Chapter 38: 38. Duel (part-1)
"Senior brother James, what are you trying to say? Just ask me and don't mind the formalities." Kai said to James as he saw him hesitating to ask something.
"Junior brother, I want to ask a favor, but I won't be able to ask considering your strength," James replied honestly.
"Is my strength the reason for your hesitation? Do you think I am that kind of character?" Asked Kai.
"No, it is not like that, junior brother. It's just that my strength and status are low compared to others, so I'm hesitant to ask " James replied.
The performance Kai made during the battle royale impressed a lot of elders, and his strength is also high, so James did not want to ask for something personal.
"Senior brother, I do not see the status or strength of a person during interaction. So don't mind it and ask your favor." Kai said it in a calm voice.
"Junior brother, I also won the battle royale and was selected for the expedition. I hope that we will form a team in the secret realm. The death rate in the secret realm is very high since the beasts inside are very strong compared to those outside.
We can look for each other if we form a team " James revealed his purpose for visiting Kai.
"Why did the senior brother need to ask a favor for this? I already thought about forming a team inside with you to face any dangers," Kai replied to assure James.
"It seems I did not misunderstand you, junior brother. But you defeated Mike without even breaking a sweat. " James said it in amazement.
"Who is this Mike guy? Did he have something special about him ?" Kai asked in doubt. He did not inspect anyone during the battle, as he saw everyone as weak.
"Junior brother, you did not know about Mike?" James asked in doubt.
"Yes, senior brother, I don't know about that Mike guy," Kai replied in doubt.
"Mike is only second to Aman and Leiyin in considering the talent in the inner sect, but you just chopped him like cutting the grass," James answered and cleared Kai's doubt.
"Well, I don't think that Mike should be strong. If he is strong enough, he should be able to avoid my attack. Since he isn't capable of avoiding my attack, he is just a paper tiger." Kai expressed his own opinion about Mike.
"You do have a point, but it is mostly because of your unavoidable sword intent that he is incapacitated," James told the truth. He did not expect anyone capable of withstanding that sword intent in the same realm.
Kai did not think anything about Mike, he was just like one of the people in the group. He went to his room after saying goodbye to James. He decided to act with James for a reason, otherwise, he wouldn't act with him because of his weak strength.
The next day, Kai arrived at Hell Field very early. He found a suitable place and sat down.
Soon the crowd arrived, but the number of disciples was numerous compared to before. The eliminated disciples also came to watch the match.
Soon the grand elder arrived with a group of elders and a holy son.
"The tournament will be held in the form of a duel. Everyone will draw a lottery and battle according to the number. The numbers are between 1 to 100, number 1 will battle number 100, number 2 will battle number 99 and so on.
The loser will be eliminated, and the draw will continue until a single person becomes a champion." The grand elder announced it as soon as he arrived.
"All participating disciples form a line in front of this box and take a ball from it." Another elder took charge and ordered all the disciples.
Everyone formed a queue to draw their number, and Kai stood in the middle of the line.
'Let's test my luck,' thought Kai. He put his hands inside the box and took a ball with with number 7 in it.
Kai then moved away from the crowd and started waiting for his match.
"The first battle between number I and number 100 starts now." The elder announced the start of the duel.
The first battle is a simple match, both of them are average, and nothing is interesting about them. Kai is only interested in Aman and Leiyin, so he does not watch the match and closed his eyes to pass the time.
The first six battles ended early without any surprise, and it was time for Kai's battle.
"Number 7 and number 94 come to the field." The elder announced the number of Kai and his opponent.
"The battle begins." The elder in charge announced the start of the battle after they got on stage.
'My opponent looks kind of intimidating,' thought Kai. His opponent was named Michael, and he had a giant build with muscles all over his body.
Kai drew his sword from the scabbard and used his phantom steps to move towards Michael.
"Don't think you can cut me like the loser from the previous round." Michael mocked Kai by saying this. He activated his talent, and his skin became hard like a diamond.
Kai's sword hit his hand, but it did not break his defense.
"Did you see? This is my diamond skin talent. You won't be able to break my defense with your tier 1 sword." Michael again mocked Kai by mentioning the grade of the sword.
"Why are you talking so much nonsense? Did you just get jealous of my fanbase?" Kai replied in a counterattack.
It seems Kai's reply pissed off Michael, and he started throwing punches at him. His punch is very coordinated and has a faint intent on it.
'It seems he is not a paper tiger.' thought Kai. Michael is on the verge of becoming a fist master, and it proves that he put a lot of effort into actual practice.
"Do you think I went all out during the previous battle?" Kai asked with a faint smile on his face.
[Absolute] Kai used the same technique with more power. This time he didn't say it because the disciples already knew the name of this technique; last time he said it aloud since he thought it would make him look cool.
Michael tried to avoid the attack instinctively, and this time he did not try to defend them using flesh alone. But luck is not on his side, as Kai's attack was almost unavoidable and directly severed both of his hands.
*AHHHHHH*
Michael screamed in pain, but he did not give up. So Kai again slashed the sword at his chest without any emotions.
"I give up, I giveee up," Michael shouted in fear. He became afraid of Kai, he knew that both of his legs would be cut off if he didn't forfeit this match, so he immediately gave up the match, even in agony.
"The winner of this match is Kai." The elder announced the result.
As soon as he announced the result, the disciples in the crowd cheered for him, and most of them were girls.
"Sword Demon!" "Sword Demon!""Sword Demon!"
"Kai, are you free tonight? I have a lot to learn from you."
"Kai, how about you come to my room? I have a little sister with me, we can serve you well."
Like this, a lot of girls started asking Kai for a date, and some even asked for a child.
'It's really hard to refuse the temptation of so many girls, but I don't have time for them,' thought Kai. He does not want to spend his first time with such a girl. His dream is to find a dream girl and make love with her, also won't lose his virginity until the saint realm, no matter who it is.
Kai left the noisy crowd and found a quiet place to relax. The battle continued, and soon the top 50 members were selected.
The result is surprising for Kai because James and Williams appeared in the top 50 rankings. Both of their strengths aren't strong, but they somehow managed to win the match.
'It seems luck plays an important role in life' thought Kai. He never had much luck in both of his lives. The protagonist from the novels he read had obtained the treasure he always wanted, but he did not have that kind of luck, even though he is also a reincarnator.
Aman and Leiyin unsurprisingly qualified for the next round. The next round of the duel started in the same format as before.
The top 50 disciples will fight among themselves by drawing a lottery, and the 25 winners will be qualified for the next round.
The second round of the duel also ended on the same day, and 25 disciples were selected in this round. James and Williams lost this round, but Kai's opponent gave up his match as soon as he saw Kai. It seems like he avoided Kai like a demon from hell. Aman and Leiyin also qualified in this round.
'It seems the sect avoids putting geniuses of the same caliber at an early stage.' thought Kai. The top talent of the sect did not play against each other for a single time.