This time, unlike the battle against Darius, the atmosphere of the arena was different.
Heavier, colder, and stranger, because this time Lian’s opponent was someone he knew very well.
And he knew his opponent as well... Adrian Vorhelm, one of the young members of the family, a boy who had spent years using his position and talent to humiliate others.
And among everyone who had looked down on Lian when they were children, he had been one of the most active.
When his name was announced as Lian’s opponent, he kept his smile, even yesterday he had tried to cause trouble for him.
Lian was an extremely vengeful person, the chance that he would give up on revenge was lower than zero.
In the previous battle, after he won, he could have simply returned to his seat without humiliating Celestia.
But did he let it go?
Of course not.
He made sure to repay the plan that had been prepared against him, and now the situation was no different.
He walked into the arena.
Scattered applause could be heard, but no one was as excited as before, not after what Lian had done to Darius.
Because everyone already knew the result of the duel.
Adrian stood there, clenched his fists, and fixed his eyes on Lian.
For a brief moment, old memories passed through his mind.
Many years ago.
Back when Lian still lived in the family, back when everyone believed his future was over, and Adrian had been one of the people who enjoyed that the most.
But now... the same boy he had laughed at was standing in front of him, and for the first time in his life, Adrian felt fear.
Fear of losing... fear that after his defeat, he would be the one everyone laughed at.
"Are you scared? Don’t worry, I’ll finish it in one hit, although it will be a painful hit." Lian laughed when he saw his face.
"Shut up! What makes you think you’re going to win? No matter what happens, I’ll be the winner!" Adrian growled coldly.
"Calm down, save your energy, you’ll need it after the battle when the whole family throws you away like a piece of trash, so you can at least become someone’s dog by licking their boots and continue your miserable life."
"...."
"Bastard, I’ll kill you with my own hands!"
"Start!"
As soon as the referee gave the signal, mana exploded out of Adrian’s body.
A strong wind covered the arena, the veins on his arm swelled, and his skill activated.
His body shot forward like an arrow, everyone understood, he had put everything on the line from the very beginning.
There was no testing, no caution, nothing held back, he was practically attacking with the intention to kill.
His speed reached its peak, he crossed the distance in the blink of an eye.
In the guest seats, several people nodded.
"Good."
"At least this one is serious."
"Maybe he can last a few minutes."
But Lian did not even move.
He only watched, calm, indifferent, as if there was no battle happening at all.
When Adrian came within a few meters... Lian finally moved.
Just one step, one simple movement, without any extra motion and without any display, and then... he threw his fist forward.
[ Glacial Reaper Claw ]
His hand suddenly turned into a deadly and destructive ice claw, the air became several degrees colder, and Adrian felt a freezing cold run through his entire spine.
Lian did not need to activate this skill at all...
But why not?
The attack landed.
BOOOOOOM!!
The explosion from the impact shook the entire arena, the air rippled, dust rose from the ground, Adrian’s body was thrown into the air like a lifeless doll.
Ten meters.
Twenty meters.
Thirty meters.
And then he crashed heavily into the protective wall of the arena, but it seemed that the wall was not strong enough, and a huge dent appeared in it.
The sound of the impact echoed through the entire stadium.
Silence... once again that same silence.
No one said a word.
This time it was not even shock.
Only acceptance.
Acceptance of the fact that Lian was on another level.
But everyone looked at each other with concern, if this continued, with the strength they had just seen, no one would be able to stop this boy.
The greatest geniuses of their families were not here, most of them had gone to the Ruined Realm.
The people here were mostly the second or third children.
But at this rate, sooner or later this boy would face the greatest geniuses of their families and organizations.
They had to do something about this.
They had to warn those geniuses...
Or if necessary, they would have to eliminate this monster before he fully matured.
The referee walked over and checked Adrian’s condition.
"My God... take him to the medical center right now!"
He was shocked after checking his body.
Every bone in his body had been broken, his internal organs had been torn apart, and he was no different from a dead man who could still breathe.
The guards immediately carried Adrian to the medical center.
Then the referee raised his hand.
"The winner... Lian Vorhelm."
Scattered applause began, but most people only watched.
On the Vorhelm side, several people sighed.
Celestia’s face no longer looked calm.
There was only coldness and indifference, as if a destructive storm was hidden inside her.
But the tournament was not over yet.
The next battle drew everyone’s attention.
Aron Pendragon, one of the most famous geniuses of the Vorhelm family, Damian Vorhelm’s son... when he entered the arena, even several elders nodded with satisfaction.
He was truly powerful.
But unfortunately... his opponent was Seris.
A girl whose face looked as if it had no emotions.
When she entered the arena, there was no change in her expression.
No excitement.
No stress.
No pride.
It was as if she had only come for a walk.
They also exchanged no unnecessary words.
They did not know each other, so there was nothing to say.
The battle began.
Aron attacked immediately.
His sword flashed through the air, mana gathered around him, and one skill after another was activated.
But every time... every attack... every skill... was stopped in an unbelievable way.
Seris did not need to step back even once.
Not even once.
A few minutes later, everyone understood that Aron was not fighting.
He was trying not to lose.
And in the end... the battle ended with Seris’s complete victory.
And just like that, Aron, Damian’s son, was eliminated from the tournament.
The battles finally ended, until only six people remained.
Cassius Vorhelm, Evangelin Vorhelm, Lian Vorhelm, Seris Pendragon, Raphael Stormheart And Nova Lionheart.
Six people, Six young geniuses.
The six people who had remained out of all the young generation present at this tournament.
It could not be said that they were the strongest young people in the entire world.
That would be completely wrong, but they were certainly some of the best.
Besides, even though these young people were among the best, everyone still believed they were far behind the young generation of the Heaven Realm.
The sun slowly moved toward sunset, but no one left their seat.
Because everyone knew that the main part of the show was only beginning.
They were finally reaching the final stage of the tournament.
And unlike before, this round would be decided by a draw.
On the main platform, the draw was held.
The first match.
Raphael Stormheart versus Nova Lionheart.
A short wave of whispers spread through the crowd.
It was an interesting battle.
But among the three matches, everyone considered it the least exciting.
After all, no matter what, it was a battle between young members of one of the Twelve Ancient Guilds and the Six Great Families, and under normal circumstances, a battle like this could have caused a huge sensation.
But now? Not really
But the second match made everyone silent, Evangelin Vorhelm versus Seris Pendragon.
This time, even several elders frowned, A battle between two true geniuses, from two rival families.
But one draw still remained, the final draw, the heaviest draw, although everyone already knew what the result would be.
The final match.
Lian Vorhelm versus... Cassius Vorhelm.
The greatest heir candidate of the family against the exiled son.
Two brothers and two contenders.
And perhaps... two different futures for the Vorhelm family.
Lian only calmly looked toward the opposite platform.
Cassius also fixed his eyes on him.