Kill The Old Ones!

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The heirs of the two guilds and three martial sects move on to the semi-finals.

And so did the heirs of the Four Ancient Martial Families and the Four Heavenly Kings.

Unlike the previous five, these eight heirs had deeper backgrounds, more stories, and more resounding reputations throughout the city.

The Vermont and Kupkha families were famously at odds against each other, but not to the point of war. They just look down on each other based on their fighting style.

Vermonters fought elegantly. They are graceful and skilled and treat martial arts as a real art form that needs to be expressed profoundly.

Meanwhile, the Kupkhas fight almost instinctively. They have beastial instincts that they honed through real battles. They often move recklessly, abandoning style if it means getting the same conclusion—victory.

This is what separates them and the root of their major disagreements.

The Vermonts see the Kupkhas as barbarians, while the Kupkhas call the Vermonts sissies.

Despite their disagreements, though, they’re not really rivals. Both clans had other rivalries outside this city, other families or clans they had bad blood with.

What’s weird is how the heirs of both families seem to be...er, close.

Erickson Gabe Kupkha trails Julius Regulus Vermont like a lackey, constantly yapping at him or trying to please him in any way he can despite the other’s indifference.

He was subtle at all. And it caused the Kupkha family elders to be at a loss on what to do with him.

Eric doesn’t listen to them. They’ve asked why he’s doing his, but he refuses to reveal the reason, only saying that he’s doing what he wants.

The Vermonts were annoyed, probably more than Julius. This Kupkha spawn just won’t go away. They were not blind to how cruelly their young heir treats the other, yet for some reason, Eric doesn’t mind at all. If anything, the nastier Julius’ temper was, the more aroused Eric became.

Ren almost laughed when he saw her plight.

Oh, yes. He knows. Ren is aware that Julius was, in fact, a girl raised as a man, and her real name is Julie Anne Vermont—the only heir of the Vermont family’s main line.

He knows this because this became a scandal of Central City in the canon story. It was unknown how, but her real identity was revealed by accident, and many people saw it, which ruined the reputation of the Vermont family.

The real enemies of the Vermonts used this as an excuse to attack them. And in a twist of unexpected fate, the Vermonts and the Kupkha found themselves fighting side by side with Eric leading the charge.

He was a man in love, after all.

The Vermonts raised Julie as Julius because they’re patriarchal. In their opinion, only a strong and callous man could make the right decisions to steer the clan’s development and allow it to prosper and continue throughout the ages.

This was one of their ancestral teachings, one that they followed with near-blind faith.

Unfortunately, the male line suffers from infertility. And the only child they ever had was born a girl. Julie’s father nearly disowned her because he didn’t want a woman to replace him. He wants a male heir.

It was Julie’s mother who pleaded for the girl’s life. She was the one that suggested that she be raised as a man, naming her Julius Regulus instead of Julie Anne.

Compromise was her only option because she knew of her husband’s capability. She didn’t want her daughter to die.

And thus, Julie was raised believing that she was Julius, instead. It wasn’t until she was old enough to understand that she learned of the truth and has suffered ever since.

Meanwhile, there’s the still-delusional Atelier Family.

Once upon a time, the Ateliers were the rulers of the Letter Kingdom. They were of the royal lineage and were treated with respect and dignity. Everybody knelt in the presence, and they had the final say on how to run this kingdom.

But they were betrayed, dethroned, and exiled to the farthest corners of the kingdom. To their great shame, they had to bow their heads in order to survive and admit to their sins to have a way out.

They survived anyhow, but their need for vengeance and return to their rightful position never faded. This need had been passed down from one generation to the next, and it slowly poisoned their descendants’ minds into thinking that they were the victims.

Charles Atelier was a scoundrel in the eyes of his family. He’s a rogue and a stain to their dignified lineage. Nevertheless, the blood of a pure Atelier runs through him, and with that, his inborn superiority.

Even though he has been rebelling since he was able to think, Charles was still named as the heir to the family not only because of his innate talent but also because of the purity of his blood.

As much as they want to think that Charles is only going through his rebellious phase, the longer it goes on, the more nervous they get, because it’s becoming increasingly clear that Charles, unlike them, isn’t so interested in returning the family to their rightful throne.

The only family that seemed stable and secure enough among the four was the Silverye family, and their decent way of existing was rewarded with the birth of their young heir—Alden Silvereye.

The Silveryes were generally known to be the least problematic factions of the Central City. They were strong, yes. Are they completely innocent and righteous? No.

But are they decent enough? Yes.

And in a world where martial prowess is heavily preferred, decent is the best anybody could wish for.

The Silvereyes had never been involved in any major rivalries, scandals, or expositions. They were pretty transparent about their actions. Although some of them are questionable, it was still less problematic compared to other families or clans.

But if there’s one thing that really improved the public opinion about the Silvereyes, it would be none other than Alden Silvereye himself.

A lot of people call him Prince Charming or the Prince of Charity because he was both of those at the same time.

Alden was a good guy. Not just decent, good. Anybody who encountered him will say the same. He was polite, kind, smiles a lot, and helps in whatever way he can without asking anything in return.

Sure, he loses his temper sometimes, but who doesn’t? He’s only a man, not a god. Even gods have tempers. How is he any different?

Alden made a major appearance in the story as one of the hero’s good friends. Alden saved the hero’s behind too many times during his time at Central City.

It’s a pity that the hero repaid that grace by completely forgetting about the man altogether as he tore the skies of human civilization asunder with his righteous indignation.

Anyway...

The four heirs faced the extras and moved on too. They displayed a little bit of their skills, but not completely.

At least, not enough for Ren to completely analyze just by watching it once. They’re still hiding a lot.

As for the Four Heavenly Kings, of course they advanced, too. That’s already given.

The young kings are too strong for the extras to handle. They don’t even need to use their specialties to deal with their opponents. If the other party didn’t surrender as soon as the fight began, then they’ll experience the pain of not doing so.

It’s that simple.

Ren was, ’unofficially,’ the first one to pass the preliminary, so it’s kind of poetic that he goes last in this round.

All eyes were on him as he went up the stage to fight a guy whose name he didn’t even bother remembering.

Ren looked bored enough to stand still and allow the other party to show off some of his skills. Consider it his mercy, allowing the guy to make the most of his appearance because this will be the last.

He just stood there and allowed the guy to hit him as he pleased. Nothing he did even left a mark on Ren’s skin.

When he felt that the dude had shown enough, Ren simply ended the match with a single punch that blew the other guy off the stage.

The referee counted down, but the other guy was knocked unconscious by the punch. Once his victory was announced, Ren unceremoniously walked off the stage, still looking as bored as ever.

Those who were watching were puzzled. They don’t know who he was or where he came from. All they can tell is that he was very domineering in that match.

On the stands reserved for the participants, Seraphina’s eyes sharpened as he stared at Ren walking off the stage.

She looked as if his very existence offended her for some reason—something that, once again, Elena Frostmere noticed since she’s literally sitting right next to her, still as wordlessly as ever.

Ren felt Seraphina’s stare, but he couldn’t even be bothered to return it.

They will have plenty of time to stare at each other’s eyes, assuming their paths cross in this tournament.