Faction Duel!!!

Bang!!! Bang!!! Bang!!!

Early in the morning, before the disciples of Winter Garden could start their morning session, a heavy, continuous banging resounded at the gate, causing icicles to fall to the ground.

It had been a week since Oasis dueled Dazai.

Master Renald had already heard the news but acted as if he knew nothing.

Oasis hadn't told anyone in the Garden about the duel, and no one from the Garden had been out since, with all the disciples training non-stop.

The noise from the banging was enough to wake everyone in the garden, but Master Renald had already sensed their energies and stood back in the main hall.

"Eleven people, five are around the 1st layer of the Newborn realm, two at the peak of the Foetal realm, three at the 5th layer of the Foetal realm..."

"Oh, the last one is at the peak of the Awakened realm. It seems he's their leader," Oasis thought as he descended the steps from the boys' building in the garden.

"Ever since I reached the Tabula-Rasa realm, I can pick up nearby energies without even using my Divine Peak... not bad," Oasis thought.

The four disciples of Winter Garden emerged from their buildings, with Oasis and Tatsuo coming from one, and Tayla and Liora from the other, meeting in the yard near the training field.

"Dammit, who is banging the door like a crazy bull?" Tatsuo exclaimed as he opened the gate.

At the gate stood a man along with ten students.

Among them was Dazai, bandaged on the forehead, looking mostly recovered from his injuries.

Without a word, they all entered the garden, exuding hostility.

"Where is the bastard who injured my disciple, huh?" the man, who seemed to be their master, roared.

"Good sir, we don't know who you are referring to," Tatsuo replied.

"Hey brat, do I look like a fool to you?" the man shouted at Tatsuo.

"Master Basil... that's the brat," Dazai pointed at Oasis.

"Brat, why didn't you say anything when I asked, huh?" Basil shouted at Oasis.

The scene was dramatic, and the hostility grew.

"If you all came here to make noise early in the morning, I would request you to leave."

"We are about to start our training," Oasis spoke calmly, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

!!!

"Impudence!!!" Master Basil roared, slightly raising his energy.

The energy staggered the disciples, but Oasis remained unfazed.

"We don't wake up and rush to other people's places to make noise in the morning," Oasis spoke.

"I see where that Dazai gets his attitude from. It is said that if a lion is raised by a pig, it will behave like a pig," Oasis continued.

Master Basil's veins became evident on his head.

"So, Master Basil, since when did masters interfere in duels between students?" Oasis asked.

"You raise a bully, and when the bully gets a taste of his medicine, you rush out in their stead."

"I'm just a first-year practical student, and yet you brought your whole faction here."

"So let's cut to the chase. Besides barking and behaving like a headless chicken, what's your purpose here?" Oasis spoke.

"Keep quiet, Oasis," Tayla spoke to Oasis, frightened by the energy released by Master Basil.

"Yeah, don't say anything. Let's just call Master Renald," Tatsuo spoke.

"Liora, go and call Master Renald," Tatsuo instructed Liora.

As she was about to go and call Master Renald, a voice interrupted.

!!!

"No need, I'm here," Master Renald emerged from the main hall.

"Renald, you are finally out," Master Basil spoke.

"What do we owe the visit?" Master Renald asked.

Master Basil explained why he was there in a disrespectful tone.

"So, not only are you not showing me respect in my own garden, but you are also interfering in children's fights, and you call yourself a master?" Master Renald spoke.

"You have already disturbed our peace, so what do you plan to do to resolve this situation?" Master Renald continued.

"Good, good. Now you are talking. My Basil Faction wants a duel against the Renald Faction," Basil spoke with a sinister smile.

!!!!!!

"The winner takes all the belongings of the loser, and the losing faction becomes subordinates of the winning faction," he continued.

"By belongings, I mean what each member of a faction owns," Basil emphasized.

"Ki ki ki ki, I heard that brat might have some interesting things in his bracelet," he spoke in his thoughts.

"Greedy bastard," Master Renald thought.

"2nd-year students want a faction duel against 1st-year elites, huh? How low of you," Master Renald replied.

"We are scared, are we?" Master Basil mocked.

"That brat was spouting nonsense and being disrespectful. It didn't seem like he feared us," Basil continued, pointing at Oasis.

Faction duels are a part of Verdantial Academy's history. Every master with disciples in the academy is eligible for faction duels.

Factions can form alliances and also subjugate other factions. Each faction has a say in whether they want to duel or not.

The winner earns faction points, which are used to rank factions in the academy.

1st to 5th years don't mix when it comes to faction wars,duels and rankings; they are categorized by their year — 1st years with 1st years, 2nd with 2nd, and so forth.

But in this case, a 2nd-year practical faction challenged a 1st-year elite faction.

"We agree," Oasis interjected.

"Bastards, you cannot just barge into our home; you will pay," Oasis thought.

"Oasis!!!" Tayla shouted to make him stop talking.

"This brat will get us humiliated. We might be elite disciples, but there are seniors and a lot of them at that ," Tatsuo thought.

"Damn brat, since he is confident.." Master Renald thought.

"We accept," Master Renald spoke.

"Kikiki, good, good," Master Basil was pleased that his proposal was accepted.

"Just you wait, you are going to be our lackeys. I'm going to show everyone that these elites are just for show," Basil thought.

"That brat definitely used some pills to beat Dazai. I heard from one of my disciples that he had pills," Basil thought.

"Alright, seven days from now, be ready," Master Basil spoke as he left Winter Garden with his disciples, who walked confidently.

The scene as they left was tense, with the Basil faction exuding confidence and anticipation for the upcoming duel, while the Winter Garden disciples felt a mix of determination and anxiety.