From the look on Isho's face, Reith quickly understood what was going on, and he rushed forward.

Although his body trembled with pain, he refused to stop.

"Run back, Reith. You can't fight him," Isho called out right after he recognised the approaching figure.

However, Reith didn't respond to him but rushed forward faster.

If it were a beast, at least there was a chance of defeating it by copying a technique.

But to his surprise, it was not a beast.

Wild laughter spread around the area where the three of them stood.

"Reith, we should run," Isho said, a slight frown on his face. He couldn't fight whoever this person was, but now Reith was here. He would not leave his friend and run away.

The sound of laughter reached them before they could see the owner of the voice.

"Azure slums? I didn't think the gods of my land would reward me soon enough."

The figure appeared and stood before them. He had red, wavy hair and a large grin spread across his face.

His name tag flashed, and there were a whopping ten thousand points under the name Sean. Reith stood in front of Isho and Terra. Common sense told him there was no way he could beat this person.

"We don't want any trouble. We just want to win," Reith spoke up, addressing Sean.

Sean smiled. "You have fifteen points. That white-haired ghost has zero points. Even the girl has fifty points." He burst into a chilling laugh.

"It's even worse than what my master told me." Sean licked his lips. "Did you guys know you weren't the only region participating in the final selection?"

Reith's eyes narrowed. They had not been told.

Outside the fight area, Leon was holding his chin. The Azure Region had a rule. They only competed amongst themselves, so he never thought it wise to inform the students that it was a regional competition.

There had been previous cases of students going overboard and dying just because they knew of stronger competitions.

But he didn't think these people would make the same move again.

A decade ago, the Azure Region was at its darkest. The Sylvaris students killed eighty percent of the Azure students.

If not for Leon's overwhelming strength, they would have completely obliterated them all.

Even after the warning, to think they would still do the same thing again made Kane clench his fists. The top ten students in each region would make it to the top academy. Therefore, they split the Final Selection into many geographical borders. It would help create a border between regional universities.

If Azure could not send strong students to the continental academy, they would be an easy target for the regional war.

Now, a Sylvaris student had made it to Azure's border. It was bypassing the law.

However, they could do nothing until after the competition. And anything that was done would never bring back the lives and potential that were lost.

"Just run away, kid," Kane urged from his seat.

But he had so much experience with Reith. This person was never the type to run.

Reith stood straight, releasing his fighting stance. "We don't plan to fight. I believe there's no reason to get involved with other regions to win a competition. Just let my friends and me go."

But before he could think of another plan, a red wave flashed in front of him, and Sean's grin appeared in his line of sight.

"And what if I say no?" Sean said, punching out with full force. The punch targeted the three of them.

In that small gap, a golden circle formed around the three of them. It wasn't enough, as the shockwave from Sean's punch was enough to push the golden ball backwards.

"Urek…" Isho muttered when he realised what his emblem had done, then he turned to face Reith.

"Reith, we have to run. We can't win this," Isho said, taking a small glance at Terra, who was still unconscious.

Reith stood straight. "I thought we could talk to him," he muttered to himself. "Thank you, Isho. We should actually run."

The ground quaked, and the earth felt like it would split open.

A place buried with snow was where Reith's learned beast technique would reveal its full potential.

This place was quite different. It was dry, quaky ground. More Hana had to be used in the creation of the snow-like tsunami.

"Reith, do you think you'd handle it?" Ruach said.

Reith nodded. He grabbed Isho's hand, and a large wave of snow shot up from the crack in the ground. Reith's face paled instantly, but they were moving and they were fast.

The air cracked with heat behind them. Sean was laughing, no, roaring, as his crimson energy spread through the air like wildfire.

"It'd be funny if you could run from me, trash of Azure?" His voice boomed across the barren plain.

Reith gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead. His Hana was draining fast, and it was affecting every part of his body.

The snow tsunami was eating away at his energy like a leech. Still, he refused to stop. Terra was unconscious, and Isho could barely keep his barrier up. He couldn't let them die here.

"Isho, hold her tight!" Reith shouted over the howling snow.

Behind them, Sean leapt high into the air, his body surrounded by scarlet flames. The ground beneath him melted as he shot forward, leaving a trail of scorched stone.

Reith's eyes flicked up just in time to see him descending. "He's fast, too fast!"

The next instant, a red shockwave slammed into the snowy current. The frozen wave shattered apart like fragile glass, hurling the three of them through the air.

Reith crashed against a jagged rock, pain screaming through his ribs. He coughed blood, but forced himself up instantly and wiped the blood from his lips.

Turning to his side, he realised that Urek had saved Isho again by putting a barrier behind him.

"Change of plans, Isho," Reith said as he picked up his friend.

Sean landed a few paces from them. "I expected Azure to be a lot stronger. But it looks like this is the best you've got. I should kill you now rather than let you face the pain of participating in the regional wars," Sean cackled.

Reith didn't know what to say. Regional wars? He was hearing all of this for the first time.

How much was their Regional Insignia hiding from them?

"This is the Azure border. Aren't you breaking the rules by leaving your border?" Terra slightly raised her head and spoke.

She had woken up. It must have been because of the initial crash.

"Terra, how are you? Can you walk?" Reith quickly asked, but his eyes were fixed on Sean, refusing to give his opponent any chance.

Sean stepped forward, his hot aura slicing through the cold air. There was a lofty smile on his face.

"Rules? I see now," he said, his hands on his cheek. "That's what makes guys from Azure weak. You keep following the rules. This world is a world of survival. Only the strong will stand at the very top."

Reith's chest tightened.

He knew survival constructed this world. It was something he had known since childhood. But that was a guise. What was called survival was just a cover for the cruelty of the so-called strong. They preyed on the weak and built their empires on the weak.

He hated the ideology. This was why he would build his own world. This was his goal.

"The world does not revolve around survival." Reith barked, "Your kind made it that way. And I refuse to stand with that ideology."

The temperature suddenly spiked, and Sean lifted a corner of his lips.

"Then fight me."

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