There were thirty two platforms disposed in a wide area covered with gra.s.s. The walls of the Arena were used as support for stands that supported tens of thousands of spectators. The sound coming from the stands was deafening, and Amon felt his chest trembling with each soundwave. He felt as if the whole place would come cras.h.i.+ng down on him at any moment, making him tense.

There was also, what seemed to be an exclusive cabin for important guests. It was made with what seemed to be green jade and stood high above every other stand, sticking out like a sore thumb.

The platforms were pure white and a barrier of light covered them, like a curtain. Glistening numbers floated in the light, like leaves in a puddle. The platforms could hold at least two to three hundred compet.i.tors, but the numbers floating on the curtain of light was no more than one hundred or so.

"Everyone, find the platform with your number in it. This is where you will be fighting." The serene voice spoke again, and the compet.i.tors started dispersing, climbing on their own platform.

"Let's see…" Amon started searching carefully, his golden eyes giving a cold sheen as he scrutinized the curtains of light one by one. "There!"

Amon's platform was situated right under the green cabin, to which he would not complain. It would raise his chances of being noted by any important figure and, hopefully, get a place in the Inner Sect.

He walked to the platform and, with a light jump, got past the curtain of light. As he crossed the light, he felt as if he had taken a dive in a cool lake and he couldn't help but s.h.i.+ver for a moment. The wooden plaque in his clothes heated up and he finally crossed the light, standing atop the platform with dozen other cultivators.

Most of them were older and bulkier than Amon. As they looked at his face and the stick in his hand, they couldn't help but have strange expressions, but none bothered to say anything. Everyone had to focus for the upcoming fight.

More and more compet.i.tors started climbing the platforms and soon, there was no one left outside.

One of them managed to stand out. It was a handsome youth with golden hair and blue eyes. He wore blue clothes made of silk and grasped a long black spear in his hands. He climbed up the platform in silence, and simply walked to the center, standing there with his eyes closed.

It was at that moment that the voice rang again.

"The rules are simple. The last one standing on each of the platforms will be the victor of the round and will guarantee a place in the next round. Weapons are allowed, but do not worry about injuries."

"The plaques you have on you will instantly generate a s.h.i.+eld in case of a blow that would be considered lethal and it will count as your loss. Being forced out of the platform is also a loss, so try your best to not be pushed out."

"This is all for the rules. Now, I humbly invite our special guest, Jake Meyer to do the honors of declaring the start of the Promotion Compet.i.tion."

As the voice faded, the green cabin trembled and seemed to dismantle itself, revealing a tall young man. He had black hair and a heroic bearing. Across his back, a sword hung in a blood-red sheath.

"Didn't he use a saber before?" Amon couldn't help but ask himself as he looked at Jake. There was something different about him, a coldness in his eyes that wasn't there before.

Jake raised his right hand, and all the noise subsided. "The Promotion Compet.i.tion starts now." He said in a calm, yet imposing manner.

A loud buzz rang through the h.e.l.l's Keeper Arena, and the curtains of light started s.h.i.+ning with a blue light.

The compet.i.tors started at each other with hesitation. No one wanted to make the first move and have chaos break out. Tension could be seen in everyone's faces. In the midst of such tension, the blond youth opened his eyes and took a step forward.

It was at that moment that a burly man with dark skin moved forward, throwing a punch at the back of the head of the blond youth. He recognized the youth as a threat, so he decided to take care of him with a swift sneak attack.

'Swoos.h.!.+'

His fist tunneled through the air, hitting nothing. As he opened his mouth in surprise, he only caught a glimpse of gold. The youth had lowered his upper body, taking a step forward with his right foot and spun on his left as he turned his waist to face the burly man in but a split-second.

'Crack!'

Before anyone could move, a spear stabbed forward, aiming at the head of the burly man like a snake striking the prey. A layer of light covered the man, stopping the tip of the spear millimeters away from his forehead.

He stood in a daze looking at the s.h.i.+ny tip of the spear that would have killed him. Suddenly, the burly man flew backwards, as if dragged away. He crossed the curtain of light and fell heavily on the ground, still shocked. One of the numbers floating in the curtain of light started trembling, and then burst into specs of light that faded. The s.h.i.+eld had been triggered, so he had been eliminated.

The blond youth recovered his spear, striking the floor with the handle. Cracks spread around his spears like a web as he held it alongside his body. His eyes were like rocks of ice as he looked at the compet.i.tors surrounding him.

"You better come at me at once, because I sure as h.e.l.l will get in a bad mood if I have to eliminate you one by one." He said in a chilling voice.

Looking at this, Amon couldn't help but smile excitedly. Still, he did not move. He slowly backed away as the other compet.i.tors hesitated even more. When Amon was somewhat isolated, he sat on the ground with his legs crossed, looking at the blond youth.

As no one moved, a hint of annoyance appeared on the blond youth's face. He started to look around him again, and eventually locked eyes with Amon. A sneer appeared on his face as he saw that ashen-haired brat so blatantly disrespecting him.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to take my time with you after I deal with the trash." He said as his face turned cold. He let his spear go, and it stood there, sunk in the ground, like a flagpole. He cracked his knuckles as he said, "Whoever dares to touch that brat will pay."

The few people sending strange looks at Amon immediately averted their gazes, a hint of fear showing on their faces. The blond youth smiled savagely as he shot forward, punching a man in his late twenties in the chest.

'Crack!' A layer of light covered the man and sent him out of the platform. Another numbers in the curtain of light burst and faded.

"Even his punches are that dangerous?!" A girl in her teens couldn't help but comment, dumbstruck. Her face paled as she did her utmost to retreat to an edge of the platform.

'Crack! Crack! Crack!'

On beam of light after another lit up in the crowd of compet.i.tors as the youth came for them. The numbers on the light curtain were disappearing by the second. Amon looked at him closely, almost unblinkingly as he a.n.a.lyzed his movements. He started to mentally recite the information he got as he watched the youth.

"He is right handed. His strikes are straightforward and he seems to prefer to use sheer force to suppress rather than use smart movements to conserve his strength. He isn't cunning."

"His Movement Techniques are effective but basic, just like mine. That is expected, as neither of us are in Elemental Purification." Amon thought as he calmly watched. "He also seems to have a good grasp of his surroundings. He exposing himself in the beginning was a bait to try to frighten the compet.i.tion."

"Hmm… He also left his spear on the ground. I take that back, he is cunning. He is deliberately avoiding showing his moves with a spear and hiding it under a pretense of arrogance. He is also never letting me get out of his sight."

"He wants me to watch this and he is also wary of me deciding to attack. He could also be trying to bait me into sneaking on him, only to counter as I approach."

"This whole show is nothing but a feint." Amon concluded as he watched the youth. "He sees me as an opponent."

Why would that arrogant youth see Amon as an opponent if they didn't even exchange blows? Simply because Amon showed no fear after his first move and because Amon even dared to sit down and wait after the youth told everyone to come at him.

This meant that either Amon was stupid or he had strength. At the very least more strength than the other compet.i.tors in the platform. The blond youth might be arrogant, but he wouldn't underestimate a foe and leave his back open for a potential threat. He was incredibly focused in Amon as he dealt with the others.

"He has some nice moves, doesn't he?" A sweet voice rang by Amon's side, almost making him jump. Amon did his best to not show any reaction as he slowly nodded. He looked to his left, facing a young girl that was stretching her arms as she walked to him.

She had brown hair and eyes, and a delicate face. She was wearing white clothes, made of silk just like the blond youth. A thin sword hang from her waist in a black scabbard. Her clothes and her att.i.tude screamed 'Inner Ring' to Amon. The girl sat by Amon's side with a bored expression, making a slight clanging sound as the sword sc.r.a.ped against the floor.

"I hope John doesn't take too long, it's been a while since we had the chance to play." She said while pouting. "But it does make me mad that he didn't even realize I was here."

"So, who are you?" She asked sweetly, with a smile as bright as the sun.

"I believe you must first introduce yourself if you want to ask my name." Amon said with a cold voice, despite all of his instincts telling him to run away. That girl was dangerous, he could feel it.

The girl laughed out loud as she heard his words, making the bystanders look at them with a surprised expression. Still, they didn't dare to approach them.

"You are a very interesting person." The girl said still smiling. She looked at Amon with bright eyes and gave him a slight nod as she presented herself. "My name is Cecilia."

"My name is Amon." He answered, keeping a neutral expression.

"Well Amon, why did you sit here?" Cecilia asked while c.o.c.king her head.

"Nothing much, just a bit tired." Amon answered, making her squint her eyes for a moment.

"I see." She said, still smiling.

'Crack! Crack! Crack!'

More and more compet.i.tors were eliminated as John continued his rampage. It might seem like a needless effort from his part, but had a different opinion. John was clearly not getting tired, and he was the focus of attention in the platform. If he managed to eliminate everyone, it would be quite impressive, even if most of the compet.i.tors couldn't take more than a punch of his.

It took about five minutes for him to clear the platform. Even if people wanted to run, they couldn't leave the platform and they were slower than him, so at most they could hold on for a few seconds more. Be it man or woman, boy or girl, John didn't hold back at all. He wanted to be done as soon as possible.

Cecilia was yawning as she looked at the other platforms. The scenes were similar. There were three to four members of the wealthy families of the Inner Ring sweeping the compet.i.tion in each platform before fighting it out for real to see who would go to the next round.

'Crack!'

Another person covered in light flew through the platform, and another number faded away. There were only three numbers left in the curtain of light.

John still had the same cold face and the savage smile as he turned to face Amon. As he did so, Cecilia clapped her hands loudly as she got up.

"Very good John!" She said as she patted her clothes. "You took way longer than I expected but it was still in the acceptable range."

John's face froze and his eyes showed apprehension as he looked at Cecilia.

"You talk too much." He said coldly, slowly retreating to the center of the platform, taking care to not show a single opening.

He had seen her only when she sat by Amon's side, and his heart had almost stopped at the time. Luckily to him, Cecilia liked to show off, so she would never use a sneak attack, at least not while he was busy cleaning the arena for them to fight properly.

"No need to be scared, Johnny, I won't bite you if you are unarmed." Cecilia said smiling again. This time, her smile sent chills down Amon's spine as he quickly jumped up and created distance between them, making her smile grow even wider.

John grasped the spear with his right hand, and with a strong pull ripped it out of the floor, never taking his eyes of Cecilia.

"Are you sure this stick of yours will be enough to stop me?" He asked trying to taunt her, but his tone showed for careful he actually was.

"Well, if you are talking about sticks, you should be asking our friend Amon." Cecilia looked at Amon as she squinted her eyes. A piercing trill echoed through the platform as she drew her thin sword. It shone with a blue hue as the light of the curtains fell on it, but it only made its appearance colder.

John also a.s.sumed a stance with his spear, holding it tightly as he pointed the tip to Cecilia. To Amon's surprise, the tip was shaking slightly. He realized John's hands were trembling.

Amon took a deep breath, trying to not be drawn into John's abnormal reaction. If Cecilia was that strong he would discover it himself. He mentally cursed Lya with all that he had as he a.s.sumed the first stance of the Fundamentals of the Sword.

Thin lines of light slithered through the stick in his hand, covering it in a split second. When they finished spreading, the stick flashed as a pale layer of light covered it.

Looking at this, Cecilia narrowed her brown eyes even more, but her smile didn't disappear, making her seem like a snake glaring at the prey.

"Come on, boys! It is about time we started a real fight!"