Clearing the table (3)

The curator sneered as he slotted in Ku Jian's card. Two names appeared next to hers. At this, she frowned.

"How many times can I fight in a day?" she asked. The curator could clearly see that she was not satisfied with the outcome.

"Girl, I know it's normal for people to be hot-blooded, but you must not be rash," he said.

"How many times?" she asked impatiently.

"There is no limit," he answered.

"Schedule me to fight ten people. Let the tower choose," she said and the curator paused.

"Even if you want to do as him, shouldn't you have much more care for your life?" someone asked from behind them.

"Who cares? I will not be behind!" she said. Many thought she wanted to fight equal numbers as Ed because she admired him. But they did not understand that Ku Jian's greatest fear was Ed leaving her behind. She must never lag behind or he will climb the tower without her. That was a fact she was sure about.

The three took their seats and waited their turn. Ed tilted his head back and closed his eyes. He tried to feel that familiar light from before. In fact, he had always kept his attention on the light. This time though, he wished to trace where it was coming from. Sure enough, it was in the tower. But he just could not tell where.

Ku Jian stared intently at him as he did so. She watched his every move as though wanting to find out what he was thinking. Her actions were caught by Nti Anem, who found Ku Jian's obsession with Ed unsettling. With this girl clinging to him like a parasite, they may not move as fast as they should. Especially when he was not sure why Ed indulged her, he did not know when she lagged behind, if Ed would wait for her.

Those sitting around were entrapped by Ku Jian's beauty; the men, more than the women. Yet none of them came up to start a conversation as they were all waiting to be called up to fight.

Ed had not opened his eyes, or he would have noticed Jia Lin enter the hall with some heaven sect disciples.

Jia Lin did not pause when he saw Ed. He only glanced at him and moved on. Still, Nti Anem caught the look in his eyes and smiled. It looks like we will not need to work hard to find this boy's enemies, he thought.

Jia Lin and the rest handed in their cards to the curator and some picked opponents, while others let the tower choose. As all five of them stood in front of the curator, one of them caught Ed's name on the board.

"What kind of situation is this, Curator? Someone can fight this many people? Usually, this is reserved for the top ten. Still, they never fight this many people," one of them asked.

"Yes, even looking at the names, most of them were picked at random. What kind of situation is this? Why haven't we heard of it?" another asked.

"You haven't heard of it. It is abnormal. The challenger is a rankless fighter," the curator said impatiently. He suddenly felt that he should push up Ed's fight. Or else, for everybody that comes here, he would have to waste saliva and explain this phenomenon. At his words, he nodded in the direction of Ed's group in irritation.

"The one sleeping is a rankless fighter. Don't ask any more useless questions!" he said and the heaven sect disciples turned to look in Ed's direction.

"It's him again," one said.

"He is an anomaly back home, should one be shocked he is even odder here?" someone else said.

"Right! I should stop being shocked,"

"True. I for one think that there is something inhuman about him," the only girl amongst them said. Jia Lin looked at Ed's sleeping form and frowned. He did not like the feeling rushing through his body when he saw Ed. This was someone he had rejected entrance into the Emperor Sage Academy. Even if he ended up doing well, not to the point of becoming a person he can only look at from afar.

"Your fight is up, rankless," the curator told Ed. Those who had been there before Ed frowned at this, but seeing the irritation in the curator's eyes, they refrained from complaining.

Ed got up and looked at where the curator was pointing. A young man just walked through the doorway looking tired and bloody. Behind him, tower guards were carrying a half-dead woman. Seeing her covered in blood, no one cared. Their eyes only followed Ed's form walking through the doorway.

"Your opponents have been informed. They should already be in the crowd. Follow the referee's instruction," the curator said and Ed passed through the doorway.

After his back disappeared from view, the fighters all scrambled out to watch his fight, to the dismay of the one who had fought last. Even Jia Lin was interested.

"Come. Let me see with my own eyes how he fights," he said and followed the excited crowd out.