"He won..."

Someone said after a moment of silence. They were all in shock after watching Grey's stunning performance. No one knew what to feel as they saw Grey defeat an opponent at the Peak of the Sage Plane while still in the Eighth stage.

The most shocking thing about this was that not only did Grey win, but he also killed his opponent. It wasn't easy since it took a lot of planning from him, but it was still by no means an easy feat to achieve.

An Eighth stage Sage Plane Elementalist killing a Peak Sage Plane Elementalist was unheard of. If it was by ambush or if the Peak Sage Plane Elementalist was injured, then it was understandable, but Grey killed this person in a one-on-one fight, fair and square.

The people from both sides stared at the lone figure standing on the platform. It was evident that he was tired and injured, but none of that mattered right now.

Grey looked at the corpse of the young man lying on the ground, after a shake of his head, he turned to the old man in charge of the battle, waiting for him to announce the result of the battle. Of course, everyone knew who the winner was, but they still had to wait for the old man's verdict.

The old man only spoke after only a minute, giving Grey the go-ahead to leave the platform and return to his seat.

When he walked back, everyone from the Burchard Family could only look at him, they didn't even have a word to say to him. They were too shaken to even say a word.

He had advanced to the next round, the only person from the Burchard Family who has done that. There were still four people, but all of them were at the Peak of the Sage Plane.

On the side of the Nether Faction, there was a look of disbelief in their eyes, none of them expected Grey to win. At this point, they all regarded him as a threat, and none of them thought of him as just a regular Fifth stage Elementalist, in fact, they all felt he was on the same level as those at the Peak.

'How strong would he be when he's at the Peak? Will he be able to defy the heavens and fight against an Elemental Venerable while still in the Sage Plane?'

This thought flashed through the heads of everyone present. A Sage Plane Elementalist fighting against an Elemental Venerable was something they would never have thought of, but seeing Grey showcase his unfathomable talent and strength, they started to feel maybe it was possible if he was the one.

The young man who tried to kill Grey was currently staring at the corpse on the platform which was currently being removed. That was the corpse of a Peak Sage Plane Elementalist, he was only in the Ninth stage, would he be a match for Grey?

'I'll use a special technique to boost my strength and kill him the moment the battle starts.' He thought to himself.

He won't rest until Grey is dead.

The Nether Faction still had a Peak Sage Plane Elementalist who hadn't challenged anyone. On the side of the Burchard Family, other than the four at the Peak, there was no one else for them to challenge.

The last Peak Sage Plane Elementalist from the Nether Faction stepped forward and challenged the only young lady amongst the Peak Sage Plane Elementalists from the Burchard Family.

After a hard battle, he won by a tiny margin. Unlike Grey, he was unable to kill his opponent.

Now, the Burchard Family had only three people left, adding Grey who had already advanced made it four.

The other three Peak Sage Plane Elementalists challenged one of those in the Ninth stage from the Nether Faction and won, none of them challenged the young man who attacked Grey.

According to the way things usually went, after those at the Peak were done challenging, it would be the turn of those in the Ninth stage.

Everyone turned to the old man, waiting for what he planned to do.

"Everything will go as planned." The old man's voice echoed across the place.

Those from the Ninth stage could only shake their heads with a wry smile, who could they challenge? Those at the Peak? Or the monstrous genius called Grey?

One of them stepped forward, it was none other than the young man who tried to attack Grey.

Standing on the platform, he turned to look in the direction of the old man, "I can challenge any of them, correct?"

"Yes, since they've all advanced, then yes, you can challenge whoever you see fit." The old man replied.

"Alright." The young man bowed before turning in Grey's direction, "Come, we have some unfinished business."

Grey stood up and walked in the direction of the platform, his steps were steady, not too fast, not too slow.

Everyone from the Burchard Family watched his back view as he climbed onto the platform.

It hadn't been more than a minute since his last battle, and although he won, no one felt he had rested enough to be a hundred percent.

"I should've killed you the other time." The young man said when Grey stood opposite him.

"Regret it now?" Grey asked softly.

"I never regret any decision." The young man snorted coldly.

"You will regret this one, I can assure you of that." Grey spoke in a soft tone. It was clear that he wasn't putting in as much emotion as the young man.

"I can see your little performance has gotten to your head, you seem to have forgotten what happened the last time." The young man raised a brow, he didn't attack Grey immediately.

While the duo were exchanging words, everyone was watching them.

"They know each other?"

Someone from the Nether Faction asked.

"Looks like it, and Lucien held back from killing him." Bill said, not happy with Lucien's choice.

The name of the young man who attacked Grey was Lucien.