Chapter 211: The Scandal and The Trophy

The light was strong and warm. The trophy was very tall, about 2 meters tall, taller than most people. It was pulsing, like a heart beating with light. It looked like a small sun sitting on the stage.

Everyone in the whole stadium, thousands of people, went quiet and stared at it. That trophy is the prize for the best academy in the empire.

According to ancient tournament traditions, the victory trophy was meant to be jointly accepted and lifted by the official King and Queen of the winning academy’s student council. That was the rule for years.

However, as the Tournament Chief Official gestured toward the altar, nobody even looked in Julian’s direction. No one called his name. The cameras did not point at him.

Without asking for permission or waiting for protocol, Lynx casually strolled up the steps of the marble dais. His boots clicked softly against the stone as he reached out with a single hand, casually grabbing the heavy crystalline trophy by its narrow neck and lifting it effortlessly into the air.

He lifted it with one hand. The trophy was said to weigh over five hundred kilograms. Lynx held it like a cup.

Not a single official, referee, or professor dared to open their mouth to complain. Lynx had single handedly slaughtered the entire final bracket of Void Blessed Academy in a 1v22 gauntlet, the trophy belonged to him, and him alone. The rule did not matter anymore.

Lynx turned around on the high platform, looking down at the crowd. He didn’t keep the moment to himself. He raised his left hand and gestured toward his inner circle.

"Ophelia, Lira, Ava, Kira," Lynx called out smoothly, his deep voice carrying clearly through the atmosphere. "Get up here. Come hold this with me."

The four girls blinked in surprise, but their faces lit up with deep affection as they stepped up onto the high platform beside him. They were nervous but happy.

Lynx placed his hand over theirs, guiding their fingers onto the gleaming surface of the trophy. Their small hands on the big crystal looked beautiful.

Only after his women were holding it with him did Lynx gesture for Eleanor, her squad, and the rest of the Aether representatives to join in, turning the award presentation into a massive, collective celebration of Aether’s victory. Everyone wanted to touch the trophy while Lynx held it.

The stadium exploded into another wave of deafening cheers. Cameras flashed continuously, recording the historic moment across millions of broadcast screens in every corner of the human continent. People in bars, homes, and academies were watching.

Once the initial applause settled, the Chief Official stepped forward, nervously offering a enchanted speech crystal to Lynx. His hands were shaking badly. "Champion Azarion... would you care to deliver the victor’s speech to the empire? The empire is listening."

Lynx took the speech crystal casually. He didn’t offer a rehearsed, humble speech about hard work or academic pride. Instead, a cold, dangerous smirk spread across his lips. His eyes became sharp.

He reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out a jagged, dark obsidian ring, the cheat ring he had stripped off Kain’s hand during the battle. The ring was ugly and it leaked black smoke that smelled like chemicals.

"Before we wrap up this tournament," Lynx spoke into the crystal, his voice turning icy and clear, "there’s a small detail everyone should know about our opponents from Void Blessed Academy. A small secret they hid."

He held the dark obsidian ring up high for the floating camera arrays to capture. The cameras zoomed in. The ring filled every screen in the empire.

"This is a black market alchemy ring, an artifact designed to forcibly boost a Blessed combatant’s physical stats and elemental output by four times," Lynx declared casually.

His voice was calm but everyone heard it. "Void Blessed Academy equipped their entire roster with these illegal trinkets just to stand a chance against us. They knew they could not win fairly, so they cheated. This is their honor."

The Chief Official went deathly pale, his hands shaking in panic. "C-Champion Azarion! Please, allow the official judiciary committee to inspect that item first before making public accusations... you cannot..."

CRUNCH!

Without even glancing at the official, Lynx closed his hand. With a simple flex of his thumb, the high grade obsidian cheat ring was crushed into fine, worthless black dust that spilled between his fingers onto the stone floor. The dust was black like coal.

Lynx blew the dust off his palm, looking straight into the main camera lens. His eyes were cold and direct.

"I already said what it is," Lynx stated smoothly. "No need to inspect trash. Even with four times artificial boosts, twenty two of them couldn’t last twenty minutes against me. Imagine how weak they are without it."

"BOOOOOOOOO!"

"VOID CHEATED!"

"DISGRACEFUL TRASH!"

"BAN VOID BLESSED ACADEMY!"

The entire stadium exploded into a furious storm of outrage directed at the Void enclosure.

Tens of thousands of spectators screamed in disgust, throwing trash and empty drink containers toward the Void seating area. Void students covered their heads and ran.

Up in the highest, private VIP skyboxes reserved for Void Empire royalty, the senior Void Professors who had refused to come down to the stage were trembling with pure rage.

A Year 4 Void Professor slammed his fist onto the reinforced glass window, shattering it into a spiderweb of cracks.

"THAT DAMNED BRAT!" the old professor snarled, his teeth grinding so hard blood trickled from his lips.

"HE HAS COMPLETELY RUINED OUR ACADEMY’S STANDING IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE CONTINENT! I WILL MAKE HIM PAY FOR THIS! HE WILL NOT LEAVE THE VOID EMPIRE ALIVE! I WILL KILL HIM MYSELF!"

Down on the stage, the remaining Void faculty members who were present were sweating profusely, their faces completely drained of color as imperial guards began moving toward them.

They knew they were in trouble. One of the veteran Void instructors stepped forward, his voice trembling as he tried to defend his institution. "A-Azarion! You cannot slander our academy’s honor without... without evidence..."

"Shut your mouth," Lynx cut him off, his voice dropping into an absolute, suffocating register. It was quiet but it felt like a mountain falling.

A brief, microscopic flick of Lynx’s pressure washed over the Void instructor. The older man felt as if a sky high mountain had suddenly slammed onto his spine.

His knees buckled instantly, hitting the hard granite floor with a loud crack as cold sweat drenched his entire tunic. He couldn’t speak a single word, completely overwhelmed and silenced by Lynx’s presence alone. He was gasping like a fish.

Lynx didn’t give the Void faculty another second of his attention. He tossed the speech crystal back to the terrified official, turned around, and began walking off the stage.

"Let’s go," Lynx said casually to his group. "We’re done here. Let the judges do their job."

The Aether professors and students fell in line right behind him like an invading army. Professor Rose walked close at his side, her plump lips curved upward in a proud, radiant smile as she watched his tall, imposing figure lead them out of the arena.

Aether Blessed Academy was, without a shadow of a doubt, the undisputed Champion of the Supreme Blessed Tournament.

———

Night fell over the imperial capital of the Void Empire, but inside the grand 7 star hotel exclusively reserved for Aether Blessed Academy, the atmosphere was roaring with boundless energy. The hotel was huge and made of glass and gold.

The central banquet hall had been transformed into a massive, luxurious party zone.

High energy music blasted through high end crystal sound systems, vibrant magical lights swirled across the ceiling, changing from gold to blue to red, and long tables overflowed with rare delicacies, imported wines, and spirit infused beverages.

There were whole roasted beasts, fruits that glowed, and wine bottles that cost thousands of H-Crystals.

Virtually every student that came here and faculty member from Aether was present, celebrating their historic victory.

Everyone in the room bore a glowing, golden sigil marked on their forehead, the sacred mark of a Blessed being from Aehter Human Empire, with only two exceptions. Professor Rose... red sigil, and Lynx Azarion himself with a Silver Sigil.

Despite being a non Blessed human in status, Isabel was sitting right in the thick of the celebration alongside Amira, Emily, and Eira. She had three plates in front of her.

"Aah, this is what I call the ultimate perk!" Isabel laughed loudly, raising a crystal goblet of fine wine into the air as she clinked glasses with Kira.

She drank half the goblet in one gulp. "Being Lynx’s aunt means I get 7 star VIP treatment anywhere in the empire. Look at this spread. Look at this meat! I can eat for a year!"

"Mom, please don’t embarrass us, you’re already rich, and you eat more than this everytime," Kira teased, her cheeks slightly pink, though her eyes were shining with happiness as she sat beside Lynx. She was leaning on him.

Because Blessed individuals possessed elevated constitutions, normal alcohol had zero intoxicating effect on them, allowing everyone to drink as heavily as they pleased without losing their edge. They drank like water.

At the main lounge couch, Lynx sat surrounded by his women. Ophelia rested her head comfortably on his shoulder, her eyes half closed, enjoying his warmth.

While Lira happily fed him sweet grapes from a silver plate, picking the best ones. Ava sat on his left, her hand resting warmly over his knee, her thumb rubbing circles. While Kira leaned against his side, her head on his chest.

Across the room, Raven stood near a pillar alongside her friend Diana, both of them holding drinks while occasionally casting subtle, lingering glances toward Lynx’s table. Raven’s eyes kept moving to him.

"You’ve been staring at him for twenty minutes, Raven," Diana whispered with an amused smirk, taking a sip from her glass. "If you like him, just go sit. He won’t bite."

Raven’s eyes flicked away instantly, her expression turning stern and cold. "I am simply analyzing his posture. A warrior who can utilize five High Rank affinities simultaneously must possess flawless physical form. I’m learning. His shoulders, his spine alignment, his breathing. It’s research."

"Right... ’learning,’" Diana teased softly, shaking her head. "You call it research, I call it crushing."

Elsewhere in the hall, Peter Musk was busy attempting to charm a pair of pretty Year 3 senior girls, boasting about things he did back home, while the rest of the student body danced, laughed, and toasted to Lynx’s name. The music was so loud the floor vibrated.

Around 9:00 PM, the blasting music suddenly faded to a quiet murmur. The lights dimmed a little.

Professor Selene stepped onto the central elevated platform, holding her hPad high in the air.

It was glowing with blue light. "Everyone, quiet down for a moment! The Headmistress is calling! Headmistress Amira is calling on video call!"

She lifted the big hPad with both hands and used her Ice affinity. Thin lines of cold blue ice shot from her fingers and wrapped around the hPad.

The ice lifted the hPad into the air and made it hang in the middle of the hall. The hPad was now floating, ten meters wide in projection. It hung in the air without falling, held by her ice magic.

The screen of the big hPad became clear and bright, like crystal glass. The video call was connecting. Everyone could see the Headmistress on the floating big tablet.

The entire banquet hall fell dead silent in an instant. Every student stood straight.

The screen flickered to life, revealing a face of absolute, breathtaking majesty.