black coins are so rare that only elite families of the Azur Kingdom generally use them, though some lower-level organizations can utilize them in limited amounts.

After considering all these factors, he decided not to display all his skills and abilities—choosing instead to rely on a more conventional approach to achieve a good result in this competition. Despite having only a cultivation level of 17, after acknowledging his opponent the match began, and following an intense fight, Arya secured victory. Of course, he succeeded by keeping the fight intense without revealing his dual elemental powers or using his seed skills.

To win that match, he switched to his weapon master form—a style that, while not extremely common, is also not exceedingly rare. After his win, the matches continued, and in his penultimate round he faced the two-ringed seed master from Blue Stone Village. When his opponent's name was announced, others from his village cast curious gazes around the platform. Although Arya was only eight years old, his opponent—likely around 13 to 14 and one of the top contestants from his village with two seed rings—demanded respect. Even though everyone anticipated the inevitable outcome, there was still an unexpected hope of witnessing a miracle.

When Arya stepped onto the stage, he first saw his opponent and immediately felt the formidable power of a two-ringed seed master. Once someone possesses two seed rings and reaches level 21 or beyond, their power leaps to new heights. Even a level-20 cultivator will feel the heavy pressure from a level-21 seed master—it might be tolerable at lower levels, but this pressure becomes overwhelming at higher levels, such as between level 30 and 31.

After assessing his opponent, Arya shifted his gaze to his father. Seeing his father's nonchalant look, he raised his hand and chose to forfeit the round. Even before the fight began, others from his village exchanged strange glances at him, but he was not bothered—he knew that without employing special skills and abilities, he would not be able to stand against a two-ringed seed master, and engaging in a hopeless fight was not his style.

"Well, Chief Bryan, it seems that this time your village is not destined to be in the top three," one chief remarked.

"Haha, no problem, no problem—it's unfortunate that our highest contestant's cultivation is only around level 19 due to his young age; otherwise, we would also have a two-ringed master from our village."

"True, but joining the Water Dragon Academy this time is a unique and irreversible opportunity—and what if this chance doesn't present itself in the next young generation competition?"

"But your son seems quite witty yet lacks the courage to even fight his opponent," commented the village chief from White Stone Village sarcastically. Before Bryan could reply, Rick from Black Crow Village added, "I think it's smart to quit when the odds are against you. Fighting blindly without any certainty of victory is meaningless."

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Bryan, who was well aware of his son's capabilities and recognized that Arya had a potential for victory, had hoped he might display his true strength. However, he decided that Arya should refrain from showing his full abilities in this competition—a decision he had approved and even warned him about beforehand.

After listening to both chiefs' comments, Arya said nothing; he merely smiled and shifted his gaze toward the village chief of White Sparrow Village—a serious individual who rarely spoke. He then looked toward the last person seated on a raised platform at the back with his eyes closed. No one bothered this man, for he was the special guest from the Water Dragon Academy, present merely to observe the competition, though he appeared rather uninterested.

This elder of the Water Dragon Academy, who seemed to be between 40 and 45 years old, possessed considerable strength. Bryan could sense that his aura indicated at least a four-ringed master. After witnessing his opponent's surrender, the fighter from Blue Stone Village cast a provocative and disdainful gaze at Arya. Unperturbed, Arya ignored him and left the stage—he was not immature enough to be provoked by this little fellow, though he did make a mental note of his name, Sen, perhaps to gauge the gap between them in the future.

The top three had already been decided—they were clearly the two-ringed masters: Rose from Black Crow Village, Ben from Blue Stone Village, and a man from White Sparrow Village who resembled their village chief in both appearance and personality, boasting a well-muscled build.

Before the top-three positions were finalized, additional matches were held to determine the 4th to 7th ranks. The contestants who had won six out of seven matches would compete for these positions. They were Kane and Arya from Burning Inferno Village, Leo from Black Crow Village, and Sid from Blue Stone Village.

Once these four names were announced, Arya and the other three headed toward Stage 1, where they would draw lots to choose opponents. After the lottery, Arya was paired with Sid while Kane was matched against Leo. In this group, Arya—only eight years old—had a cultivation level of 17; Kane was at level 19 at the age of nine and a half; Sid, also a level-19 cultivator, was around 11 or 12 years old; and only Leo, around 13 to 14, had reached level 20—nearly at the point of possessing his second seed stone.

From their age differences, one could discern the natural ranking of the contestants: Kane was considered the strongest by nature, followed by Sid, with Arya and Leo ranking lower in innate potential.

After drawing lots, both matches began on separate stages. For some reason, Arya's opponent, Sid, was smiling as he approached, and he remarked sarcastically, "What are you thinking—circling around without fighting?" Unprovoked, Arya replied, "You do not possess the power to make me surrender."

Noticing that Arya was not affected by the taunt, Sid's smile vanished and he grew serious. Despite Arya's relatively low level, he had defeated multiple strong opponents without any dramatic climax. In a surprising turn, Arya won his match against Sid; his seed weapon proved to be effective and, despite its small size, was a lethal tool. Almost everyone in the top seven possessed a usable seed weapon along with basic skills to wield it. Meanwhile, Leo also defeated Kane, setting up the next contest: Arya versus Leo—a level 17 fighter against a level 20.