The tournament had arrived.
Everyone gathered at the plaza and waited for Gorn to arrive. Only the strongest of the Lightning Guild, who only needed the fourth level to progress, would participate. The others were only here to watch. Including Gravis, there were only eight contestants in the tournament, and everyone had a fully tempered body, except for Gravis.
Gravis could also see Jaimy watching the tournament. He was looking at Gravis with an imploring expression, and Gravis could only sigh. Gravis had already decided on an answer.
Gravis would win.
The thought that made him decide on that was a simple one. Jaimy had said that it would only be three months. So, if the siblings had to wait, it would also only be three months. Jaimy had said that three months meant nothing to Gravis, and if it meant nothing to Gravis, then it should also not mean anything to Jaimy and Frank.
Also, what if Frank wasn't able to condense his Lightning Seed to 50% Destruction Energy due to his weak will? The fourth level could only be more painful than every level before it. Was Gravis supposed to give up the next tournament too? He wouldn't.
So, Gravis decided to win the tournament. He didn't feel any pity for Frank, but he felt pity for Jaimy. Jaimy only wanted to make his brother's life easier, but he had corrupted his will by doing that. Gorn had said that the Lightning Guild did not create greenhouse flowers, because only wildflowers would be able to weather the storm.
One can't pull someone else to strength. Even Gravis' father wasn't able to pull someone up to his level. He could only give them a certain amount of strength, and then they needed to rely on themselves. Frank would start having problems in the Energy Gathering Realm. His will would probably also not be strong enough to temper his Spirit.
"Alright," shouted Gorn as he arrived. "You eight are the participants?" he asked the eight people in the middle of the plaza, who simply nodded. "Perfect! Eight people make for an exact elimination tournament bracket. So, we'll be doing just that."
The participants looked excited and anxious. Their Guild Master always used new methods to decide on the fights. They wondered what it would be this time.
Gorn took out a small satchel full of stones. "Here, catch!" he said as he tossed out eight stones to the participants. They easily caught their stones and looked at Gorn, waiting for his instruction. "Throw your stone at one person. If you hit, that person will be your opponent. If the person was hit, they are not allowed to throw their stones anymore. You only have one chance," he explained with a smirk.
'Well, this is one way to decide on who gets to fight whom,' Gravis thought, as he just waited. It didn't matter to him who his opponent was.
Frank and another man threw their stones simultaneously at each other. It seemed like they were pretty quick in deciding. 'That person is probably someone that Jaimy has paid to lose to his brother,' he concluded.
Two other male disciples also quickly threw their stones at each other. Those weren't even casual throws, and Gravis felt malice behind those stones. It seemed like those two disciples had beef with each other.
The woman from the Lightning Tower also participated in the tournament. Without waiting for long, she threw her stone at Gravis, who didn't bother to dodge. She always stayed in the Lightning Tower and didn't know much about what was happening in the Lightning Guild. She knew that Gravis only spent 40 hours on the third level of the Lightning Tower. She could take him.
Like this, the tossing-of-the-stones had ended, and the opponents were chosen. "Alright," Gorn shouted to everyone. "We'll fight in the order that the opponents were chosen." Gorn then gestured for Frank and the other man. "Come up. You're first!"
"I concede," shouted Frank's opponent immediately. Gravis had already expected as much, and Gorn frowned but sighed. Background was also a kind of strength. Gorn turned to the two next opponents and gestured for them to begin.
They immediately went at each other's throat and used all their power to win. They used slashes, chops, punches, kicks, eye-gouging, low-blows, biting, and scratching. Gravis was quite surprised. In his eyes, it looked like they were actually trying to kill each other.
The fight went on for a while until both of them were drenched in blood. They crawled to each other again, wanting to kill the other one.
BANG!
Gorn kicked both of them away. "Idiots! Why can't you two just make peace with each other?" he shouted in anger. "No one wins today! You both lose!" They both only lay on the ground and didn't move anymore since they lost their consciousness when Gorn had kicked them. They were just too exhausted.
Gorn sighed. "Frank, you're in the finals," he said without turning to Frank. Frank nodded happily, but Gorn didn't care. "You two," Gorn pointed to Gravis and the woman. "You're up!"
Gravis walked forward and stopped in the middle of the make-shift arena. The woman showed a cocky smile and took out a long spear. "Don't take it personal, kid," she commented as she readied herself. "You're just the easiest target!"
Gravis only watched neutrally. He wouldn't get excited by such a weak opponent since he had to preserve his will. He just waited until she attacked.
She felt annoyed by Gravis' disregard for her and charged forward with her spear. She had a fully tempered body, and that showed itself in her speed and power. The audience almost couldn't follow her movements. She extended the spear and unleashed the full power of her charge into a forwards thrust.
CLANK!
Gravis caught the spear in one hand and stopped the charge. Everyone in the audience couldn't believe their eyes, and their jaws dropped. Gravis had stopped that full-power charge with a single hand? He even looked relaxed while doing this!
What a joke! Killing a high-grade demonic beast needed, either someone in the Energy Gathering Realm or multiple people with fully tempered bodies. All the beasts' power came from their impossibly, powerful bodies. Yet, Gravis had a body on the same level as a high-grade demonic beast. Fighting him was the same as fighting an extremely fast and smart high-grade demonic beast.
The woman just looked at Gravis like she couldn't believe the situation. Suddenly, Gravis pulled on the spear, and it left her hands. He then turned the spear around and held it to her neck. The woman still felt this situation was unreal, but she finally got her bearings after some seconds.
She could only sigh. "I concede," she said, defeated. Gravis retrieved the spear, stabbed it into the ground, and went back to the side, without saying anything.
Gorn felt a mixture of ecstasy and shock. The stronger Gravis was, the more he thought that his decision to support him fully, was right. He had helped a genius rise! Gravis would surely reach the Lightning Sect in no time and then dominate everything. Gorn couldn't wait to see Gravis' rise to glory.
Gorn called for the last fight of the first round, but surprisingly enough, both of them conceded at the same time. They couldn't see any chance of winning against Gravis or Frank. If they couldn't win, they wouldn't get anything, so why bother?
When Gorn heard that, he furrowed his brows. If someone had a strong will, they would fight and try to overcome their barrier. Finding the courage to fight someone stronger was also a kind of growth. It showed that people were able to jump over their own shadows and do things that they weren't able to do before.
"Alright," Gorn said as he walked forward. "Frank is already in the finale since the other two are too injured to compete. All others, besides Gravis, have conceded. So, let's get straight to the finals."
"Gravis versus Frank!"