Rise of The Demon General

The elimination rounds continued. After the red, then the blue group was called. After several more rounds, finally, it was the yellow group. Amon was the second to fight during the yellow group. Amon went up for his first match when his name was called.

When he stood atop the arena, he looked around. The other arenas were having youths fighting on them as well. He also looked around at the countless spectators.

'A tournament, this is a new experience,' he thought. He had never bothered with sports in his past life. His sport was always a life-and-death battle. The hectic battle royale from the preliminary round was more his style. This one-on-one bout with rules was too exhibitive for him.

"Did you listen? Are you clear on the rules?" The referee said to Amon. He was dissatisfied because Amon had been gazing around while he was talking.

"You have been saying the same rules every time the match start. I can recite them back to you by now," Amon replied.

The referee was fuming. Such a disrespectful kid! But Amon didn't violate any rule, so he couldn't do anything. He hoped this round ended without a clear winner, so he could use his authority as a referee to declare Amon the loser.

"Begin!" The referee yelled.

Now only Amon looked at his opponent.

'Hm?' He was about to dash over but he recognized the youth opposite him. The boy was one of the youths that had followed his team during the preliminary round. The boy's expression seemed to be contemplating something.

Amon could more or less guess what the boy was thinking. So instead of rushing over, he just stood there with his arms folded and stared at the boy with a smile.

"Hey! What are you two doing? The bout has started already!" The referee called.

Some participants and nearest spectators had even started booing. Amon retained his pose.

His opponent finally crossed eyes with Amon. He saw Amon's confident smile and sharp stare. His expression showed that he had made up his mind.

"I… I surrender…" The youth said.

"What?" The referee was baffled. They hadn't even exchanged one move, why surrender already? "What did you say?" The referee asked to make sure.

"I surrender!" The youth repeated with a more firm voice this time. He then turned around and left the arena.

Since a contender had left, the referee had no choice but to declare Amon to be the winner.

The spectators were also taken aback by this outcome. They booed louder and jeered, saying that the match was fixed. That Amon must have paid that youth to give up so he could advance without fighting. The other participants also started to speak badly of Amon. The loudest one was Wei Lhosa, saying that Amon could only win using such an underhanded trick.

There were, however, a couple of participants in that same arena who didn't join the bad-mouthing. Because they knew the reason that youth had surrendered, they were also amongst those on Amon's team during the preliminary round. If it was them that came up just now, they would also have surrendered.

*

On an elevated section overlooking the arena. Two people were looking at arena no.3. They were very high up but they could still see everything down there clearly.

One of these persons was Pai Kuan, the referee of the South arena during the preliminary round. The other one was an old man with a half-bald head. The hair that he still had was white, straight, and long. So long that it almost touched the floor. His white beard was also long and almost reached his feet. Despite his obvious old age, his face and body showed a very vigorous disposition.

"Is that the boy you mentioned?" The old man asked.

"Yes. That one that gave up just now has been amongst those that follow his orders during the preliminary round," Pai Kuan answered.

"Hm… Rarely do kids their age care about such a chain of command. To be able to instill such fear or respect in the ones that served under him, he is indeed special."

"His fighting ability is also uncanny. He doesn't fight as if a little boy who only ever spars. He fights as if a veteran who has gone through much bloodshed."

"Have you found out about his background?"

"His name is Lin Mo. He is the adopted son of Lin Xi, otherwise known as Madam Lin, the daughter of the Lin clan's patriarch."

"Adopted? So he is not originally of Lin blood?"

"No, he is originally named Hei Mo. He comes from the Hei clan, a small fallen clan that lived outside this city. Hei clan has been reportedly massacred by the Wei clan many years ago. The detail of the events was sketchy at best. The report also said that the perpetrator of the Wei clan had been executed by Madam Lin, who acted out of the testimony of the sole survivor of the massacre. That boy, Hei Mo. He was then adopted by Madam Lin and had his name changed to Lin Mo."

"Hm, is that how his feud with the Wei clan started? That's why they have requested for the deathmatch?"

"Yes. There is also gossip that this Lin Mo is responsible for the disappearance of a Wei young master. This Lin Mo is probably still carrying the desire to avenge his past Hei clan's massacre. That's why he goes up against the Wei clan."

"If he is, then there is no need to worry about him. A man who can't control his emotion and let his desire dictate his course of life won't be able to do great things."

"But isn't it also this desire that can spur someone to strive further than a normal man can, to achieve great things?"

"Hahaha," the old man laughed. "I always enjoy talking to you because you have no reservation in disagreeing with me, unlike those others."

"I don't dare, I simply am used to speaking what is in my mind," Pai Kuan bowed.

"About this boy… If he is as you said. Then he is a one-in-a-million talent. What do we do with such a find?"

"We recruit him. If we can't… then we eliminate him!"

"Hm… I will leave this matter to you then."

*

Each youth only fought once a day. The second match was to be conducted tomorrow. The third match which was the semi-final would be the next day after. This was so the participant had one day to rest and heal their wounds after each fight.

Amon, who had won without a fight, had no reason to rest but he had to follow the rules like all others. The participants who had won were taken back to their resting rooms.

Despite now only half the rooms that were occupied compared to yesterday, they were still instructed to go to the room they used yesterday. Amon again saw Lei San before he walked up the stairs to the second floor. The long-haired boy looked back at him without any words.

'So he has won his first match as well. Well, that is to be expected. He won't be a top clan's prodigy if he already lost at the first match,' Amon thought.

Inside his room, he didn't go into cultivation. He had been thinking. He had been using Silent Swift Stab art several times to deliver a non-lethal punch instead of a dagger, which the art was meant for. He could combine it with Bone Shattering Shadow Fist after that move, but there was a pause in between the two arts. The way the aether was articulated was different between the two arts, hence the pause. Against an expert, such a pause could be fatal.

He was wondering if he could synchronize the two arts to make it one whole art. A punch that was delivered at high speed from a distance. One smooth motion without any pause. If he could perform it, that would give him an edge in this tournament that didn't allow the usage of weapons.

There was no courtyard outside for practice. Additionally, they were also prohibited from going outside until the time of their match. But the room was not too small, the distance from one side of the wall to the other side was wide enough for him to test his art.

He proceeded to stand on one side and took his stance. He circulated his aether and executed the Silent Swift Stab forward motion, his body turned invisible as he rushed forward, he punched out once arriving at the other side. His Bone Shattering Shadow Fist hit the wall with a hard sound. The wall, however, was fine. Words of Power flashed on the surface of the wall when Amon's fist struck.

'So, this room is enhanced by engraving. No wonder it is so sturdy. This is good. This means I'm free to test my art here,' Amon thought.

Amon didn't waste any time. He immediately readied himself and then used the art to dash back to the other side again, then he punched once arriving there.

'No… This is still two different arts,' he thought, unsatisfied.