A young adult woman with a cultivation base in the Saint Core realm fought a young man with a similar cultivation base.
She used a spear to strike him in close combat, while the young man fought with no weapons and tried to make some space. He crossed his arms, creating an illusory turtle shell around him to block the attack.
Then, he pushed out the turtle shell, sending the woman flying backward, before continuing to keep the distance by attacking her relentlessly.
The area they fought in was a massive arena with barriers all around them, and a few referees inside to judge when a battle was getting too serious and had to be stopped.
"Not bad," Alex said from a room that was separate from most of the open spaces where the audience watched. There were not many separate rooms, and the Queen's brother had managed to get access to one of them quite easily.
"What do you think?" the young man asked. "Who is going to win?"
Alex looked at the match for a few seconds longer and mused on it. "I think the young man is going to win," he said.
"Why?" the young man asked. He had formed his own judgment and wanted to see if Alex had come to the conclusion the same way as him.
"You mentioned betting is a thing here, right?" he asked.
The young man nodded. "You can bet through that," he pointed at a formation at the corner.
Alex shrugged. "That's why I think the young man is going to win," he said. "He has been fighting purely defensively this whole time while trying to let the girl come close to him."
"He acts like he wants distance, but he doesn't fight for it," he said. "From what I can tell, he is trying his best to make it seem like the fight is close while delaying it for more people to place their bets against him."
"After some time, he will most likely use a strong skill to defeat her at once," he said.
Mao Yingkong's eyes flashed with understanding and nodded. "I had assumed you weren't so interested in battles as an Alchemist, but it seems you have a fighter's mind too," he said.
"I would be fine if I didn't have to fight as a cultivator and could live as an alchemist alone," Alex said. "But being a cultivator, we live at the edge of life and death, so being able to save our own hide, it's important to know how to fight."
"I would've assumed you wouldn't need one as a King and an Alchemist," the young man said. "Many should flock to your side to guard you, without you ever having to be a fighter."
"Would you rather fight against every enemy an alchemist makes and protect him? Or would you rather just imprison him and force him to make pills for you as you demand?" Alex asked.
The young man was a little taken aback. He understood what Alex said, and could see his reasoning. "But you're a King. Surely no one would dare try and capture you to forcefully make pills for them."
"I wasn't always a king," Alex said. "But I was always an Alchemist. People would use me if I allowed them the chance to."
The young man said nothing.
"Besides, some ingredients usually end up being in treacherous locations, guarded by strong beasts and whatnot. If you want to be a proficient alchemist, then you need to be strong enough to get them in the first place."
"Oh," the young man said. "I guess I never thought of it like that. I have always only known great Alchemists who walk around with strong defenders. Due to my sister's influence, my social circle doesn't let me deal with lower-level alchemists and their problems."
"That alright," Alex said. His focus quickly changed to the fight below just in time to see the young man throw out a punch with a powerful blast that followed it. Snake-like tendrils shot out in a flash of golden light from the blast.
The woman couldn't cut through them all in time and had a few of them hit her, getting her off her balance. Then the young man sent out a stronger attack, blasting her right onto the barrier, making her lose the fight.
Alex shrugged watching the fight. "Thought so," he said.
The young man next to him nodded as well. He had the same thinking as Alex. "Do you wish to fight as well, Your Majesty?" he asked.
Alex thought for a bit before nodding. "I haven't fought in a long time, so I'm getting a little rusty," he said. "It might be better to shake off some of it before the secret realm opens up."
The young man nodded. "I'll have them find someone that matches your cultivation base," he said and proceeded to call for someone.
"No," Alex stopped him. "Have them find someone weaker, maybe mid-Saint Core realm."
The young man looked a little puzzled. "Saint Core realm? Isn't that too weak for you?" he asked.
Alex shrugged. "I'm planning on holding back a little," he said. "If I fight someone strong, I'll end up losing right away."
The young man looked at him for a bit before shrugging. "Sure," he said and made the arrangements as Alex asked.
The duel was set for after the next battle, so Alex stayed vigilant. Once the battle ended, he left with someone from the Martial house and arrived at the arena.
The woman who took him there explained all the rules that he had to follow. Alex nodded and wore a mask as he appeared on the stage. Opposite him was a young man with Saint Core 8th realm cultivation base.
Alex couldn't help but grimace a little at the sight of his opponent. It was a middle-aged man with thin and long black hair that he had to fight. And he held a sword in his right hand.
'How appropriate,' Alex thought with a sigh. He had asked the Queen's brother for a weaker opponent, but he had ended up finding someone so strong. Alex wasn't sure if he could beat him or not.
He heard no sound from the crown, and the barriers seemed opaque from inside as well so he couldn't see their expressions. Whatever the case, they were most certainly confused right now as to what was going on.
'Whatever, I'll lose anyway,' Alex thought, bringing out Midnight and holding him in front of him. Then, he took a deep breath and did something that surprised the middle-aged man in front of him.
Alex withdrew his cultivation base entirely. He didn't just hide it but rather took it all away, making him appear as a mortal.
"What are you doing?" the man asked him.
"Don't mind me," Alex answered him. "I'm doing my own thing."
The man felt disrespected. "Are you going to fight me without your cultivation base?" he asked.
"Yes," Alex said as he held his sword up. "But that doesn't mean I won't be a problem."
His sword glowed white and Sword Qi streamed out of it, flowing around him, surprising the man.
"Sword Aura?" he asked in surprise.
Alex nodded. "Can we begin now?"
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