Book 5: Chapter 29 – Overwhelming Display Of Power

'He must be Blumer,' Ace thought to himself upon seeing the resemblance between him and Olivier.

"Young master Blumer," Falner replied respectfully. "Are you sure?"

Blumer was the younger brother of the most talented warrior their empire had produced in the last era, and although not quite as talented as his older brother, Blumer would definitely go on to surpass him in the not-so-distant future, and as they were of the same empire, Falner had no qualms about lowering his head.

Still, the opponent this time was someone who was suspected of having the power of a ninth-rank expert. If that's true, then he doubted even he was his match. 

Falner suddenly found himself between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, he didn't want to offend Blumer by rejecting him in public; plus, he didn't particularly want to deal with the little devil that is Gol D. Ace.

But on the other hand, if he allowed Blumer to go up and anything happened to him, he couldn't afford to face the retribution of the young man's older brother.

"I'm sure," Blumer calmly replied, able to guess what the man was thinking. "Consider this a farewell gift for the school that played such a major role in making me the man I am today."

"You're applying for early graduation?" Falner asked, understanding the hidden meaning behind the young man's words.

"I am," Blumer nodded calmly, his confirmation coming as a shock to all his peers. "I have long since met the requirements to join the War God's College. I was only waiting previously as I wanted to be as strong as possible before entering, but my older brother told me that I was already strong enough."

"I understand," Falner nodded. "Lord Olivier's right; staying here any longer will only delay your progress."

Blumer nodded calmly before turning his indifferent gaze to the dark-haired teen on stage. "But before I go, please allow me to do this one final thing on behalf of the Academy."

Blumer didn't even wait for Falner's response as he gracefully leapt over the crowd, elegantly landing in the ring just ten meters away from his opponent.

"Fine," Falner agreed, knowing that Blumer had already made his mind up. "But since this is an official battle between the students of two schools, I will act as the referee."

Ace chuckled inwardly when he heard that. There was nothing official about this battle. It was obvious that Falner had no intention of being a referee; he simply wanted to be close enough to act in case something happened to their number one student – not that it mattered.

Falner was just about to signal for the fight to begin when an aged but powerful voice rang in the ears of all those present.

"Step back, Falner," The voice commanded. "I'll be the one to referee this battle."

As if he had teleported, a burly man who appeared to be in his mid-30s appeared on stage.

His sudden appearance had shocked everyone but Ace, who had sensed his rapidly approaching presence from a mile away.

He was just at the early stages of the ninth rank, but as Ace looked at him, he felt a slight threat. Even before his most recent breakthrough, Ace's strength had surpassed that level, so he couldn't help but feel a hint of surprise as he looked at the man, but with Ace's love for battle, that surprise quickly turned to anticipation.

"Not bad," Ace smiled fiendishly. "You should be the one to fight me!"

"Insolence!" Falner barked. "Head Talore isn't someone the likes of you can challenge!"

It was impossible not to hear the Discipline Head's shouts, but Ace seemed to completely disregard the man as he eyed the head of the Academy as though he was a predator who had just found his prey.

Still, the man in question didn't so much bat an eyelid at Ace's challenge. Like Falner, he knew full well the rumours of Ace weren't mere rumours.

Not only was he the head of the Academy, but he was also the close and personal friend of Olivier Akerlund. He had heard straight from Olivier's mouth about Ace's unbelievable prowess, so he wasn't surprised about Ace's lack of interest in the rest of the personnel in the Academy.

What he was surprised by was the dangerous aura Ace was giving off. Talore wasn't your average early ninth-rank warrior; his ability also allowed him to jump ranks to defeat those above him, and yet his senses honed by all his years on the battlefield were screaming at him that the teen in front of him was a threat. Still, not even a ripple could be seen on his indifferent exterior.

"If you can defeat Blumer, I will accept your challenge," Talore replied calmly.

"Haha, I'm looking forward to it," Ace laughed excitedly.

Blumer didn't say a word as he watched Ace all but disregard his presence, but the trembling of his clenched fists explained exactly how he was feeling.

He was there when Olivier told Talore about Ace, and truth be told, he hadn't actually said much on the topic.

When asked if the rumours were true, Olivier neither confirmed nor denied them; all he said was that Ace was the most talented child he had ever seen.

Talore knew how proud his friend was, and so his admitting that may as well told the Academy head that not only were the rumours true, they likely didn't do Ace justice.

Blumer, on the other hand, put his brother on a pedestal. As far as he was concerned, Olivier was the most talented person their Empire had ever seen. So when he heard Olivier's words, a burning desire to defeat Ace and quell those rumours once and for all was born.

Even if Olivier was right, and Ace was more talented than even his brother, he refused to believe that he could jump ranks to defeat him, someone two ranks above him, a genius also capable of defeating the strong as the weak.

Both Ace and Talore noticed Blumer's change in mood, but neither said anything. Ace couldn't be bothered to care for the young man's emotions, and as for Talore, he knew this was something Blumer needed to face on his own.

"This is just a friendly battle between the students of two schools," Talore said. "Anyone attempting to use lethal force will be stopped and penalised."

"I understand," Blumer replied, slowly drawing the longsword on his back.

Even though he appeared to be addressing both boys, Ace was clear that it was a subtle warning for him. Still, he nodded casually before lazily waiting for the fight to begin.

"Draw your weapon," Blumer called out.

"If it was your brother, I might consider it," Ace shook his head. "But for you… There's no need."

Blumer's brows twitched as the veins on the side of his head pulsed. He was Blumer Akerlund, one of the most talented warriors of his generation, the younger brother of Oliver Akerlund, the prodigy sword saint!

He had never been looked at with such blatant disregard, and yet the boy in front of him seemed determined to do exactly that with every chance he got.

"Your arrogance truly knows no bounds," Blumer voiced icily as he forcibly reigned in his anger, knowing how important this battle was, not only for his future, but also for his family's legacy. "I hope you don't regret your decision."

As he said that, a golden battle-qi coated his body, only adding to his regal and commanding aura as he silently waited for the signal for the match to begin.

Sensing the rising tension, Talore held back his sigh and nodded. "Begin!"

Blumer's body moved like a flash of light appearing directly in front of Ace in the blink of an eye.

'So he already mastered the movement technique Olivier created for his Lightshadow Sword Art…' Talore nodded with appreciation when he saw near instantaneously close the gap. 'Unfortunately, the gap between them can't be closed so easily.' 

Blumer believed he had caught his opponent off guard as Ace seemed unable to react, but just as his sword arced through the air, he found his consciousness suddenly waning.

Blumer went from viciously closing in on his opponent to stumbling past him, desperately fighting to remain awake, but before he could shake off his sudden onset of drowsiness, he felt the side of Ace's hand chop into the back of his neck.

Looking down at the unconscious blonde-haired teen whose neck was firmly in his grasp, Ace had to admit that he was far from a match in terms of speed. Forget him; not even Mira would be able to touch him in a contest of speed.

In another situation, Ace would have loved to have been able to push Blumer to his limits so he could gleam as much as he could from such a profound movement technique, but Arianna had already told him that if he wanted to create as much of an impact for the Pavilion as possible, all his fights at the War God's Academy needed to be won with an overwhelming display of force.

For this reason, Ace showed everyone that although important, speed wasn't the be-all and end-all, especially when the opponent can follow your movement as if you were moving in slow-motion.

The moment Blumer neared, he was hit by a wave of Ace's [Conqueror's Haki], allowing him to casually knock him out and grab him by the neck.

Still, even though he was slightly impressed by Blumer's show of overwhelming speed, that was all it was. What he was far more interested in was his next challenge.

"Now," Ace said, his enthusiastic voice cutting through the stunned silence of the spectators as he turned his head towards the head of the academy, casually tossing the unconscious teen back into the crowd. "About our fight…"

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Book 8 Plot: Part 7 – Creation of A Divine Plane