The crowd watched in awe as Ryu entered skirmish after skirmish. He always seemed to escape by the skin of teeth, constantly dancing across the blade of death. If one looked closely, you could see a small smile on his cold face, one even he had lost the ability to hide.
After a while, it became clear that Ryu was treating this like a game. He had many opportunities to leave the city and enter the forest, a place that would be far harder if not impossible to pinpoint his location in, even while cheating – but, he never did. Aside from brief five-minute breaks he had every so often, he kept pushing his body toward its upper limit. By the time the two-hour time limit had approached and been passed, a sort of undefeatable legend had been created. Even Yaana who had finally awoken from her unconscious state watched with a clear glitter in her eye, happiness swelling within her young maiden heart.
In the end, a loud chime ended the round. Clearing his throat, Headmaster Leopold spoke.
"The first round has come to a close. Please cease all action. Fourth Prince Tor will be allowed a thirty-minute break before he must begin preparing his defenses for the second round."
At this moment, another throat was cleared. However, this time, it was very clearly not Leopold's own. While Leopold had to rely on various projection mechanisms to allow all those in attendance to hear him, the person who spoke this time relied on nothing else but their own cultivation.
"It can't be that you plan to allow things to continue like this, right Old Leopold?"
The crowd frowned. Old Leopold wasn't a title filled with any sort of respect, in fact, for someone who had prestige as high as the Headmaster, it bordered on disrespect. However, when those spectating saw that it was Patriarch Cedar who spoke, they refrained from speaking.
Of the non-royal families, the Cedar Clan was most definitely the greatest. The pillar families of the various Kingdoms couldn't even compare. In fact, some believed that if the Cedar Clan struck out in full force, they could take on an entire Kingdom themselves, as long as that Kingdom wasn't Tor Kingdom, that is.
Considering even Ryu's maternal grandfather was a Qi Refinement expert before he was crippled by King Tor's Death Guard, it wasn't a surprise that Patriarch Cedar was one as well. In fact, not only was he one, from the projection of his voice, he wasn't any weaker than the Peak Qi Refinement Realm!
To think, a member of King Tor's own generation was actually more powerful than he was!
This revelation made King Tor's eyes narrowed, but he quickly feigned indifference. He too would be of the Peak Qi Refinement Realm if it hadn't been for the Heart Demon that was his own son affecting him so much. Still, this didn't answer a very important question… Just how did Patriarch Cedar match the cultivation speed of a man with an Earth Grade Skeletal Structure?
If it wasn't for the matters of today raging so far out of control, Patriarch Cedar would have rather keep his prowess a secret. But, it was too inappropriate for King Tor to speak himself. However, him taking the role and concerned, senile old man, could work to his advantage now.
"I'm not sure what you mean." Headmaster Leopold replied calmly.
"You, yourself, claimed that this trial had the purpose of testing a Prince's ability to rule. How is the act of running around like a headless chicken for two hours prove the Fourth Prince can be King?"
"How does being incapable of stopping a headless chicken with the help of three hundred men and war horses prove the First Prince can be King?"
Ryu's cold voice cut through Patriarch Cedar's inquiry. This man was quite lowkey. For Ryu, who spent much of his second life's childhood locked away, he of course knew even less than a normal individual would about Patriarch Cedar. However, that wouldn't stop him for sneering at him with disdain. What a ridiculous argument.
"I never said that First Prince Tor was worthy of being King either." Patriarch Cedar continued unperturbed.
"Oh? If that's the case, no one here is worthy of being King. Might as well conclude these Coronation Games here. It's not worth continuing." Ryu said calmly. Luckily, Ryu had no need to go all out to project his voice like Patriarch Cedar did. With the Jade still hanging from his neck, it did all the work for him.
"Hoho, how confident." Patriarch Cedar chuckled. "Unfortunately, we must continue. Although this competition gauges who has the right to be King, it is, after all, designed by a man who's never been a King himself. There are bound to be flaws. Are you trying to say that the four Kingdoms whose futures hang in the balance can't have a say-so in tweaking the rules here and there? Of course, I also am not a King, I'm simply raising my own questions. Whether the esteemed Rulers of our Higher Mortal Plane would like to action based on this old man's words or not is up to them."
Ryu suddenly laughed. "What a clever old man you are. This little one truly has no way to rebut your shamelessness. I'm sure some more thick faced Kings would be willing to take you up on your offer, realizing their sons aren't my match. If that's the case, I'll happily oblige by any rule changes. After all, my influence is lacking, I can only take a step back and be bullied."
Ryu's words caused Patriarch Cedar's visage to darken considerably. He had struck this verbal attack believing that Ryu was just an arrogant youngster with a temper. If he had known that Ryu knew how to lay traps in his words and retreat when necessary, he would have never made this attempt.
As expected, none of the four Kings said anything after hearing Ryu's words. If they did, wouldn't they be admitting that they were thick-skinned and willing to bully a youth? In fact, King Tor actually stepped forward to grab some prestige for himself, giving an impassioned speech about how he treated all of his sons as equals and that any King who dared to agree with Patriarch's Cedars words would be making an enemy out of him.
Hearing his so-called father's words, Ryu almost felt like laughing into the skies. King Tor would have never made this move had it not been for the fact he wanted to remind Patriarch Cedar just who was King. In the end, Cedar's prowess reveal led to his downfall. King Tor suddenly wasn't sure if he wanted Amory to become King anymore…
'With every move you make, you only fall further into the pit I've dug for you.' Ryu smiled lightly. "I have no need for a break, Headmaster Leopold. Begin the next round!"
Before the crowd could recover from their shock, Ryu easily swept Kalmin and Jedrek aside. Kalmin didn't even have twenty Qi Refinement experts to call upon, while Jedrek's warriors were only better equipped than the Dragon Corps, not better trained. Ryu danced on the blade's edge once more, grasping victory.