Kill The Old Ones!

Chapter 169: Tounament: Bitter Truths

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Feelings were mixed about the last match.

It’s exciting, sure. It’s more than everybody expected, yes. The revelation of clan rivalry and drama was unexpected but was a nice addition to the atmosphere of the match—like seasonings on food.

And the results, well...that’s where most people felt complicated.

Seraphina had a lot of supporters within Central City; she also has some outside the city.

When this city-wide tournament began, everybody thought that this was just going to be a fight between the big names. The main course will, of course, be the Four Heavenly Kings of Central City.

Everybody was looking forward to their clash to discover who’s truly the best in this city. Many people thought that it was Adrian, no doubt. The other heavenly kings could only fight for second place.

But the supporters of other heavenly kings harbored hope that their favorites would surprise them at the last second. That somehow, at the very last moment, they’ll have something to use to defeat Adrian and claim the #1 spot.

That’s what was supposed to happen. It should’ve gone that way.

But then, one Soren Marek Vire stepped onto the stage and completely flipped the table on them.

He walked in there like he owned the place, exuding smooth ease and casual invincibility as he faced his foes. He ended his previous matches with a single punch. Whatever they threw at him was completely meaningless, regardless of how much of their strength they put behind it.

They couldn’t even leave a tear on his clothes. Only Seraphina was able to do that, and only to his shirt.

Hell, Seraphina was on another level. Everybody knows that. Anybody could say whatever about her after the enmity between her clan and Ren’s was revealed, but it doesn’t change the fact that she was one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

That wasn’t given to her for free, or because she came from an ancient martial clan. She fought for the place and deserved it. Even Adrian himself acknowledged her talent.

But even she couldn’t do much to Ren.

Even after using her secret move, the one she’s reserving for Adrian just in case she meets him in the finals, Ren just casually stopped it with a single finger.

A single finger.

That scene was caught by the cameras and was plastered to every platform. It was a video, but the scene was so shocking that many thought of it as a still picture.

Seraphina’s other swords were actively and desperately trying to drill holes in his body in that moment, but it was as if they were made with the hardest metal known to man, and they failed to even leave white marks on his skin.

In contrast to the desperate and despairing beauty that Seraphina had when she was attempting to cleave Ren in half, the other party just looked amused. His eyes were casually assessing what was happening before him and judged it was far from enough.

Then, he ends the fight with a single move that echoed nine times.

Seraphina emptied her arsenal for absolutely nothing. Aside from ripping Ren’s shirt to threads, she’s unable to do anything else ’harmful’ to him.

Ren, on the other hand, just needed a punch, and she was done. Hell, she couldn’t even endure the entirety of his move. She fainted before it reached the peak.

The match was so one-sided that it left people in disbelief.

Never in their wildest dreams would they see somebody so effortlessly tyrannical and domineering as Ren appearing on the stage.

He was practically a non-existent entity prior to yesterday. Nobody knew who he was; nobody even wondered if he existed or not.

In just two matches, where he effortlessly trampled upon his ’peers,’ he became the next hottest thing.

He went from a flier to a black horse and a real threat.

Now, people were starting to get worried about Adrian. Those who thought that Adrian would just effortlessly reign over this generation and be hailed as the strongest prodigy of Central City were not having doubts if he could really do it.

Some of them weren’t blind or stupid. Ren was completely fine after taking attacks that should’ve killed him, attacks that even Adrian had been wary about.

But of course, Adrian has die-hard fans, even more so than Seraphina and Elena combined. And these fans just simply refused to believe that Ren would defeat their champion.

They even argued that Ren only won against Seraphina because he broke her morale. If Seraphina just shut her mouth and focused on the fight, it’s unknown if Ren could’ve truly defeated her.

Because of Ren’s recent performance, though, he was gaining fans too.

These people admired Ren’s fighting style. They liked his tyrannical aura and his domineering strength. They even thought that that’s how a man should fight.

Others liked him even more when they saw his naked upper body.

Regardless, these people supported Ren in the debates online. They defended him and were convinced that Ren will win this whole thing.

Because of varying opinions, the noise on online forums and discussion platforms was hot, very hot. The keyboard warriors were waging war against each other for the pettiest or most random reasons.

At the same time, the video that Alex uploaded online was receiving a lot of views. It was up to millions by the time the match ended.

This video supported Ren’s statements and revealed the ugly side of the White Haven Clan.

A lot of people were disgusted by the arrogance of Seraphina’s clan brothers and elders. They strutted inside the Banished Arms Clan Compound like they were passing through a squatters’ area.

The looks they gave to the members of the Banished Arms Clan were of pure disdain and contempt; they’re not even trying to hide it at all.

The video also captured the moment Ren went up to stage. How he not only returned the disdain and contempt these people gave to his clan but also doubled it skillfully in the most satisfying way ever.

This video also revealed to the public that Ren only had a common grade 1 martial physique. Not epic, not even rare, just common. It’s the best of the worst grade, but still the worst talent level—a point that left the public in disbelief.

At the end of the video, they saw Ren invite all five of the so-called ’prodigies’ to come up on stage and fight him at the same time. They watched him defeat all of them at the same time, the same way he defeated Seraphina in their match.

A poetic and satisfying end, over all.

Because of this video, the White Haven Clan’s reputation plummeted dangerously.

It’s unknown what’s happening within their walls right now, but it’s almost certain that it’s not good. They must be panicking right now.

They’re probably gnashing their teeth and cursing Ren till their last breath because of existing.

It’s ridiculous how one guy just ruined everything they worked so hard for within the past decades. Yet it’s happening right now.

The worst part is that they can’t even do anything against him. Both they and Ren were under surveillance right now; there’s no doubt about that.

Ren was protected while he was in this coliseum. And even if he isn’t, if something were to happen to him, anybody with a functioning brain will almost immediately suspect that it’s the White Haven Clan who did it, because who else would do it?

The reputation, the image, and the respect that the White Haven Clan earned after working hard and scheming for such a long time were now collapsing just because of a single guy’s well-timed exposition, and they can’t even do anything to stop it.

Well, that’s what happens when something is founded using lies and deceit.

The one who’s taking it the worst is Seraphina.

She woke up the next day after being taken care of, and the first thing she did was to check her inbox. She saw the video and watched it, and she personally witnessed the true face of her clan.

Her heart broke. She dearly wished this were just lies, but it’s not. Alex’s video was verified to be unedited by the world system itself. That’s as much of a guarantee as anybody could wish for.

She withered like a flower who’s been plucked from her rich soil and water source and kept in the dark where she will never see the light of the sun ever again.

Seraphina was by herself too. She couldn’t turn to her clan because she now knows that they will just try to feed her more lies. More lies, more manipulations...she’s just a tool for them. Her role, authority, and position—none of them were real.

She was just a means to an end.

It’s bad enough that she looked for Lucian of all people, but he wasn’t here either.

He was up there, participating in the loser’s bracket. Fighting for the fourth or fifth place against Elena.

Seraphina curled into a ball and hid herself beneath the blankets. She felt like she had no face to show to anybody ever again.

How will she even face the world after she learned that everything she knew and held dear turned out to be a lie?