(Lian Li POV)
"So, there can be more than one winner huh?" I mused after we heard the rules from the person in charge.
The rules were really simple actually, anything is allowed as long as it does not put anyone else in the arena or the rest of the city in danger.
We already know that multiple people from this tournament could meet with the Gods, but we've come to understand that the number of winners changes every time.
It all depends on how many Gods are willing to meet with the mortals during the tournament and that point will also decide the number of winners.
For this year in particular, three Gods have expressed interest in meeting mortals, meaning three separate divisions and three winners for the tournament.
And as luck would have it, all three of us were slotted into a different division each.
Some may think that we had rigged it to claim all three spots for ourselves, but they are only right about it being rigged.
The organisers were the ones who rigged it to ensure that all three of us were separated so that we couldn't help one another, or at least that's the thinking they had when they did this.
Too bad for them, we are going to claim all three winning spots in the name of our Master!
Before the tournament started, we were paraded onto the stage to 'pay our respects' to the Gods who had come to watch us. From the murmurs of the other participants, we quickly learned that it was unprecedented to have so many Gods attend the Festival.
Of course, all of us figured that the Goddess that met with Master earlier had gone back to spread the news which made the other Gods attend too, so it was no surprise to us.
The only problem was that we were instructed to kneel to the Gods, something that was definitely not going to happen.
There is only one being in existence we would ever kneel to and these Gods were not Master.
Gasps of surprise and outrage reverberated throughout the arena when they saw that we were the only ones who remained standing.
I expected the Gods to make a big deal out of this but none of them even showed any reaction, as though they had expected this.
"Ara, ara? Looks like we found Sylphy~"
I looked up at Manami and she nodded her head towards the tower in front of us.
There, at the very top and above the Gods was Sylphy who was smiling and waving at us.
"Seems like her letter was true after all. Master did take her somewhere else but she decided not to tell us who she really was huh?" Kiyomi mused.
Several Practitioners leapt onto the stage, one of them pointing an angry finger at us, "How dare you show such disrespect in front of the Gods?! Kneel!"
I was about to tell him off when Sylphy raised her voice, "Unnecessary. All of you may rise, let us proceed with the tournament. Good luck."
Hmm… She definitely acts differently now. I remember how obsessed she was with Brendan back then, has she given up on him? I guess we should have a good talk with her once this tournament ends.
The Practitioners bowed before turning to scowl at me, an expression that was shared by everyone else around us, muttering about how fortunate we were.
The Goddess beside Sylphy snapped her fingers and the stage we were standing on had duplicated itself to form two identical ones beside it.
The God on Sylphy's other side then waved his hand and created a translucent bubble that enveloped all three stages.
"I have blessed the stages, anyone who loses their life within the stage shall be revived outside of it. There is no need to hold back now," The God explained helpfully.
We turned back to look at the VIP seating area where Master was. He noticed our gaze and nodded His head with a smile.
Heh. Master is giving us permission to go all out too. There's no reason for us to hold back now.
Although… Who is that bitch sitting beside Master?! Does she have a death wish?! Who says you can sit there?! I'll have to go give her a good slap after this! Shameless bitch!
My attention was brought back when it was announced that the first round would be a free for all battle within each division that will take place simultaneously. With a hundred people in each division, the last ten Practitioners remaining on the stage will be allowed to move on to the next stage of the tournament.
Even from here, I could see the audience taking bets and a small smile materialised on my face. All of those people are going to lose their fortunes today.
Although the platforms that functioned as our battleground was by no means huge, there was still enough space to serve as the stage for a hundred people to do battle.
While everyone was making their way to their respective positions, I noticed the calculating looks the others around me were sending my way.
Hmph, could they be any more obvious in their desires? It's painfully obvious that they were thinking of intentionally tormenting me within the arena to try and get my rumoured Sacred Treasure despite me not having one.
Truly a bunch of idiots.
Master already gave us His permission to fight seriously, so there's no need for us to hold back against this bunch of trash.
"I see the rumours that your arrogance knows no bounds were true," A man near me whispered. "To even spit on the Gods' favour, I am honestly impressed."
I raised an eyebrow at him, "Is it wise for you to talk to me then?"
He grinned, "I can ask if it is even wise for you to remain this arrogant? Everyone on this stage will be targeting you, you know? Some of them even have their own Sacred Treasures."
"That still does not answer my question."
"Oh, that's because I have an offer for you. If you were to hand over your Sacred Treasure to me right now, I will protect you from getting your limbs ripped apart by the others here. I will even help you leave this city safely, something you might find impossible to do even if you were to survive this tournament."
I stared at him for a second before giving him the fakest smile I could make, "I am going to kill you first~"
He barely had time to react to my words before the tournament was announced to start.
I immediately blinked sideways to appear in front of the idiot, charging my fist with lightning before punching a hole through his chest.
Despite the safe bubble that God had casted on this stage, the people will still feel the pain before dying so I intend to make sure these people feel every second of it.
He widened his eyes and looked downwards, blood spurting from his mouth as his insides were fried by my lightning. I dropped him onto the ground and watched him cough and sputter in pain before finally dying and disappearing from the stage.
Trash. Simply trash. Everyone here is absolutely trash.
Now let's start teaching the other trash around here a lesson…
