Chapter 67 { The Combat Tournament }

  The deal was as follows.

  One legendary weapon or ten epic weapons bearing the Curse of Death in order to obtain this fruit.

  " I do not possess that " Ian shook his head in refusal.

  To tell the truth he did not possess them but even if he did he would not sacrifice them for this single fruit , perhaps ten of it would tempt him into such a deal and only for the epic weapons , as for the legendary ones they are strategic treasures reserved for the main cities only the Marshal and the Lord possess them and not even all cities , and the fact that they are strategic weapons means they are capable of turning the world upside down , shaking the foundation of armies , erasing the pride of the higher races and destroying their lairs.

  " Well there is another way " General Kyos laughed " To tell the truth this fruit is the reason behind me being a ‘fake’ Light Knight and now we will present one of them to someone and perhaps that someone will be you ".

  " For free ? " Ian could not believe it.

  " Of course not , you are a merchant and you know the famous principle no free lunch but for the sake of the coming war Sir Arthur ordered the establishment of a grand combat tournament , age does not matter , gender does not matter , cultivation level , methods none of that matters , what truly matters is that you fight with honor and do not violate the rules and win fairly then you will obtain this fruit and of course some other equally powerful rewards , what do you think are you interested in it ? Or more interested in hiding your cultivation ".

  Hiding my cultivation !! , it seems he misunderstood - Ian thought.

  In truth General Kyos misunderstood that Ian had hidden his cultivation and that he was someone with the training of a Fighter ( Level 3 ) or a Noble ( Level 4 ) and that was why he presented this offer but in reality he is not to be blamed for the fact that Ian’s presence here alone and possessing these rare elements and the Void Ring was an indication of a powerful background , this in addition to his age ( middle aged ) at the very least he would be at a Noble level like them.

  But this made Ian feel doubtful – with my age and mysterious background they will suspect that I am a Noble or at least a Fighter , and this means this tournament is meaningless unless the heads of great families and generals like Kyos step forward to fight but will the generals and the Marshal and others fight in a tournament they themselves created ! , would that not be absurd or is there something I do not understand ?.

  " Will you participate as well ? " Ian asked.

  General Kyos laughed " Sir Ian you are joking , fight ! , would that not mean the fruit would be ours , what would be the point of all this then ! , why do we not just take it and end the matter , the whole point is that we are searching for new talents and supporting strength for the city in the coming war ".

  Ian frowned and felt even more doubtful - this matter is not as simple as it seems but I will not know until I try , in the end I will not lose anything -.

  " What do you think , do you agree ? " the General asked.

  " I agree " Ian agreed though he was skeptical inside.

  >>>>>>>>

  On the same day the combat tournament was announced.

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  The entire city was invited to participate , old and young , women and men , weak and strong , nobles and commoners , everyone was invited. , there was one side that was excluded from this " the army " since it was responsible for this tournament but they would send one of them " Brigadier Madas ".

  The youngest and the most talented , an Initiate on the verge of becoming a Fighter , he had not yet become a Fighter like Luna and the rest of the geniuses but he was about 5 years younger and was already on the verge of becoming a Fighter.

  { Dust , Initiate , Fighter , Noble }

  The uproar began in the city and the training arena was opened to the public and the carriages arrived , the matter was shocking and unexpected yet the entire city was still present , everyone gathered.

  The scene outside the elevated training arena was decorated with many carriages , individuals , and stalls and the high platform where the participants would fight was revealed , the battles would be grouped so as not to take much time especially in the qualifiers and therefore the arena was divided and soon transparent isolating walls appeared to divide the arena into more than 100 fields with about 2300 participants.

  General Kyos arrived as he was responsible for the strange event that had appeared overnight but the rest of the generals and the Marshal or even Sir Arthur did not appear , the situation was equally strange but no one complained only expectations and bets began to appear everywhere especially when the participants were announced to the public which brought cries of excitement everywhere.

  For all the geniuses of the city to gather in one event from all families and even the army’s genius Brigadier Madas the youngest and most talented and even the flowers of the great families like Luna and the others , this brought a wave of enthusiastic cheers everywhere.

  A branch of the Dao Tree ( artificial )

  I have obtained one of my goals - Ian smiled and returned it to his ring.

  " There is a strange scent below " Ian felt that something was wrong.

  A tournament held in haste yet its reward is an original fruit 100 times stronger than the other fruits and this is a natural event with nothing behind it ? , who is the fool that would believe this ?!.

  But it does not seem that they intend evil , there is only a malicious scent in the air , Ian wandered across the arenas , the battles had already begun , the fighters were old and young but everyone’s training was at least Dust Level ( 1 ) , only Ian had not yet reached this level , of course fools would not participate , aside from the original fruit there were rewards for the top 300 and they varied between weapons , treasures , herbs , skills and even guidance from senior members of the city.

  Although it would not be as precious as the first prize there was at least something to attract them otherwise everything would be absurd.

  Soon Ian’s turn arrived and he descended to the arena , his arrival drew curiosity.

  This is strange.

  Yes he has no cultivation!.

  No there is an aura but it is very faint , he has not yet broken through to the Dust Level.

  Pffffft , which fool decided to fight without reaching the Dust Level.

  Look at his age , hahahaha , he is the worst talent I have ever seen.

  He is truly an idiot , he will undoubtedly lose.

  " Are you still hiding your strength ! " General Kyos laughed.

  " Is this him ? " a young man beside him asked , the young man was eighteen with a handsome sharp face , silent eyes and spiky hair , Madas! the army’s genius and the youngest Brigadier ever , the title of Brigadier is only granted to Fighters but he was an exception by orders of Sir Arthur.

  " Yes what do you think ? " General Kyos asked.

  " He has a royal aura " Madas said " but his cultivation is strange ! , did he hide it ? ".

  " That is what I am saying " General Kyos laughed.

  " It does not matter , I will defeat him anyway " Madas said firmly and his hand on the sword at his waist , the moment he draws that sword blood awaits.

  Who is this ?.

  Just a foolish rookie.

  Did he come to disgrace himself !.

  He is that mysterious merchant who stole our business.

  There were many eyes upon him especially the nobles who knew about the new merchant.

  Ian landed on the arena smiling , his expression was calm and composed even though the person before him was stronger than him specifically at the Dust Level.

  " You! , you have not reached the true threshold yet " his opponent sighed " and I thought I would get a good fight , get out before I smash you with my hammer ".

  His opponent was another middle-aged man with a massive build who used a hammer.

  Ian smiled and stepped forward , it was only a moment but Ian appeared before his opponent and a black aura surrounded his fist.

  Accumulation of Death , the Seventh Fist.

  Booooooooom

  The opponent’s body shattered and flew out of the arena.

  The crowd fell silent.

  Ian looked toward General Kyos and smiled then left.

  Greatness!!!!