Kill The Old Ones!

Chapter 167: Tournament: Ren vs. Seraphina (III)

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With all said and done, everybody was now looking forward to the actual fight between Seraphina and Ren.

The revelations made it clear that the enmity runs deep; it was Seraphina who stabbed at it first, and Ren finished it.

But in the end, words are useless compared to might. Ren could say the most venomous words and be right by the end, but if he’s weak, then it’s all useless; no one would treat him seriously.

Now, they were going to see if Ren really has the strength to back up his words. To prove that he wasn’t just all bark and no bite.

Seraphina, in the eyes of the crowd and especially her fans, wasn’t looking too hot. She was bothered and in deep doubt. It was clear that she was shaken and she was forcing herself to fight despite her inner turmoil.

Still, her supporters held hope in their hearts. They’ve seen Seraphina’s strength before. Her enemy might be strong, but he shouldn’t be any stronger than her, right?

All of this was made clear as soon as the countdown ended and the match began.

When the referee signaled the start of the fight, Seraphina took the initiative.

A flash of pure white brilliance erupted out of her. It rose and formed the shape of a flower bulb.

With a flourish of his sword, that flower bulb blossomed fully into the shape of a white lotus flower. Along with the blossoming of this flower, so did Seraphina’s presence increase.

This was her talent in full manifestation—the White Lotus Purity Physique, a talent that increased not only the volume of chakra she could produce but also its purity.

In terms of purity alone, hers is almost unrivaled compared to her peers.

The most important part is that her talent happens to work perfectly with the White Haven art.

The White Haven Art increases the volume and purity of its user’s chakra, and it also has the capability of purifying foreign chakra. This made the enemies of White Haven Art users spend more chakra to compensate, thereby hastening their exhaustion.

Also, the White Haven art is exceptionally effective against those of the ’corrupted’ element.

It’s the implications of this art that propelled the reputation of the White Haven Clan to incredible heights, allowing them to become one of the widely recognized Ancient Martial Clans of Central City.

Seraphina herself wasn’t much of a swordsman. She excels in chakra control, which was made easier by her talent.

When her white lotus bloomed fully, the petals dispersed, turning into streaks of white light that danced around her. Meanwhile, the core stayed around her, acting as a barrier - a layer of protection for those who wished her harm.

With a point of her sword, the petals turned into projectiles that shot towards Ren, instantly swarming him from all sides.

Don’t forget, Seraphina was utilizing the White Have Art in conjunction with this. Meaning that each time Ren was hit by these petals, they purified his chakra.

Her targets will find themselves drained of chakra alarmingly fast because of this. And with how many petals she’s controlling and with limited space to move, it’s hard to escape the prison she’s setting up.

Seeing this, Seraphina’s fans finally felt their confidence returning. She might’ve looked in doubt and shaken, but her skills were completely unaffected.

With this, surely Ren would be defeated, right?

Alas, a lot of people had no idea of who Ren was and what he could do. Even his own clan doesn’t know much about him.

Ren didn’t run, didn’t hide, didn’t evade. He just stood there and took all of it.

Everybody watched as the swarm of white light practically swallowed him whole. Some people were horrified, especially those who knew what Seraphina’s technique could do. The referee didn’t interfere, though. Why? Nobody knows, but the match continued.

A full minute and a half—that’s how long Ren was encased in the swarm of white light before Seraphina thought that it was enough.

She dispelled her art, expecting to see Ren reduced to a horrible state. Inwardly, she felt confident that he couldn’t have endured all of that for that long. She thought that this is what he gets after all the bad things she said about her and the White Haven Clan.

Except, yet again, Ren broke everybody’s expectations.

There he stood, looking just as fine as ever. The only difference is that his shirt was now gone, ripped to shreds by the swarm of lights.

Ren was comically covering his chest like a maiden whose upper body was suddenly exposed. His eyes showed this mischievous glint as he wore this ashamed and scandalized look on his face when his bare upper body was exposed.

"Y-you pervert!" He exclaimed as if he were truly embarrassed. "I’m exposed! How dare you! You represent purity and all that, but I bet you just steal them from others to make up for yours! You’re a monster!"

Seraphina turned bright red in shame and anger. Meanwhile, the audience laughed at Ren’s ridiculousness. He’s really determined to irritate the living hell out of Seraphina. How petty.

But those with sharp eyes could easily tell that Ren was truly weird.

Anyone else would’ve been reduced to a husk after enduring Seraphina’s assault like that, but clearly, Ren was an exception.

Aside from his shirt, the rest of him was completely fine. Not a hair out of place, not even a sheen of sweat formed on his forehead. He’s as fresh as a daisy even after all that.

Seraphina noticed this too, and she felt her stomach sinking. She couldn’t understand why the technique she honed and practiced for so long suddenly became ineffective against Ren.

Even Adrian had to be wary about her swarm. Of course, he rarely uses his sword intent against her in their occasional spar, but still, what’s wrong with this guy?

Ren dropped the act shortly after seeing Seraphina’s reaction. He wore his insufferable smirk on his face as if everything were going according to his plan.

He glanced at the swarm of lights that are still dancing around him, circling him like disguised piranhas waiting for him to spill blood before they sink their razor-sharp teeth into his flesh and tear him apart.

Before the audience and Seraphina’s gaze, he reached out to a single petal, plucking it from mid-air as if he were catching dew. He didn’t coat his arms with chakra; he did it with his bare hands.

Then, they saw something strange.

That single petal struggled madly in his grasp. It’s controlled by Seraphina, so she felt it.

She tried to drain Ren’s chakra through that thing, but she found out that there’s nothing to drain...not even a single drop.

Then, to her horror, she discovered something shocking.

"Where’s your chakra!?" she exclaimed loud enough for everybody to hear.

The audience gasped scandalously. They all strained their eyes at the battlefield or on the screen to see what’s about to happen.

Those who knew Seraphina caught the implications of her shock. Seraphina could purify chakra, and she could sense it from her targets. In fact, she often uses this technique of hers to scout ahead in dungeons.

She could feel ambient energy signatures, too. Charka just happens to be the one she’s most familiar with.

So, for her to say that she couldn’t sense any chakra from Ren was definitely a big deal.

Ren heard her exclamation and raised an eyebrow.

"Hm? What are you talking about? It’s right here."

Ren concentrated his chakra on his fingers, precisely the one that’s pinching the single lotus petal.

That color was unmistakable. It’s pale blue, indicating its neutral attribute, but it’s chakra, alright.

Ren even went as far as to shroud his entire body of that same glow to indicate that he had chakra all along.

"No, that’s...that’s not possible. Why can’t I...?"

Seraphina’s worldview was overturning right now. She was losing her mind.

Ren’s display clearly indicates that he has chakra, and he has plenty of it. But her perception also doesn’t lie to her.

She sees it but she doesn’t feel it. She’s trying to purify his chakra but only ends up draining hers. Ren’s chakra remains unaffected by what she’s trying to do.

It’s no wonder why she’s acting this way. Clearly, she hasn’t encountered a situation like this before.

She could practically purify every energy source she encountered so far. Sure, the White Haven art was more effective against the element of corruption, but it’s never been ineffective against others.

Her sharpest edge just turned blunt in front of Ren. How could she easily accept this?

Seraphina’s struggle was clear for everybody to see, and her fans, once again, felt their hearts and stomachs sinking for her.

How could this be? How could their idol be reduced to this miserable state? What exactly was wrong with this guy?

Unfortunately for the audience, Ren didn’t feel like explaining.

He pinched the petal harder, essentially crushing it in the process. Seraphina felt that and winced, returning her to the present.

"Was that all you can do? If so, then...my, how disappointing."