Kai warped back to reality in the stadium. He was somehow lying on the ground in the same position he’d been in before being kicked from the Shard. And although his mind was reeling from that encounter, telling him that there was no possible way he still had legs, he could feel both his sword next to him and his Core full of the same Chi that he thought he’d fully used in the Shard.

“Right,” he whispered to himself. “All illusory. None of it really happened did it?”

And yet, he could still feel a slight expansion in his Core, telling him that he was much much closer to Rank 2 than he’d been before entering the Shard. So nothing else but his Cultivation had changed.

He calmed his mind down and breathed in deeply to center himself. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and sat up. Most of the people around him were still on the ground passed out, as there were still a few minutes left until the Shard would kick them out.

The crowd looked thinner than before, which made sense as there had to have been at least a few that would’ve fallen to the first beast they saw. Those competitors had most likely already been escorted out.

The rest of the competitors came to after a few minutes, all of them gasping and shooting to their feet, before realizing that they were now out of danger and back in the arena.

Before everyone could come to their senses and settle down, Executive Yannick’s voice boomed out.

“Congratulations, those of you who survived the Shard. Even if you have not gathered enough crystals to advance to the final Stage of Testing, know that even reaching this far is a great accomplishment. However, we will now call you up, one by one, to touch this Shard so we can count how many crystals each of you has accrued. You must be within the top 150 to pass into the next Stage of the competition however. The rest of you will be escorted out of the Arena.”

With these words, the black cloaked Cultivator began to call names, one by one. He started with the Heir to the House of Landon. Kai clenched his fists as Lord Cassius Landon was called up, the Black Raven adorning his robes almost mocking him.

He barely heard the Executive’s voice call out, “3 green, 5 red, and 2 black crystals for a total of 315 points. Excellent job!”

It bit into Kai’s pride just a little bit, to hear that the monster he’d just barely beaten before dying, had been so easy for Cassius Landon that he’d gone for another one. And then he remembered that he still had another card to play, one that he still hadn’t revealed. In essence, Mordekai was still holding back…

Pulling himself out of his muddy thoughts, he realized that the Crown Princess herself had been called up.

“5 green, 6 red and 3 black for a total of 445 points. I expected nothing less from Her Highness!”

“Monster,” Kai heard Rian whisper from beside him.

Fortunately, from then on, the point totals became a little more normal, with most of them falling in the range of around a hundred, which made sense. Of course the two competitors in the Spirit Realm were able to combat Spirit Beasts with more ease. Other than Cassius Landon and Alyssia Azel, no others so far had been able to acquire a black crystal.

Rian’s name was called up at around the halfway point and he went up to the Executive.

“5 blue, 8 green, and 6 red, for a total of 170 points.”

Rian puffed his chest out in pride, for even though he didn’t crack the 200 plateau, that was more than enough to secure him a spot in the next round.

Finally, Kai heard his own name called out. He walked up to the Executive, the competitors that were left parting as they realized he was coming through, and then gasping when they realized where they recognized him from. And here Kai had thought that most of them would’ve forgotten about the Endurance Test by now.

When he reached the Executive, he wordlessly reached out and touched the thin blue diamond the black cloaked Cultivator had held out for him.

A sudden tingle ran through him and the Executive called out, “10 blue, 5 green, 4 red,” and then a pause, before, “and 1 black crystal, for a total of 225 points.”

Kai quickly spun around at that point and walked right back through the crowd, keeping his head lowered so that he wouldn’t see the surprised expressions of the other competitors.

It made sense that the two Cultivators there in the Spirit Realm would be able to go toe to toe with Spirit Realm beasts, and maybe even a Rank Three Core Stage Cultivator would be able to take one out. But they’d all scanned him and most had figured out that he was still a Rank 1 Core Stage Cultivator. Collecting just red crystals should’ve been a monumental task for him. But instead, this monster had gone up against the very level of a beast that would’ve torn most of them apart limb from limb and won. If he hadn’t been on anybody’s radar before even with his show during the Endurance Test, he sure was now.

He also didn’t notice the gazes of the Crown Princess and her cousin, but the one man who did, Cassius Landon, then also sent a loathsome gaze of his own towards Kai’s retreating back.

Kai rushed back to his spot next to Rian, who was annoyingly grinning as Kai walked up to him.

“Hiding even more secrets, my friend? Oh now I truly cannot wait until the last competition.”

Kai just shook his head and hunkered down into his cloak. Yes, he hated the attention, and yes, he could’ve just gone for Core Stage beasts in the Shard. But, what mattered to him most of all was a challenge, and the Spirit Realm Beast had provided it to him. And even though he knew that all he needed in the next competition was to do just well enough to get in, and it would be safer for him that way, he knew that when push came to shove, he’d showcase the rest of his power just for the adrenaline rush of a true challenge.

The rest of them were called up one by one and their crystal count called out for everyone to hear. Afterwards, those who did not manage to land in the top 150 were escorted out by yellow robed Cultivators, many of who were shouting for another opportunity to prove themselves, or crying at what they believed was an unfair test.

All of those who had failed however, were dragged out by the yellow robed Cultivators and the rest were left there, standing in a small part of the once full Arena.

“Now,” Executive Yannick said. “We have reached the final Test. I call it the Tournament of Rankings, as on top of figuring out which of you will follow me to the school, it also decides your Rankings within your class. You have 2 hours to rest from your mental ordeal and then the Tournament will begin. You are not permitted to leave the Arena and any attempt to leave the room we have prepared for you will be seen as forfeiting your place in this tournament. Now come, let these Elders lead you to the waiting room.”

The room they were led to was much larger than the one they’d originally been placed in, large enough to where all 150 remaining could comfortably sit and rest without getting in each others’ ways. And yet, within minutes, a large crowd centered around Alyssia Azel and Cassius Landon had formed. Two other, smaller crowds could be seen around two others, and Kai questioned Rian beside him.

“The Four Great Houses of the Revanian Kingdom, made up of the Houses of Azel, Landon, Sarai, and Golur,” Rian started. “The House of Sarai rules the cities of the northern and eastern part of the Kingdom. However, they are the merchants of the Kingdom, which means their hands reach into every corner of it. They mainly run the Auction Houses and fund the merchant caravans of the south, and as you can guess, are the richest family in the Kingdom. Their heiress, however, is the true pride of the family. Lethe Sarai, Rank 2 of the Core Stage at the age of 19, may not be as powerful as the other three heirs, but with the wealth of her family behind her, I’m sure she has as many Artifacts on her as there are people left in the Tournament.”

Kai could just barely make out a tall, brown haired woman dressed in a gaudy, light pink robe in the midst of one of the smaller crowds.

“The Golurs, in my opinion, are a much more interesting family. Their family originates from the mountains to the east, where they now rule. They used to be miners that worked in that mountain range and then generations ago, the then Patriarch of their family struck literal gold and helped build an empire for themselves, and over time, what used to be Three Great Houses became Four. Their Heir, Temper Golur, practices his House’s body strengthening Techniques and he sits at Rank Three of the Core Stage. Also another opponent that shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

Temper Golur was not a man that Kai had to look for. He stood right in the middle of his own smaller crowd, reaching up to at least six and a half feet tall and looked just as wide and strong as an ox. He wore dark brown robes that showed the emblem of a man pushing a rock up a hill, which tugged at a memory of Kai’s but he shook it away as Rian continued.

“The House of Landon has always been an enigma. They control many of the cities to the south and some of the eastern ones. Their family is probably the oldest power in the Kingdom even further back than the Azels. They specialize in Cultivation and pure overwhelming power and honestly, the only reason they don’t rule is because there’d be a rebellion within the first week. The common people really don’t like them, which is understandable, but I guess it doesn’t really matter in the end. They’re a pack of assholes to anyone that they believe doesn’t deserve their attention. Their Heir, Cassius Landon is a powerhouse, one of two Spirit Realm Cultivators in our generation at only 18.”

Every word of Rian’s was like a needle slowly entering Kai’s heart. Every time he saw that Raven symbol or heard the name Landon, it was like every carefully constructed wall around his rage fell away and he could barely wait to jump at their Heir. His power and the power of his house didn’t deter him, but only gave him more determination to grow stronger. One day…

“And then we come to the Azels. They’ve ruled this Kingdom for a long, long time and are the complete opposite of the Landons in both reputation and act. They’ve always been powerful, the only House to stand face to face with the Landons and come out ahead almost every time, though there is some trouble brewing, from what I’ve gathered from the rumors. Anyways, their Heir, Her Highness Alyssia Azel is the most powerful Cultivator of our generation, and the most sought after. She broke into the Spirit Realm just six months ago, right before her 18th Nameday, though no one has seen or heard of what Spirit she bound.”

“Many of these fools,” Rian continued. “Hope to gain some type of favor among the four Heirs, but they don’t understand that in the end, they’ll just be used and thrown away, like all the rest.”

A bitter look was etched across Rian’s face, but just as Kai caught sight of it, it faded away and cheerfulness once again permeated his new friend.

“Fortunately for me,” Rian said, throwing an arm around Kai and grinning. “I’ve caught sight of the real dark horse of this Tournament. You’ll help me knock them down a notch or two no?”

And even though Kai wanted to say no, because he’d already caught too much attention, sensing the quick hurried glances many of the others sent his way, no matter how much it would benefit him more to keep a low profile in the last level of this competition, he couldn’t deny the fact that his blood absolutely sang at the thought of pitting his sword against the very best the Revanian Kingdom had to offer from its young generation of Cultivators.

“Yes,” he finally answered with an accepting sigh. “I suppose I will.”