Chapter 5

  A few months later, Aurien Wavel and Drakkel made their way to Heaven’s Path.

  Drakkel was the only one fighting, but Aurien Wavel was brought as a chaperone.

  After introducing themselves and showing their invitations to the disciples at the front gate, they were led by one of them to a courtyard in the back of the large manor.

  The courtyard was a large open field surrounded by fragrant flowers and with trees littered around. Under the light of the sun, the area was pristine and calming.

  Among the calm atmosphere was the restless chatter of young disciples from various different clans.

  As Drakkel looked around, he observed that many of the multiple clans that came had brought two or three disciples to fight. It was only his clan that brought one.

  When they entered, the chatter of those around stopped and several gazes landed on them.

  Soon after, whispers could be heard from those in attendance.

  “Isn't that the Sacred Sword Swords Clan?”

  “They only brought one?”

  “Yeah, I heard their clan lost a lot of their members not long ago!”

  “The younger one is beautiful though and the older one isn't bad either!!”

  “Wait, aren't they the two gems of the Sacred Sword Swords clan?!”

  “Is that true? I’ve heard of them, but haven't seen them in person before!”

  “Well, I saw them before at the last event we had like this! The younger one was strong, but in the end, he was still beaten!”

  “But I heard he has made leaps and bounds in his cultivation and has gained more achievements!”

  “I don't know… Whether they are rumors or not, I guess we'll have to see…”

  Aurien Wavel cleared his throat and the gossip died down.

  He approached a friendly group of older disciples who were acting as chaperones and introduced himself.

  “It’s nice to meet you all! I hope we can have some good friendly matches today!”

  One disciple who wore brown robes stepped forward and cupped his hands.

  “I do as well! It's nice to meet you. I’m Levian Filat and I’m from the Harmonious Earth Swords Clan. My clan is small so we don't get invited to these types of events a lot, but we hope we can learn from you.”

  Three disciples that were standing behind him bowed their heads.

  Aurien Wavel smiled. “Nonsense. This event is meant for everyone to learn from each other and to test their skills. We might actually learn something from you as well.”

  Levian Filat nodded.

  Not long after, an elder disciple from the Golden Peak Swords Clan broke up the chatter and announced to the group, “We appreciate that you all could make it to this event! In the hopes that the younger generation of Sword Fighters can have some guidance, our Clan Leader put together this event so you all can socialize and learn from each other. My name is Mar Kilt and I have been appointed to host this event.

  Although you all have most likely come with more than one disciple, this will be a one on one match where anyone can fight anyone else, so it isn't impossible for two disciples from the same clan to fight each other. As for the rules of the match, they are simple...”

  Mar Kilt jumped into the air, aimed his hand at the ground, and spun it in a circle.

  A large circle made of sword energy materialized and flew to the ground.

  When the circle made contact with the hard surface, it disappeared, leaving a small circular crater where it landed.

  In the middle of the courtyard was now a large opening surrounded by a circle. It was as if someone dug into the ground to create it.

  Mar Kilt landed softly back to where he was and continued. “To win this duel, you must knock your enemy out of the circle. You have two chances to lose and then you’re out.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Whispers resounded from within the crowd of young disciples.

  “Two chances? That's generous!”

  “This should be a piece of cake for me!”

  “I wonder if we get anything for winning?”

  Mar Kilt shouted. “As for the winnings, you will find out when it's done! Do not concern yourselves with such a thing and focus on the battle first!”

  “Aww…”

  “Why so secretive?

  “Sigh…”

  The young disciples voiced their disappointment, but they soon quieted. It was true that they all first came to test themselves against others. Any mention of a prize wasn't brought up in the letter sent out. But now that the Golden Peak disciple had said it, they were all excited and wondering what it was.

  After finishing explaining, Mar Kilt announced the start of the event.

  The chaperones were asked to stand a bit away from the barrier of the fighting ground while the young disciples stood in their own group to the side.

  They had registered at the front so their names were all written on pieces of paper and randomized into a bucket. On the back of the pieces of paper were two blank lines. If someone lost, a slash would be made on the line to signify they had lost. If they collected two slashes, they were out.

  When the names were picked and called, the two participating disciples would join in the fight.

  Once Drakkel was called, he walked into the makeshift arena. His opponent was a familiar girl from the Enchanting Fans Swords Clan.

  “Wow! Isn't that Lirva Lika?”

  “Oh yeah! She was the one who beat Drakkel Finl in the last event!”

  “A match like this as a first round? I kind of feel sorry for him!”

  Drakkel heard them, but he wasn't worried. Even if they hadn't said it, he remembered what happened last time. But this time was different.

  Once the match started, Lirva Lika dashed forward with her two fans, shooting sword energy attacks with one while controlling a few blades with the other.

  Drakkel effortlessly dodged both and made a slash of his own in her direction.

  Because she was spread thin with both attack and defense, Lirva Lika hopped backwards to avoid his attack.

  But Drakkel saw this coming. He used his sword step to quickly dash behind her and using his palm, he summoned forth a sword energy attack that lacked power but had strong residual winds.

  At that moment, Lirva Lika was pushed out of the arena and all who watched had their mouths stuck open.

  Lirva Lika who was quiet until that point also seemed surprised by Drakkel's sword step prowess. In only a few moves, he had so thoroughly beaten her.

  But, she was a quiet girl. Even if she was angry, she still respectfully turned around and cupped her hands to him before returning to the crowd of young disciples.

  The whispers all around now spoke of Drakkel’s development. Many even mentioned that they shouldn't underestimate him anymore.

  The battles passed and by the end, everyone lost except for Drakkel, who hadn't lost once.

  He had even defeated several disciples from the Golden Peak Swords Clan.

  After Mar Kilt declared the winner, one disciple couldn't accept it.

  With his Glaive upon his back, he said to those close by, “So, the two gems of the Sacred Sword Swords Clan won? Maybe I could have won too if I was a pampered princess!”

  He laughed and the group laughed with him.

  “Actually, if she is that much better than all of us, she might qualify for the title of Immortal Beauty in the future!”

  The group laughed again.

  Drakkel should have been angry, but he only looked at them with pity. As his master said, there was no reason to get angry all the time.

  These disciples were probably just upset that they lost as they thought themselves better than that. They were likely only picking on him to make themselves feel better, so Drakkel would let them vent it out and ignore what they said.

  As the group continued to aim derogatory comments at him, the older disciples couldn't let it be and neither could Mar Kilt.

  They were going to make a move, but someone stepped in before they were able to.

  The air seemed to change as a man calmly walked into the Courtyard.

  When Mar Kilt saw him, he cupped his hands, bowing deeply, “Clan Lea…”

  However, the older man who had just walked in waved his hand as a signal for Mar Kilt to stop talking.

  When the older disciples saw him, they cupped their hands as well and unanimously decided to stay where they were.

  The younger disciples of the Golden Peak Swords clan also cupped their hands along with some other younger disciples. But those who were bullying Drakkel were still talking and so didn't notice the newcomer until he was already close to them.

  Upon seeing that everyone else was showing him such respect, they stopped talking and did the same.

  “What are you all talking about?” The man asked.

  The young disciples were scared now.

  The one who was the leader in bullying Drakkel answered, “We weren't saying anything too harmful. We were just having fun…”

  “Daimon Ortos! Show the Clan Leader some respect!” One of the older disciples shouted.

  The younger disciple who was talking froze up as his Senior yelled at him.

  So this was the Clan Leader of the Golden Peak Swords Clan? His presence was powerful!

  Clan Leader Adore assessed the situation. When he realized what was going on, he only said, “I didn't think I would have the time to come here today. But since I had a free moment, I came to check it out and I'm glad I did. I came in time to see many disciples bullying one. This sort of behavior isn't tolerated in our Swords Clan.”

  The disciples quickly bowed in fear, apologizing for what they had done. After all, angering one of the top strongest Swords Clans wasn't something many clans could take responsibility for. One of the reasons their clans were invited to this event and weren't social outcasts in the Sword Fighting World was because they kept a decent relationship with the strongest clans.

  Clan Leader Adore nodded. “It's good that you understand now. Don't bully others. Remember that no one is better than anyone else.”

  The younger disciples who were bullying Drakkel vigorously nodded their heads.

  Afterwards, Clan Leader Adore gave Drakkel a passing glance before leaving the area.

  With that, none of the younger disciples bullied or even dared to talk to Drakkel again. So, he was mostly congratulated by the older disciples and his Senior Brother.

  Once the event was over, an assortment of healthy yet delicious foods was served for those who showed up.

  After they ate together discussing the battles they witnessed, with Aurien Wavel getting a lot of praise for having such a strong junior, they returned to their clans.

  The prize for winning was a good amount of money. But what Drakkel had truly gained from the experience was his meeting with Clan Leader Adore.

  The man was kind and honorable.

  Drakkel could only hope to be as refined and powerful as him someday.