(Few Hours Earlier — Heavenly Dipper Dojo)
"SOCRATES. HE ACTUALLY WON."
"He beat a Late Stage Apprentice at Mid Stage."
"Oh no... I bet all my fortunes on Pan. How can he lose?"
"Cheating... The lad clearly cheated."
"This can't be true. The winner of the duel had already been predicted. How can it change?"
"I told you all... This lad will surely warm my bed..."
"He's now the Number 1 champion in the Heavenly Dipper Dojo."
"Socrates Trueblood... The Truebloods have produced one heavenly genius."
"He's so decisive. Look at the way he treated his opponent. I love him already."
"Socrates... Socrates. Socrates... Socrates..."
Although the crowd was flabbergasted and had not expected his victory, they quickly adapted to the latest outcome and chanted his name as if their lives depended on it.
Socrates' eyes traveled around until they fell on the Master of the Heavenly Dipper Dojo.
The Master nodded at him as he stood up from his seat, moved a step forward, and placed both palms on the edge of the round fence surrounding the platform.
He quietly released his aura... the aura of a Cultivator at the Master Realm. A violent green aura spread everywhere in just two seconds before retracting back.
Everywhere fell silent.
With just the release of his aura, the Master of the Heavenly Dipper Dojo was able to draw every bit of attention toward himself.
"Arkhem..." He cleared his throat. "Every year, the Heavenly Dipper Dojo is tasked with the duty of training potential younglings, and the best among them becomes the Champion of the Dojo for a year. Socrates, the son of Trueblood, is this year's champion."
There was an uproar amidst the crowd.
The crowd chanted loudly as they hailed Socrates, who just stood there grinning from ear to ear, one of his feet still placed on Pan's body.
No one cared about Pan.
No one cared about the loser.
Socrates had won, and that was all that mattered.
No one cared about the losers.
"The Heavenly Dipper Dojo has been given one slot in the Laurel Academy, and that slot naturally goes to the Champion."
The Heavenly Dipper Master flipped his hand, and a green token appeared in the air, brimming with energy.
He pointed two fingers at Socrates, and the token sped toward that direction, arriving before Socrates in less than a second.
"Gratitude... Dojo Master."
Socrates removed his foot from Pan and bowed properly to the Dojo Master, who stroked his black goatee and flicked his green robe with a smile as he watched Socrates store the token in his inventory.
"That's not all."
The Dojo Master waved his hands again, and two items appeared in the air, brimming with energy.
One was a short sword that was slightly curved. It had a fine red and black hilt and a sharp metal blade.
The Master pointed at Socrates, and the artifact traveled to him immediately.
"This is a peak Grade-1 dagger. Because you achieved the impossible, I'm giving this to you."
The Master stroked his beard again.
"Pleasantries... I really appreciate it, Master."
Socrates smiled genuinely. Under the envious gazes of the crowd, he stored the artifact inside his inventory.
"And the last gift I have for you is something valuable. It's an Energy Booster Potion that will smoothen your cultivation. It can only be taken after being diluted with golden oil."
The Dojo Master also directed the potion toward Socrates, who received it with a bow and stored it in his inventory.
One should know that Socrates and the Dojo Master were meters apart. Under normal circumstances, they shouldn't have been able to exchange items within seconds.
But the Dojo Master was not an ordinary human. He was a Cultivator at the Master Realm. What he was using to transfer the items was his energy.
"And with that... today's matter has finally come to an end."
The Dojo Master announced this, and there was another loud uproar amidst the crowd.
"SOCRATES... SOCRATES... SOCRATES..."
Socrates Trueblood, the man of the moment, did not linger around. He turned and sprinted off the platform immediately, rushing toward the Trueblood Manor.
'Why was Sister not present?'
That was the only thought in his mind as he raced toward the House of Trueblood at a speed that defied logic.
.
.
(Present Time)
"WHO DARES TOUCH MY SISTER?"
A young man walked into the court, draped in a black and yellow outfit, red hair scattered across his face. One of his hands clenched tightly around a metallic staff as his blue eyes scanned the environment before finally resting on the man dressed in a white shirt and black material pants, who had one of his hands raised.
An energy palm was floating above his sister's body, and it seemed that the palm was being controlled by none other than that man.
"ALEE..." the intruder whispered.
It was a whisper, but the venom laced within it was felt by everyone present.
"SOCRATES..." Alee replied, calling his name with a straight face.
"What's the meaning of this shit? And why is everyone just staring at him? What are you doing to your wife-to-be?"
Socrates asked as he removed his gaze from Alee and looked at everyone else around. They quickly hid their gazes. Even the elders looked away, while the two men stood blocking the Patriarch from making any moves.
His eyes then trailed back to Alee, who pointed at Amelia.
"I came here today to cancel our betrothal, which has already been done. So she is no longer my wife but simply a daughter of the Trueblood Family."
"FORBIDDEN! A lady that has been betrothed can only marry her husband unless he is dead. Apart from that, she can't marry again. No one will marry her. She won't find a yang partner to cultivate her yin energy with."
Socrates cried out.
'That's if there's even yin energy left in her body.'
'He called her a cultivation furnace. He used her.'
'Yes... that bastard son of Ashur used our daughter to boost his cultivation.'
'He broke through the Energy Condensation Realm while our daughter was left to perish...'
'But the bastard is backed by the House of Baculum. We can't do anything to him.'
'Disgrace... This is a huge disgrace to the Trueblood clan.'
The more the whispers reached Socrates' ears, the more his heart sank as his eyes trailed to his sister on the floor.
Someone dared to call her a cultivation furnace.
Tricked her into using her yin energy.
"You've heard all you need to hear. Out of my way, boy."
Alee did not speak much to Socrates. To him, Socrates was not even on his level and was not worthy of discussion.
But something happened that surprised him... not just him, but everyone present.
"You dare hurt my sister in such a way... YOU SHALL PAY WITH YOUR LIFE!"
Socrates declared as he released his aura — the aura of a Mid Stage Apprentice.
His hands gripped tightly around the metallic staff as he charged toward Alee immediately.
Alee was momentarily flabbergasted, but quick-witted. He controlled the floating energy palm to stay in front of him, serving as a shield. The fingers pointed toward the sky while the palm faced the incoming Socrates.
"This measly palm can't stop me!"
Socrates cried out as he flung his metallic staff forward. The weapon crashed against the palm, causing a vibration to ring out almost immediately.
Nothing happened for the first two seconds.
But Socrates pressed harder. His blue aura flared slightly as he pushed with all his might.
Within five seconds, cracks began appearing on the palm.
"What?!"
Alee was stunned to see cracks forming on his energized attack. He clasped his hands together, trying to channel more energy to reinforce it.
But he was a fraction too slow.
Socrates' staff penetrated the palm, breaking it apart like shards of glass.
The force sent Alee backward. He clutched his chest as blood trailed down his mouth.
Cough... Cough...
He felt like throwing up but quickly bit his lips and raised his head, only to see Socrates closing the distance between them.
"Know your place, pest."
He gathered energy into his right hand and created a polearm — a weapon with a long staff and a blade atop it.
The blade was slightly curved.
Alee struck first this time, sending a green energy wave toward Socrates.
The wave traveled very fast but remained within the range of what Socrates could see.
He lowered his body, ducking beneath the wave.
But that action gave Alee enough time to prepare another attack.
He infused more energy into the polearm and slashed it vertically from above his head toward the ground.
"CRESCENT FLASH!"
A blast of green energy formed a curved vertical arc as it tore forward toward Socrates.
The line ripped through the ground as it traveled, the force pushing everything aside.
Even Amelia, who was on the ground, was sent rolling away.
The turbulent energy reached Socrates, threatening to swallow him whole.
Socrates infused all his energy into the metallic staff and used it to defend against the attack.
But it was wishful thinking.
What energy could Socrates possess beyond that of a Mid Stage Apprentice? It could not compare to an Energy Condensation Realm attack.
The Crescent Flash burned through the metallic staff in his hand after several seconds.
The remaining force struck him directly, sending him spiraling backward as he was thrown outside the court and into the front yard of the clan, breaking bricks and roof tiles in its wake.