374 Clash 1

"Ava? What's wrong?" Riley, Ava's elder half brother, noticed that Ava had grown pale. He immediately thought that something bad had happened.

"Uncle Belmont?" Ava didn't think she had time to explain, so she immediately turned to King Belmont, someone she had seen as an Uncle since her youth. "We need to stop that match!"

King Belmont turned a confused gaze toward Ava, "Little Ava? What do you mean? You know I can't do that."

"But…" Ava bit her lip. She knew her request was impossible. By the time she got there, the battle would likely be over. It was impossible for anyone without at list saint level cultivation to move to any point in this arena freely and in an instant. That was on top of the fact the area about the arena had become a no-fly zone. If they allowed just anyone to fly over the arena, then wouldn't all of the spectators who had essence gathering and above cultivation move in for a closer look? Only people who were as obscenely powerful as Patia-Neva could circumvent this rule by hiding in space. Either that, or you'd need a concealment array powerful enough to fool experts, something Ava obviously didn't have.

And, even if she did, she was still on just seventeen years old. It was perfectly reasonable for her to still not have stepped into the essence gathering level. She wasn't as much of a monster at cultivation as Madeleine.

"What's wrong Little Red?" Ava's father furrowed his brows, just as confused as King Belmont.

Ava shook her head. Was she supposed to tell them that she wanted to stop this match because two of Dyon's fiancées were about to fight? Was that even enough justification?

To Ava, this was of unprecedented importance. She had seen what happened to Delia although she too hadn't stepped in. This was mostly because Ava hadn't ever had a close relationship with Delia, so she had assumed that someone else would help – namely Madeleine.

But, as time passed, Ava noticed that not only had Madeleine not acted, but it was in fact Eli and Venus who had, two people she had shared life and death with. Seeing this, Ava immediately knew that there was something wrong with Madeleine. For her to not come personally meant that something big was stopping her.

Knowing that, Ava knew that Madeleine wasn't in a good mind state. Couple that with the fact she was also aware that Ri had never met Madeleine before and Ava knew that this wasn't a good combination. What if Madeleine lost her temper and did something she'd never be able to take back?

Ava had met Ri during both of their first campaigns and had a good impression of her. Ava also, despite not having a close relationship with Madeleine either, had a good impression of her as well. But, what really made Ava react so violently was the fact she truly cared for Dyon as a friend. Dyon was someone who had put his life on the line for revenge for her. She didn't want to see two people he loved fight each other when they clearly had no idea who the other was.

'Will you be able to fix this one?...' Ava gripped her fists at her knees, taking deep breaths as she felt her mother's arm wrap around her lovingly.

"I'm sorry Little Ava, I'm sure you have a good reason for wanting to stop this match, but I have to think about the crowd as well. This world tournament is meant to be a showing of how anyone can rise up should they be talented and work hard enough. If I make unilateral decisions that displease the crowd, it will spit in the face of this." King Belmont sighed.

He meant his words. As a King, he had the ability to change whatever he wanted. But, if he went against the grain too forcefully, that would have drastic consequences. Losing the favor of the population is usually how a Royal God Clan's power could be passed on to another who had gained said lost favor. King Belmont had too many important things planned to allow this to happen…

But, he had noted something else. As King, he also had access to information that others didn't. He was fully aware that there were two members of the top 30 in that single group, that should have been avoided at all costs.

Although there was an element of randomness to the selection of groups, each selection started by separating out the top competitors from each other so as not to allow any spoiled entertainment for the later rounds. This also ensured that no one worthy was eliminated too soon.

That fact that both Ri and Madeleine were in the same group only meant one thing… Someone had planned this.

'I guess your tests just keep coming, hm?' King Belmont thought to himself.

**

Away from the stadium and within a spatial ring something great was finally happening.

Kaeda's delicate face beaded down with sweat as her soul felt like it was on the brink of collapsing. But, every time she felt as though she had hit her limit, she felt another stream of soul energy filter in from the surrounding demon generals.

The Florence family technique blossomed in the air as Kaeda felt like she was finally taking the last bits of Dyon's affliction away.

The more she worked, the deeper her appreciation for their successor became. This was a technique that Dyon used on his own near effortlessly. And, to top it off, despite not sharing any Elvin bloodlines, he had learned it in mere days.

It had not only talent Kaeda two months to learn this technique despite having been proud of her soul talent before, but she couldn't even sustain it fully on her own without the help of tens of other demon generals.

However, this was what Dyon had been banking on. Ri was correct in seeing the Florence family technique as a solution, but, the problem was that it would have taken too long for them to learn. By the time that came to pass, Dyon would have likely been beyond helping or, even dead.

The problem was that his plans seemed to have been falling through even when Kaeda came rushing over, happy to have finally earned the Florence family manifestation.

To begin with, Kaeda had good soul talent. This was seen by her ability to learn music will, a will that was exceedingly difficult to grasp. Without good soul talent to be able to communicate efficiently with the world around you, learning music will was nearly impossible. So, Dyon hadn't been surprised that Kaeda, one of his chosen Vice Commanders, had been the first to master the technique.

That said, it became very obvious very quickly that Kaeda couldn't sustain the ancient Elvin techniques for the necessary amount of time. Although she was helping Dyon along with his eradication of the technique, at their pace, it would have still taken days more before Dyon could break completely free – especially with Kaeda's frequent breaks.

So, Dyon had taken a risk. He manifested a clone to quickly explain his idea and luckily, Kaeda quickly grasped the concept. But then, another problem arose.