"No familial ties? What the hell…"
"An orphan? Phu! And here I thought he was coming from some great noble family."
"I know, right. The way he is acting so overconfident and cheeky made me feel as if he was some bigshot. No wonder I never heard of any bastard named Godnim."
"How dare he look down on us like that, hmph!"
"Don't worry. That guy, Merlyn, is coming from the Un Family, one of the families that recently won appreciation even from the Xeton Emperor due to his own achievements. He is just 21 years old, but he is already at the First Level of the Sky Ethereal Realm. How can a bastard hope to match against someone nurtured by a noble family?"
Merlyn, who had stepped into the arena, looked at Godnim with contempt since not only did he have the qualifications to stand here, but he also forced him to challenge him this early. But he knew that he wouldn't stand a chance anyway due to how young he was. So, instead, he planned to use this chance to show off his prowess to the world since all the important figures were here.
"Let the match begin!" One of the Elders overlooking the match announced with a clap.
Damien didn't move and was standing in the same spot with his hands behind his back, "Let's end this quick. I am in a bit of a hurry, actually," He said with his chin up in the air.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Merlyn's eyes twitched, seeing how this bastard of a scholar was being so cocky, "Godnim, you dare to be this disrespectful despite your flimsy background? We are standing in a sacred place. I guess I will be the one to teach you some manners and finish this with a single move."
"Oh, you will," Damien chuckled.
Merlyn snorted as he rushed forward to quickly deal with this guy. Even if he was confident he would win due to being nurtured by a noble family compared to someone who never got that privilege, he still wanted to take advantage of the opening Godnim was foolishly leaving open.
This guy was simply standing in the spot without even circulating his ethereal energy, and Merlyn wanted to finish this in one move and put this guy back in his place. He also didn't want to act overconfident since, in the end, Godnim still had the same cultivation level as him.
Merlyn kicked his leg on the ground as he executed his movement art and moved like a water jet towards Damien, making the audience nod in admiration, seeing how his movement art seemed so fluid and swift like water.
And even the experts nodded and shook their heads when they looked at Godnim since he was still simply standing and thought that this cocky young man was done for sure.
Lily, for some reason, placed her hand on her chest upon seeing the man named Godnim exposing himself to danger.
'What a dumb bastard,' Merlyn inwardly snickered as he almost reached near Godnim and was about to deal a powerful punch to his chest, which would surely break his bones, at least seeing how he didn't even have ethereal defensive energy covering his body.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})However, Damien smirked, and right before Merlyn could punch his chest, Damien's palm moved like lightning and struck down his cheek, letting out a thunderous sound of skin getting slapped, almost sounding like an explosion.
*BOOM!*
Shockwaves rippled as they clashed against the ethereal barrier and got neutralized. However, Merlyn's cheek rippled against his face as not only his saliva but also his blood was forcibly ejected out of his mouth before crashing on the ground, his other side of the cheek firmly planted on the floor.
"UGH!!"
*CRACK!*
The sturdy marble slightly cracked the moment Merlyn crashed against it with his face hitting it first.
His jaw was fractured and dislocated, making his face look twisted and awkward while letting out whimpers in pain and shock, his eyes wide as saucers. He was unable to process what just happened, especially when he already thought he had won the round.
Howevet, not only Merlyn, but all the people also gathered in the hall were stupefied by what they saw, including even the bigshots.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Only Yuria was smiling and was finding it hard to stifle her giggles since others might hear her. At the same time, Lily had her lips parted in awe, unable to believe what she saw.
She and the other experts in the hall were powerful enough to sense what was going on in the arena. From the beginning to the end, Godnim never even used an ounce of ethereal energy for neither defending nor attacking.
They were shocked, especially when they looked at Merlyn, who was lying on the floor, his handsome face looking warped and all his confidence deflated like a balloon. He looked so miserable; even the ones watching him felt second-hand shame.
Still, the people felt as if that thunderous slap was still echoing beside their ears and could only wonder how this fella managed to deal such a powerful slap despite his cultivation not even being higher than Merlyn.
Damien didn't deal such a powerful slap because he wanted to show off but because he knew about the Un family and even this guy. He knew these people were closely tied with Ruthren and even secretly helped with all the shady stuff. In fact, most of them here was no different.
"Next, please. Oh, and somebody, please help this guy out. It seems I overestimated him. I feel really bad now. Merlyn, I hope you can understand. Oh, he fell unconscious. What a pity," Damien mumbled as he shook his head, making others look at him with a blinking expression.
However, the geniuses gathered had wary expressions as they looked at Godnim, while some of them still had nonchalant expressions, thinking that Godnim simply used the element of surprise to take down Merlyn.
But seeing him arrogantly call out for the next challenger made them feel annoyed too.
One of them suddenly raised their hands as they entered the arena, "I, Unio Milen from the Gale Empire, will be your next challenger."
