A couple hours after the morning meeting.

Cenn and Aydor stood in front of the entrance to the interior of the arena, which was under the tribunes. Along with them stood the other participants in today's fights. All of them were already dressed in their armor, with their weapons at the ready. Accompanying this picture was absolute silence, not at all appropriate for such a gathering of armed teenagers.

The Martial Emperor Temple had established clear rules. From the moment the participants arrived at the arena, they were not allowed to communicate with anyone. Once inside, each of them would go to the waiting room to await their turn. Cenn didn't quite understand the reason for this rule, but like everyone else was afraid to break it.

Finally, the deacon of the Temple opened the door and allowed them to enter. Inside stood several servants who gestured for the participants to go to one of the waiting rooms. Cenn followed the instructions and made his way to one of them.

As soon as he stepped inside, the door closed behind him, and the only thing that illuminated the room was a small oil lamp on the floor. There was nothing else inside but the lamp.

Cenn sat down on the stone floor and meditated.

[...]

His breathing slowed down. Qi began to circulate in his body.

[...]

Few moments late he frowned, all attempts to clear mind were futile.

[All this talk of sigils... Should I use lightning again and fry Bavin?]

A confident smile appeared on his face, but immediately disappeared.

[But I think Uncle Velin said I should do something else. But what??]

Doubt continued to overwhelm Velin until the door to his room opened. So his fight was about to begin.

Walking through the barely lit corridors to the now familiar shabby door Cenn clutched his spear in his hands, waiting for the fight to begin.

[Okay, it's time to pull yourself together. I'll know what to do when I see him.]

"The fight begins." Voice boomed over the arena and the door in front of him opened.

Cenn slowly stepped into the arena and moved towards the center of it.

Meanwhile, Bavin, a short young man with a shaved head, came out of the opposite exit to meet him. He wore a gray robe and leather armor that covered only his torso. He was holding an ordinary-looking spear, except that its tip was wider than usual and looked more like a short sword than a spearhead.

Suddenly, Bavin stopped and shouted at the top of his voice.

"Scorpion!"

Immediately, a wave of red light swept from Bavin's hand, all the way to the spearhead.

[You hope I'm afraid of the poison..]

Cenn continued walking calmly towards the center of the arena. Puzzling over how to respond to the Scorpion Sigil.

But Bavin wasn't about to give him time to think and rushed to attack.

Shortening the distance he made two sweeping side to side strikes.

Cenn took a few steps back not wanting to get into the fight and allowing Bavin to take the center of the arena. Any wound he received would guarantee his defeat. The Scorpion Sigil coats weapons with a poisonous qi capable of paralyzing an enemy when wounded.

On the other hand, if the weapon doesn't wound him, the Sigil will be useless.

[The main thing is not to let him wound me, then I'll win.]

"Spear!"

At the same moment, his qi rushed into the spear, making it glow with a bright white light.

Sweep.

Bavin once again delivered a slashing strike, aiming for Cenn's arm.

But this time his strike was blocked.

Sweep.

Cenn made several horizontal sweeps with his spear, watching his enemy's reaction.

Each movement of the spear tip left behind numerous afterimages. Which not only confused Bavin, but also blocked his attacks.

Each afterimage existed for a little over a second and contained a small amount of qi. When hit, it took the enemy's attack of momentum, though it couldn't completely block it. Even though this Sigil wasn't particularly useful in attacking, its defensive properties were flawless.

[Now we can really start fighting.]

Cenn dashed to the right, circling around Bavin standing in the center of the arena.

The tip of his spear was pointed toward the enemy, leaving a trail of afterimages behind it.

After reaching the opposite end of the arena, Cenn changed direction and ran towards the center.

Bringing his spear behind his back, he delivered a powerful blow from top to bottom, as if he were holding not a spear but a huge club.

Bavin was not ready to take such a blow and jumped back.

Sweep.

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Chop.

Thrust.

Cenn continued his onslaught with a series of blows, trying to pin the enemy down. But to no avail. Each time, Bavin retreated, waiting for a chance to strike with precision.

[I need to move faster.]

"Grasshopper."

Cenn applied the Grasshopper Sigil amplify on himself. Although this Sigil did not increase his overall movement speed, it allowed the him to make lightning fast dashes of 6-8 feet in any direction. And so jump several meters upwards.

Strike.

Swing.

Dodging the blows, Bavin stepped back again, waiting for Cenn to make a mistake.

Dash.

Dash.

Two consecutive dash and Cenn had the enemy pinned against the wall and immediately attack.

The two spearmen began to fight in close, their chosen sigils giving no serious advantage in power to either of them and it was all about spear skill. Bavin tried to strike Cenn's arm time after time, but to no avail.

Strike followed strike, block followed dodge. Both opponents fought to the limit of their abilities.

Finally, after a dozen blows, Cenn was able to strike Bavin's left forearm, leaving him with a light wound. But after getting wounded, the guy rashly went on the attack, neglecting his defense.

The spear blade whistled a few centimeters from Cenn's face.

Dash.

Cenn realized it was time to change position and jumped back. Now that the enemy was slowly bleeding out, time was on his side. Unless, of course, his opponent made a mistake and the fight ended even faster.

Bavin, jumped forward and dodged a counter attack and dived down, trying to strike at Cenn's legs.

[How stupid]

Cenn jumped high up, trying to fly over Bavin. who misses the strike and is about to sprawl on the ground. Once behind his opponent's back Cenn will be able to finish the fight with a single punch.

But as if expecting this, Bavin smiled cruelly, and pointing his hand to where Cenn was about to land said.

"Glacier!"

The qi rushed out of Bavin's hand and collided with the ground turning a large area into perfectly smooth ice.

Cenn's long jump lasted less than two seconds. But it was long enough for his opponent to set a trap for him. If he landed on this icy surface, he would have no chance of keeping his balance. Moreover, getting back on his feet after falling would also be a difficult task.

Few thoughts flashed through the Cenn's mind while he was in the air.

A moment before he landed, Cenn jammed the tip of his spear into the icy ground with a sharp movement. And mimicking the movements of boatmen pushing off from the river bottom to make the boat move. Cenn pushed off the spear, launching his body forward without letting go of the spear. Landing on a hard surface he immediately inspected the spearhead.

[Luckily...]

When Cenn looked at his rival, he saw despair in his eyes. After the ice trap failed, Bavin clearly didn't know how to end this fight.

Unexpectedly for Cenn, his opponent rushed forward with such fury, as if he had decided to put all his remaining strength into one last attack.

Cenn didn't doubt his superiority for a second, so he didn't hesitate to counter the attack.

As Bavin launched strike, the tip of his spear slid down the shaft of opponent's spear to Cenn's left arm. This was a dangerous maneuver, as Bavin was completely open to any attack.

A moment before Bavin's spear reached its target, Cenn pulled the spear slightly to the side. And, made half of a step forward, he struck a chopping blow with the shaft of his spear right at Bavin’s head. From which he immediately lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.

But before that the spearhead pierced Cenn's forearm

"The fight is over, Cenn Bael has won." An indifferent voice announced the results of the fight.

The blood rushed from Cenn's arm to the ground, and a strange feeling came over him. His left arm was slightly numb, but after a couple seconds, it was cramped and pain began to spread through his body. After a couple more moments, an unbearable pain pierced the left side of his torso with thousands of small needles.

"Ahhh, damn it!"

Cenn fell to the ground squirming in unbearable pain.

He had never experienced the effects of the Scorpion Sigil before. The speed at which the poison acted and the intensity of the pain shocked him.

…

Hog and Velin ran into the arena, alarmed by Cenn's condition.

"Cenn, what happened?" Velin asked.

"I didn't know scorpion venom caused so much pain. It's like a hundred needles pierced the right side of my body." Replied Cenn.

Velin and Hog looked over at each other.

By this time, Doctor Renol, hired by the Bael clan, had already run up to Cenn. He began bandaging the wound to stop the bleeding.

Hog meanwhile made his way over to Bavin, who was surrounded by several of his family members. Recognizing one of the Kernak family members he called out to him.

"Hey, Mevlor! Something's wrong with your nephew's Scorpion Sigil. I need to know what exactly."

"Back off. Your degenerate almost fractured Bavin's skull. And you still dare to come near me, after such cruelty?" The man from the Kernak family turned around and angrily replied.

"Things happen in battle, but Cenn won it fairly. And if your brat used real poison, I will personally crack his skull."

Hearing Hog's words, Mevlor pounced on him with fists. Without hesitation, Hog returned the favor. After exchanging a few blows the men clashed into each other. However, they only used their physical strength without using the power of the sigils.

"Silence!" Angrily shouted the judge.

Instantly, everyone in the arena froze. Hog let go of his opponent and turned towards the judge, lowering his head obediently. Mevlor did the same.

"Fighting between spectators will not be tolerated. To clear your guilty conscience each of you will donate twenty Silver Borl(coin’s name) to the Temple." - The judge, a sickly looking old man, sat on the highest section of the tribune. As the senior deacon of the Martial Emperor Temple, his authority in the city was second only to the bishop.

"Now to your argument. The boys fought bravely and fiercely. As the Martial Emperor willed. Each of them deserves to be admired. That young Bavin was injured is unfortunate, but such is the nature of battle. Death is a frequent visitor to the battlefield. So don't blame young Cenn for his cruelty. Especially since the blow wasn't fatal and the boy will regain consciousness soon." The old man fell silent and looked intently at Mevlor.

"I admit my mistake, elder deacon. Forgive me." Mevlor replied cautiously.

"Now let's talk about the poison. I agree that the Scorpion Sigil could not have acted so quickly and caused so much pain. At least not in the hands of a cultivator who had only formed two seals. The Kernak family owes an explanation."

"Your honor Bavin fought fair and didn't use real poison. It's all about the spear. The metal used to make the tip was hardened in the bile of Corbwood marsh frogs. It made the effects of the Scorpion Sigil stronger." Explained Mevlor.

"I want to examine the spear." Said the judge.

Hearing this Mevlor picked up the spear from the ground and headed towards the stairs leading to the tribune.

"I'm old, but not useless. Just throw it to me." The old man stopped the man.

Mevlor hesitated for a second, but still threw the spear to the referee who was sitting 30 feet away from him.

The old man caught the flying spear without much trouble. Inspecting it carefully he used his qi sense to study it better.

Description: Spear. The shaft is from Mountain Venia. The tip is an iron alloy with an undetermined composition. Length (6 feet 4 inches). Properties: The spear is soaked in poisonous qi. Any attacks with this weapon will cause additional pain to the victim. The effects of sigils with the Poison aspect will be enhanced.

"Your words are true. All is fair. Bael's family need not worry, the pain and paralysis will soon pass. Now clear the arena, we need to start the next fight."

Finishing, the referee threw the spear back to Mevlor.

"Thank you for your wisdom, Venerable Judge." Replied Hog and turned back to Velin and Cenn.

"It'll pass soon, kid. Don't worry." Hog comforted Cenn.

"Mr. Renol, can you ease his pain?" Velin turned to the healer.

"Yes, of course. But we'd better get him to my office soon. Everything we need is there." Replied the healer.

"You three, take the young master to Doctor Renol's office. And stay there, if anything happens let me know immediately." Velin gave the order to the servants standing beside him. After the celebration at the Orist family's estate yesterday, many servants had come to watch the young masters fight.