Way of the Knights

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"Winner of this match, Jonathan!"

As the announcement of the winner occurred, the whole arena exploded in cheers and applause. The heated battle against Jonathan and Nelson brought immense excitement for the crowd and everyone loved how Jonathan was able to turn the tables against Nelson by revealing his true might. 

This wasn't to say that Nelson was weak. After all, who would dare to say that a disciple of the Ancient Elysium Sect was weak? 

Jonathan won due to him taking advantage of the Nelson's surprise, along with the overbearing momentum brought by him igniting his bloodline. Had Nelson managed to regain his posture and launch a counter-attack, it would really be unknown who would win in this match. 

For now however, it seems that Jonathan claims victory, bringing a close to this intense match. 

"Man, what a battle…" Albert commented emotionally within their room. He leaned back on the couch and pouted, "As expected of the disciples of the Ancient Elysium Sect. I'm afraid that either of them could hold their own against me."

Raven, who's calmly sipping on his tea beside him, commented: "Well, they're not on your level yet. But if you start slacking, then they would truly leave you behind."

"Hmph! Who says that I'm slacking? I'm nearing my breakthrough I'll have you know." Albert snorted, causing Raven to smile wryly. 

"You could've made the breakthrough even before we started this journey but you still didn't. If that's not slacking off, then I don't know how else we could call it." Raul commented while glaring slightly as his own son. 

This caused Albert to feel some chills, he smiled embarrassingly and lowered his head while grumbling inwardly. 

"Still, this was an interesting match though." Raven switched the topic, "Someone who hailed from an Imperial Clan, who's also very skilled in spear arts as well possessing profound knowledge about Water Laws versus a descendant from a God Beast Clan, who's similarly skilled in spear arts and Fire Laws."

"Agreed." Raul nodded, "Although Jonathan won, it was only due to the small advantages he held. Once all of you arrive at the Ancient Elysium Sect, you'll surely grow even more powerful. Nephew, you mustn't slack of like this useless son of mine. You have to work hard and make sure to not be expelled from the sect."

"That goes without saying Uncle." Raven smiled and acknowledged Raul's words. 

"The second match for today will begin shortly." 

The attention of everyone within the stadium was caught by the sudden announcement, of course this includes Raven and everyone else within the room. 

As expected, the excitement of the crowd started rising once more. And as soon as the arena was fixed back to its previous state, the announcer didn't waste time and immediately called in the next participants for second match of the day. 

From the opposite sides of the arena, came out the two disciples who will have a match. On the left side, comes a man with an emerald colored hair wearing maroon colored robes. This person exuded a calm and elegant aura. He walked with so much confidence as if he wasn't here for the match but to claim victory. 

This man was Juniper Myles. A person who managed to be chosen as one of the disciples of the sect and one of the people that Raven has no intel with. 

Cheers erupted from the crowd, yet an amplified voice drowned almost the combine cheers of the crowd.

"Wooohoo! Fight! Fight! Young Master, you got this! Wooohoo!" 

In the front row of the audience, a young man holding two empty water bottles screamed on top of his lungs while furiously slamming the water bottles together. His passionate and loud cheers was heard all the way to the VIP rooms, causing him to be the center of the attention for a bit. 

Juniper hasn't shown much reaction from this but his ears were turning red. Thankfully, no one managed to notice this but Juniper was cursing his servant in his mind. 

On the opposite side of the arena came a roguish looking man. He was bald and was wearing a black colored cape that only covered his upper body, underneath this cape, he too was wearing the maroon colored robes, signifying that he too is a disciple of the sect. 

In contrast with how Juniper carried himself, this man was almost his opposite. There was a visible boredom or indifference in his face. He walked like how one would swagger in the streets. Overall, he looked like some random thug on the streets that would be willing to do anything for the right price. 

This person is none other than the guy who approached Raven during the initial stages of the exams, Jason Sigmus. 

Compared to Juniper, no one cheered on Jason. In fact, he received the complete opposite. Some people could the jeers and boo's of the crowd, making them quite confused. But Jason never paid attention to any of this. 

As soon as the both of them entered the arena, they stopped in front of each other and waited for the match to begin. 

By the time, a grin appeared on Jason's face. He opened his mouth and said: "Yo, take it easy there Buddy. You're glaring at me too much as if you're going to swallow me whole or something."

"I don't know what the Envoys are thinking. Allowing a filth like you to enter their ranks." Juniper remarked coldly, "Either way, sinners like you needed to learn their place. I'll make sure that you'll remember your lesson."

However, instead of being insulted, Jason's grin turned even wider as he replied: "Wow, that's some insults right there Buddy. Did you learn that from your parents? - oops, my bad. I forgot that you don't have once since you killed them. Haha."

Juniper's eyes widened before an unbridled fury filled his chest. His eyes turned sharp as he uttered through gritted teeth: "You will pay for that, filth…"

"Same rules apply. You win if you render your opponent unable to fight. Killing is not allowed as well as maiming or criplling your opponent. Going out of bounds will cause your defeat. Aside from weapons, no other items or medicines can be used. Any attacks that will cause damage over time has to cease as soon as the match ends."

"The match starts in three…"

As soon as the countdown began, Juniper and and Jason took out their weapons. Juniper held a long and narrow blade while Jason took out two scimitars. They placed distance between them and waited until thr countdown is over. 

"Two…"

"One! Begin!"

*Clang!!!*

As soon as the countdown was over, two silhouettes immediately clashed, disappearing from their former locations. The initial clash caused the ground beneath them to crack, it also caused fierce winds to fly everywhere, kicking up clouds of dust.

A great killing intent was reflected on Juniper's eyes. The muscles on his arms bulged as he did his best to push Jason back but Jason was like an immovable fortress. 

From this initial clash, Juniper could already tell that Jason's physical strength is greater than his. This caused him to immediately release a peculiar type of energy from his body. 

Emerald glow covered his body, as he released this glow, Juniper's body started morphing. His face grew more savage and fangs started protruding from his mouth. His muscles grew larger as well as built, causing his clothes to expand greatly but not enough to tear. 

Along with his bizarre transformation, Juniper's physical strength also grew, allowing him to press down on Jason. 

Still, Jason was wearing a wide grin on his face as if he was completely unbothered by this transformation of Juniper and wanting to provoke him even more. 

Jason tilted his scimitars, causing Juniper's blade to slide off due to much strength placed in them. Jason used this opening to deliver an empowered knee blow straight to Juniper's stomach. This caused the latter to slid back by a couple of meters but didn't really do much to him. 

"Tsk, what's that tummy made out of? Freaking steel?" Jason smiled wryly as he felt his knees weakening. He pumped some of his energies to his kneecaps to dissolve the feeling since it would be detrimental for the match if he didn't. 

As soon as he finished doing that, he raised his scimitars and exchanged blows against Juniper once again. 

Their heated clash brought joy to the audience, causing cheers to erupt. This goes specially well for the Juniper's biggest fan, his servant on the front row. The guy was too intense, he didn't hesitate to amplify his voice so that his cheers could be heard from every corner of the arena. 

The water bottles on his hand were already crushed beyond recognition, he already replaced by a huge drum that he constantly slapped using his aching hand while chanting his fanatical cheers. 

Juniper unfortunately, or fortunately, couldn't hear any of this. He was neither focused on the match nor paying attention to the cheers. His mind was dead set into one thing…

And that is, to make this filth in front of him, pay for triggering his unwanted memories. 

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