Chapter 24: Challenge
Squeezing through the crowd, they reached the entrance of the Yellow Challenge hall and entered through the Main Entrance, However they couldn't find Nathan and Jackson.
After asking around, they were told that they were already getting ready for the fight, meaning the fight can't be cancelled anymore.
Mark clenched his fists has he doesn't like this kind of thing, especially within his circle of friends, His face held a terrifying expression, since he knew this would definitely affect his reputation as the Son of a Duke in the Kinas Kingdom, although, He had made efforts to cultivate a low-key profile, all his efforts are put to waste no matter the outcome of the challenge, He was really disappointed in his friends and he wondered if he made the right choice in befriending them in the first place, He found a place to seat among the spectators and waited along with other students for the contestants to enter.
However his thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice;
"Wow, who do we have here, The son of the Duke of the The Thompson Province, Mark Thompson".
The voice was so loud and most students casted curious glances at him, and he could even see some of the girls winking and blowing kisses at him, Ignoring them, He turned around to look at the source of the voice.
It was an handsome young man, surrounded by beautiful girls, One was blowing air at him using a Jade coloured hand fan, while another was peeling oranges and he was lazily accepting it into his mouth, he had a confident aura about him as if he owned the place.
Mark searched his Memories and remembered who he was; Maximilian Thornfield, the son of Duke Thornfield, from the Thornfield Province, one of the Eight provinces in the Empire.
Mark could see a familiar face standing beside him, it was Flink, the guy who he met at the gate of the Academy on the day of the Entrance Examination, It seems he has become one of this guy's lackey.
Mark kept silent, with his rich experience, he could understand that Maximilian was trying to make jest of him, and the more he replied, the more he would become vulnerable to his verbal attacks since this is a common thing among novels.
As he turned his head to the front, he heard Maximilian voice again; "I wonder if Young Master Mark is just as rogue as his friends".
Although his voice was not too loud, it was heard by most people in the hall and it was obvious that he wanted to smear Mark's reputation, however Mark kept his cool and looked calm, despite Maximilian taunts.
Soon a booming voice was heard, and most people subconsciously turned their heads to the battle arena, where a Middle aged man was seen standing on the referee stand just beside the arena, He was the referee in charge of ensuring law and order in the Yellow Challenge hall.
The crowd hushed, their excitement palpable as they awaited the entrance of the participants.
In a few moments the doors at the far ends of the hall opened and the contestants stepped in, Nathan face had a fierce look while Jackson also had a strange angry look on his face, while Mark was confused, since this means that the situation was really serious.
As the tension reached the peak, Mark leaned forward on his seat, Ready to witness the clash of his friends.
Nathan circulated his Qi cultivation technique, while Jackson stood there without activating his mana, or circulating his energy as if he was not participating in the fight.
The referee blew his whistle and the fight started, Nathan stepped forward and rushed towards Jackson, It was a common knowledge that mages are on the weaker side while fighting in close combat.
Jackson, activated his mana and created earth shields which he used to block Nathan's attacks.
However to his suprise, after defending for a while Jackson didn't make any attempt to defend himself for the last attack from his fists and received the full brunt of Nathan's full power enhanced by qi, with his frail body.
He coughed up blood and fell on his knees, while the crowd and Nathan were suprised at the turn of events.
The rage on Nathan's face disappeared and he shook Jackson's shoulder vigorously; "Why didn't you attack?"
Jackson raised his head and declared; 'I admit defeat'
The referee accepted his decision and he wobbled out of the hall, while Nathan stood there win shock.
THe crowd of students who came to watch also made their way out of the hall, Most of them were mostly disappointed with the outcome of the Challenge Contest, while some felt that there were some hidden undercurrents behind the Challenge Contest and were curious about it, among these were Mark and Lily.
Although Mark already smelt something fishy themoment he heard about the challenge, The outcome of the Challenge Contest, further proved his suspicions, He stood up and made his way out of the Hall, followed by Lily.
Mark followed Jackson's trail and caught up with him, "Jackson", He called out from a distance.
Jackson turned his head and Mark could see tears streaming from his eyes, Suddenly, he felt a chill in his heart, He had forgotten that they were still young boys who have not gotten any experience about the world and their emotions can be easily evoked, he had been subconsciously treating them as age mates overlooking the fact that he is a grown man in the body of a young boy.
He came closer to Jackson, however he couldn't find words to say and it seems Jackson was not in the mood to explain what happened, therefore they walked towards the dormitories in silence.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone