Under the thunderous cheers of his fans, Michael made his way towards a mirror. The commentators remained speechless letting the crowd cheer as loud as they could. They didn't need to introduce him, the fans did that task for them.
Coincidently Alex and Celina were standing beside the mirror while Peter was a few meters ahead of the mirror Michael was walking towards. Peter had an indifferent look on his face. Michael ignored the gazes on him.
"Honestly I never expected to see a 5-star Alchemist here," James Hall said after being silent for some time,
"Yeah, the Alchemists I know are pretty focused on the upcoming Alchemy championship and none of them are here to participate in a tournament for warriors," Ishihara said while Michael was walking towards the mirror. The cheers were still going thunderous yet the commentators' voices reached everyones' ears with the help of special runes crystal clear.
Despite being late, Michael wasn't in a rush to get his cultivation tested. Thanks to the Spyder on Cindy's neck, he had seen everything and was ready to rock the arena.
Standing a meter away from the mirror, Michael saw Celina coldly looking at him. Alex seemed surprised but he hid his expression well putting an indifferent look on his face like Peter.
"I will make you pay"
Before Michael could touch the mirror, Celina coldly said. Only those standing near them heard her voice only to be startled by her threat.
They stared at Michael with wide eyes wondering what he did to deserve Celina's threat.
"Are you sure?" Michael snickered as he put his hand on the mirror. The moment he put his hand on the mirror, the entire arena stopped cheering, the excitement prevented them from uttering a word.
Ssssshhhhhhh!
Unlike never before, the mirror Michael touched violently trembled. Those who stood closer to the mirror even heard the mirror producing a faint whistling noise.
The coordinates immediately grabbed the mirror by its both sides to keep it still as the entire pillar beside the mirror lit up like a Christmas tree. There wasn't a single spot that didn't glow in the pillar, from top to bottom, the pillar radiated bright sparkling green light.
"Oh my god!"
"It can't be!"
"Level 10"
Several gasps could be heard in the arena. In the VIP area, Ethan stared at Michael without even batting an eye. He felt a cocktail of emotions surging from deep within, joy, sorrow, pride, self-blame, and shame.
"That is my son," Ethan mumbled under his breath. The teensy bit doubt he had about Ghost not being his son was wiped away from his mind when he saw him. Ghost looked exactly like Diana when she was Harriet Hunt. The black dress, two black swords, the swag, the attitude, everything about Ghost reminded him of Harriet Hunt.
"Core Formation level 10, guys are you seeing this?!" Ishihara almost shouted in shock,
No one remained calm or indifferent looking at the glowing pillar. The badass points were rapidly increasing, crossing 300,000 points.
Ashton's lips curved upwards as he knew the odds of Alex getting killed by Michael's hands just increased out of bonds. The King on the other hand slightly leaned forward, focusing all his attention on Ghost.
"If my guess is right, he can break through to the Core Strengthening stage anytime he wants" Darius's words sent a wave of shock to everyone's minds. Reaching Core Formation level 7 at the age of 27 was a humongous thing in their minds. Hence, they couldn't even believe what they were looking at.
"How old is he?" James Hall's eyes opened as wide as they possibly could. His eyes looked like they were about to jump out of the sockets.
Whoosh!
As James Hall's question made everyone wonder about Michael's age, Nightmare came straight down soaring through the sky. Nightmare shrunk his size before letting out his dragon breath up in the sky. Everyone became agitated seeing the dragon breathe as the soldiers on the king's stage immediately stepped forward to protect the king.
Soon, Nightmare's dragon flame formed the number 21 in the sky.
"Do you think the dragon is answering my question?" James Hall asked,
"I think so, let's ask his sect leader herself" Ishihara moved her gaze from the flaming 21 from the sky to Claire who was joyfully clapping her hands. No one would believe Claire but she really thought Ghost would be stronger than Alex or any other prodigies in the arena because she knew him more than anyone here knows him. In her mind, he was the number one, not Alex, nor Celina.
The disciples turned their gazes at CLaire after hearing Ishihara's question. Every pair of eyes fell on Claire, expecting her answer.
"Yes, he is" Claire amplified her voice with Arch energy to sound louder and clearer. With a flap of his wings, Nightmare soared towards Claire, shrinking his size more and more.
"Ghost!"
"Ghost!"
"Ghost!"
"Ghost!"
"Ghost!"
The people of river town and the disciples shouted as loud as they could. When Michael saluted at the pavilion with two fingers, the crowd went crazy. His alluring smile broadcasted on the mirror captivated hundreds of young hearts.
Standing on the field down the stage, Sabrina was clapping to show her support. She never thought she would be amazed like this by someone who isn't her sibling. Contrary to Sabrina's expression, Andrews lost all the glow on his face. His heart skipped a beat as he started to sweat. Although he had a Fusion stage cultivator helping him win the tournament, he couldn't help being afraid of Ghost. Even Noah advised him to be careful if he had to fight Ghost head to head.
"He's really good" in one of the VIP pavilions, Peyton and Xanali were looking at the stage. Peyton didn't like Ghost very much as he was the first one to reject an invitation to join Guardian Guild yet even she praised him.
"Reaching Core Formation level 10 at the age of 21, this should be written on history" Ishihara praised,
"I could only think of two persons who managed to reach this level at the age of 21, one is a prodigy of Awor continent, Harriet Hunt '' the name sent a chill running through Emelda's spine. The name Harriet Hunt had brought them enough pain, she never wanted to hear the name again. Being Harriet Hunt had caused Diana a lifetime of pain, Emelda knew this better than anyone. Moreover, the name brought back the memories Emelda wanted to forget completely. The images of what happened 21 years ago flashed across her eyes. Diana thought she knew what happened but in reality, only Emelda knew what really happened all those years ago.
She was afraid of telling Diana because she didn't want Diana to feel betrayed by her own sister.
"And the other is Lailah Alden, the wielder of Angel's veena '' just like the name Harriet Hunt depraved the delight from Emelda's heart, the name Lailah Alden messed with Michael's joy in his heart. Every time Michael thought about Lailah, the possibility of him having a spirit child with her and her intention of killing him flashed across his mind.
"These are all great kids, talented prodigies. But he has the best chance of entering the Fusion stage at the age of 40" Darius said to his fellow commentators. Michael liked the refreshment of the commentators flattering him.
It helped him earn more badass points. He hoped their voice would be muted during battle though. The pillar slowly lost its glow after Michael took back his hand.
Finally, the coordinators could let go of the mirror as it stopped trembling. Michael looked at Alex and Celina with a smile on his face. No one saw the meaning of his smile or the real intention behind it. Only Alex could feel the murderous glow in his eyes. Until this moment, Alex wasn't afraid of Ghost. However, after seeing his power and the murderous glim in his eyes, he started to feel afraid deep inside.
He turned back to move away from the mirror. While he was walking away, his eyes met with Peter. For a brief moment, Peter saw a smile on Michael's face that sent a chill through his spine for no reason. It felt like Ghost knew his secret that he's been hiding from everyone else.
"I think that's the last of the Core Formation participants guys," Ishihara said,
"Let's have a short break before starting the first round of Body Strengthening stage championship" James Hall informed,
"Meanwhile the Core Formation participants can join your sects or families and enjoy the show"
After Darius spoke the words, the three commentators stood up and left their pill. With a swift jump, Michael leaped into the sky, slowly flying towards the pavilion Claire was sitting on. Since he had almost 400,000 badass points, he decided to upgrade his spells before the battle began.
Most of the Core Formation participants were rushing to their mentors to form a plan against Ghost, including Paul. Up until Michael showed his cultivation level, the biggest threat for anyone winning the championship was Alex and Celina. Then they added Paul and Peter to that list. However, they all paled in comparison after Michael came into the picture.
The biggest threat to every single one of them was Ghost.
Meanwhile, on the stage, King of Bredia leaned closer to Lord Ashton
"Lord Ashton, what do you think of Ghost? Do you think he will win this tournament?" the king asked in a husky voice,
Lord Ashton knew everything about the King's plan to marry the princess to the winner although the king himself planned to keep it a secret until the end. However, Lord Ashton pretended like he don't know anything about the king's plan,
"Unless they participants gang up on him during the first two rounds and eliminate Ghost, he will win the championship without breaking a sweat"
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