The silence had begun to swallow the entire arena after the previous battle ended, but that silence was not completely calm…
It was filled with hidden tension, as if even the air itself was no longer comfortable after witnessing what everyone had seen moments ago.
Above, where the elders' seats were—
The Sixth Elder sat in his place, still trying to process what had happened, his eyes moving between the arena and the empty space around it.
But what shattered that quiet atmosphere was the sound of his hand slamming against the armrest of his seat.
"This is not normal."
Several heads turned toward him as he continued with a frown:
"Everything that happened in that round… simply defies reason."
He exhaled sharply before pointing toward the arena.
"A disciple with an ordinary level… or at least that's what he's supposed to be, stopped a full-powered attack with his bare hand?"
Then he let out a mocking laugh.
"Or am I the only one who saw that ridiculous scene?"
No one answered immediately.
But the Fourth Elder moved calmly in his seat and rested his hand beneath his chin as if thinking for a moment before speaking in a composed tone:
"Ridiculous?"
He looked directly at the Sixth Elder.
"The strange thing is that you saw it… yet became more interested in describing it than understanding what actually happened."
The Sixth Elder clenched his jaw.
"Understand? There's no need for this useless philosophy."
He gestured toward the arena below.
"That boy is obvious. He exaggerates. Shows off. Hides some simple trick and inflates it to deceive the disciples."
Then he leaned slightly forward.
"I've seen countless people like him."
A faint smile appeared on the Fourth Elder's face.
"And yet… you've never seen someone at the Pulsating Seed Realm stop a chi-infused sword barehanded without even moving a single step."
Silence filled the air for a moment, but the Sixth Elder did not back down. Instead, his tone became sharper.
"That proves nothing!"
Then he quickly added:
"Maybe there's some body trick, a defensive technique, something like that… or maybe he's using a forbidden art."
He waved his hand dismissively.
"But don't make it sound like some kind of legend."
The Fourth Elder slowly turned toward him.
"Are you sure you're trying to analyze what happened…"
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"…or are you simply trying to avoid admitting that you still don't understand it?"
The Sixth Elder's expression immediately darkened.
"What did you say?"
But the Fourth Elder did not raise his voice. He simply continued calmly:
"I'm not defending him, Sixth Elder, by the way… but…"
He paused briefly.
"I'm only saying that what happened doesn't require immediate accusations."
Then he tilted his head slightly.
"Especially from someone who wasn't even inside the arena."
The atmosphere froze for a moment, but this time the Sixth Elder laughed louder.
"I wasn't inside the arena? Of course I wasn't, otherwise I would've uncovered the truth myself."
Then he lowered his voice mockingly.
"The truth is that all of you are exaggerating because the new disciple caught everyone's attention."
He looked directly at the Fourth Elder.
"You too. You seem like you're enjoying this."
The Fourth Elder did not respond immediately. He simply looked toward the arena below, where the disciples were still whispering and replaying the scene in their minds, before calmly saying:
"I'm not enjoying it."
"I simply dislike rushed conclusions."
A brief silence followed.
Then he added:
"Because rushed conclusions are often wrong… and they cost their owner far more than expected."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"I want to see more of what that strange boy is hiding."
The Sixth Elder leaned back in his seat with an irritated exhale.
"Tsk…"
Then he spoke in a low but clear voice:
"We'll see. The tournament isn't over yet."
But his eyes showed no concern… only absolute confidence, as though everything that had happened was still nothing more than meaningless noise in his eyes.
Even so, deep inside, doubt and dissatisfaction still lingered within him, no matter how much confidence he displayed.
Down below—
Some disciples had begun returning to their seats gradually, but the conversations never stopped.
"Did you see how he stopped that attack?"
"No, that's impossible… completely impossible."
"But everyone saw it…"
"Then either we failed to understand something… or that boy was never normal to begin with."
Meanwhile, at the rear side of the arena—
Faiser walked calmly through the endless noise of the disciples after the battle, as if every step he took only caused the whispers around him to grow louder.
"Did you see that black strike?!"
"I swear I got chills just from looking at it!"
"Even the Fifth Elder himself was shocked!"
But Faiser… did not react to a single voice.
He simply continued walking with his hands behind his back while the gentle wind moved strands of his hair softly.
Suddenly—
The Book burst into laughter inside his mind.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"You bastard…!"
"Tell me first!"
Its tone rose with obvious excitement.
"Why did you use that attack specifically?!"
"Out of all the arts you possess… why Dark requiem in particular?!"
Faiser sighed lightly without slowing his steps.
"Because it was the most suitable."
The Book immediately replied:
"The most suitable?!"
"Stop talking like some old elder giving a boring lecture!"
Then it laughed again.
"You could've ended that fight in ten different ways!"
"Even a normal strike would've defeated him!"
Faiser closed his eyes briefly before calmly replying:
"If I had used an ordinary strike…"
He reopened his eyes.
"…he wouldn't have understood."
A short silence filled his mind before Faiser continued:
"That boy was fighting while fully prepared to destroy himself just to reach me."
He lowered his gaze slightly.
"So he needed a strike…"
"…that would make him clearly understand the size of the gap between us."
The Book laughed softly.
"Hah… so you were teaching him a lesson?"
Faiser answered immediately:
"No."
"I hate giving lessons."
Then the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
"But he's a good kid."
"And he'll become very troublesome in the future if he continues like this."
The Book exploded into laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"You're truly terrible at expressing yourself!"
"That's the longest way I've ever heard someone say they admired another person!"
Faiser sighed tiredly.
"You're really annoying."
The Book replied instantly:
"And you're far too cold!"
Then silence settled between them briefly before Faiser suddenly lifted his gaze toward the elders' platform.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"You know… something feels strange."
The Book responded:
"Hah? What now?"
Faiser calmly said:
"There are six seats for the elders."
"But so far… only four are present. I never paid attention to that before."
The Book paused.
"Oh…"
Then it quickly continued:
"You're right."
"We've only seen four elders until now…"
A brief silence followed.
"But seriously… where are the other two?"
Faiser continued staring upward.
"And more importantly…"
"…where is the Sect Master?"
Even the Book fell silent for a moment before finally speaking.
"Now that I think about it…"
"…that really is strange."
Faiser sighed lightly.
"A tournament of this scale…"
"With all these disciples and elders gathered here…"
"…yet the Sect Master is absent, and two elders are missing as well…"
The Book answered in a somewhat mocking tone:
"Maybe they're busy drinking tea somewhere with women. HAHAHAHAHA!"
Faiser replied coldly:
"Hmm… I doubt it."
Then he calmly added:
"The presence of these elders alone proves this matter isn't simple."
"These people don't look like the type who come just to watch disciples fight."
The Book laughed softly.
"Hah… you're starting to suspect something? Why are you overthinking again, idiot?!"
Faiser replied:
"No, you're wrong… but…"
"…I dislike incomplete things."
Then he looked once more toward the empty seats.
"Two empty seats…"
"…in the middle of all this."
The Book sighed.
"Maybe one of them is dead."
Faiser answered immediately:
"And maybe you're stupid."
"No one would leave an elder's seat empty like this if it were something normal during an event involving the entire sect. Do you understand what I mean?"
The Book burst into loud laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Alright, alright, don't get worked up, genius!"
Then its voice lowered slightly.
"But honestly…"
"…I also feel like something is off."
A brief silence followed before the Book continued:
"Especially after you used Black Mass in front of everyone. Yet none of the elders showed a bigger reaction…"
Its voice became quieter.
"I truly think the ancient era has really been erased from this world… and no one remembers me anymore."
"Ahhhhh… damn it, that's depressing."
This time, Faiser smiled faintly.
"That's possible…"
"Haaah…"
"That's why I told you…"
"…the real problems are only beginning now."
While their conversation continued—
Faiser finally arrived at the seats where Shin and Shirin were sitting, and the moment they noticed him—
Shin immediately jumped to his feet excitedly.
"You lunatic!!"
He slammed Faiser's shoulder hard.
"What the hell was that?!"
Meanwhile, Shirin stared at him with visibly widened eyes.
"Faiser…"
She took a deep breath.
"…that was truly terrifying."
Then a small smile appeared on her face.
"But it was also incredibly amazing."
Faiser sat down calmly in his seat as if nothing had happened.
But Shin could not even sit down because of his excitement.
"No no no, wait!"
He pointed toward him quickly.
"That final strike!"
"How did you do it?!"
"Even Shall couldn't see it!"
Then he leaned closer.
"And that black eye that suddenly appeared and vanished…"
His voice suddenly dropped.
"…what the hell was that?"
Faiser calmly answered:
"Just… a strike."
Shin froze for a second.
"I KNOW it was a strike, you idiot!"
Then he shouted angrily:
"I'm asking HOW you did it!"
Faiser simply turned his face away.
"With my hand."
"..."
Complete silence filled the air for two seconds before Shin exploded.
"I swear one day I'm going to strangle you because of the way you act! HAHAHAHA!"
Even Shirin couldn't stop herself from laughing this time.
"Haha…!"
Then she looked toward Faiser.
"But you really hid a lot from us."
Faiser calmly replied:
"You simply never asked the right questions."
Shin immediately shouted:
"Fine then!"
"Are you hiding your true realm?!"
"Who taught you those arts?!"
"What's your true identity?!"
"And why do you act like an old man who lived for a thousand years?!"
Faiser opened his mouth to answer Shin—
But before he could say a single word—
The Fifth Elder's voice suddenly thundered across the entire arena, filled with so much chi that several disciples trembled in their seats.
"Disciples!!!"
The noise gradually stopped, and all eyes slowly turned back toward the arena once again.
The Fifth Elder stood in the center of the arena, his robe moving with the wind as his gaze slowly swept across the stands before he spoke:
"After the previous round…"
A brief silence followed.
"…which exceeded everyone's expectations."
Whispers instantly spread again.
"He's definitely talking about Faiser…"
"That final strike still terrifies me…"
"I still can't believe what I saw…"
But the Fifth Elder raised his hand again, and silence immediately returned.
"It is now time for the third round of the combat tournament."
At that moment—
Tension visibly spread among the disciples.
Because no one… knew the names of the next fighters.
Even Shin muttered excitedly:
"Hah… finally."
Meanwhile, Shirin narrowed her eyes slightly.
"I wonder who's next…"
Below—
Some disciples had already begun making guesses.
"Maybe one of the second-generation disciples."
"No… I feel like it'll be Lin's turn."
"What if it's Daren?!"
"No way… if it's Daren, then his opponent must be extremely strong."
The Fifth Elder closed his eyes briefly before suddenly opening them while raising his voice powerfully:
"The first fighter…"
Heartbeats across the arena intensified.
"…from the eastern side."
Then he smiled faintly.
"…Liiiiiiiin!!!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
An entire section of the arena exploded into cheers.
"LIIIIIIIIIN!!"
"Finallyyyyy!"
"I knew he'd fight!"
Lin himself widened his eyes slightly before standing up slowly with a confident smile.
"Hah…"
He lightly cracked his neck.
"My turn has finally come."
Then he cast a sideways glance toward Daren sitting not far away.
"I wonder which poor bastard they're putting against me…"
But—
Before he could finish—
The Fifth Elder raised his voice again, and this time his tone became heavier.
"As for the second fighter…"
A strange silence spread throughout the arena.
"…he is one of the strongest disciples of the first generation."
Several disciples widened their eyes in anticipation.
Meanwhile, Lin's smile slowly began fading for no clear reason.
Then—
The Fifth Elder shouted at the top of his lungs:
"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAREN!!!"
...…
The entire arena froze for a full second.
Then—
It exploded even more violently than before.
"WHAAAAAAAAAT?!!!"
"Daren versus Lin?!"
"Are we watching another final already or what?!"
"Damn it!! Why this fight now?!"
"This is way too earlyyyyy!!"
Even Shin violently jumped from his seat.
"HAAAAAH?!"
Meanwhile, Shirin's eyes widened completely.
"Impossible…"
Over on Lin's side—
His smile genuinely disappeared for a moment before he slowly turned toward Daren.
"…You?"
Daren remained silent for two seconds before letting out a faint laugh.
"Hahaha…"
He calmly stood up.
"Looks like luck hates us today."
Lin smirked sarcastically.
"Or maybe it just wants entertainment."
Then he added while staring at him:
"I wanted to face you later."
Daren calmly replied while descending the arena stairs:
"And I would've preferred you stayed far away from my path for as long as possible."
Lin laughed softly.
"But since we're here…"
A faint aura began emerging from his body.
"…then fine."
Meanwhile, Daren raised his eyes directly toward him.
"Just don't regret it."
At that moment—
The pressure of chi began rising from both sides simultaneously, causing some disciples to unconsciously step back.
Even the air inside the arena suddenly became heavier.
Meanwhile, the Fifth Elder looked at the two of them before speaking in a deep voice:
"It seems…"
A very short silence followed.
"…that the third round."
Another brief silence.
"…will be far bloodier than we expected."