LIAM'S POV:
The first phase of the competition had concluded, leaving a trail of broken pride and shattered expectations. Ten combatants had survived the initial cull, their strengths varying between the second and third stages of Qi cultivation. Most were disciples from external sects or neighboring empires, their techniques polished in environments far more hostile than our own. It was a sobering sight for the local spectators; not a single representative from the Vermillion Empire had managed to secure a victory. The gap in training and resources was a chasm that no amount of nationalistic fervor could bridge.
Among those who remained, the two disciples who had arrived in Almericus’s shadow stood out like wolves in a pack of hounds. Their cultivation was firmly rooted in the fourth st
