Chapter 13

"Next Round...Jeremy and Austin!"

Rey and his mother were at the arena. They arrived there before the Tournament started and were waiting for Amiel to show up. "I can't believe Mr. Amiel told you to be early and yet he still hasn't shown up himself!" Reys mother said. After the tournament ended the day prior, Amiel told Rey to make sure he was there early. Today the tournament started at 10am and Rey got there at 9am. "This isn't the first time he's done something like this mother. He's always saying to do this or do that and then does the exact opposite of what he says. You get used to it after a while." Rey told his mother.

"FIGHT!" The announcer yelled signaling the start of the match. Rey paid close attention to the battle. He figured that if he was to make it to the finals then he would have to face Jeremy. He wanted to see if he could find any weakness in his defense or offense, to see if he could gain any advantage over him that he could. Even after using his vision technique he couldn't find any weakness significant enough for Rey to take advantage of. Jeremys control over his energy flow is almost as good as Amiels.

During the fight, Jeremy was toying with his opponent. The boy who went by Austin was also an 18 year old. He was at 3rd Stage Human Realm. Austin was a prodigy in his own right but was always outshined by his rival Jeremy. Austin was a better cultivator in actuality as he couldn't cultivate till he was 14. If he was given the same amount of time as Jeremy to cultivate than he quite possibly could be stronger.

Austin unleashed a barrage of attacks at Jeremy and compared to his last battle, this one seemed to bring a slight challenge. Jeremy was dodging the attacks and returning strikes himself. Although Jeremy was stronger, Austin was still holding his ground against him. Austin was able to take punches from Jeremy and stay on his feet. "Blitz!" Austin yelled. His body created afterimages of himself that helped him stay on the offensive. His speed was so great that each of these afterimages was able to seemingly strike independently. It looked like Austin had the advantage, but that advantage quickly faded.

One movement was all it took to stop Austin in his tracks. Austins afterimages kicked up dust and dirt into the air that covered the view. All the onlookers knew was that it had gone silent. 'Did Austin manage to win?' 'What happened?' 'I can't see!' Were questions that went around the crowd. The dust soon cleared and what everyone saw shocked them. Austin was on the air, being held up by his own throat. Jeremy had managed to grab him without Austin even being able to dodge. The crowd was dead silent as Jeremy held Austin in front of him with one arm. Austin tried to escape but eventually his body went limp. "Jeremy is the winner!" the announcer said and the crowd roared.

"What just happened mom?" Rey asked confused and slightly frightened. "That sweetie, was your big brother at his full strength. Now you know why I told you to be careful." She told him. Rey looked back over at Jeremy who was beginning to make his way through the crowd. 'How could anyone be that strong?' He thought to himself.

"Next Round...Rey and Ryan!" the announcer said. Reys eyes widened, "Ryan? I've got to fight Ryan now?" His mother told him to do his best as she encouraged him into the ring. Although she seemed fairly confident in Rey, she was still worried for him as Ryan was said to be as strong as Jeremy was at his age. Rey stepped into the arena and mentally prepared himself for the battle ahead. He had no idea that Ryan was even participating in the tournament so he didn't pay attention to his fighting style at all.

"FIGHT!" Instantly Rey had to dodge one of Ryans attacks. Ryan launched himself across the ring and swung at Rey with a multitude of punches. Rey was dodging due to pure luck until he was grabbed by Ryan. "You look familiar? Do I know you?" Ryan asked. Rey manage to break free of Ryans hold and backed away from him. Now Rey and Ryan just stared at one another. "You remind me a younger brother I used to have. He was taken and killed by griffins two years ago. It was a sad day for the whole city." Ryan said. Next thing Rey knew, he was being held in a choke hold and pushed down to his knees. "I heard that you don't attack. Well if you dont attack me right here and now...you'll die!"

Rey tried breaking free from ryans grasp but couldn't due to the difference in strength. Without being able to properly attack Rey was defenseless. 'Surely I can attack now right?' Rey asked himself. He couldn't do it though knowing that there was a slight possibility that if he attacks Amiels plan for him would fail. Rey was nearly unconscious when he saw Amiel hidden in the crowd. Amiel mouthed the words, "throw him." Rey used the body strengthening techniques and threw Ryan over his shoulder and off of him. Now the fight had really begun.

"Good to see that you're not as much of a coward as the rumors said! Just know that I'm not going to go easy on you." Ryan jumped at Rey once more, unleashing punches that were quicker and harder. Rey was easily dodging them as he was now able to see Ryans energy flow. Ryans energy flow compared to Jeremys was wild and unruly. This made it a little more difficult to predict. Quickly Rey began to adapt to Ryans fighting style. He started to parry and block the incoming attacks instead of just dodging every single one.

Ryan swung his fist at Rey and when Rey dodged it, he planted his foot and roundhouse kicked Rey across the head. This threw Rey off as Ryan hadn't used his legs to attack at all yet. Rey was sent flying across the arena right to the boundary. He spit blood thanks to the intense power behind Ryans kick. Rey got up quickly as Ryan didn't let up in the attack. Rey was a little dazed after the kick and had slowed down. He got hit a lot more afterwards. Rey was beat up and bleeding from multiple places.

"You're a resilient one aren't you? Good...I'm glad!" Ryan kicked Rey across the arena where Rey laid flat on the ground. The crowd was excited at the beginning if the fight but was now concerned. "Call the fight!" One shouted. "He's clearly lost, don't let him die!" Another yelled. Hearing the calls from the crowd Ryan shouted at them, telling them to "SHUT UP!" The crowd instantly got quiet. "Y'know, this is my chance to prove myself against a strong fighter so please don't go down so easily." Ryan whisper in Reys ear. He backed away from Rey as he slowly got to his feet. "Good!"

Ryan swung a punch at Rey and struck him. Instead of striking his face though, he struck his hand. Rey had caught his fist and was holding it tight. "You're not the only one trying to prove something by fighting against someone strong..." Rey said slowly and out of breath. Ryan smiled as the slaughter was back to being a fight. "You've already lo-" Ryans words were cut short as Rey punched him. "I don't care if Amiels plan goes to shit, I won't let myself be shamed like this in front of my mother!" Rey cracked his knuckles and neck as he got ready to attack.