Only You - Chapter 1: Chapter 1

The next few days were peaceful for Ana because she did not see Marcia. But she knew that a day of reckoning was close at hand.
So when Ana walked towards the gate of the northeast military camp early one morning, two guards waited for her there and informed her that Commander Marin required her presence.
‘ I think the day of reckoning has arrived,’ Ana whimpered to herself just before she entered the commander's quarters.
Inside the commander's quarters, in addition to Marcia, were two deputy commanders and the leaders of several spirit manipulator squads.
‘ Did I disturb your meeting? I apologize! I will return after your meeting!’ Ana said bowing as she walked towards the door.
‘ We were waiting for you,' Marcia replied in her usual calm and lack of emotion tone. It was as if nothing happened between them a few days back.
‘ W..Waiting for me?’ Ana replied, obviously surprised.
‘ The Crimson Dragon Group suffered a lot after three months of fighting against the Timber Deity Empire. We never expected that the commander of the Timber Deity Empire was a military tactical genius, comparable to our Deputy Commander in Chief. And because we underestimated the capability of the Timber Deity Empire at the start of the confrontation, we lost three powerful Frontline Commanders and many spirit manipulators. We have recovered from these losses under the leadership of the Deputy Commander in Chief. But the losses that we suffered are irreparable. So the Commander in Chief decided to take advantage of this brief truce to train a few talented individuals selected from the strong and capable pool of spirit manipulators to serve as general commanders. And so the Commander in Chief ordered that we hold a military camp contest. Each of the six military camps of the Crimson Dragon Group will select five spirit manipulators from among their group to participate. All spirit manipulators, except for the commander of the camp, are allowed to participate,’ Marcia explained to Ana in detail.
‘ Oh. Soooo, why are you waiting for me?’ Ana asked puzzled.
‘ After much discussion, the two deputy commanders as well as the squad leaders of the second and fourth spirit manipulator squads will participate in the contest to represent the northeast military camp. The two squad leaders have all reached the first grade of the Earthly Stage, and they are also the most powerful among the different spirit manipulator squads. In addition to the two deputy commanders and the two squad leaders that I have mentioned, there is another who has reached the first grade of the Earthly Stage within our entire camp. This person, therefore, has no choice but to participate in this contest to represent the northeast military camp,’ Marcia said as she stared straight at Ana.
There was something uncannily cold in her eyes. Her tone and the way she spoke made Ana conclude that she was referring to no one else but her.
‘ I suppose I am that other one, right?’ Ana said. She grimaced slightly and scratched her head.
‘ It does not seem appropriate for a mere breeder to take part in the contest. Commander, I think it is best if you would pick someone else,’ Ana said plainly. The other three squad leaders who were present but were otherwise unable to get the chance to represent the camp were puzzled by Ana's response.
‘ Is Ana out of her mind? How can she afford to turn down such an opportunity?'
Ana's refusal brought a slim glimmer of hope for these three squad leaders that one of them would have the chance to participate.
Unfortunately, Marcia had no plan to consider any of them.
‘ Leave us alone for a moment.’
Knowing full well that Ana would refuse the offer, Marcia asked the two deputy commanders and the squad leaders to leave the commander's quarters.
The three squad leaders left with the feeling that they had forever lost the last sliver of hope that they had with each step that they took towards the door of the commander's quarters.
The brief procession of military officers ended with only Marcia and Ana left alone inside the commander's quarters.
‘ Why did you pick me knowing full well that I would not participate?’ Ana asked in a subdued voice as her hands clasped her chest.
‘ Did you truly believe that I would pick you? This came directly from the Commander in Chief!’ Marcia said as she narrowed her beautiful eyes and took Ana completely by surprise.
‘ It came directly from the Commander in Chief?’ Ana was notably surprised.
‘ Well, about that day...’ Ana started to say but ultimately stopped as she grasped for the right words. But before she could say more, Marcia interrupted her and quickly said,
‘ Remember, nothing happened between us! And I really cannot help you with this. You really must participate in the contest.’
‘ Do you really believe that I would agree to participate?' How could Ana be such a hardheaded person? It was a direct order from the Commander in Chief of the Crimson Dragon Group, but even if it was a direct order from God, she still wouldn't agree if she really didn't want to.
Marcia turned to Ana and said,
‘ Remember that you still owe me a favor? Now I'm asking you to represent the northeast military camp in the contest and do your very best!’
‘ You're wasting the favor that I promised just to get me to join the contest? Are you sure you want to do that?’ Ana asked in a serious tone. Marcia nodded slowly. In truth, what she did was for Ana. Nothing good would come from defying the Commander in Chief.
‘ I see. I will not put you in an inconvenient position.’ Ana took one last look at Marcia and then left.
Marcia stared at Ana's back as she left the commander's quarters. As soon as she was alone, Marcia's calm burned away quickly.
Her eyes turned red and her legs trembled. Each time she saw Ana, her mind immediately emptied itself and then it got filled with the scene of her and Ana kissing. And the one thing that really got her was that she didn't hate the feeling. She could not understand what it was that she felt.
She seemed to have lost her sanity for she now felt like her heart was filled with a yearning that she could not understand. And this feeling was making her feel like butterflies fluttered endlessly in her stomach and she found it hard to breathe whenever she was around Ana.
The competition would start two days later.
Ana did not want to travel to the base camp with Marcia. She asked Isis to tell Marcia that she would just meet them there later.
Marcia knew well enough that Ana was highly independent and preferred traveling alone.
She left the camp and traveled to the base camp with two Deputy Commanders and two squad leaders who were participating.
The real reason why Ana wanted to travel on her own was because she planned to go shopping in the Evian City before she went to the base camp.
She then left with Ananta and Rubygon via carriage after she completed her preparations.
When she arrived in the Evian City, Ana went straight to the branch store of the Super Beast Farm and purchased the items that she needed.
She then had a brief walk in the city and then deposited her personal carriage and luggage at the Super Beast Farm.
She then left for the base camp. That day was also the start of the competition, and the road to the base camp was filled with soldiers and spirit manipulators who traveled in groups or by themselves coming from different military camps. The guards at the gate were more lenient than usual because of the volume of soldiers and spirit manipulators who had to enter the base camp.
Ana was allowed entrance when she told them the name of the camp where she came from.
Once inside, she decided not go straight to the competition area. Instead, she went to the Sara Pavilion to see Su.
It had been months since Su saw Rubygon. Ana knew that she must've really missed Rubygon. It was one of the reasons why she brought Rubygon with her this time.
Rubygon was familiar with the path that led to the Sara Pavilion. It twitched its head slightly when they started to walk towards the Sara Pavilion and then ran ahead of Ana and Ananta without warning and entered it without waiting for them.
A loud laughter came from inside as Ana and Ananta approached the pavilion.
An extremely happy Su came out to meet them and she became even happier when she saw Ananta and Ana walking towards her.
‘ Oh Ms. Frank! Little Rubygon has grown so much! And it's just been a few months!’ Su exclaimed in excitement. She hardly recognised Rubygon when it entered the pavilion. Rubygon was now almost as big as Ananta.
Its wild nature had started to manifest. It had almost shed all of its younger down and had started to be replaced by more mature fur making it look more grown up than before.
‘ So you can't call him Little Rubygon anymore. It will get really mad,’ Ana said with a mischievous grin.
‘ Is that so? So I can't call you Little Rubygon anymore? But you're Rubygon, right?’  Su said smiling as she lovingly caressed Rubygon's head between the ears. Rubygon looked like it loved what Su was doing so much.
‘ So, Ms. Frank. Did you come here for the competition?’ Su asked with twinkling eyes as she looked at Ana.
‘ How did you know?’ Ana asked surprised. She didn't realise that Su knew about the competition.
‘ I heard the lady mention your name yesterday. She said that you'd be competing in the competition today,’  Su replied in a reserved yet playful manner.
‘ So Sara knew I would be here? I suppose that is only appropriate since she is the Deputy Commander in Chief and the daughter of Lance, ’ Ana thought to herself as her face became thoughtful.
‘ I heard that the best three would get the chance to become Frontline Commanders. That is so cool, Ms. Frank!’ Su reassured Ana.
‘ Do you want me to be a Frontline Commander?’ Ana asked teasingly with an impish smile.
‘ Of course! This is an opportunity for you to be recognised for your abilities. If grandpa finds out in heaven that you're competing, he will surely bless you!’ Su said nodding while smiling sweetly at Ana.
Ana nodded thoughtfully at Su's words. She did not reply anything to what su said and instead changed the subject.
‘ I need to leave Rubygon with you. Please take good care of it. I will only take Ananta with me to the competition.’
‘ Of course! You have nothing to worry about. I will take good care of it!’ Su said sweetly.
Ana left the Sara Pavilion with Ananta and walked towards the competition area. The training field was chosen to be the venue for the competition. It was located on the eastern side of the base camp.
When Ana arrived at the venue, the place was filled to overflowing with soldiers and spirit manipulators from the different military camps.
They came over to cheer for their comrades and boost their morale. Each military camp sent five competitors to participate in the competition and represent their military camp. With representatives coming from each of the six military camps, this brought the total number of competitors to thirty.
Only three would be chosen from the thirty participants and these three would have the chance to be Frontline Commanders. There were three rounds to the competition.
The spirit manipulators would have knockout matches on the first round where the top seven winners would move on to the second round.
No one knew what the second round would be. The Commander in Chief would announce the rules and conditions for the second round only when it was about to start.
This would require quick thinking from the remaining participants in order to get ahead of the other competitors on the second round.
The first two spirit manipulators who would finish the second round would be qualified to enter the third round. The third round would test their ability to lead, the most important quality for a Commander.
The spirit manipulator who would win the third round would be promoted as a Frontline Commander.
The spirit manipulator who lost in the third round would compete against the spirit manipulator who ranked third in the second round.
The Commander in Chief would test them and decide whether they were strong enough to be a Frontline Commanders or not. If they both met the Commander in Chief's requirements, they would both be promoted as Frontline Commanders. Obviously, the reason why Lance held the competition was to select talented individuals who had the potential to be Frontline Commanders. On the side of spirit manipulators, the competition represented an opportunity to rise in rank.
They all eagerly waited for an opportunity like this and they could wait no longer to show what they were capable of.
However, as in all things in the world, there was always an exception.
‘ Where is Ana?’ Marcia asked Deputy Commander Chen in the lounge of the northeast military camp. Deputy Commander Chen shrugged and raised his open hands in the air.
‘ Commander, she must be afraid to be disgraced and decide not to come,’ a squad leader of spirit manipulators sneered.
Marcia did not reply. She knew Ana well enough to know that she wouldn't be afraid of the competition for whatever reason.
She simply did not like activities that had her exposed to the public.
The competition was about to start and Ana had not shown up yet.
Worry started to inch itself into Marcia's stoic features.
Without warning, a slim and graceful woman, escorted by maids, entered the lounge of the northeast military camp. Her beauty that seemed to have been taken straight from the pages of fables and fairy tales, made the room even brighter.
‘ Deputy Commander in Chief...’ Marcia stood at attention and promptly saluted the woman. The two Deputy Commanders and the squad leaders in the room all stood at attention and saluted her as they all fell victim to her unmatched beauty.
This woman was Sara!
‘ You don't have to do that. Commander Marin, where is the fifth member of your group?’ Sara asked as she looked around the room and Ana was not around.
‘ Oh, she will be here soon,’ Marcia replied .
‘ Very good! Commander in Chief mentioned her to me just now!’ Sara said in a neutral voice. She approached Marcia and whispered,
‘ Marcia, come sit with me later. I want us to talk.’
Marcia nodded and smiled at Sara.
Sara then left with her maids as suddenly as she arrived.
At that moment, the person responsible for setting up the matches came in and informed the members of the northeast military camp who their opponents would be.
Marcia did not expect that Ana would go against Eva. Eva used to be the squad leader of the first squad of spirit manipulators of the northeast military camp, and was transferred to the northwest military camp.
‘I didn't expect Ana to be paired with Eva so soon,’ Marcia thought inwardly.
The contest started with the first round which was split into halves. The first half involved thirty spirit manipulators in a one-on-one battle.
Pairs were selected in random and those in low grades were easy prey if paired against higher graded spirit manipulators.
Only the fifteen spirit manipulators who won their battle participated in the second half. The second half included a battle against each other until one by one, the competitors were defeated, with only the seven most powerful left standing.
These seven winners were qualified for the second round of the contest. The thirty spirit manipulators in the contest were from the first grade of the Earthly Stage to the ninth grade of the Earthly Stage.
The majority of the competitors were from the first grade to the fifth grade. It would not be difficult for powerful spirit manipulators to win in the first half of the battle and be qualified for the second half.
It was truly poor luck that Ana had an opponent that belonged to the fourth grade of the Earthly Stage, when the majority of the competitors would come from first to fifth.
‘ Commander, what should we do if Ana does not turn up on time for her match?’  Deputy Commander Chen turned to Marcia and asked.
He looked concerned, his lips pressed tightly together as he waited for her answer.
‘ Wait. That's all we can do right now,’ Marcia answered.
‘ Do not worry about Ana. Just focus on your own matches and make me proud’  she continued. She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it in support.
After instructing the Deputy Commander Chen something else, she swiftly moved out towards the viewing platform.
As soon as she stepped into the dais, Marcia felt suffocated and crowded. She saw Lance sitting in the middle, his face stern and serious.
She knew the atmosphere surrounding him felt heavy and stifling, just from the faces of the Elite Commanders and Frontline Commanders sat around him.
Nobody dared to talk and each one of them seemed extremely uncomfortable.
Only Sara looked perfectly calm, seated beside Lance.
‘ Commander in Chief,’ Marcia greeted Lance as soon as she reached the grandstand. She arched her hands in respect and looked down in submission.
‘ You're finally here! Come and sit down.’ Lance gestured Marcia to sit close to him. Fondness flickered on his face so fast that it was barely there.
To all his commanders and officers, he was a stern and serious leader. He dared not show his tender love for his niece in public. Not that anyone there knew. None of his commanders and officers knew nor would they believe it if someone told them that the person who everyone knows as Marin was his niece, as they saw how indifferent he was to her.
He dismissed Marcia shortly so she could sit and enjoy herself. She inclined her head in respect and sat next to Sara.
She was relieved to not be the center of attention especially with the situation at hand.
‘ Any news? Has Ana arrived?’ Marcia was thankful for Sara discretion. They talked in whispers, wary of unwanted attention. She shook her head at Sara.
‘ What's going on?’ Sara could tell that something was wrong. She stared intensely at Marcia until she broke. With a restrained sigh, Marcia told her the truth, that Ana didn't come along with them.
‘ What? Why don't you just tie her up so you can bring her here? You know my father requested her to come.’  Sara gave a panicked glanced at Lance and turned to Marcia again. She knew her father would be angry if Ana didn't show up. And nobody wanted her father angry.
When it was Ana's turn, but she had not shown up. Her opponent, Eva, had already entered the stage along with her spirit-manipulated beast.
‘ Where is Ana? Why hasn't she entered the stage yet?’ Marcia's shoulder tensed when she heard the question. The moment that she feared had finally come.
Lance seemed to be aware that Eva's opponent was Ana. Thus, when only Eva showed up on the stage, he gave Marcia a questioning glance.
‘ Father, why are you so anxious?’ Sara interrupted.
‘ Ana may have planned this. Maybe she wanted to come at the last moment, like a grand entrance!’ She grumbled in an attempt to help Marcia out of trouble.
‘ Is that true?’  Lance raised a dignified eyebrow but did not say anything else. He looked around the arena, seemingly mollified.
Marcia breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at Sara discretely. She nodded at her in appreciation, the movement was small and unnoticeable to others.
However, Sara felt uneasy too. Outwardly, she did not look any different. But her eyes wandered too, hoping to glimpse Ana's arrival.
She was worried that if Ana did not show up, the competition would not be fun at all.
In the waiting area, Eva seemed to be celebrating already. She sneered and said, ‘ I didn't expect Ana to be my opponent. This is a good opportunity for me to seek revenge. I'll teach her a lesson or two. It's her fault that I was transferred to the northwest military camp. That awful excuse for a camp!’
Eva sneered, disgusted by the mere thought of the camp. ‘ Where is she now? Is she too cowardly to compete with me?’ she strutted at the waiting area like a proud chicken, eyes narrowed at her surroundings.
Her laughter boomed in the waiting area. She was amused at the thought that she would surely win.
If Ana showed up she would beat her and teach her a lesson. On the other hand, if Ana does not show up, she would still win without any effort on her part.
The rules of the contest dictated that if one party did not show up on the stage within thirty minutes, the opposing party would win by default.
It meant Ana would automatically lose if she did not show up on the stage in thirty minutes.
The audience and onlookers in the platforms felt impatient as they stared at Eva in the middle of the competition area. They wondered what could have happened to Eva's opponent.
And then suddenly without warning, as if it read the thoughts of everyone in attendance, a beast of shadow emerged and rushed into the competition area and towards Eva.
It pounced at Eva without warning with its sharp claws outspread and teeth bared. The turn of events shocked everyone present.
They did not expect that Eva would be attacked by a spirit-manipulated beast as she waited for her opponent.
Eva was also stunned at the sight of a spirit-manipulated beast rushing towards her. But a sliver of memory played at Eva and told her that she had seen this beast before.
Her reflexes quickly jumped into play; she immediately ordered her Six-armed Snow Macaque, a spirit-manipulated beast of the second grade of the three-star level, to fight the incoming beast. The macaque could fight adeptly with all of its six arms.
It was skilled at jumping and it was smart and sly at the same time. The greatest advantage that it had was its six arms. Almost anyone could easily get overwhelmed by simultaneous attacks from its six arms.
The two fierce beasts jumped towards each other without hesitation and a fierce battle ensued.
The audience watched with awe as two powerful beasts fought for dominance against the other. They were particularly curious about the beast that jumped into the fight without warning.
They watched its every movement with admiration and awe. It was hard to tell exactly what its power level was but it emitted a powerful aura which was obviously not weaker than the power of the Six-armed Snow Macaque.
Its body was heavily muscled toned for both power and agility. All of its four limbs were thickly boned and powerfully muscled. It conveyed an atmosphere of authority and power as if it was the king of all spirit-manipulated beasts.
It captured the attention and admiration of everyone in the battle area without effort.
‘ It's here!’  Marcia exclaimed excitedly and happily. She recognised the ferocious beast as Ana's war beast, Ananta.
Sara sitting next to Marcia understood that Marcia referred to Ana's war beast.
And with this statement, she felt confused. ‘ Is that her spirit manipulated beast? No, it can't be. I saw her spirit-manipulated beast. It was not this one.’
She once saw her maid and Su playing with a spirit-manipulated beast at her residence. Su told her that it was Ana's spirit-manipulated beast, and it was completely different from the one fighting in the arena right now.
‘ Yes, it is her spirit-manipulated beast. I can't be wrong,’ Marcia replied confidently as she turned to Sara with a slight smile.
She was surprised at the confused look that Sara had on her face. She knew that her cousin had a great memory and seldom made mistakes when recalling things like that.
‘ Is there something wrong?’ Marcia asked her.
‘ Oh, nothing. I probably just misunderstood something,’ Sara replied back.
And yet she still looked confused. She thought that she probably did not pay attention enough to the beast that Su was playing with. But she shouldn't be completely wrong. Even at the worst possible case of inattentiveness, the beast in the arena should at least look remotely familiar to her.
But the beast that fought Eva's beast was something that she had never seen before and she was sure of it. She decided to simply put aside her confusion and paid more attention to the fierce fight that unfolded before her.
‘ But where is Ana?’  Marcia asked.
She and Sara looked at each other puzzled. If her war beast was here and fighting, she shouldn't be far from the area.
Lance heard the conversation between the two ladies. He was also confused that Ana was still nowhere to be seen. But he soon reverted back to his usual composure and trained his eyes on Ananta.
‘ I have never seen a spirit manipulated beast like that before. It looks like a dragon but its body structure is completely different from a dragon's. Is it a completely new species of spirit-manipulated beast?’ Lance whispered to himself. Even with the years of experience in dealing with spirit-manipulated beasts, he was still unable to identify the type of beast that Ananta was.
He felt both astonished and frustrated. But Lance was not the only one who puzzled over Ananta. Even its master Ana who had intensively studied the Beast Encyclopedia couldn't identify what type of beast it was. And this was because the Beast Encyclopedia did not have any information on Ananta's species.
It was convinced that Ananta could be a particularly rare type of beast. Moreover, it had a high possibility of being a spiritual beast.
In truth, even Ana was not sure if Ananta was a spiritual beast or not. Not only could it produce magical saliva, but it also had the special abilities of spiritual beasts. The star rating of spiritual beasts could be improved indefinitely. Thus, the only way to truly determine if Ananta was a spiritual beast was to wait and see if it would improve its current rating to a four-star rating.
Everyone in the crowd watched Ananta fight as if it was a famous celebrity.
Ana has yet to show up as Ananta fought the macaque.
Everyone watched the fight intently but wondered at the same time where Ananta's master could be.
Those who knew that it was impossible for the spirit-manipulated beast to fight without its master nearby were almost sure that Ananta's master must be somewhere nearby.
Ananta had not received a single hit from its opponent. Most of the people who watched the fight concluded that there was no way to decisively determine a winner within the next few minutes for the two combatants were too evenly matched.
The spectators were expecting a battle between two spirit manipulators. Somehow, it turned to a battle between two spirit-manipulated beasts. However, because of the intensity of the fight between the two beasts, the people watching could not take their eyes off the two combatants as they eagerly waited to see who would turn out the winner.
After continuous exchanges of attacks, counterattacks and defense, the macaque started to show signs of fatigue and was slowing down.
Keen observers started to see that the battle was slowly turning towards Ananta's favor.
When Eva saw that her war beast had started to tire out, she wanted to help it but she decided not to. She was worried that Ana would attack once she let down her defense and went out to help her war beast.
She had fought with Ana once before and she was well aware that Ana was truly smart. She did not want to be caught off guard by one of Ana's traps.
Unexpectedly out of nowhere, a whistling sound rang throughout the arena.
It was a signal that Ananta knew too well. And without hesitation, Ananta knew exactly what it had to do. It jumped into the air and swooped at the macaque. This forced the macaque backwards into a disadvantageous corner.
Right after it completed its maneuver, Ananta's two fire tails collided and created a huge fireball that shot forth towards the macaque in one swift and fluid motion.
Instantly, the audience was ecstatic and burst into a loud uproar.
‘ The beast is a spiritual beast? No wonder its aura is so unique... However, the spiritual beast is an extremely rare kind of spirit-manipulated beast. How is it possible that he owns one? Could this spirit-manipulated beast be something more special and rare?’ Lance rose abruptly and stared at Ananta sharply with a look of surprise.
Although he was not a beast evaluator, his rich experience and instincts told him that Ananta was possibly a spiritual beast. Ananta's performance shocked Lance thoroughly. He stood there astonished, eyes wide open in surprise.
He was the Commander in Chief of Crimson Dragon Group, one of Three Great Generals in Holy Dragon Empire.
All his people were used to his stern and calm manner, always composed no matter what the situation was. This, the Commander in Chief who looked out of sorts, had never happened before.
The commanders and officers in the grandstand were mumbling and whispering to each other. They speculated about who and what kind of person could Ananta's master be.
All of the audience, including the commanders and officers, still had no idea who was the beast's master. And they all were waiting for the master to come up. The excitement of the audience was palpable in the arena, everyone wanted to know who owned this spirit-manipulated beast.
They were eager to know what kind of person could control such a mighty, powerful, and rare beast. The people from the northeast military camp, including Deputy Commander Chen, were stunned at the scene before them. To think that their breeder was able to control this powerful spirit manipulated beast.
Simultaneously, as the people gaped in awe at the beast, Ananta breathed a huge ball of fire towards the Six armed Snow Macaque. The macaque moved as quickly as it could, jumping to avoid the attack. The fire ball exploded on the ground with a bang, almost deafening the onlookers. They thought that the macaque had deflected the attack but a closer look showed that it was injured. It had been slightly slow in its escape and its snow-white hair had been scorched.
Its harsh scream rang across the grandstand.
Eva's face fell. She did not expect Ana to have that rare spirit-manipulated beast. It was evident that Ananta conquered everyone at the site with its excellent power. Even the more advanced spirit manipulators knew that there was no better spirit-manipulated beast in the Crimson Dragon Group or among the equitable spirit-manipulated beasts.
Everyone doubted that Ananta was a simple spiritual beast. They thought that even if it was a war beast it would still be the best one among the spirit-manipulated beasts.
‘ If this spirit-manipulated beast was a spiritual beast, it is definitely a rare spiritual beast with an immense potential!’ Lance could not help but exclaimed. Everyone looked on in shocked by such a high praise from him.
Eva saw how her beast had already been defeated and became meek as a lamb. She knew that if she continued like this, she would just look pathetic. Eva just passed the fourth grade of the Earthly Stage, whose power was equal to the power of Deputy Commander in a small military camp.
She planned to enjoy the great opportunity in this contest and get the opportunity to be promoted as a Frontline Commander.
To her surprise, a spirit-manipulated beast stole her spotlight. But she would never give up so fast. She hadn't lost yet.
With all the desperation she could muster, she launched an attack toward Ananta and flew in its direction.
She accumulated spiritual power in one hand and released a Flying Cloud Punch towards it. An illusionary palm was instantly formed by spiritual power in the sky and dashed towards Ananta.
Undeterred by Eva's attack, Ananta stood calm and unwavering. It was settled motionless in its place as if waiting for something.
At this critical moment, a figure jumped into the air above the crowd. She flew to Ananta and landed nearby, her movement smooth and natural.
As soon as the figure appeared on the stage, the martial field was lit up. The long awaited and mysterious master of Ananta had finally showed up.
The other four contests were eclipsed by the appearance of the mysterious figure. Everyone gathered around at this field, eager to know who it was. Upon her landing on the ground, the woman stretched out her right arm.
Spiritual power intertwined her arm unto her palm, the air buzzing with power around her. The power was accumulated between her two fingers and aimed at the illusionary palm.
In the blink of an eye, the spiritual power between her fingers was sent off and became a glistening arrow with nebula. It hurtled off, long tail cast behind it. The nebula arrow pieced through the illusionary palm and shattered it. It dashed towards Eva as a lightning bolt.
Seeing this, everyone fell quiet again. Shock and disbelief once again rendered them speechless. The moment seemed to go on, forever.
Although Ananta's fight stunned the audience, the skill that this mysterious woman now displayed drew everyone's attention and admiration.
Her spiritual martial arts had caught everyone present by surprise. The spiritual martial arts of the mysterious woman obviously surpassed Eva.
Many in the audience wondered about the true identity of the mysterious woman. Eva was of the fourth grade of the Earthly Stage. Among the thirty participants, she was considered to be of the intermediate level. She was only slightly below the skill level of the deputy commanders.
The two deputy commanders of the northeast military camp had already finished their rounds.
Who then was this mysterious woman? Was there another competitor from the northeast military camp who could easily overwhelm Eva? No one in the audience had an answer.
Eva was taken completely by surprise by the woman's spiritual martial arts attack. She could not believe that her strike could not withstand the arrow force from the woman.
As the nebula arrow came within inches from Eva, her spiritual power surged and she threw another Flying Cloud Punch against the arrow. But the nebula arrow pierced her punch attack one more time.
Murmurs filled the audience while some exclaimed in shock and amazement. Eva was a spirit manipulator of the fourth grade of the Earthly Stage and yet she somehow failed to counter an attack from this mysterious woman twice in a row.
The audience quickly realised that this mysterious woman was much more powerful than Eva. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the mysterious woman. Her aura was so intense that nobody could ignore her presence.
Her entrance at the arena was like that of a war goddess coming down to show her wrath on the helpless mortal before her.
No one present was aware that there was a soldier in the northeast military camp who was this powerful.
At the same time, the commanders and officers in the platform and soldiers and spirit manipulators of the base camp around the arena, all recognised the mysterious woman.
She was the breeder who displayed an exceptional skill in the Army Flag Contest and even received high praise from the Commander in Chief. They were almost taken aback when they realised that the mysterious woman was Ana.
And those who did not recognise the identity of the mysterious woman, they all marveled at the power that she had demonstrated. They considered Ana as a genius spirit manipulator.
The entire training field roared with excitement because of Ana and Ananta.
A loud explosion filled the arena as a blinding light momentarily blinded everyone watching.
Eva could not counter Ana's spiritual martial arts attack. The nebula arrow landed on the ground with the force of a meteor and left a gaping hole in front of Eva. The force of the explosion was so close that it almost hit Eva. She was lucky that she was able to move away from the blast. Beads of cold sweat filled her brows and rolled down her face and neck. Her breath became short and shallow. Her heart pumped like it was going to jump right out of her chest.
Eva's beast was overwhelmed by Ananta, and now she could not even match the spiritual martial arts attack from Ana.
Boos and laughs slowly filled the air as the audience saw Eva in this predicament.
Eva had never felt so embarrassed before. She stared at Ana with hate-filled eyes.
It was common knowledge that Eva came from an influential family. She was a member of the Ji Clan. Her father was an important figure in the clan. This was likely the reason why Eva was always arrogant and cocky.
Many people present had harbored a keen hate for Eva because of this. Now that Eva was getting humbled in the arena, a lot of the people present were happy at the result of the battle. Based on Eva's estimate, she should have easily beaten Ana.
Ana should now be completely defeated and should now be kneeling and begging for mercy.
In Eva's mind, the audience's scorn belonged to Ana and not her.
But reality was not on Eva's side right now. Eva found it impossible to accept what happened. Anger burned in her chest as her face twisted in complete fury.
‘ You are dead! Do you hear me?!’ Eva yelled angrily at Ana. She felt so humiliated. She used her anger to focus all of her spiritual power into her next spiritual martial arts attack that easily defeated Ana before.
‘ Ghost Fog!’
Eva yelled the two words in grim determination and confidence. A dense white fog slowly surrounded Ana threatening to completely engulf her. Figures of ghosts appeared from the fog as it expanded all around Ana. They charged at Ana all at the same time as loud shrieks and screams filled the air.
‘ Such a joke!’ Ana said in contempt. She summoned the Nebula Cloud Transformation with the merest gesture. A nebula like light soon filled the area around Ana.
It expanded quickly and overwhelmed the surrounding fog. The fog and the ghosts were swept into nothingness in a matter of seconds, the screams faded into nothingness like the memory of a bad dream that melted against the rays of the morning sun.
‘ That is not possible!’  Eva was almost stunned in disbelief as Ana effortlessly took out her Ghost Fog.
The audience could scarcely hold back their surprise, admiration and amazement when they saw Ana break Eva's Ghost Fog as if it was a mote of dust against the fury of the wind that was Ana.
They all now wondered how powerful Ana truly was.
To Eva's surprise, Ana who had been no match for her only a few months ago could easily break her Ghost Fog now.
What made things even weirder was that Ana could even launch such unassailable spiritual martial arts. There was no way for Eva to believe that Ana could exceed her in spiritual power, because Ana couldn't increase her power by several grades in just a few months even if she took some panacea.
Eva's compelling desire to be better than all those around her did not allow her to give up easily. Since she didn't want to believe that Ana was so powerful now, she attempted to attack her again.
She rushed towards Ana and planned to have hand-to-hand combat with her.
As Eva was approaching, Ana gave her a sneaky smile and coldly said, ‘Flash!’
Suddenly, Ana vanished, leaving no trace behind her. Eva looked around her with high vigilance and the next second, a light figure appeared at her left side and pretended to take by storm.
‘ Humph! Even a child could understand this kind of sneak attack.’  To counterattack, Eva released her spiritual power from both her hands at full speed and directed it to the figure's chest.
It looked as if Eva was about to hit the target, but the figure just disappeared in the sky. Eva was surprised and frozen for a second.
At the same time, another light figure appeared at her right side. She stepped forward and kicked with her leg, but the figure flickered, dodged and vanished again.
‘ Bastard, you come out!’  Eva realised she fell into a trap and shouted.
‘ I never moved!’ Right at this moment, Eva heard a sound in front of her. Eva turned her head with surprise and found Ana at her original position! Or did she never even move in the first place?
At this moment, Ana aimed at Eva with a nebula arrow filled with powerful spiritual power, which panicked Eva.
‘ The person who set me up never has a good ending, and you are no exception!’ Ana felt very vengeful as she stared at Eva with icy eyes.
Ana's astonishing power left everyone in surprise. People never believed that in the northeast military camp, there was a spirit manipulator stronger and more powerful than the Deputy Commanders.
Generally speaking, this kind of powerful spirit manipulator should have been promoted as Deputy Commander or transferred to the base camp.
The most astonished ones were the commanders and officers at the platform. Indeed, all of them knew that Ana was a beast breeder in the northeast military camp, but that her power was stronger than that of most Deputy Commanders left them shocked. Actually, no one could tell how powerful Ana was! Her power seemed unlimited!
Only Lance was not too much surprised. He had noticed before that Ana was extraordinary, but he didn't realise that Ana managed to conceal herself so well.
‘ She is definitely not an ordinary person!’ Lance threw a sharp glance at Ana in the arena and a doubt light shone from Lance's eyes and vanished immediately.
A whoosh sound was heard! The nebula arrow shot by Ana gathered powerful force and got released. It caused the sand and stones that it passed by to fly into the sky. And since Eva was only two or three meters away from Ana, it was impossible for her to dodge the arrow, or even take measures to defend herself. There was no doubt that she was shot by the nebula arrow.
A dazzling light spread and then a screaming figure with injuries all over her body was blown off. The figure fell down on the ground with embarrassment and couldn't get up for a long time.
Everyone had a hard time believing that Ana managed to beat Eva, a manipulator of the fourth grade of the Earthly Stage, with only a few attacks.
‘ Clap! Clap... Clap...’
Suddenly, there was a round of applause in the platform.
‘ Who is clapping?’  everyone whispered.
Shockingly, it was Lance!
‘ This woman is such a prodigy!’ Lance said in admiration and with a tone of praise. It was apparent that Lance was referring to Ana.
Lance's asperity with his subordinates was well known; yet, he publicly applauded Ana two times.
Ana was admired and envied by the commanders and officers at site, since they witnessed the intensity of Lance's love and applause for Ana. They figured that she would get promoted and have a successful career.
Most people didn't know who this woman was, except for some of the commanders and officers who had seen her before. This gave the novel a mysterious coloring! Soon, everyone in the martial field was talking about Ana and nobody cared about other contests.
Ana walked towards Eva who had been completely defeated. She smiled coldly. Eva was on her stomach. The severity of her wounds kept her from moving. She could do nothing but watch Ana approach her with malice in her eyes. She still could not understand how Ana became so powerful.
‘ You must have thought that you will be safe in another military camp. Nothing could be more untrue. When I found out that you would be my opponent, I made up my mind to defeat you completely and conclusively and humiliate you at the same time. Mercy is not something you should expect from me right now,’ Ana sneered at Eva in a low voice that only Eva could hear.
When Ana found out that her opponent was Eva, she threw away her original plan of conserving her strength. Although she had decided long ago to be inconspicuous, she knew that she must make Eva pay for the unforgivable thing that she did to Ana.
Ana stretched her hand and pressed down on Eva's left arm after she finished speaking.
‘ What are you doing?’ Eva asked in horror. She suddenly felt a sharp sensation of growing fear and helplessness.
‘ You will find out soon,’ Ana said in a wicked tone.
A moment later, with no pain or warning, Eva suddenly found her left arm immobile and refused to follow her commands of movement.
‘ Your left arm is completely paralyzed. Remember this. If I see you again, you will not be as lucky. Do you understand?’  Ana said in a threatening voice as she patted Eva's face.
She destroyed all of the nerves in Eva's left arm.
Eva stared into Ana's cold eyes and felt an overwhelming fear growing within her. If Ana could destroy all of the nerves in her arm with the slightest effort and without making any sound, she could also kill her just as easily. She now regretted offending Ana.
However, it was too late for her. Eva stared at Ana as if Ana was a goddess of death that she would never want to see nor meet again in the future. Otherwise, she risked losing more than just her arm.
‘ Cheers!’ Ana said mockingly at Eva.
She then straightened up and walked away with Ananta.
The murmuring in the audience never stopped after Ana and Ananta left. She was now considered as a very powerful woman.
This was only the first half of the first round and the people in the crowd were now looking forward to her match in the second half.
The second half of the first round was in the afternoon and there was more than enough time for the participants to rest and heal.
Ana left under the watchful eyes of the audience as she planned to go to Su to kill time at the Sara Pavilion.
She knew no one else in the base camp. Just as she exited the training field area, she noticed a commotion through her peripheral vision.
She turned to her side and saw two beautiful ladies walking towards her.
The eyes of everyone in the audience followed them as they walked closer to Ana.
Ana immediately recognised Sara and Marcia were the ones walking towards her.
They stopped when they got to Ana.
The eyes of the onlookers immediately shifted from the two ladies to Ana. The people immediately recognised Ana as the mysterious competitor who overwhelmed both her opponent and the people who watched the match.
An audible groan sounded from the people who watched the event unfold. It was acknowledged that Sara and Marcia were the two most beautiful ladies in the Crimson Dragon Group and the goddesses that owned the hearts and minds of the soldiers and spirit manipulators.
The true news here was that these two ladies both walked towards Ana. It created a commotion in the base camp almost equal to that of a major invasion.
‘ Is something wrong?’ Ana asked with a frowning look.
The two ladies both looked at each other and glanced back at Ana. Sara stared at Ana with a meaningful smile.
‘ We are going to do some shopping. Can you be our bodyguard?’
‘ Me? Be your bodyguard? Are you kidding?!’ Ana said in a shock because she knew their power levels were beyond her. If they really got into trouble it was likely that she would be the one who would need their protection.
‘ Do I look like I'm joking?’  Sara said while staring intently at Ana with her pretty eyes.
‘ Can I refuse? ’ Ana asked. She noticed that the number of jealous and hostile eyes that stared at them steadily increased.
‘ If you dare turn down my request, I will tell everyone here you stole my bellyband!’ Sara replied with an alluring smile.
Her words were like leaded gloves that hit Ana directly, knocking her jaw wide open.
‘ Sara!’ Marcia exclaimed. She never expected that Sara would threaten Ana with something so shameful. But she did not know that Ana had seen Sara  nude, if she did then her words would sound less scandalous.
Ana took a deep breath filled with defeat and helplessness.
Ana  realised that Sara was one tough lady who dared threaten her with such an embarrassing thing. She fully believed that Sara would do as she said if she refused.
‘ Let's go!’ Sara said excitedly and started to walk with Marcia close by her side.
Ana did not dare say anything else. She stared at their backs as they walked away and smiled bitterly. There was nothing else that she could do but follow them as Ananta walked beside her.
Sara and Marcia left the base camp with Ana and Ananta as their bodyguards. The two ladies ignored Ana's presence as they traveled all the way to Evian City.
Beautiful ladies would always be the center of attention in a crowd, and that was a known fact anywhere. When they walked on the streets of Evian City, the two young and gorgeous ladies attracted a lot of admiring glances.
Ana quickly realised that more and more people were attracted by the two beauties and had started to follow them.
Soon, a long line of admirers formed behind their group. But the two girls were not disturbed by this and focused on their shopping.
‘ Ananta,’ Ana called out to Ananta. She was worried that a riot might break out if they did not do something about the growing crowd that followed them.
Hearing Ana's call, Ananta knew immediately what was needed to be done.
It positioned it self between the crowd and Ana's group and then growled threateningly at the crowd.
The people were startled and dispersed immediately. They sensed that Ananta was the kind of spirit-manipulated beast that they couldn't afford to offend.
Even the ordinary spirit manipulators whose powers were weak feared powerful spiritual beasts so they went away as well. Ana turned to the two girls when the crowd dispersed.
‘ Dear Sara and dear Marin, could you please lay low a little?’
‘ Why do we need to do that? We have you; our highly effective bodyguard,’ Sara said making fun of Ana.
Ana gave out an audible sigh and rolled her eyes at her. She understood that Sara was just deliberately making things more difficult for her since she was their bodyguard.
‘ Sara, stop that!’ Marcia said with a tinge of irritation clouding her beautiful face.
‘ Now follow us and be sure not to lose us or you'll be cleaning the bathrooms of the base camp for three days!’  Sara said and then suddenly changed into a bluish silhouette and then disappeared.
Marcia turned into a shadow and then followed Sara.
‘ Is this a test?’
‘ Ananta it's your show!’ Ana scratched Ananta's head gently.
Ananta stretched its head towards Ana and gave out a pleased growl. It rushed towards the direction where Sara and Marcia headed.
Ana then followed Ananta.
Ananta had very keen and well developed senses and tracking Sara and Marcia was a simple task for Ananta. And all that Ana had to do was to follow Ananta and she would not lose track of them.
Two female figures showed up by the bank of a river. Clear water flowed in front of them, the sound of rushing water and the song of birds filled the air.
A ferry boat had stopped on the river close to the land, and it gently swayed with the flowing water. And the two figures were Sara and Marcia.
‘ Has she arrived yet?’ Sara glanced at the direction of the ferry.
‘ She is smart. She knows that we are testing her. She will not be that easy to fool but is this really necessary,’ Marcia replied.
‘ Let's go to the boat. Unless she wants to clean the bathrooms of the camp, she would eventually show up,’ Sara said as she gestured Marcia to the ferry.
Delicious food was being served when they got into the ferry. The two sat down and ate while they talked and waited for Ana to catch up.
‘ What game are those two playing?’ Ana asked. She followed Ananta for some time and ended up on the river with Ananta in front of the ferry.
Ana concluded that Sara and Marcia must be on the boat.
Ana entered the ferry with Ananta.
Sara and Marcia were both inside and were eating when Ana came in.
‘ Come and have a seat,’ Sara said and calmly gestured Ana to settle down.
‘ You guys are really mean. It took me some time to catch up with you and now you're just relaxing and eating and having fun all by yourselves,’ Ana complained.
She poured herself a glass of wine and sipped a little. The wine was smooth and finely made. It was the first time for her to drink wine since she came to this world. And the wine was not at all inferior to the wine from the modern world.
‘ This is nice!’ Ana said.
She glanced at Sara and Marcia and then asked, ‘ I don't think you came here to simply invite me to this meal. What are you really planning? Or you plan to get me drunk and make me admit to the things that you want me to admit, right? But I cannot give any assurance that I will not spill out secrets when I get drunk. But since I will be drunk, I suppose I cannot be held accountable for whatever happens, right?’
The cruise ship started to move slowly along the river. The beautiful views from both sides of the river filled the wide windows of the ship. The beautiful scenery made Sara relax a little. A faint smile of satisfaction crossed her lips.
‘ The things that you would say when you are drunk are likely not the truth. Moreover, you are a cunning person who would likely make up lies. So there is no need for us to get you drunk.’
‘ I will take that as a compliment from the Deputy Commander in Chief,’ Ana said. A slight smile and a thoughtful look immediately filled her countenance.
‘ Ana, please just tell me who you are really because I know you both are hiding something from me,’ Sara asked as her eyes shone with the reflected light from the sun.
‘ I'm just a regular gurl,’  Ana answered as She shrugged.
‘ You can't fool me, Ana. You are more than a regular gurl,’  Sara said while glancing at Ana.
‘ Is that another compliment, Deputy Commander in Chief?’ Ana said with a sly smile.
‘ Fine. Yes, that was a compliment. My father has commended you in front of other people several times. Even Mr. Sheridan often tells me of your talents,’ Sara replied.
‘ What are you really trying to say?’ Ana was not convinced that Sara' s true purpose for inviting her here was only to praise her.
‘ Who are you really, Ana? There are just so many questions about you. I would like to know about the real you.’ Sara felt it was appropriate to tell Ana her true purpose.
‘ If you truly want to know, I suppose, I can tell you. The truth is that I am...’ Ana said and paused on purpose and then stared at them.
‘ I'm the future ruler of the Holy Dragon Empire,’ Ana answered with a snobbish look.
‘ If you are the future ruler, then I am the future empress! Now stop talking crazy,’  Sara replied. She took Ana's answer as another one of her jokes.
‘ Ha-ha-ha! I am not sure if you truly want to be my future empress. But since Deputy Commander in Chief brought it up, I will definitely consider it seriously,’ Ana laughed loudly.
‘ Why you!’ Sara replied in anger.
‘ Calm down Sara! She's just joking’ Marcia said softly to calm Sara down.
Then she glared at Ana.
‘ Well, you are right! That was just another one of her jokes’ Sara blushed as her anger evaporated into thin air.
‘ You do not believe me?’ What Ana said was closer to the truth than the Sara realised.
‘ Right! Who would be stupid enough to actually believe that? If you truly would become our Ruler, the whole country would be in flames. Give us some credit, will you? We are not that stupid. Make up another story that is more convincing, little liar’ Sara replied with indifference.
‘ I told you the truth and yet you do not believe it. That is no longer my fault,’ Ana replied with one eyebrow raised in jest. Sara were convinced that it was impossible to get a straight answer from Ana and Marcia so she decided to leave it at that.
However, she had another reason for bringing Ana here.
‘ Ana, listen to me very closely. The situation you are in right now is a little sticky. My father admires your talents so much that he wants to promote you. But you refused him last time. My father is a stubborn man. He never gives up easily once he sets his eyes on something. That means you will find it hard to get away from him. And to tell you the truth, my father organized this contest for you,’ Sara explained as her words caught Ana off guard.
‘ For me’ Ana replied back in complete shock. She never expected that Lance would go so far as to hold a tournament just for her.
‘ Yes. That's right. He wants to see the true extent of your skills and potential’ Sara answered with a serious tone.
‘ Whoa! I didn't realise how determined Commander in Chief can be,’ Ana replied with a helpless smile. She felt flattered and intimidated at the same time.
‘ In the first round of the contest, you already revealed the true extent of your fighting skills against Eva. If you pretended to lose to Eva, then maybe father would change his mind. But now the die is cast. Your fate is carved in stone. Father will do anything so he can promote you to be his subordinate working at the headquarters,’ Sara said seriously.
‘ So all this was planned! I should have fought like a weakling!’  Ana replied.
‘ If you knew my father's plan beforehand, would you really fight like a weakling? Can you really bring yourself to lose?’ Sara asked suddenly.
Ana froze at Sara's words. She struck a note that echoed Ana's weakness. Ana was not the type of person who would just let things pass. As soon as she found out that Eva was to be her opponent, she lost her marbles and decided to teach Eva a lesson and avenge herself. She could not possibly let such an opportunity to pass her by.
‘ Have you even wondered why your first opponent was Eva?’ Sara asked.
‘ Is it because...’ Ana started to say something but stopped in mid-sentence. She suddenly realised something that she failed to see before.
‘ Yes, my father arranged everything. He knows what Eva did to you. And he assumed that you would fight at your full strength if Eva was to be your opponent. And my father was right,’  Sara explained.
‘ Commander in Chief is so clever!’ Ana realised that she had underestimated Lance completely. Before she even suspected anything, she was already deep in Lance's trap.
‘ Now that you know what kind of person my father is, you know that he will never give up until he gets what he wants,’ Sara said while staring straight into Ana's with her mesmerizing eyes.
‘ Why are you telling me this? You are his daughter. Shouldn't you be on his side? Aren't you worried that I will quit the competition now that I know of your father's plan?’ Ana asked with caution as she tried to figure out the reason behind Sara's revelation.
‘ Do you really think that it still matters now whether you know the truth or not? Now that you know the lengths that my father would go to get what he wants, it would be in your best interest to stop resisting against what he wants. I know you are not the type of person who'd simply agree to what other people want. That is why I told you about my father's plan. Because you cannot win against my father. And if you were not my cousin's favorite subordinate, I would not bother telling you this. It's none of my business,’ Sara taunted.
‘ Who said that she is my favorite? She is not my favorite at all!’ Macia said, trying to contradict what Sara said about her.
‘ Don't you think it'll be too boring? The Commander in Chief is the one who wanted to play, so I won't hold back and take on him to the very end.’ Ana smirked with a glint of steel in her expression.
Both Sara and Marcia stared, stunned, at the change that came upon Ana.
‘ This women is something else ’ Marcia thought to herself as she tried to Stop herself from smiling knowing very well things were about to take a very intresting turn.
After flashing the them a glance, Ana stepped off the ship and left with Ananta.
‘ Sara, why did you tell Ana all of those things? ’ Marcia asked curiously.
‘ Because it'll be interesting! Aren't you the least bit curious about what her true powers are? I'm fairly certain we'll see it for ourselves soon.’ Sara smiled, satisfied with how things had turned out.
‘ So you deliberately provoked her so that she would challenge the Commander in Chief?’  Macia demanded, once she realised that this was Sara's intention all along.
Frowning and with furrowed brows, she added, ‘ You know, if she were to reveal her true powers and strengths, it'll only make the Commander in Chief want to promote her even more. And Ana doesn't want that.’
‘ What's wrong with you? You looked   worried about her,’ Sara teased playfully as she raised an eyebrow at Marcia.
She had noticed for a while now that Marcia was particularly concerned over Ana.
‘ Stop making fun of me, Sara, or I'm just going to ignore you,’ Marcia grumbled, glaring at Sara. However, there was truth in what she said: she was very concerned about Ana's wellbeing.
‘ Well, to tell you the truth...I have a bet with my father. I bet him that he wouldn't be able to subdue Ana,’ Sara suddenly remarked.
‘ You mean you had this planned out?!’ Marcia's jaw dropped in astonishment.
‘ Just relax. Rest assured, she'll be alright. I just want to see her make things more interesting for me! I haven't met such an interesting gurl before. I've never been so curious about anyone.’ Sara smiled thoughtfully, seeming to be mulling it over.
Marcia was quite for some time then she said in a serious voice ‘ Keep your playing in a limit Sara and Ana is not some one you are allowed to play like this. I won't allow it’
‘ Do you like her romantically?’ Sara asked as she rarely saw her cousin get so serious about someone.
‘ I may or I may not but that is not important. I hope you understood my words. I'll see myself out’ Marcia stood up heading outside.
‘ Marcia, I'm sorry. Wait for me!’ Sara quickly paid the bill and ran after Marcia.
By the time Ana arrived back at the base camp, the second half of the first round was about to start.
She had planned to quickly wrap the matter up after she taught Eva a lesson she wouldn't forget.
However, after she was made aware of Lance's real purpose for holding the competition in the first place, she changed her mind.
If Lance was so desperate to know her real power, she didn't mind giving him a surprise. And she was going to make sure that Lance knew she wasn't a woman to be trifled with.
‘ This may just be the beginning!’ Ana smirked with menace.
The first round's second half was being held in a dense bamboo forest, just northeast of the base camp.
The fifteen spirit manipulators would be pitted against with each other until only seven of them remained and were declared the winners. These seven winners would receive entry tickets to move on to the second round of the capability competition.
Ten of the fifteen spirit manipulators were Deputy Commanders.
At least, they had the capability beyond the fifth grade of the Earthly Stage to be ranked as Deputy Commanders.
It's highly likely that in the upcoming round, the battles would undoubtedly be fiercer than the competition had been in the first half. But the key in this battle wasn't just going to be power and strength. It took a considerable amount of intelligence as well.
As long as they didn't fall or lose their efficacy in combat, the rules permitted them to launch surprise attacks, set up ambushes, dodge battles and perform other arts in tactical warfare.
In addition to that, spirit manipulators that came from the same military camp were permitted to work together cooperatively.
Though the fog of battle didn't permit them to use many to fight against few, they could ally with one another in order to consume the strength of their opponents.
Naturally, the military camp with the most spirit manipulators in participation virtually had an ace up their sleeves.
Based on the results of the first half of the first round, three military camps had three spirit manipulators each while the other three military camps had only two apiece.
For obvious reasons, the military camps with only two spirit manipulators left in battle, to some extent, were already at a massive disadvantage to their enemies. However, if they wanted to achieve individual benefits, spirit manipulators from different military camps might opt to ally with one another.
Thus, the fight's tactics would be constantly changing.
At this point, it was still uncertain as to who would be the seven winners of the first round's second half. And so it should be, as any weaker combatants able to somehow sneak through to the second half would surely be defeated instantly.
All in all, it was a true challenge to stand apart from the competition, especially among so many spirit manipulators who were ranked as Deputy Commanders.
‘ Ana...’ a man called, materialising before Ana without warning.
‘ Deputy Commander Chen,’ Ana greeted.
‘ We can fight together later,’ Deputy Commander Chen informed her, nodding to Ana as though he hoped she understood.
The northeast military camp, after all, with only Ana and Deputy Commander Chen qualified to enter the first round's second half, was one of the three military camps in a great disadvantage.
Hearing Deputy Commander Chen's words, Ana realised what was going on.
However, to Deputy Commander Chen's surprise, she responded, ‘ I don't intend to co-operate with you.’
Deputy Commander Chen was stunned.
‘ We are the only ones left in the northeast military camp!’  he told her in disbelief.
‘ If we act separately, both of us will be crushed. It's imperative that we team up in the confused fighting. Otherwise, we won't win!’ he continued.
‘ Really? Well if that's what you think, Deputy Commander Chen, please feel free to take care of yourself out there,’ Ana sneered, unbothered.
She had already seen through Deputy Commander Chen's true concern: Chen didn't think that he would be able to win the confused fighting by himself. And after witnessing Ana's real power in the first half of the round, he felt that allying himself with her was his best chance of surviving to the next round.
However, as her power currently stood, it would be extremely easy for Ana to enter the second round. She felt no need to co-operate with Deputy Commander Chen. With a nod in finality, Ana turned and strode away.
Deputy Commander Chen stood dumbstruck in shock, momentarily frozen in place. Then he let out a discouraged sigh and left on his own.
As the fifteen spirit manipulators stepped into the bamboo forest, one after another, the authorities from the Crimson Dragon Group led by Lance had stayed out of the action.
In this large forest, it was difficult for them to watch the confused fighting in full view. Hence, the spirit manipulators supervising the confused fighting would send them the real-time battlefield reports instead.
Sara and Marcia had taken their seats. Each drowned in their thoughts.
Suddenly, a man shot beside Lance. ‘Be on full alert to her every step,’ Lance ordered the man, whose eyes gazed in one direction.
In a twinkle of an eye, the man had already vanished into thin air.
Before long, the second half of the first round started which implied to be confused.
The fifteen spirit manipulator with their spirit-manipulated beasts set out from their positions and travelled in the bamboo forest.
In theory, they would first search for the spirit manipulators of the same military camp. This was to strike up a friendship so that they would be on the same page. It would produce joint efforts to fight against the others. But this wasn't definite since they could first bump into an enemy rather than a friend.
This was because the bamboo forest was dense and the paths in it were complicated. If they encountered someone powerful, they didn't have to be strained or fear to send shudders up their spine.
The rules allowed them to avert clashing. Specifically, once they collided into a sturdy opponent, they could withdraw from the separate paths. If luck fell on their side, they would meet their comrade-in-arms. On the contrary, they would be insulted back and forth.
In a few moments, two spirit manipulators, respectively at the ninth grade of the Earthly Stage and the sixth grade of the Earthly Stage, came face to face with each other. They were from the east-southeast military camp, the strongest of the six military camps. Dunn was the man at the ninth grade of the Earthly Stage.
The Deputy Commander of the east-southeast military camp and the most powerful one of this rank, he was a minor hero in the Crimson Dragon Group and was even more robust than some Frontline Commanders of the base camp. Weighing by the power he had, he should have been promoted as Frontline Commander much earlier. It was truly regrettable that he was hubris and impulsive. Despite him having strengths and capabilities, he was not submissive to authority. So he had never been placed in a distinguished position.
Dunn was the most promising spirit manipulator to win the first place of the competition and be promoted as Frontline Commander. Since he had joined hands with the other spirit manipulator of his military camp, their strength would be merged to strengthen their odds to win.
The confused fighting could be absolutely quick. On average, each spirit manipulator only required to match with one opponent and overpower him, and he would practically be one of the seven heroes.
This was the procedure for selecting seven spirit manipulators as champions.
In the interim, after Ana set out with Ananta, shortly she encountered an opponent, a spirit manipulator at the third grade of the Earthly Stage.
‘ Ha-ha. How lucky am I as a five-time lottery winner! I had encountered a wimp at the first grade of the Earthly Stage in the morning. To top it all, I am dealing with another one in the afternoon,’ the spirit manipulator shouted, burst out laughing. Tears streamed down his face. From his mouth, a burst of great booming laughter rolled.
It was evident he didn't watch the battle between Ana and Eva, so he had no clue about Ana. Deceived by the weak aura of Ana, he was so merry that he couldn't help grinning with his good luck, which gave him a high chance to meet opponents at low levels.
‘ Ananta, now over to you,’ Ana said after she took a glance at the spirit manipulator and his two-star spirit-manipulated beast at second grade.
On the contrary she was happy this was streak of good luck to meet such an arrogant opponent.
After she gave the order to Ananta, she walked sideways.
‘ Do you want to elope? I won't give you that golden opportunity to do that!’ the spirit manipulator shouted his lungs out. What clicked in the back of his head was that Ana had fear.
At that point, Ananta which had been tranquil for attacking leaped and rushed up to the spirit manipulator.
Publicly displaying his disdain, the spirit manipulator driving his spirit-manipulated beast intended to stop Ananta.
Suddenly, with a shocking wail, the momentum of Ananta gushed high.
Faced with Ananta emitting an aura reaching the third grade of three stars, the two-star spirit-manipulated beast at second grade was suddenly struck by limb atony, crying out fearfully.
The sobs punched through, ripping through its muscles, bones, and guts. Leaving no streaks or smears.
Instead of deterring Ananta, it just stood where it was stone still like a statue.
As Ananta wrestled them, Ana sat on some bamboos overlapping with each other while having a glance.
‘ You are a piece of trash!’ the spirit manipulator scolded. This was because his spirit-manipulated beast refused to move forward. He also discovered that the aura of Ananta was a little strange.
Full of himself he decided to handle with Ananta all by himself. This was after concluding Ana had a weak aura. Also, he was persuaded that Ananta wouldn't be very gallant.
As expected, Ananta didn't belong to his league.
In about half an hour, the spirit manipulator, puffing and panting trying to get some breath, had almost run out of his spiritual power under the barbarous attacks of Ananta.
‘ Damn it! Why is the spirit-manipulated beast so mighty?!’  The spirit manipulator turned ghostly pale as he whimpered. Now it was indisputable that Ana duped him.
‘ Do you want to proceed?’ Ana asked when she stood before the spirit manipulator, her hands crossing her chest.
He trembled with dread as he met the evil eyes of Ana. He could feel the sweat drench his skin, the flutter of his own eyes. He shook his hand and his head and said promptly, ‘ No more brawling! No more brawling!’
‘ Well. Get out!’ Ana said, squinting to exhibit her threats.
‘ Are you going to let me go?’  The spirit manipulator was stunned as his brain stuttered for a moment at Ana's words. The brain desperately scrambled to make sense of it all.
‘ Do you have any problem?’ Ana asked in a cold voice.
‘ Don't lie to me. How could you show compassion to me?’ the spirit manipulator asked, still dubious about Ana's intention .
According to the procedures, once a spirit manipulator was conquered or lost vitality, they would be knocked out.
However, if Ana pardoned him, he nevertheless could pursue his contest.
‘ Incredible as it seems!’ Ana said before she turned away with Ananta.
Watching Ana leave, the spirit manipulator sighed a whiff of relief and headed to the other direction with his spirit-manipulated beast. Finally, the storm had passed. Till the spirit manipulator had gone. Ana and Ananta came back and went after him.
‘ How dumb is he to conclude I would let him go scot-free with no cost? I just made you my bait,’ Ana muttered to herself.
The truth was, Ana took advantage of the spirit manipulator to explore the way for her.
If she encountered more than two allied spirit manipulators of other military camps, retreating would be an uphill task and would be instant. Instead, if she encountered a single weak spirit manipulator, she could stand out to overthrow the spirit manipulator and make them as her new bait. Such a strategy could guarantee her to elude the spirit manipulators that were mightier than her so that she could be one of the seven winners who could enter the second round easily.
However, when she followed the spirit manipulator, a shadow flashed after her, but it disappeared swiftly.
Not aware that she was being watched, Ana followed the spirit manipulator who was at the third grade of the Earthly Stage. If everything went according to plan, the confused fighting would end in two hours.
If she could stay hidden and safe until the end of the two hours, she would be qualified to proceed to the second round.
At that same time, in other areas of the bamboo forest, some spirit manipulators consumed much of their spirit energies to launch powerful attacks against each other.
At the end of the first hour, three spirit manipulators below the skill of deputy commanders had been eliminated for being knocked out or simply running out of energy. But changes were unexpectedly happening within the bamboo forest.
Dunn of the east-southeast military camp combined forces with another spirit manipulator from their camp.
Dunn was a spirit manipulator of the ninth grade of the Earthly Stage and with their combined strength, no one was stupid enough to dare go against them. A third spirit manipulator from their camp soon joined them.
At this rate, their group was likely to grab three of the seven positions who would make it to the second round. However, the three camps originally having two participants, including the northeast military camp, had only one deputy commander left now.
Therefore, the three deputy commanders agreed to join forces in order to survive.
Two other military camps including the eastern mountain military camp that originally had three representatives found themselves in dire situation for their individual members failed to find each other in time.
Therefore, except Ana and the spirit manipulator that Ana used as bait, there were now four sub teams in total inside the bamboo forest.
If they confronted each other, the number of participants would drop sharply. Even if only the two teams with two spirit manipulators were eliminated, Ana could effortlessly manage to enter the second round.
However, if Ana encountered any one of the teams except the team of three deputy commanders, she would be caught in a grim situation. And since only seven spirit manipulators would make it to the next round, once any one of the four sub-teams encountered another team, they would fight fiercely to ensure their place among the seven who would be qualified to enter the next round.
The spectators all knew what went on inside the bamboo forest in real time.
‘ Why is Ana not allied with Deputy Commander Chen? Does she act alone all the time? What is she thinking? Unless she is lucky enough to avoid the other teams, she stands to lose no matter which team she encounters!’ Sara exclaimed.
She was surprised that Ana decided to fight alone. Based on the current developments on the situation, Ana's decision was not wise. But Ana was a person who never acted based on what everyone else was doing.
Out of nowhere, the people felt a cold gust of wind. A figure suddenly appeared beside Lance and then whispered in his ear. This figure was Lance's personal bodyguard. The people who saw the figure assumed that Lance might've sent him out to carry out an important mission and was now reporting back to Lance.
‘ That girl is so smart! She even uses another spirit manipulator as her bait to avoid more powerful opponents. However, if she manages to enter the second round so easily, I will feel cheated!’ Lance paused for a moment and seemed to give the situation some thought. He then turned to the figure who stood beside him,‘ Proceed as planned.’
The figure nodded and disappeared without a sound.
Sara and Marcia stared at each other when they heard Lance's voice.
‘ What are you up to, father?’ Sara asked. She knew her father well and she knew that the primary purpose of the competition was to discover Ana's true skill level and potential and then to promote her. It then stood to reason that Lance would not allow Ana to move to the next round without a fight in the second half of the first round.
‘ Father, you seem unsatisfied with her performance so far,’ Sara said thoughtfully.
Lance turned to glance at his daughter. A mischievous smile was on his lips yet he said nothing. He stood up without warning and stepped forward a few steps. His body was suddenly surrounded by an intense bluish light that represented his intense spiritual energy which was at the Divine Stage.
The people who saw this display of power were immediately amazed. In the blink of an eye, a gale materialized in the middle of the bamboo forest that shook everything within the forest. Lance then raised one of his hands and his spiritual energy moved like small waves that overlapped each other continuously.
‘ Water Mirror Illusion!’  Lance exclaimed. The aqua blue spiritual energy that built up in his hand flew to the air and formed a water mirror which showed an empty bamboo forest. The commanders and the officials seated behind Lance were all startled and confused.
The Water Mirror Illusion was a spiritual martial arts skill that could be used at a range of a few hundred meters. The mirror was formed from the moisture in the air of the bamboo forest to display what went on inside the bamboo forest. It consumed a large amount of spiritual power.
Thus, Lance never used it under regular circumstances. Those who knew about the mirror wondered why Lance used it now considering it consumed such a large amount of spirit energy and now showed only an empty bamboo forest. After a few moments, the figure of a woman appeared in the water mirror.
‘ Isn't that the breeder from the northeast military camp?’ someone said when they recognised Ana in the mirror.
The commanders and officials started to whisper among themselves. They never expected that the purpose of using a technique that consumed a lot of spiritual energy was to merely watch Ana.
Sara and Marcia also looked puzzled. The suddenly had a feeling that something terrible was about to happen to Ana.
Meanwhile, Ana hadn't realised that she had been the center of attention in the Illusory Mirror.
Everyone outside the bamboo forest was paying close attention to her performance. However, she had to direct her attention to a much more serious situation at hand. Because it had just dawned on her that she had lost sight of the spirit manipulator of the third grade of the Earthly Stage.
‘ That's strange... I'm sure I saw him in front of me a while ago. How did I manage to lose him?’ Ana looked around in search of the figure of the spirit manipulator, as she had planned to use him as bait. But she could simply not find him anywhere.
Without warning, a figure dropped down from the shadows about thirty feet away from where Ana stood. The fallen figure was the very same bait that Ana was now searching for. But the figure of her bait crumpled down when an evil figure walked past him.
Ana, far from the spot, remained oblivious.
‘ Alright then, I guess I'll just wait here until the event ends!’ Ana concluded, as her search went in vain.
Since she lost her bait, no one else could clear the way for her. She knew that the other spirit manipulators were engaged in a fight-to-win battle.
It wouldn't be long before spirit manipulators began losing their lives or powers.
So, rather than advancing forward at great risk to herself, it was wiser to wait at her leisure for a fatigued enemy. Her plan to win this competition was to do so without having to go all out.
All at once, Ana sensed two figures suddenly appeared at her left side.
They were at the level of the Earthly Stage in strength. And before Ana could do anything, the two figures revealed themselves before her.
Ana studied the two figures and found that they were dressed in the costumes for Deputy Commanders, but in a different color.
The cultivation base for the one in red was at the seventh grade of the Earthly Stage, and the one in brown was at the sixth grade of the Earthly Stage.
Once they all laid eyes on one another, Ana knew that these two challengers would not go easy on her. A stand-up fight with them wouldn't be a good idea, Ana realised, as she took Ananta in an attempt to slip away.
However, two spirit-manipulated beasts at the second grade of three stars sprang out just opposite her. The two beasts and the two spirit-manipulating Deputy Commanders formed a pincer formation that blocked Ana and Ananta's retreat.
In the next moment, Ananta made threatening movements towards the two spirit-manipulated beasts before them. But the two beasts were no less aggressive, and seemed completely unintimidated by Ananta's behavior.
‘ Ananta, stop!’ Ana admonished Ananta, curbing its temptation to move. This was not the time to be reactionary. They had to be more careful, being outnumbered by their opponents.
‘ Hmm, isn't this one the beast breeder of the northeast military camp who defeated Eva this morning?’ the Deputy Commander in brown remarked in surprise, gazing at Ana disdainfully.
‘ Is she? Why, she doesn't look all that powerful! Eva's cultivation base had reached the fourth grade of the Earthly Stage. How could she have possibly lost to this gurl?’ the other Deputy Commander in red replied as she gave Ana a quick once-over.
‘ They're saying that this gurl isn't quite being up front about her true skills. Her cultivation base should have reached the sixth grade of the Earthly Stage,’ the Deputy Commander in brown told the other one.
‘  Oh, really? That is a little impossible to believe. You wouldn't have known it at all, just looking at her. People who haven't any idea of the true level of her cultivation base may think of her as a mere cultivator at some rubbish level,’ the Deputy Commander in red sneered as she eyed Ana, giving her another disdainful once-over.
She couldn't really take Ana seriously as she fully believed that her own cultivation base at the seventh grade of the Earthly Stage would be more than enough to overwhelm her opponent.
‘ Do you want to take her out? Or do you want me to do it?’ the Deputy Commander in brown asked.
‘ I'll do it. Let's get this done as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the bigger the likelihood of any more surprises.’ The Deputy Commander in red curled her fists, cracking her knuckles as she prepared to engage Ana in combat.
The Deputy Commander in brown stepped aside immediately.
As this took place, the commentary from the audiences outside the bamboo forest intensified. They had all seen Ana encounter two powerful spirit manipulating Deputy Commanders through the Illusory Mirror.
Most of them believed that Ana was now in vast jeopardy. Although Ana surprised everyone by defeating Eva
at her fourth grade of the Earthly Stage, they suspected that Ana's cultivation base would likely be around the sixth grade of the Earthly Stage.
But now, the two Deputy Commanders before her were above the sixth grade of the Earthly Stage. Outclassed, it would be very difficult for her to defeat them.
The rule of a confused fighting forbade battles wherein one was outnumbered. That meant that only one of the two Deputy Commanders could contend with Ana. But once either of them chose to stop the competition, or tap out, as it were, the other one could carry on the fight against Ana. This was yet another disadvantage for Ana, who would have to face both of them one after another.
There were two ways for Ana to survive this feat of combat. One was to beat a hasty retreat by breaking through their ring around her. The other one was to defeat one of the two challengers at her quickest speed and play the waiting game.
But if Ana's cultivation base was merely at the sixth grade of the Earthly Stage, it would be unlikely that she'd be able to outrun her opponents even if she somehow broke their hold. And for the second strategy, if she succeeded in defeating one of the challengers, it would be a staggering fight that would take a huge toll on them both. They would have to fight to nearly the last breath.
Ana would be so drained that she wouldn't have the strength to take on the second fighter. Either way, there was no easy way out for Ana. And on top of that, Ana did not know how many spirit manipulators were still lurking in the bamboo forest.
She couldn't afford to expend all her strength trying to win against these two challengers. Otherwise, she would end up a sitting duck for anyone else that came by.
The audiences outside the bamboo forest all agreed: Ana was in a serious predicament. It was like being between a rock and a hard place. Many of them were certain that this was the end of the road for her in the competition.
‘ Father, did you arrange for all of this to happen?’ Sara whispered to her father, unable to help but ask.
Lance looked back with a calm smile at Sara.
‘ How about making a bet, daughter?’
‘ What kind of a bet is it?’ Sara answered cautiously as she looked in the Illusory Mirror with concern.
‘ Let's bet on whether or not Ana will be knocked out this time,’ Lance replied, waggling his brows.
‘ Oh, I'll take that bet. I don't care how powerful she seems to be now and again... I don't think she would stand any chance to defeat the combined strengths of two Deputy Commanders from the eastern mountain military camp. Especially not under her current cultivation base!’ Sara responded, a finality in her expression.
As much as she wanted Ana to win the battle, the facts didn't like: her chances were slim to none.
‘ So? Are you taking the bet? That Ana will be knocked out?’  Lance asked Sara.
‘ No. I'm betting that she will be one of the seven people who will survive the competition,’ Sara replied firmly, clearly having suddenly changed her stance.
‘ Cousin!’ Marcia exclaimed as she overheard thier conversation.
‘ Commander Marin, how about it? Want to join us? I will reward the one who makes the correct prediction with a preliminary Dark Heaven Egg. And the one who fails to choose the correct outcome shall have a drink with me as punishment.’ Lance grinned at Marcia.
‘ Then... Alright. I also predict that Ana will be able to get into the second round of competition!’
‘ Hmm, so neither of you want to see Ana defeated! Actually, I also want to see her succeed in the competition. She could be that once-in-a-lifetime talent that we've been looking for.’ Lance nodded, a meaningful expression on his face as he talked to the two girls beside him.
‘ So you've set this up only to see if She's been hiding her talents all along, didn't you? Even so...it doesn't look like she has a real fighting chance...’ Sara felt uneasy at the thought. She was certainly hoping that Ana could make it. But at the same time, she did not see the slightest possibility in her making it out of this particular situation. Hope and worry battled over in her mind.
‘ However slim the chance is, it is still a chance. But that'll still depend on how she seizes the moment,’ Lance replied, clearly with some hidden meaning.
At that, Sara and Marcia returned their attentions to the Illusory Mirror. Though they kept their thoughts to themselves, they watched in anticipation as the confrontation between Ana and the two spirit-manipulating Deputy Commanders commenced.
Now Ana found herself stuck in a predicament. The Deputy Commander in red was braced and ready, about to start her attack. A strong spiritual light was surrounding her, with the full power of the Earthly Stage's seventh grade in full display.
Among the all six Deputy Commanders of the military camps, she was the only one below Dunn. Another green signal suddenly flashed through the sky.
‘ It seems like there are only eight people left in the bamboo forest. So if we want to get to the second round, all we have to do is beat her!’ The Deputy Commander in brown cried out in excitement upon seeing that signal.
‘ I recommend that you withdraw from this competition. You're no match for me, so don't waste everyone's time!’ The Deputy Commander in red sneered at Ana confidently.
‘ You're right. I am indeed weaker than you guys. But it's the final chance, and I'll try my best to seize that!’ Ana replied coolly.
‘ Then I'll just have to show you how hopeless you are,’ the Deputy Commander in red sneered as she activated the spiritual power. Turning over both hands, two variants of spiritual powers merged to form the shadow of a giant snake. The snake aimed itself and darted sharply towards Ana with its mouth wide open.
The spirit manipulator had taken out her full strength with the intention to finish the fight as quickly as possible.
In the other field, Ananta's path was also hindered by a spirit-manipulated beast.
The beast's whole body was covered by spots, along with long and sharp spines, and its appearance was that of a boar.
Soon, they were engaged in combat against one another. But rather than attack it, Ananta's movements aimed to contain the spirit-manipulated beast instead. And Ana summoned up her spiritual power immediately.
When she faced the Deputy Commander in red, her expression was calm.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two powers collided with each other in a ferocious crash, emitting an eruption of dazzling light. Dust kicked up in all directions, blanketing the area.
The Deputy Commander in red figured out Ana was only at the sixth grade of the Earthly Stage, and evidently weaker than herself. She was certain that she'd win.
‘ Nine Serial Kicks!’
She leapt up skyward and sent out nine kicks at such rapid speed that they seemed to all have been sent at the same time. The nine kicks then morphed into nine streaks of spiritual light. The light streaks flew fast and rushed at Ana from different directions.
Ana was surrounded by nine light streaks almost instantaneously. Seeing the danger, Ana took a step back while still emitting the Nebula Cloud Transformation to defend against them.
Rapidly, one spiritual power appeared upon her chest and collided with the nine auras, one by one, in a fierce defensive manner.
Boom!
The whole area now was filled with dust and the combatants disappeared from view.
‘ Cloud Splitting!’ The Deputy Commander in red did not wait for the dust to settle before she was rushing to Ana again.
There was spiritual light bursting from her left leg and it was aimed at Ana. It was as powerful as an axe splitting Mount Tai apart. The shadows around them heightened and grew.
Ana's faced dropped somewhat, but she recovered and concentrated all of her spiritual power onto her two arms to block that attack.
Bang!
Intense power was flooding through Ana's arms to the ground and she sank into it, creating two craters with her feet.
Immediately following this, the Deputy Commander in red launched a series of fierce attacks. And Ana overcome them at once. If Ana was unable to find a way out of this situation, she would soon be broken down.
People saw the fight between Ana and the Deputy Commander from the Illusory Mirror. They felt a deep pity as they watched, knowing there was no chance for Ana to win.
Though Sara and Marcia both believed that Ana would not lose the fight, they couldn't help but look on anxiously.
The strength gap was too great, and all they had to hold onto was hope. Lance, unlike them, appeared very calm, with his full attention on Ana.
Under the storms of kicks and punches, Ana struggled to keep herself up. It felt like her powers were starting to drain.
The Deputy Commander in red spotted a weak point and struck Ana hard on her right shoulder.
Blood flew from Ana's lips as she coughed.
At that, the Deputy Commander grinned with satisfaction and drew back her fist once more, preparing for the final strike. But things didn't go as planned.
Without warning, Ana seized her fist in a parry and at the same time, she lifted up her right arm.
With two fingers, she aimed at the chest of the Deputy Commander. Everything happened at the blink of an eye.
The speed of Ana's movement staggered her. She thought that Ana intended to create a lose-lose situation and jettison her own chances to get into the second round. That meant, she would have to take that risk, so she drew her hands back. Instead, she quickly dodged to one side.
The Deputy Commander in red noticed the strange smiling expression that Ana had when she avoided the attack. That's when she realised that Ana wasn't even looking at her.
Suspicious that there must've been something she'd missed, the Deputy Commander in red followed Ana's sightline.
To her shock, she discovered that Ana was aiming for the Deputy Commander in brown.
Ana's fingers were pointed exactly where the Deputy Commander in brown stood.
‘ Look out!! Move!!’ The Deputy Commander in red roared at the brown one when she realised what was happening.
The Deputy Commander in brown looked up at the warning. Then he found a nebula arrow that Ana had formed flying directly at him. He realised he was the target and made a move to evade.
‘ It's too late!’ Ana's eyes narrowed as she concentrated her power.
Almost immediately, a big fireball was shooting to the Deputy Commander in brown, passing the Deputy Commander in red, and blocking the avenue of escape.
The Deputy Commander in brown cursed angrily, ‘ Damn, I think I'm going to have to block this one!’
His spiritual power rushed out and he started drawing circles with hands. It all concentrated into a light shield that shimmered in front of him, blocking the attack directly.
Seeing his action, Ana smiled broadly.
The spiritual light intensified and her power suddenly rose from the sixth grade of the Earthly Stage to the eighth grade.
It was mind-boggling. The Deputy Commander in red started feeling dizzy and the brown one had no time to react to the change.
A powerful arrow was shot at him with the strength of the Earthly Stage's eighth grade. And inevitably, the arrow broke through the spiritual power shield and hit right into the Deputy Commander in brown.
The Deputy Commander in brown had not expected that at all, but there was no room for regrets now.
Boom!
The whole area filled with blinding light and the Deputy Commander in brown was flung into the air. He crash-landed onto the earth several meters away and was knocked out. The bamboos around him had been felled.
Moments later, a red signal was fired into the air, signalling the end of the first round's second half, and the scuffles ended.
The area outside the bamboo forest echoed in shocked silence. All the audience stood in amazement as they looked at each other as if to check if the others had also seen what they saw.
Up until that moment, everyone believed that Ana would lose. She was the underdog of the contest, and the situation was not favorable to her. And yet, contrary to everyone's expectations, she was able to turn the tide and turn a crushing defeat into a victorious win.
‘ The strength of that strike was almost at the eighth grade of the Earthly Stage. It's unimaginable how she had reached the eighth grade of the Earthly Stage!’ Sara exclaimed in surprise. Her hand fluttered by her side, unable to sit still in her astonishment.
Upon Sara's exclamation, chaos erupted from the audience. The commanders and officers tuned to each other in disbelief. They asked each other but no one had any real answers as they all drew blanks. They could only guess and those with experience had better hypothesis than others.
‘ She has reached Eight grade of Earthly stage already!! Unbelievable...’ Marcia's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at the field in front of her.
However, no one could accurately judge if the attack they had seen was deliberately made or if it was struck accidentally.
‘ Ha-ha-ha...’ Lance who had been silent throughout the debacle abruptly burst into hearty laughter. He could not hide his amazement, and marveled at the scene in front of him.
‘ Instead of using the power at the eighth grade of the Earthly Stage, she used the power at the sixth grade of the Earthly Stage so her opponents would underestimate her. She also deliberately revealed her flaws to pretend to end up in elimination when actually her previous opponent was just a dummy and her real target was another Deputy Commander. She is really skilled in stratagem. It is nearly impossible to defend effectively against her!’ Lance explained to those around him patiently, uncovering the mystery to them.
This statement instantly sparked debate among those who were able to hear. Heated discussion from the commanders and officers caused some of the audience to look at their direction when the noise became too loud.
They thought of Ana as a monster. They could not believe how she was able to come up with such an ingenious plan amidst a dire situation, how she made use of her concealed power to turn the tables.
‘ If she is so powerful, why didn't she go all out from the very beginning?’  one of the commanders asked curiously.
‘ If she had shown her hand right from the start, her opponents would have been on the defensive, making them harder to beat. Although Ana was more powerful than the two Deputy Commanders, she also knew that there was no assurance she would completely defeat them. In this way, she used the power at the sixth grade of the Earthly Stage to mislead her opponents. Then she pretended to be eliminated to put the Deputy Commander in red at easy and keep her blind to her plans. As a result, it was too late when she recognised Ana's true power. In this way, her plans worked... What exactly is in this woman's mind? How could she devise such an ingenious plan?!’ Sara couldn't help but express her appreciation.
Even she, if she was in a similar situation, may not conceive a plan like that. However, it seemed that Ana was clear about her plans and how she should execute it right from the start.
Except Ana, the six spirit manipulators who won in the first round and entered the second round were all Deputy Commanders.
Among them, three came from the east-southeast military camp. The whole team composed of Deputy Commander Chen and other two Deputy Commanders were crushed under the attack of the team made up of spirit manipulators of the east-southeast military camp.
Therefore, Ana who was representing the northeast military camp, entered the second round as the only one who was not a Deputy Commander.
Since the second round would be held on the next day, Ana and other spirit manipulators from the northeast military camp were arranged to rest in the headquarters.
After they arrived early in the residence, Ana decided to go and see Su and Rubygon. As soon as she walked out of the residence, she saw an old man appear before her.
‘ Sheridan?’ Ana greeted the man in surprise. Her eyebrows lifted in amazement at the unexpected visitor.
‘ Ha-ha! Ana, my good disciple... I heard that you performed very well today. Your victory is an honor for me also!’ Sheridan said cheerfully as he patted Ana's shoulder.
‘ How dare you appear before me? Have you forgotten that you abandoned me?’ Ana bellowed.
She advanced forward, face darkened and eyes clouded with revenge. However, she hesitated when Sheridan smiled at her mysteriously and asked, ‘Why don't we have a drink, Brat?’ Sheridan looked quite excited about the idea.
‘ A drink?’ Ana Asked curiously.
When Sheridan saw that Ana was interested in his proposed outing, he winked at her happily and dragged her away.
They hadn't gone far before they met Marcia, who immediately changed course to greet them.
‘ Where are you going?’ Marcia asked, feeling curious because Sheridan took Ana in a hurry. They seemed to be headed for somewhere important.
‘ We're going to the place where anyone interested in women should go. Commander Marin, would you like to come with us?’ Ana hinted deliberately.
‘ I'm a dignified woman. I don't go to that kind of place. Or do you think I'm like that?’ Marcia asked while staring at Ana. She looked at her in challenge, hinting that she understood Ana's words.
‘ Marin, let's talk about this later. We have to leave now!’ Sheridan interrupted them and started to walk away.
Ana shrugged her shoulders as if to say, ‘ What else can you do?’ With a last smile and nod at Marcia, she turned and left with Sheridan.
‘ Like master, like disciple. You're both good for nothing fools,’ Marcia grumbled, looking at Ana's retreating back.
Before long, the duo arrived at the Flower Street, the most famous street in the Evian City.
The street was brightly lit with red lanterns, buzzing with noise and excitement.
Women of different styles stood in front of the brothel doors, soliciting the passing guests.
As expected, only men were present on the streets, besides the women from the brothels.
‘ Sheridan, everyone is male....wouldn't it look odd for me to be here’ Ana asked hesitantly.
‘ Oh shush! Nothing is odd. It's perfectly fine. You are interested in women and that's the end of the story. And who knows.. someone might grab your attention ’ Sheridan winked.
‘ I've never seen this place before, ’  Ana sighed in heart. She felt a bit innocent, looking curiously at her surroundings.
Though she had read some words and watched some films about the ancient brothels, it was quite a different experience to see it in person.
‘ Gurl, this must be your first time coming here. If you want, I could arrange a woman for you. Don't say I never treat you well. Ha-ha!’ Sheridan suggested.
‘ Really? Are you serious?’ Ana replied blankly. It seemed that Sheridan really thought of her as just a naive girl.
In fact, in the modern world, she had romance with many kinds of women. While in this world, she had only one experience which was accidental and unpleasant.
For her, it was like a nightmare. Though she had been framed up, the experience couldn't be erased from her memories. She knew it was more painful for the woman she had hurt. Although she didn't intend to evade her guilty, she had repressed those terrible after being expelled to the frontier.
‘ Girl, what's the matter?’ Sheridan said as he patted Ana's shoulder. It seemed that Ana was busy thinking about something.
‘ Oh, nothing! Aren't you going to take me to the brothel you usually visit?’  Ana smiled and shook her head.
‘ Ugh, you must be impatient! Ha-ha! Come on, let's go!’ Sheridan burst into laughter and led Ana through a walk on the Flower Street.
Along the way, Ana was amazed by the different styles of beauty that she kept encountering.
‘ Man, these are too ordinary! Just wait till I show you what real beauty looks like,’ Sheridan said with what seemed to be an experienced look and tone.
‘ Oh! Okay.’ Ana smiled calmly. In fact, she wasn't sure Sheridan had a right standard for great beauty.
The brothel was called the Geisha House. It was the most famous brothel in the Evian City, and was also known as the Top Brothel. The naming was a result of the fact that some famous geishas from other empires would come to it to demonstrate their talents; so many dignitaries and men of letters would come for them out of admiration.
Consequently, this place was fully occupied on a daily basis. When they walked into it, a pretty and coquettish woman at her thirties walked up to them.
Though she looked a bit old, she was still retaining her graceful bearing as a mature woman.
The woman grabbed Sheridan affectionately, and loudly said, ‘ You old devil, now you're finally here!’
‘ Yasmin, I have been dying to come to you.’ Sheridan smiled, looking at her with explicit lust. Seeing Sheridan's expression, Ana was certain that Sheridan had slept with her before.
‘ Who is this delicious woman?’ Yasmin asked when she finally noticed Ana who was standing beside Sheridan. Though Ana was in a suit of cloth, she still looked brilliant.
‘ Oh, she is my disciple. I bring her here to open her eyes to the real world,’ Sheridan said with a smile.
‘ Your disciple, you say? She looks so young. Shall I introduce a girl to her?’ Yasmin said while staring at Ana with eyes full of desire.
‘ Let's discuss it later. We prefer to watch the show first,’ Sheridan said after taking a glance at Ana.
‘ As you like. How about your usual seat? I guess you will come tonight, so I leave it for you,’ Yasmin said.
She personally led Ana and Sheridan to the second floor and offered them a table by the railings. From there, they could see the whole area of the first floor. They were also able to see the dancing and playing that took place on the stage of the first floor.
‘ You must be a frequent guest here. Even the pimp serves you in person, and reserves a special seat for you,’ Ana sighed. Ana was convinced that Sheridan was a frequent visitor of this place due to Yasmin's affectionate welcome that had nothing to do with this place's policy. Her welcoming was purely friendly and not at all formal.
‘ Not really. I come here occasionally to give medical pieces of advice and write prescriptions to the girls here for free. You can say that I'm the doctor here,’ Sheridan replied jokingly.
‘ I never thought that you would be okay with philanthropic work!’ Ana exclaimed.
‘ Though they have been reduced as prostitutes, they are all miserable women. So I help them whenever I can. Anyway, I'm just an old man with no wife, so I do that to kill my time. Besides, here I could drink good wine, enjoy dainty dishes, and see beautiful girls, so why not?’ Sheridan said. While having this conversation, food and drink had been served on the table.
Then, two teenage girls approached them.
‘ Sheridan, why are you so late? We have missed you a lot,’ the two girls said in a cute voice while gently stroking Sheridan.
‘ Ha-ha. I have missed you too, ladies.’  Sheridan gave a loud laugh and said,
‘ This is my disciple.’
Upon hearing that, the girls immediately gathered around Ana. They went on speaking to her in their cute sweet voice.
Shortly after, the lights of the building dimmed.
‘ Here she comes,’ Sheridan said as he eagerly looked at the stage downstairs. Ana also looked in the direction that Sheridan did. The dancing had stopped there, and behind a curtain, you could see a pretty woman with a  zither put in front of her.
Natural and smooth music played; it kept changing its pace over and over again to the extent that you could mistake it as a murmur of a stream. This sound offered people a sense of well-being and delight.
‘ What a beautiful song...’ Ana sighed in astonishment.
‘ The girl's name is Laney. She is the starring prostitute here who doesn't sell her body. A few months ago, she came here from the Timber Deity Empire. She used to be a famous prostitute there. She is excellent in lyre-playing, chess, calligraphy and painting. I heard that she is one of the three great beauties in the Timber Deity Empire. It is no surprise that such a heavenly face produces these amazing melodies. However, it is difficult to see her. If Yasmin hadn't asked me to treat her serious cold before, I wouldn't have had the honor to see her. She really looks like a fairy,’ Sheridan said .
‘ Really?’ Ana asked while staring at her and sipping wine.
When the song was over, she stood up and left. As she moved, the people in the house stirred up as if they were in a riot. They pushed ahead in eagerness to reach the stage.
‘ What's wrong?’ Ana asked curiously.
‘ Miss Laney only serves one guest per night. Each one of the guests wants her to serve them. They all want to meet Miss Laney,’ Sheridan explained.
‘ But there are so many people. How will she choose? Does she always choose the richest one?’ Ana asked with a puzzled look.
‘ I have no idea about that. It's her call. I've heard that many commanders of the headquarters have had the luck to see Miss Laney. Maybe she has a preference for military people. What about this? You can pretend to be a  commander and try your luck. What do you say?’ Sheridan laughed and squinted his eyes.
‘ No, thank you. I have zero interest. But, I had no idea those commanders liked to visit here. But they really know how to enjoy their life, huh?’ Ana said mockingly.
In a blink of an eye, it was already late at night. Sheridan was so happy that he drank a lot tonight. Although Ana drank as much as Sheridan did, she was slightly drunk because her tolerance for alcohol was high.
Sheridan, however, got so drunk that he even began speaking nonsense. Now that they were done eating and drinking,
Ana stood up and decided to take Sheridan back to the headquarters. At the same time, Yasmin was walking towards them.
‘ Oh, shit! Is he drunk again?’ she said.
‘ It is true that wine is on me, but that does not mean that he should drink that much! Doesn't he know he could die of alcohol? You can just take him to my room,’ she continued.
‘ Is that okay for you?’ Ana asked.
‘ Oh yeah. It's not his first time anyway. If you want, you can spend the night in my room as well.’ Yasmin smiled while ogling Ana.
Ana said nothing and just smiled. She helped Sheridan stand up and carried him downstairs following Yasmin. They then went into a spacious courtyard through a side door.
Pleased sounds were coming out of the rooms around the courtyard. The moans echoed in the air.
After they walked along the corridor for a while, they finally arrived in front of a quiet house. Yasmin led them to a room in the house, opened the door, and told her, ‘ Here we are. Now, put him in bed. It's already late at night. I can arrange a room and a girl for you, if you want. You can rest here tonight and leave tomorrow. Sounds nice?’
‘ Oh, thanks, Miss Yasmin. But, I think I'd better go back right now. Thank you for taking care of my teacher tonight.’ Ana refused with a smile. She just nodded at her and left.
Ana helped Sheridan walk into Yasmin's room. Fragrance invaded Ana's nostrils as soon as she entered the room. She glanced around while walking to the bed. This room had many seductive decoration and sexual paintings hanging on the wall.
After laying Sheridan in the bed, Ana walked out and closed the door.
She was about to return to the headquarters when a weird thing happened. At the moment she got out of the room, the door on her left was suddenly opened.
A slender figure dressed in a cloak walked out the room. She came to the yard and looked up at the moon. Then, she put the flute beside her mouth and began playing. The euphonious sound filled the air and touched Ana.
Ana was so immersed in the music that she had forgotten to leave. As a result, Ana just stood there motionlessly and looked at the back of the slender figure. Suddenly, Ana felt some faint bitterness and sorrow in the music. Although she could not explain that feeling exactly, she could tell she related to the emotion in her music.
‘ Oh! Who's there?’ Suddenly, she stopped playing, and turned around. Her beautiful pair of eyes captivated Ana.
Now that she had noticed her presence, Ana directly walked towards her. As she got closer to her, she finally saw how beautiful she was.
The moonlight accented her charm further. She looked too fancy to be true as if she was a legendary beauty in a fairy tale. Her arched eyebrows highlighted her appealing and innocent eyes. Her slender figure made her seem so weak as if she would be blown away by the wind anytime.
‘ You are...’ The girl was caught by surprise when she saw that the one behind her was a woman.
‘ I'm sorry that I disturbed you, Miss! I intended to leave, but was so attracted to the music you have just played.’ Ana apologized politely.
The girl glanced at Ana for a while and then her lips curved upwards lightly like a blossoming flower. She said gently, ‘ Never mind. This is a place where only I and Yasmin live and we don't usually have any visitors. It's too late now. That's why I was a little surprised when I saw you.’
‘ I can tell that you often play the flute at such a time. When I heard the music you played, I felt that it speaks of sorrow. Do you miss your home, Miss?’ Ana asked cautiously. It looked like her question froze her. A hint of sadness flashed in her eyes, but she dropped the topic at once.
‘ How should I address you?’
‘ My surname is Frank’
‘ Nice to meet you here, Ms. Frank. I just saw you come out of Yasmin's room. May I ask what the relationship between you and Yasmin is?’ the girl asked curiously.
‘ Oh! I just took my drunk teacher into Yasmin's room,’ Ana replied.
‘ Your drunk teacher, you say? Are you the student of Mr. Sheridan?’ the girl asked as she remembered something.
‘ Yeah, you are right about it. But it was him who forced me to become his student. I have never said that I want him to be my teacher,’ Ana answered arrogantly.
‘ I heard that Mr. Sheridan is a master doctor. It would an honor for anybody else to have such a teacher like him. Why do you sound like you are unwilling to be his student?’ the girl asked with a confused look upon her face.
‘ Well, no! My teacher indulges in alcohol and women. I don't think it's an honor to be his student. If you want, I can hand the honor over to you,’ Ana answered humorously.
The girl burst out laughing.
‘ You are so funny and weird,’ the girl commented after a while.
‘ Oh, really? Why?’ Ana asked, not knowing what she meant.
‘ The people I meet always stare at me with that kind of look, and what they want to know about me first is always my name. But you are different. The way you look at me makes me feel that I'm an ordinary woman. It makes me feel like I am a human, and not a pleasure toy. It makes me comfortable,’ the girl explained.
‘ Is that so? Do you mean this kind of look?’ Ana said as an evil smile crept over the corner of her lips. She then got closer to the girl and kept her eyes fixated on her.
When their eyes met, she felt as if Ana's eyes were a vast ocean that she was drowning in. She was frozen by her change. The woman in front of her seemed to have become another person, and she felt that she had been engulfed by her unique aura. Now her strange feeling for Ana was getting more intense.
‘ You are too creepy!’ Without anyone recognising, the woman stepped backward and placed a distance from Ana. A light of vigilance shone from her eyes.
‘ I didn't have the privilege to know your name. Can I have the honour of knowing your name Miss?’ Ana asked smiling after obtaining her ordinary look. Her smile glowed like the stars in the sky, with no bright city lights to dim them. It was like the sun opened its eager light to illuminate about her, only brightening her perfectly aligned teeth.
‘ I'm Laney.’ The woman paused for a while, scrutinized Ana up and down and responded back.
‘ You are Miss Laney?’ Ana's face was washed blank with bewilderment like her brain cogs couldn't turn fast enough to capture in the information from her wide eyes. It was far beyond Ana's prediction to get into contact with the most renowned prostitute in Geisha House.
‘ What's amiss? Don't you think that I am pulling your leg?’  Laney derided. At the back of her mind, every man and woman who set thier eyes on her would froth. Preferring to be with her. Ana was unlike that. She never revealed any interest ever since from beginning to end.
‘ No, I don't. My teacher had pointed out to me that Miss Laney is a charm. You are worthy of the name!’ Ana showered her with praises calmly but they all seemed to be cold praises.
‘ My instincts tell me that you don't mean it.’ Laney winked, after hearing what she said.
‘ Really?’ Ana remained steady after not identifying the dissatisfaction in laney's voice.
When her eyes clashed with Ana's, Laney couldn't spot the perfect word to respond, rendering her dumb. For the first time she felt nothing after being charmed. She had never experienced that kind of respond before, which she couldn't get used to. This was such a unique feeling.
‘ It's a little late. I desire to have a rest! Please be vigilant!’ Laney scowled, nodded to Ana and walked back her room. She then slammed the door behind her.
Ana smiled and murmured to herself ‘What a funny women’.
Ana walked out of the yard and then out of the Geisha House. Everything was quiet in the night. Bereft of any wind, the leaves outside hung limp until they fell of their own accord, with the moon in the sky visible.
After reaching in the base camp, Ana found a place and cultivated for the entire night. She didn't go back to her residence until the second morning.
Marcia arrived as promptly as Ana just arrived at her residence and met with her alone outside.
‘ Did you have fun last night?’  Marcia leered at Ana with her gorgeous eyes and asked abruptly. Her eyes were simply spellbinding. Her left eye was a rapturous shade of cerulean blue, much more appealing, and hazel-auburn rondure sphere orbited in her right eye. Each one held a coruscate gleam that enhanced their beauty.
‘ Yes, of course!  I went to the Geisha House. Shall I tell you in detailed that what I did last night? How the girl who escorted me for drinking looks like? Let me guess...’ Ana teased.
‘ Who gives a hoot about you! Don't lavish praises on yourself! I want to know what's your next plan after Sara told you that,’ said Marcia.
Actually, Marcia wanted to have a one on one conversation with Ana last night. At that time, it clicked her mind that Sheridan brought Ana to have a drink at whorehouse.
‘ Do you have any suggestion on what I should do?’ Ana asked back, peeked her eyes and gawked at Marcia.
‘ To be sincere, I feel that Commander in Chief will give you a higher rank despite your performance in the contest. You have no chance to decline it. But I am aware you won't accept it and compromise it so quick. So, I just would prefer to be brought in the limelight on what your plan is!’ Marcia asked in an attentive voice, an inquisitive glance on her face.
‘ You'll discover soon,’ Ana said with an inexplicable grin on her face.
She didn't plot to tell Marcia all about it. No matter who demanded to stop or hinder her, she wouldn't give up.
Ana whistled and Ananta flew out of the house and dashed to her.
‘ Well, I am going to take off,’ Ana said and spun around and went away along with Ananta.
Capability contest was the second round. Lance was going to draw up the theme. The seven persons who had progressed to the second round were eagerly awaiting at the martial pitch. The martial pitch was in a sea of people like yesterday.
Due to the limited pitch, most of the people didn't witness the second half of yesterday's match. But the trending news was rescinded after Ana showed her eighth grade of the Earthly Stage, and it spread across the whole military camp like wildfire.
Ana was perfectly well-known in the base camp. Everyone spoke of Ana. How Commander in Chief showered her with praises. How she obscured her capability of the eighth grade of the Earthly Stage as a beast breeder.
Reputation might trouble you. It led to quite a pandemonium as instantly as Ana and Ananta appeared at the martial pitch.
Everyone was inquisitive about Ana and yearned to array their eyes on the beast breeder and know how she looked like. But Ana was imperceptible to the turmoil and trudged forward with an impassive face.
‘ Ms. Frank...’ Ana heard that someone was calling her in a pleasant voice. She tilted her head and found that Su and Rubygon were standing among the crowd.
‘ Su, I'm shocked beyond words that you are here. What brought you here?’ Ana asked as she walked toward them.
‘ We come to watch your contest. I learnt from Miss Sara that you have proceeded into the second round. And you had a splendid performance yesterday. Everyone is talking about you in the base camp now,’ Su spoke in a high surge of excitement. Deliriously happy, giddy even.
‘ Did Rubygon put you in trouble? Did Sara hint anything about Rubygon?’ Ana smirked and asked after seeing Rubygon near Su.
Ana was just aware that Rubygon was at Sara Pavilion in the morning and was dead worried that Sara would question about Rubygon's background.