Way of the Knights

---

"Die pretty boy!"

"Fuck you madman!"

*Boom!* *Crash*

The clash between the two people in conflict turned increasingly fierce. Their weapons were already out and each blows they did was meant to kill. 

This clash undoubtedly disturbed some people's serenity, making unable to relax in peace and forced to watch their petty squabble. Raven and Jason were also watching in interest. 

It was unknown who but someone's attack landed not too far from the person that Jason identified earlier. The attack came dangerously close to him, yet thankfully it didn't hit him. Still, the resting man was definitely alarmed and were forced to wake up from his meditation. 

The man's face twisted in anger, it didn't take him long before he saw the two guys clashing not too far from him. He stood up from his spot and said something:

"You two imbeciles." His cold remark startled the clashing guys, causing both of them to look at him. 

"What did you say!?" The pretty boy aggressively said. 

"Great, another pretty boy. Looks like you're courting death as well." The unreasonable guy said as he brandished his blade. 

The man didn't say anything else. Instead, his lips turned into a pout and he started blowing mist towards the two guys fighting. 

The mist arrived very quick, so much so that it caught the two unprepared. Before they could even retreat from the mist, their bodies visibly froze. 

In next to no time, their bodies were already encased in ice. Their faces still held those expressions of alarm and fear. The man snorted and instantly, the ice were pulverized. Not even a drop of blood could be seen from his victims. The powdered ice scattered with the wind and left a shiny black badge while rest completely disappeared, leaving the rest of the contenders shivering in alarm. 

The man scoffed and went back to his seat and meditated once more, seemingly unaware of the fearful gazes being thrown at him. 

The hall was quiet, those who witnessed this event silently took note of that man who just killed the two participants. Those who were acquainted with each other started a heated discussions through voice transmissions. 

Raven who was watching this were a bit surprised as well. He then saw Jason grinning at him while saying: "See? What did I tell you?"

"You know him?" Raven asked while raising a brow. 

Jason scratched his head and said: "Well, not personally. But he's pretty famous you know." 

"His name is Ryan Northson. People often call him the Pale Ice Prince. He's a son of an Empyrean." Jason introduced while lowering his voice. 

Raven tried recalling his old memories to see if he could remember something about Ryan but he had no recollection of him at all. However, he could still tell that the guy was very formidable. 

Jason went closer to him and whispered: "Actually, he's famous not because he's a son of an Empyrean. He's famous because according to rumors, he has a Perfected Deity's Physique."

That information completely astounded Raven. He then asked: "Are these rumors true?"

"No idea." Jason shrugged, "Haven't seen him flaunting his Champion's Physique before. However, since a rumor like this existed, there should be a basis behind it. Plus, this guy never confirmed nor denied the rumors. True to his moniker, he's extremely cold to everyone. You won't really see him hanging around a lot of people. And even if he is, you best believe that it's out of necessity."

Raven nodded after hearing this, his gaze then turned towards Ryan once more. He discretely activated his ocular technique and focused on him. His vision adjusted and started showing up the detail that he wanted to see. 

Though he could only see a hint of it, to Raven this was enough. That spark of faint black-golden glow was already enough for him to confirm that this person indeed has a Perfected Deity's Physique. 

All of a suddenly however, Ryan's eyes abruptly opened. Raven's eyebrow twitched as he hastily focuses on Jason who's been happily drinking from the bottomless gourd. 

Ryan looked around him in suspicion. Annoyance was visible on his face. He was pretty sure that somebody was spying on his closely just now but he couldn't find any traces of it. He didn't like this feeling at all but he had nowhere to vent his frustrations since he had no evidence, so he just snorted once more and went back to his meditation. 

'His senses are very keen. He's a formidable contender.' Raven silently mused as he leaned back to the wall and returned his attention to his book. 

"Man, this competition is really going to be nasty." Jason carelessly commented on the side.

"You have insider information?" Raven asked without peeling his gaze away from the book he's reading. 

"Of course not!" Jason was startled and shook his head fiercely. "I said that due to the identities of people who's participating today." 

"Oh? Tell me more about it." Raven's interest were piqued. 

"Very well." Jason cleared his throat and started his introduction. "I've already introduced Ryan to you, of course he's going to be a tough opponent with or without the rumors about his Champion's Physique. Aside from him, there's four more people here who had a Perfected Deity Champion's Physique."

Raven's eye twitched upon hearing that, he then looked at Jason with a questioning gaze but didn't say anything. Well, he didn't need to since Jason already understood that look. He then stealthily pointed at some people while also introducing them. 

"That guy's name is Nelson Blair. Someone who hailed from a Great World and also is a descendant of an Imperial Lineage."

"Jonathan Evergreen, descendant of God Beast Clans. Carrying the Azure Dragon's bloodline."

"Michelle Valentine, the young queen of the Sky Weavers Clan. Don't let that innocent face fool you or else it'll be you doom." 

"Finally, there's Madman Floyd. He could switch between being sane and insane in a coin flip. Unless it's necessary, I don't recommend offending that guy since he bears grudges extremely deep. He won't stop until either one of you is dead."

"All of this people are the only ones I know who had Perfected Deity Champion's Physique. But who knows? Maybe some people just rather remain low profiled and surprise many people during the competition. Honestly, I wouldn't want to face any of these guys at all…"

Raven chuckled on the side, he then returned his gaze back to the book he's reading and inwardly commented: 'Right, some people just want to remain low profiled.'

***

Days passed by within the hall, Raven distracted himself by either reading a book or meditating. Sometimes, he would often talk with Jason about a few things and he had to say…

Though Jason is a little bit shameless, he's rather likeable. He had this seemingly carefree attitude but also determined. He often talked about how he didn't want to compete with those fierce people but he never implied that he's scared of them. 

He tends to be on a talkative side but most of the things he says are helpful. He knows a lot of people who're joining this competition, and even though Raven would often hear him saying that his information were from rumors surrounding those people, he could still tell that some of them were accurate. 

The time limit of five days are going to be over in a few hours. As usual, Raven's attention is still on his book while Jason was inspecting some people due to boredom. 

"This is rather surprising." Jason murmured to himself but he was heard by Raven. 

"What is surprising?" He asked without looking away from the book. 

"Haven't you noticed?" Jason asked in confusion. "Try counting the amount of people within this hall." 

Raven raised a brow and did what Jason suggested. It took him a good second before his expression changed. 

"What the hell? Since when did the headcount reach a thousand?" 

That's right. With a rough count just now, the number of people inside this hall reached more than a thousand in number. 

"Right?" Jason asked in a stupefied manner as well. "I only noticed it just now. It's maybe due to how big this hall is but I didn't even know when the numbers reached a thousand. And it looks like some people are still arriving. I wonder what's happening outside?"

The reason why this whole scenario seemed to be strange to them is because of news that Jason caught a few days ago. 

According to him, he talked to one of the badge-less people and asked them about the situation outside. That person told him that the situation was incredibly chaotic, the tunnel was filled with a nauseating stench of rotting corpses and blood. Everyone was desperate to go in, but not everyone could reach this portal. 

Hearing this gave them an idea that there shouldn't be this many people who will arrive but lo and behold, their numbers just passed a thousand, which is somewhat unbelievable them. 

Out of nowhere, an energy fluctuation startled all of them into attention. A person wearing a uniform of Twin Star Academy appeared before them and said:

"All participants gather up! The next part of the exams will begin."

62d67767f92eb560e77c9100