"I... I lost," Ruri murmured, dazed, her face contorted.
The entire arena roared excitedly, impressed by the high-level fight they had just witnessed.
"Hmm..." Corin nodded gently and withdrew his spear. "Luckily, the master wouldn’t bear to see you suffer a loss. But this is something he and I have experienced many times, so don’t worry too much. Even effort and willpower are sometimes not enough; the important thing is to move forward and learn from it."
He spoke while looking into her eyes, amidst the noise of the arena; only she heard those words, and her eyes shifted to the ground, clenching her fist in frustration.
"The winner is Corin, from the Litharion family!"
The elder announced, and the tablet vibrated, exalting the family’s name. All the high elves vibrated with ecstasy.
Physical cultivation was exceptional in power and regeneration. Corin mobilized the Qi from his core and, even with his body completely worn out, he regenerated considerably in a matter of seconds. At that moment, Ruri staggered, but was caught by his arm.
Everyone saw Corin jump alongside her, gently supporting her. He led her to the private room, where his master looked at him thoughtfully. As soon as Ruri arrived, she jumped on him, hugging him and burying her face in his chest. The whale sighed, addressing Corin.
"Good job. Seems like I was careless with her and with you."
Corin smiled faintly. "The master has many concerns, and I also wouldn’t let anything bad happen to Calirer. That’s why the first disciple should lend a hand. We’re your allies, after all."
The whale nodded slightly. Then, Corin jumped back into the arena. Meanwhile, they felt their clothes getting damp from Ruri’s silent tears. The whale gently stroked her hair, and soon she fell asleep, exhausted.
Kaiyka observed and listened to everything in silence, seeming to understand a bit about what had happened. Ruri really had an extraordinary self-esteem; she always asserted with conviction that she would win, seemingly disregarding Corin, who was her ally. Well... she was young and learning.
Corin was officially announced as the winner by the elder, while Azali, his official master, completely lost her impassive expression, clearly moved. All the high elves around her celebrated enthusiastically with her.
It took a few minutes for the excitement to die down. It was already late afternoon when the responsible elder spoke enthusiastically.
"Now let’s move on to the final celebratory event: the all-out battles!"
The entire arena applauded, and the elder explained: "The fights should have stakes involved for both sides, and there is no limit to what will be wagered. Anyone can challenge another, but both sides must agree. Everyone here will witness the rules established at the beginning."
After his words, the whale felt hundreds of auras and perceptions turn towards him. He was a clear target for all the high elders; after all, they knew he commanded those four. Everyone wanted to find an opportunity to tie him to them, whether through a debt or a bet. The Moonlight family promised to cover the costs of their losses... but what if the bet was on something that couldn’t be paid with resources? That was clearly a loophole to make them slip up, something designed to make inexperienced youths feel secure.
That was the thought of most in the arena, but the whale narrowed his eyes as he noticed something more. They expected some members of the Moonlight family to want him dead, after all, he had a life-or-death duel scheduled. But... both of them felt a clear intent to kill from all the human high elders in the arena.
’Ruri has become something so precious that the family leader wants to bind her completely to them. We are an obstacle that must be eliminated... great, that gives us more opportunities,’ Alm muttered with a villainous laugh.
"As the Moonlight family is the host, we’ll start with the first challenge,"
The elder announced to everyone, and the other families sarcastically scoffed. Everyone understood that they wanted to quickly get to the point, not giving others a chance. Then, the responsible elder turned to a spot, and a young-looking man with piercing eyes approached. The elder gave him the floor.
"That b... newcomer. She said her man could defeat me with just a glance. That he was the most beautiful, powerful, and... well, it seems this ’ogre’ must be a divine-level illusionist expert. We’re in the presence of a supreme Illusionist; his methods of trickery and deception are unmatched!"
His eyes focused on the distant whale, and everyone in the arena turned to him, quickly bursting into loud laughter. Ruri was scary, no doubt, but that whale? He’d barely be considered average with that cultivation. Beautiful, was that a joke from her?
Then, almost all the young men reflected. How did that whale charm her? Soon, memories of the tales they read surfaced, leaving them pensive. He had techniques... enough to drive that woman insane even though she was a virgin, things that any man would be worth having.
"I challenge this mortal. My cultivation is far superior, and my family doesn’t intimidate the weak. Let’s see... you just need to endure one mental strike; I won’t be cruel to you," he said gruffly.
"Hmm... and what do I get if I win? Do you have a saint-level immortal weapon?" the whale’s response came lazily. But the entire stands seemed to hear an unmatched joke.
He retorted sharply. "You ignorant mortal... that’s a rare treasure for very few, I have three immortal weapons at the peak of the basic level. I can offer you..."
The whale interrupted him nonchalantly. "For a warm-up, that’s fine. I want all three, agreed, but you have to last a bit, or I won’t be properly warmed up."
The responsible elder intervened gently. "As promised, the family will cover the cost of the three immortal weapons in defeat. If you’re injured by a mental strike, we have pills that can easily heal you; just fight freely," he said, directing a slight smile at the whale.
The two laughed internally before gently moving Ruri away from his chest. She immediately opened her eyes, displaying a lost expression. However, she was perfectly fine physically; only her mental power had been depleted. In a few minutes, she took a brief nap, but her mental cultivation allowed her to recover enough to remain awake.
Seeing him move and casually leave through the window, she finally understood what was happening, and her eyes lit up.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.
Kaiyka had an expression of extreme concern; she knew that young man from the family wasn’t a core member, but he was at the fifth level of the Body Destruction Realm. Meanwhile, the whale was only at the fifth level of Elemental Condensation; a whole realm below.
The difference of a few levels, depending on circumstances like talent and techniques, could be overcome; however, that applied only to a difference within the same realm. Not even Kaiyka, when she was at the ninth level of Elemental Condensation, would dare to fight someone at the elemental level of the Body Destruction Realm. The difference of a superior realm was like heaven and earth.
Kaiyka turned to Ruri and spoke softly. "Ruri, the sect will cover all costs and heal him afterward. He’ll just broaden his horizons, and the result doesn’t matter."
Ruri listened and immediately let out a mischievous laugh. She turned to Kaiyka and nodded slightly. "Just watch; when I compare myself to the master, I’m like the mud of a river. They could send a thousand like that idiot at the same time, and they’d all be defeated with a single careless move from him."