Bastian had easily cruised through the second half of the elite gladiator league. At the level which followed, all he needed to do was wait to be attacked and retaliate. Bastian had also received his treasured gauntlets, the ones he had seen the first time he had been in the arena.

Right then, just like before, he had no idea what to do with them. All he knew was that they allowed him to cultivate even under the influence of enchanted shackles. He did know that the enchanted shackles he had were fire and water attribute enchanted.

They were also incredibly hard. Bastian had been told by Kenshin that, there was no cultivator, below the foundation building realm, who could even put a scratch on them, let alone use them to their true potential. Bastian knew not to question Kenshin further, so he simply nodded his head and decided to use their hardness to his advantage.

Using his gauntlets, Bastian only needed one hit to dispatch his opponents and he did so in the same manner every single time. He would hit their bodies and slam them into the floor of the arena. Using his understanding of forces granted from his bloodline, Bastian would force the impact to create an image of the Taiji on the ground.

He did this because according to Kai, all the great gladiators had a means of making the crowd go wild. That was Bastian’s way of simply following instructions. He only cared about finishing that tournament and gaining his freedom.

Just after Kenshin had regained his consciousness, Bastian had proposed a plan to him but the majority of it could not be enacted whilst they were slaves. So at that moment, he had to focus on winning the two star tournaments.

Even though Bastian had an easy time, he was very unhappy. He had finally broken through to the lower fighter/acolyte level, gaining a few new perks, only to hear Kenshin say “It’s time for me to break through.”

The other thing Bastian knew, was that Kenshin was a Teacher. Bastian had been in Kenshin’s vicinity the entire time, yet he had felt nothing indicating a breakthrough. Bastian had painstakingly absorbed energy from daemon cores and stabilized his cultivation base, yet Kenshin broke through when he felt like it. Bastian was outraged by that.

Bastian knew that Kenshin was above his league but he still felt as if he could catch up with him. Kenshin was an enigma but Bastian was confident that with time, he could unravel him. Yet Kenshin though, felt like he was getting further and further out of Bastian’s reach. With Bastian’s gifts, it was not hard for him to tell that Kenshin was waiting for him to break though.

Is he baiting me? Is he trying to get me to cultivate?

Bastian tried to think of his companion’s motive, yet that resulted in a dead end. At the end of the day, Bastian decided to just do what he could. Kenshin was not hostile, on the contrary, Bastian felt as if Kenshin seemed to have his back.

After his cultivation breakthrough, Kenshin opted for the three star tournament. He challenged a qualifier from the first round and entered. At that time, just like Bastian, he was undefeated. The name The Blind Swordsman rang out across the minds of countless people within Yani City.

Bastian could tell that not only was Kenshin not hostile but he was feeling more familiar around him. He felt that that was maybe a side effect of the Soul Brethren contract; nevertheless, there was another issue.

The girl who called me The King Of titans! Kenshin didn’t remember her!

Bastian and Kenshin had received an odd visitor, a girl, who Bastian had been trying to figure out. Somehow though, that girl managed to escape Kenshin’s mind. Bastian had over time, realized through conversing with Kenshin that he didn’t remember her.

Bastian knew that she was not a dream, because traces of her existence, such as her scent, were still there. Sometimes Bastian felt that she was following him. He however, kept quiet about that issue because he didn’t want to sound insane. He therefore waited until he himself, was able to find out what he wanted.

At that time, after his battle with the big woman, he felt another familiar scent. The scent of the woman who had brought him to the eastern islands.

She probably thinks I can’t tell she is here, I don’t want to damage her pride, so for now let me pretend as if I can’t see her.

Bastian steadily walked out of the arena toward the participant’s area.

…

“I told you he had potential. Did you bring what I requested?” In the stadium, at one of the various sections commoners sat at an area where, a woman who had a mohawk and a man who was dressed like a beggar were speaking. The beggar spoke first, and he smiled, as he looked at Bastian was not difficult to see for it exposed most of his ugly teeth, much to the woman’s disgust.

“Yes I have, what happened to the previous body? It was at least bearable. This one smells horrible.” said the woman as she waved her hand in front of her nose.

“He had…an accident, let’s just say I’m getting used to using a mortal’s body. Anyway make your preparations and plant the seed tonight; I need to see just how valuable my investment is. Besides I can’t wait, look at me Owami, I’m as giddy as a child haha.” laughed the man.

Owami nodded and rolled her eyes as she looked at Bastian walking away. He still didn’t look special to her but she knew very well that Minister Li’s most frightening ability was his ability to judge potential.

Like lightning, her silhouette flashed and she disappeared. None of the spectators were bothered by that. They behaved almost as if she was never there in the first place. The beggar just sat there like he always did, smiling with eyes that were so narrow people couldn't help but doubt wether he could see.