The fight between Jiule and Amber was the most exiting fight thus far for the spectators. Up until now, their expectations were already surpassed and even the elders in the VIP lounge were no exception.
Lord Hyan especially looked extremely grim, the energy inside his body and the righteous light around him fluctuating constantly, exposing the fact that he was extremely shocked. Never would he have thought that Amber would lose that early. He knew what she was capable of and thus was the most confident in her power. Even if it had been close, this was not supposed to happen.
Seeing that Lord Hyan was lost in his thoughts, the other elders thought about kicking him after he was already down, as he had been extremely arrogant before, but in the end, they knew better and chose to remain silent.
Although Lord Hyan seemed humble on the outside, he was an incredibly proud man deep inside, just like many of the elders. Those at their level were the true kings of the Azure Dragon Kingdom, no matter where they went.
Demon Sword Vaile on the other hand showed barely any reaction to the victory of Jiule. To him, the tournament was only child’s play and he was sure that Jiule would emerge victorious. If not, well, then he would make sure that Jiule would undergo even more and arduous training.
The most important thing, however, was something else. In the Demon Slayer Sword Sect, defeat was not something bad, at least if one survived, as most were fighting on the front lines, where one wrong step often lead to death.
What they really detested was cowardice and weak willed people. They could lose, but they had to go down fighting. Thus he was secretly content that Jiule showed such a good mental strength and remained calm in front of Amber.
Most predicted that this year would be special, with so many hidden forces and titans leaving their seclusion to attend. However, even if the expectations were already high, those previous events and battles had still overshadowed all of those.
Over the next few hours more and more fights took place inside the coliseum, while the intensity and cruelty only continued to skyrocket. This resulted in severe injuries on many participants. After a few more battles, not only Gorea or Aurelia were unable to continue fighting.
Akura for example was thoroughly terrified after everything that he experienced in his fight against Yasha. This bloodline suppression had a strong impact on his will. Having inherited a fraction of the Fiendgods, his will was incomparably sturdy, but the enraged Asura blood easily shattered the thing he was most proud of.
With so little time between the battles, the participants barely had enough time to calm down, much less recover in time. Especially if it came down to non-physical wounds like what Akura had experienced, thus even if he wanted to continue, he could not muster up enough strength.
In the end he chose to give in to reason and withdrew from further competition, which deeply ashamed him, one of the core successors of the Titan Clan. But he realized that he had no chance against Jiule. This fight would have been difficult even if he had been in his prime condition, but in his current state? He would not even last one move. The moment Jiule exerted his pressure, the last of his will would crumble and leave him even more damaged than he already was.
Aside of Akura, group two was not better off, as most participants in group two were also eliminated from further competition, as Areth had nearly toyed them to death. His cruel tactics caused the spectators to shiver uncontrollably. If the battle between Amber and Jiule was a peak battle between two heavenly geniuses then Areth was the complete opposite of those two.
He was bloodthirsty, viscous and took joy in the pain he caused others. During his fights, many spectators held their breaths and were relieved after he finished. They could not continue watching, as he massacred his opponents in the most wicked and strange ways.
Even the elders and the judge were serious whenever Areth arrived on stage, because he did not really fight. Torturing his opponents was the more fitting description. The judge wanted to step in on many occasions, but he was also bound by the rules and as along as Areth moved within those rules, the judge could not step in do anything.
After Areth toyed with all of his opponents, except for Levi, only those two were left at the end of the day. Even though Areth and Levi had not fought against each other, it was decreed that those two were already qualified for the final round. Thus they did not need to fight against each other. Those would be reserved for the final round.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
And lastly, not even Amber was an exception to all those casualties and injuries. Even though she was one of the six prodigies and was said to be one of the strongest of them, she was still badly wounded in her fight against Jiule and had difficulty to recover in such as short time. But them most terrifying wound was inflicted on a physical level, it was a blow to their confidence and will.
Those that attended the second round of the kingdom’s tournament were the best of the younger generation. Many of them had one thing in common: They hadn’t tasted defeat yet, which weighted heavily on their mental. This in return also influenced their physical condition, making the next fights especially hard, if they could not crawl out of this hole.
Even though Amber wanted to continue fighting, even if it would hurt her foundations, she was stopped by Lord Hyan and was subdued by him until she was forced to surrender. With Amber “surrendering”, the first of the six prodigies was eliminated in the second, another revelation that shocked everyone present.
Before the first round, nobody even wasted a thought on thinking about what would be IF one of the prodigies was unable to reach the second round, but now, this was the reality. Of the six, Amber was the most prominent, the shining star that nearly everyone in the Azure Dragon Kingdom knew. Nevertheless, she was also the first
This also meant that only two were left in group three: Jiule and Yasha. With only one battle in the second round, Jiule and Yasha managed to reach the final round. Similar to the second group, they didn’t need to fight a meaningless battle and were already qualified for the final round.
Hearing that he managed to reach the final round, Yasha could not help but get melancholic for a second. Suppressing his emotions, before it fueled his Asura blood, he still could not help but think about his adoptive mother and the promise he had made. Mother do you see this? I wish you were here to witness everything.
Together with the last thought, without any prior warning, Yasha was overcame by waves of panic and uncertainty. Thinking about what he went through and how he had changed in such a short time, he suddenly thought about what his adoptive mother would feel, if she saw the current Yasha, the one who could not even control his own body. Would she still be proud of him, even though he arguably turned into someone else, or was close to becoming someone else?
Realizing that his emotions were becoming dangerously close to erupting, Yasha forced himself to stop over-thinking, afraid to give the Asura blood any room to take the initiative. He then focused on all the positive thoughts.
I not only managed to set foot in the cultivation world, but I also reached the final round of the kingdoms tournament. Aside of me, another one of the Hunlua Clan clansmen reached the final round, making the Hunlua Clan one of the major discussion topics, just like you always wanted — even though I never understood why you loved the Hunlua Clan that much.
After reaching that thought, Yasha felt a huge weight lift off of his chest. This was the first step of his long journey, but also one of the most difficult, because he did not have much time left. This year was the last chance to fulfill his promise and it felt good that he finally achieved this goal.
However, Yasha did not want to get ahead of himself. He managed to fulfill this promise, but he was still in the tournament, not ready to give up yet. After he went through so much trouble, Yasha did not want to turn around in the last minute. It would be difficult to persevere, but he would give his best. Yasha had the notion that one way to control his Asura blood was battle, the more the better, until it was satiated.
Moving on to group one, the participants there had been the luckiest. Over the course of the next battles, there had been no major injuries that forced anyone to surrender. Especially Eleanor perfectly controlled her spiritual energy and finished her battles in a way that inflicted the fewest injuries on her opponents. And the most impressive feat was that she still achieved absolute victories. Sometimes it was harder to fight, if one held back their power, but Eleanor did not seem to be affected by that. While Lentz could not be said to be extra careful, he also did not seriously injure his opponents. As group one had the most battles, it was the last to finish. No one was surprised that Eleanor and Lentz came out on top.
After a day full of battles, is was already late in the afternoon when the judge once again announced the results, “Ladies and gentleman, it is now time for the final round to start. After a second round full of exciting battles, only six participants have persevered! I will now announce one name after another. Step forward and come to where I stand, if I announce your name!”
“Eleanor of the Moon Flower Sect!”
“Lentz of the Hunlua Clan!”
“Levi of the Azure Dragon Sect”
“Areth of the Nameless Sect!”
“Jiule of the Demon Slayer Sword Sect!”
“Yasha of the Hunlua Clan!”
Those names resounded through the coliseum and were supported by cries of excitement and fervor. Those six were the best of the best of the kingdom’s younger generation! The future of the Azure Dragon Kingdom!
Standing in the center of the gigantic coliseum, surrounded by countless people, being the center of attention, Yasha had to swallow hard once more. The first time he entered the coliseum, he had already felt overwhelmed, but now, he stood on the biggest stage in the middle. All of those events in the last few days suddenly felt so surreal, just like a dream.
The judge interrupted Yasha’s train of thought, as his voice once again echoed through the arena, “I have another important matter to announce, as I was informed at short notice that the final round will have a change of plan!”