Contestant 1 and contestant 12 looked at Lei with narrowed eyes.
They had heard of these strange warriors that didn't follow either of the two established paths, but they hadn't seen one of them yet.
"What authority do you have to call me a Barbarian?" contestant 1 asked.
"What else are you?" Lei said. "We can all agree that True Path Stage warriors are warriors, but that is where the lineage of warriors has ended in the Lightning Manor's territory."
Nearly everyone's eyes shone in understanding and recognition.
In the Lightning Manor's territory?
Now, they knew where these warriors were coming from and why they were making trouble.
This was a rivalry between Empires.
"The person that has created the True Path Stage was a pioneer for warriorkind, but the people that invented the Diamond Body Stage and Weapon Variance Stage were not."
"They were pioneers for Barbariankind and Weapon-Master-Kind."
"What is a Diamond Body?" Lei asked rhetorically. "Isn't it just an expansion of the Bloodline Infusion?"
The two contestants narrowed their eyes when they heard about the Bloodline Infusion.
It was possible that the warriors in a different territory created a True Path Stage separately, but the chances of them creating something as specific as the Bloodline Infusion were incredibly low.
This meant that the knowledge of these mysterious warriors derived from Area 23.
"Would you call the Bloodline Infusion a path of its own?" Lei asked with a smirk. "No, it isn't. It is just a basic tool for warriors. It is an addition to a warrior's power, not its own thing."
"Yet, look at you," Lei said to contestant 1 with a snort. "You refined the Bloodline Infusion and pushed it one step further. You managed to transform your spine into a storage for Mana, increasing the overall level of Mana inside your body."
"That is an amazing accomplishment," Lei said. "However, instead of using it to increase the warriors' powers, you say this is the path forward."
"At most, you are a Barbarian, but in truth, you are someone that slaughtered the golden goose that lays golden eggs. You can increase your power quickly in the short term, but you will ruin your future."
"And not just yours. You ruin every warrior's future."
"Do you know what I think of your Diamond Body Stage?"
Lei held his hand out.
SHING!
A small bottle of pills appeared in his hand.
"That's what I think of your Diamond Body Stage," he said before throwing the bottle over to contestant 1.
Contestant 1 furrowed his brows, but he opened the bottle and analyzed the pills.
But the more he looked at them, the more shocked he grew.
Contestant 1 was probably the warrior that knew the most about the human body in the entire world, aside from Shang maybe, and he could tell what these pills could do.
Contestant 1 was doing his best not to let anything show on his face, but deep inside, he felt like his world was breaking down.
This was a heavy hit.
What was more complex, the Bloodline Infusion or creating a Diamond Body?
The Bloodline Infusion, obviously. The Diamond Body only transformed one part of a body into Mana, while the Bloodline Infusion changed someone's entire body into something else.
Contestant 1 still remembered when the Bloodline Infusion had become public knowledge and the sheer amount of work that was required to perform it.
And yet, this extremely advanced, invasive, and monumental procedure had been transformed into a mere bottle of pills.
Something this fundamental.
Something this complex.
Something this advanced.
Had been transformed into a small bottle of pills.
"Do you see this?" Lei asked. "We've transformed the Bloodline Infusion into a bit of medicine. You only have to take it for a day, and you will shit out your old body without any issues. Even children can take it."
"Do you think your so-called Diamond Body will be any different?" Lei asked with a smirk.
CRACK!
The bottle of pills blew apart as contestant 1 clenched his fist in anger.
"The body of a Soldier Stage warrior is vastly different from the body of a True Path Stage warrior, and a Soldier Stage warrior can't withstand the pressure of the Diamond Body traveling through their spine," contestant 1 said.
"The Bloodline Infusion and the Diamond Body are monumentally different."
Surprisingly, Lei only continued smirking at contestant 1.
"You're right," he said. "They are different."
"The Diamond Body is worse."
Contestant 1 did his best to keep himself in check.
"You think we haven't done our research?" Lei asked. "You think we wouldn't notice the obvious drawback of your Diamond Body?"
"In exchange for more power, you lose control."
"You have so much Mana inside of your body that just releasing a tiny bit will fill all of your Mana Pathways. Performing intricate techniques requires incredible control, and with your Diamond Body, this will become very difficult."
"Think about it. You have more physical power, but you have worse techniques."
"Doesn't that sound exactly like a Barbarian?"
Contestant 1's hands turned white as his grip on his swords tightened even further.
Contestant 12 had never managed to enrage contestant 1 to this degree before, but this Lei did it in less than five minutes.
"And you," Lei said as he turned to the silent contestant 12, "your Path could be considered to be an actual Path, but it is not the warrior's Path."
"Explain your viewpoint," contestant 12 said in an even voice. He wasn't nearly as outraged as contestant 1. In fact, he felt actually quite good right now since Lei managed to publicly lay out the weaknesses of the Diamond Body for everyone to see in a beautiful manner.
"Jack of all trades, master of none," Lei said.
Contestant 12 didn't react as strongly as contestant 1 to the critique.
"You have taken the concept of a True Path, but instead of delving deeper into it, you just keep repeating the concept over and over again."
"It is true that quantity is its own form for quality, but that is not what a warrior is about."
"We start in the Soldier Stage, and we transform our bodies to reach the General Stage. Then, we go one step further and comprehend our own Domain, something made up of our mastery over Mana and our techniques."
"After that, we create our own Path. We create the very thing that will lead us forward."
"Yet, instead of walking your Path, you create more Paths."
"What's the worth of a Path if you don't tread it?"
"It's called a Path!"
"It's called the True Path Stage!"
"As warriors, we need to travel down our Path, not create more of them!"
Contestant 12 looked at Lei with furrowed brows. "I can follow your logic, but it is undeniable that the addition of more Paths can increase someone's power tremendously."
Lei smirked. "Sure, but that's not what a warrior is about."
"A Barbarian is someone that fights with their body."
"A Weapon Master is someone that fights with their weapons."
"A warrior is someone that fights with their techniques."
"You are quantity."
"A warrior is quality."
"Therefore, you are not warriors."
Contestant 1 snorted as he looked at Lei. "And what, pray tell, is a real warrior then?"
Lei chuckled a bit and spun his trident.
The air around the trident seemed to warp as a force rapidly moved through the world.
"I'll show you."
"Today, I'll show you the power of a warrior!"
"The power of the Impose Stage!"
