Ascension: Online

Monday morning, the next day.

The competition was happening at 6 AM in the morning according to the timer, so the three of us - Hina-nee, Aisa, and I - got up at 5:30. Aisa served as a living(?) alarm.

We quickly used the mouthwash and cleaned our faces before taking a quick shower to feel refreshed for the day. There was a big battle ahead of us - the preliminaries would be eliminating tons of people, so there was a high chance we would have to fight more than once.

We exited the inn shortly after and saw that the streets were bustling with people. It seemed that all the citizens of Qilian City were excited for this event. They seemed to all to be heading for the center of the town, but just to be safe, I opened up my System, navigated to the Minimap tab, and set quest tracking to ON, eyeing the time in the process. 5:55 AM.

I picked up my pace, telling the other two to follow me as I headed towards the translucent glowing yellow pin I could see even after closing my System.

It didn't take long for us to arrive. And, apparently, we got here just in time. The two massive drums on the large platform in front of us were struck by two men respectively, signaling the start of the tournament.

The crowd in front of us was enormous. Luckily, we managed to get to somewhere near the front by using the jade token Guildmaster Feng had given me. It proved to be effective even on normal citizens.

An old man in a formal suit walked up to the stage, megaphone in hand. Everyone quieted down upon seeing him, despite him not even saying anything yet. Was he some sort of powerful figure in Qilian City?

"A fine morning it is, citizens of Qilian. I have never been the type to beat around the bush, so without further ado…"

He took a deep breath, and with a mischievous grin on his aged face, continued in a booming voice.

"As the mayor of this beautiful city, I, Zhen Yuhan, officially welcome you all to the 2051 Annual Qilian Regional Competition!"

Roars of excitement erupted from the crowd, cheering for the mayor.

"Now then, everyone, please form three lines before the stage," he instructed. "We will now commence the sign-ups."

The contestants did as told, neatly getting into three straight lines. We ended up in the middle one, near the front. Aisa stood with us, but she wouldn't be participating, obviously. She was simply here so we could keep an eye on her. Three tables were brought onto the stage, along with three chairs. On each one sat a young man, all of which were not much older than I was. They were wearing some sort of white and green uniform.

"Everyone who has finished signing up, please wait patiently to one side!" the mayor shouted.

One by one, the lines began to move forward. It took a while to get to Hina-nee and I, but eventually, it was our turn.

Hina-nee went first, walking up onto the stage, where a piece of paper and a pen were placed. She took the pen and filled the paper out before walking off and taking Aisa with her, having completed her task. I did notice, however, that the man responsible for our line was staring at Hina-nee lecherously. I smirked, deciding to tease the guy a bit.

I walked up to the stage, picked up the pen, and looked at the paper. It was pretty simple, only asking for basic information such as name and age. I filled it in with ease and handed it to the man, who accepted it nonchalantly, placing it onto a pile behind him and taking out a new sheet for the next person, before handing me a slip of paper that had the number '15' on it. Right before I left, however, I looked at him in the eyes and whispered.

"Creep."

His eyes widened as I smirked smugly, turning around and walking away in triumph.

"Tch…" he muttered angrily, apparently frustrated that I had caught onto him ogling Hina-nee.

About an hour later, there were enough sign-ups to begin matches. The sign-ups stations were moved off of the stage, but would still continue close by for anyone coming along later in the day.

"Everyone, please listen for your number and come onto the stage accordingly!" the mayor announced via the megaphone. "Matches will be only one round, so give it your all! The moment you lose a match, you're out of the running for the main tournament! These are all rules you are already familiar with, but there is just one new addition to this year's tournament…"

Everyone waited impatiently for him to announce what it is.

"And that is… killing is allowed this year!"

The crowd was evidently shocked. Killing, under broad daylight? I wasn't particularly affected, but… for those with evil hearts who want to get their hands on a fellow cultivator's belongings…

It seems this tournament will be more dangerous than I had originally thought. Still, attempting to kill me would be the last decision my opponent will ever make - given that they weren't a player who could respawn, of course.

"Now then, the first match - 1 and 2!"

Two young males in their twenties walked onto the stage. They were both familiar faces I had seen in the Hunter's Guild. I didn't know their names, but one thing was for sure - neither of them were players. One of them was bald, while the other had hair that seemed to cover even his eyes. Quite the pairing, I must say.

"Three… two… one… go!" the mayor declared. The drums were struck once, signaling the beginning of the fight.

"Take this!" the bald man charged forward, an orange energy surrounding him. Rather than fists, his hands were in an unusual claw position, almost like a tiger.

He leaped towards the hairy man, who remained still. I watched him intently, and saw that he took a deep breath.

And then, suddenly, right before the bald man was going to hit him, the hairy man reared his fist back in the blink of an eye and punched with all of his might. His fist hit true against the baldie's abdomen.

BOOM!

Time seemed to freeze as a loud shockwave exploded across the area, shaking the entire city. The poor bald martial artist was send flying backwards, crashing straight through the brick wall of some person's house.

"KYAAHHHH!"

I heard a loud female scream in the distance, followed by the metallic clang of a pan being struck over someone's head. I winced in pain, even though I wasn't the one being hit.

You will be remembered, baldie.

I turned my focus back to the hairy man. He was in the process of slowly walking off the stage, the gaze of hundreds focused on his somewhat 'thick' figure.

"W-Well… that was one way to kick things off," the mayor announced. Then, a subordinate who had been sent to check on the baldie yelled something over. I was too far away to hear it.

"What of the man? Huh, wait, o-oh, he's dead? Oh no… anyways," the aged mayor cleared his throat.

Apparently, he had forgotten to turn off the megaphone. The subordinate yelled something again.

"What? My megaphone is still on? Oh, shi-" he quickly stopped talking, turning the device off and hurrying over to where his subordinate was.

Several minutes later, the mayor returned, turning on his megaphone once more and clearing his throat.

"A-Ahem… apologies. That was… unforeseen. However, the tournament will now proceed as normal. The next set - 3 and 4!"

Two more competitors went on the stage. The process repeated until it was finally Hina-nee's turn. She was 14, and had to go against 13.

Hina-nee stepped onto the stage confidently, attracting the gazes of many men with her stunning beauty and perfect curves. Her opponent was a tall, burly man with a cheeky grin on his face.

"Hey, beauty… you look fine. How about it? Want to make a deal?" he proposed, smirking smugly as if he had already won.

"What's the deal?" Hina-nee asked, playing along.

"If I beat you, then you have to stay with me for one night."

"What?!" the crowd erupted and started complaining.

"How is that fair?! You're fighting a girl here!"

"Yeah, yeah! Where's your dignity at?!"

But despite these shouts of anger, the man was not fazed.

And as for Hina-nee, she was as calm as ever.

Smiling seductively, she narrowed her eyes and took out her two Sai. "Sorry, but… I already have someone I like. That said, I do like challenges, so sure. I will take you up on your offer."

"Oi, oi, oi… you being for real?!" the man laughed. "Hahaha! This is the luckiest day of my life! Just don't fall on your own knives, babe… I wouldn't want my future bride killing herself."

"Any future bride of yours would be tempted." Hina-nee first giggled like an angel.

The man's eyes bulged as he cracked his knuckles, being the brawler type. "Heh… you got sass… I like that. But by the end of this fight, you'll be mine."

"Enough with the trash talk. Let's begin."

"Both sides are ready!" the mayor declared. "Three… two… one… go!"

The drums were struck, the resulting loud boom signaling the start of their fight…

…But also the end of it at the same time.