First Day of the Competition

One would think it would be disadvantageous for the Heaven clan to fight in three people free-for-alls, but it actually increased their average potential for victory, in terms of luck. While those like Kate would have no problem entering the next round, it would be very difficult for the other participants. Since the Heaven clan was generally considered the weakest, the other competitors wouldn't rush to defeat them which would provide the opportunity for them to snatch a win....was the hopeful reasoning that certain elders had.

However, relying on anything other than the participants' strength would just be naïve. The ten and under category would be on the first day, the over ten on the second, and the finals for both on the third. The competitors in each match were decided by lottery and the results were:

1st match: Nathan of the Heaven clan, Gardos of the Clite clan and Lys of the Glaize clan.

2nd match: Lin of the Glaize clan, Olly of the Heaven clan and Rog of the Clite clan.

3rd match: Kate of the Heaven clan, Tia of the Glaize clan and Ren of the Clite clan.

4th match: Tis of the Glaize clan, Rune of the Glite clan and Toff of the Heaven clan.

"So then, why don't we,"

"Wait, I don't believe you've explained those people with you."

As Kalos was about to announce the start of the tournament, Nalos interrupted with an inquiry. By now he had noticed two unfamiliar figures among the Clite clan and though he already had a good idea as to their identities, he wanted confirmation from Kalos.

"Oh, these two? They're people from the Ron clan. You don't mind, do you? Good."

Naturally, Nalos was very upset by the fact that the Ron clan were allowed to attend this event, which was supposed to be closed from the eyes of the public riff-raff, but he knew arguing further would only result in his embarrassment.

When the first match started, Shui saw Nathan strutting like a peacock and couldn't understand why he seemed to think of himself as some sort of hero. Nathan was just in the fourth level in the Mortal Realm, the same as his opponents, and though he was younger than them, it was only by a year. In Shui's eyes, this was going to be a hard fought battle for him, though they were all equally weak in front of Shui.

The first move was made by Lys. She ran towards Gardos, cartwheeled twice and aimed a kick at his head. Gardos quickly blocked while Nathan ran towards them, unable to stand being ignored by the two.

Once he began attacking Gardos, Gardos had to defend against two people by himself, but he held his ground. After a few exchanges he pushed them back and Nathan rushed at him again. From his impatience, it was obvious that Nathan lacked experience with opponents on his level. This couldn't be helped since only Kate would be comparable to him but she was far stronger so it wouldn't be a close fight. While Nathan dashed towards Gardos, Lys hit him with a spinning kick to his temple, sending him flying to the edge of the stage.

"Hahaha!"

Boisterous laughter came from the Clite clan while the Heaven clan nearly buried their heads in shame. Though it didn't seem like a big mistake on his part, those who knew Nathan well could tell how much of a 'gentleman' he was. He didn't even consider Lys as an opponent and that cost him.

Soon after Lys landed her spinning kick, Gardos got her with a punch to the gut that had her crouching while grabbing her abdomen. Subsequently, he fiercely stomped at her. Lys managed to avoid six stomps, but then she was hit by a low kick. She was somehow able to block it with her left hand, however she was still flung out of the ring.

Seeing her lying on the dirt ground, Gardos raised his arms in victory. He thought that this match was his, completely ignoring Nathan who landed a kick on the back of his head, blowing away his consciousness.

"Winner: Nathan of the Heaven clan!"

The referee was a vagabond that resided in the city to insure neutrality. Even so, everyone knew that no one could remain completely impartial to money so only clear judgements like this were immediately accepted. When the winner was announced, the Heaven clan cheered with happy faces until a line was spoken from the Clite clan.

"Hmph, sneaky brat."

It wasn't particularly loud, but yet it reverberated across the colosseum. When he heard this statement, Nathan lowered his head while walking back to his clansmen, afraid to even glimpse at Kate. He didn't believe he did anything wrong, but he knew that his act couldn't be called admirable, and the thought that this made Kate lower her opinion of him scared him.

"Sounds like a sore loser."

"Can't even take a loss."

"How disgraceful."

Counterattacks came almost instantly yet it couldn't completely erase the damage done by those words. They couldn't admit it but, Nathan's win did seem a bit sneaky. However, the winner was king.

Looking at the fight, Lilia's face never stopped distorting. Bartos knew she didn't like these violent scenes of children so he asked if she wanted to leave.

"No, I have to see Kate's match."

Since she was determined to stay, he simply took her hand.

The next match was shorter, and also more exciting. After seeing what Nathan did to his senior brother, Rog locked onto Olly. While Rog and Lin were at the fourth level in the Mortal Realm, Olly was just at the peak of the third level so he was obviously no match for them. Everyone in the stadium knew this as well so the main focus of this match was on Rog and Lin.

However, as soon as the match started Rog dashed towards Olly to get rid of him quickly. He was confident that he could take him out swiftly and then focus on his fight against Lin, but he was interrupted by a sudden palm. As he launched a punch at Olly, Lin diverted that hit to the left.

"What are you doing?!"

Rog shouted at Lin, wondering why he stopped him and everyone else had the same thought. However, instead of answering him Lin put one hand behind his back and faced Rog with the other while smirking. He had no intention of saving Olly, he just wanted to irritate Rog.

"You!"

Rog took this action as an insult and fiercely lashed out at Lin with a barrage of fists, all of which were deflected by Lin's hand. Seeing the two having a private bout in front of him, Olly felt burning shame due to the fact that he was being ignored. Though he knew he wouldn't be a match for either of them, he impulsively threw out a punch. To this action, without even looking at him, the two of them simultaneously hit him in the stomach region with sidekicks, blowing away both his body and his consciousness.

When they saw Olly get knocked out in one attack, those in the Heaven clan grimaced. They knew he would lose but that loss was just so miserable that they felt like they had been slapped across the face. On the other hand, those from the Clite clan exposed smiling faces and loud laughter.

After blowing Olly away, Lin and Rog continued their fight. Noticing that he wasn't gaining any advantage over Lin, Rog pulled back and steadied his form. While a cultivator in the Mortal Realm couldn't use arts or spells, they could still summon terrifying physical power. After pouring his full power into that fist, Rog was confident that he could smash through anything. His strike would be strong enough to turn bones into dust, but Lin didn't even try to move. Rog took this as a sign of fear and that boosted his confidence even further, completely ignorant to who was actually in control of the situation.

When Rog sent his full power towards Lin, Lin turned with his back to Rog, caught his arm by the elbow and positioned his foot at Rog's ankle. While he was charging, it wouldn't be possible to use this technique, but once Rog got drunk on delusions of victory Lin was easily able to exploit that weakness. Lin used Rog's own momentum and inertia to lift him off the ground and swung him in front of him. Then, as Rog was still being flung without a body part on the ground, Lin elbowed his chest, knocking him out the ring. With his victory assured, Lin stood aloof on the stage.

"Winner: Lin of the Glaize clan!"

Unlike Nathan's vistory, Lin's win was accepted by everyone in the stadium. Even the Clite clan had to admit that his skills were well-executed. However, Shui only thought he was clever. Shui could see that if Lin didn't take advantage of Rog's rash personality, they would be about equal in ability but Rog would win if the battle was drawn out. Even so, he had to admit that Lin knew what he was doing.