Sam waited there for a long while.

Since he was already here, a bunch of students were already eliminated and only the cream of the crop was left. When they came out, they were exhausted. Not a single one of them looked energetic.

Some of them had bruises all over, one even had a broken leg.

He is practically dragging it over.

They all looked at Sam who is playing with the formations in front. Upon closer look, they realized not just the formations in front, he is feeling out the formations on the other paths as well. Sam gave a sweeping glance and looked at the candidates who came from different regions.

He looked at one particular candidate and smiled.

"You are from Hou Yi's academy, aren't you?

"

The other party is wary. Of course, Hou Yi's academy was not exempt from Sam's tower-conquering quest. So, that guy knew about Sam plenty. But he still nodded.

"I am impressed.

"

He muttered and looked at the rest of the candidates.

"So, guys. I planned something really big when I entered this competition. But too bad due to a mishap I ended up taking a different route than the rest of you. So, my plans messed up a bit. Otherwise, I doubt any of your would have made it this far.

"

His words earned a frown.

Not just from the contestants, but also from the spectators as well.

"Still, I cannot let those setbacks change my plan completely. That is why I am planning a spectacular finale.

I am giving you guys exactly three minutes to break all these formations and reach the trophy. In these three minutes, apart from conjuring energy, I wouldn't be doing anything else. But the next second after these three minutes are over, I am going to claim that trophy.

I don't care if you believe me or not.

But if you don't, it will be your loss. Your time starts now.

"

Sam said energy started conjuring around him. Energy orbs are formed and they float to different parts of the room at random. They are like dandelions flying away from him. It looked beautiful.

The rest of the candidates though didn't have enough time to admire that beauty.

Most of them believed Sam. They didn't risk it and started cracking the formation. One of them even went ahead and took a risky way out.

*BOOM*

He started destabilizing the formation in the crudest way possible and he is taking in some damage. Of course, even that part is difficult. Because if they don't use the proper formation to destabilize, there is a great chance they might create a tougher lock for themselves.

*BOOM*

It seems like with the added pressure everyone's brains are working at overdrive. They managed to crack the first formation very quickly.

They carried that quickness to the second one. But for the third one, things became trickier.

*BOOM*

Except for the crazy guy who is exploding the formation.

Time passed and those three minutes felt like an eternity. The only problem is that in that eternity they felt, none of them were able to clear the formations.

"FUCK FUCK FUCK

"

The guy who is exploding the formations started screaming as he tried to destabilize the next one. He is the farthest of the bunch standing on the eighth formation. Halfway there.

"Sorry guys, time is up.

"

Only at this moment did everyone notice that the orbs are all over the roomThey are densely packed and there is not even much space left for them to move around without touching one. For some reason, they felt that they shouldn't be touching them.

They had an ominous feeling.

In a way, they were right.

*SNAP*

With a single snap of his fingers, the orbs started shooting out energy rays. They connected together and formations were created.

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

Explosions rained down and soon the contestants noticed that the formations that they were standing in at the moment were also being destroyed in those explosions. A few of them were bold enough to make a run towards the trophy.

They wanted to try their luck and they even reached the platform.

Only when the energy and dust cleared up, Sam is sitting on the platform as if he just sat there from the beginning.

"I gave you guys a chance.

"

He said and the next moment all the students collapsed. Sam looked up and said in a low voice.

"Oops, it seems like the energy explosions are too much for them to handle. Better send someone to save them right away. Or they might sustain some permanent injuries. You don't want these prodigies to lose the ability to make formations, do you?

"

His tone is concerning and his words actually match the tone.

But this didn't make the elders feel the slightest bit of goodwill towards him. They even wanted to kill him directly. If only they are capable of it and if only they could get away with it.

Chorus lazily stretched as the Elders ran over to take care of the kids. When the Dean was about to move, Chorus spoke.

"Remember Olaf, double the rewards.

"

"I didn't forget.

"

"Last time we met, you had some serious memory problems. So, I just thought, I would just remind you. But it seems like the treatment from that time worked.

"

Chorus spoke as he cracked his knuckles lazily.

Olaf shot him a glare before he left. Sam went back to his room in the Paradise. The prizes are not going to be distributed now. He had to wait to collect them all at the end of the competition.

Sam became the talk of the town. Which is normal by now. But his actions created some reactions in many places.

One of those places hosted a rich crowd that night. The elite students, mostly leaders of different academies met there in secret.

Thor, a student of the academy is hosting the meeting and only another twelve people are present there. All of them are the children or relatives of the current deans of different elite academies. They are all of the same generation and almost of the same age.

Thor looked at the group and said.

"As you must have witnessed, the first competitions are big upsets. The formation team competition is fine, we still had an expected result, but the solo competition is dominated by Sam.

"

The rest stayed silent and didn't speak. Thor continued.

"I did some digging.

The reason Pearl is not here, which is also a huge wrench in our plans is also because of this guy. He is the one who made her unable to come. She executed our group's plan in her region, but it was cracked by Sam.

It was leaked and they combined forces to break her down.

It seems like she is almost not mentally sane anymore. I heard she took the blow too hard.

"

This earned some reaction from the rest. A girl among them spoke up.

"Pearl broke down mentally? Are you kidding Thor? Do you remember what she did the last time you challenged her intellect and fortitude?

"

Thor blushed a bit and cleared his throat.

"I am not just spouting bull** here.

This is what I got from an agent placed in the Olympian region and it is authentic.

It seems like even her subordinates are not briefed about our plans. We cannot use them.

"

"This is going to be a problem. Pearl is one of the smartest among us. A lot of stuff is riding on her improvisations. And we already lost the Formation test. What are we going to do?

"

"What else can we do? We just need to proceed as planned. We just have to take extra measures for the lack of Pearl's presence.

As for Sam, I think we can find a proper scapegoat to deal with him.

"

"Who?

"

"The one from Aranya's Academy. That girl named Noah seems to have hots for Sam and the second best of the Aranya's Academy, Likhma has a crush on her.

"

"But is he strong enough?

"

"He is not, but there is someone that will come out if Likhma is screwed. Let me play the cards right and we will deal with Sam without even getting involved.

"

They discussed a few things and ended the meeting.

They were sure that their plans for Sam and the rest of the competition went smoothly, but they were disappointed. Sam never came out of his room, unless for the competition. Even then, they didn't even know when he came out and when he went back in.

And whenever he participated in a competition, he just destroyed the competition. Inscription test, Medicine making, and Puppet making. He surprisingly dominated the competitions. The only thing he got in second is Weapon making and the guy who won is from Viswa Karma's Academy.

Even that competition is a close one. It is so close to the point that the winner was impressed with Sam and they even had a friendly chat over a drink in Paradise Inn.

Before they knew it it was already time for the last two competitions. Team Battle and Solo Battle.

The two competitions that always attract the most eyes.