Chapter 37: The Top Ten (1)

In the Combat Legacy.

After most of the participants had been eliminated through the rounds of hellish trials.

There remained only ten people.

They were the ones who had met the standards the immortal rank being had set.

During the trial, Neo had cut down a lot of the strange creatures.

He had also eliminated more opponents as the trial progressed.

His rank had climbed step by step, until he rose above every contender.

The ten people were gathered in the same place.

One of them would be crowned as the greatest combat genuis.

It was a large training hall.

There were five rings in the room.

They were spaced apart from each other.

It looked like the combat hadn’t ended.

"The ten of you have reached here. This is a sign that any one of you is a strong combat genius. You have the potential to become a great expert."

The voice of the immortal was heard by all ten people.

"Some of you are ranked above the others, but there are only minor differences in your abilities."

The immortal’s words were enlightening.

There was no way for any of them to know the metrics by which the immortal determined the rankings.

But from the immortal’s words, it seemed there was an almost negligible difference between their abilities.

A spark was lit in their hearts.

Anyone of them had the chance to inherit this legacy.

"This is a Combat Legacy. The best way to determine a combat genius is to fight. The greatest combat genius is the one who stands above all others."

The final winner, the inheritor, of this legacy was about to be chosen.

"I want all of you at your best for this part."

The moment those words were spoken. Every one of them felt a force descend on them.

It healed every injury in their body.

All the stress they had accumulated was relieved.

Their hearts calmed, as did their minds.

"Each of you will participate in this part of the legacy with only ten points of minor origin. You will be matched against an opponent from among yourselves. I will chose now. Go to the designated ring."

This immortal seemed really fixated on fairness.

Everyone who had more than ten points of minor origin had it reduced to ten.

Those who had below that amount, had it increased.

No one had an advantage against anyone else with their amount of minor origin.

In everyone’s eyes, the ring that was designated to them glowed.

Neo went to his own ring.

Of the ten people here, there were only four humans including Neo.

The rest were prime demons.

There was Kotil, the one who led the group of bloodline bearers from the Adventurer Guild into the domain.

There was a woman from the military. She was dressed in a uniform that still looked pristine.

Then, there was another man.

Neo didn’t recognize him.

The man was neither from the military, or among those from the Adventurer Guild.

He was likely from one of the other powers.

That surprised Neo a bit.

He stepped into the ring.

It was neither too wide nor too small.

It was the optimal size for close combat, but it granted effective space for ranged fighters too.

The opponent he was matched against was a prime demon.

When he looked at the being before him, its rank was displayed above its head.

6th.

Neo had no doubt that the prime demon could also see his own rank.

The prime demon didn’t seem to care though.

It had settled into a ready stance.

It no doubt was convinced that it could eliminate Neo regardless of his current ranking.

In a way, they all had the same starting point now.

Everyone was refreshed, and had the same amount of minor origin.

It felt there was a chance to eliminate Neo.

Neo would prove it wrong.

In the end, one’s own abilities was what determined whether they lasted to the end of this legacy or not.

He drew his sword.

The prime demon’s tail flashed.

Sword and tail met.

It was a heavy impact.

Neo felt the weight almost force him back.

He looked at the tail that was raised behind the prime demon.

What in the world was that.

It really could not be carrying something that heavy all the time, right?

The special abilities of these prime demons were varied.

Their abilities were always surprising and strong.

The first one he fought could split its tail into eight tails that retained the same strength as the original tail.

This one had a tail that was so heavy it almost knocked him down.

He had no doubt that if he left the ring, he would be disqualified.

The immortal might not have said anything, but it was clear.

The two looked at each other.

That opening move had been to sound each other out.

Their next move began the fight in earnest.

Sword and tail clashed.

The weight of the prime demon’s tail wasn’t static.

It changed as its owner pleased.

Fluid and dynamic.

At first, it was hard for Neo to tell when the weight changed.

It messed with his rhythm.

He couldn’t swing too hard or too light.

His parries were almost always messed up.

But he learned fast.

He had no choice.

His minor origin was limited.

The two continued their clash.

Neo’s sword moves now had a charm to it

It was both heavy and light at the same time.

Hard and soft.

Flexible to the extreme.

It was the best counter to the prime demon’s tail whip that could become both heavy and light as it pleased.

The demon had been using only its tail the whole fight, but Neo remained observant.

He was alert.

Then it came.

The sudden move he had been watching out for.

But it was something he never expected.

The hands were almost at his neck.

He was about to be strangled.

Or have his throat torn out.

The specifics didn’t matter.

The prime demon still stood where it was, but its floating hands were about to grasp Neo’s throat.

Neo knew he couldn’t have those hands near his throat.

He swung his sword.

The hands were knocked aside.

But the scales that had followed behind the hands had reached him.

It looked like his path in this Combat Legacy was about to end.

That was the thought of the prime demon.

But it didn’t last long.

It saw a blinding flash.

The sword was about to pierce its head.

But at the last moment, it vanished.

Neo stood alone in the ring.

The blinding light around his body slowly faded.

When the scales had almost reached him, he had used a technique.

A soft glow had surrounded him.

The scales that had been shot at him, had been attracted to the soft glow surrounding his body.

The glow had been soft at first, but with every scale that attached to it, the glow became intense.

Until in that instant, it became a blinding light.

The momentum of the scales had been transfered to the glow that surrounded him.

He had completed the other part of the technique by redirecting that momentum.

That blinding flash the prime demon saw before it was eliminated had been its own scales turning against it.

Bearing their fangs to tear it apart.