Everything Will Be My Way!

The judge looked puzzled at the screen at the top of the arena. According to the rules, the active partic.i.p.ants were not allowed to stay outside the platform. It meant that Kyon was disqualified. – «I announce a.r.s.en Brown the w…»

Before the judge announced the winner, the wooden surface of the Stone platform burst open. Totally unexpectedly, the last remaining Stone partic.i.p.ant was standing there. He gave all those present a cold gaze of his anthracite-black eyes and stamped his foot on the surface of the arena, thereby announcing that the challenge had been accepted.

«Wооооооооооооооооw?!» – Hundreds of thousands of spectators gasped. The 10th partic.i.p.ant of the Stone family, hiding somewhere under the platform, came as a complete surprise!

Bai, Diana, Boe, and the rest of the family were stunned. They couldn"t understand what was going on.

«It"s him! How did he manage to get to the tournament?!» – Princess Kara exclaimed in amazement. She had recognized the tenth partic.i.p.ant of the Stones. She knew this Kyon too well.

Kara"s reaction piqued Queen Vlada"s curiosity. She also noticed Kyon"s cloudy stare at her daughter. He seemed to be in love with her, only this dopey look was rather a sign of his being enchanted.

«Well… I guess I did… But I really had to!»

«My little Juno was there to protect him... He happened to be her friend! I will never hurt my dear little girl!»

Mother"s stern, imperious voice thundering in Kara"s mind put great pressure on her. At first, Kara felt ashamed, but almost immediately this feeling was replaced by a burning rage. She wasn"t the one to blame for anything! Everything was going according to her plan when this b.a.s.t.a.r.d appeared and, as always, ruined everything! What the h.e.l.l was he doing here? The tournament of families was way out of his league! Grandpa Bai must have a screw loose to choose this wimp as a partic.i.p.ant!

«Huh?» – The princess startled, perplexed when she sensed his cultivation at the 7th stage in the 2nd phase. – «When did he become so powerful?!»

Vlada thought about what Kara had said. "When did he become so powerful?" What does it even mean? According to the rumors, Kyon was at the 7th stage in the base phase when Kara was fighting with him at Juno"s party. But it must be a blatant lie or some creative embellishment. No one 13 stages weaker could defeat Kara, the owner of the legendary body of the Phoenix (albeit unawakened yet). Even more so, it was impossible to evolve a whole phase in less than two months, especially in this rotten provincial kingdom with no resources. And yet, this boy had defeated her daughter! He had certainly piqued the queen"s curiosity, which was rare for her. Vlada decided to watch him closely.

Patriarch Brown did not believe in Kyon"s miraculous power either. The boy couldn"t possibly compete with opponents more than a phase stronger than him. Hernan"s thoughts were moving in precisely the same direction as Queen Vlada"s. Trusting his logic and common sense, he confidently declared:

«The tournament of families is a sacred tradition. Its aim is to show the strength and potential of our younger generation, and therefore the future of our families!» – Herman"s voice thundered all over the arena. He wanted to humiliate his old rival, as well as cleanse the family name that Tsayan had stained. – «Hiding a weakling at the seventh stage of the advanced phase under the platform is a mark of disrespect for this significant event! This most despicable deed will breed nothing but contempt! As the head of the next 1st ranking family, I will hold myself responsible for putting you in your place! The weakest partic.i.p.ant of the Brown family will drag through the dirt your so-called incredible genius, who humiliated Tsayan the Wuss at the notorious party. Our fighter will prove to everyone that your blatant lie has gone too far!»

Patriarch Romanov did not miss the opportunity to throw in his two cents. – «Patriarch Bai, your pathetic attempts to maintain the high status are outrageous! You"d better give up your post at once, kneel before our queen and apologize for your dishonest behavior! It"s the only way to save the remains of your dignity if you have any!»

«That"s right! Beg our great queen for forgiveness!» … «What?! Kyon is only at the 7th stage of the advanced phase?! Then his victory over Tsayan doesn"t mean a thing! Tsayan Brown must be a pathetic wimp! Haha, they have made such a big deal out of nothing! I"ve been suspecting it all this time. It did sound ridiculous…» … «What a bunch of clowns these Stones are! Their dirty trick is a spit in the face of the whole kingdom! Shame!» … «Shame! Shame!» … «Boo! Kick this loser out! Boo! There is no place for weaklings in this tournament!» … «Ha ha ha! Just look at him! He"s so afraid that he can"t say a word! Ha ha ha! Is he the Kyon the whole kingdom was talking about?! Ha ha ha! It"s hilarious!» – The shouts of a thousand voices rose over the arena. The loudest of all were the n.o.ble families who wished to b.u.t.ter up the future leaders of the kingdom.

Hiding his face under the hood, Tsayan was shaking with anger in one of the faraway seats. This b.a.s.t.a.r.d has ruined his whole life! His father was in prison, he was taken for a wimp, even his elder brother wanted to beat him to death! Blood sprayed from Tsayan"s nose when he suddenly lost a stage of cultivation. He nearly lost his mind.

Patriarch Bai gave his grandson an empty, expressionless look. He had ignored ma.s.s accusations and slander. The old man was seething with anger, disappointment, and a desire to avenge Dinah, Yegorka, Kirsan, and his beloved granddaughter, who this insidious devil was holding his hostage! Nothing else mattered. His fate was sealed a long time ago.

Kyon took a fighting stance and looked at tens of thousands of spectators laughing at him. There was nothing surprising in that. By the standards of the top ten families of Boston, his cultivation of the seventh stage in the advanced phase did not deserve their attention. No one believed that he could fight opponents a phase stronger than him. Bai"s efforts had been in vain.

Five meters away opposite Kyon, a young Brown with disheveled brown hair was getting ready for the battle. a.r.s.en, the 10th strongest in the family, was nicknamed "instant death" because of his quick and deadly sword techniques. He was 8 stages stronger than Kyon (4th stage in the superior phase). The difference was the same as between Juno and Charlie. Even the weakest Browns was close in strength to Stephanie and Lee, the Stone leaders.

«Are you the Kyon? Bai"s brilliant grandson? Didn"t we meet in the library? Do you remember me?» – a.r.s.en said in a mocking tone, loud enough for the people in the stands to hear. – «I see. You"re too afraid to speak. You should be. Anyway, cowards usually live longer. You know, I don"t want this to be a boring thras.h.i.+ng. How about a deal? I will take it easy on you. I won"t kill you with a single blow if you try and last for at least a minute. Show everyone what the vaunted genius Stone is capable of! What will you say?» – a.r.s.en gave Kyon a wry smile.

Kyon said nothing.

«I see. Too bad. You"ve been hiding all day to give up like a cowardly dog. You deserve to be with your louse family, Stone! Well, I am rather upset.» – a.r.s.en sighed heavily, just to show how much he was disappointed. He was skillfully pus.h.i.+ng Kyon"s b.u.t.tons, trying to provoke him.

The Browns laughed out loud, enjoying to see the last of the Stones humiliated. Herman nodded approvingly. Well done! He was going to reward the brave boy for this show. If a.r.s.en happened to succeed and finish off Bai"s grandson, Hernan might personally take care of the sly provocateur!

The other spectators burst out laughing.

The judge announced the start of the battle.

When a.r.s.en didn"t hear the expected and hasty "I give up," he grunted thoughtfully and then flashed a predatory smile. – «The wise decision!» – He rushed toward Kyon, excited to hunt the easy prey down. The patriarch and Timothy would finally appreciate him when he killed the moron! The victory would help him to rise, and one day he might be at the top of his family!

«Rapid willow leaf!» – a.r.s.en drew a razor-sharp sword from the scabbard and aimed in the neck. His technique was so skillful and swift that no one doubted that Kyon would be killed in the first instant of the battle. That would be funny! A wonderful end for the wretched Stone family!

~crack~

An unpleasant crunch of broken neck vertebrae wiped the smiles off the Browns" faces and interrupted the excited whispering in the stands.

a.r.s.en finished his spectacular attack with his head turned 180 degrees. Everything happened so quickly that a triumphant smile was still on his handsome, arrogant face. The battle did end in an instant. Kyon had suddenly disappeared from the trajectory of the blow. When he reappeared behind a.r.s.en"s back, he casually wrung his neck with a painfully bored expression on his face as if it was something he did every day.

Juno groaned with envy and humiliation. The opponent 8 stages stronger had almost cost her her life, while this freak had killed his adversary with the same difference in cultivation in a second! It was so unfair!

«Dirty b.a.s.t.a.r.d!» – Herman roared furiously, breaking the silence. – «You"ve killed our most good-natured partic.i.p.ant, taking advantage of his offer to go easy on you! He gave you a chance to prove yourself, and returned his gesture of goodwill with a treacherous murder! Miserable sc.u.m, I will see your head on the chopping block, yours and all the Stones" heads as well!»

His tirade was so ardent and convincing that it touched the hearts of the most indifferent onlookers in the stands.

«Boo! Low life sc.u.m! Drop dead!» … «Shame on the Stones! You should have never shown up from your hiding place!» … «A sp.a.w.n of the Stones! Die in agony! d.a.m.ned freak!» – The number of indignant spectators increased exponentially. Kyon"s "heinous act" left even the most silent and reserved people fuming with anger. The patriarchs who had made the deal screamed the loudest.

Herman breathed a sigh of relief. Stupid and gullible crowd saved him from deep humiliation. If a.r.s.en had lost in the "fair battle, his promise to "show everyone the Stones" true nature" would turn against himself. Things worked out for the best, though. Anyway, Kyon turned out to be the opposite of completely inept. The Browns must take it into consideration and send someone more powerful next time.

Kyon grimaced with annoyance. What a brainless herd…

«Look at him, he"s just laughing at us!» – A fat matriarch screamed hysterically. She had offered the highest leverage ratio in the deal.

«There"s nothing funny, jerk! Drop dead already, rotten sc.u.m!» … «Be just, Your Majesty, order to execute him!» … «Monsters like him have no place in our society!» … «I agree! Put his head on the chopping block!» – There were more and more comments like this. Most spectators couldn"t even see Kyon"s face from their seats, they just blindly believed what the others cried out.

Patriarch Herman cleared his throat and respectfully addressed the queen. – «Your Majesty, on behalf of all the citizens, I ask you to yield to the wishes of your people. Give your order to execute the b.a.s.t.a.r.d, and you will make the world a better place!»

Vlada gave the patriarch an authoritative, unblinking look that made him startle. Herman quickly dropped to his knees.

All the audience held their breath, waiting for the monarch"s decision.

Kara bit her full lip as if in deep thought. Mother was unlikely to miss the opportunity to get rid of the boy who knew about their relations.h.i.+p with the demons. She was still unaware of Kara"s plans to coax his master"s heritage out of Kyon! The princess couldn"t care less about the talented slave who was in love with her, but she didn"t want to lose him because of the stupid people. Besides, she really liked the quick, thrilling, unceremonious murder of insolent a.r.s.en, even if she didn"t want to admit it.

«Mom, please don"t listen to these idiots... I have big plans for him. I am going to tell you all about it a bit later on.» – The princess whispered, barely audible.

Vlada considered her words with a slight nod, and then she waved her hand with a majestic look. – «I"ve heard your speech. Now let"s hear what the boy has to say in his defense.»

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