Everyone's attention landed on this charming scholarly man. Despite having such swoon-worthy charms, he didn't look like an arrogant young master who loves indulging himself in women.
Instead, they could feel that this young man was a man of wisdom and learning and also seemed to look quite smart and confident.
Still, those who knew about Tristen Gale and his habits found it hard to believe that he would have such a good friend. And this made them wonder if this Godnim was someone like Tristen on the inside.
People didn't spread their senses to check out his cultivation level since that would be rude and also because these days, most geniuses had treasures to hide their true cultivation level.
Still, even if he was weak or strong, they appreciated the fact that he had the guts to step up first since the one who goes first has the highest chance to lose. After all, would he really be able to last till the end, defeating all these geniuses one after the other?
Ruthren briefly took a glance at this young man. He only bothered to take a look since this man was brimming with so much confidence and even had the courage to go first. He had a slightly curious look since he had never seen this young man before, but then he lost all interest after knowing that he was Tristen's friend.
He felt that it was just another idiot with overconfidence, and this tournament didn't really matter to him anyway.
The Gale Emperor had already done his research on Godnim because he had seen Tristen hanging out with him quite many times. However, after hearing things about him, he was fond of this guy because he was quite shrewd and seemed to be a loyal follower of Tristen.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Of course, this didn't mean that he trusted him since he had no idea if this Godnim was sticking with Tristen for ulterior motives and still kept an eye on him.
However, for this tournament, he was hoping that Godnim would win so that Tristen could just steal Yuria from him later.
But he knew this was just wishful thinking since there was no way Godnim could defeat all the geniuses with his cultivation which was only at the First Level of the Sky Ethereal Realm. It was obviously a great achievement for someone of Tristen's age, but the tournament rules stated that anybody under 25 could participate, and there were many geniuses with way higher cultivations who were 24 and 25 years old.
He also had secretly arranged for someone around this age to win the tournament and get Yuria so that he could later hand her over to him. This way, the Gale Emperor thought he could finally suppress the Krisen Kingdom without even lifting a finger.
Still, since he was Tristen's friend, he addressed him with a dignified smile, "I never expected somebody to volunteer to go first. But as expected from my son's friend, you truly have an iron heart of a warrior. Do come forward and step into the arena. Once you do, within ten seconds, somebody will have to challenge him. If they don't, Godnim will automatically become the winner."
Damien inwardly laughed, seeing how even the Gale Emperor was fooled. But of course, this was only thanks to spending time with Tristen occasionally over almost a year. So his sudden appearance wouldn't seem suspicious, and as for his identity, nobody would dig deep after knowing that he was Tristen's friend.
He eagerly stepped into the arena that was not that big but still wide and long enough for a duel between two cultivators. And based on the transparent, ethereal barriers they have put up, it was strong enough to sustain all attacks below the Heaven Ethereal Realm.
After all, nobody under the age of 25 was as strong as someone in the Heaven Ethereal Realm. That would be too outrageous.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Yuria had a smile on her face, and knowing Damien, she knew he wouldn't show up unless he was confident about what he was doing. Still, she knew how much risk he was taking here and couldn't help but realize her love for him again.
Lily was still feeling worried for Yuria, seeing that the tournament had already started with the first candidate entering the arena. But for some reason, he felt oddly familiar to her, especially that cheeky yet charming smile on his face and the confidence with which he entered this hall.
However, she then shook her head, thinking that Damien wouldn't take that much risk by coming here where all these powerful figures, especially the ones who wanted him dead, were all assembled here.
She could only pray that Yuria somehow escapes from all this or that her father helps her out of this situation. She knows how it feels like to be treated like a trophy that needs to be given away to the victor and didn't want Yuria to go through all that.
All the geniuses had hesitant and anxious expressions upon seeing that a fool had already volunteered to go first, and now someone among them had to challenge him within a few seconds.
"I didn't expect the famous geniuses of the Rising Sun Continent to be this sacred of a small tournament? It seems like I expected too much," Damien said with a sigh as he shook his head, making everyone look at him with a strange expression.
Wasn't he openly looking down on the geniuses and even offending their families indirectly? Was he really trying to make himself the enemy of everybody here? How could Tristen not be concerned about the company he was keeping?
Even if he was a genius, isn't this going a bit too far?
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})All the geniuses who heard his words clenched their fists as they glared at him for looking down on them.
The Gale Emperor raised one of his brows, not expecting Godnim to call out like that, and wondered what was making him so confident.
They felt as if they might lose face if they didn't answer Godnim's words, and immediately a couple of hands sprang up.
However, they didn't expect so many to raise their hands at the same time, and some even lowered their hands before it was too late.
"The one who raised their hand first will be our challenger. They can step forward," The Gale Emperor announced as his eyes scanned over the young geniuses.
One of the young men sighed as he stepped forward, "I, Merlyn Un, from the Xeton Empire, challenge Godnim from…"
Merlyn looked at Godnim with a slight frown, and he purposefully voiced his words like that to make Godnim reveal his origins.
However, Damien could see through his silly tricks and said, "I am just a passing by scholar without any familial ties. Now please step inside, and let's get this over with quickly."
