The Grand Elder's voice resonated across the field, causing everyone to fall silent and look at him with respect. Not only was he the strongest, but he was also known for his fairness and kindness.
The Elder looked at everyone with a satisfied smile and said,
"You are all the hope of our family. You are all brothers here. This competition is not about resolving any enmity through fighting or hindering each other, but about nurturing the spirit of combat and competition."
"There are 500 young men and women here. There will be five battle arenas, each with 100 fighters. A box will contain numbers from 1 to 50, twice, making 100 numbers. Fighters with matching numbers will face each other."
"Are there any questions? If not, you will be divided into five groups, each led by Rami, Zahra, Aziz, Fahmy, and Malik."
Each of the five leaders went to a specific arena, and the rest were randomly assigned. Raed went to the second arena where Rami was. He drew a slip, sat down, and saw that his number was 15.
"Who has the number 15? Hmm..., it will be more fun this way,"
Raed thought to himself, then looked at the arenas. The Elder announced the first match in each arena, where the fighters with number 1 would face each other. One of the fighters with number 1 was certainly one of the five leaders.
Rami calmly stepped into the ring carrying a sword on his back. He looked at his opponent, who had a smile more pitiful than crying, and smiled gently as he said,
"Don't be too afraid. It's just a practice fight. The result doesn't matter. Come on, attack me, and I'll fight at the same level."
"Thank you, Big Brother,"
the opponent smiled gratefully. Even the spectators were surprised, and Raed didn't expect Rami to be so generous. In fact, he had never had contact with him before and didn't know him well.
The young man drew his sword, and after the referee announced the start, Rami attacked with his sword infused with Qi. As the opponent approached, Rami sidestepped easily and then gently tapped the young man's side with his fingers, causing him to stumble about ten steps.
"When attacking, make sure your front foot is mobile while keeping the back foot steady so you can avoid your opponent's counterattack if they block your strike,"
Rami said calmly, pointing out the flaws in his opponent's movements, which impressed Raed and everyone else.
The young man advanced again, using his sword technique and Rami's advice. Rami dodged the strike and countered in the same manner, but the young man used his back foot as a pivot, moved his front foot, and avoided the strike easily, which led to loud applause.
"Well done. Let's finish this now,"
Rami said, then stepped forward and appeared beside the young man without him even noticing. Using his fingers like a sword and his internal energy, he held the young man by the neck, with small drops of blood and cold sweat on his forehead.
"Give up..... Thank you for your guidance, Big Brother."
The young man surrendered politely and exited.
Rami and Raed looked at the other arenas and saw that all had ended with a single strike that left the opponent severely injured, except for the fifth arena where Malik was doing the same as Raed.
Being a kind and honest person, he knew everyone reached his level through hard work, so he gave them advice.
"Do you guys need to exaggerate? We are family,"
Rami said to the other three.
"Hmph…"
Aziz looked at Rami without answering, only showing disdain.
"They're a bunch of trash, kiki…"
Fahmy had a wicked smile on his face and said contemptuously.
"I didn't hit him hard, and I don't know how to give instructions,"
Zahra said calmly, placing her spear on her back. Despite her striking beauty, the spear seemed incongruous with her appearance.
The matches continued until it was Raed's turn in the fifteenth match. Raed approached the battlefield slowly and calmly. His gray cloak drew everyone's attention, including Zahra, who admired his handsome face and confident demeanor in her heart.
Aziz noticed Zahra's look of admiration and felt a surge of jealousy. He glared at Raed with malice.
"I hope you pass and fight me, you piece of trash."