Charlie and Bing Xing hurried to the presumed location of the tournament, the towering buildings and archaic feeling was indeed a sight, along the way, Charlie was shocked on how the teeming sharks could build this in just less than a month's time.
It seems the savage beasts has bountiful resources, might even be more than the humans
Charlie thought in his mind as he raced to the tournament, after a few minutes, charlie and Bing Xing stopped, what welcomed their sight was a deep crevice, peculiarly distinct from the rest of the structures in the city, a gigantic platform etched with a powerful formation stood at the middle, creating an imposing presence, countless denizens of savage beasts stood at the edges of the platform, an agitated and excited expression warped their faces, it seems their eyes has been glued to the platform while at the platform, two savage beasts stood at the opposite sides of the platform, it seems there's a face off currently, one of the savage beasts had a hulking appearance, bulging muscles and well refined body, it seems his body carried an explosive aura, a dormant volcano ready to erupt at the slightest moment, his appearance was far from humans, possessing eight limbs and large gills at the sides of his face, his body was completely nude but to savage beasts, this was normal and not surprising, veins streaked across his body like a massive network, he was currently holding a club, dangling on his right hand, it's edges carried a heavy aura as if it would tear through anything within it's path while the other savage beasts had a refined aura, infact, he didn't look particularly strong, he was lean and a bit emaciated as if the slightest breeze would blow him down but his eyes was quite distinct and a sharp glint danced within, a faint sword aura enshrouded his being like a monarch of swords, and as expected, in his right hand was a bluish gold sword, it wasn't peculiarly eye-catching but it's surface was smooth and the edges was sharper than mere swords.
"Wow.. each of those savage beasts are stronger than me, I won't even hold a candle before them" Bing Xing exclaimed in astonishment
Even though, it knew, it was far from the top geniuses of the ocean, it still prided himself some talent but looking at those two savage beasts on stage, it knew it's talent isn't worth mentioning, at present, it had barely reached fighter 4 but in it's tribe, there's dozens of savage beasts at the same level as itself and even stronger.
Charlie too was indeed baffled, he didn't expect the savage beasts to be this strong, it seems even the humans from where he is from would be hard pressed to suppress them.
"Those two are most likely from the Eight-armed Tristar tribe and the sword monarch sect. Those two powerhouses are roughly almost on par with the teeming sharks, they do possess the qualifications to participate in the tournament" Bing Xing revealed what it knew.
Charlie quietly speculated, at this point, he hasn't seen any trace of the Mana fruit yet but the fact that they are hosting the tournament here means the fruit isn't far away either. Charlie noticed something and a worried expression was etched on his face
"We're in close proximity to the tournament and I have the scent of a human, most likely, the savage beasts will recognize my aura if I get any bit close, I can only hide in one of the closest buildings to watch. Bing Xing, let's go" Charlie ran through a series of plans in his mind and he knew he would die if he came close to the tournament. Just as Charlie and Bing Xing were about to walk away, an exclaimed shout sounded behind them.
"A… Human?" A hoarse voice rippled out.
Charlie was dumbstruck, Shit!! I have been spotted, no matter how hard I tried to conceal myself, the heavens decided to play tricks on me.
"Bing Xing, hold it off for me. I have to escape" Charlie anxiously commanded as he raced back to the path he took.
Bing Xing was shocked as well, it never knew, they would still catch them but at this moment, it had no choice, it can't just allow them to kill its master in front of him, it has to buy as much time as possible. Bing Xing roared and charged forward, it's tentacles pierced through the air with a menacing aura, Bing Xing had exerted his full strength from the get-go, he can't underestimate his opponent but as it's tentacles was passing through the air, an overwhelming pressure weighed down on him, crushing him to the earth, the tentacles didn't even go too far before falling to the ground.
Bing Xing's eyes widened in horror, T-this is 6 star fighter, Bing Xing had only felt such pressure from it's tribe elders before but wait, this aura is slightly lacking, it isn't 6 star but half step, the overwhelming aura was indeed powerful but compared to a true 6 star fighter, it's lacking in might.
Charlie hadn't gone far too, so the overwhelming aura crushed down on him, he suffered a fate worse than Bing Xing, the pressure struck him into the ground, he almost coughed out blood
W-w-what is this pressure? It's countless times stronger than Bing Xing's
A surging character *'X'* was written in air, it flew extremely fast, the air warped before it's might, Bing Xing's expression warped in horror, it tried to block himself but to it's astonishment, it found out that he couldn't block it no matter what, it tore through the defence and drove into his body. All Bing Xing's cultivation receded and deflated like a balloon, his cultivation was sealed, he couldn't muster any strength or resistance. Charlie also saw Bing Xing suppressed, he knew the person was up against was a true expert but there was nothing he could do. Despair and hopeless was reflected in his eyes, he has never felt this sense of weakness before, his knuckles was turning slightly whitish, his fingers dug into his palm, blood dripped from the palm, Charlie gritted his teeth, trying to brave through the pressure but his body was unmoving.
Is this my fate? Will I die here? But… I haven't even found the ocean eye fruit. I can't die like this! Impossible!!
A figured appeared at his front, the sudden appearance alleviate the pressure, it was as if the pressure never existed.
"Sorry. You were running too fast, so I had to stop you. I didn't mean to" An apologetic voice sounded out, slightly embarrassed.
Charlie was shocked as he heard those words, he raised his head and saw a towering 2 metres monster staring back at him with a hint of embarrassment written on his face
Weren't Monsters supposed to kill humans? What's going on….?
"Ah.. I have forgotten I'm in my savage beast form" The monster continued talking
A burst of light permeated every inch of space and then, it receded, seemingly converging on a figure and then 'POP' like a bubble, the light dissipated into nothingness, leaving behind a handsome golden robed figure, his black silk hair flowed down to his waist and few strands of hair was carefully placed at the sides of his face, his dark eyes was like the starry skies, it had a blinding glint, the young man's expression was spirited and excited, his golden loose robe was strapped with a belt across his waist, he had the refined scholarly aura emitting from himself, an amiable smile hung on his lips, he seemed slightly younger than Charlie himself.
"Y-y-you're a human…?" Charlie widened his eyes seemingly as big as saucers in astonishment, even Bing Xing lying on the ground helplessly was slack-jawed, it had thought he would die after failing to protect his master but this twist of event never came to his mind at all, it was simply baffling.
"Ah yes. My name is Lord Jason, the great sage" Lord Jason muttered with pride on his face.
Charlie Breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed the young man didn't want to harm him. If not, he would have died countless times over. With a composed look, Charlie got up on his feet and dusted his robe, he realised his back had been drenched with cold sweat, he tidied himself, looking as striking as possible.
"I'm Charlie. May I know why you're here?" Charlie asked with a puzzled look. One must know, it took charlie a great deal of effort and prudence before he reached his current destination and he came for the Mana fruit or could it be…. He also came for the fruit too? This is more troublesome. Dealing with a true expert is an impossible feat for him, the coercion and posing he used against Bing Xing won't even dream of working in this situation.
Lord Jason chuckled softly
"I actually came here to test myself and show those savage beasts geniuses that they're nothing before my supreme might and this is the best place to do it. I heard they're all vying for a fruit so their geniuses would surely battle, this is my perfect chance to pummel this savage beast's geniuses" Lord Jason spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
Charlie's eyebrow shot up, he never thought Lord Jason won't even care about the fruit but to showcase himself.
Looks like the Mana fruit doesn't hold much allure to the clan he is from?
While Charlie was still thinking. Lord Jason asked a question of his own.
"And what were you doing here? Without any disguise or anything? You could have been killed" Lord Jason was confused, he could rely on his mystic pen to disguise himself and even aura but the young man before him didn't even do so and the intriguing part of it, he was actually extremely weak.
Was he planning on dying? Is he tired of life?
Charlie took a deep breath and shot a look at Bing Xing before replying
"I'm actually here for the Mana fruit and I do have artifacts to save me from dire situations but I didn't bring any disguise from my clan. I didn't expect it would be this dangerous" Charlie knew Bing Xing was here, so he couldn't stop his posing now, he just had to go on with it.
"Ohh.. Which clan are you from" Lord Jason asked with a hint of excitement
Charlie was caught off guard, he truly didn't know the top echelons power structure of the human race, so he can't claim any of them, he was indeed in a dilemma.
"Uhmmm.. I'm sorry but my clan elder forbade me from speaking of our name outside. Please forgive me" Charlie clasped his fist and apologised, this was truly the only way he could think of at this moment to bail himself out of the dilemma.
Lord Jason stroked his chin as if he had beards and then burst into laughter
"Good, good.. a reclusive clan, I see. Fair enough. Since we're the only humans here. You're like a kin to me, let me help you with a disguise" Lord Jason chuckled and flicked his wrist, a short transparent pen appeared, its surface smooth and glistening, no peculiar aura was emitted nor any eye-catching designs, it was just plain. Lord Jason stroked the pen and moved swiftly, every movement drew a fine stroke in the air, surprisingly, the ink hung in the air as if it wasn't affected by gravity, Lord Jason was indeed focused, his movement was fluid, devoid of any errors, the drawing of a savage beast suddenly came into view, with a tap of his finger, the drawing flew at blinding speed into Charlie's body. Shortly after, a burst of light shone out and converged on Charlie's body and it then dissipated into nothingness.