Chapter 295: Wrong Troublemaker Enters the Stage

The Valehart genius stepped toward the center of the arena and raised his sword. "My name is Kaelen Valehart."

Golden-white Radiant Sword Qi slowly gathered around his blade.

The challenger rolled his shoulders before pulling a heavy black saber from his back. "Brakk Torven."

The moment the name was announced, several cultivators in the audience began murmuring.

"A wandering saber cultivator?"

"I’ve heard of him."

"Apparently he defeated several geniuses recently."

Damian listened quietly.

"Ah. Even better."

A challenger with a little reputation made the whole performance more convincing.

Kaelen pointed his sword forward. "Come."

Brakk grinned. "With pleasure."

The next second, both disappeared from their positions.

BOOM!

Sword and saber collided violently in the center of the arena.

CLANG!

Golden sword Qi and dark-red saber Qi exploded outward.

The nearby protective formation immediately lit up.

Kaelen moved first.

[Radiant Flash Sword Step]

His body blurred into several golden afterimages as he circled Brakk.

Three sword strikes came almost simultaneously.

SHING! SHING! SHING!

Brakk raised his saber.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Every strike was blocked.

Kaelen immediately followed with another technique.

[Golden Dawn Sword]

A bright sword arc tore toward Brakk’s chest.

The crowd cheered.

Brakk planted one foot into the ground and swung his saber horizontally.

[Mountain-Crushing Saber]

BOOOOM!

The two techniques collided.

Dust exploded across the arena.

Damian watched lazily, still waiting for the obvious moment where Brakk would intentionally lose.

Except...

When the dust cleared, Kaelen had been forced backward nearly ten meters while Brakk had moved only three.

Damian’s smile weakened slightly. "Hm?"

Esmeralda glanced toward him. "What?"

Damian ignored her.

Kaelen clearly looked irritated now and tightened his grip and attacked again.

Golden sword Qi filled the arena as more and more Valehart sword techniques followed, but Brakk kept blocking, and worse, he even began to push Kaelen back.

CLANG!

One saber strike knocked Kaelen’s sword aside.

BANG!

Brakk’s shoulder slammed into his chest, sending Kaelen stumbling backward and silencing the crowd.

Aldren Valehart’s previously calm expression also stiffened slightly, and Damian noticed it immediately.

"Wait a minute..."

Brakk charged again.

Kaelen barely avoided a saber slash before counterattacking toward Brakk’s ribs.

Brakk twisted his body, trapped the sword against the spine of his saber, and violently kicked Kaelen in the stomach.

BAM!

Kaelen flew backward and hit the ground hard, startling everyone around him.

Damian slowly straightened from the railing, his earlier grin fading from his face

"Hold the fuck up."

Kaelen pushed himself back to his feet, face visibly red with humiliation.

Brakk rested the saber against his shoulder and grinned. "Is this all the Valehart Family has?"

The entire Valehart section went silent.

Damian glanced toward Aldren and saw that he was no longer relaxed, his fingers tightening around the armrest.

Cassian Valeria also looked noticeably more attentive now.

Damian narrowed his eyes.

"Wasn’t this bastard supposed to be a paid actor?"

Esmeralda noticed Damian’s expression and raised an eyebrow. "What’s wrong with your face?"

Damian turned toward her. "Hm?"

She gestured toward him with her cup. "You were smiling like an idiot a moment ago, and now you look like someone just stole your spirit stones."

Damian’s mouth twitched. "Hey, that would be a serious fucking matter."

Esmeralda stared at him.

Damian sighed. "No, it’s just..."

His gaze returned to the arena. "I genuinely thought Brakk was a paid actor."

Esmeralda blinked.

Damian pointed toward the fight below. "You know. Someone hired by the Valehart Family to challenge Kaelen, put up a decent fight, and then lose dramatically so everyone could admire how amazing their younger generation is."

Esmeralda stared at him for a few breaths before slowly shaking her head. "You really think everyone is scheming all the time, huh?"

Damian looked offended. "Am I wrong?"

Esmeralda nodded. "In this case, yes."

Damian frowned.

Esmeralda turned her attention toward Brakk. "Brakk Torven has become fairly famous recently."

Damian raised an eyebrow. "He has?"

Esmeralda nodded. "He’s a wandering saber cultivator without any major faction behind him, but he’s defeated several talented cultivators over the past year."

Her lips curved faintly. "He’s arrogant, aggressive, and apparently enjoys challenging younger geniuses from large clans."

Damian looked back toward the arena. "So he really just walked into their festival and challenged them?"

Esmeralda shrugged. "Pretty much."

Damian stared silently for a moment.

"Well, fuck me."

Esmeralda glanced sideways at him. "Besides..."

She smiled slightly. "Why are you frowning so much?"

Damian looked toward her.

Esmeralda gestured at Kaelen, who was currently struggling against another barrage of saber strikes. "It isn’t you being humiliated."

She then glanced toward Aldren Valehart. "And it certainly isn’t your family."

Damian froze for half a second. "Oh."

He rubbed his chin. "Right."

Esmeralda’s expression became suspicious. "That reaction was remarkably delayed."

Damian quickly waved his hand. "No, no. It’s nothing serious."

He sighed dramatically. "I just don’t like being wrong."

Esmeralda stared at him. "That’s it?"

Damian nodded.

She clearly didn’t believe him.

Eventually, Esmeralda simply sighed and turned back toward the arena.

Damian did the same. However, his real thoughts were completely different.

"The problem isn’t Brakk winning."

His eyes drifted toward the distant entrance again.

"I was waiting for Cassandra to be the one who came here and fucked up their festival."

Instead... Some wandering saber cultivator had suddenly appeared and started beating the shit out of a Valehart genius.

Damian quietly clicked his tongue.

"Wrong fucking troublemaker."

Still, there was nothing he could do about it. For now, he could only wait.

Damian folded his arms and leaned against the railing once more.

---

Below, the fight finally reached its end.

Kaelen Valehart charged forward one last time, golden Radiant Sword Qi exploding around his body.

"[Radiant Heaven Severing Sword]!"

A massive golden sword arc tore across the arena.

Several spectators immediately stood from their seats.

Brakk Torven, however, only laughed. "Hahaha! Finally something decent!"

He gripped his black saber with both hands.

Dark-red saber Qi erupted violently around him.

"[Mountain Lord Breaks the Peak]!"

BOOOOOOM!

The two attacks collided.

The protective formation surrounding the arena trembled violently.

Cracks spread across the stone floor.

For several seconds, golden and dark-red Qi struggled against each other before suddenly...

CRACK!

Kaelen’s sword Qi shattered, leaving him stunned. "What the!"

Brakk appeared directly in front of him. "Too slow."

BAM!

A brutal kick slammed into Kaelen’s chest, sending him flying backward like a broken kite.

BOOM!

Kaelen crashed outside the arena boundary and rolled several times before finally stopping.

Silence.