Lei snorted.
Then, the Mana Shield around him slowly vanished, and the arrow that had triggered the Mana Shield fell to the ground.
Lei had fought contestant 12 evenly, but with the addition of the composite bow, Lei had been forced to make several rushed and awkward movements.
Because of the bow, Lei had lost.
"Weapon Variance, huh?" Lei said as he put his trident away. "It seems like I underestimated its power."
Lei couldn't complain since both of them were at the same level.
Lei had lost fair and square.
Contestant 12 nodded. "The Impose Stage is more than impressive. It has been a long time since I had such a difficult battle against someone on my level."
Lei snorted again, but the more perceptive people could notice that he actually only wanted to appear tough and dismissive. Some people could tell that Lei enjoyed the compliment.
"Congratulations," Lei said as his arrogant smirk returned. "You might be amongst the twenty most powerful warriors in the world, but I wouldn't bet on it."
The warriors were immediately furrowing their brows, and even contestant 12 seemed annoyed.
Contestant 12 was now among the top four in the tournament. Was Lei saying that there were over 16 warriors outside the tournament that could defeat him?
That seemed unlikely.
"What? You don't believe me?" Lei asked with a smirk. "Why do you think I was chosen specifically for this tournament?"
"It's because I am average," Lei said with a laugh.
The people only looked at Lei with furrowed brows.
"I'm the most average Impose Stage warrior. I've comprehended an average Path, which made for an average Impose. I have been in some dangerous battles, but they are not common to me."
"I've been sent to demonstrate the average power of an Impose Stage warrior."
"And with my average power, I made it to the top eight here. That's honestly quite sad."
Most of the warriors became infuriated again. They obviously didn't believe Lei's words, and they felt like Lei was only saying these things to disrespect them.
Contestant 1 furrowed his brows as he looked at Lei.
It was difficult to admit, but he believed Lei.
Lei was missing this certain aura that powerful people had. People like contestant 1 and contestant 12 radiated a special aura that made them appear different from others.
Lei didn't have that.
Of course, everyone that managed to reach the Fifth Realm was a genius in their own right, but the different levels of geniuses only became more apparent the more powerful someone became.
Lei might have been above average at the True Path Stage, but now, he was average.
Contestant 12 also believed Lei, but compared to contestant 1, contestant 12 was glad to hear that.
He was glad that he wasn't the only warrior that brought warriorkind forward.
"Who created the Impose Stage?" contestant 12 asked.
The attention of the onlookers was immediately pulled towards the two talking contestants again.
Right, who invented the Impose Stage?
Lei continued smirking. "It was my Master," he said.
The people waited for an elaboration, but Lei was finished talking.
"And who is your master?" contestant 12 asked.
Lei chuckled a bit and turned around. "Defeat my friend, and you will find out."
After saying that, Lei walked to the edge of the arena.
Contestant 12 narrowed his eyes.
Lei had called the person that invented the Impose Stage master, which gave him a clue about the identity of said master.
There had been a possibility that a powerful Mage had come up with the Impose Stage, but if that were the case, Lei wouldn't have called them master. This was more appropriate for a stronger warrior.
The onlookers became more excited as more intrigue was added to the game.
After a short pause, the semifinals took place.
By now, night had arrived, and the contestants were fighting in a dark arena illuminated by artificial light that mimicked the light of torches.
The first fight in the semifinals was contestant 1 against contestant 2.
This was originally supposed to be the finale, but with the addition of the two mysterious warriors, things had changed.
Contestant 1 and contestant 2 were friends, and they knew each other very well.
The two of them fought for quite a while, but it was clear that contestant 1 had the upper hand.
This wasn't really a true fight but more of an exhibition match.
Contestant 2 knew that he couldn't win against contestant 1.
After some minutes, contestant 1 won.
It had been a fun fight.
Contestant 1 was in the finals now, and his opponent would either be contestant 12 or contestant 31.
Then, the second match in the semifinals took place.
Contestant 12 versus contestant 31.
Contestant 12 looked at contestant 31 with a serious expression, but the more perceptive people in the audience noticed that there was a feeling of acceptance in contestant 12's aura.
Contestant 12 knew that he couldn't win against contestant 31.
But he would still give his best.
"If your friend has been sent as a representation of the most average Impose Stage warrior, you have probably been sent as a representation of what the Impose Stage can achieve in the hands of a genius," contestant 12 said.
Contestant 31 nodded wordlessly.
"I know that I can't win against you," contestant 12 said. "However, I would still ask you for some respect."
"If I'm going to fight someone, I want to see who I am fighting."
Silence.
The warriors and the Mages were interested in seeing what contestant 31 looked like.
After some seconds, contestant 31 put their cloak away.
Contestant 31's appearance was now revealed, and when everyone saw them, they were shocked.
It was a woman!
No one had expected that.
There were plenty of female Mages, but female warriors were basically nonexistent!
Contestant 31 had long, silverish-white hair, and she wore form-fitting silver armor. People thought that she looked quite beautiful and heroic.
Contestant 12 was also shocked when he saw her.
"Fighting a female Mage is one thing," contestant 31 said, "but fighting a female warrior is something else."
"I've seen plenty of warriors going easy on me because I am a woman, and I don't need such pity. That's why I'm wearing the cloak," she explained.
By now, the people had recovered from the shock, but when they looked closer at contestant 31 again, their shock returned but for a different reason.
Her level!
Contestant 12 took a deep breath and sighed helplessly.
Contestant 31 was at the Early Impose Stage, just like Lei and him.
Yet, she had won against contestant 4, who had been at the Late Diamond Body Stage.
Sure, contestant 31 needed to move around a bit, but she had never been in danger of losing during her battle. At most, that battle had been a good warm up for her.
Something like that would have been impressive for someone at the Mid Impose Stage, but she had done that at the Early Impose Stage.
She had easily jumped two levels against a Diamond Stage warrior.
In fact, after seeing her fight contestant 4, most people were confident that she could also win against contestant 2.
And they had also thought that she might have a shot at defeating contestant 1.
Yet, she was only at the Early Impose Stage.
Contestant 12 wanted to fight contestant 1 to show how much potential the Weapon Variance Stage had, but contestant 31 actually had a real shot at winning.
The difference between contestant 12 and contestant 31 was clear.
In terms of potential, they were not on the same level.
