First match

Those who didn't have any thoughts of participating in this tournament were filled with regret.

Of course, these were students at the bottom of the noble hierarchy and would be moved by these prizes.

As for those of high status, those weapons were nothing. They had plenty of them.

In fact, the points seemed more enticing to them.

Of course, there was a small group who didn't regret their decision to abstain one bit.

They knew their chances of getting into the top ten were almost impossible, and didn't see any reason to partake in this pointless endeavor.

"The prizes for this year are a bit different." A demon upperclassman thought out loud.

His friend happened to hear this and also commented, "I know, right? These rewards are even better than the previous years. Lucky bastards."

Similar comments became common among the upperclassmen all around the colosseum.

They were confused and a bit envious.

As for most of the outsiders, they were amazed that the academy could afford to hand out these prizes to Masters every year.

However, there was one person whose reaction was different from the rest.

"Sure enough, they made their move."

That was Jarek's reaction as soon as he heard what the tournament prizes were.

The standard prizes for the Master grade tournaments for the past few years have always been academy points across all positions, from tenth to first place.

The students can then spend their academy points on whatever they want, be it materials, weapons, or even spirit stones.

Of course, every student here isn't short on spirit stones, so they rarely spend these points on them.

And even if they choose to do so, only points awarded to the top three can purchase a substantial amount of spirit points—enough to improve their cultivation in the Grandmaster stage.

Anything lower than third place isn't worth purchasing points for.

There is usually a ten times difference between points between fourth and third place.

However, these medium-grade weapons have a minimum price of two million points, which is double the points third place would have normally won.

So, to the rest of the students, it seemed like the academy was being extra generous this year.

There were even speculations that it was because of the princesses that the academy decided to be a bit extravagant than normal.

Only one person knew the reason.

"They made it so that even if I get third, second, or first place, I couldn't gain any spirit stones. That's why they made the prizes as weapons instead of points."

"And even if I get fourth place, the number of spirit stones I would receive wouldn't have that much of an impact on my 'cultivation'."

"They don't want me to acquire any or many spirit stones. It seems they want to make me desperate for resources, to probably sign that loan contract."

Jarek tried to unravel the academy's true objective with this simple yet concealed move.

Before this tournament, he had gone to borrow spirit stones.

Of course, he didn't, but he wanted to paint a picture that he needed them.

He was then presented with a contract that presented to him information of an unknown force with ties to this academy, the Myriad Dao Sect.

Apparently, he would need to work for that force for a long period of time to pay the debt.

Most of Jarek's suspicions were proven right, right then and there.

He tried to find more information about this sect but wound up with nothing.

But Jarek scoffed and mocked the academy inwardly, "Heh! Too bad you are just giving me what I want. If this were a normal tournament, I would have had to make unnecessary moves to get that weapon sometime in the future. But now, maybe I can find an opportunity to get another medium-grade weapon."

"I'll have to solve the spirit stones issue too. I can't have the academy becoming suspicious."

In the future, if he gets the chance, he will settle the score with the academy and the forces backing it.

But for now, he had to play the part of a clueless student.

A minute later, the announcer's voice rang in everyone's ears.

"Alright! Now, it's time to meet our first fighters for the day. Let us see who they are!"

His hands reach into the box, and when he pulls it out, a card is in his hand as he reveals the number.

"Number 17—the youngest son of the Darkmere House—Vehron Darkmere!"

He then pulls out a second card.

"And number 42—young lady of the Solaria family, known for their unique Astral laws—Lady Ember Solaria!"

'Astral laws?' Jarek raised his eyebrow at this unfamiliar law.

[It is a combination of fire and light laws. And before you ask, it is impossible for the current you to succeed at this. Even Ember herself can't do that yet. For you to even attempt this, you will need to have full control over your laws to even attempt law fusion.]

'*sigh*'Jarek sighed internally, wondering when his progress with his laws would reach that level. 'Maybe in a few months?'

The announcer's voice would soon bring his thoughts back. "Ladies and gentlemen, let's give a roaring welcome to Vehron Darkmere and Ember Solaria as they prepare to clash! May the strongest arrive at the final!"

At opposite sides outside the arena, there were colorless circles on the ground that began to glow, and both Vehron and Ember appeared on top of them.

In the participants' chambers, these circles were also on the floor and served as portals to the area outside the arena.

From there, they would enter the arena, which was covered by a glass-like semi-sphere that would serve as the arena's boundaries.

This will also prevent the attacks from within from affecting the audience, serving as a shield against any attack in the mortal phase of cultivation.

Vehron and Ember now stood tens of metres apart from one another inside the arena.

Vehron Darkmere had very pale skin and dark hair, a characteristic of the Darkmere family, while Ember had bright red hair—much brighter than Brynhild's.

Vehron, however, had a somewhat gloomy look on his face as he cursed inwardly. 'Damn it. What bad luck!"

Ember, on the other hand, appeared quite calm yet confident.

This battle would end in her victory. She was sure of it.

The referee called out, his voice resonating through the colosseum. "Begin!"

Vehron, who already felt that the odds were stacked against was the first to make a move.

|Spear of Darkness|

Darkness quickly formed at his command in the shape of a spear made of dark matter, which immediately moved towards Ember, who didn't show any signs of panic.

|Fire Art: Phoenix's Wrath|

A rising flare of flames erupted in a fiery blast that destroyed the darkness that had the intent to pierce her.

|Fireball|

She immediately followed up with other attacks, which forced the vampire to defend himself.

|Dark Barrier|

Immediately, a sphere of darkness was formed all around him, as the balls of fire that collided with the barrier were successfully defended against, but not before the barrier was also destroyed in the process.

"Give up. We both know you cannot win." Vehron heard Ember's voice, which sounded confident.

But he still wouldn't give up.

'Though the chances of winning this match are slim, there still exists a possibility to turn things around.'

He still has yet to use everything he has, and the same was true for Ember.

Despite Ember feeling confident in her victory, she still didn't underestimate her opponent.

And she would be proven right in doing so.

Vehron took a deep breath, and his eyes turned resolute.

He cut a wound on his arm as blood continuously poured out, and manipulated it to form a blood sphere.

The sphere divided itself into smaller portions as they took the shape of small needles.

When Ember saw this, her eyes narrowed as she could guess what the vampire intended to do.

And she acted immediately.

She launched herself forward and—

|Fire Art: Phoenix's Wrath|

As Vehron saw the attack coming his way, he launched the attack he had prepared.

|Blood Rain|

The needles of blood collided with the fire.

Most of them were destroyed by the flames, but a few of them managed to pass through the small gaps of the fire-based attack as they headed straight for Ember.

She immediately acted by moving backwards to dodge, and at the same time, displayed another skill.

|Fire Art: Inferno Mantle|

Her body became cloaked in flames, creating a barrier made of flames.

This defensive move managed to block most of the attacks, but just like earlier, a few still managed to slip through the gaps of her defenses.

Fire wasn't the best defensive element, and that became apparent as Vehron's attacks managed to land on Ember's body, eliciting a groan from her.

But she suffered minor injuries.

Fortunately for her, they didn't do a lot of damage and only struck her sides and her arm.

As for Vehron, his attack was mostly canceled out, as Ember's fire moved to swallow him in searing flames.

Before he could properly defend himself, he was engulfed by the flames, which inflicted a significant amount of damage on his body.

Seeing that his attack did little damage to his opponent and looking at his own miserable state, the vampire realized that he might lose this battle.

It was only then that a bright light caught his eye. Ember formed a bright light in her palm.

She was finally using her trump card—light laws.

'It's over.' Vehron thought inwardly, knowing that in his current weak state, there was little he could do.

Even if he were at his peak state, he would have most likely still lost to the attack that would soon be launched at him.

After all, vampires, fire, and light don't get along. And when faced with a law that counters darkness—light laws, he didn't have any chance of turning the tide.

Ember aimed her hand towards Vehron, who watched her as she fired her attack.

|Beam of Radiance|

A beam of light was released and traveled straight towards Vehron, who had already formed a barrier of darkness, only for it to shatter like glass the moment the light came into contact with it.

He had used a lot of his qi in his earlier attacks, and whatever remained wasn't enough to withstand Ember's light attack.

He was knocked unconscious, his body a complete mess after receiving Ember's last attack.

"Winner—Ember Solaria!"

Cheers soon filled the colosseum, while Vehron was soon picked up by a stretcher and moved outside the arena for healing.

Amidst the cheers of the crowd—

"It seems that his family was the one that took our place, huh?" A man dressed in a black cloak that hid his appearance spoke as he looked at the defeated Vehron.

"When is that kid going to participate?" He asked the question to a figure next to him, who was dressed similarly.

"Most likely very soon, boss."

"That kid could be a problem for us if he keeps growing. We need to address this problem before it becomes a bigger issue later. But first, we need to know what we are dealing with."

Yes, it was Thrain alongside his servants.

Unbeknownst to them, the kid in question heard their conversation clearly.

"Sound laws are really convenient. It's a good thing that you brought yourselves here. Saves me the trouble of finding you."