"Greetings, juniors and seniors!" the young man on stage called out with energy. "I hope you all had an enjoyable and carefree journey to the Martial Cloud Sect's mountain."
He stood confidently, his voice echoing across the large dueling ground.
"As you all know, today marks the start of our friendly competition between the Ten Allied Factions. I'll repeat this once more, especially for the juniors, This is a friendly match. Injuries are acceptable, even serious injuries are tolerated. But crippling or killing your opponent is strictly forbidden. Anyone who violates this rule will be severely punished, even with death!"
His voice grew sharp at the last word, his tone dramatic and solemn.
The juniors visibly shuddered at the mention of death, while the seniors simply nodded in acknowledgment, already familiar with the rule.
Seeing that his warning had taken root, the young man on stage continued.
"Now then, let the duels begin! Please give a loud round of applause for our first match!"
With that, the tournament officially began.
Yuan sat quietly beside Old Man Longwei Feng, observing the matches without much expression. He didn't clap or cheer, he was just here to watch.
The hall they were in was spacious, known as the Dueling Ground, as the old man had called it. It was open air, with a fighting area covered in coarse yellow sand. But it was clear the sand had been transported here, it didn't match the surrounding mountain terrain and was likely brought in for combat purposes.
Surrounding the dueling ground were grandstands filled with allies of the Martial Cloud Sect, each group having brought their own junior cultivators.
Among these groups was the Loose Longwei Family, which had brought around ten children ranging in age from eight to twelve, the age limit for participants.
They all wore matching robes, differing only in the patterns on their sleeves, two had dragon heads, two had dragon wings, one bore a dragon arm, one a dragon leg, and two had dragon tail patterns.
Yuan, however, was not considered part of their group.
He didn't recognize any of the children, which surprised him. He had expected Longwei Baoyan and Longwei Wenli to be among them, but he was mistaken.
When Yuan quietly asked Old Man Feng about their absence, the elder replied simply, "They're both in secluded cultivation right now. They'll likely participate next year."
Accepting the answer without further questions, Yuan turned his focus back to the competition, silently waiting for the matches to end.
Yuan sat and watched the series of dull fights, one after another. As it turned out, he was scheduled to fight last among the Loose Long Family group, placing him near the end of the entire match lineup.
His opponent? A boy who looked no older than nine or ten, judging by his height and build. The child held a wooden sword in his hands, just as Yuan did, having chosen the same weapon, as it was the one he was most familiar with.
After giving the boy a brief glance, Yuan shifted his gaze toward the young man who had delivered the competition's opening speech.
The man met Yuan's eyes, then looked at the boy across from him. Seeing that both were ready, the judge nodded, raised his hand, and then let it fall.
"Start!" he shouted.
The duel began.
Yuan adopted a basic defensive stance, calmly watching the boy's movements. Unsurprisingly, they were reckless and unrefined. The boy charged in with a shout and swung his sword toward Yuan.
There was some technique in the swing, barely, but not enough to land a hit. Yuan easily sidestepped the attack.
As the boy continued his wild, repeated strikes, about ten in total, his movements grew sluggish from exhaustion. Yuan saw an opening.
Yuan stepped in and struck the boy's hand in one smooth motion. The boy let out a small cry of pain and dropped his sword. Before he could even recover, Yuan's wooden sword was already pointed at his neck.
"Stop!" the judge declared.
Yuan took a step back and waited silently as the judge said a few official-sounding words before dismissing them.
Returning to his seat beside Old Man Longwei Feng, Yuan sat down without a word.
The old man, however, was smiling broadly, his head tilted toward the sky in delight.
"Hehe." Longwei Feng chuckled as his hand landed on Yuan's head, ruffling his black hair like a proud grandfather.
"You did well! Who would've thought you'd beat that old bastard's grandson?" he said, clearly pleased. "I'm proud of you, little Yuan! Truly proud!"
The competition continued, but Yuan's group was quickly shrinking, two of their members had already lost their matches, leaving only eight remaining.
Yuan advanced to the second round and, just like before, didn't take the match too seriously. With calm precision and little effort, he won again.
His winning streak continued.
One by one, the others were eliminated. Soon, Yuan stood as the only member of the Loose Long Family still left in the tournament.
Old Man Longwei Feng was overjoyed. He laughed heartily, boasting to the two other elders who had come with them, clearly enjoying the bragging rights.
Now, the semifinals were about to begin.
Only four contestants remained and the first match of the semifinals featured Yuan.
He would be facing an opponent just one year older than him. His name is Li Heng, the son of the Martial Cloud Sect Master.
Li Heng had short black hair, a sharply defined and handsome face with a pair of obsidian pearl like eyes. His features were undeniably blessed by the heavens, he was the type of young man many noble daughters would secretly hope to marry.
In contrast stood Yuan. He, too, had black hair and black eyes, but his appearance didn't possess the charm or allure to make hearts flutter like Li Heng's did.
Unlike Li Heng's elegant and righteous aura, Yuan exuded... nothing.
He gave off no particular presence, he had an presence of an ordinary passerby. And yet, nobody dared to underestimate him. After all, he had made it to the semifinals.
As they both stepped into the Duel Ground, Li Heng moved with practiced grace. His posture was refined, his demeanor calm.
He gave a respectful salute to the judge, an senior from his sect and the judge, clearly pleased, nodded in acknowledgment.
Yuan, on the other hand, offered a polite salute out of basic courtesy toward the Martial Cloud Sect. His movements were stiff and restrained, but no one found fault in it.
This was a gathering of allies, not a hierarchy. Simple respect was expected, nothing more.
With the formalities done, the judge glanced at Yuan, then at Li Heng. Without another word, he raised his hand high, then brought it down swiftly.
"Start!"
The match began.
Li Heng held a wooden sword, just like Yuan. But unlike Yuan's previous opponents, Li Heng clearly had a much deeper understanding of the sword. He did not rush in recklessly.
Instead, he remained steady and calm, analyzing Yuans every move.
Seeing this, Yuan's eyes sharpened, and his stance shifted. He adopted a posture that was both aggressive and defensive.
Now, the two stood facing each other in silence, eyes locked. Neither moved.
They were only three steps apart. So close, yet still so far. The tension grew thick.
Finally, Li Heng shifted forward with a single, careful step, probing Yuan's reaction. But Yuan didn't flinch, not even slightly. He simply kept his eyes locked on Li Heng's.
Li Heng's eyes narrowed. There was no arrogance in his stance. On the contrary, he was cautious. He treated Yuan as a serious opponent, giving the match his full attention.
Still, Yuan did not move.
Seconds passed. Then a full minute.
The crowd began to stir. Some younger spectators muttered impatiently, calling for the fight to begin. Even a few elders began whispering among themselves, but not quietly.
Their voices rose loud enough for both fighters to hear, which clearly disturbed Li Heng.
As for Yuan? He didn't cared about nobodies, or even so called gods like Truth. So he ignored the noise around him as one would ignore the buzzing of flies. To him, such distractions were meaningless.
But the same couldn't be said for Li Heng.
The mounting pressure from the murmuring crowd was starting to get to him. Sweat began to bead on his brow as he became visibly tense.
In an effort to break the stalemate, Li Heng hastily stepped forward.
But the step was a little too big, a step too far, right into Yuan's range.
With a swift, fluid motion, Yuan's wooden sword shot forward, stopping just at Li Heng's unguarded neck.
"Stop!" the judge's voice rang out sharply.
"Huh?" Li Heng blinked in confusion, looking to his left.
His eyes locked on Yuan's wooden sword, hovering just above the vulnerable side of his neck. He froze.
"W-W-What...?" Li Heng stammered, staring at the unprotected area he had left open. Meanwhile, Yuan calmly withdrew his sword and returned to his original stance without a word.
To Yuan, it was as if nothing had happened.
But for Li Heng, something had.
"How… how did I lose before even moving?" he asked himself, but as he though of this a crack split open inside him, his confidence, his composure, his pride.
His eyes trembled with shock, overwhelmed by how quickly it all ended.
He became disappointed in himself.
Silently, he stepped off the stage, his face pale, his expression lost in confusion. He had been defeated before he could even strike once.
Yuan, too, returned to his seat, though not without a touch of surprise.
"A duel of endurance, huh? That was unexpected," Yuan thought to himself. "But this child couldn't endure the noise. What a pity. If he had, we might've had a proper battle. Alas... he failed to meet my expectations."
Despite being the most intense match Yuan had experienced since arriving in this reality, they had never actually clashed swords. The entire fight had been one of patience and pressure.
Though Yuan had won, he understood something, If they had truly fought, Li Heng might have had a chance.
Yuan could see it in his eyes, Li Heng was a talented swordsman, perhaps even one who had devoted his life to the sword. He had potential and the Determination to grow stronger.
But he had failed to endure the pressure.
"What a disappointment," shortly a flicker of disappointment quickly appeared in Yuans eyes and then as fast this flickern came it vanished, Yuan then quietly made his way back to his place, brushing off the cheers and praise coming from Old Man Longwei Feng and the compliments from the other attending elders.