The crowd gave way to Minos as he walked, no longer requiring him to shove his way through. Minos could see the newly born admiration in their eyes. Strength was respect, and the strongest were the most respected.
Minos was enjoying the crowd's adoration, but regrettably, Gantel had to show his ugly face at this moment.
"Kid, that "Shining Talisman" must have been your trump card. Had you used it on me, you might have actually won, too bad you've already exposed it." Gantel spoke as he laughed, once again exposing his rotten teeth.
"Who said it was my only talisman?" Minos replied with a smile, seemingly inadvertently revealing the talisman he had tucked in his waste.
Gantel quickly looked down at it and only caught a glimpse, before it seemed Minos realized and quickly hid it away beneath his robe.
Unfortunately for Minos, Gantel seemed to have already seen what talisman it was. Of course for the untrained eye, the talisman strokes on the paper gave zero clues, but Minos labeled all his talisman, which let Gantel catch the "Fireball Talisman" he had written at the top.
Gantel grinned, pretending he didn't notice before laughing again "Kid, no matter what talisman you have, I'll still crush you."
Minos ignored his threats, instead focusing his attention back on the stage. Seeing as he wasn't getting a reaction from Minos anymore, Gantel walked away, still snickering, as if he had already achieved victory.
The sun reached higher and higher into the sky, and midday had come. The excitement became more intense as the battles started featuring stronger and stronger people.
Crushing fights became less common, instead a lot of the battles started to drag on, really showcasing a test of skill.
As the weaklings got weeded out, what was left over were the stronger fighters. Minos watched as Gantel slightly edged out his opponent, claiming his victory.
Minos could have simply forfeited the fight so there was no chance of going against Gantel, but to Minos this was as much of an opportunity as it was to Gantel, it was just a question of who's stronger.
Two years of bearing with the abuse had been more than enough. It was time for Minos to put Gantel in his place, and let him forever remember that Minos was not someone he could afford to mess with.
"Gantel vs Minos"
Just like that, the words Minos was hoping for were shouted out from on top the stage. This battle was critical to Minos, it was a turning point in his life.
Of course this battle's true value was next to nothing, however it signaled the point where Minos could finally stand for himself amongst handyman disciples, no longer being stepped on.
Though it didn't seem like much, it was the first step on a long journey. The first victory that will highlight the beginning of Minos's real cultivation journey.
Minos had confidence in this, and at no point did he ever think he'd lose to Gantel. The sharpness that Minos had lost after two years of laying low seemed to re-emerge, and his body suddenly gave off a completely different feeling.
As if a sword that had almost rusted away in its sheath, suddenly revealed itself, only to let the word know that rust was always an illusion, and it was still just as sharp as the day it first unveiled its edge.
The deacon sitting on the side was a little surprised seeing Minos's sudden transformation, but soon smiled, clearly pleased.
'This kid has some potential. I wonder how far he'll go?' Thought Master Lero
The crowd also seemed to notice this change, with all of them looking at Minos with different eyes.
"Have you guys noticed Minos seems to feel a little different?"
"Yeah! It was like he was a sheep before, but now he had suddenly transformed into a wolf"