When everyone was on the stage, they all had to draw a number from the box. The two people with matching numbers would spar each other.
The rules were pretty simple. To win, either make the other party get out of the lines set or make them admit defeat. No crippling nor killing. Cheating is forbidden. If anyone violated any of these rules, they would be isolated in a temporary space for a day.
A temporary space could be created by any village as a prison. The space within was dark and made you feel like you were floating through space alone.
"We will now begin!" Sun Huo shouted.
"Pair 1 please come up to the arena!"
Two people came from both sides of the arena. They looked at each other and bowed.
"Begin!"
When they both heard the signal, one took out a sword while the other took out an axe. They sword user rushed forward while the axe user slid his front foot back into a swinging stance.
{Wu Family Sword Style: 3rd Strike>Simple But Complex}
{Puti Family Axe Art: 2nd Move>Weight of 10 Men}
They both yelled the name of the technique they were using.
*Boom*
Both sides used their family techniques. The clash of power created a small shockwave. After a moment of silence, the sword user fell unconscious on the ground.
"The winner of Match #1 is Huang Puti!"
*clap**clap**clap*
The crowd cheered for Huang Puti.
Alex, who watched the battle, was reminded of something. It was that he didn't really have any techniques. Alex went behind a wall and quickly materialized a sword. He recalled many battles using his soul sword and smiled. He swung it vertically and a notification popped up in front of him. It appeared before but he always forgot about it as it appeared in the middle of battles.
[Technique Creation]
[{Input Name}
Description: A vertical strike.The momentum increases the speed of the strike]
Alex named the technique, {Vertical Slash}. He then did the same a horizontal and diagonal strike which he named {Horizontal Slash} and {Diagonal Slash}.
He used the merging feature on the three new skills and got this skill.
[Omnipresent Strikes Lvl.1
Description: Once the target get in a 1-meter range of the user, the user can release strikes from every direction. (Level up to increase range by 1 meter)]
"I did it again...I created another Overpowered Skill." Alex couldn't believe his eyes. As long as he increased the skills level, he would be able to break through anyone's defense. He is basically invincible against anyone in the Earth-Realm or lower.
When Alex was done, he returned to his seat next to Yui. He had been paying attention to the fights with his soul power. His number was 13, so he was going next.
Honestly, he was kind of nervous because this was the first time he would fight in front of others. When his number got called, he walked up to the arena. He looked at the crowd and saw Yui giving him a thumbs up.
Alex bowed to his opponent and the latter did the same.
"Begin!" The signal was given.
Alex had already materialized his soul sword before the match. His opponent was also a sword user, so he unsheathed his sword. He saw that Alex had yet to remove his sword from the its sheath. He frowned and asked Alex.
"Hey I know you're strong and all but can you at least unsheate your sword."
Alex was confused for a moment before realizing and the responded
"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to be disrespectful, but this is my sword style. I hope it won't bother you too much."
His opponent nodded. There were many sword styles out there so he wasn't surprised by Alex's answer. He then rushed towards Alex at his highest speed. He then saw Alex pivot his front foot and slide his back foot to the front with a wider stance. Alex then unsheathed his blade a bit with a *click* sound. He immediately disappeared and appeared half a meter behind his opponent. The small part of his sword that was revealed went back in the sheath with another *click*.
Silence. The crowd didn't understand what had happened. They then heard cracking sounds. They turned to Alex's opponent and saw his sword cracking until it broke. His clothes went from long sleeves to short sleeves with a perfect cut. Last but not least, they saw a small cut on his neck.
"I admit defeat!" Alex's opponent was a bit pale as he felt like he had just experienced death and has been brought back to life. He continued with a kowtow "I, Hu Ling, am grateful to you, Alex King, for sparing my life!"
Alex and the crowd were flabbergasted at this sight. Alex then helped Hu getting on his feet and went to back beside Yui.
When Sun Huo recovered from his shock, he declared the winner.
"The winner of Match #13 is Alex King!"
People started clapping and cheering for Alex. Girls started blushing when they recalled Alex's handsome face and his amazing sword skills. Yui was especially mesmerized by the scene. When Alex sat beside her, he still had his calm face. She congratulated him for his win.
The next matches went pretty quickly.
"The winner of Match #14 is ...."
"The winner of Match #15 is Yui Yun"
"The winner of Match #16 is Shen Fei"
Those who lost were awarded 10 gold coins for their effort. While the winners stayed on the stage. The tournament continued. They drawled numbers again.
Yui lost in the semifinals which was pretty good as she didn't have combat experience. The one who won against her was Shen Fei. He had tried to sneak in some perverted moves, but when Yui saw it the first time, she immediately admitted defeat. Many people saw the way Shen Fei was acting and shot him a momentary look of disdain.
Alex also saw this and the image of Shen Fei being his friend had a crack on it.
The finals were finally happening. Alex and Shen walked into the arena. Alex's previous matches allowed him to level up the 'Omnipresent Strikes' Skill to reach Lvl.3 which means he had a 3-meter range.
"Begin!" Sun Huo shouted for the battle to start.
Shen Fei started rushing towards Alex with a sword in hand. He wanted to utterly humiliate Alex. His hatred for him grew through time.
Alex was pissed and was thinking how he should deal with Shen Fei. He tried to assault Yui? Courting Death! Alex smirked as he did the same thing he has been doing in all the battles. He pivoted his front foot and slid his back foot to the front in a wider stance. He took a large breath in and exhaled slowly.
Shen Fei finally stepped in his 3-meter range and was getting closer by the second.
Alex then used his 'Omnipresent Strikes' Skill. As his head descended a bit, a blue coloured ark followed his eyes. It was like lighting was following a pathway created by Alex's eyes.
Alex appeared behind Shen Fei and sheated his still unrevealed blade. The latter's upper clothes shredded and were in so many pieces that it was like it was snowing.
Shen Fei immediately realized what Alex's other opponents felt. He quickly admitted defeat. He started walking out of the arena.
"Why is my ass so cold all of a sudden?" He felt cold on his butt but he didn't think too much about it.
Behind him, the crowd were trying to contain their laughter. Especially Yui, who was almost assaulted by Shen Fei. Alex came down and patted Yui on the head while smiling.
"I avenged you right?"
..Pfft..
The people around them heard this and couldn't help but laugh.
Yui nodded her head and hid her red face from Alex's gaze.
*Puuuiiii**Boom*
Fireworks lit up the night sky. It was an amazing sight to see.
"I declare Alex King is the winner of the tournament, making him the #1 genius in our village!" Sun Huo declared loudly.
Many people cheered and enjoyed the rest of the night.
Alex saw that Yui was tired, so he told everyone that he would be leaving. He also told the old man who just nodded with a mysterious smile. The smile made a shiver go down Alex's back.
He used the flying cloud spell he had created and flew away with Yui on his arms.
Shen Fei gritted his teeth at the sight in anger. He had planned many things tonight to increase his reputation, but instead ,because of Alex, his reputation ended up decreasing.
After he had left the tournament arena, Shen Fei discovered that Alex had cut his pants showing his underpants to the crowd. He had been thoroughly humiliated. He swore that he would get revenge.
————————— The next part may not be suited for certain audiences, please proceed with caution or skip it————————
Meanwhile, Alex arrived at Yui's house. He opened the door and brought her to her room. He placed her on the bed, he watched her sleep and brushed her hair to the side. When he turned around to leave, he was pulled onto the bed. He turned and saw that Yui had grabbed him. 'Where did this strength come from?' He realized that Yui was pretty powerful. He looked at her cultivation and saw that she had become Martialist-Grade 9 which was the same rank as him. He then remembered the necklace he gave her.
Alex was about to shake her off of him to leave, but he then felt a leg rubbing against his 'little brother'. Alex stiffened. He looked at Yui who was still asleep.
Alex was helpless. After an hour, Yui was still sleeping with his arm as a pillow. With his 'little brother' hostage, Alex could only remain at the stuck. He eventually dozed off to the land of dreams.