"Yeah, really." Lu Zhengjie nodded. There was no need to lie about this. Though the family tree his father had rewritten wasn't very complete, it still existed and could be used as proof.
"No time to waste—let's go."
Ashen excitedly grabbed Lu Zhengjie and headed outside. He needed to verify this. If it was true, the old Lu family would finally be branching out! Hahaha!
"You?"
"Uh, you guys go verify it. I still have matches." Seeing Dad's look, Auron instantly understood what he meant and quickly declined.
"Mm, alright then. Fight well in your matches." Dad didn't insist. Whether Auron went or not was fine—after all, Grandpa was here.
"Mm, I will."
Auron nodded firmly. After that, Dad also followed Ashen outside.
After Dad left, Jace asked with some confusion: "Verifying with the family tree? And it's not even complete—could it be forged?"
Auron smiled and shook his head. "Forget about whether it's forged or not—just the familiar feeling in his aura, that sense of blood connection—that can't be faked."
"Besides, family trees are usually kept by the current family head. Neither my dad nor I have seen it, so how would outsiders have seen it?"
Auron smiled and patted Jace's shoulder. He understood Jace's doubts—nothing more than worrying that someone might be coveting his family's wealth or something, forging a family tree and pretending to be family.
But family trees weren't that easy to forge. Especially for their family—even if the family tree was forged, aura was something that couldn't be faked.
Though people who awakened aura worldwide weren't limited to just their family members, and theoretically anyone could awaken aura—even if others awakened aura power, they wouldn't be like Lu Zhengjie, able to draw out the aura of three generations of the Lu family.
From the moment Auron sensed Lu Zhengjie's aura, he knew—Lu Zhengjie was definitely part of their family. That's why Auron had directly called Dad. Similarly, Dad was the same.
The reason for checking the family tree was simply to confirm whether Lu Zhengjie was the same generation as Auron, the same generation as Dad, or a generation younger than Auron.
"Mm, basically that's it. If we're lucky, he'll have to call us 'uncle.' If we're unlucky, we'll have to call him 'uncle.'"
After explaining to Jace, Auron even cracked a joke at him.
Jace's face darkened. "Go, go, go—you can call him uncle. I won't. We're not related."
"What if it turns out he's a generation younger than me and has to call me uncle?"
"Then of course he'd have to call me uncle too! We're blood brothers, after all."
Hearing this, Jace's expression immediately changed. He smiled and slung his arm around Auron's shoulder, speaking righteously.
Auron rolled his eyes and pushed Jace away. "Go, go, go—always thinking about taking advantage. Let's go, our match is about to start."
"Hehe, only a fool doesn't take advantage when it's offered."
Laughing, the two headed toward the field. Rest time had ended. Next was the round of three to two, then one person would get a bye and advance directly to the finals.
However, in this world's competition format, if there was no rigging, luck actually played quite a large role. So neither Auron nor the others raised any objections.
"Good luck—you have to win first place!"
"Don't worry, I will."
"What about me?"
When the two took the stage, Serena was waiting by the side of the field. Seeing Auron approach, she smiled and encouraged him.
After encouraging Auron, Serena wasn't as polite to Jace: "Hmph, you? You're not getting first anyway, so what place doesn't matter."
"Tch, I'm fighting for first too." Jace tossed his head, speaking without concern.
"Bleh~"
"Haha, let's go—gotta draw lots first." Auron laughed and gave Jace a push. Only then did they stop bickering.
"Win first place! Sending you good luck~"
Serena smiled and made a heart shape with her fingers toward Auron.
"Got it, I will."
Auron nodded, but focused only on drawing a good lot, he didn't notice Serena's heart gesture or her slightly reddening ears afterward.
"Three contestants, prepare to draw lots."
After the referee brought up a box and shook it, he addressed the three of them.
Sikong Ling rubbed his chin, looked at Auron, then at Jace, before smiling and saying: "Seems like I can't beat either of you. How about I draw first?"
Auron and Jace exchanged a glance, both smiling indifferently. "Sure."
"Hehe."
Sikong Ling grinned and stepped forward, grabbing a ball from the box.
"Tsk, too bad."
Looking at the black ball in his hand, Sikong Ling's eyes showed regret.
What he'd said earlier was true. He'd watched both their matches and, after comparing, discovered that facing either of them, he probably wouldn't be their match.
So he'd hoped that—like the previous round—he could go first and draw a bye directly.
But unfortunately, this round's bye was white, not black.
"Even though I know I'll lose, I'll still give it my all. I won't just surrender directly."
Seeing Sikong Ling's serious eyes, Auron and Jace exchanged glances, both feeling somewhat confused.
(What's with him?)
(I have no idea)
After a quick exchange through eye contact, Jace stepped forward first and reached into the box.
"Looks like I don't need to draw." Seeing the black ball in Jace's hand, Auron smiled at him.
Jace curled his lip. "Serena's blessing? Tsk, a free pass to the finals—isn't that too ridiculous?"
Jace's brain turned slightly, and he instantly figured out why Auron got the bye and he didn't.
Though it was mysticism, it wasn't impossible! After all, just now Serena had only cheered for Auron.
Come to think of it—blessings could work like this? With that thought, Jace once again looked at Auron with an unfriendly expression.
Seeing Jace's look, Auron—who'd known him for over a decade—instantly understood what he was thinking. He quickly waved his hands:
"Young man, don't believe in mysticism. Fight well in your match—I'm heading down first."
With that, Auron happily headed off the field, leaving the stage to Jace and Sikong Ling.
"Tch, I'm going to find a wife with even better luck than Serena in the future. I'll have her give me blessings too." Jace muttered quietly, glaring at Auron's back.
"Both contestants, release your Pokémon!"
"Go, Charizard!"
"Go, Camerupt!"
"Swish!"
The flag dropped. The battle began.
This match ended very quickly.
Because Sikong Ling knew he couldn't win, but he still felt he needed to fight with spirit—so he commanded his Pokémon to go all-out offense against Jace the entire time.
And this was exactly Jace's favorite battle style. He directly evolved Charizard into Mega Charizard X.
All-out offense? Fine, come on—I'll wipe you out directly!