UNLIMITED SPEED

Exiting the room with the four experts, Noah remained silent as they discussed something with Elder Sarah. At least the red haired man and the black haired man did. This gave the lady in their midst chance to engage him in a conversation.

"So Aiden, what do you do with your spare time?" the lady suddenly asked right after getting close to him.

Noah's expression barely made any change, even if he felt slightly troubled on the inside. "I mostly train ma'am," he replied making sure to remind her about their different statuses.

"Ah I see. That normal for a martial artist. I myself have a bit of knowledge about martial arts but I have given up on it to face a new path when I achieved tier 4," she explained making his ears perk up.

The topic about the path to tier 4 was surprisingly secretive amongst higher existences, so information on it made him curious. Who knew when he would need it.

"I see," Noah replied keeping his cool. "But are subjects like martial arts useful in higher realms?" he inquired after carefully crafting his question.

The lady burst into laughter at that point startling him even if his expression still made no change.

"You have a smart student Sarah!" she called out to Lady Sarah while laughing. Her words clearly told Noah that he had been caught in his trick to gain information, but he had always expected her to find out.

"It's only natural that he is Loria. You know how much I hate dumb people," Elder Sarah replied with a grin and a nod of her head, before her eyes shortly met Noah's. There was something strange going on in her mind, but he couldn't even begin to guess what caused her strange behavior. She had been acting normal only an hour ago.

"Well young man you won't be getting any core information about the fourth tier. But since I've taken a liking to you I'll say this. The path to tier 4 is one very personal. External influences will only deter you," she explained making sure the other heard her words even if they had been listening since she started her conversation with him.

"Thank you for the insight," Noah bowed in honesty. Although her words were extremely vague. They also weren't.

The lady or Elder Loria continued to engage Noah in a few light talks, but she never asked anything that would require him to lie. Surprisingly.

Noah had long since noticed that unique detail about the guild members of the Divine lightning guild, but he had to applaud them for it. Not even the more stronger experts intruded on his personal space.

Noah had to wait a few minutes before the conversation with Elder Sarah moved to him. The red haired man gave him a scroll and a badge.

The scroll would feature his information and his origin. Apparently he wasn't the only one participating from the Divine lightning guild.

The badge would be an identification that he was participating in the event. He could wear whatever he wanted, but it was advised he allowed the guild to be recognized through him.

He was given the date he would return to the pagoda to be transported to the place of the event. And that was all he was required of.

Noah and Elder Sarah left at that point, but not after the red haired man complimented him more. Their walk to her mansion had been mostly silent, but Elder Sarah spoke at some point.

"You did good back there." She said to him before suddenly increasing her walking speed. A big smile broke out on Noah's face at that point and he proceeded to tease her. "Was that a real compliment!?" Noah called out jogging towards her.

"If you speak I swear I'll rip your throat out!" Sarah snapped back increasing her walking speed. Needless to say Noah didn't give up there and continued to tease, but at a safe distance of course. He only stopped when the mansion unfolded In their vision. He couldn't risk getting into trouble where he couldn't necessary escape.

The duo eventually settled down in the sitting room, and Elder Sarah enjoined Noah into drinking wine with her.

During those moments they spoke about the tournament and the things he had to do to properly get prepared.

Apparently she had witnessed one of the tournaments so she understood how strong many of the applicants would be. She spoke of his ability to rival many of them.

However, she regretted that he had not learned at least up to the fifth form since that would allow him be more grounded in his technique

This caused Noah to consider dropping out of that year's, event but when she told him that the tournament was only held once every seven years. That consideration could only go out his mental window.

Their conversation went on to how he could better sharpen his skills, but Elder Sarah told him not t worry There wasn't much he could do in two weeks so all he had to do was simply practice more.

Deep down Noah didn't agree with her. With enough money he could enter the higher stage after one round of the dungeon. A whole week could get him to tier 4. At least that was what he thought.

The duo continued to drink wine for hours, but Noah never got drunk, obviously. Neither did Elder Sarah. She didn't seem to have ulterior motives so Noah simply continued.

He gained a lot of information from her. Valuable information. And that helped his speeding mind comprehend the difficulty of the tournaments.

The whole thing more or less reminded him of bozolom, but this time around the main events would be showcasing themselves before a small crowd while aiming at overpowering your opponent.

The event would only last three days, and those three day would feature the battles between one hundred individuals. The first day would have the longest battles since they would be halving the entire population for the next day.

The second day would be the same, all fifty would be halved to twenty-five, then the last day would almost be the same, but apparently there was usually a twist only the higher ups of the guilds set. So the event of the third day was always different.

The battles would last ten minutes each, so one person had to be down on or before that time period was complete. Provision was made for a draw however. There would be an elimination game that guranteed that only on person would be coming out the winner.

The duo continued to talk until Elder Sarah suddenly dropped a question that managed to startle him.

"So Aiden, how do you usually vanish from the entire city?" she asked, leisurely sipping wine, before locking her gaze on him.

Noah's brows threatened to flicker when her words reached his ears, and the only thought that could come to him was his occasional visit to his cultivation room. Myriads of thoughts ran through his mind at that instant. Had he been found out? He had been extremely careful, there had to be no way she could have found out. Or was he misunderstanding things? Noah continued to ponder on the matter while he kept a curious expression on the outside,

Suddenly, Elder Sarah's aura burst out with full force stunning him. Before he could react he found himself laying below her with a spectacular looking sword stretched towards him; placed on his neck.

His master radiated the coldest aura he had ever witnessed her emit, and that proved that his fears were on point. He had been caught.