Cheers soon filled the entire colosseum as both Jarek and Astrid left the arena.
As they stepped on a teleportation circle, instead of being teleported back to their chambers, they appeared outside the arena's barrier, near the announcer.
Moments later, eight others had appeared at the scene.
These were the top ten of this tournament.
As for why they were here, it was time to receive their rewards.
From fourth place to tenth place, they received the points they had earned.
Sadly, Brynhild and Asvald weren't here.
After all, they had been eliminated yesterday, when the remaining participants' numbers exceeded ten.
They stood within their chambers observing the top ten receiving their rewards.
Asvald looked on calmly while Brynhild gazed at Astrid and her new rival with passion.
'In the next tournament, I will definitely win.'
Her spirit hadn't diminished a bit.
She would shine in the next tournament at the end of their first year.
As for first to third place, they received special cards which would allow them to receive their prizes once they visited specific halls, whether it be one that deals with materials, weapons, or law diagrams.
Though most of them weren't excited by the rewards.
After all, anything the academy could give them, they could get it from their families and even more.
Only those from families with very low statuses were motivated by the rewards.
Most of these students just participated in this tournament to prove themselves or push themselves further.
At least, those were the feelings shared by Asvald, Astrid, and Brynhild.
As for Jarek, with his low status, he was, of course, of the former category.
He wanted the prizes as they would be useful to him.
While Jarek and the others on stage received their prizes, in a special chamber, Ernst was praising his grandfather for his foresight.
"Grandfather is truly wise. I never thought that Jarek would take first place. If you hadn't suggested we change the prizes this time around, he would have walked away with a lot of spirit stones—perhaps enough for him to reach the Empyrean stage."
If it were up to Ernst, he would have never considered that he would emerge as the final winner.
There were, after all, many talents this year, not to mention Brynhild and Astrid, who had a higher prowess than he.
To be fair, Jarek was just a supreme-grade talent.
What that means is that his talent for qi accumulation is unmatched.
But that's all that it means.
Ernst could never have anticipated that Jarek's talent extended even further beyond energy cultivation.
Even if Jarek was a supreme-grade talent, he didn't hold him to the same standard he held people like Asvald, Brynhild, Astrid, and others because of their noble birth.
It was an utter disregard of Jarek's status.
It seems some things never change, no matter which world one lives in.
The bearded old man just smiled at this and added, "The fortune of Supreme-grade talents cannot be underestimated. They aren't called 'Heaven's Favorites for no reason. You need to treat them with extra care."
The Deputy Head said this but was completely oblivious to the fact that his scheme had already been discovered by Jarek.
However, even after hearing Ernst's praise, the Deputy Head frowned, "However, I am not sure if this is enough."
"What do you mean?" Ernst asked, confused as to the reason why his grandfather felt that even with the preparation he had done, it was still inadequate.
"Ernst, you should never underestimate a High-grade talent, let alone a Supreme-grade talent. As I said before, a Supreme-grade talent's destiny is boundless. And for them to achieve that destiny, almost nothing will stop them." The Deputy Head spoke seriously.
"These students may not look like anything impressive right now, but give them time, and some of them will be powerhouses that even the Order cannot offend. And as for Jarek... You asked me why we don't just turn against him, and I answered you by saying that the karmic sin would be so enormous that even the Order can't bear it. The opposite is also true.
Think of it this way. How great would it be if his destiny were tied to the Order? Not to mention, he is a cultivator who is almost guaranteed to reach the pinnacle of cultivation in the shortest period. Which force wouldn't want that? And we just luckily happened to stumble across such a person.
The Supreme Dao Empress took less than a century to reach where she is right now. And that was without unconditional support. What if Jarek had the support of the entire order? How long will it take for him to reach the peak? It would save the Order a hundred thousand years of time."
His expression then turned uncertain as he said, "What I am worried about is if he continues being this stubborn, he might just find a way to advance even without our help. As I said before, his destiny is unmatched, so he might find a way to navigate this situation without our assistance. If that were the case, then we might need to play a few schemes to get what we want. But I hope it doesn't get to that, since it increases the chances of us being found out.
In any case, I want you to find out what type of law diagrams he will choose. You can let me know after you finish carrying out your earlier investigations."
Ernst nodded, finally understanding his grandfather's worries.
The cultivation world is vast and unpredictable. Who knows what unexpected events may occur tomorrow?
Thrain, on the other hand, had his eyes locked onto Jarek's figure as he received the prized cards.
He was inwardly cursing his luck, seeing Jarek receiving a card that would equip him with a rank 3 medium-grade weapon.
A rank 3 medium-grade weapon had power equivalent to an Empyrean.
So, if Jarek were to get that weapon before their battle, then claiming his life would get impossibly difficult.
But he calmed down, thinking, 'It's a good thing I did some preparations beforehand. With that woman in my hands, your end is guaranteed.'
Unfortunately, Thrain had no idea that his abduction plan had failed, and Leif had perished at the hands of the target he was supposed to capture.
With this one blunder, he had lost around half of his forces.
It was a loss that would take him a long time to recover from, that is, if he doesn't meet his end.
But for now, because he remained ignorant of all of this, his confidence was at its highest.
But soon, it will all come crashing down.