In the center of the monumental arena, the elder waved, and soon a five-meter violet tablet appeared and floated upwards. It gently stopped near the top of the arena, then the elder spoke calmly to everyone.
"Those who wish to participate, send your identifications with Qi to the tablet: name, family, position, and cultivation level. This tablet has a formation evaluated by all families to ensure fairness in the competition. It will decide the duels and then divide the arena into two hundred spaces where the fights will occur simultaneously."
After the elder’s words, his gaze fixed on a specific direction in the arena. Everyone noticed it and quickly followed his gaze.
At the top of the arena, watching through a window in a private area, were three figures. They were two women as beautiful as twin fairies who descended from the heavens. In the center of the two was a giant, round being, hard to say if it was really a human or an ogre.
Everyone knew who the two women were. One of them was the youngest high elder of the four families. The other was the only cultivator besides the founders of the families to become an Empyrean on her own.
Very few besides the important elders knew about the round being. Everyone saw the young woman intimately holding the arm of the chubby whale, and the other was by her side, very close and not wanting to keep a great distance. Soon, the eyes of all the men narrowed, and upon sensing his cultivation, a chill like a blade surged within them.
"Lord Denil. As you are now the representative of the ancient servant families, did you come to participate in the competition?" The elder spoke to the entire arena, and they immediately understood a bit. They knew the servant families were destroyed and replaced.
The elder continued with a playful look. "But... at the fifth level of the Elemental Condensation Realm... blades don’t have eyes, I fear it may be too dangerous for you to participate."
"However, as it’s your first time participating, the Moonlight family doesn’t want to treat you poorly. At the end of the competition, you can have a friendly match. You can accept or not, but even if you lose, you don’t need to pay anything; the family will cover all costs. For someone coming from an ascending planet, it will be a great opportunity to improve and an experience without limits for your future." He finished pompously.
Soon, numerous amused laughs echoed throughout the arena. A mortal with this level of cultivation fighting? How was he chosen to represent the servants? Sarcastic questions flooded the environment.
The whale remained indifferent as always; by its side, Kaiyka kept a cold face, but her gaze towards the elder became piercing. Holding the whale’s arm, Ruri seemed to tremble slightly, making an unbelievable effort to contain her anger. If it were in the past, before he even finished speaking, she would have acted.
The whale opened its mouth and spoke emotionlessly. "Hm? Can I challenge too, right? If I win, I’ll take whatever I want, the same way."
Scoffing laughter thundered like thunder.
"Yes, yes, great." The elder waved cheerfully. "Now, you may register!"
With his permission, everyone began to send their Qis towards the tablet. Numerous runes shone on it, and countless names began to be registered.
"Calm down and register quickly." The whale spoke calmly to Ruri. "It’s not like I care about what others think or say."
Ruri took a deep breath, and all her emotions immediately disappeared. She learned with age to seal everything and to be as tough as a rock when necessary. But beside them, she let everything inside her flow freely, showing her truest and purest emotions.
"Master will fight and put them in their place later." Ruri spoke dryly, exhaling sharply. "I’ll be the number one disciple and defeat Corin. Just wait and see." She finished with a firm voice and registered.
’Hey, neither of you should go all out,’ Bruno expressed concern about the array.
The response came from Corin, distant. ’Don’t worry, I’ll take it easy on the second disciple. The competition will be fair, and we won’t show anything.’
’Pfft, I’m the second one who’s spent the most time and been taught by master. Without your cheat bloodline, you’re not much. Don’t worry, I won’t leave a mark on you; that way, Calirer won’t beat you, thinking you’ve been playing around.’ Ruri’s response came laden with venom.
The whale sighed and preferred not to get involved in the exchange of barbs. On the other hand, Kaiyka felt strange sensing Ruri’s spirit of battle and competition ignited to the fullest. Throughout all this time together, Ruri never showed much emotion or willingness; now, with this person by her side, she was completely different. She was at ease, without worries or fears.
Immediately, some spicy tale memories passed through Kaiyka’s mind. That was the confidence created through love and... her imagination went far, then she struggled to maintain an impassive expression.
In no time, the elder waved, and the tablet trembled; it was the end of the registration time. Without delay, he activated the central runes of the tablet; the spatial laws in the center of the arena vibrated and distorted.
Within seconds, two hundred circular windows appeared floating in the air. These were the entrances to separate small spatial worlds, and all spectators could look inside and see everything easily.
"The names of the two competitors have appeared in front of the entrances. Enter quickly and start the fight without delay." The elder spoke dryly. "Killing is not allowed, and whoever gives up or is unconscious loses. The rules are simple, and the formation and all spectators will monitor. Once the winner is decided, you will be automatically transported to the next match; there’s no time to waste. By the end of the day, the top ten of each family will be decided. BEGIN!"
The next moment, runes appeared at each of the entrances, and then a violet Qi emerged, forming names and deciding the matchups. Each member of the family would fight against an equal from their own family; the matchup was completely random and impersonal, as theoretically, everyone should have the same level of power.
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Ruri saw her name and didn’t recognize the opponent; it must be an unlucky common member. She turned around and looked at the whale, giving him a smile and making it clear that she would win. Then, she leaped through the window.
The whale spotted Vuard and Loeus’s five children in the stands, watching everything. Vuard wasn’t someone who liked to fight; he just came to watch, but his weapons were probably being used by the dwarves, which meant his power was at stake.
As for the three men and two green women, they still had a cultivation level equal to everyone else in the city. They had arrived in the family not long ago and hadn’t risen much. If they fought, they would certainly be among the top thirty of the Yangta easily. However, they would have to fight bloody, using everything they had due to the difference in cultivation. The three boys wouldn’t be a problem, but the two Loeus girls refused to allow it, despite wanting to very much. Therefore, none of them would fight to avoid trouble.
As soon as Ruri entered, her opponent also arrived and quickly declared surrender. Ruri was famous and feared in the family; he just lowered his head, lamented his bad luck, and was escorted out.
Corin exchanged only two moves with a high elf; immediately, the opponent’s sword broke, and he gave up.
Loeus just looked at the opponent, who quickly assumed his true form; he allowed the young man to attack freely with his Yang flame. However, he suffered no damage; his pure Yang body and his mastery were infinitely superior.
Then, the Yangta roared and attacked with its huge body directly. Loeus just dodged, and in a few seconds, he punched without using the weapon. It was an obvious opening, from a young woman who had never been in a life or death situation. In that single punch, the divine beast collapsed. He got up slowly, and Loeus exchanged glances with him, then the Yangta returned to human form and waved, giving up.
The whale saw the two women in the stands sigh lightly, just as Langrum would; their father had decided to teach someone in a competition fight. The three men clenched their fists in genuine admiration for his strength. In the end, the five seemed to enjoy fighting and were very similar to their mother in personality. Perhaps not in everything, after all, the women didn’t seem to want to have children, their life focus was only cultivation.
Time passed without issues. Ruri had to fight only three times, against three central members who looked at her like a treasure they wanted to win. She defeated them in a... somewhat brutal... manner; spatial laws were used for a single movement. Two men received a kick in the face and flew like insects, unconscious.
As for the third, who had a more lascivious look, he received special treatment: a kick in the groin that made all the men in the arena murmur in pain.
Corin fought as if it were a light training against the elves. There were few movements for a victory. Loeus had to fight a bit more seriously when fate put him against the Yangta Clamoi; the same one who had gone to the city before.
She gave her all as if it were a fight to the death. The five pairs of attentive eyes in the stands watched the fight coldly, sensing something hidden in Clamoi’s intentions.
But Loeus was no longer so naive; he knew he would be reported if he took it easy and didn’t attempt to teach anything. He fought with all his might, and in a few exchanges, Yangta completely passed out, burned. If Langrum suspected something was wrong, she would suck every last drop of his vitality and then pay to see how he would deal with another woman.
By the end of the day, the forty young people - ten from each family - were decided. Quickly, almost the entire arena was shocked. Among the Moonlight, Yangta, and Litharion, half of the approved ones were common disciples. As for the dwarves from the Grimstone family, only one of the approved was a central member; all nine were common members.
All these common members had connections with the four invaders from the ascendant planet. Unfortunately, they had to fight each other, and even the four had to fight against one or another of their allies.
The few central members who managed to pass did so only by luck. Each of the dwarves had multiple weapons with different runic seals, making them unpredictable and, at the same time, terrifying.
As for the allies of the other three, they were trained by generals who received direct guidance from the whale itself in the sect. After that, they faced numerous large-scale battles, where life was constantly at stake. They developed a skill of command and teaching that few could match, and their soldiers quickly became proficient. After all, a strong general doesn’t command weak soldiers.