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nWhen Prince Kwan heard these words, his fists clenched as he tried his best to control his anger. His brother was their only hope. Even if Silas blatantly insulted him to his face like this, he couldn't ignore his threat. Their Opes Kingdom had a very small supply of Qi Refinement Realm experts. Since experts could only be used thrice, they couldn't afford to waste them before the third tier of steps.

nWhile Kwan was gritting his teeth, Silas hadn't even bothered with his response as though his services were already guaranteed. Instead, Silas gathered his own group of leather armored warriors, disappearing into Ryu's eighth step with a sly smile on his lazy features.

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"Oo, so close.

" Silas' laughter filled the arena through the projection screens. Everyone he understood what he meant a moment later as a winged tiger appeared. He really had been close…

nThe Two-Winged Yellow Tiger was a Higher Third Order beast, had it been just a single tier above, Ryu would be either forced to fight a Lower Fourth Order beast, or retreat by a step.

nSilas tapped his chin with an amused expression before directly crushing his jade without even trying. While much of the crowd was surprised by his actions, those with sharper intellects understood.

nCurrently, Ryu was standing upon his seventh staircase. If Silas attacked now, there was no way for him to be certain if Ryu could defeat a Peak Third Order beast or not. But, in the case that he could, Silas would be responsible for helping Ryu climb to his eighth step. In that case, even if Kwan took action, it wouldn't matter.

nLet's say Kwan managed to draw a Peak Third Order beast and won. That would mean Ryu would have to fight a Lower Fourth Order beast to ignore the attack. However, if this happened, Ryu wouldn't be forced to fight at all! The reason why was simple. If Ryu simply retreated from the eighth step to the seventh, then he would still be in position to climb to the final step during his next turn. In that situation, Silas' attempts would have been meaningless. Only if Ryu was forced to retreat to his sixth step would he lose his chance at first place!

nSilas smiled under the confused ravings of the crowd, instead calmly attacking his own steps and climbing to his fifth. Then he gave Kwan a pointed glance. In the end, Prince Kwan could only unwillingly leap to Ryu's step.

nPrince Kwan lowered his head.

"I'm sorry.

" Although his hands were trembling, his voice was steady. It seemed that even under this pressure and humiliation, Kwan maintained his air as a Prince.

nRyu smiled.

"You and your brother are quite to my liking. The Opes Kingdom has a bright future ahead.

"

nRyu's words stunned Kwan, but that only made his guilt heavier. Still, he could only steel his heart, directly calling out the Opes Kingdom's best experts to help him, including his father's Death Guard. Luckily, there was a loophole in the rules. Although it restricted the use of an expert to three attempts, there was nothing that said an expert couldn't be used by different Princes. That meant, if two Princes used the same expert, that expert could fight six times! This was what gave the Opes Princes a chance to survive.

nAs Kwan disappeared, Kalmin's ear suddenly twitched. His expression quickly recovered, shrouding the surprise he felt and calming his quickly beating heart. He felt himself swell with gratitude, but he still had his guard up. Still, if the words he had just heard were true, their family had a chance.

nSuddenly, Silas' laughter filled the arena once more.

nKwan appeared in a world filled with scorching sand. In what seemed like an instant, his body and that of his helpers were matted in sweat due to the high hanging sun. However, none of these things were the reason why Silas was laughing. Instead, it was because the body of a large red-shelled scorpion loomed in the distance… A Peak Third Order beast!

nDespite the situation, knowing quite well that Ryu would be forced to retreat a step now, Kwan could only fight. If he didn't win, his elder brother would definitely suffer. No matter how shameless Silas was, he wouldn't dare go against such a public deal he, himself offered.

nThe battle was tough and hard-fought. Prince Kwan had no choice but to hang back and allow his ten helpers to protect him, but he did his best to brandish his sword when he was needed.

nHours ticked by slowly. Eventually, under the assault of ten Qi Refinement realm experts, the Red Armored Scorpion fell, its violet blood coating the coarse, brown sand with a grotesque stench. Not long after, Kwan reappeared, followed by ten warriors who had reached their limit, only to hear Silas' laughter once more.

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"My oh my.

" Silas chuckled.

"I wish your warriors a speedy recovery, I would hate for them to have to fight for Prince Kalmin at half capacity.

"

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"You!

" Prince Kwan raged, the temper he had been trying to hold back all this time finally couldn't be held down any longer.

nWhen he and the Opes Warriors were within that desert landscape, he caught a faint understanding of what Silas' true plot was. He basically forced Kwan into using warriors his brother had been saving all this time for the third tier of steps. Regardless of whether or not they fought a Peak Third Order beast, they would still have their stamina impacted to some level.

nPlus, Silas had other contingency plans. Even if they fought a weak Third Order beast, Silas could just reuse the same ploy to force Kwan to attack the steps of others. Regardless, after attacking three third tier level steps, there was no way the Opes Warriors wouldn't be tired out. By then, how could they possibly help Prince Kalmin to the best of their abilities? As a bonus, Kwan would no longer be able to use them either due to reaching the three-entry limit.

nSilas had known from the very beginning that Opes Kingdom would be forced to share their warriors! While the loophole in the rules helped them, it also harmed them. Plus, without even lifting a finger, Silas' point total for this trial would definitely deserve a boost. Just his schemes alone were so layered… Like Headmaster Leopold said, the means were just as important as the ends!

nRyu smiled, standing up and stretching lightly. If one listened closely, it sounded as though there were metal ropes hidden within his body instead of the muscles and tendons others had.

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"Half Prince Kwan, I think I still need you and your people to attack again. Would you mind attacking that Amory fella? The Tor Clan as a whole is quite an eyesore to me.

" Silas said lazily, reclining for a nap.

nPrince Kwan felt that the veins in his forehead were about to burst. How could he allow such an insult? Just when he couldn't take it anymore, he felt a large hand land on his shoulder.

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"Last time I checked, a challenge has been issued. Shouldn't I have to the right to accept it? In the face of absolute strength, schemes mean nothing.

" Ryu's cold voice shocked all those who heard it.. By the time they understood what it is he was saying, he had already disappeared.

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