Chapter 53: Tong and Gavrex

Seeing her reaction, Riven immediately knew she was up to something. “Where are you going?” he asked suspiciously.

“To meet my master, of course! He’s not part of the Elemental Pavilion, but rather he teaches a general type of thing!”

“And that is?”

“You should know that my master isn’t a part of this sect. We’re just… working for them. But then at the same time, we are part of them if we are working for them. For now.”

Riven groaned. He felt that anytime Kivara wanted to say more things about the rules of the practitioners’ world, she just ended up making it even more confusing. “But you said sects protect their path jealously! How can you be part of a sect when you are just working for them and might learn their secret techniques and Path?”

Kivara shrugged. “This is a small Clan, Riven. And besides, the practitioner world has been existing for hundreds of thousands of years. Don’t you think some Paths are open secrets by now? Besides, sects don’t employ others to teach about their Path. They usually place them in places where they don’t come in contact with such.

“Like teaching history, or about the different types of monsters, or fighting. Students that are sect members learn their Path and techniques directly from instructors that are part of the sect.

“It might seem confusing, but employed instructors don’t have access to the different Paths that the sect provides. Even if it’s a common Path. In short, they only teach and instruct in the general studies.”

Riven nodded as he digested what she explained.

“Besides, most of them only teach we lower practitioners.”

“Come, we are here! The battle hall!” she said in an excited tone.

She strode into the open gate.

The battle hall was one of the biggest as well, but it lacked buildings like the other halls. There were only three buildings. The rest of the space was cut into different short battle platforms and stands for the spectators to sit.

All around, Riven saw weapon racks and fighting dolls. He saw different lifting weights and archery targets.

The atmosphere all around was charged. It was as if someone was stepping into a place flickering with lightning. This was a place of fighting, and through the years, the aura of different fighters had soaked into the place.

Riven felt his spirit lift, and his muscles flexed unconsciously. ’…I want to know how I stand against someone my own rank…’

But unlike him, Kivara was collected. In fact, she looked cold, and her face was expressionless, just like the first time he saw her. She gestured, covered them with her aura, and moved them up the stand.

Even the people around didn’t notice them because they were focused on the fighting that was about to start on the central platform.

In fact, all the fighting from the other platforms had stopped as well, as everyone focused on the battle.

The central platform was bigger, the same as the ones that directly surrounded it. And on the platform stood two people. A tall boy and a shorter one.

The tall boy was slender, the same age as Riven, and the way he held himself in a proud and dignified way as if he was a prince. He was wearing a pure white robe with a badge of the sect stitched to the chest. He held a sword in his right hand.

The other boy was stocky, with more of a rocky build and eyes that were cold and calculating. He didn’t hold any weapons, but the aura that surrounded him was no less as dangerous as his opponent.

Riven, just like everyone else, was immediately captured by the two facing each other. The pressure from the two caused their robes to ripple, and the surrounding practitioners gave them more space.

“That tall one is Tong, and the other one is Gavrex.”

Riven’s eyes were immediately drawn to the one called Tong with the self-assured smile on his face. ’…that’s the guy that has the moon for Kivara?…’

But Kivara kept speaking. “Watch their fight. They are both in Rank Three. I’m sure you’ll learn something. Maybe.”

Riven immediately focused on them. This would be the first fight he would be seeing between two practitioners of the same rank. He didn’t want to miss anything.

The two faced each other without speaking, before the tall boy, Tong, elegantly said, “You really still think you can defeat me this time? You haven’t defeated me for all the twenty times you’ve tried!”

Gavrex scowled. “The only thing you have going for you is your speed. In direct strength, can you even dare to compete with me?”

Immediately he said that, the surrounding students began to murmur.

“Stop it, Gavrex! We’ve heard that before, and you still lose.”

“Why are you trying so hard when he will still win? Just accept your place.”

“Yes, accept. You don’t see us challenging you every time.”

But the two on the platform seemed not to hear the other students as they faced each other off. But then a sound, “ding! ding!” went off on the platform.

The signal to fight!

Riven’s hand tightened, and he watched with brightened eyes. ’…they’re about to start!…’

They started the fight immediately. Gavrex stomped his feet on the ground, and ice aura bellowed out from him, turning the whole platform into a sheet of ice and frost.

But Tong wasn’t affected. Immediately the fight began, his feet had been coated with silver lightning, and he had disappeared, leaving only a trail of shadows in his wake.

Riven’s eyes couldn’t keep up at all, even though he was watching the whole thing from above. What he saw was that Tong disappeared. His speed was even faster than Spartacus and the funeral undead at their best!

Tong appeared behind Gavrex to the right. His sword was flashing with blinding light, cracking like little thunderclaps. He slashed down!

Although Gavrex was bulky, his speed wasn’t less impressive. He twisted away, but it was at the last moment. The sword slammed into the ice, cracking it all the way down to the platform ground, where it formed a small crater, sending ice and stone fragments flying!

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