Chapter 392: Huan Xue and Davis (1/2)
Chapter 392: Huan Xue and Davis
The whole of Planet Luo was getting more and more boisterous as the Great Adept Tournament approached. The participating Adepts themselves were a small number – including those in the opening and closing ceremonies, the Adepts counted in the tens of thousands. This number was infinitesimal compared to the millions of average humans who lived there.
It’d been so long since the last Adept tournament of this size that no one could even remember when the last one was. Many of them weren’t even open to the public. You could watch these on the net, but the interstellar data delay meant it was often faster just to read news and watch highlights later. Those with means much preferred to come in person and see the action first-hand.
It was important to remember that there were significant differences between an Adept battle and a mecha competition. One of those differences was the arena itself; it needn’t be large, but protection had to be in place for spectators. These competitions would be live field matches held at the North’s largest stadium, the Luo Sports Arena.
The arena was capable of accommodating a hundred thousand spectators, and though the tickets were expensive the event was worth it. A competition like this came about only very rarely – this is what money was for!
Luckily Luo was a grand city, used to having a great deal of people. The surge in tourism was staggering, but the city didn’t seem to have any trouble handling it.
Within the Conclave.
Two people sat across from one another like statues, separated by a table. Although they appeared to have been there for ages, they sat unmoving while manifestations of their aura swirled about. The waves of power exuding from them intermingled and separated over and over again.
They were a man and a woman. The gentleman was lithe, and even seated was strikingly tall. He was over two and a half meters tall 1 with wide shoulders, and a black t-shirt was struggle to contain his barrel chest. Arms like sculpted granite rippled with muscle.
His aura had a distinctive metallic hue that played over dark skin. The power he wielded swirls around like he was the center of the universe, and the sounds of rumbling explosions could faintly be heard
The young lady, on the other hand, was precisely his opposite. She looked young, maybe in her thirties, with delicate and attractive features. Her small size was made even more dramatic when compared to the man. Her dark hair fell unbound down her back.
‘Beauty and the Beast’ was probably the most concise way to describe the scene, though not something they would ever say to their faces. She was anything but a conventional beauty, and the man not your everyday beast.
“You’ve improved, Huan Xue. Not even I can compete with you any more.” His face had a simple and honest smile of encouragement. Whether or not that was truly how he felt, however, only he knew.
The woman known as Huan Xue shook her head. “You’ve been trapped by the second bottleneck for many years, and I just reached this level. There’s no need for empty praise, there’s still quite a difference between us.”
This caused the man to chuckle.He ran a hand through his coarse hair that stood up like a forest of needles. “Your innate abilities restrain mine. If we were to fight to the death, it’d be one hell of a spectacle.”
“You find these sorts of comparisons amusing, Davis?” Huan Xue asked indifferently.
He laughed again. “Fine, we won’t discuss it. The Great Adept Tournament is almost upon us. I hear Skyfire Avenue’s competitors have already arrived. The new Paragon calling himself the Infernal Vanguard has come with them. They call him ‘the Gourmet’ on the Avenue.”
“Hm,” she answered with a nod. “I remember him. When he first got to Skyfire he was a broken man. Star-crossed in love. I would not have expected him to ever break through. Satan finally has someone to turn his paranoia on.”
“Do you think Satan will make a move?” Davis asked.
She shook her head. “He acts like a madman, but he’s actually quite meticulous. I much prefer dealing with him instead of that old fox, the Pontiff. At the least Satan won’t react before thinking. They learned that the hard way when they went to Skyfire for their little exchange. I’ll be interested to see how things turn out this time.”
Davis’ chair creaked as he shifted his weight. “We can go take a look if you like. I know you’re worried about it.”
The woman’s eyes hardened, and the air around her began to warp unsettlingly. Time slowed like wading through molasses, and even a change in facial expression felt like it tok an age.
“Now that I’m done with it, I waste no further thought. When the tournament does begin, make sure you tell all of our people to be appropriate hosts. Leave no lasting damage. Our plans for the Avenue are too far along and too well hidden, so focus on our second objective. We have a foreign invader en route – and the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
Davis looked at her in silence for a moment, then nodded his head.
Both of them closed their eyes in unison, and once more the aura of their power spread out to encapsulate them.
Where the Gourmet present he would know immediately that these two were the true power holders of the Conclave. The two most powerful Adepts in the North.