"This is..."

"Stedman?"

The members of the Belmont clan looked over and saw a strange yet familiar figure.

Familiar because that figure was the clan elder's son. As the elder of the Belmont clan, their descendants would naturally be known by everyone, and carry certain status and privilege.

Strange because this character held little presence, and Stedman was one of the most mediocre, dullest, and least qualified among the family. Even the clan elder knew little about him.

The one who had spoken was indeed Stedman. He clenched his fists, and he tried to calm his agitation as he spoke in a low voice, "Father, Elder, since Salin has forfeited, why not allow me to have a go. The Belmont family has yet to have a single win, and I can't accept this!"

Stedman was aggrieved. As the person with the least qualifications, and as someone who had yet even to master the Storm First, he was unqualified to enter the competition and could only watch by the side.

"Haha, you want to participate in the interclan tournament, Stedman? I believe there's no need for us to emphasize how powerful Corbach is. You haven't even mastered the Storm Fist yet, and you want to take Stalin's place to compete with Corbach?"

The one who had spoken was one of the younger members of the clan who was familiar with Stedman. The younger members of the other clans all laughed along. It seemed that the dark clouds of this defeat had been swept away after Stedman's futile, overrated eagerness to participate in the competition.

"Hmph, what are you all laughing at? How can you still laugh?"

An elder chided angrily. In any case, no matter what, Stedman was still the clan elder's son. Seeing how dark the clan elder's expression was, it was a telltale sign of how bad his mood was.

"Clan elder, why not just give Stedman a go. It wouldn't matter even if he fails. Everyone knows that none of the younger generations of the Belmont clan is a match for Corbach."

One of the elders said offhandedly.

"Fine. I'll give you a chance, Stedman. Don't you dare disgrace the name of Belmont!"

The clan elder had said so with little care as everyone knew that Stedman would be easily defeated by Corbach.

Stedman, on the other hand, had grasped onto the clan elder's words. This was one of the very few times his father had personally spoken to him. Therefore, he went up to him, trying to contain the turbulence in his heart.

Over this period, Stedman had changed, and a great one at that. He had never craved victory so much so as he did today!

Stedman's opponent merely took a glance at Stedman as his long, golden hair fluttered in the wind and an imposing, piercingly cold aura emitted from his body.

"Whoosh."

Corbach always gave his all no matter who was his opponent. That was his way of doing things. However, that also meant that he could easily end up seriously injuring his opponents. This was the reason why Salin had forfeited. He did not wish to get beaten up badly in a competition where the result was obvious.

"This fool, Corbach may be able to kill him!"

Salin smirked. Even though he had given up and Stedman had taken his place, he was still irked. He was that sort of narrow-minded person. However, in the next moment, the smile on Salin's face turned still. Not only him but the clan's elders' expressions stiffened.

"Storm Fist, Storm Arcane!"

All eyes fell on Stedman as their gazes were filled with astonishment. Stedman's deep, heavy voice rung through their ears.

Storm Arcane was the strongest of the Storm First techniques. Some were even only able to master this skill if they had activated the Purple-eyed talent. This was the power of the storm!

However, now, in Stedman's thin, frail body, a violent force of power like a storm erupted. It was undeniable that he had mastered the arcane of Storm Fist!

"Boom."

The entire contest arena was shaking as gusts of wind swirled in Stedman's fists like he had possessed the power to manipulate the whirlwind, and threw a fist with the power of the storm.

This was the terrifying result of having mastered Fist Arcane. The power of a fist with the power of the storm far surpassed its bearer's strength.

A trace of fear appeared on Corbach's face but it was already too late. His body was swept up by the gust of wind, and a terrifying force instantly erupted as his body was soon covered in bruises and scars as he fell onto the ground with a heavy thud.

It was Stedman's win!

"Swoosh."

The elders of the Belmont clan all stood up at once as they stared in astonishment at

Stedman.

"Arcane, this is the power of the Arcane! I can't believe that there's still someone in our Belmont clan whose talent turns out to be a genius who holds the powers of the Arcane!"

"Genius, he's a true genius. From just a Storm Fist alone he was able to grasp the Storm Arcane. Even if his talent was never awakened, he would still be a force to be reckoned with."

"Haha, he's mastered the Storm Arcane at such a young age. Do you think he could awaken the powers of the blood talent?"

The Belmont clan was overjoyed. They had never expected that the mediocre, possibly even slow Stedman, whom the clan elder himself had given up upon, could have mastered the Storm Arcane of the Storm Fist.

For a time, the entire Belmont clan seethed in excitement.

Now, the interclan tournament had lost all purpose and meaning as no one was the opponent of Stedman, who had mastered the Storm Arcane, and he was crowned the champion without a doubt.

Stedman, too, was brimming with excitement. This was the first time he had ever gotten the entire clan's attention on him, and from now on, he would be their focus of training. As long as he kept a pure, sincere heart, persevered, and used the Illusory Subspace, then his future was sure to be bright.

Stedman knew inside that the reason he was able to master the Storm Arcane, apart from his hard work practicing the Storm Fist in the Illusory Subspace, the most important thing was the Mind training drill bestowed upon him by the mysterious "Lord Merlin".

Although the Mind training drill could not directly enhance his strength, in addition to being able to increase the time difference in the Illusory Subspace, Stedman also found that with the increase of his Mind Powers, his observation skills had also increased by numerous times. His acute observation skills had allowed him to understand the essence of the fist technique gradually while practicing the Storm Fist, and thus grasp the mastery of the Storm Arcane.

Otherwise, no matter how skilled and practiced in the Storm Fist he was, he would still just be an ordinary person who had mastered it, how could he have possibly mastered the Storm Arcane?

Stedman knew well that all of this had been given to him by the mysterious "Lord Merlin".

"I knew it, the mysterious Lord Merlin must be incredibly powerful, and the items bestowed by him must be extraordinary!"

Stedman decided that he would spend more time practicing the Mind training drill, and graciously thank this mysterious "Lord Merlin" when he returned.

Meanwhile, Stedman's every move was captured in the eyes of Merlin and Titus in the Illusory World. Titus smiled and said, "Merlin, in the end, you still couldn't help but give him a push."

Merlin, however, shook his head. "I didn't help him. He created the opportunity for himself with his determination! The Mind training drill I gave him was just very ordinary. If it weren't for the fact that these Purple-eyed People too possessed the Mind Power, I wouldn't have taught him the Mind training drill. This Mind training dill is of little help to him. The fact that he could grasp some of the Arcane meant that his comprehension isn't half bad. It's only because he was slow to pick up the fist technique that this edge of his was overlooked."

Merlin was able to control everything in the Illusory World, so naturally, he knew just how Stedman trained every day. He put his all into it and was almost practicing every second.

Stedman cherished the opportunity to practice the fist technique in the Illusory World and therefore wished not to waste a single moment of it. It was precisely owing to his persistence and determination that he was able to produce such great results.

The Mind training drill was indeed effective but its effectiveness was not as great as Stedman or Titus would have imagined. Rather, it was because of Stedman's talent.

"The power of the threads of the natural order on the little guy seems to have gotten denser as well…"

Merlin's eyes narrowed. It was a given that he could sense that the threads of the power of the natural order on Stedman's body had suddenly increased. After all, he was a life form of the Void Zone, one that was on the rise. His ties with the Void Zone would only grow closer henceforth.

Back then, when Merlin had consolidated the two Maxims and became a Lord, he was also closely connected to the Void Zone. However, his body had later collapsed, and with the Illusory World as a foundation, he had reconsolidated a spiritual body, which resulted in the disconnection of the link.

Of course, even now, although Merlin had fought with the Void Zone, there was still a trace of connection left. Only when Merlin's Illusory World was actualized would this connection be completely cut off.

"Let's wait and see..."

Merlin closed his eyes. He was at peace now. Such a sight was not unfamiliar to him. There were plenty of talented people among those that he had parasitized upon, and all of them had gone through a scene like this.

After the interclan tournament, Stedman had been the center of attention of the entire Belmont clan as the prime pickings of resources had all been provided to him. Meanwhile, Stedman had pegged away at his training as every day he practiced the Mind training drill that Merlin had given him, and spent a great deal of time training relentlessly in the Illusory World.

There were those that when provided with the opportunity, were sure to achieve great results by working hard and putting in the effort.

This was the case with Stedman. As he grew, although the concentration of his blood remained relatively low, seeing as he had mastered several Arcanes, the Belmont clan had forcibly kick-started the talent in his blood. Henceforth, Stedman, who had mastered the power of the blood talent had become even more powerful.

From a clan to an entire nation, Stedman had spent only a hundred years to transform from a nobody into the strongest contender of a country.

Another three hundred years had passed, and Stedman had even become one of the most noteworthy contenders of the entire continent. If measured according to the Spell Caster civilization's powers, then he was already Legendary.

The Legendary existence Stedman was only then gradually exposed to the Void Zone, and learned that his powers could hardly be considered powerful in the Void Zone. At least, he had never been able to see through Merlin who had accompanied him for the past hundreds of years.