Chapter 172 - Bad news?

With everything primarily settled, I left the Venna's lodge and went back to my own seat. Just the fact that I had to buy a normal ticket for your everyday spectator showed the vast difference in power between me and the target that I wanted to strike down. To someone nitpicky, the fact that I didn't have the slightest idea where the Katenari lodge was even located, was a clear outlook at how my strength was compared to them!

I could only gauge their capabilities with my guesses and very limited information that I siphoned from various sources, while they could uncover all the official information about me with just a single request to any interested party. While some would take it as a disadvantage, if I played my cards properly, I could use this situation to make them underestimate me!

Sitting back on my spot, I realised that I came back right in time. With just two more showcases provided by the major sects, this part of the show ended and the grand opening moved to introduce various sects taking part in the tournament.

Worried that every challenger would be introduced by name at first, only when I saw that they only spelt the name of the sect that the challengers hailed from while highlighting their position with a small spotlight I managed to dispell my caution. If Eve's family learned about her presence now, I would have to take a lot more care to keep my actions under the wraps.

"Challengers from the Navari Sect, step out!"

"Challengers from the Wizderia Sect, step out!"

"Challengers from the Kurotoro Sect, step out!"

As the names of various sects were called, the shining circle appeared under the feet of different people, indicating where they were coming from. I have to say, this was quite an impressive act, considering how Eve entered the premises only half an hour before the start! To organise such a precise showcase in such a short amount of time… The one who was responsible for doing it definitely earns less than he should!

"Challengers from Katari sect!"

Following the circle of light with my eyes, I saw Eve staying proudly with her chest puffed up when the circle of light engulfed her. As long as she wasn't called by her family name, her clan wouldn't be any smarter about who she was. From what she told me, she left the clan main location when she was barely two years old, making it impossible for others to recognise such a child in a fully-fledged woman that she became today!

To mu surprise, even though I saw this bastard in the city, he didn't appear in the circle! If he didn't manage to obtain another token of participation from Stella, what was he doing in the city in the first place?

As soon as the light left the vicinity of my beloved, I instantly lost interest in watching this farce anymore. I came here only to see her in her moment of initial glory, not to watch some entitled kids basking in the light of thousands of stares.

Noticing that those who were already introduced kept in place only for a short moment after their turn, only to turn around and enter the cone right after, I left my spot and went down to the internal corridor. With only a few fellow cultivators with the same idea as me, I managed to traverse the entire length of the walkway in just a short while, emerging from the insides of this enormous building right beside the main entrance.

After waiting for a while, I finally saw my beloved one leaving the innards of this monstrum of a building.

"You looked great!"

As soon as she came close enough to spot me among the small crowd of people just like me who couldn't be bothered to waste their time on other challengers, I called out to her to make it even easier to meet up.

Ignore the fact that my voice caused quite a few of other females to turn their heads towards me. That's just the side effect of my charm ability!

"And I managed to learn quite a bit. In case you wonder, Baxhar got scouted by some kind of sabre practitioner from the middle sect, giving him a chance to use his recommendation to gain entry to the tournament. As for your cousin, I'm worried I have bad news."

With her eyes lowered, I could see an anxiety building inside her body. If something manages to make her worried so much, it can only mean that the matter was really grave!

"Hit me with it. There is no point in keeping it up to yourself!"

In the end, with my plan to take on Draconic something sect and Katenari family almost by myself, I can't really think of anything that could faze me. I'm literally going against two of the local powerhouses without even being sure whether I will get any backer in my plight. How serious her news could be when placed in such a perspective?

"I heard that your cousin got scouted by the Draconic Sabre Sect, known also as Dracons!"

Wait, those are those bad news? While it sounds dire at first, isn't this just a chance for me to hide my real actions in plain sight? Just by forcing their attention on the duel that we already have settled, they won't ever realise that I'm aiming for something higher than just humiliation of my former family!

Obviously, Eve can't know about this. I came up with this plan as we were taking a walk before the start of the grand opening. Only thanks to my talk with Venna did I manage to actually refine those idle thoughts into something more concrete!

"You might doubt my words, but this actually is great news! I will explain it to you when we will be alone, just promise that you won't stop me from trying to bring my plan into action!"