(The Sky-God Dome, Grand Banquet Hall)
Following the opening ceremony, all the participants were asked to proceed to the Grand Banquet Hall, where a Gala-Lunch was arranged for them to chat and dine before the tournament began tomorrow.
It was a super social event, where long lost cousins of the six great clans and some other renowned clans got together and fraternised.
And yet another event, where the commoners felt slightly inferior and marginalized compared to their highborn peers.
"Skyshard, stick close to me during the Gala Dinner… alright?" Su Yang asked as the two of them stepped into the grand banquet hall alongside the rest of Rodova's team.
"Is there something I should be aware of?" Leo replied calmly, his sharp ears picking up on the faint tremor in Su Yang's voice, as the usually confident warrior seemed unusually tense and unsettled.
"No, I've got it under control," Su Yang exhaled, forcing a grin. "Just… stay close, and stop me from doing something stupid — like killing someone if we happen to cross paths."
Su Yang requested, as Leo let out a soft chuckle, amused by the strange blend of seriousness and humor lacing Su Yang's words.
It wasn't often that Su Yang appeared genuinely unsettled, and if Leo's instincts were anything to go by, the reason behind it likely revolved around one person — Su Ran.
Su Ran, the illegitimate child of Su Yang's father and a black mark in the eyes of their clan, was an unfavored successor to the patriarch's position, yet his undeniable talent kept him firmly in contention.
A year older than Su Yang, Su Ran had joined Geneva Military Academy the previous year and wasted no time, making it onto their main circuit team as a first-year Grandmaster — a feat that had stunned many.
Not only did he manage to impress the whole universe with his fighting skills last year, but now he was already under the sponsorship of the Blue Ocean Consortium and was widely regarded as one of the star contenders of this year's tournament.
Yet what most did not know was that Su Ran was also the reason Su Yang had never set foot in Geneva.
Su Yang, with his own talent, could have easily secured a spot on Geneva's team the moment he enrolled, but his hatred for Su Ran had driven him to reject the obvious path — leading him instead to Rodova, just to avoid ever standing under the same banner.
"I'm training to take my brother down at the circuits—"
Su Yang had told Leo many months ago, and now that they were here, it seemed like Su Yang was irritated just by standing in the same room as his brother.
—-------
Thankfully, for the first few minutes, nobody bothered the Rodova team that mostly stuck together.
There were only a few other team captains that came to have a chat with Yu Shen, and take a peek at the roster standing behind him, but nothing serious.
However, all that changed when the Geneva Team finally approached the Rodova Team, in what was a clash of the Interstellar Circuit Titans.
At the front of the Geneva delegation stood Gu Ramos, their captain, tall and broad-shouldered, while behind him was his roster of mostly Grandmaster warriors who walked with their chins held high and the prestige of reigning champions.
"Yu Shen—" Ramos said, extending his hand with a practiced smirk.
"Gu Ramos," Yu Shen replied coolly, grasping the hand without the faintest hint of a smile, as the two squeezed each other's palms.
The brief handshake was stiff, more of a formality than a greeting, as neither man flinched under the other's gaze.
"Here to lead Rodova into their twenty third loss in a row?" Ramos jabbed, flashing a cocky grin, as Yu Shen's lips twitched into an irritated smirk.
"At least we'll take the silver again… unlike you, who I heard struggled against Clarence." Yu Shen said, clicking his tongue, as he mocked Ramos for their recent media scandal.
"Tch tch, try not to get knocked out before the semi-finals. That would be… quite shameful." Yu Shen doubled down, as the surrounding crowd erupted into whispers, some letting out quiet 'ooohs' and chuckles at the sharp retort.
Meanwhile, a few steps behind them, Su Ran, the vice captain of Geneva, turned his attention to Su Yang, his younger half-brother.
"So you made it too, little brother," Su Ran said smoothly, his voice dripping with condescension.
Su Yang visibly winced at the sound, his fists tightening instinctively as he glared.
"I have no words to waste on a lowborn like you," Su Yang shot back coldly, his voice sharp and restrained as Su Ran chuckled, unaffected.
"Cold as always, I see." He said trying to bait Su Yang into abusing him more as usual, however, before Su Yang could say another word, it was Leo who placed a hand on his shoulders, urging him to hold back.
"You must be Leo Skyshard, Horizon's new signing and Rodova's number one junior. A pleasure to meet you.
However, I'm disappointed in you, Yang.
You're from the Su Family and yet, you still came second to some random Skyshard kid?" Su Ran said, as he turned his gaze from Leo to Su Yang once again, clearly trying to instigate a reaction out of his brother.
"Thank the heavens you didn't come to Geneva and chose Rodova instead, as with a talent like that you wouldn't even have made it to the Geneva team." Su Ran mocked, as his teammates laughed as Su Yang, who clenched his fists tightly at the insult.
"What did you sa–" Su Yang began, but before he could erupt, Leo calmly stepped forward, placing himself between the two.
"Thank you for acknowledging me," Leo said with a polite but hollow smile. "I had no idea I was famous before the tournament even began."
He tilted his head slightly. "But I'm terribly sorry… I can't say the same for you. I have no clue who the fuck you are."
Gasps spread through the crowd, as Leo failed to recognise Su Ran, last year's champion and star performer, as judging by the audience reaction, Leo's smile only widened slightly.
"But it doesn't matter. No one will remember your name after I smash you in battle anyway. So from now on, just hope and pray you don't cross paths with me again." Leo delivered convincingly, as with that, Leo turned sharply, signaling the rest of the Rodova team members to follow as they left Su Ran and the Geneva team standing there in stunned silence.
"Did he just say he doesn't know you?Su Ran?"
"Did they just turn their backs on us and leave?"
"Wait—, I just thought of an epic comeback for what he said! Damn it… I want to say it so badly now!"
"Fucking Rodova Dogs, Seems like we will have to put them in their place this year as well—"
The Geneva Team huffed and puffed in anger, as they felt pissed at the hit and run tactic that Rodova had used.
Being the champions, they had a very egoistic pride that couldn't handle being insulted like this, however, chasing after Rodova after they already turned and left would now make them look extremely petty.
Leaving them with no other option but to swallow their prides and hold their words for now.