivator could not possibly handle the strain.

As long as they are given time, they could manage to harness enough Cosmic energy to use a 1st-grade skill, however, without the Energy supply of a Cosmic Pearl minimizing the strain, the damage could prove fatal or at the very least, Cultivation damaging.

Selina, however, was not in danger of such thanks to her incomplete Pearl minimizing the strain.

Selina's smile widened,

"1st-grade skill: Tiger's claw"

She summoned a ring and out of it, materialized a claw composed of Cosmic Energy.

The energy of the Skill held Marla down and prevented her from moving out of the way.

Arnold grinned and cast a sideways glance at Hal,

"It's over."

He said and Hal closed his eyes and smiled,

"That's what you think"

Marla took a deep breath and stretched her hand forward as well...

"1st grade Skill: Ten Fists"

...and summoned a ring as well and out if it came Ten white fists composed of Cosmic energy and giving off the same energy as Selina's Skill.

Selina's eyes widened and her smile was wiped off.

What the hell?

This is impossible. She thought.

She felt like she would have known if Marla had an incomplete Pearl just like her and she was right.

From Marla's strikes, she would have felt the resonance but she had not because Marla did not have a Cosmic Pearl incomplete or otherwise.

However,

Her physique was strong enough to support her and minimize any damage she could possibly face.

This was an advantage of her physique she could not possibly turn off at will and was enough to support her decision to use a Skill.

That said, she would still not make use of her Physique's peculiarity.

Marla had been planning to make use of the skill as a secret trump card she was saving for a rainy day.

So to speak.

Now that she had used it, she knew she would not be able to do so again, or else she would risk dangerous consequences and it did not make her happy.

On the bright side though, She was sure Selina could not use a skill anymore either.

From here on out, the battle would be physical once again.

*Boom*

The two skills collided and canceled each other out with a deep sound.

It was almost as though they had both been waiting for the moment of collision. Once the skills were gone, there was nothing holding them in place and they were quick to resume.

Arnold's mouth, however, was wide open as he witnessed Marla use a Skill. He looked to Hal and found his eyes mildly widened but he was smirking all the same.

The expression told Arnold that Hal had not expected Marla to use a Skill and yet, judging from Hal's statement right before she used the skill, it was also clear that Hal had full confidence the Skill would not put Marla down.

So he could not help but wonder what Hal had expected her to do while trapped by the Skill's energy and unable to dodge.

He couldn't possibly have expected her to engage the Skill physically, could he?

That was exactly what Hal had expected.

While he had given Marla the Ten fists skill in preparation for her eventual advancement to the Cosmic Pearl Realm, he had known she had studied it so well to even attempt to use it. And successfully for that matter.

When he realized Selina's chosen skill was physical, he was no longer worried.

Knowing Marla could confront such a Skill physically.

He had no idea she would take this moment as a chance to use the skill and show off her impressive comprehension.

"Color me impressed. Marla, Marla, Marla. You deserve a reward" He mumbled.

At that time someone ran out of the thicket of trees towards him.

It was Jack and he looked breathless.

"That was so not cool" he snarled as best he could while trying to catch his breath.

Hal raised his brow,

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Jack clenched his fist,

"Bullshit, you bound me with a rune. I only just broke free" he yelled

"Oh, now I remember. You were the creepy guy who kept following Marla and me around"

Jack gasped as though he had been insulted,

"You said I could"

"Did I?"

"Yes!" Jack yelled again.

Hal stroked his chin with the hand that was free of Sassy and the Viper finally caught the attention of Jack, who was mystified that he could miss such a large creature.

Although to be fair, Hal had bound him facing away from the scene and he had not really seen anything after he and Marla interfered.

"Shh. You're too noisy"

Hal said and projected a silencing Rune on him to shut him up after which he bound with another binding Rune. This time making it a Rank two to remove any possibility of him breaking free.

Arnold's eyes looked close to falling out of his sockets as he saw Hal project runes that held energy that chilled him to the bones.

What the hell?

"Mmmmmmm" Jack struggled against his bonds with muffled sounds while Hal ignored him and watched the battle attentively.

"Ahh" Selina yelled in her delicate sounding voice as she struck at Marla with a spin heel.

Marla in turn caught it with her crossed arms but did not let go of the heel, using it to pull Selina closer and strike at her face.

Facing the immediate threat (more so cause it would most likely bruise and then how will she seduce the Hot one) Selina allowed herself to fall back towards the ground. Effectively evading the blow.

She supported herself with her right hand pressed to the forest floor, she then made use of the leg that was not in Marla's hold and succeeded in hitting her in the cheek.

Marla let go of the leg at once as the force forced her back. Selina did not wait for her to gain her footing before she followed up with quick jabs to her midsection.

Marla put her arms together and endured Selina's strikes which made up for what they were lacking in weight with speed and sheer quantity.

Arnold clenched his fist in excitement.

This was it.

His sister clearly had the upper hand.

Surely, she could now close the deal.

Unfortunately, all was not as it seemed and no one knew that better than the one on the attack at that moment.

No one knew that better than Selina.

All her strikes had been completely on point. Despite her opponent's defenses, she still hit the spots she needed to hit.

So why?

Why?

Why was she not going down?

This made no sense.

Frustration was slowly setting in and she made one slip up.

Her punches fell out of rhythm and Marla was quick to take advantage.

A palm to the ribs made Selina double over and as such present her face as a target for a slap.

*Smack*

The force of which, effectively threw her back, her eyes were blurry as she watched Marla step forward confidently to deliver what would most likely prove to be the final strike.

Selina dropped her arms and made no move to defend herself.

Despite her poise that looked like surrender, her hands were clenched by her sides!.

She had always believed that among the females of the young generation, there was only one that stood ahead of her and constantly outclassed her in talent and cultivation. Only one.

Yet, here she was fighting against someone who was technically on her level and she knew, no matter how much she struggled, this was going to end in a loss.

She hated it.

She hated been weak!.

"But what else could I possibly do?" She mumbled with a sigh.

It was then she felt a hand on her head and a voice in her ear.

"I win. Do you deny that?"

"No," she said quietly.

Marla let go of her head and turned away. She had no interest in this fight anymore. There was no longer a point to it. Call it her feminine sensitivity, but she was satisfied to see it end that way.

She had won. She had beaten her opponent. There was no need to break her spirit. This way, they could fight another day.

Before she had even gotten far enough, Selina dashed over to Arnold and wrestled the Tile from his hand.

"Marla"

she called and Marla turned towards her just in time to catch the Tile Selina tossed.

"I didn't want that Tile anyway. And this... This isn't over"

She said to Marla and then turned to smile at Hal.

Her smile was so radiant, it was hard to guess that she had just been in a battle with someone.

The way she saw it, there was no point in self-loathing There were others in this forest she could take out her frustration and anger on. She refused to believe all the others were monsters just like Marla.

Speaking of Marla, She would train harder once the Competition was over and she would defeat her.

She sighed in a barely perceptible manner as she took in Hal's face. She was about to say something when they heard the heavy thuds of footsteps.

There were echoes of pain and punches as well as occasional cracks that accompanied wails that were quickly followed with a deathly silence.

Before any of those on the scene could blink, they were surrounded.

Those that surrounded them were obviously not of the young generation but instead, seasoned mem whose intentions were clear from their killing intent that weighed heavily on the youngsters.

Arnold looked around in panic and shock and quickly found himself in a tight group with Eldo and Doyle who he had injured earlier.

Selina took several steps back and collided with someone. That person's arm wound around her waist instantly.

As though it was a reflex but she could tell it was not so.

Hal's arm tightened around her waist as he stared into the callous face of their surrounders and grinned,

"And so it begins"