Eu-Meh was still in a daze but she managed to say the words “I forfeit”. There was no way for her to continue on in her current state anyways.

The referee nodded and announced, “Contestant number 20 forfeits.”

The crowd could no longer maintain its silence.

“How old is that kid? He looks younger than ten years old.”

“Oh my god, I’ve seen that kid yesterday. He’s the only one that got the gold tag.”

“A gold tag? Does that mean his level is 10? How is that possible, what kind of background does he hold?”

Guan-Xia’s anger having dissipated in this confusion made him realize how much of a fool he must look right now. Having grown up as the third son of the great Wang family, he had never been so humiliated. Everyone around him were always careful not to anger him. Everything was always going his way, even his instructors never dared to be harsh to him. Yet all that was suddenly tainted by a country side girl and her younger classmate.

Guan-Xia’s mind was in chaos. He had crossed the point of no return and he launched his most deadly skill – the Cataclysmic Fire Strike. This move was one his family’s trademark move. If executed properly, it can penetrate and demolish a boulder the size of a house. This strike utilizes physical damage with the fire and uses the heat, reinforced by Qi, to create shockwaves to damage the inside. Obviously, Guan-Xia can’t materialize any fire nor could he injury his opponents’ inner organs with his Qi yet. However, the strike stilled contained a deadly force and whistled as it sliced through air towards Ryu.

Ryu who had his back against Guan-Xia easily sensed him coming, concentrating his Qi around his body Ryu spun around casually and caught the incoming fist casually. Compared to the danger of running from the dangerous beasts of the Forbidden Forest, this was a piece of cake to Ryu.

The crowds were once again astounded. Ryu who stood still, wasn’t the pushed back one bit from the impact of the exchange. In fact, it was Guan-Xia’s feet that left the ground after being unable to withstand the impact. While still holding Guan-Xia in the air, Ryu swung Guan-Xia across the ring.

“Older apprentice sister, let’s go.” Ryu said calmly as if nothing happened. However, Ryu was still furious at how all this turned out. Ryu and his fellow classmates were poor and lived a sheltered life away from the devious evil doings of the world. They were naïve and thought the world was just and that rules were followed.

The face of the patriarch of the Wang’s family was extremely ugly. He had never been so humiliated before. If it wasn’t for the fact that various important representatives from different schools were here, he would have personally disposed of Ryu and any witnesses already.

The crowd could not stop excitedly talking amongst themselves. This time a true genius had appeared. All the recruiters couldn’t contain their excitements and racked their brains to figure out what offer they could give young Ryu to entice him to join their school. Either way, Ryu will have endless accomplishments in the future for sure.

Suddenly someone spoke up, his voice overwhelmed the whole stadium. “This boy violated the rules of the competition by interfering in a match. He should be disqualified.”

“A man will take responsibility for his actions. I withdraw. I am sorry for the disturbance.” Ryu said in a loud and clear voice projected by his inner Qi. Before the crowd could clam themselves down, the situation had abruptly turned ugly for Ryu.

The crowd was silent once again. Not only was Ryu talented but he was also noble. Some were jealous but most had admiration towards him. He was willing to sacrifice his chances at the Talent Examination to defend a maiden’s honor.

The referee didn’t know what to do and simply watched Ryu leave with Eu-Meh and the twins. The referee was none other than Jin-Yang. He was actually about to intervene when he heard his master instruct him not to. This was only heard by him, his master used his profound Qi to constricted his voice and send it directly to a localized area.

As the group reached the outside of the stadium, an old teenager with long dark hair and arrogant look on his face blocked their way. He was wearing luxurious clothing and had a long crescent saber hung over his back. Behind him were two young men in dark black robes.

“It’s Guan-Jia, Guan-Xia’s brother!” Jia-Hua exclaimed.

“Honorable master of the Wang family, what could we do for you?” Seo-Yon asked politely. She knew that things weren’t looking good for them now that they humiliated the youngest son of the Wang family. The two men behind Guan-Jia must be guards of the family she presumed. She could tell all three were stronger than her.

“Nothing much, I see how despicable your disciple here is and want a spar with him. Isn’t it enough that you swindled my little brother out of his spiritual pills? Now you humiliate him like this in public. To think that a genius like you would bully someone younger two days in a row. Why don’t you try someone older like me?” Guan-Jia announced brashly. He was just sprouting an excuse to fight Ryu. With his father’s influence, he’ll get off with a slap on the wrist.

Ryu was confused. Nonetheless, Ryu was a man of few words and hated to be falsely accused.

“Teach me a lesson? I would like to see you try.” Ryu challenged as he confidently walked forward. Even if there’s some misunderstanding between us, Ryu couldn’t care less at the moment. Never had he felt so much rage in his life.

How did this escalate so fast? Seo-Yon wondered. Before she can diffuse the situation, the Ryu’s group got pushed back ten meters by a mysterious wind summoned by Ryu.

Guan-Jia unsheathed his blade and swung forward. Guan-Jia had been training at the Shadow Saber Sect for three years already. He came back just to see his younger brother’s match today. Their blade techniques are famous throughout the local region. As he approached Ryu, the blade whirled around him creating multiple black slashes around him that stayed in place for a few seconds after the saber has moved away.

Having never fought for real and never learned any fighting techniques, Ryu could only dodge away. Everyone held in their breaths for Ryu after seeing him barely dodge the Guan-Jia’s mysterious deadly saber. The black arches created in the air makes it look like multiple sabers were attacking at once.

“It’s the signature move of the Shadow Saber Sect, Collective Death Strike!” A bystander shouted. Although it was only a move from Rank 5 School, it was still famous around this region. The blade will leave a Qi blade in its former place after a strike for a few seconds. If mastered to the extreme, the Qi blade that’s left behind will be continuous and can be manipulated by will.

Back inside the stadium, the audience was still recovering from the sudden disqualification of Ryu. They couldn’t entirely blame Ryu since he was doing it to protect a young girl’s honor. Suddenly, a guard ran towards the lord of the city and shouted, “Guan-Jia from Wang’s family is fighting Ryu outside!”

The lord of the city sped out of the stadium without a word, followed by the heads of the three strongest family from the city. Kwong’s face had a complicated expression. Even after he tried to clean up after his youngest son’s mess, his second son decides to make things worse. If Ryu gets seriously injured than his family’s public image would take a serious hit. Guan-Jia was older and had joined a proper sect for three years already. A victory against a much younger junior is embarrassing beyond belief.

As the lord and three patriarchs approached the crowd surrounding the fight, Kwong is racking his brain trying to contain the negative impact. However, the lord of the city suddenly stopped them. He had a surprised look on his face. Kwong looked at where the lord was staring and his demeanor slowly changed and color drained from his face.

Ryu was dodging Guan-Jia gracefully and perfectly. The Collective Death Strike which was known for trapping opponents with multiple attacks was being rendered useless in front of Ryu’s dance-like elusive movements. The two guards that were trying to help Guan-Jia were actually cut by Guan-Jia by accident and ended up falling down from the wounds.

Kwong was going to step in but was stopped by the two other patriarchs.

“This is just a child’s fight. Adults shouldn’t get involved in. I heard your son had reached level 15 this year hasn’t he?” Patriarch of the Jin family spoke as he stood firmly in front of Kwong.

“These youngsters are only exchanging pointers. Besides, can a disciple from a prestigious school lose to a kid that’s not even ten?” Patriarch of the Gong family added.

Kwong could only grit his teeth, his nails dug into his palms at his side as his body shook with anger. His Wang family had suddenly rose to dominance and became one of the three strongest family within the city within the past century. This had caused many enmity and jealously from the other two family that had been established much longer than his.

“What kind of marvelous skills is he using? His teacher must be very capable.” The lord spoke after observing Ryu slip right past Guan-Jia again. Everyone witnessing was thinking of the same thing.

How did Ryu get this kind of strength? He must be a true genius. Seo-Yon thought. Knowing his family very well, she knows that he couldn’t have afforded any treasures or tutors to get him to this level.

Although Ryu makes it look like he’s toying with Guan-Jia, in reality this is the most Ryu could do. Guan-Jia’s technique has been polished over countless generations. It incorporates accurate strikes against the opponent’s vitals while protecting oneself. Ryu has always practiced refining his own Qi and never thought of using it to injure another, thus all he could do was dodge.

The aura from the four newly arrived experts surprised Ryu. This one second distraction caused him to be unable to defend against the incoming strikes. Focusing his Qi around his right hand, he dodged the actual saber and punched forward with all his strength against the black Qi blades. To his surprise, the blade Qi blades were extremely weak and crumbled like glass.

“No, that’s no skill.” The old man Jin-Yang referred to as master muttered to himself. He was observing the fight from the sky! An odd piece of cloud surrounds him and prevents anyone else in town from seeing him. There’s no techniques in his movements, he’s employing the basics to the extreme. Cultivating methods and techniques go hand in hand. Could he possibly be self-taught?

Guan-Jia’s movements slowly became sluggish and it is evident that he’s having trouble breathing now. His fight has always ended swift against opponents of similar age but against Ryu, he has been chasing him with his best skill for over five minutes now. Just now he realized his Qi blades can’t even harm him. His Qi is almost depleted, he was getting desperate.

Suddenly Guan-Jia raised his saber above his head and charged forward in a kamikaze last ditch effort to bring Ryu down, even if it meant injuring himself.

Although this incoming strike was deadly if taken head on, it’s still easy to dodge. Just when Ryu was about to step away, he realized that his friends and teacher were only a meter behind him. Ryu was inexperienced in battle so he didn’t keep track of his surroundings.

Oh no, what should I do? Ryu panicked and instinctively summoned a wall of fire in front of him after raising his hands over his head in a futile attempt to block. Guan-Jia in his life or death charge couldn’t stop in time ran straight into the pillar of fire. Since Ryu was at risk of dying, his body didn’t hold back and summoned the strongest flames he has ever produced.

Guan-Jia taking a step into flames, Guan-Jia instantly dropped to the ground and let out an ear piecing scream. His whole body was literally burning up. Ryu was terrified, he quickly stopped his flow of Qi to the flame pillar but he can’t extinguish something that’s already on fire. Kwong instantly rushed forward to his son’s side but couldn’t do anything except trying to smother the flames with his hands.

“Move!” The lord of the city said as he summoned a ball of water above Guan-Jia. Splash, the water landed and the fire was put out. However, the stench of burnt flesh could be smelled near the body.