"Yes, and by the way, how did he find you?" asked the second elder suspiciously.
"I found him myself," I replied calmly, shrugging.
"I wanted to gain power and accidentally saw the teacher fighting a monster, after which I asked to become his disciple."
"I see, we'll have to decide if this is permissible, but I don't see anything wrong with it," the first elder replied calmly.
"We'll probably go now, Gong Wei. Good luck to your disciple, he has a strong first opponent. You could say that his first fight is the goal of your visit."
"Thank you for the reminder," the teacher bowed slightly, and the elders left.
"You go to the youth table, get acquainted with your peers. There should be not only members of my family, but also detached branches serving the family."
"Yes, teacher," I said, I was curious myself who could be in such a unique family and how they might participate in future events in the canon.
When I approached, all the boys and girls standing there immediately turned their gaze to me and fell silent. Yes, I understand them, my appearance is quite strange. There were ten girls and fifteen boys in total. So not all of them are participating in the tournament.
"Hello, brother, and who are you?" asked a young guy with a pretty face and slightly messy black hair.
"Asura, I am Gong Wei's disciple," I replied calmly, which plunged everyone into silence again. I took a closer look at everyone present.
One guy caught my attention. He looked about twenty, with a strong build and a rather pretty face, and he carried himself more like a soldier. His hair was black with a purple streak on his bangs. He was scrutinizing me, watching my every move. I knew this person for sure. It was Se Lei! How did he get here? About a month ago, I accidentally caught his eye when I first arrived in the vicinity of the city of Bo. He was probably investigating why servant-level monsters were dying. It seemed like a good idea to me then, as I hadn't met anyone else since, but now? Who knew he would be here?
"Are you going to participate in the tournament? I heard that Gong Wei's disciple will fight against Gong Han," said a girl with short red hair. She had an elegant, slender figure and was dressed in a red traditional dress with a neckline that captivated the eye.
"Yes, that's right," I said, returning my gaze to Se Lei. At that moment, four people I knew approached him: Xu Zhao Ting, Mo Fan, Zhang Xiao Hou, and He Yu. As soon as they saw me, their eyes widened in complete shock, and cold sweat covered my back. This was damn dangerous! How glad I was that I had prudently come here in a mask.
"I see, I'll watch your fight, I hope you can show me all of Gong Han's trump cards, or at least part of them," said the girl with red hair, and then walked away without waiting for my answer.
"Gong Yan, I think this Asura can defeat Gong Han," said Se Lei. Why did he have to butt into our conversation?
"What? You think so?" she asked, slightly surprised.
"You're from a side family, do you think you represent all of Gong Han's strength, or do you know something about this young man?"
"Gong Yan, have you heard that about a month ago, a powerful mage was seen in the city of Bo, nicknamed the Death God of Bo? Also, hunters who came to investigate the case spoke of a strong fighter in underground fights who appeared and disappeared, nicknamed Asura. From their descriptions, they decided that the Death God of Bo and that Asura were the same person," Se Lei said calmly, while the four of my acquaintances devoured me with their gazes. It was good that I had a mask; thanks to it, I felt more confident. It wasn't for nothing that I had installed a voice-capturing spark in it.
"And what do you want to say with this, Se Lei?" asked the girl with red hair. Some people paid no attention to this, some watched with interest, but there was one guy who didn't take his eyes off me the whole time, as if evaluating me. He was a rather large and seemingly strong guy with long black hair tied in a ponytail, and he exuded great power.
"Ah, that I can say with certainty that this Asura and the one they talked about are the same person. My friends and I recognized this mask; it's hard to forget," Se Lei replied calmly. The four nodded confidently.
"Yes, we saw with our own eyes how he killed a one-eyed wolf with his bare hands, and then left at a speed approximately equal to that of a three-eyed wolf," Mo Fan added.
"If he's that strong, it'll be a fun fight, but still, mere physical strength won't decide the outcome of the battle. I can also kill a one-eyed wolf with my bare hands, and very easily at that, so I don't see a problem with that. I'm interested in what level he has reached in magic," said the guy who had been staring at me the whole time.
"Senior Lieutenant Se Lei, what kind of monsters are these relatives of yours? You've talked about it, but I don't believe you have a secret of such power," Xiao Hou whispered to Se Lei, so quietly that even I, standing nearby, could barely hear him.
"First, you need to earn the trust of the head of the family, then I can tell you more. The main thing to remember is not to tell anyone anything that happens here," Se Lei replied in a whisper, while the guy continued to stare at me.
"Excuse me, but young master, could you please tell me your name? This is my first time here, so I don't know anyone except the teacher," I asked, deciding to find out who this guy was first.
"Hahaha. It seems your teacher doesn't explain anything to you properly if you don't know me, Gong Han!" the guy laughed, but his laughter, as it seemed to me, only masked his displeasure. Well, whatever, I'll have a chance to beat him up anyway.
"Please forgive my impoliteness," I replied, bowing slightly. Mo Fan's face showed clear displeasure at my actions; well, yes, he would have gotten angry and started swearing. Xu Zhao Ting, on the other hand, stood with an approving look, and in his eyes, I saw... admiration for me? No, I had noticed it before, but not so vividly. Maybe he was just hiding it?
"So, what level of magic are you?" the red-haired girl hurried me for an answer.
"I'm a mid-level mage..." Before naming the elements, I thought for a moment. If it weren't for Mo Fan and his company, I would have easily named the elements, but they might recognize me by them. But on the other hand, couldn't there be mages with the same elements? And I hadn't told anyone that I had reached the mid-level in lightning, which they thought I had recently awakened. "...lightning and wind, both first stage."
"Not bad, so you're not that strong in body tempering. But then how did you develop such strength and speed?" Gong Han's face showed deep thoughtfulness, as well as slight anxiety and fear. Everyone else fell silent again at my answer.
"I ask everyone's attention, today's banquet on the occasion of the young generation's tournament is declared open," Gong Gui's voice, standing at the head table, distracted everyone.
This announcement slightly eased the tension. Around, most people began to discuss the upcoming battle. Gong Yan and Gong Han also moved aside and began to whisper, casting worried glances at me. Aren't they rivals? Se Lei and his company approached me. What the hell do they want from me? This complicates things. I need to get out of here.
"Hello, I didn't have time to introduce myself, my name is Se Lei, and these are my friends. Zhang Xiao Hou and He Yu are colleagues at the fortress of the city of Bo, and Xu Zhao Ting and Mo Fan are hunters who help us in border security control. They are very strong mages, although they don't temper their bodies," Se Lei said, introducing the whole group.
"We wanted to invite my adopted brother, Jiaxing Yun, here too. He is also very strong, and the possibility of body tempering should have made him even stronger, but we couldn't contact him," Mo Fan added. I hadn't paid attention to the number of missed calls on my phone.
"I see, nice to meet you," I said in a maximally calm voice.
"Ah, what happened to your brother?" I decided to ask, hoping to find out the latest news, and also to distract them from the similarity between Asura and Jiaxing Yun, although it might have the opposite effect.
"Yes, he said he was going to his beloved, but her sister came to our base to investigate your case and said that he hadn't come to them. We started to worry and call him, but we found out nothing. If it weren't for Xu Zhao Ting, who convinced us not to worry and said that Jiaxing Yun might be training before the meeting, wanting to make a better impression, we would have reported him missing," Xiao Hou said. I thanked Zhao Ting to myself; he had come up with an excuse for me. I must remember to thank him. I wonder why they went to the base to help the military? I hadn't thought about it before.
After that, I was bombarded with questions about how I achieved such strength, how I met my teacher, and similar things. Leaving immediately was not an option, as it would have caused a lot of unnecessary suspicion, but after about half an hour, I decided that enough was enough, and under the pretext of talking to my teacher before the fight, I left successfully. I found him at a side table, not far from the main one, and all the seats next to him were free. So, without thinking, I sat next to him.
"How is Gong Han, have you seen him already?" my teacher asked me as soon as I sat down, without being distracted from his food. I was bothered by the mask, and I didn't really want to eat.
"A typical son of the head, nothing special. He feels quite strong. When I said what level of magic I was, I felt like he was slightly scared of me," I said calmly, looking around, but I couldn't notice anyone else special.
"I think he'll come up with something to be sure of his victory."
"You're thinking correctly. You shouldn't have told him your real cultivation level," the teacher said in a slightly somber and stern voice.
"Now it will be harder to defeat him."
"I didn't tell him my real level," I replied calmly.
"No one will ever know my real level except those who are destined to die. Teacher, do you know if Gong Han has spiritual seeds?"
"No, he shouldn't have any. Usually, they can be obtained upon reaching twenty years of age; juniors are not given them. Although he probably has one, but only one," the teacher answered more calmly.
"Do you think there will be problems with this?"
"If it's just a spiritual seed of lightning, then there will be no problems. I have one last question," I said, estimating my strength. If he has a small spiritual seed, then there will be no problems, and even if it's large, it won't matter that much.
"Which one?" he asked dryly.
"How much can Gong Han be beaten?" I asked. Yes, it was a bit boastful and theatrical, but I wanted to ask it.
"Don't be so overconfident; he's also very strong," the teacher replied, but then, smiling slightly, he added,
"As soon as you can, the stronger the better, just don't kill him."
"Yes, teacher," that was enough for me. Of course, I didn't plan to use my artifact, but against such a mage, I was confident in my abilities.
After that, the banquet proceeded as usual. Everyone ate and talked about their topics, and my teacher and I sat quietly, observing those around us. Se Lei and his company approached, as I understood, one of the elders. Gong Yan and Gong Han were talking to another elder. The head of the family sat at the head of the table, talking to the elders. After about a couple of hours, closer to noon, lunch ended, and all the guests headed to the private arena. I was led to the waiting room before the fight.