96 The Gathering of Experts Part 9 (1/2)

”Quite down young man.” Said the black-cloaked man with an irritated tone.

Daniel quietened down, but before the man could resume speaking, he heard the voice of the emperor coming from behind him. ”I'll allow it.” He said while showcasing his power through his voice.

The black-cloaked man turned to look at the emperor, and with surprise in his voice, he said ”Your Imperial Majesty.. The traditions..”

”They are competing on whose comprehension of spatial essence is the highest.. There is no point in making them compete one against the other. Let them all fight at the same time, and the one that will come out on top, will be the winner.” Said the emperor calmly.

The black-cloaked man turned to look at the other masters, and after confirming that none of them had anything to say against this decision, he turned back to look at the disciples and said, ”You all know what to do.. Let the battle commence.” he then disappeared.

The moment the words were pronounced, the many disciples started to wrestle with their spiritual essence to gain the control over the surrounding space.

An intense battle had started.

Portions of space started to become thicken, getting a few cultivators stuck into a denser space that slowed them down greatly. Other portions shattered, and forced the cultivators trapped within the fragments to teleport constantly, and spin in confusion.

The battle was chaotic, but within the group of cultivators, there were a few who had managed to get the upper hand.

Daniel, the princess, and a few others were the only ones that had managed to maintain their composure. They were carefully looking at each other. Each in their own safe and stable bubble of space.

The disciple of the man who had attacked Daniel during the presentation stage, had decide to target him during the competition. So, he looked at him, and started to bark insults and taunts.

Unfortunately, his insults were received without any reaction.

The princes had decided to target Daniel as well, but for a different reason. Since the beginning of the event, she had been deeply impressed by this young man. And after she heard that he might become a candidate for marrying his younger sister, the second princess, she had decided to test him out.

She introduced herself politely, but just like the other young man, she received absolutely no response.

Daniel was simply standing in place within his bubble of space.. Looking at the his surroundings with a relaxed expression.

Both irritated by Daniel's indifference, they decided to attack.

The young man was extremely competent in hindering other cultivators movements through space essence. Therefore, his strongest concept of space were density, gravity, and the creation of secure pocket dimensions.

He immediately tried to overpower Daniel's control over the surrounding space, and after managing to erase Daniel's mark over it, he created an artificial space that surrounded his body completely.

This artificial space was completely devoid of any connection with the outside world. It was like a pocket dimension without container, but with such a thick barrier, that finding a connection to the original world would take hours.

He then thickened the space within, and increased the gravity inside it to the maximum possible level.

Daniel was now lying on the ground, nailed by the near unbearable pressure, and unable to move due to the dense space all around him.

With a proud expression, the young man looked at Daniel and said, ”You don't look that carefree now.”

-----

The princess' strengths were in the concepts of transportation and stability. She was able to teleport to long distances safely by taking large chunks of space along with herself. She was also able to shatter space, and force those stuck within into a never ending cycle of chaotic teleportation.

She was currently looking at Daniel, which was standing peacefully on his spot with his usual carefree smile.

Meanwhile, all around her, the rest of the cultivators, including the other young man, had already been caught by her shattered space and were currently teleporting left and right in a panicked state.

Her cultivation was at the peak of the sixth rank, which was the most powerful rank amongst the spiritual cultivators that had competed for the title of Ruler of Space.

It wasn't much compared to the overall rank of disciples that had joined the gathering, and yet she had found herself able to easily overpower the other spiritual cultivators.

This had given her confidence.

She looked at Daniel, and said ”You will have to show me your worth before I'll approve of you becoming a contender for my sister's hand.”

She then shattered the space that surrounded Daniel, and stuck him into a never ending cycle of teleportation, just like she did with the others.

-----

Many different scenes were currently taking place within the stage.

Some competitors that, after managing to gain the upper hand over the space essence in the surrounding, were able to render their targets unable to continue fighting by locking them in place.

A few others stood like gods in the middle of groups of cultivators that lied helplessly on the ground, completely pressed by the heightened gravity.

And even some that looked at their victims, which teleported from one fragment of space to another in a nauseous state, and begging desperately for it to stop.

But these scenes did not matter.. only one did.

In the balconies, the various masters of space were looking at the stage with faces filled with shame. Some were even covering themselves with their hands in order to prevent others from noticing their expressions.

From their perspective, on the stage.. The situation had taken a much more embarrassing turn.