Chapter 72 (1/2)
“And with that, the final round of the competition has come to an end,” the referee said and gestured for the two fighters to get off the stage. She glanced at the elders’ spectating area before turning her gaze onto the participants. Her gaze landed on Grandpa Vremya. “Now, will the disciple in first place use the special privilege?”
Grandpa Vremya jumped onto the stage, keeping his eyes closed. “Yes.”
The referee nodded. Never before had someone with a single foundational pillar exercise the privilege of challenging a core disciple. The winners of the competition usually had three or four foundational pillars created; occasionally, some would have cultivation bases even higher but never lower. Even if someone was a genius, could they really challenge people a whole major realm higher than them and win? Although the referee disliked Grandpa Vremya’s attitude, she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of respect for the man; after all, what he was doing was tantamount to suicide. “Will the gatekeeper please enter the arena.”
From the spectators’ seating area, there was a blur as a woman leapt onto the stage. Ruby harrumphed as she landed, and her sleeves swished as she drew her sword. “Do you remember me?” she asked, pointing her sword at the cultivating man.
Grandpa Vremya opened one eye. He stared at Ruby. Honestly, most humans looked the same to him similar to how most ants looked the same to humans. If he didn’t focus on someone and memorize their specific features, there was no way he’d be able to remember them. His memory was better used elsewhere. After examining Ruby, Grandpa Vremya shook his head and closed his eye. “No.”
Ruby’s expression darkened. “Ninety years ago, we were supposed to have a duel. When we both joined the sect, my master, Elder Formation, announced I would fight you in five years.”
A lightbulb lit up above Grandpa Vremya’s head. It wasn’t because of his memory that he didn’t recognize the woman. “Ninety years ago, you were no taller than a stone lion. Look at you now. How was I supposed to realize who you were?”
Ruby’s face froze. Grandpa Vremya did have a point. Since the man was isolated in the sect’s prison for the past nine decades, there really was no way he could predict how she’d look like after she grew up. “Well,” she said and coughed. “Do you remember me now?”
“Yes, of course,” Grandpa Vremya said. “When we both joined the sect, your master, Elder Formation, announced you would fight me in five years.”
In the spectators’ seating area, Azalea’s eye twitched. Whenever Grandpa Vremya repeated her words back to her, it meant he wasn’t listening. He used the excuse of he was busy cultivating, but it was still annoying as heck to talk to someone who wasn’t paying attention but pretended they were. Luckily, it seemed like Ruby hadn’t noticed.
“To prove that you made a poor choice when rejecting my master’s offer of becoming her disciple, I’ll crush you in front of the whole sect today,” Ruby said and flourished her sword, causing frost to dance around its blade.
“To prove that I made a poor choice when rejecting your master’s offer of becoming her disciple, you’ll crush me in front of the whole sect today,” Grandpa Vremya said, speaking with the same tone and inflection as Ruby.
A furrow appeared on Ruby’s brow. “Are you making fun of me?”
Grandpa Vremya frowned and waved his hand, summoning his golem from his interspacial necklace. The referee glanced at the two people before turning her gaze onto the elders. Rachel nodded, and the referee raised one hand. “Begin!” she shouted and backed up, leaving the stage.
Ruby dashed forward while tossing out blue flags. There were seven of them, and they flew up into the air, forming a circle. Faint lines of spiritual energy connected them, the end result resembling a seven-pointed star. A beam of light shone out of the star, landing on Ruby’s body, and her speed increased even further. As the disciple of Elder Formation, how could she not deploy formations during a fight? A second set of formation flags shot out of her robes, and an inverted seven-pointed star appeared, shining a ray of light down on the golem.
Elder Formation nodded upon seeing her disciple’s actions. However, her face turned stiff when a disk shot out of Grandpa Vremya’s abdomen. “Is that a manifestation?” she asked, unable to hold back her question.