Both groups arrived at the Tournant Arena — the stage upon which the Yu Clan’s youth would test their strength.
One might expect sothing grand — carved jade pillars, dragon-shaped statues, and a stage bathed in heavenly light.
But no.
The arena was surprisingly simple.
A raised dueling platform, a few elegantly carved stone benches, and several hovering projection formations. That was it.
Minimalist and efficient.
But then again, this wasn’t ant to dazzle. It was ant to test.
The real audience wasn’t even present.
Dozens of projection formations floated above the arena, transmitting the matches live across the entire clan.
Naturally, a temporary chat group had already ford in the Universal Talisman network, where disciples were doing what they did best: spamming reactions.
[MoKi000]: I, Mo Ki, am insensible.
[MoonPeach]: Brother, do you an to say invincible?
[FurnaceBoy444]: No, I think he ans invisible.
anwhile, the competitors — ten from the Outer Hall, ten from the Inner Hall — sat in quiet anticipation on their designated benches.
So looked nervous.
So looked excited.
One was clearly calculating how to win with the most flair while still pretending to be humble about it.
Among them, one figure stood out like a calm storm in waiting — Ming Tiani.
Black-haired, graceful, and carrying the aura of soone who’d already seen the ending of this tournant in a dream, she sat cross-legged, eyes closed, breathing in perfect rhythm with the world.
Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted.
A subtle ripple passed through the arena.
All heads turned in unison.
Yu Changming, the Clan Patriarch — had arrived.
He walked in with the quiet majesty of a man who could level a mountain without wrinkling his robes, followed by a group of Core Elders... and, to everyone’s surprise, a handful of younger disciples.
Among them was none other than Yu Xuan.
Dressed in crisp ceremonial robes and wearing the expression of soone who had been forcefully volunteered, the young master walked quietly, a slightly grumpy look on his face.
Clearly, he was not thrilled to be here.
You see, earlier that morning, knowing there was a tournant, Yu Xuan had simply gone to his father and asked to watch it in person.
A reasonable request.
But the mont nearby elders heard him speak...
"Patriarch! Let the young master enter the tournant!"
"It would be a wonderful morale boost!"
"A symbolic gesture of leadership!"
Yu Changming listened their argunts and he calmly replied, "He’s seven. The age requirent is eight."
Then one elder, far too clever for his own good, casually added, "We were planning to add our own disciples too..."
A few eyebrows twitched. Everyone knew their own so-called "prodigies" weren’t quite... prodigious. But still, they couldn’t resist the opportunity.
In truth, most just wanted to see if Yu Xuan, like his sister, was a hidden monster in disguise.
And so, after ten minutes and several internal sighs, Yu Xuan found himself walking behind the Patriarch like a guest of honor...
Along the way, he tried to chat with a few of the other kids.
Unfortunately, most of them were either too nervous to speak, too intimidated by his identity, or too focused on their upcoming matches to reply.
The attempt at friendly mingling? Unsuccessful.
Now, seated among the participants at the edge of the platform, Yu Xuan exhaled slowly and muttered under his breath:
"...This is going to be fun."
He wasn’t sure if he ant it sarcastically.
Probably.
***
Now that everyone had gathered, a Core disciple stepped onto the platform.
His na was Lu — an unassuming young man with an ordinary face, a friendly expression, and the unenviable job of being the tournant announcer.
Clearing his throat, he cupped his hands respectfully toward the elders and clan head before speaking, voice amplified slightly by spiritual energy.
"Now that all esteed Elders and our honored Clan Head are present, we shall begin the tournant for the youngest generation."
A polite ripple of applause followed.
Lu continued, his tone cheerful.
"We have twenty participants from the Outer and Inner Halls, and to everyone’s surprise, six additional disciples have joined us, all entry disciple of Core Elders. Not to ntion..."
He paused dramatically, letting the suspense do its work.
"...The participation of the Clan Head’s own son!"
Instantly, several of the floating projection formations zood in on the gathered disciples.
Entry Disciples are basically those disciples who have potential but not started cultivating yet.
Among them, Yu Xuan, who had been trying to blend in, gave the announcer a betrayed look.
Lu ignored it.
Instead, he casually glanced at the Universal Talisman in his hand.
As expected, the temporary tournant group chat was going wild.
[MoonPeach]: Damn, little Yu is beautiful AND cute.
[MoKi000]: I, Mo Ki, am the most handso.
[FurnaceBoy444]: Mo Ki looks like an ape with diarrhea.
[LittleBigFish]: HAHAHAHAHA...
Lu smiled, satisfied.
"Ahem," he said, straightening. "Now, let us begin the first match. Selections will be made randomly."
With a flick of his fingers, the floating na board shimred to life.
Nas, already inputted, began to flash across the screen in glowing gold.
A few monts later, two nas popped into view:
Mo Lin vs. Lin Fan
The crowd stirred watching the nas, their excitent rising.
"Let the First battle begin" said Lu.
Like this the first battle was about to begin.
[ A/N: Should I keep the group chat? If yes then comnt unique Usernas. ]
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