The battle was over, but no one was getting up from their place.
Thousands of people were staring at the field in silence, at the boy who was not even supposed to reach the second round, at the boy who was supposed to be a sacrifice for the political games of the clan.
At the boy who was supposed to join history as a loser.
But now... he was the only person standing in the center of the field, and the champion of this tournament.
A gentle wind passed over the destroyed ground, blood could still be seen on Lian’s clothes.
His body was full of wounds, but he was still standing, and that was enough, that was enough for him to become the first place of this tournament, someone that no one expected to even make it into the top ten.
And the result? He became the first place! And with no cheating, only with pure power.
For the first few minutes, almost no one spoke, not even a whisper could be heard, as if everyone’s brains were still processing the events they had seen today.
In the special section of the Vorhelm clan, Celestia sat motionless, her appearance still seemed calm, but only she knew what storm was raging inside her.
All her plans were passing through her mind one after another.
Darius... Adrian... Cassius and even Seris.
Every stage of this tournament had been carefully designed, every obstacle, every choice, every scheme, everything was supposed to lead to one result.
Lian’s defeat.
But the final result was exactly the opposite, every person who was supposed to stop him had been defeated.
Everyone who had bet on him had fallen, and now the same boy who was supposed to be eliminated from the scene... was standing on the highest point.
Celestia unconsciously clenched her fists, her nails digging into the skin of her palms, she felt something inside her chest breaking.
Rage, humiliation, fear, and more than all of that... the feeling of losing control.
She had spent her whole life controlling situations, but now everything was out of her hands.
Worse than that... the whole stadium had seen this defeat.
All the nobles, all the clans, all their allies and enemies, everyone had witnessed her plans being destroyed.
At that moment, if someone looked into her eyes, they could see that behind that artificial calmness, something like madness was forming.
This was a defeat that was going to cost her a very heavy price.
She stared at Lian with madness in her eyes... she would never forget this humiliation and defeat, and she would definitely return it to him a thousand times over one day.
In another part of the section, the elders of the Vorhelm clan had gathered together.
No one was smiling, no one was happy, and the atmosphere was heavier than ever.
"How is that possible?" one of the elders said in a low voice.
Another did not take his gaze off the field.
"I don’t know."
"But it happened."
Another older man sighed.
"We had three contenders."
Everyone knew what he meant.
Cassius.
Evangeline.
Adrian.
Lucas.
Of course, Aron and Eliza were also there, but they had no chance of winning.
Three geniuses of the new generation, three people who were supposed to protect the clan’s reputation.
But none of them had succeeded, none of them! The only one from their clan who could make it into the top three ranks and become the first place... the only person who had the Vorhelm family name and had taken the quota...
Was Lian.
The boy who had been cast out years ago, this truth was more painful than the defeat itself, of course, there was also another truth.
Cassius and Evangeline were not the only geniuses of the clan, Diana was still growing, her talent was greater than many of the youths present.
The patriarch’s two other children had not participated in this competition at all, one of them even had a five-star class.
If they had been present, maybe the result would have been different, but these were only ifs, reality did not change.
The reality was that Lian today had defeated everyone who stood against him.
With power and with decisiveness, and without giving anyone a chance to deny it.
"We can no longer ignore him," one of the elders whispered quietly.
Another shook his head.
"No, the question is not whether he comes back or not, the question is how we bring him back."
A heavy silence fell among them, everyone knew what they were thinking about.
Old grudges or the future of the clan, they could not have both.
In the section of the foreign guests, the atmosphere was completely different.
Hidden smiles, meaningful looks, and whispers that were twisting like poison in the ears of the Vorhelm elders.
"Interesting."
The man next to him laughed.
"Really interesting."
"In the end, the only representative of the Vorhelm clan..." he paused and then continued,
"was the very one they themselves had kicked out."
A few others laughed quietly, a short laugh, but it was enough, every word was like a dagger sinking into the hearts of the Vorhelms.
It was not that they had a grudge against the Vorhelm clan, but this was something that could not be denied.
All across the stadium, only one name was being heard.
Lian.
"What is his class really? How many stars?"
"Four stars?"
"No... unlikely."
"I have never seen such a thing from a four-star."
"So five stars?"
"Even five stars does not explain everything."
"What were those skills?"
"Lightning."
"Ice."
"Physical body."
"That strange blood skill."
"Where did all this power come from?"
Every group had an opinion, some were talking about innate skills and thought the reason for his power must be very high-ranked innate skills.
Some even believed he must have obtained the legacy of a legendary creature in the legendary realm, after all, everyone there knew that this boy was one of the first returnees of the tenth Ruined Realm.
So it was not strange that he could have found something there, something that caused his current power.
No one knew the answer, but everyone agreed on one thing, Lian Vorhelm was a prodigy.
A prodigy whose name might one day be known all over the world and even beyond.
"In the end, how many people got the slots?" in the middle of the talks, one of the foreign guests suddenly asked.
The answer came quickly.
"Three people."
The atmosphere became quiet for a moment.
Three quotas, the top three, but when everyone thought about it, the bitter truth became clear.
Out of the three available quotas... one belonged to Lian Vorhelm, a cast-out Vorhelm.
The second belonged to Seris Pendragon, a girl from the biggest rival clan of the Vorhelms.
And the third belonged to Nova Drakeheart, not even one quota had reached the main contenders of the clan.
This truth landed like another slap on their faces.
Damian had been silent the whole time, he had not said anything, he had not shown any reaction, but his gaze never left Lian.
He could no longer deny anything, no one could, and he was sure the other elders had understood this too... not Lian’s power, not his talent, not the value he had for the clan.
Maybe he still did not have the answers to all his questions, but one thing he was sure of, the boy he had seen today... was not an ordinary genius.
One look was enough to understand that all the representatives of the big guilds of the country and the world who were here, were looking at Lian like a very great treasure, and it was clear they wanted him.
If they did not take him back soon, they might lose him forever.
In the end, one of the elders announced the end of the ceremony, the crowd was ready to leave the stadium, but right at that moment, Damian stood up from his place.
His voice echoed across the whole stadium.
"The people who have obtained the quota of the Celestial Treasury... must be guided there by a guide." He looked at Lian for a few moments and then continued,
"I personally will guide those three people to the Celestial Treasury."
A heavy silence covered the whole stadium.
The faces of many of the clan’s elders immediately turned ugly, some could not even hide their discomfort, but no one said anything, there was no objection, and there was no excuse.
None of their youths had succeeded, none of them, and now the only ones who had the right to enter the Heavenly Treasury were...
Lian Vorhelm, Seris Pendragon, and Nova Drakeheart, for many of the Vorhelms present in the stadium, it was something close to madness.
The faces of the young members of the Vorhelm clan were also disappointed... this was supposed to be the stage of their brilliance... but it became the greatest stage of their humiliation.
In the end, they just lowered their heads and, while they were ready to be punished by the clan elders... they left that place.
And it did not take long until, except for the three champions and Damian... no one else was there.