15 Strength

Next day arrived and Outer Court once again got busy . The tournament this time has been special because compared to last year , the strenght of competitors is too strong. The Top 64 are now all well known and even the Inner Court Elders have started showing interest in this competition .

The most popular cards right now are -

1. Claus - Saber

2. Daisy - Longsword

3. Drake - Battle Armor

4. Raven - Heavy Sword

Four of them have different weapon specializations and have shown great mastery in them . Except Raven who mysteriously showed up , the rest of them have long since been famous for their cultivation and combat prowess . There are many 9th Level Disciples but the few who have great combat prowess are practically worshipped by others . The Inner Court has shown great interest in these four as much great things can be expected from them in future .

" Elder Mark , as per your orders we checked about this disciple called Raven . The results are truly surprising as he is one of the disciples of the newest batch . In fact nobody knew him before the tournament started . We tried our best to gather information about his background but absolutely nothing can be found . He is either a former commoner or maybe he comes from a really profound background . I guess that his background is not simple because he cannot possibly master the sword to such great extent without the teachings of an expert ! "

" Hmm.. you're right Sam but then why did this child have not a single penny with him ? Hmm.. tch.. We will get nowhere just by guessing so let's just forget it and keep an eye on the future progress of Raven . I think we will soon have a good seedling joining the Inner Court soon . "

" Yes Elder Mark ! " Sam bowed and dissapeared in a flash . Elder Mark shrugged the useless thoughts and soon became engrossed in the novel he reads all the time .

This Elder Mark is the same Elder who is in charge of the Gambling Booth and allowed Raven to bet sect points . He is the highest Elder of Inner Court so naturally will keep an eye on good seedlings from the Outer Court who will soon join the Inner Court after advancing to Martial Master Realm . The number of Elders in the Inner Court is not small and most of them have formed various Factions who poach the new dis disciples with promising them some benifits . Mark does not stop such acts but it's a different story for the immensely talented ones like Raven . These figures produce the Future Leaders of Sect so Mark makes sure to nurture them the right way everytime . It's been years since Mark saw a good seedling and he will definitely not let Raven's future be ruined. The best way to make sure is that Raven does not get involved in the useless power struggles of the Factions and this can be solved with just a word from Mark . His strenght is known by every in the Inner Court so nobody will think about disobeying his orders if they cherish their lives .

...

The duels started again but this time the content is naturally different from before because each of the top 64 have proven their strenght which is superior to their peers . Every next round , the competitors will draw lots again and this time it is no different.

Raven along with others went towards the ballot box and drew their numbers. Raven shoved his right hand in the box and took out one token he caught randomly. His number is 20 and the other unfortunate one to draw the number 20 will battle him soon .

Soon today's competition started officially and battles commenced on the five platforms . This time Raven attentively looked at the battles because the prowess is different. Still he was not very impressed because only Daisy and Drake managed to slightly impress him while others were only so so and not worth remembering . His turn came and Raven slowly went towards the platform number 1 . His opponent was already standing there with a haughty look on his face which made Raven frown because this superficial arrogance is one of his dislikes .

Dong !

The drum sounded and the battles on each platform commenced at the same time. Raven was displeased with the attitude of his opponent so he did not waste any time and his figure blurred .

Raven for the first time showed his movement skill Wave Steps which is known to be the most difficult skill in the first floor of Martial Skill Pavilion . Raven was standing more than 20 meters away from his opponent but his opponent only managed to see a blur and in 2 seconds Raven was already in front of him .

Raven ignored the startled look of his opponent and just punched at his chest with 30 percent of his strenght without using any qi . The opponent was naturally not prepared to receive such frontal attack so he took the full force behind the punch .

His figure shot back like a cannon and landed in the audience seat outside the platform . The crash was powerful so many stone seats were destroyed on impact and others could only grasp at such display of strenght . In seconds Raven finished this match and advanced to Top 32 . His strenght which many thought to be a fluke before was now publically recognized as even without using qi , he insta killed his opponent. This time the opponent was much stronger so the impact was much greater too . Others have no choice now but to recognize his strenght because no other Outer Disciple can mimic this feat not even the so called strongest Claus . Raven himself could not care less about the change in attitude of others and slowly went back towards his seat . He closed his eyes waiting for his next opponent to be decided .