It was time. The finals of the main tournament, and the Advancement Exams. However, the meaning of this upcoming fight was far greater than just that. The feud between Xuan Kun and I does not just concern ourselves. Xuan Kun's father was the one to single-handedly devise the plan to assassinate my parents. That was something I would never forgive - both him and his future generations.

The wall before us that was in fact a door slid open, and we were met with the same familiar desert-themed arena. But this time, although the stage was the same, the opponents we would be facing were very different, and not in a good way. From what I have seen, Xuan Kun is more powerful than Ming Hao. If I had such a hard time with Ming Hao, then Xuan Kun would undoubtedly even more difficult to defeat, especially since I have to be wary of Liu Jian who was watching from the crowds.

Xuan Kun soon emerged from the opposite side of the arena, and gave me a condescending look when he saw me.

"Long time no see, my dear former brother," he sneered, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Not long enough," I muttered in reply. "I find it quite unfortunate, seeing your face again here today."

"Hmph...likewise," he scoffed.

Our eyes then met, both of ours glowering with the anger and resentment we've built up over all the years. "Xuan Kun," I said.

"Xuan Kai..." he responded in turn.

Then, the both of us in unison-

"It's time to settle the debt between us, once and for all."

*****

- 20 Minutes Earlier, A Certain Waiting Room -

"Old geezer, what are you doing here?" Xuan Kun asked the man before him.

"I came to provide aid," the man replied mysteriously. He wore a black fedora, and within this dark, isolated part of the hallway, it was impossible to get a good glimpse of his face. His tone was aged, and it was clear this man was an old master from the aura he was extruding.

Xuan Kun leaned on the wall, and asked, "Aid? For what?"

"The annihilation of Xuan Kai, of course."

Xuan Kun laughed hearing this. "You think I need help in getting rid of that trash?"

"Hmph. Don't underestimate him," the man advised. "He was able to defeat the vice-president of the school's student council."

"So? That just means the vice-president was weak," Xuan Kun scoffed.

"Keep in mind we still do not know how Xuan Kai is now able to use magic," the man continued, ignoring Xuan Kun's remark. "This is beyond the scope of a late awakening. Usually, a late awakening happens within a month of when the baby was first born. Even to the extreme, the latest awakening recorded was two months after the baby was born. To only awaken his powers after 14 years...this is abnormal."

"Tch. Who cares? It's not like he has some godlike power we don't know about," Xuan Kun shrugged.

"...And what if he does...?" the man muttered quietly.

"What was that?"

"No, nothing," the man quickly shook his head and took out what looked like a vial of elixir from his shirt pocket. "Take this, it will help you during the battle. Do not use it unless you absolutely need to though."

"I already said I don't need-"

"Just in case. If you are really so confident, then it wouldn't hurt to sleep on it, no?"

Xuan Kun sighed after a long mental debate. "Fine, old geezer. I know you won't leave until I agree, so I did. Now get out of here."

"Sure," The man turned on his heels, and began walking away, but then stopped after a few steps. He looked behind him at where Xuan Kun was standing, waiting for him to leave. "Just remember...do not use that elixir, unless it is absolutely necessary. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Xuan Kun rolled his eyes and made a shooing gesture with his hands.

Hearing this, the man resumed walking away once more. When he rounded the corner and was finally out of sight from Xuan Kun, the man undid his appearance transformation, and smiled deviously as any sign of the old age from his voice earlier disappeared.

"Now then, Xuan Kai...it's about time for you to show me your true abilities."

*****

- Present Time, Arena -

"The Finals of the Tournament, The Cursed Warlocks vs. The Chaotic Tranquility - Battle Begin!" Song Qian Long's loud voice resounded across the arena through the advanced mana-powered speaker system, signaling the start of our battle.

I glanced at the girls standing behind me, and nodded. "Just follow the plan."

They nodded firmly in return, and the five of us each dashed to our respective opponents. Well, more accurately, it would be the four of us. Qing Yue stayed behind us to provide support, especially against Xuan Kun's curses. However, it seemed that Xuan Kun was focused solely on me, which I was perfectly fine with. Not only would this lessen the burden on Qing Yue, it would also make things easier for the other girls.

As for the last, selfish, reason...it would be I wanted settle things with Xuan Kun by myself. Despite the two of us hating each other, we were still brothers - cousins in reality, but close enough. We both understood each other's personality quite well, although our paths haven't crossed all too many times. Xuan Kun, I'm sure, was thinking the same thing I was. Without a doubt, he also wanted to have a proper one on one with me, as seen from him not targeting anyone else and walking straight towards me. I complied and walked towards him as well.

Meanwhile, the other battles have already began. Yu An Yan and Yu An Xue grouped together to face off against Li Mu Shen and Lan Gui Ying while Feng Mian faced off against their team's assassin, each not letting the other get past to the other side, for if one of them succeeded in doing so, it could very well lead to the defeat of the entire other team, since their support would be as good as dead.

With the support gone, the battle would turn into a 5v4 with the 4-person team without a rearguard. The outcome of such a fight is obvious, unless someone is exceptionally powerful on the 4-person team. However, the most powerful person on Xuan Kun's team was himself - in fact, Li Mu Shen and Lan Gui Ying are doing nothing but holding him down.

"Ngh! This isn't good!" Li Mu Shen yelled as he struggled to put up a Water Element shield against the Yu sisters' incoming attacks, which were a deadly combination of Fire and Ice. While the Water Element usually countered Fire, in this case the sheer power of the attack was able to overcome the natural weaknesses of the element.

"H-Hang in there, Mu Shen!" Lan Gui Ying yelled in a fluster as she panicked to shoot back an attack of her own. "L-Level One Earth Magic - Vines of Binding!

However, with the Yu sisters as her opponent, there would be no chance whatsoever to fight back. Li Mu Shen and Lan Gui Ying were stuck on the defensive, no matter how hard they tried.

"Level Two Fire Magic - Pyroflux," Yu An Yan chanted, sending two devastating fire beams of disintegration towards Li Mu Shen and Lan Gui Ying, instantly obliterating the incoming vines intended to bind her still, and still not showing any sign of diminishing.

"Fuck! Level One Water Magic - Water Barrier!" Li Mu Shen yelled in a panic. He either didn't know any Level Two Water Element defensive spells, or just didn't have time to use one, since Level Two Magic generally took longer to cast.

Regardless, a Level One spell has no way of defending against a Level Two one. Yu An Yan's flames burned straight through the water barrier, and exploded upon impact with Li Mu Shen.

"Mu Shen!" Lan Gui Ying called out in worry.

"Ngh..." Li Mu Shen struggled to get back on his feet after being blown away by the impact. Since Yu An Yan held back significantly, the security staff supervising the matches didn't take action. They would only make a move if an attack could really kill the other person. However, that is not to say that Yu An Yan's attack didn't hurt. The searing pain of burning flames was something that could not be described in words.

However, the Yu sisters still weren't done. Just when Li Mu Shen and Lan Gui Ying thought it was over, Yu An Xue followed up with her own Ice Magic.

"Level Two Ice Magic - Subzero Hail!"

A storm of small ice skewers formed above Yu An Xue, which she then sent flying towards Li Mu Shen and Lan Gui Ying.

"What the hell-" he began, but was shut up by an icicle that flew straight into his mouth. He doubled over on the floor, choking. Lan Gui Ying, meanwhile, wasn't as lucky. She was met with the majority of the barrage, and screamed in agony.

The Yu sisters, however, didn't show any sign of pity.

"This is payback for what you did to Xuan Kai and Qing Yue," Yu An Yan said condesendingly with a dangerous gleam in her eyes, as she walked closer to her two enemies, now sprawled across the floor in pain.

"Xuan Kai tried hiding it from us...but we forced Qing Yue...to be honest," Yu An Xue added. Then, shooting the two a deadly glare that didn't suit her, she spat, "Scum".

Under normal circumstances, the Li Mu Shen and Lan Gui Ying probably would've gotten angry, and shot back a number of insolent remarks, but right now they were too agonized to be able to do anything.

Finally, as if putting the two out of their misery, the Yu sisters walked up even closer to them - Yu An Yan to Li Mu Shen, and Yu An Xue to Lan Gui Ying. Together, they sliced their respective opponents' school crests cleanly in unison.

"Attention: Li Mu Shen, Lan Gui Ying - Eliminated."