Leinor's opponent didn't look anything special, at least at first gnce. The gray garment he wore, for sure, looked custom-made, just like the leather pouches on him. As for what was in them? Nobody knew. After they greeted each other, the man immediately took action, not even waiting for the Prince to finish. Leinor was still in the middle of releasing his cupped hands when his opponent threw out two fsks from his sleeve that exploded in mid-air before him, releasing a thick, greenish gas, blown towards Leinor.

  "Poison?" Ren murmured, raising her eyebrows. "First time seeing something like this."

  "It's a despicable move," Zern commented disapprovingly, anger simmering in his tone.

  "Not really. You use what you are gifted with." Ren rebuked him, "And either way, he lost as soon as the match started. Poison is good... If I were his enemy, he could've surprised me with it. Nonetheless, against LeiLei's bloodline… this kind of trick is nothing," she added as she smiled confidently.

  After throwing out the poison-filled fsks on the stage, the scrawny-looking guy knew it was not going to be enough as he pulled out a small repeater crossbow, went into a kneeling position, and fired four shots in quick succession. The pce where Leinor stood was already enveloped in the poisonous gas, and only fleshy thuds were heard within... but nobody could see what happened in the thick, green clouds. Was it a hit? Or...? Yet, just a second ter, steps could be heard as Leinor walked out of the smoke, letting out a long breath and exhaling the poison-like air without flinching, looking completely fine.

  "You are unlucky," he sighed as he raised his arm, which was pierced by the small bolts, acting without flinching as he pulled them out, one by one. His injuries healed at a visible speed, making his opponent gasp, watching as every wound he had closed up before it had any chance to shed a drop of blood. "If this is all, then sorry. It's over."

  When his words died down, Leinor unched forward, punching at his opponent, who quickly discarded the crossbow, rolling over to the left, pulling out another vial from his belt. Not even trying to throw, he was already crushing it, as the yellowish gas started revolving around his fists.

  "Oh? Interesting..." Leinor nodded, meeting his attack with his own.

  Sadly, for Leinor's opponent, the outcome differed from what everyone had expected. Maybe if they were on the same level, the poison-filled attack would hinder Leinor a little… make him think twice of touching it... But the strength in their bodies was levels apart. As the two fists met, only cracking sounds could be heard, followed by the screams of his opponent. The man's arm was twisted and broken in multiple pces by the time Leinor pulled back his hand... Only to swing again. His second attack was a simple chop with the edge of his palm, significantly reduced in power, which hit him in the neck, causing him to colpse without a chance to retaliate again. As his enemy colpsed, Leinor's aura slowly receded, and he spat out a dark-colored clump, the rest of the poison in his body, before calmly walking down as if nothing had happened.

  "What level are you at?" Isha asked, looking at him with snted eyes but gripping her fists, realizing that the... boytoy... was really good.

  "Seventh." Leinor answered, tilting his head, "But honestly, with our method… and the flowing energy inside us... I don't think anyone below eight is a problem to take on."

  "Hehe, also, LeiLei can take a beating~!" Ren giggled, winking at Isha. "He is sturdier than... than... hm... sturdy!"

  "Hmf. We'll see." Isha snorted, not wanting to admit anything.

  For the following few rounds, nothing interesting happened; at st, for the little group. Not even when Isha got onto the stage, because her opponent could only take two hits before colpsing unconscious. Zern's turn wasn't any different either... It was just... more boring, as his opponent relied on speed, which was the por opposite of Zern's. It ended up with Zern reserving his stamina for future fights, so he just defended, waiting until his enemy colpsed from exhaustion. It was... maybe the longest match but also the least entertaining. Then, when Ren's turn came, her opponent's first reaction was to give up, knowing he would have no chance of defeating her.

  "This is so unfair!" Ren fumed as she walked back while Leinor tried to calm her down, without much success. "I waited for... Nothing! UUUUGH!"

  It was then that the first rounds ended, and only half of them remained... Which came out to an uneven number, meaning one lucky person would advance to the next round without fighting. When they pulled out the number, deciding who would be the fortunate one... Ren almost felt like crying. Her eyes were filled with tears that soon evaporated, thanks to her rage taking over, boiling her little head, seeing her number being pulled.

  "Ahahahaha, look at you. I had never seen anyone who was mad they got a free pass!" Isha ughed without holding back, spping her thighs while Zern wore an understanding smile, feeling sympathy towards his Master.

  "Just... just… leave… me… alone… okay?" Ren murmured, shaking in her boots, feeling someone was pying a prank on her... she just couldn't prove it.

  "Easy, easy, isn't this better than being disappointed by a boring match?" Leinor soothed her, once again, failing at it.

  "No!" She yelled, but then began pouting, "M-maybe… hmf… still!"

  "Deep breaths, Master, a few rounds, and it would be your turn, surely!" Zern tried, but the moment he said that, the pulled-out numbers were his and Isha's, surprising the two of them.

  "Tsk, I hoped I would meet with the boytoy…" she murmured before heading up, walking past Zern.

  "Give her a beating." Leinor harrumphed as an answer towards Zern, who just sighed again, feeling as if, since he followed his Master, there hadn't been a quiet day... and today wasn't any different.

  "It's not too early to give up," Isha said with a small, provocative smile the moment the two faced against each other in the arena.

  "I value honor, and I won't shame my Master," Zern answered, cupping his hand, looking into her eyes. "Don't hold back anything, or you will lose."

  "I see. Then... good luck," she returned the salute.

  In the end, it was Isha who made the first move, stomping down with a bang. She appeared next to Zern in the following moment, her legs covered in a red brilliance that left scorch marks on the ground as her shoes disintegrated. Of course, Zern wasn't surprised, not even realizing that Isha, in this little time, had already begun converting to his Master's new method... Which showed she had talent. Ample talent... In answer, he raised his arms to block the incoming kick, and his skin quickly turned metallic as if it were made of steel, responding in kind.

  "You're a hard one!" Isha shouted, following up with a second kick before nding and using the rebounding force from her attack to distance herself.

  She felt numbness all over, spreading through her legs as she watched Zern's arms, which now showed bright marks, like a piece of metal after being hammered in so much that it began naturally heating up.

  "I know. I specialize in defense," he stomped on the ground, making it quake as it resonated throughout the arena like a mini earthquake, shaking Isha out of bance while Zern rushed at her.

  "Nice!" She grinned before her aura exploded again, and most of her dress fred up, evaporating, revealing big patches of skin as fme-like embers continuously flew off of her.

  The sudden 'striptease' stunned Zern, and the tiny, minute stop in his charge was enough to help Isha regain the lost time since losing her bance. Her tempestuous inner force was almost comparable to Ren's own, although she wasn't as fast, and every move she made was quickly slowed down. It was evident she was forceful and capable of powerful strikes, but speed on a longer stretch was not her forte, unlike Ren, who could constantly maintain her fsh-like movements.

  Still, every strike of hers was as if she coated her body with fmes, and when she hit Zern's body, sparks flew everywhere. All around the arena, the snow started to melt, releasing white fog everywhere, giving the people the very first, actual spectacle in this tournament. It didn't take long for the spectators to feel like they were in a bcksmith's forge, thanks to the heat and the sounds, every time the two of them hit each other.

  "Gotcha!" Zern grabbed her legs suddenly, making Isha feel as though she had been caught in a bear trap.

  "Who got who?!" She ughed as she coiled around him with her other leg, and soon both of them were on the ground, wrestling in a way that reminded many people of something else... Especially because Isha was partially naked, most of her clothing having been burnt away.

  "Ahahaha! I told you, they are looking good together!" Ren ughed, watching, but then fingers covered her eyes... "Hey!"

  "You shouldn't watch this, Ren," Leinor said with a red face, pcing his hands before her.

  "Come on, don't py around! I want to see it! I'll bite you! Move! If you can watch, I can too!" she moaned, frustratedly as she tried to pry away Leinor's fingers. "Don't be cocky, you are only two years older than me!" she growled as she finally peeled off his fingers. "Oh… Zern lost," she excimed the moment she looked at the two, a bit shocked but not disappointed.

  Sadly... Leinor was thinking the same. As for the battle, up on the ptform, Zern was lying on his back, holding Isha's neck in a chokehold, while his legs were around her waist... For many other spectators, it looked like Zern was the one who was about to win.

  "Give up!" He groaned, not wanting to hurt her.

  "You should be the one to give up!" Isha grinned, grabbing onto his wrists. "You may seem like you are made of metal… Well then... Be ready… I'll turn up the heat! Don't melt under me, baby boy~!" she chuckled as her whole body exploded like a volcano.

  The searing heat evaporated everything around them, and Zern's whole body turned bright red in the snap of a finger. On the other hand, Isha looked like an ifrit from the legends as she started to cook him alive. Zern's stubbornness made him hold on, trying to choke her out, but soon the pain was unbearable as he felt like his organs started to cook inside him while all the water in his body was evaporating through his pores, making him seem like he was smoking.

  "Isha has shown great talent since she switched." Leinor sighed, having to acknowledge the thing he would not mention to her face.

  "If this were a death battle, she would have lost when Zern caught her," Ren reminded him, "But as she is our friend, Zern couldn't snap her neck."

  "Who is friends with that stripper?" Leinor argued, crossing his arms, sulking.

  "Hehe, what? You have been ogling at Boobie Lady's chest since the start, no? Pervert." Ren teased him as she looked at Leinor with snted eyes... and then down at her ft chest. "Tsk… just you wait! When I grow up, I'll have bigger and rounder ones than hers! Then you can be happy."

  "I'm not particurly interested in it." He answered, turning bright red, "I like you because of you, not because of how you look…."

  Right then, before Ren could answer, Zern's voice echoed out in the arena.

  "I give up!"

  As soon as she felt his arms releasing her, Isha stopped the output of her energies, and the fmes subsided, rolling off him, panting for air. Both of them looked like someone who had just climbed out of a fire, their clothes only hanging down off their bodies in multiple, singed parts. Especially Isha, who was almost naked... Not like it seemed she minded it at all.

  "It was a good fight. You are strong!" She grinned at him, stretching out her hand while Zern tried not to look at the exposed curves of the incredibly blessed Isha, "What?"

  "C-clothes…"

  "Hm? What about it? Ahaha, are you a virgin?" she teased him a little, grabbing his hand, pulling him up.

  "So what…"

  "Bwahaha, at that age? Come, I'll pay you a round back at home. I know a few girls who would like you!"

  As she was teasing him, ignoring the fact that she was on dispy on the wall, the Emperors were just as surprised by the showcase they had just watched.

  "Their powers overshadow low-level Harmony Realm fighters," Carthus commented, his eyes sharp, his tone showing his honest surprise.

  "Yes, Father. The little devil's technique seems more potent than we thought..." Dermitos nodded.

  "Who do you call a little devil?" Anya spoke up, sitting next to the two emperors with a smile that wasn't a smile.

  "Oh, Anya, you know exactly who!" Dermitos ughed while Carthus stayed indifferent and just looked at her before directing his gaze back to the arena. "You must admit, sometimes your daughter does act like one."

  "She's just young. Only throw stones at her if you were different at that age."

  "She's right. You were like your third son." Carthus commented, watching the four most exciting candidates.

  "Father!" Dermitos yelled, but knew it was indeed the case.

  "What?" The old emperor snorted, "How many girls are in your harem? Why do you think I don't bother learning every kid's name, you sire? You whore of a man." Carthus snorted at his son, watching him with one eye.

  "Really… I give up too!" Dermitos moaned, rolling his eyes while Anya silently chuckled, looking back at the arena, searching for her daughter.

  The fights that followed were not as fshy or gripping, which was not a surprise... Then, just when the next round came, it was Isha who received a free pass to the next round, giving the remaining competitors a much-needed breath of relief. Until they realized that this would mean that Ren would fight.

  "Finally! It's my turn!" She ughed loudly as she jumped up to the arena when she saw her number coming up. As for her enemy... A young-looking man walked up with a calm face, holding a sword at his side.

  "Oh… poor Poli.. he may think this is his time to show off." Leinor chuckled, recognizing Ren's enemy.

  "I bet Master doesn't even realize who her opponent is," Zern muttered, pinching his nose.

  "What… who? Is he some kind of love rival?" Isha asked, now wearing a brand-new outfit that she had borrowed from somewhere.

  "No. Not a rival… I think." Leinor muttered, "It's hard to say. Not now, that's for sure. But let's see what he is capable of..." he smiled, a bit curious about what Ren would do, as it seemed she had a lot of pent-up energy.