Walking onto the stage, Behnam crossed gaze with his new opponent, Cyrus Kirmist.

Seeing his body covered in small scratches and dust, he gathered that Cyrus might not have a better time in his fight, just like him.

But when Behnam looked at Cyrus’s crimson hair and eyes, Behnam was once again faced with the fact that his current opponent is a member of the empire’s imperial family. Though there are no other clans who holds the same surname, to look at the person in the face is always the best method of verification.

“As both participants have received injuries from the battles, body recovery and Qi recovery medicines have been prepared for both participants to recover.” Following the announcement from the unknown voice, the referee threw two pills which landed right onto the two participants’ extended palms.

As Behnam gazed at the pill on his palm, he felt the bandages tied around his wounds. Without hesitation, he shook his head.

“I decline; I believe I have healed enough in this time.” Saying that, he returned the pills to the referee.

“If that is the case, I also refuse to take these.” Following those words, Cyrus also returned the pills that were handed to him.

Accepting their refusal, the referee stored back the pills and spoke, “If that is the case, please prepare yourself. Once the gold coin falls, the fight shall start.”

He then once again took out another gold coin and lightly flicked it upwards before leaping off the stage.

Behnam once again focused himself to the coming fight. As he gathered strength into his four limbs, the ground under his feet cracked under the pressure while his fist crackled like thunder.

Cyrus who stood on the other side drew out a silver sword from his waist which glinted under the sun.

One overbearing, one graceful stood on the stage, calmly facing each other.

The moment the coin fell, an explosive sound resounded from the location which Behnam stood on before.

Without giving a chance for most of the spectators to react, another explosion once again occurred right where Cyrus stood, producing a shockwave which hit the barrier covering the arena.

Looking at where the explosion occurred, there could be seen Cyrus standing a few feet away from where he stood before while holding his sword horizontally while Behnam stood right where Cyrus was before with his fist aimed towards where Cyrus was pushed back.

Seeing that his first strike was blocked in such a way, Behnam clicked his tongue and fixed his stance.

But at that moment, Cyrus waved his sword downwards and rushed towards Behnam like a gale. Not losing out, Behnam also rushed forward with an overwhelming momentum on each step.

Suddenly, when Behnam was a few meters away from Cyrus, the scent of blood wafted into his nostrils. At the same time, Cyrus’s sword suddenly pierced forward even faster than before while giving off the pressure of a mountain.

Caught off guard, Behnam did not dare to take any risk and dodged to the side. Unwilling to be on the losing side, he swung his feet towards his opponent’s abdomen.

But as if he was expecting his retaliation, Cyrus forced his body to land and threw his body backwards, reducing the impact of the kick.

Without a word, the two once again rushed towards each other fearlessly.

As they both exchanged strike after strike, neither side relented. Even though it is an exchange between a sword and fist, the fist did not lose out in the slightest.

Each time the sword edge was about to wound him, Behnam would always manage to repel or dodge each strike before they could wound him. But even when he acted so carefully, his overwhelming momentum did not wane in the slightest and instead kept on rising.

On the other hand, Cyrus who was able to keep calm in the face of such momentum gave off a feeling of leisure.

Finally, Behnam found an opening and shouted in his mind, ‘There!’ and swung his fist.

Then, with the sound of metal hitting metal, the sword Cyrus wielded finally flew off his hand and dropped out of the arena.

The spectators who saw this all thought it would soon be the end for Cyrus. But Behnam who stood before the weaponless Cyrus kept a serious face and did not underestimate his opponent as he attempted to continue his attack with his full strength.

And just as Behnam’s attack was about to hit his opponent, a thick scent of blood assaulted his nostrils, causing his expression to change.

Without hesitation, he stopped his attack and leaped backwards. Following which, a blood red sword swung downwards, almost reaching the tip of his nose by a hairbreadth.

Distancing himself further, Behnam muttered, “The famed Blood Materialization Technique of the Kirmist Imperial Clan?”

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“It seems you are quite knowledgeable.” Saying such, Cyrus once again rushed forward with a swing of his sword which increased in both speed and strength.

Once again dodging the attack, Behnam’s expression turned grave as he thought in his heart, ‘If you desire an exchange of techniques, then so be it…’

Then, following the Solar Flare Body Technique in his memory, he gathered his Yang Qi into his four limbs. But unlike the way he used it to enhance his attacks from before, the Qi moved in a certain pattern and required more Qi than before.

In return, he felt his four limbs enhanced far stronger than before, unlike the crude method of body enhancement he used before. But each time he tried to move his body, it was like his body became twice as heavy, requiring much more effort to exert.

Even so, for him who has long trained in this technique, this sort of thing is not enough to be a problem.

With a forward step, his overwhelming aura surged as he once again exchanged strikes with Cyrus.

But instead of dodging or repelling his sword, Behnam directly used one of his hand to hold onto the blade of Cyrus’s sword. Seeing this, Cyrus’s eyes flickered as he tried to increase the force of his attack.

Unfortunately, no matter how much force he exerted, his sword did not budge in the slightest, as if it held down tightly by a mountain.

At that moment, Behnam’s arm which had been gathering strength all this time swung straight for Cyrus’s chest.

The moment his fist connected, Cyrus’s body was thrown backwards, accompanied by a long trail of dust cloud from the force of the blow until he finally stopped with a crash, covered by a dust cloud. Meanwhile, the sword of blood was still clamped in between Behnam’s finger. But moments after the sword left Cyrus’s hand, the sword lost its solid form and fell, turning back into its normal liquid form.

Waving his hands, the drops of blood stuck on Behnam’s hand flew away. Even as he did so, his gaze never left the place which Cyrus was thrown to.

‘That much force should not be enough to defeat a prince of the empire…’

As he thought such, Behnam saw a silhouette stepping out from the dust cloud. But the moment he tried to prepare for another attack, a heavy sense of pressure washed over him as he heard Cyrus say coldly.

“It is time to end this farce.”

Following those words, a blood red sword once again appeared in his hand. But this time, a blood red glow emanated from the sword while Cyrus’s rosy face turned pale white.

Then, holding his sword with both hands at his side, Cyrus dashed forward towards Behnam.

Seeing this, Behnam’s gaze turned serious, knowing that the strike would determine the final victor.

Then, his overbearing air receded, replaced by peaceful tranquility, yet still emanating a sense of pressure, just like the sun high up in the sky.

When Cyrus finally closed onto him, Behnam kept his tranquil state and took a slow step forward. This step of his did not seem to hold any noticeable movement in the Qi inside him. Yet the moment his foot landed, the Yang energy in his surrounding converged wildly from that foot into his whole body, causing it to lit up with a golden light, as if he was a small sun.

Within the Aasmany Clan’s spectator room, Bahram squinted his eyes and muttered, “This child is really…” Hearing his muttering, Yvette looked towards him in inquiry.

Noticing her gaze, he explained, “The technique Behnam is using is called the Solar Descend Technique. It gathers raw energy from the surroundings into his body to bolster a single strike. This technique has a harsher body endurance requirement in comparison to the Solar Flare Body Technique due to the harsh backlash. And the power each step can gather is all based on the purity of the yang energy in the surroundings. At the same time, the purer the yang energy, the harsher the backlash.”

Turning to gaze back towards Behnam on the stage, he continued, “With Behnam’s current body and cultivation, a single step is his limit.”

With that single step, Behnam and Cyrus finally stood before each other.

Then, with one swinging his fist and the other swinging his sword, the two youths clashed.

The moment the golden and crimson light came into contact with each other, a deafening explosion resounded throughout the arena, to the point that the shockwave itself caused the barrier covering the stage to shake and be covered in small cracks, silencing the spectators. Though the spectators could not feel the after effect of the exchange, just seeing the small cracks caused them to gulp nervously.

Though the damaging of the barrier has occurred before, it was a rare event in itself. And the barrier is also a formation that has a defensive power that is capable of taking on multiple attacks from a late Qi Condensing Stage cultivator. For a shockwave from the exchange of two peak Body Tempering Stage cultivators to damage it was enough proof for them to know how fearsome the exchange was.

Then, as the shaking of the barrier stopped, they could finally take a clear look at the stage.

The stage was fully covered in cracks, giving it an appearance as if a single touch was enough for it to turn into dust.

Meanwhile, the two participants were standing at the center of the stage, still with their fist and sword in the position of clashing against each other while their eyes stared proudly at one another.

Moments later, Cyrus’s sword of blood cracked and turned into grey dried blood, losing their former crimson luster.

But Behnam who was before him stood there, frozen, and muttered in a voice which only allowed Cyrus to hear.

“It was a nice match…”

Following those words, he who moments ago was still standing there proudly fell directly to his side.

“Winner, Cyrus Kirmist of the Kirmist Imperial Clan!”

As the referee announced such, the spectators who have been silent all this time flooded the whole arena with their cheers.

Observing from their room, those from the Stellar City sighed in regret. But those from the Aasmany Clan was not the same and instead stood up before walking out of the room.

But the moment they left the room, Esfir and Bahram both disappeared from the rest of the clan member’s view. At the same time, Esfir’s voice sounded right next to Yvette’s ear.

“We will be taking away your brother first, bring the others to the carriage and wait.”

Without a change in her expression, Yvette silently consented and led the party from Aasmany Clan to the carriage.

When they reached the location where the carriages were left at, Bahram and Esfir had also arrived with Behnam carried by Bahram on his shoulder like a sack.

Though Yvette and Daiyu did not have the slightest reaction to this, the clan members all twitched the edge of their lips, as if they were trying to hold back their laughter. Meanwhile, Esfir who stood right next to Bahram was not as restrained and chuckled with mirth in her eyes.

But without giving a shred of care to the thought of others, Bahram turned with a wave of his sleeve, “Let us go, we will be leaving today.”

As Yvette was about to step into her carriage, she felt a gaze falling on her. Involuntarily glancing towards the source, she once again saw the crimson haired boy who was looking at her yesterday, who she learned to be the fourth prince of the empire, Cyrus Kirmist.

Noticing her actions, Esfir also followed her gaze and caught sight of Cyrus looking towards Yvette. Though Yvette herself did not know, Esfir recognized the intent his gaze held.

Then, bringing both Yvette and Daiyu into the carriage, Esfir used her Qi to transmit her voice to Cyrus.

“It is best to not be so curious.”

Following that, the carriage left alongside the clopping of the horse hooves.