After some time, Garen was awakened by the sounds of a heated argument .

"My stuff isn't something anyone can take," a seemingly young male voice rang out loud .

"The stuff I want is not something anyone can deny me!" A c.o.c.ky female voice calmly said .

What followed was a loud and violent shockwave .

Garen was awakened from his calculations . He let out a big sigh and looked up at the ceiling that was flaking dust . The shockwaves continued one after another, seemingly never-ending .

He stood up, walked to the window, drew open the curtain and looked down where two small silhouettes were standing facing each other on the street below . In between the two silhouettes, a red and a blue shadow kept rapidly colliding with each other . From the looks of it, the blue shadow seemed to be at a disadvantage because every time it got hit it would let out a loud moan .

It could clearly be seen that the two silhouettes were both below the age of 20 . The boy was in a blue s.h.i.+rt, with a silver bracelet around his wrist, emitting multiple spots of silverish light . The blue shadow in front of him seemed to be getting forced into a corner .

On the other hand, the girl was waving a golden can in her hand, giving off a prideful aura . She was instructing the red shadow to attack continuously, almost as if the waving was conducting the red shadow's every move, like a whip continuously whipping forth .

The willpower shockwaves from their battle caused ripples that were at least Level Three in strength . Looking at the core of the battle where the strength was most intense, it was even at Level Four degrees of power .

There were many Energy Machinists surrounding and watching the bout . In this location, it was impossible to bring out large-sized Self-Defense Evolved Creatures . One could only carry super-small-sized strong types or utilize s.p.a.ce equipment, but both of these methods were far too expensive . Even if this was the city of Nagadako, a super-small-sized evolved creature was not something the average energy machinist could afford .

This was comparable to having a person earn tens of thousands bucks per month when the average monthly income was two or three thousand bucks . Everyone would be using a cheap ten buck wallet, whilst the person would be using a pure leather wallet worth thousands .

It's the same in this situation . Those who own super-small-sized evolved creatures would at the very least be from a wealthy household . It was considered a brand and a status symbol after all .

However, at this point, the two were displaying an unmovable arrogance in their actions . The boy was being suppressed so much that he had started to lose his breath . His blue shadow started to move slower and slower, becoming clearer and clearer . Slowly, the shape of the shadow could finally be made out, it was a tiny hummingbird that was completely blue in color .

As the hummingbird's movements slowed down, the other red shadow also slowed down its attacks in response .

Surprisingly, the red shadow was a palm-sized red skeleton . The red skeleton was floating in the air, with a pair of red wings flapping rapidly on its back .

"Hand out the stuff," the girl put out her hand . "Your hummingbird is no match against my skeleton . "

"Red skeleton! Hmph!" The boy coldly sighed, his face pale . Finally, with a toss, he threw a brownish ball to the ground, turned around and left .

The figure of the hummingbird slowly started to fade away, then disappearing into the boy's body .

"Looks like you at least have some tact!" the girl chuckled as she picked up the brownish ball . She glanced around at the surrounding energy machinists, then returned to her cold emotionless expression as she turned around and left the area .

Garen let out a breath in amazement .

"This is indeed the central city, where the energy machinists are the most advanced . The elites from all around the universe have gathered here . To be a Level 4 energy machinist at the age of 20, this degree is far crazier than me . "

Garen did some calculations and it would take more than 10 years for him to successfully get to Level 4 . However, in this 10 years, there's no telling how far these geniuses would have already progressed .

"This time, the body I got was certainly average in the willpower aspect…" Garen let out a sigh, closed the curtains and continued his calculations . All achievements relied on slowly acc.u.mulating small steps .

Word of the battle between the hummingbird and the red skeleton started to spread . Soon, a recorded video of the two's confrontation got uploaded to the Internet . Garen took out some time to use the inn's public computer to watch the video, but he couldn't learn anything from it . The skills used by the two were one tier higher than his capabilities so it wasn't something he could learn at this time .

The elite evolved creatures they used were at least Level 4 or 5 in terms of combat power . He might not even be able to withstand their attacks even back when he was in his strongest state and in a mech .

After all, he was only testing the waters .

After an uneventful night, early in the morning of the next day, Liz and Accord came over and knocked on his door . Garen had already washed up earlier . The three then proceeded to make their way towards the selection tests .

At the time, plenty of youths planning on taking the selection tests had already gathered at the Star Core Plaza . Almost all of them were below 20 years old, with barely a handful of people in their 20s .

Walking amongst the crowd, Garen and company did not look anywhere out of the ordinary .

Bong!!!

A melodious clock bell sounded from within the Star Core Plaza .

The fence started to vibrate and instantly faded away, almost as if it was never there in the first place .

At this moment, a mustached man in what seemed to be yellow royal garbs walked out from inside . He pridefully surveyed the people in the crowds who were eagerly awaiting their entrance .

"Routine maintenance inspection has just been completed . Please prepare to enter the arena . Today, we will open five big arenas and all small arenas, so please make your choice wisely . Let me give you a word of warning, do not be overambitious . Try to select an arena of a sect that is most appropriate for your personal growth, and not based on the overall strength of the sect . Of course, stronger sects will naturally give you more advantages and benefits, but you will also have to take up the corresponding duties . If you do not have the mental preparation to take up these duties, you may leave . "

He paused briefly .

"Everyone will only have the opportunity to select their arena of choice once . In the end, the combined ranking compet.i.tion will be held . "

After he finished talking, he slowly raised his hands, turned around and shot up into the sky, disappearing into the distance in a flash .

At the gate of the Star Core Plaza, the crowd stood there briefly in shock, before slowly funneling themselves into the plaza . Everyone who entered the premises would have an internal map of the plaza appearing in their hands .

Garen also received one, the map clearly stated all the specialties and characteristics of the arenas, what sect they belong to and where their actual location was .

As the three walked through the ma.s.ses of people whilst Garen was looking down at his map, Liz suddenly patted him on his shoulder .

"Look, it's the hummingbird user!" Liz said softly, looking at the direction of the person on her right .

Garen and Accord, followed suit to see that it was indeed the hummingbird user from the battle yesterday . The boy in the blue s.h.i.+rt had a cold and sour expression, his silver bracelet looked matte and dull, it was not as bright and s.h.i.+ny as it was in yesterday's battle . It seems like it wasn't activated yet .

In front of him, there was naturally a small sized area being created as he moves . This was not because people were intentionally making s.p.a.ce for him out of respect but rather because his body was emitting a slight willpower energy field that forcefully parted the crowds in front to him like the red sea .

"It's a Level 5 energy field… There's no doubt about it, he's one of the big three seeded partic.i.p.ants in our compet.i.tion area," Accord said as he adjusted his gla.s.ses once more .

Garen nodded, he could also feel his opponent's strength . For him to attain a Level 5 energy field at his age was amazing . Moreover, it seemed like he was not a Level 5 energy machinist, but rather just a Level 4 . He used an experiment platform to create his own evolved beast to reach Level 5 .

"He was the one who fought against the red skeleton girl yesterday night right below where we stayed . He lost the match though," Liz muttered softly .

"You guys saw it too?" Accord asked . "Him, the red skeleton user and another person, they are considered the prodigies of our compet.i.tion area . We need to be cautious of them during the combined compet.i.tion . "

Garen and Liz nodded in agreement .

These types of geniuses amongst energy machinists all have terrifying calculating prowess . A lot of the tactics used by them would be very hard to be a.s.sessed by their opponents and all of them would already have a fully prepared a counterplan and battle tactics . They most likely have already been through countless simulation battles . So in that battle, they'd much rather skip all the tactics and just fight through a clash of strength .

In these situations, for rookies who have to face the hummingbird user, they would be out of luck .

After a.s.sessing his current strength, Garen came to the conclusion that if he faces this person, his chances of winning were extremely slim . The speed of that hummingbird was too high, there was no conceivable way for him to dodge it . Furthermore, that Level 5 energy field was not something he could break through easily .

"Let's go," he said with a frown on his face .

"Mmm . "

The two others followed closely behind as they proceeded to the arenas deeper in the Plaza .

The Star Core Plaza was filled with countless dry and withered trees of all shapes and sizes . The dark blue color of the dried tree bark made the trees look like weird evolved creatures, neatly stationed at two sides surrounding the plaza .

In the plaza, there were also a few minotaur guards patrolling the area . They looked the same as the ones from Figures Plaza, with the only difference being the lack of advertis.e.m.e.nts on their axes, giving off an intimidating aura .

The crowds slowly separated into the respective branching roads in the plaza, the people walking around Garen and company has also visibly decreased .

"Where are you guys planning to go? Which sect do you plan to choose?" Accord asked while seemingly recording something into his PDA .

Liz grinned, "I'm headed to the Dragon Light Sect . I've been admiring the Dragon Light of the Dragon Light Sect for ages now, it's very pretty and strong . "

"I still haven't decided," Garen shook his head whilst looking at the major sects listed on the plaza map . The list was completely filled with the names of countless sects .

Accord kept his PDA and chuckled .

"It must be fate that the three of us would be here together today . I'm planning on going for the Star Cloud Sect . I don't know if I'll be able to make the cut or not, but this has always been my dream since I was young . "

"That's one of the Big Three Sects… How ambitious!" Liz said in admiration . "Too bad I don't have the confidence to try it . We don't have absolute G.o.d-given talents, our willpower is also not strong enough, the odds of getting into one of the Big Three Sects are too low . "

"Well, that's still better than me, I still have no clue about what sect I want to join," Garen chuckled bitterly . He looked towards Accord and asked, "Do you have any suggestions for me? Accord?"

In this trip, the three could be considered fellow students of the same level . Accord had great knowledge of theoretical aspects, Garen was filled with combat experience, and Liz was good in a linguistic aspect . With that, the three managed to help make up for each other's weak points, forming a decent bond through their interactions . Energy machinists are mostly rational people, there would not be anyone who would want to decline these types of mutually beneficial relations.h.i.+ps .

. . . . After some time, Garen was awakened by the sounds of a heated argument . My stuff isnt something anyone can take, a seemingly young male voice rang out loud . The stuff I want is not something anyone can deny me! A c.o.c.ky female voice calmly said . What followed was a loud and violent shockwave . Garen was awakened from his calculations . He let out a big sigh and looked up at the ceiling that was flaking dust . The shockwaves continued one after another, seemingly never-ending . He stood up, walked to the window, drew open the curtain and looked down where two small silhouettes were standing facing each other on the street below . In between the two silhouettes, a red and a blue shadow kept rapidly colliding with each other . From the looks of it, the blue shadow seemed to be at a disadvantage because every time it got hit it would let out a loud moan . It could clearly be seen that the two silhouettes were both below the age of 20 . The boy was in a blue s.h.i.+rt, with a silver bracelet around his wrist, emitting multiple spots of silverish light . The blue shadow in front of him seemed to be getting forced into a corner . On the other hand, the girl was waving a golden can in her hand, giving off a prideful aura . She was instructing the red shadow to attack continuously, almost as if the waving was conducting the red shadows every move, like a whip continuously whipping forth . The willpower shockwaves from their battle caused ripples that were at least Level Three in strength . Looking at the core of the battle where the strength was most intense, it was even at Level Four degrees of power . There were many Energy Machinists surrounding and watching the bout . In this location, it was impossible to bring out large-sized Self-Defense Evolved Creatures . One could only carry super-small-sized strong types or utilize s.p.a.ce equipment, but both of these methods were far too expensive . Even if this was the city of Nagadako, a super-small-sized evolved creature was not something the average energy machinist could afford . This was comparable to having a person earn tens of thousands bucks per month when the average monthly income was two or three thousand bucks . Everyone would be using a cheap ten buck wallet, whilst the person would be using a pure leather wallet worth thousands . Its the same in this situation . Those who own super-small-sized evolved creatures would at the very least be from a wealthy household . It was considered a brand and a status symbol after all . However, at this point, the two were displaying an unmovable arrogance in their actions . The boy was being suppressed so much that he had started to lose his breath . His blue shadow started to move slower and slower, becoming clearer and clearer . Slowly, the shape of the shadow could finally be made out, it was a tiny hummingbird that was completely blue in color . . . As the hummingbirds movements slowed down, the other red shadow also slowed down its attacks in response Surprisingly, the red shadow was a palm-sized red skeleton . The red skeleton was floating in the air, with a pair of red wings flapping rapidly on its back . Hand out the stuff, the girl put out her hand . Your hummingbird is no match against my skeleton . Red skeleton! Hmph! The boy coldly sighed, his face pale . Finally, with a toss, he threw a brownish ball to the ground, turned around and left . The figure of the hummingbird slowly started to fade away, then disappearing into the boys body . Looks like you at least have some tact! the girl chuckled as she picked up the brownish ball . She glanced around at the surrounding energy machinists, then returned to her cold emotionless expression as she turned around and left the area . Garen let out a breath in amazement . This is indeed the central city, where the energy machinists are the most advanced . The elites from all around the universe have gathered here . To be a Level 4 energy machinist at the age of 20, this degree is far crazier than me . Garen did some calculations and it would take more than 10 years for him to successfully get to Level 4 . However, in this 10 years, theres no telling how far these geniuses would have already progressed . This time, the body I got was certainly average in the willpower aspect… Garen let out a sigh, closed the curtains and continued his calculations . All achievements relied on slowly acc.u.mulating small steps . Word of the battle between the hummingbird and the red skeleton started to spread . Soon, a recorded video of the twos confrontation got uploaded to the Internet . Garen took out some time to use the inns public computer to watch the video, but he couldnt learn anything from it . The skills used by the two were one tier higher than his capabilities so it wasnt something he could learn at this time . The elite evolved creatures they used were at least Level 4 or 5 in terms of combat power . He might not even be able to withstand their attacks even back when he was in his strongest state and in a mech . . . After all, he was only testing the waters . After an uneventful night, early in the morning of the next day, Liz and Accord came over and knocked on his door . Garen had already washed up earlier . The three then proceeded to make their way towards the selection tests . At the time, plenty of youths planning on taking the selection tests had already gathered at the Star Core Plaza . Almost all of them were below 20 years old, with barely a handful of people in their 20s . Walking amongst the crowd, Garen and company did not look anywhere out of the ordinary . Bong!!! A melodious clock bell sounded from within the Star Core Plaza . The fence started to vibrate and instantly faded away, almost as if it was never there in the first place . At this moment, a mustached man in what seemed to be yellow royal garbs walked out from inside . He pridefully surveyed the people in the crowds who were eagerly awaiting their entrance . Routine maintenance inspection has just been completed . Please prepare to enter the arena . Today, we will open five big arenas and all small arenas, so please make your choice wisely . Let me give you a word of warning, do not be overambitious . Try to select an arena of a sect that is most appropriate for your personal growth, and not based on the overall strength of the sect . Of course, stronger sects will naturally give you more advantages and benefits, but you will also have to take up the corresponding duties . If you do not have the mental preparation to take up these duties, you may leave . He paused briefly . Everyone will only have the opportunity to select their arena of choice once . In the end, the combined ranking compet.i.tion will be held . After he finished talking, he slowly raised his hands, turned around and shot up into the sky, disappearing into the distance in a flash . At the gate of the Star Core Plaza, the crowd stood there briefly in shock, before slowly funneling themselves into the plaza . Everyone who entered the premises would have an internal map of the plaza appearing in their hands . Garen also received one, the map clearly stated all the specialties and characteristics of the arenas, what sect they belong to and where their actual location was . As the three walked through the ma.s.ses of people whilst Garen was looking down at his map, Liz suddenly patted him on his shoulder . Look, its the hummingbird user! Liz said softly, looking at the direction of the person on her right . Garen and Accord, followed suit to see that it was indeed the hummingbird user from the battle yesterday . The boy in the blue s.h.i.+rt had a cold and sour expression, his silver bracelet looked matte and dull, it was not as bright and s.h.i.+ny as it was in yesterdays battle . It seems like it wasnt activated yet . In front of him, there was naturally a small sized area being created as he moves . This was not because people were intentionally making s.p.a.ce for him out of respect but rather because his body was emitting a slight willpower energy field that forcefully parted the crowds in front to him like the red sea . Its a Level 5 energy field… Theres no doubt about it, hes one of the big three seeded partic.i.p.ants in our compet.i.tion area, Accord said as he adjusted his gla.s.ses once more . Garen nodded, he could also feel his opponents strength . For him to attain a Level 5 energy field at his age was amazing . Moreover, it seemed like he was not a Level 5 energy machinist, but rather just a Level 4 . He used an experiment platform to create his own evolved beast to reach Level 5 . He was the one who fought against the red skeleton girl yesterday night right below where we stayed . He lost the match though, Liz muttered softly . You guys saw it too? Accord asked . Him, the red skeleton user and another person, they are considered the prodigies of our compet.i.tion area . We need to be cautious of them during the combined compet.i.tion . Garen and Liz nodded in agreement . These types of geniuses amongst energy machinists all have terrifying calculating prowess . A lot of the tactics used by them would be very hard to be a.s.sessed by their opponents and all of them would already have a fully prepared a counterplan and battle tactics . They most likely have already been through countless simulation battles . So in that battle, theyd much rather skip all the tactics and just fight through a clash of strength . In these situations, for rookies who have to face the hummingbird user, they would be out of luck . After a.s.sessing his current strength, Garen came to the conclusion that if he faces this person, his chances of winning were extremely slim . The speed of that hummingbird was too high, there was no conceivable way for him to dodge it . Furthermore, that Level 5 energy field was not something he could break through easily . Lets go, he said with a frown on his face . Mmm . The two others followed closely behind as they proceeded to the arenas deeper in the Plaza . The Star Core Plaza was filled with countless dry and withered trees of all shapes and sizes . The dark blue color of the dried tree bark made the trees look like weird evolved creatures, neatly stationed at two sides surrounding the plaza . In the plaza, there were also a few minotaur guards patrolling the area . They looked the same as the ones from Figures Plaza, with the only difference being the lack of advertis.e.m.e.nts on their axes, giving off an intimidating aura . The crowds slowly separated into the respective branching roads in the plaza, the people walking around Garen and company has also visibly decreased . Where are you guys planning to go? Which sect do you plan to choose? Accord asked while seemingly recording something into his PDA . Liz grinned, Im headed to the Dragon Light Sect . Ive been admiring the Dragon Light of the Dragon Light Sect for ages now, its very pretty and strong . I still havent decided, Garen shook his head whilst looking at the major sects listed on the plaza map . The list was completely filled with the names of countless sects . Accord kept his PDA and chuckled . It must be fate that the three of us would be here together today . Im planning on going for the Star Cloud Sect . I dont know if Ill be able to make the cut or not, but this has always been my dream since I was young . Thats one of the Big Three Sects… How ambitious! Liz said in admiration . Too bad I dont have the confidence to try it . We dont have absolute G.o.d-given talents, our willpower is also not strong enough, the odds of getting into one of the Big Three Sects are too low . Well, thats still better than me, I still have no clue about what sect I want to join, Garen chuckled bitterly . He looked towards Accord and asked, Do you have any suggestions for me? Accord? In this trip, the three could be considered fellow students of the same level . Accord had great knowledge of theoretical aspects, Garen was filled with combat experience, and Liz was good in a linguistic aspect . With that, the three managed to help make up for each others weak points, forming a decent bond through their interactions . Energy machinists are mostly rational people, there would not be anyone who would want to decline these types of mutually beneficial relations.h.i.+ps .