Orochi punched through the flying block of earth, shattering it into tiny pieces, sending debris flying in all directions.
He walked through the dust cloud, twisted his torso, and drove his fist forward. A boulder tore free from the ground and shot across the forest.
Kiernan flipped over in the air, whipped his leg down, and sliced through the flying boulder like a sword through a straw puppet.
Orochi slid his feet to close in the distance. His arm shot forward, with his large fist acting as the tip of the spear.
Kiernan flashed past Orocho like a flash of lightning, gave a smack to the chest, and stopped close to the ropes of the ring.
Orochi stood silently, a red fist mark on his chest, and he took in a cold breath before turning away and rooting down his stance.
He slammed his heel down. The ground trembled. A pillar of stone surged upward in front of him, jagged and sharp-edged.
Without pausing, Orochi swung his arm in a heavy arc across his body, shattering the pillar into chunks.
Then, he jumped backwards—looking like he was about to fall down on his back—and then he rained kicks down on the stone chunks.
The stone chunks hurled through the air like massive bullets, and they also moved at the speed of the bullets.
Kiernan’s eyes widened, and he used his Void Step to weave through the flying chunks of stone, but one of them surprised him, and it struck him in the chest.
It sent him flying, and his back came into contact with the coarse ropes of the forest ring, cutting into his back like a sharp knife.
Kiernan dropped on one knee, feeling the sharp pain radiate throughout his back, as if it was on fire, and then he stood back up. Latest content published on novèlfire.net
This pain was nothing compared to everything he had suffered, and then he dropped back to the iron stance of the Iron Style.
The ground in the ring was messed up, and there was no solid ground left. Just soil, roots, and broken bits of rock.
"I applaud you. You’ve done excellently, and I am sure that if you get selected as one of the seven, I can breathe freely knowing that there is a chance of victory."
Orochi said, stood up, and placed his arms next to his body before bowing deeply, which surprised the nearby youth martial artists.
"What in the world... He is being acknowledged by one of the masters?!"
"That’s an amazingly high evaluation from him. Does that mean as long as Kiernan stays in the top 100 of the rankings, he’ll be selected as one of the seven?"
"I wouldn’t be surprised, and he has definitely secured his spot in the top 100 already with his current points, and he hasn’t even gotten his points from Master Orochi yet!"
Gunwoo listened silently, and all he could think about was how amazing that match just was.
It wasn’t a long time since Kiernan was in Dusk Town, and yet, he had left everyone in his dust.
"Thank you, Master Orochi. I learned something valuable today."
Kiernan bowed deeply as a sign of respect, and then Orochi smiled before turning to his wristwatch on his wrist.
There were a total of 50,000 points that he could assign to his group of people, and there were about twenty with him.
’...I don’t think there will be anyone as impressive as him anymore.’
In that moment, Kiernan’s wristwatch beeped as he received his points, and in total, he received 35,000 points from Orochi!
In total, he now had 45,000 points, which made him easily the top-ranked martial artist of the selection!
With another bow, Kiernan took his shirt and shoes, then left the ring while sliding his wristwatch hand inside his pocket.
Everyone wanted to know how many points he got, but since he covered the wristwatch inside the pocket, they didn’t see.
It didn’t matter since they could see the leaderboard screens from over in the Selection Mansion.
Gunwoo thought about calling out to Kiernan, but as he saw his back going further away, he decided against it.
They weren’t in the same league anymore—not even in the same world—as it was obvious that Gunwoo’s talent was around Martial King while Kiernan was much greater than that.
He wasn’t qualified to talk to him as if he were his friend.
In the following days, everyone fought Masters and got their evaluations and their points. In the rankings, it was a tight battle for the top 100.
However, the top-ranked martial artist, Kiernan Hunter, was so ahead of everyone else that it wasn’t even a competition at this point.
With everyone fighting for points, Kiernan stayed in his room, honing his martial arts to an even greater level, as he started to prepare for his advancement to Martial King.
Days went on, people kept dropping out like flies, and the world was anxiously waiting for the seven to be chosen.
The tournament was approaching as fast as a train whose brakes had failed.
Then, about a week before the official start of the tournament, the last remaining participants of the draft gathered in the great hall.
With the headmaster’s words, the last people dropped out, and then, there were only a hundred remaining.
Those who were left looked serious, battle-hardened, and the absolute peak that this human generation had to offer.
Familiar faces, with legendary backgrounds, and popular reputations—it was impossible to not know any of the hundred that remained.
Kiernan stood amongst them, all alone, as, a few days ago, Aoi dropped out as she happened to miss a few points only.
She didn’t want Kiernan’s help, and she was very satisfied with being in the top five hundred and knew the harsh truth that it was her limit.
In that moment, Antigone’s chirpy voice came from behind Kiernan.
"It’s up to the Human Government to choose the seven. We’ve done all we can do. It’s out of our hands now."
"...For Martial Order."
Antigone tiptoed, touched his broad shoulder, and Kiernan turned to her, with his lips curling upward, and he also said.
"For Martial Order... and for Humanity."
Antigone’s smile bloomed, and she then stepped away from him, her fists clenched tight as her young heart nervously beat.
One of the most important moments of human history was at hand. They had to win. For Humanity.