My swords bigger than yours.

Roxy brought Ren through the congested streets of the market, where he caught sight of an exquisite horse-drawn carriage. Olivia and li Hongji were stood outside the carriage chatting amongst themselves, presumably waiting for them.

"Oh, you're back already."

Li Hongji greeted them when he saw them approaching. Olivia's eyes lit up and she immediately rushed over to Ren.

"How did the lesson go? did you enjoy it? Are you going to continue?"

Olivia fired off questions with a burning excitement. Ren shook his head bitterly before replying.

"A promise is a promise."

He said, quickly glancing at Roxy. The carriage seemed to catch Ren's attention, it was pulled by two white horses and the driver was well dressed in luxurious clothing.

"What's with the fancy carriage?"

Ren asked, it seemed like this was a bit excessive for just going back to the inn. Li Hongji gave Ren a grin and pointed at the carriage.

"We were invited by the king so this treatment is to be expected."

Li Hongji explained, causing Ren to remember they actually had plans today.

"Hey Ren, you didn't answer my questions properly."

Olivia jumped in, pouting at Ren, who sighed and gave her a thumbs up.

"What's that meant to mean."

Olivia enquired further but at this moment Roxy walked past them and got into the carriage.

"Enough chat, let's just go already."

Roxy said moodily, causing Olivia to relent and get into the carriage.

***

After a comfortable ride through the city, the carriage stopped outside a large iron gate that was part of a large stone wall, two soldiers armed with halberds approached the carriage and after a short discussion with the driver they gave the all clear and the gates creaked open.

The carriage moved through a cobbled path and Ren, who had stuck his head out of the window immediately caught sight of the palace. It was a huge building that closely resembled the temples they had seen yesterday, with a tapered green roof and tall white walls, dozens of solders were patrolling the courtyards and approaching the other carriages that had lined up near the palace entrance.

Soon, their own carriage came two a halt and one of the guards opened the door for them.

"Right this way honoured guests."

He spoke respectfully, the group exited the carriage, very happy with the treatment this far.

"Wow, it's like we're VIP's"

Olivia, who was a simple village girl had never experienced something like this, this made the guard chuckle.

"But dear guest, you are a VIP, it was thanks to your group that so many people kept their lives yesterday and for that we couldn't be more thankful."

He said sincerely while leading them to the entrance.

"it seems news travels quick here."

Roxy muttered, it seemed that their group must really stand out, to be identified by sight alone.

"I think you're the one that stands out Goddess."

Li Hongji said seemingly knowing what Roxy was thinking, it was true though, Roxy's devastating looks weren't something you see every day, just her hair colour alone was rare enough to easily identify her.

"Damn straight"

Roxy chuckled, the doors of the palace were already open and two servants dressed in green robes were stood outside, receiving the guests in front of them, when it was their turn, the servants seemed to immediately recognise the group.

"Ah, you must be lady Roxy, his majesty will be thrilled to know you came, please follow me and I'll show you to your table."

One of the servants said, taking them inside the hall. Olivia let out a small gasp when she saw the interior, it was absolutely massive. The hall was had two floors and was filled with tables around a central stage where musicians were playing for the audience. Huge, golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling and hundreds of waiters darted around the tables serving alcohol and food to the guests.

The servant led them two their own table which was one of the closest to the stage, much to Roxy's delight the table came equipped with several bottles of expensive looking beverages, ranging from wine to liquor.

"Now we're fucking talking."

Roxy said, her mood improving drastically as she made a beeline for the bottles and started chugging straight from the bottle. Ren made a mental note of this, so he was better prepared for his master's future mood swings.

"Please enjoy yourselves."

The servant said before bowing and taking his leave. The group sat at the table which was more than large enough to accommodate them and began discussing amongst themselves.

"Man, I almost feel bad, when Roxy told me we were going to Ventus I almost had a heart attack, guess you can't trust the rumours."

Olivia said, while grabbing some of the snacks on the table, Li Hongji laughed and poured himself and Olivia a glass of liquor.

"You say that but this treatment is only because of Goddess Roxy."

Li Hongji replied, taking a sip from the glass, looking like he thoroughly enjoyed himself.

"I wanted to ask you before but why do you call Roxy that."

Olivia asked, she knew Roxy was strong but to call her a Goddess seemed a bit much. Li Hongji gave her a bittersweet smile.

"I have my reasons."

He replied, clearly not wanting to explain further, at this point Roxy slammed and empty wine bottle onto the table, making Ren look at her.

"It's because he aint an idiot like you… why are you looking at me like that brat, you want some."

Roxy said grabbing another bottle and pouring a glass for Ren. Olivia gave her a dirty look.

"I don't think so."

She said icily, causing Roxy to shrug her shoulders and down the glass herself.

"But I wanted some."

Ren said to Olivia, who flashed him a feigned smile that sent shivers down his spine. While the group talked amongst themselves, they were approached by a tall man with piercing eyes and a thick moustache.

"Looks like you're having fun here, I've never seen your faces before, must be your first time huh. The names Wu Feng from the heavenly sword sect."

"Is that so, you can call me Roxy."

Roxy said, Wu Feng was surprised at how little of a reaction his name garnered, he didn't like to toot his own horn but he was somewhat of a bigshot.

"What an interesting bunch… Ah I see, you must be outsiders."

Wu Feng said, he looked as if he was going to say something but at that very moment a young boy with a huge broadsword strapped to his back rushed over.

"Sect leader, what are you doing, the banquets about to start."

The boy said to Wu Feng, now that he was closer you could see how big the sword he was carrying truly was, including the handle it was the same size as Ren's entire body.

"My dear boy where are your manners, don' forget that you're representing our sect."

Wu Feng spoke, making the boy freeze before bowing towards the others.

"My apologies, I acted too rashly."

The boy said timidly, causing Roxy to wave her hands.

"No need for that, why don't you two join us, company makes the alcohol taste better."

Roxy said, being uncharacteristically sociable. Ren gave her a strange look, wondering what was making her act like this.

"ah, it's the alcohol."

Ren muttered to himself. Wu Feng gave Roxy a grin and took the seat next to her.

"I would be glad to have such a beautiful drinking companion, Yang Chen why don't you introduce yourself."

He said causing the boy named Yang Chen to bow once more.

"Yang Chen of the heavenly sword sect, seven years old, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Yang Chen spoke formally, his introduction caused Olivia to raise a brow, Yang Chen was a lot taller than your average seven-year-old, a whole head taller than Ren.

"Wow, you're the same age as Ren, you two should be friends, I'm Olivia by the way, the pleasures all mine."

Olivia said cheerfully and gave Ren a suggestive look, prompting him to also introduce himself.

"Ren"

Ren said causing Olivia to face palm.

"You can do better than that."

"Ren, seven years old."

Ren tried again, Olivia sighed and gave up, giving Li Hongji a chance to introduce himself, this seemed to make Wu Feng raise an eyebrow.

"Li huh, you wouldn't be a member of the lions now, would you?"

Wu Fen asked with his eyes narrowed. Li Hongji waved his hands.

"That is not the case, I'm just a simple tour guide who was rescued by these people."

Li Hongji explained causing Wu feng to relent, he didn't see any lies in that statement.

"My mistake then."

Wu Feng said apologetically, the table continued to chat amongst themselves until the lights slowly dimmed and a single spotlight lit up the stage revealing a tall muscular man dressed in black and gold robes.

As soon as this man made his appearance, the hall fell silent, his long black hair flowed to his shoulders and his eyes glistened profoundly, he seemed to perfectly portray the role of a wise old man, he carried himself with an air of authority that instantly made the others realise that he was indeed the king of this nation.

"Greetings my honoured guests, today's competition is a very special one for the kingdom, gathered before us are all the prospective talents of the younger generation, the ones who will one day be the leading figures of our nation, to them I only have one thing to say. Show us what you got."

The King speech was short and to the point, the audience responded with a standing ovation as he walked off the stage but just as he was about to leave, he stopped abruptly and turned around causing the applause to die down.

"Oh yes, one more thing, I will be picking out a suitor for my daughter from the contestants, so do your best."

The King said before taking his leave, almost instantly the hall burst into commotion as everyone began to discuss the bombshell the king had just dropped.

"How interesting."

Wu Feng commented, taking a sip of his drink, when he noticed Ren's uninterested expression, he gave him a nudge with his elbow.

"I hear the young princess is breathtakingly gorgeous and extremely talented, if you manage to catch her eye, you will surely be blessed in the future"

"Not interested"

Ren stated flatly, causing Wu Feng to chuckle.

"Anyone who wants to marry Ren will have to get my approval, even if she's a princess."

Olivia said loudly causing the others to laugh and Li Hongji to almost spill his drink.

"Still brat, you should go and sign up for the competition, it'll be good training. Tell you what, if you win, I'll teach you a new spell."

Roxy's words made Ren eyes burn with passion, a new spell would increase his fighting strength tremendously.

"Yang Chen, go with him."

"Yes, sect leader."

The two headed to the waiting room at the back of the hall where people were registering for the under-ten competition.

"Will Ren be alright"

Olivia asked out of concern

"You think it's possible for a disciple of mine to lose."

Roxy replied confidently, causing Wu Feng to raise an eyebrow.

"If you're that confident, do you care to make a wager."

Wu Feng asked Roxy with a huge grin on his face.

"Hoh, what are the terms."

"Three bottles of your finest liquor, of course if I lose it'll be the same for me."

"Deal."

Roxy said chuckling.

***

"Ren, seven years old, no affiliation, disciple of Roxy."

Ren told the woman at the registration table, the waiting room had no windows, supposedly to prevent the other contestants from knowing the other participants strengths.

"Good, your number is eleven, come to the front when your number is called."

The woman replied, handing him a black badge that had the number eleven in gold print and called the next person in the line.

Ren walked off and joined Yang Chen who was seated near the back and looked at Ren eagerly.

"What number did you get?"

He asked and Ren showed him the badge that the woman had given him.

"Oh eleven, I got six, then again we're chosen at random so the numbers don't matter that much.

"Is that so?"

Ren replied unenthusiastically, trying to let Yang Chen know that he wasn't interested in making small talk but the message seemed to be lost because that was exactly what Yang Chen proceeded to do.

"What cultivation stage are you in.?"

"Rank one, accumulation."

"Same as me then, your master seems pretty strong, what rank is she in?"

"No clue."

Yang Chen continued to hit Ren with questions and just as Ren was starting to get vexed, the registration woman made an announcement.

"Numbers three and eleven, please make your way to the stage."

Ren was surprised, he didn't expect to be the first to fight but it mattered little since he would end up fighting now or later. On the other side of the room a boy stood up, presumably his opponent. Ren spared him a quick glance, sizing him up and made his way to the door.

"Good luck."

Yang Chen shouted from behind, Ren ignored him, luck wasn't real, the outcome would depend on if he was stronger than his opponent.

A soldier walked him and the other contestant up to the stage. Ren's near perfect features were quite eye catching earning him the attention of the crowd.

"Never seen that black haired kid before."

"What a cute kid, shame that nasty look on his face ruins it."

"What sect is he from, he looks like my daughters' doll."

"REEEEN, DO YOUR BEST"

A familiar voice from the crowd shouted above the rest, of course it was the usual suspect, Olivia, whose face was slightly flushed, suggesting she had drunk quite a bit already. Ren nodded at her and took his place on the stage.

His opponent stood opposite him and seemed rather nervous, he held a long red spear with shaky hands and his eyes where unfocused.

"Xi Wei of the Xi family, eight years old"

"Ren, no affiliation, seven."

The two introduced themselves to each other and the audience. The referee, a bald man wearing blue robes walked onto the stage and spoke to them.

"You will begin when the coin I toss hits the floor, all moves, weapons and spells are permitted. The victor will be decided by knockout, concession or if I deem It necessary to stop the match, so don't hold back, do you understand."

"Yes"

"Understood"

The two of them agreed to the rules of the match, this was good for Ren, if it was like this he could fight to his strengths as an assassin, he stared at his opponent with the intention to kill, locking eyes with him and letting his murderous aura run free.

"Good, then let's begin"

The referee tossed a small silver coin into the air. Ren didn't watch the coin, he would be able to hear it land, instead his eyes watching Xi Weis hands closely, this was something taught to him back at the Linheart mansion. An armed opponent would obviously use their hands to attack.

DING.

The coin hit the stage… but Ren's opponent never moved, confused by this, Ren looked up at his opponent, only to see that his face had lost all colour, the boy was trembling and dropped to his knee's the very next moment.

"I… I concede"

Xi Wei said quietly. Gasps of shock rang through the audience as the referee raised his hand and called the match.

"Winner of match one by concession, Ren, no affiliation."

The audience was oddly silent with the exception of loud cheering from Olivia and Li Hongji, realising that he had won, Ren began to walk of the stage.

"Oi brat, you won't gain anything from winning like that."

Roxy yelled from her table but gave Wu Feng a smug grin immediately after.

"Yes master, it won't happen again."

Ren said as he jumped off the stage and headed back to waiting room. Once he was out of sight Wu Feng turned to Roxy with a strange look in his eyes.

"That killing intent was something else, what kind of training did you make him do?"

He asked in disbelief, Roxy chuckled smugly.

"Hah, the brat was already like that when I found him, I hope your disciple can at least put up a good fight."

"We'll see about that."

Wu feng said confidently.

***

"Damn that was quick."

Yang Chen said when he saw Ren was already back from his fight, only a few minutes had passed since he left the waiting room.

"I guess I was lucky."

Ren replied, maybe luck was real after all, giving such an easy opponent. Yang Chen looked at Ren with interest.

"I can't help but get excited for our fight now"

Yang Chen said while smiling, Ren responded with a short nod.

The announcements continued and eventually it was Yang Chen's turn to fight, he left the room after giving Ren a thumbs up and came back a few minutes later with a grin on his face. The registration women made an announcement shortly after.

"That's the end of round one, we will now proceed to match one of the second round, numbers six and eleven, if you would please make your way to the stage"

Yang Chen looked at Ren with fire in his eyes, his smile growing wider by the second.

***

"Ren, no affiliation, seven years old."

"Yang Chen of the heavenly sword sect, seven years old"

The two introduced themselves on the stage, Ren's eyes locked on to the massive broadsword Yang Chen was holding, a weapon of that size would end the fight in one strike.

As the Referee once again explained the rules of the match, Ren sunk into the lightning stance, his right hand tightly gripping the hilt of his sheathed blade. The referee was finished speaking and he tossed up the coin, the audience was dead silent as they watched the coin tumble through the air as it fell towards the ground.

DING.

As soon as Ren heard the coin hit the ground, he poured all his strength to his legs and launched his body towards Yang Chen, his hand seemed to flicker as Nightfall shot out of its sheathe and swung towards Yang Chen's neck.

CLANG.

A metallic crunch rang throughout the hall as Nightfall bounced of the broadsword, Yang Chen had taken advantage of his weapons width and wielded it like a shield, easily blocking Ren's attack.

Ren wasn't surprised by his attacks failure and immediately twisted his waist, keeping the pressure up with a low, sweeping kick that was aimed at Yang Chen's legs with the goal of bringing him to the ground.

Yang Chen evaded the kick by jumping up into the air, raising his sword high above his head as he reached the peak of his jump, using the helping hand of gravity to release a devastating vertical slash towards Ren.

Ren didn't even attempt to block such a powerful strike, instead he jumped backwards, barely dodging the falling sword by a hair's breadth.

BOOM.

The broadsword slammed into the stage with immense force, sending out bits of rubble in every direction with explosive force, the rubble heading towards the audience seemed to hit an invisible border and be vapourised into nothing but Ren wasn't so lucky, a small cut appeared on his check and small amount of blood dripped down his face.

It wasn't all bad news though, dodging that attack had opened up some space between them, giving him enough time to launch a spell. Ren wasted no time in putting his hands together as a melodic chant escaped his lips.

"Ignis Lorem"

An orange glow formed within Ren's hands, it steadily got brighter and more tangible until a streak of fire launched out of his hands spiralling towards Yang Chen at blistering speeds.

Yang Chen smirked in the face of the incoming spell, raising his broadsword like a shield and using it to block the Firebolt as the flames did nothing to the steel surface.

However, Ren had expected the spell to fail, with the massive sword blocking Yang Chen's line of sight, he wrapped tendrils of inky black shadows around his body to erase his presence and cushion his footsteps.

Ren dashed towards the unsuspecting Yang Chen, who only caught wind of Ren's approach at the last moment, barely moving his head out of the path of Nightfall's lethally sharp blade by leaning back but this came at the cost of losing his balance.

Ren wasn't about to let a chance like this slip by him, he exploited his close proximity to Yang Chen and used his free hand to deliver a powerful elbow strike to his wrist, forcing Yang Chen to drop the broadsword and wince in pain.

Ren didn't take it easy now that his opponent was unarmed, before Yang Chen's sword had hit the ground, Ren had already shifted his sword and was now releasing a vertical slash.

Yang Chen who could no longer rely on his sword, was forced to catch the blade with his palms, although he managed to avoid the match ending blow, his hands were now bleeding profusely.

Ren tried to free his sword from Yang Chen's grip but he refused to let go, Ren wasn't interested in having a tug of war with Yang Chen and instead lunged forward and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying backwards where he landed at the far end of the stage.

Despite what it looked like Ren knew that his kick hadn't connected properly, if it had Yang Chen wouldn't have been sent flying through the air. Yang Chen had jumped backwards himself, to soften the blow. Ren wasn't too worried though, Yang Chen was even further away from his weapon now, meaning Ren held the advantage in close combat.

"Terra Forma"

A chant came from Yang Chen, who was pressing his bloodied palms into the ground. Ren began to feel the ground directly underneath him shake violently, as a whole section of the stage rose into the air, taking him along with it and forming a huge seven-meter-tall pillar.

Yang Chen welcomed the self-made opportunity with open arms and dashed towards his sword before Ren could regain his composure.

However, Ren wasn't going to keep Yang Chen waiting for long, with his new vantage point on top of the pillar, Ren quickly realised what Yang Chen was up to and immediately started chanting.

WHOOSH

A Firebolt spell soared downwards towards the broadsword laying on the ground, Ren wasn't aiming for him but where he knew Yang Chen would go.

If Yang Chen chose to stop to evade the spell, then Ren would have enough time to jump down and get between him and his weapon.

Yang Chen who was almost on the sword at this point, noticed the spell but he didn't intend to let Ren have his way. He summoned all his strength and dove towards the broadsword, hoping to beat the spell in the race.

Ren who was watching from above saw the flames erupt spectacularly, hiding Yang Chens figure and not letting him know the result between man and spell, as the flames began to fade his expression worsened.

"Tsk, a dead heat"

Ren muttered, below him Yang Chen was hiding under his sword, some of his hair was singed and his clothes were covered in soot but that was as far as the damage went.

Yang Chen had a savage grin on his face, this was the first time someone his age had pushed him so far and he was loving every second of it.

"I think that's enough warming up, I hope you don't mind if I get a tad serious."

He shouted up at Ren while getting to his feet. Ren look down at him coldly, he couldn't help but leak out some of the killing intent he was struggling to supress.

"Do as you wish."

Ren said icily, jumping down from the pillar. When Yang Chen felt the suppressive aura make his blood freeze, his grin only grew wider.

Yang Chen who had mostly been on the defensive up until now began to charge at Ren with his massive broadsword trailing behind him.

Ren didn't waver in the face of the charge, he leant his back against the pillar and placed his palm on the surface, injecting the pillar with his shadows, thoroughly saturating it. Oblivious to Ren's discreet actions, Yang Chen lashed out with his broadsword, aiming to behead his opponent.

Of course, Ren wouldn't let the fight end there, he dropped to the ground letting the sword pass overhead and pulverise the middle of the pillar causing the shadows trapped within to burst forth, releasing a thick shadow imbued dust cloud, which covered the entire stage and blocked all vision.

BOOM.

The top of the pillar which had now lost its support, crashed into the ground, providing the perfect distraction for Ren to disappear into the murky dust.

Yang Chen, who had now lost all traces of Ren, didn't panic, just like how he couldn't see Ren, Ren couldn't see him.

The weight of his sword made his footsteps heavy so Yang Chen was forced to move slowly but before that, he ripped apart his clothing and used it to cover his face and nose, it was likely that Ren was doing the same, since a single cough would give away your position.

Yang Chen moved around the stage slowly with his vigilance high, his eyes were starting to tear up from the dust but that couldn't be helped, covering his eyes would only be more problematic.

"Whoosh."

Yang Chen heard the roar of flames from behind him, he went to dodge but it was already to late and the firebolt struck him square in the back with enough force to send him tumbling to the ground and leaving a scorched hole in his robes, this exposed the leather vest underneath that had protected him from the searing flames but they did nothing against the impact of the explosion which dazed him.

Yang Chen bit his lip to regain his wits, allowing him to realise that his location was exposed, he quickly rolled to the side, just in time to evade another streak of fire that exploded right next to him. That spell would have probably ended the match if he didn't have the foresight to move just now.

Yang Chen used the loud roars of the flames to mask his foot steps as he ran through the dust cloud but as soon as he stopped moving, yet another firebolt raced towards him from a completely different direction, through an act of sheer luck the spell struck his sword, allowing him to come out unscathed.

"How the hell is he finding me"

Yang Chen thought inwardly, he was beginning to get frustrated, under these circumstances there should be no way for Ren to locate him with such pinpoint accuracy.

Yang Chen started running through the dust without any particular direction in mind, as it stood standing still would make him a sitting duck at the mercy of Ren's spells. Interestingly enough, now that he was moving, the bombardment of Firebolts seemed to stop.

Just as Yang Chen was wondering what was going on, he felt something tug lightly on his ankle, looking down he caught a glimpse of a thin metallic wire tied loosely to his ankle.

Yang Chen raised an eyebrow this steel wire must have been how Ren was tracking him. Ren must have tied it into a lasso previously and when the pillar exploded, Ren attached it to his leg, since ducking the sword gave him the chance to do so.

Since the wire was pretty loose, it wasn't hard to remove. Yang Chen found a large piece of Rubble by his feet and quickly tied it to the wire while he was running and throwing it into the distance. Soon after it landed, the dust was illuminated by a streak of fire that darted of in the direction he had thrown it.

Yang Chen smirked, although he had managed to keep Ren's attacks at bay for now, with the dust obscuring his vision it was still anyone's game but now he had time on his side and lots of it.

Yang Chen stopped running and regulated his breathing, closing his eyes to help him focus better. He remained this way for a while as his heart beat got louder and faster. Suddenly his eyes snapped open revealing a pair of brightly glowing brown irises.

In an instant, his aura changed, Yang Chen's muscles ballooned to twice their original size and his body grew taller and bulkier. The sounds of bones popping and creaking could be heard around the stage as he reached the height of a fully grown man.

"Time for round two."

Yang Chen roared with a crazed expression on his face, he channelled all his newly gained strength into his arms and swung his broadsword around, releasing powerful gusts of wind that quickly cleared the dust away.

With his vision now clear, Yang Chen immediately caught sight of Ren near the fallen half of the pillar and licked his lips.

Ren was startled by the development but didn't take long to recover, he looked strangely upon Yang Chen's giant body but calmly began to analyse his situation.

One of the first things Ren noticed was Yang Chen's eyes, which seemed to be glowing fiercely, this was obviously the activation of a trait, which was probably the reason behind that massive body structure.

Yang Chen's trait seemed to enhance his physical prowess, as demonstrated by the powerful gusts of wind that cleared all the dust. Ren guessed that this transformation probably had a time constraint but without knowing how long it lasted this knowledge was pretty much useless.

Ren's mind began to race as he struggled to find a winning strategy, he still could enhance but that was a last resort, he didn't know if his enhancement could keep up with Yang Chen's new strength or even outlast it.

His own trait was far to unreliable to depend on, according to Roxy, its activation was based on his emotions but he had no way of artificially working himself up. Ren didn't have any solid plan in mind he could only rely on the fact that Yang Chen's huge body lacked mobility and was a bigger target.

"Hah, looks like you're thinking quite hard over there, shame it won't do you any good. The only thing you should be thinking about is how to not get squished like a bug."

Yang Chen roared crazily while charging towards Ren with a rabid expression, it was like his whole personality changed when his trait activated, he seemed a lot more… feral.

Ren prepared himself, with the amount of strength Yang Chen had displayed thus far, blocking his attacks would be a death wish, all he could hope to do was dodge.

Yang Chen swung his sword at Ren's waist, being unable to block meant that Ren could only lean backwards and barely avoid it but this caused further problems for him, Ren was now at the mercy of the wind pressure of the attack, which threatened to throw him of balance. It took all Ren had to remain standing, which made dodging the next attack impossible.

Ren could only counter attack before Yang Chen's next attack arrived, using his superior mobility Ren lashed out with nightfall, in the hopes of at least getting some breathing room to use his spells. Unfortunately for Ren, Yang Chen had already expected this and before Ren's attack hit him, He stomped on the ground, unleashing his overwhelming power.

BOOM.

The whole stage shook as webbed cracks formed under Yang Chen's feet. The violent tremors in the ground messed with Ren's footing, causing his attack to miss completely.

Ren quickly backed off, close combat was a losing battle there was a huge gap in strength between him and Yang Chen and with the burden of the Suffer-Ring, he wasn't even sure if enhancing would bridge that gap.

To add to Ren's problems, he was running dangerously low on Aether and only had a few more spells left in him, he still had his new flamethrower magic that he had yet to test in live combat but that required a concentration that he couldn't provide in the heat of battle, he would need to find a good opportunity to use it.

Ren began to infuse Nightfall's blade with chaotic shadow's, he didn't feel that it was unfair fighting with the Suffer-Ring, Roxy had chosen him to be her disciple so he would prove to her she made the right choice… still, this wasn't going to be an easy fight.

***

"Seems like your disciple is in a spot of trouble, I wonder what liquor you'll give me, it better be at least fifty years old."

Wu Feng said jestingly, but he was surprised even thought Ren was clearly on the back foot she didn't look worried at all.

"Hah, I would stop talking if I were you, there's only so many words you can eat at once after all. Still, consider me impressed, I didn't expect your disciple to have a trait."

Roxy replied, Wu feng was just about to open his mouth when he was interrupted by loud shouting.

"YOU CAN DO IT REN"

"DON'T LOSE REN"

Olivia and Li Hongji were shouting from the table with flushed faces, earning them stares from the other guests. This didn't seem to deter them as they continued fervently cheer for Ren. Roxy sighed as she watched their antics.

"BOOM."

A loud crash could be heard from the stage as Ren was thrown into the ground by Yang Chen, causing the ground to crack under him and a small amount of blood to leak out of his mouth.

Wu feng chuckled as he turned to Roxy with a gloating expression.

"That should be the end of the fight, your disciple was impressive, but clearly not enough."

He said cockily but Roxy's eyes were focused on the stage.

"It will take more than that to keep the brat down… but you're right, the fight's over. I'll be taking that liquor now."

Roxy replied laughing, Wu Feng turned his head to the stage where he saw Ren standing straight, his eyes glowing a beautiful scarlet. Wu Feng's jaw dropped.

"Are you fucking kidding me."

***

"You… you have one too."

Yang Chen asked in disbelief, when he saw Ren's eyes glowing but Ren's response never came, at the moment he was intensely focusing on his opponent trying to figure out a plan, all movement slowed down as the cogs in his head started to turn ridiculously quick.

"Got it."

As much as Ren didn't like relying on his trait due to its unreliability, he couldn't help but feel a rising surge of confidence now. Ren pumped Aether into his muscles and started the enhancing process. Filled with power, he launched blisteringly fast attacks towards Yang Chen.

Small cuts started to appear on Yang Chen's body, he could only block the ones aimed at vital areas and had to let the others get through his defences. Due to the flesh devouring shadows infused in Ren's sword, the wounds slowly got bigger over time, soon blood started splashing on to the ground at an alarming rate as Yang Chen continued to get pushed back.

Yang Chen was now starting to sweat, Ren's strength, speed and reaction time had all improved significantly, was it due to his trait? He refused to believe that Ren could keep up this intensity for much longer and he was right to think this… but.

Yang Chen who was desperately fending of Ren's attacks, suddenly felt his legs hit something making him trip backwards.

"Son of a… he steered me into the pillar."

Yang Chen thought inwardly as he fell on to the ground with a crash, during the fall he lost grip of his sword.

Ren kept him on the ground with a firebolt spell that Yang Chen was forced to block with his arms. Ren immediately sheathed nightfall, there was a lot of things he could do to Yang Chen at this point but his opponent was still strong enough to block them unarmed.

He needed time to prepare a large attack and that's why he picked up Yang Chens sword and jammed it under the fallen section of the pillar to pin Yang Chen's body onto the ground with Yang Chens own weapon, standing on the handle to weigh it down further.

Yang Chen squirmed on the ground but it was futile, with his arms sandwiched between the broad sword and his massive torso, he couldn't generate the strength necessary to free himself, obviously given enough time he would be able to escape but Ren wouldn't wait around for that to happen.

While standing on the handle Ren focused, a small flame appeared in his palm, the flame grew bigger and more violent, radiating intense heat into the surroundings. This was the only attack that had enough firepower to take down the sturdy body of Yang Chen.

Even though he hadn't practiced it since coming to the kingdom, he was confident that he would be able to pull it off with the help of his trait. The flames continued to grow more intense as they reached a dangerously hot temperature.

"Flamethrower."

Ren shouted inwardly as he launched the flames down at Yang Chen… but nothing happened, no flames were launched, Ren looked up in confusion and saw the blue robed referee holding his wrist tightly, completely paralysing his Aether flow.

"The winner of round two, match one by stoppage, Ren, affiliation none."