Chapter 13

The following day, almost all civilians in the whole district came to watch.

Fans and families of individuals came to cheer on their family members. Some higher level school scout envoys came in search of a chance to recruit talents from this competition. The seats were filled, and tickets sold out. The spectators were overflowing as they even reached up to the streets. In reverence to the county laws, no martial practitioner was allowed to fly to watch the games.

In the arena, the anchor John Coal was there. He wore a matt black suit with golden chains and shiny flat shoes. "Welcome everyone, as we know it, today is the day of the final trial. Please, kindly stand up and clap for this wonderful set of students before you."

As John says so, the congregation of people all stand up on their feet as they clapped whole heartedly for the participants.

"Thank you so much, you can all sit down now. Today, only the top 20 will be competing against each other. Only the top 2 will get a chance to advance to the regional competition where they will compete against people from different counties. Alright folks, let's get this competition started! Only for participants are allowed in the arena." John announced.

After his announcement, the first set of students entered the arena. All eyes were glued to them. Everyone was thrilled waiting for someone to make a fancy move.

"Hoaqin Shadow strike!" A participant in grey clothes shouted as he quickly struck an opponent with his surprise attack. His punch was incredibly fast, only leaving a visible after shadow of the path in which it came from.

Fearing that he would strike again, the other competitors quickly moved aside. While another participant fell on the ground holding his chest as he howled in pain.

As time passed, the congregation came to an uproar. Omnilock School had won first place! Not just that, but the top 400 participants were all students of Omnilock! That is, the top 5% of all the participants were from Omnilock School alone! Never in the history of martial district competitions has any school carried such a victorious win. It can be said that this is the first school since the beginning of creation to have ever attained such a feat. Plus, this was also the common trend in many other planets across the whole galaxy!

Just like that, news of Omnilock school's victory started to become popular amongst many. Some thought it was all a lie until they watched the recorded data. Only then did people start realizing the prestige of Omnilock School. Even some school elders left in hopes to get recruited as an official in Omnilock school, but like the others, they were sent back. Some schools were even envious to the point they planned to kill students of Omnilock if they ever made it to the regionals or continental. This is so, because if the students of Omnilock were to make it to the planetary competitions, Omnilock school will be one of the most undisputed strongmen in the whole galaxy. People would have to think for hours before they acted against the students of Omnilock. This is due to the fact that not any ordinary school can accept students of waste talents, and make them dragons? Even the elite of the elite schools can't even dare to make such moves.

The news was so great that some people, some kings, royalty, mayors, and more came searching for the families of the students from Omnilock to apologize for their grievances. However, to their great contempt, they were nowhere to be found because the guards of Omnilock school had already been deployed to retrieve and protect the families of Omnilock students. That being said, Omnilock officially made settlements for these families and declared the areas surrounding each as a vasal city of Omnilock school. How daring! That being said, this meant that Omnilock school had a total of 49,950 cities under them all over the galaxy! This type of unrestrained action provoked the anger of many governments! By doing this, Omnilock school was basically announcing itself independent from any and every 'super government' This also included the Universal Court!

After the news got out, the whole galaxy was closely monitoring the actions of Omnilock school. No one knew where they came from, and no one knew which sect or which figure(s) were behind this school to be able to act so restrained. In conclusion, no one knew anything about Omnilock at all.

***

Upon hearing the good news, the 4 high judges all sat down and held a conference with the senior elders. They were in a huge room that seemed to have the capacity to hold an imaginable amount of people within. The atmosphere here was filled with smiles and joy.

Sited together, Kuld made an announcement, "Thank you all for being here. I know, we have done it! More so, the students. I want to thank you all on the behalf of the other principals here with me today. If not for everyone here, including the teachers, guards, and envoys, we would never have been able to achieve such a feat."

"I would also like to address something. Since our students have proven, and shown their capabilities in martial arts. I think it is high time we allow them choose the major they would love to go into. I mean, we used martial arts to build a 'foundation' for them. Now, they're proficient in it, lets allow them to choose a major they would love to go to. This way, we can have a variety and can also start preparing for the Arcane & mystic schools competition and probably more competitions to come. This is the prestige of Omnilock, we must make it to the top. This way, no one will dare to play with us." Kuld said with a burning passion in his heart.

---

After the district competition, the students exchanged their rewards for cash which they gave to their families. This action angered a lot of people because the price of an earth grade martial art was not cheap! One must know that a martial artist never lacks money. Unlike the normal people, who can't cultivate or even use their bloodline powers. There must be a lot of money and resources needed in order for one to cultivate themselves. This is why individuals always send their children to wealthy schools in hopes that their children will get accepted.

In the society, the currency rates are not favorable at all. There is a great sea between the lower class, middle class, and high class. 1,000 copper is equal to 1 bronze. 1,000 bronze is equal to 1 silver, 1,000 silver is equal to 1 gold, and 1,000 gold are equal to 1 platinum. That being said, 1 earth grade martial art technique is equal to 100 bronze which is enough to buy a small house.

This scene caused a lot of anger within the community. "Like, how dare these students throw away such techniques like that? Not just that, they exchanged it for money to give it to their families? Who do they think they are? Like how wealthy do they think they are?" Someone in the congregation shouts angrily

Upon seeing the uproar, the envoys from Omnilock took the students out of the arena to safety as they were commanded. It's not that the students were weak, nor the envoys, but for the fact that Omnilock school never set out to attack or make enemies during this competition.

The envoys took the students to the nearest safe place they could find. In a cave, an envoy says, "Alright guys, congratulations to everyone on your victory. Have you seen what your hardwork has won today? You guys deserve it, and on the behalf of the school, we are very proud of you all. Everyone here is a winner, regardless of if you got first place or not. What matters is that you did your best and that you didn't give up." The envoy says as he looked towards the students.

After hearing the words of the envoy, the students were very happy. Some of them were so proud of themselves, they couldn't stop talking to one another about it. Some were even debating on who was better than another. Seeing this, the envoy couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Haha, you guys are funny. Alright, let's go back to the resting quarters first. The regionals will be in two days. Do not feel pressured, but just know that if we win this one, all those within the top 100 on the leaderboard will get more rewards from school. The top 50 will get a chance to pick an advanced earth level technique from the library and will have 6 months to study it. The top 20 will get a chance to learn from the elders themselves. The top 5, you will get a chance to become our school's first inner disciples. Rest well, we will leave for the regionals tomorrow" the envoy says to the students.

"Wow, how wonderful. Don't worry Mr. Dobrota, we won't let you down. First place is sure to be ours." Marcia, a female student of Omnilock says with joy and pride.

"I know you all will, you're all great students. Keep up the good work" Mr. Dobrota says as he leads the students out of the cave for the resting quarters.

***

In a blink of an eye, two days passed by, the students of Omnilock school had finally arrived at the arena for the regionals. This time, it was held in a city called Orbita. Orbita is a very beautiful city, however, it is also extremely busy. Merchant stores could be seen on every corner of the road. They were selling a variety of things from arts and sculptures to martial arts, potions, and more. Some people were even flying on their beasts or magic equipment like brooms, boards, swords, or shields. Some loft figures even had a cool state of the art wings made for them. In this city, there were people of other races in here too! It was so cool. The students couldn't help but point here, and there in shock.

The arena was in a medieval style castle. Outside were some knight sculptures on both sides of the door. The door was wooden, and was very tall. On the door, there was a design of a griffin on it. This is the rumored totem beast of Orbita, a silver crowned griffin. Inside the castle, there were a lot of attractions. On one end, there were jesters and storytellers who told tales of Orbita. On the other end,was where the merchants shops were. They sold clothes, costumes, and more in there.

In the center of the castle, there was a field which served as the arena for this regional competition. Around the field, there were hundreds of thousands of spectators. The top 5 students from each school were only allowed to participate. To people's surprise, there were people from the Roc race race present. People from the Sagittarius clan present. Even other rarely seen races like the people from the Angel and Demon race were present.

Shortly after the congregation was settled, the anchor started the competition, "Welcome ladies and gentlemen. Today, we are all here to witness the rise of talents within our society. These people before you all have the ability to be future leaders of a better tomorrow. Please, without further adieu, let's get this party started!" The anchor says as she rallies the congregation.

"Okay, now, there are 50 students here today who will compete. Which means, 10 students will compete at a time. There will be 5 rounds, and only 1 person will be a winner of each round. The winners from each round compete against each other. The final winner will get the trophy. Stepping outside the arena will lead to disqualification. Using elixir pills will also lead to being disqualified. Killing will lead not only to disqualification, but to an incarceration. This is the law of the game, begin" The anchor said as she announced the beginning of the game.

One by one, the students made their way into the arena. Looking squarely at one another, they positioned themselves in combat mode. Fully aware that everyone was competing against each other, some students from the Angel race teamed up against Donjo, a demon student from Omnilock. The three angels pulled out their swords as they collectively rushed towards him. Noticing this, Donjo laughed as he prepared himself for a crazy battle against his opponents.

Clang! The three swords were intercepted by Donjo. The after shock was very powerful. Cracks were formed on the ground like cobwebs, the surrounding students paused briefly as they focused on the battle of Donjo. This was going to be a crazy battle. Andrea, the lead angel of this group, got furious as she flew up and slashed her sword towards Donjo.

"Be-gone!" She shouted as she slashed quickly at Donjo. Struggling to sustain the other two angels, Donjo also noticed the momentous power coming towards him. His eyes were laser focused. He seemed to almost not even regard the strength of the other two angels.

"I can't let these idiots think too highly of themselves. Let me show them what it means to be an Omnilock student. Let me teach them what it means to be high but yet humble." Donjo said in his heart as he roared out angrily like an enraged beast.

As he roared, the veins on his body started to become more evident. The sacred tattoos on his body also started glowing black and red. The power from his aura released was also skyrocketing. His black eyes started to develop a red outline. His nails grew sharper, and his body grew thicker and larger.

Looking at Donjo, a glimmer of fear could be seen in the eyes of the two angels, Jeff and Hardy. Before the both of them could react, black flames exploded out of Donjo. This explosion sent them flying. Jeff was buried inside the ground like a mummy in a coffin, and Hardy flung out of the arena In shock, Andrea shoute as she pointed at Donjo "Ah! How is this possible? You monster, you vile beast. I know I didn't research wrong. Aren't you the useless demon who couldn't activate his bloodline power? It's said that even the elders couldn't feel your bloodline pulse. How is it that you can now use it? I mean, after 8 years of blood baptism, and refining...it was believed that they all failed. How can you now activate your bloodline within two years? Maybe you encountered some type of luck or material. Whatever it is, I will get it from you today!" Andrea roared with fury as she sped towards Donjo.

This was the first time Donjo had ever awakened his bloodline. It was also the first time he was able to use his bloodline powers! After so many years of trial and error, he is finally able to do so today. This is only due to one school, Omnilock. If not for the baptismal blessing of the blood temple, I'm afraid he would remain like this forever. Luckily for him, Omnilock school also trained students in martial arts as a requisite course. If not, he may not even be able to bear the power in his body. I mean, after so many blood baptism by the demon race, his body absorbed them all but wasn't able to awaken. Now, it is awakened, his bloodline talent is 5 times more powerful than the average demon.

"Yes, you are right. Although I couldn't awaken my bloodline then, doesn't mean I can't now. After so many years of me suffering abuse, slander, turture and more. I am finally made anew. Now, I can prove all my enemies wrong and repay them what is due. If not for Omnilock school, none of this will be possible. The people of the demon race thought it was okay to kick a helpless orphan out...Now, the whole galaxy will tremble. Just wait for me, I swear, I will visit you ALL ONE BY ONE." Donjo said as he looked sternly at Andrea.

Upon hearing his words, Andrea was shocked in her heart. However, this also made her more determined to destroy Donjo. Seeing this, Donjo smiled. He jumped up in the air and flew towards the incoming Andrea. BOOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Terrible shock waves were flying out from different directions. The whole castle started shaking! Pillars which acted as support beams for the castle started breaking! The whole place was coming down!

Seeing this scene, students from Omnilock school started to burn with passion in their hearts. They all released their aura in support of Donjo! The other 4 students from Omnilock school, Cherrie, Malcolm, Sneerzie, and Lancom were also burning with passion. They knew this was their brother who was doing well. As students of Omnilock, they all shared the same wins and woes. Everyone of them were accustomed to each other, so they knew what they had all been through together.

Very quickly, the whole table turned, Cherrie, a phoenix girl also started to feel a burning sensation in her heart. Hot tears streamed down her eyes. She was suppressed by everyone but was happy because of Donjo. Everyone within her arena were attacking her endlessly. Overwhelmed by the onslaught attacks, her body started burning. She started glowing crimson red. The roots of her brown hair started turning red. All of a sudden, she fainted. The whole crowd went silent. Everyone stopped to check on her. The anchor led the medical team as they came to checker her.

"She is burning, like badly. Her temperature has blown through the roof! Her vitals are okay. She is still breathing." One medic from the team of four said aloud.

"Ah, am I the only one or do you smell something burning?" Another medic who touched her forehead said to his colleagues.

VROOM! A torpedo of fire burst out of Cherrie. An extremely loud phoenix cry could be heard outside coming from the arena. "CRAAW!" Another thunderous cry could be heard again. This time, the flames of the turnado increased again to another level. A real phoenix could be vaguely seen in the fire tornado! This phoenix was Cherrie! In fear of being burnt, the other participants jumped out. Those who were also skilled in elemental magic took some measures to protect themselves also. Artris, one of her opponent was skilled in wind magic too. In response to Cherrie's blazing fire, he formed a forcefield of wind to protect himself. Tresor, another opponent was also skilled in earth elementalist magic. He too, also covered himself in several layers of rock. As for the medical team, they all ran for their dear lives.

***

In the phoenix realm,

There was an old elder who seemed to be extremely depressed. He seemed as though he had lost everything important to him. He had orange eyes and red wavy hair that reached his shoulders. He was seated on a chair as he closed his eyes in retreat. This old man was Cherrie's grandfather, Gerechte.

Suddenly, a very beautiful woman came rushing into his room with tears on her face as she cried. "I found her! I finally found her! She did it, papa! She has finally woken her bloodline!" The woman cried as she fell on her knees before her father, Gerechte. This woman is Cara, Cherrie's mother.

Upon hearing the cries of his daughter, Gerechte's eyes finally lit up. He looked at his broken daughter who was crying at his feet and said calmly, "It is okay dear. We will find her soon. Don't cry, my love. All hope is not lost. I can just imagine what she looks like now. I wonder if she looks like you when you were younger."

"I knew she wasn't dead...I knew it. Please, do not deny me like you once did before. I am going to look for my daughter, with or without you this time. I failed her, no...we failed her. We must go look for her!" The young woman cried helplessly in distress.

After hearing his daughter's words, Gerechte exhaled as he thought for a moment. "Okay. What about this, give me a few days to prepare. After that, we will go. Plus, do not be silly. She is also my grandchild, you know. After the attack, how can I stand to lose the two most important women in my life? That night, I already lost her. How can I then stand to lose you too? Wouldn't that be selfish of you? Do you want me to die depressed forever? Please, my love, give me two day, and we will go find her." Gerechte as he looked at his determined daughter.

After being comforted by her father's words, the young woman stood up and said with a trace of smile hidden on her face. "Two days, and NO MORE. If you are not ready by then, do not blame me for leaving you behind"

"Haha, I won't don't worry. Two days it is." Gerechte replied as she watched Cara leave his room happily. After she left, he turned to the window and sighed heavily once more. "I wonder where she is now. What type of luck did she meet on her way? I can only wait to find out." The old man said as he thought to himself.