Kill The Old Ones!

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The Central City Grand Martial Coliseum will be the stage for the Inter-City Youth Martial Tournament.

This coliseum is located not too far from the City Lord’s Mansion. In fact, it’s only a walking distance away.

Typically, this stage is used for high-profile matches. People with big names and reputations will meet and clash here to prove who’s superior. With high-profiled people frequenting this place, of course, the security here was really strict. Furthermore, it’s close to the City Lord’s Mansion.

Anybody who dares to cause trouble here will directly provoke the ire of the City Lord.

But today isn’t for those high-profiled martial artists. Today, this coliseum is reserved for Central City’s young geniuses—those who have been taken to the Sky Archon’s Trial Grounds and have made explosive improvements over their stay there.

Of course, this competition wasn’t exclusive to them; anybody who fits the criteria can participate as well. However, those geniuses were the real highlight.

The Central City’s Grand Martial Coliseum was filled with people. About 80,000, to be exact, because that’s how many it could allow to watch the tournament live. Around the outside walls of the coliseum, there were projections of what’s happening on the inside, allowing those outside to see them too.

Additionally, this tournament will be broadcast live on local channels of Central City, allowing those who couldn’t come to watch it from wherever they are so long as they have a connection.

”Don’t be nervous, Cuz! This is just a tournament, no big deal. Yeah, no big deal at all,” Alex said, patting Ren’s shoulders as he roamed his eyes at the stage below.

Ren shrugged off his arms and said, ”I’m good. You, on the other hand, aren’t looking so good. It’s not like you’re the one stepping onto that stage to compete; why do you look more nervous than me?”

Alex’s expression blanched the moment he saw how many people were watching. He was struck by a sudden stage fright. He imagined himself going down there to compete and felt his stomach sinking.

Evidently, he wasn’t used to the idea of being the center of attention of this many people. He acts shamelessly to those he knows, but that’s because he’s comfortable with them.

Ren, on the other, felt none of this stage fright at all. Which is weird because if this were his previous life, he’d be vomiting out of nervousness at the mere idea of being the center of attention.

Perhaps it’s because he had been spoiled; maybe it’s because he’s just that confident with his strength. Maybe it’s both. Who knows? But Ren wasn’t feeling nervous at all.

If anything, Ren could sense the tension in the air.

Beneath all the fervor, excitement, and fanaticism of the crowd, he could feel the coiled tension and anticipation underneath.

He had seen some of the other participants as well, and they all looked primed and ready to compete regardless of the outcome.

They were given a whole month to prepare for this. They used this time to improve as much as they can. Whether their preparations were enough or not, that will be seen very soon.

”Ah, I think they’re summoning us. I’m going now,” Ren said. He just received a notice, so he informed Mikel and Alex.

”Good luck, Ren. Do your best.” Mikel patted Ren’s shoulders before sending him away.

Alex just smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. Raymond, along with his wife, Venina, and his mother, Grandma Allen, was also here. They looked at him in pride, sending him away with their gazes.

Once he was gone, they sat back down on their seats and sighed.

”He’s going to be fine, right?” Alex asked, sounding nervous and uncertain, which was very uncharacteristic of him.

”He will,” Mikel unhesitatingly replied. ”Even you might not be able to beat him at this point. Don’t underestimate how hard he worked while he’s been gone to those trial grounds.”

Alex could’ve qualified for this tournament too. Unfortunately, he broke through to the Inhuman Realm while Ren was away, and he exceeded the requirements, so he can’t participate anymore.

”Right. Yeah, he’s going to be fine.”

Alex had no problems admitting this. He measured Ren upon his return, and Alex personally saw a glimpse of the monster that’s slumbering within Ren. Mikel’s words were the truth. There’s no way he’s beating Ren in a straightforward fight.

And if he, a newly-minted 1st Transformation Inhuman Realm martial artist, couldn’t, these inferior and lazy practitioners would never stand a chance.

**

”Welcome, young geniuses!” A man with slick-back and glossy hair enthusiastically greeted the participants of the tournament.

He adjusted his monocle and wore that confident smile as if he were revelling in the attention of the youth being gathered towards him.

”My name is Edgar Caster, and I was given this gracious honor to be the host of this honorable and blood-pumping martial tournament!”

Clap clap clap!

”Thank you, everyone! Thank you!” Edgar theatrically bowed to all cardinal directions before continuing his monologue.

”I can feel everybody’s excitement and anticipation. My instincts tell me that if I delayed this longer, someone might just strangle me, and that’s a big no, no! Not on the day of my debut as the host!”

”So, without any further ado, please, everybody. Feast your eyes upon Central City’s finest and most dashing young participants!! Cameraman, do your thing!!!”

Some of the participants gasped as, all of a sudden, several drones popped out of the ground and began encircling them. They were suddenly put under the spotlight, and the projections all over the place started displaying their faces and expressions one by one.

The clamoring in the arena reached a fever pitch. The crowd was so excited that they were literally shaking the entire coliseum. Some people were screaming for their favorites; others just wanted to be done with these theatrics and begin the fighting.

Ren stood tall among the flashing lights, retaining his indifferent expression. He was annoyed by the theatrics but made sure to control his expression.

He was wearing some casual clothes right now. Nothing too fancy or glamorous. He wasn’t here to participate in a fashion show.

”Alright, that’s enough,” Edgar signaled, ending the highlight. ”Let’s proceed with the actual tournament before the crowd begins throwing things at me.”

That made some in the audience laugh.

”As you all know, we had an incident around two years ago. The geniuses of human civilization had been abducted so suddenly. Youth at or under the age of 18 with a minimum of Bone Forging and a maximum of Marrow Cleansing Stage level were all taken to a place that not even our dear martial gods could approach easily.”

”To our luck, though. It turns out that this was a massive opportunity for them instead. That place may have abducted them abruptly, but it was for their own sake. That place was a trial ground where their training speed, at base, is raised to 3×, and those with the ability could double that speed so long as they worked hard enough.”

”This was a massive opportunity that many, me included, envied. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event that inflated the strength levels of this generation’s geniuses.”

”To assess the gains of our youth and to revitalize the prosperity of martial arts, the GMU and the Imperial Court collectively decided to stage a grand tournament that will occur in every city.”

”The youth before us are all under the age of 25, and most of them have already reached the Pulse Awakening Stage.”

”An incredible achievement, that’s for certain! It signifies that these youth certainly have not wasted their time!”

”But the question is, who worked the hardest?”

”Who had gained the most?”

”And more importantly...who’s the strongest young genius of Central City?”

Edgar twisted his body to face the audience. He opened his arms and gazed at them with fervor in his eyes.

”What say you, dear audience? Aren’t you curious as well!? Surely, you are rooting for one of these people before me, right!?”

”Go on! Scream! Scream their name! Let them hear your energy, your support, your love, and your hope!! Come! Louder!!”

Say whatever you want about this flamboyant host, but he certainly knows how to rile up the crowd.

Because of his instigation, Central City’s Grand Martial Coliseum was once again shaking from the roars and excitement of the crowd.

”Yeah! Yeah! That’s what we’re talking about!!” Edgar’s voice squeaked a bit because of his energy.

”Ahem. Sorry, that was embarrassing of me. Anyway, he’s how it’s going to go...”

”The participants will be grouped by five. All five in the same group will compete with each other, and only the top two from each group will advance to the next round.”

”All groups will compete at the same time to save us time. The strong move on; the inferior stay behind.”

”I’ll save the next part for when the time comes. For now, I’ll have to ask our youthful participants to step forward and begin drawing lots so we can start the preliminary rounds of this tournament already.”