The audience erupted in cheers and applause. However, some of the spectators looked rather desperate. The patriarchs, who had made the deal, pulled their hair out and howled with grief, taking handfuls of pills at a time. It was the end. They had to pay exorbitant charges to settle their debt. Their families would go broke! They would have to sell all their possessions, all their legacy, maybe even sell their children to slavery! It was a real tragedy for more than a hundred families in Boston. Anyway, they had it coming.

A well-rounded, respectable young man could not get enough of his cash harvest that had finally ripened and fell into his hands. There was a smile dancing on his lips. It was an insane, crazy smile. A thrill of excitement ran through him, making him s.h.i.+ver all over. He couldn't stop laughing. Finally, the stress and long sleepless nights had taken their toll, and XiaoBai fell asleep, but even in his sleep, a big smile didn't leave his happy chubby face.

Suddenly, Cornelia's beautiful eyes narrowed shrewdly. She hit the seat with her sleeping darling so hard that XiaoBao rolled head over heels downstairs. The smiling meatball of a man turned into a weapon of ma.s.s destruction, destroying everything in his path. Those who weren't lucky enough to react in time were ruthlessly crushed under his weight...

The Fat sect envoy turned around when he heard loud cries and crash of breaking chairs. He thought that nothing could ever surprise him after Kyon��s phenomenal victory. He couldn't be more wrong! A giant smiling ball of meat with pouchy folds under the eyes was heading straight at him, smas.h.i.+ng everything in his path!

FatTso stopped XiaoBai, who was still fast asleep, with one hand and gasped in admiration when he realized that the weird huge ball was, in fact, a young man. – «G.o.ds! Gifts keep falling on my head! This guy... He is phenomenally ma.s.sive! Does he have a high-ranking unique body of fat?!»

Cornelia made sure that her future husband was noticed and nodded gently to herself. Now his fate was sealed. XiaoBai was going to enter the Fat sect and achieve great results, not without her help, of course. She might need to give him a gentle push if he resisted too much.

Kyon returned to the platform and gave Diana a hug, winking mischievously at Juno. What was that feeling coming from her soul? Was it jealousy? How curious! Stephanie got in line to get a free hug...

Patriarch Bai stood there, shuffling his feet awkwardly. He was noticeably happy and proud of his family but tried not to show it. Apparently, he didn't want to please his grandson.

The horn played in honor of the three winners.

Royal representative came up with the closing speech, after which the winners received their prizes to the sounds of horn and applause. Patriarch Bai was given the certificate for ten million spheres and two hundred tokens from the Imperial government. Juno watched with envy as Kyon got a few gift packages for the most active partic.i.p.ant, where he found a useless for him copy of the movement technique, a medkit with enzymes, and, most important, the invaluable, high-quality (3) breakthrough pill for reaching the 4th phase.

All in all, Kyon had a transformation pill to reach the superior phase (which he got at the party), the n.o.ble phase (which he got as a prize) and the lord phase (which Prince Charles had "willingly" given away). Besides, he had a decent supply of enzymes, and given his newly acquired wealth, he would never run out of them: he could always place a new order.

The awards ceremony came to an end. It was time for the sect envoys' a.s.sistants to get on the platform, according to the instructions they had received, and hand the selected talents an invitation to the sect. The lucky ones were immensely proud of themselves and endlessly happy to have the chance to join a great sect or a powerful order.

However, things were different today. The envoys, not their a.s.sistants, together with Ferdinand, approached the Stones' platform. There was no trace of arrogance and haughtiness characteristic of their status. More than that, they didn't climb the platform, showing their respect for the G.o.ddess's messenger. They weren't of worthy standing on the same level as him. Even brilliant Elsa didn't receive any special recognition at the previous tournament. Judging by the tension in the air, the envoys were intended to fight for Kyon to the end.

«Mr. Stone…» … «Great G.o.ddess's messenger…» – Seva and Nargise reverently spoke at the same time and glanced at each other fiercely.

The heavy collision of their monstrous auras consumed the entire arena. A b.l.o.o.d.y battle seemed imminent.

«Mr. Stone.» – The fat man said with an obsequious bow, calming the ladies down. – «My name is FatTso. I am the envoy of the richest sect in the world, the Fat sect. On behalf of all the sect envoys, I apologize for this misunderstanding. It is not surprising that the "respected" representatives of the Virgo and the Dance sects failed to hold back their emotions, ignoring the possible consequences, for the genius who happens once in a million years…»

Seva and Nargise gave the fat man a black look, fighting the urge to finish him off. The jerk had taken advantage of their feud to present himself in a favorable light!

«…I am not going to fight in your beautiful kingdom, putting the n.o.ble Stones at risk. The members of the greatest Fat sect are the most famous peacemakers with a heightened sense of justice. I only dare to a.s.sume that no matter what choice you make, you will be given all the resources to unleash your potential. Don't listen to empty promises, listen to your heart, not your head! Choose the sect to your liking.» – FatTso finished his eloquent speech.

«Watch your tongue, fat freak! You oversell your sect and tell us to shut up?! What a nerve!» – Nargise flared up.

«Who gave you the right to decide anything for the G.o.ddess's messenger? He will listen to all the candidates and only then make a decision!» – Seva added indignantly.

Their slightly weakened but still oppressive aura made most of the audience tremble with fear. Many of them hurried to leave the tournament as soon as possible, scared of the terrible battle.

Bai turned pale and hugged his granddaughter tight.

Kyon cleared his throat to draw attention to himself and spoke in a quiet voice:

«Dear envoys, I understand the situation perfectly well. However, you must understand that no matter which sect I choose, it will acquire lots of enemies. After all, envy is the root of all evil. Therefore, I offer the following scenario: each of you will write a letter of recommendation and enclose your sound transmitter frequency, and I will contact the sect I choose. Thus, my choice will be anonymous. I won't even say a thing to my foster family, so giving the Stones a hard time will get you nothing, in case you don't like my decision. If you cause any problems for my family, you're in big trouble.»

His words touched Diana, Bai, and even Juno.

The sect envoys exchanged cold, hostile glances.

«Your decision is perfectly reasonable, Kyon Stone. We will proceed accordingly.» – FatTso bowed slightly and left to compose his letter.

Seva and Nargise looked scornfully at the bootlicker. Be that as it may, he had made a good impression on Kyon and hadn't given them a chance to speak for themselves!

«You are wise beyond your years, young Stone. I accept your offer.» – Seva also took a bow

«My lady Gina…» – Nargise began.

Kyon shook his head, interrupting her. – «Please, don't say too much…»

Nargise stamped her foot in anger and retired to write the letter.

Ferdinand, the imperial envoy, also left to draw up his letter.

Vlada admired Kyon's speech. She had been wondering what he would come up with to get out of it and meet his adored Kara... His words were simple but effective! Now no one would dare to harm or threaten him as the envoys amused themselves with the idea of ​​winning his trust. How cunning of him! One question still nagged her. How could she take him from the tournament to the palace? What if he had a plan for this case, too? Besides, the queen was afraid of the imperial envoy... There was something strange and even frightening about him.

Kyon wasn't going to dance to anyone's tune, and the reason for this wasn't his irresistible love for Kara. He just did not want to become a little boat in the stormy ocean of their intrigues. Quite the contrary, he was used to keeping everything under control.

Soon, the four envoys approached the platform with their letters, and Stephanie pa.s.sed them to Kyon with great reverence.

Kyon carefully put the letters in his ring and said politely:

«Thank you, distinguished envoys. I will carefully consider all the proposals and make a responsible decision in the coming days. Would you be so kind as to accept my messages, too.» – With a wave of his hand, Kyon released a carrier pigeon that came out of the blue with five little envelopes sealed with wax. The bird dropped a letter into each envoy's hands and delivered the fifth envelope to Princess Kara.

Kyon bowed, smiling charmingly at Kara. Then he deftly jumped from the platform to the stands and disappeared in the nearest pa.s.sage…

The queen and the sect envoys did the same.

Several dozen people in black, who had been standing in the rain with a straight face, started searching all over the arena for Kyon. Even if he was a master of disguise, they could feel his cultivation and find him in any hiding place, in any crowd. However... He seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

Meanwhile, Kyon was walking carelessly, with a cheerful expression on his face through the narrow secret tunnel. Everything was going according to plan: he had ensured that Juno would be taken to the most powerful order; he had increased his wealth; he had turned Kyon into a legend, which was another trump up his sleeve; he had received 10% of darkness in his nucleus; and he had sent a message to the 0th general.

He took out the envoys' letters and started reading them.

Kyon thought that the envoys must have sawdust in their heads. Their promises look completely insane as if the sect leaders had been present at the tournament and ordered their envoys to get Kyon at any cost. Yeah, whatever.

Anyway, they were no match for FatTso. His letter was full of promises: tons of priceless medicine, heaps of money, no end of n.o.ble girls, and immense influence! That's the way to recommend a sect to a teenager, even if Kyon was one only on the outside. The offer sounded inviting, blatant, trivial, and had no specifics.

Fernand's letter was not so obviously tempting, but Kyon could read between the lines a clear hint for his future cooperation with the empress, a chance to become her student and then even her counselor! The offer sounded so ambitious that it made Lovr's blood boil. He had almost made his choice, and yet, he had second thoughts. The empress was too dangerous and unpredictable. Before getting any closer to her, he had to test the waters and make sure she wouldn't turn him into a slave or something worse. If he were to cooperate with the Empire, it would be through the 0th General, proving his value beforehand. A beginning had already been made: Fernand was delivering the message.

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