Big news!

...

At the elders' (judges') table, they were discussing the matches so far.

"The students this time around are really strong," one of the elders said.

"I'm just waiting to see The Dark Lord's performance. It will be outstanding," another elder said.

"Come on, we all know Mark will steal the show, he is the real promising genius, unlocking a superpower at such a young age, we truly need to foster well into a monster like his brother" a third elder said.

Immediately Mark's elder brother was mentioned all the elders took a deep breath, Mark's older brother could be described in one word monstrous genius, moreover after his defeat at the origin faction, it seemed he became something else because after then he took a break and went for a few months out on his own, when he came back he challenged all the members of the seven faction, even those hidden monstrous genius were not able to defeat him.

"I agree with Konan, Mark will steal the show, and he would definitely be a more monstrous genius than his elder brother," a fourth elder said bringing back the topic, they were discussing.

"What do you think of Logan?" a fifth elder asked.

"I don't know what the mystery that surrounds him is. Not being able to comprehend nature's energy is something I've heard of but they don't suddenly become strong like that overnight. I think he'll give us a surprise," the first elder said.

"That's right, He might surprise us," the second elder said.

"Well, let's watch and see, by the way, when will you announce that to the students?" the third elder said as he asked the first elder.

"Don't worry when this round of the tournament is over, we'll announce that." replied the first elder with a smile.

…

Meanwhile Logan's attention was immediately drawn to the lady who approached the stage due to the wild screams of the crowd.

"That's Elizabeth, ranked third in the top ranking..." Jason paused, his voice seemed to become unusually deep as he said in a low deep voice "She's a monster!"

"What?- why do you say that?" Logan reduced his voice as he asked.

"Just watch the match, and analyse what she does to her opponent" Jason said seemingly not interested in explaining.

Logan was quite interested, he wondered whether she was a monster that had come to compete in human form, he turned to look towards the stage, Elizabeth had already reached at this time.

As she stepped on the platform, everyone was cheering. She had dark blue hair which matched perfectly with her shady blue eyes, she has a nice oval face and moreover She was a water elementalist, but not an ordinary one. She could manipulate water in all its states: Liquid, Solid, and Gas, due to her unique superpower.

Her opponent was an earth elementalist, who could shape and control earth with his earth skills, he was also a wind user.

"Begin!" the referee said, and the match started. As soon as the match started, everything became blurry, like a smokescreen being created.

Elizabeth had turned the multiple tentacles of water in her hand to gas, creating a thick fog that obscured everyone's view, including her opponent's.

She then used her water sense, an advanced level skill which she had mastered to locate her opponent in the fog and turned the water back into liquid as they wriggled back to her hands and formed tentacles, some water was left behind freezing around her opponent and restricting his movement.

As the fog cleared, everyone saw her opponent frozen in a block of ice, unable to move.

"Elizabeth wins!" the referee said without much of a surprise, as the crowd went wild.

Elizabeth smiled and bowed, as she walked off the stage. Her match had been even shorter than Xavier's, lasting just 15 seconds.

"So short? Just how strong is she?" someone in the crowd asked, amazed by her display of power.

"What?" shock was written all over Logan's face, he realised that Elizabeth's opponent was actually in the intermediate realm and the match had ended just like that.

'I wonder if my essence of vibration can ignore all her defences and cause me to come out victorious. But damn, she really is strong, I wonder how strong the other two are."

Elizabeth's match was the last for this round of the tournament and as it ended, the first elder stood up to address the audience. His voice boomed across the arena, silencing the cheers and whispers.

"The round of 16 has ended and the next round of eight would determine the top eight for the first year," he said, scanning the crowd with his piercing eyes. He stopped at the first-year students, who were eagerly awaiting his next words.

"However, there has been a change and this tournament will no longer decide how resources will be distributed." the first elder deliberately paused watching the shocked and disturbed looks on their faces.

"Instead, the top 10 shall be participating in an expedition to an ancient unexplored ruin." He paused once again, letting his words sink in.

The students were stunned by this news. They had trained hard for the tournament, hoping to secure the best resources for their cultivation. But now, they were faced with a new challenge, one that could be more dangerous and rewarding than they had ever imagined.

"What's this so-called ancient ruin about?" A voice quietly asked, breaking the silence. The crowd turned to look at the speaker, who was none other than Mark, the number one in the ranking system.

He was also Logan's roommate, who was sitting quite a distance from him, along with Jason. Both of them were speechless, as they had never heard Mark speak in public before. He was usually quiet and reserved, focusing on his cultivation.

The first elder looked at him intently and answered, "It is said to be the inheritance of a peak powerhouse from ancient times, one who had reached the legendary realm of the Immortal King. It was recently discovered by a group of explorers from the Zenith faction, who reported it to the other factions. They claimed that the ruin contained secrets and treasures that could change the fate of their factions." He paused and took a deep breath, before continuing.

"But it is not just us at the Azure faction that are going. The Zenith faction, the Acada faction, the Xidok faction, the Sadic faction, the Blood Prison faction and the Origin faction are all coming too."

"The Origin faction?" Mark repeated, his eyes widening.

He had heard from his brother, who was in the third year, that three factions were far stronger than them in terms of power. They were the Zenith faction, the Blood Prison faction and the Origin faction. The Origin faction was the strongest of them all, having the most ancient and mysterious lineage. Mark had once witnessed a match between his brother and a guy from the origin faction, who was supposedly ranked tenth. He had seen his brother being defeated in a single move, without even being able to fight back. He had realized then that there were people far beyond his level, and that he had to work harder to catch up.

"Yes, the origin faction," the first elder confirmed. "They were not happy when they learned about the ruin. They wanted to monopolize it for themselves and tried to attack the explorers from the Zenith faction. But they were met with resistance from the other factions, who allied to protect the ruin. They agreed to share the information and explore it together, under certain rules and conditions. The Origin faction had no choice but to join them, or risk being left behind."

He looked at the students again, and said, "This is a rare opportunity for you, the first years. You will have the chance to see the inheritance of an Immortal King, and maybe even obtain some of his legacy. You will also have the chance to compete with the best of the best from the other factions and prove your worth. This is not a simple expedition, but a trial of life and death. Only the strong and the lucky will survive and succeed. Are you ready for it?" He asked, his voice rising.

The students felt a surge of emotions, ranging from excitement about exploring the inheritance of an immortal king to fear of the unknown and then curiosity about the rewards they might obtain. They nodded, and shouted in unison, "Yes, we are ready!"