Chapter 207: Inner Palace Contest
Chapter 207: Chapter 207: Inner Palace Contest
Chapter 207: Inner Palace Contest
"She rejected it! She actually rejected a Mystic-Grade artifact!"
"You fools don’t understand! That’s the pride of a True Heavenly Physique! Why would an ice goddess lower her head for a mere hairpin? She is already destined to stand at the pinnacle of this dynasty!"
"But that’s the Crown Prince! If she had accepted, she could have become the future Empress!"
On the stage, Lucius’s charming smile also froze for second.
Deep within his amber eyes, a flicker of fury ignited.
’Playing hard to get?’ Lucius thought, ’Not bad. It will make breaking you all the more satisfying.’
Quickly recovering his composure, Lucius let out a light, self-deprecating chuckle and stored the hairpin away.
"I see. Vice Dean Myrielle’s provisions are indeed vast. I shall not press the matter," Lucius said graciously, turning back to his seat with his dignity perfectly intact. "I look forward to witnessing the heights you will reach, Lady Seris."
Seris didn’t pay any more attention to the Crown Prince.
Carmilla, who had been watching the entire exchange finally stepped forward, deciding it was time to steer the massive gathering toward its second purpose.
"Now that we have been graced by the presence of our newest prodigy and our esteemed guests," Carmilla’s melodious voice rang out, "It is now time to move on to the second major event."
Her bright eyes swept across the hundred thousand gathered faces.
"I now declare the commencement of the Stormveil Academy’s Annual Inner Palace Contest!"
A deafening roar erupted from the hundred thousand guests, and the cheers from the millions watching the projection arrays outside shook the entire Stormveil City.
High Preceptor Octavius strode to the edge of the elevated stage.
His burly frame and fierce, thunderstorm-like aura immediately commanded the arena.
"Listen well, disciples!" Octavius’s booming voice reverberated through the plaza. "The Contest will be divided into two phases! Phase."
He raised one massive finger.
"Phase One is the Challenge Phase! This is the opportunity for those ranked below the Top Fifty to prove they deserve a place among the elite!"
"The rules are simple! Any Bronze Badge disciple may step forward and challenge a Silver Badge disciple to a formal duel. If the challenger wins, they immediately claim the defender’s Silver Badge and ranking position!"
He raised a second finger.
"Similarly, any Silver Badge disciple may challenge a Gold Badge disciple! If the Silver Badge challenger defeats the Gold Badge defender, they claim the Gold Badge and the defender’s position within the Top Thirty!"
Octavius’s stern eyes narrowed.
Only those currently ranked within the Top Fifty after the Challenge Phase concludes will advance to Phase Two, the Ranking Duels. In Phase Two, the final Top Fifty will fight among themselves to determine the ultimate ranking order, finishing with the contest for the number one position!"
His fierce eyes swept across the arena one final time.
"You all have only one chance. Choose your target wisely. If you lose, you are eliminated, and your current ranking remains unchanged!"
He brought his hand down.
"Let the Challenge Phase begin!"
BOOM!
The defensive arrays on the arena activated instantly, creating a shimmering golden dome over the combat space.
Almost immediately, the outer edges of the plaza erupted into motion.
Dozens of Bronze Badge disciples surged forward with determined eyes.
For many of them, this was the single opportunity in an entire year to elevate their status, their resources, and their futures.
Spirit Manifestation cultivators collided against each other, shockwaves rippling across the arena floor which was easily absorbed by the defensive formations.
However, the reality of the Inner Palace hierarchy was cruel.
Most of the Bronze Badge disciples who stepped up were brutally suppressed by the Silver Badge disciples they challenged.
The gap in cultivation, resources, and martial arts mastery was simply too vast.
Up on the grand stage, the true powerhouses—the Patriarchs, Matriarch Seraphine, Crown Prince Lucius, and the Domain Masters—were thoroughly unbothered by these early matches.
To beings of their caliber, Spirit Manifestation Realm skirmishes were like watching toddlers wrestle.
The true entertainment would come in Phase Two, when the Top Fifty clashed among themselves.
But outside the Academy gates, the millions of ordinary citizens and wandering cultivators watching the projections were going wild, cheering at every clash of blades, and martial arts.
Down in the western section reserved for the Gold Badge elite, Rhain sat completely relaxed.
Around him, the atmosphere was uniquely tense.
Other Gold Badge disciples around him sat rigidly, keeping a very deliberate distance from Rhain.
They threw occasional, fearful glances in his direction.
They had all heard what happened to Braxton.
A top-five genius, a Level 5 Spirit Manifestation expert, had his arms shattered by the very youth sitting casually among them.
They feared him as much as they feared Zane, and the top 3.
Rhain paid them no mind. He was merely observing the fights, finding most of them dull, until a familiar figure stepped onto the arena floor.
"I, Bronze Badge disciple Elian, challenge Silver Badge Rank 99!"
Rhain’s eyebrows rose a fraction.
Elian was amongst the talented youth from Mirravele City who had made the Origin Insight Tablet glow to three hundred feet, the highest after Seris’s ten thousand feet miracle.
It seemed Elian had earned his Bronze Badge through the standard channels shortly after entering the Academy.
His opponent descended from the Silver Badge section, a young man at the third level of the Spirit Manifestation Realm, one full minor realm above Elian.
The battle that followed was grueling.
Silver Bade disciple had the advantage in raw essence and Academy-taught techniques, but Elian’s footwork, and sword technique was exceptionally fluid.
Blood stained the arena floor as the two exchanged devastating blows.
Just as it seemed Elian’s essence was depleted, he unleashed a desperate sword strike that shattered Corvis’s defense and sent the Silver Badge disciple tumbling out of bounds.
"Winner: Elian! Status elevated to Silver Badge!" Octavius announced.
A wave of applause erupted from the crowd.
Far across the plaza, in the stands designated for the Outer Palace spectators, Liana and Sylvan watched the proceedings with complex emotions.
Liana’s emerald eyes tracked Elian as he acquired his Silver Badge.
"Elian made it," Liana whispered, "He was in the same recruitment batch as us, and now he’s already a Silver Badge disciple."
Sylvan stood beside her, clenched his fists at his sides.
"I won’t be left behind," Sylvan muttered through gritted teeth, "Outer Palace Contest is in exactly one month. I swear, I will break through to Spirit Manifestation Realm by then. I will become an Inner Palace disciple!"
Liana also vowed to work hard, and reach the Spirit Manifestation Realm.
Hours passed.
The sun began to dip past its peak as the Challenge Phase continued.
Over seventy challenges were issued in total.
The vast majority ended in the defenders’ victories, but a handful of talented Bronze Badge disciples managed to snatch Silver Badge positions through superior technique, unexpected trump cards, or indomitable willpower.
In contrast, not a single Silver Badge disciple dared to challenge a Gold Badge defender.
The Gold Badge disciples sat in their section like untouchable gods.
After the seventy-third challenge concluded with yet another Bronze Badge disciple being thrown out of the arena, no one dared to step forward again.
The Bronze disciples who had the courage to fight were either promoted or severely injured, and the remaining Silver disciples seemed content with their current standing.
High Preceptor Octavius stepped back to the edge of the stage, his sharp eyes sweeping the arena.
"It appears the lower-tier challenges have concluded," Octavius boomed. "Now, all thirty Gold Badge disciples, along with the Top 20 ranked Silver Badge disciples, step forward onto the central platform!"
It was time to finalize the Top 50.
From the Gold Badge section, twenty-nine figures rose to their feet in unison.
Rhain also calmly stood up from his seat, and leisurely walked down the steps and onto the massive arena floor.
From the Silver Badge section, the top twenty disciples also descended toward the arena floor.
Together, the fifty figures arranged themselves in a formation at the center of the arena.
Octavius looked down at the fifty youths.
"These are the preliminary Top Fifty candidates for this year’s Inner Palace Contest," Octavius announced to the silent crowd. "I will ask this one final time! Is there any disciple present who believes they have the strength to steal a seat in the Top 50? Step forward now, or forever hold your peace!"
A heavy silence descended over the plaza.
No one moved.
Challenging a Top 20 Silver Badge was already bordering on suicidal for most, and challenging a Gold Badge disciple was no one even dared to think.
Everyone in the crowd, including the dignitaries on the stage, assumed the Challenge Phase was officially over.
But just as Octavius opened his mouth to declare the start of Phase Two—
"High Preceptor!"
A voice rang out.
"I wish to issue a challenge to Gold Badge disciple, Rhain Voss!"