Sam looked at the myriad of puppets. All trying to surround him and kill him right then and there.

The thought of admitting defeat and leaving this place didn't even cross his mind. He just kept on thinking for a way out of from this, while jumping around on the red pillars. The fourth set of the golden pillars which are still active are releasing more puppets as the time passed and he knew he wouldn't be able to hold on for long.

After running a bunch of scenarios in his head, he decided to go with one of the most feasible

ones.

He started creating a large formation surrounding all the puppets in the room. This formation didn't have much purpose. It is neither a barrier, nor is it an attacking formation. It doesn't have any complex functions.

However, it effects a large area and connects with everything within that area. And the wielder of the formation can create the effect of connecting with all of them properly, if their mental strength and energy control are strong enough.

In process, Sam was dodging the thunder bolts, fire balls, wind blades, punches, kicks, battering metal hunks coming at him from all the directions. If even for a second, he becomes a little bit distracted, his body would be destroyed.

The great thing about these puppets are that with all the sophistry they are still not too focused on the efficiency of movement. They are bulky for the sake of powerful attacks they are capable of throwing.

But they are not created in a way to ensure those powerful attacks always land on the target. That is the only saving grace for Sam to be able to dodge these many attacks.

As he got busier with building the formation, the audience who are watching the whole competition are gulping down hard.

Since the start of the formation finale competition, most of their focus was solely on the screen that was displaying Sam's feats inside the castle.

And they never spoke. They never discussed, they didn't throw any snide remarks. Nothing. From the elders of various academies that are watching it along with Olaf to the students of various academies who are witnessing it from the open air auditorium, everyone was silent as they looked at the performance of all the students.

The more time passed, the more stunned everyone became.

Not just from Sam's performance even though it played the bigger part, even from the rest of the students.

Without argument, the competition this year was tough, they expected some losses, but more people have died in this top ten competition that they expected and those academy representatives in particular are much more silent than the rest.

All of them just watched as Sam displayed the impeccable agility that they have rarely seen in the second graders. And he is showing it off in the formation test.

Everyone who marked Sam as their target are feeling the pressure. Even the kid who is currently marked as engaged with Sam.

This way, many people are feeling myriad of emotions while most of them prayed that Sam just fails and dies inside.

Meanwhile, Sam finished his preparations at a speed that surprised even himself. The formation is created and within that formation, at the absolute center of it, was a single red pillar.

On that, he placed another formation plate.

He stood on that formation plate and used himself as the medium to connect it to the formation he placed to cover the whole room.

All the puppets are coming at him with all kinds of attacks.

He activated a barrier around himself, which is also part of the formation. It is strong enough to defend a few attacks, while he accomplishes the goal of this formation.

Soon, he connected the formation plate to the rest of the formation and closed his eyes. When the maximum number of puppets entered the formation range, with only a couple of them left outside, he made his move.

*SWOOSH*

Like a flash, several energy tendrils emerged from the formation and coiled around the puppets. They didn't stop them, block them or even trap them. They just coiled around them, without even hindering their actual movements.

Once that is done, Sam injected his own energy into the formation plate to activate it.

Spatial energy reverberated throughout the room and it enveloped every single puppet within the formation.

Sam's veins on his forehead are bulging with pressure, his mind and soul are working on overload. Blood started seeping out of his nose and ears. But he just gritted his teeth and endured that soul searing pain.

*SWOOSH*

All of a sudden, like a flash, the whole room went silent. All the noise disappeared along with the puppets. As for their destination...

In the far end of this formation castle, in the first room that Sam entered. The gravity and space formation that Sam created is bubbling with overflowing energy. The spatial turbulence and the gravity that is manipulating it are creating a chaotic mess.

The whole room has long since collapsed and it is tearing apart the surroundings.

At that moment, the spatial turbulence has calmed down for a moment, before a huge flash

occurred.

*SWOOSH*

Puppets, all of them that Sam targeted started pouring from that flash and they were immediately being sucked into that massive globe created with the spatial turbulence and gravitational force.

The energy piled up and the massive spatial disturbance created by this sudden space gate added to it. The chaos that was still being balanced a second before, couldn't be balanced

anymore and that is it.

*BOOM*

The explosion occurred. All the puppets that came were destroyed. A huge spatial tear occurred and the gravitational force created by that spatial tear has been increased to an astonishing level.

All the spectators stood up as tremors disturbed even them, because at that moment, that corner of the formation castle exploded along with that spatial disturbance, creating a huge tear in the walls of it. The formation protecting the defenses of the formation castle was also destroyed along with it.

Of course, whatever were the tremors outside the castle, inside Sam experienced it even more. There are only a couple of puppets around and even they stopped for a moment after the

explosion.

The whole room is flashing, even the golden lotuses slowed down as if something is interfering with its energy source.

Sam hurriedly unlocked one pillar after another. He ignored the bright flashes of energy fluctuation and finished the second set of pillars as well.

Once they are all done, they also disappeared back into the tiles, leaving the golden tiles

behind.

Once these two sets of golden tiles appeared, the whole room shuffled. The tiles started shifting locations and soon they arranged themselves in a pattern around Sam.

Just one look and he saw what it is.

The added arrival of the spatial energy is another give away.

Sam felt a fluctuation around him and he disappeared from there. He reappeared in the open-

air auditorium. Concluding the end of the competition and silently declaring himself the

winner of it.