Martial Arts Worlds

In the government building.

"…"

A receptionist looked at her wristwatch and saw that it was about thirty minutes before closing, and the government building had turned empty.

Most had already taken their test and had either left back home in disappointment or had already gone over to the Selection Mansion.

It was about time to close the doors as well.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The bell dinged above the door—it was a bell that was often seen in shops—and the receptionist moved her gaze to the door.

Wearing a black coat, boots, and deep shade of gray trousers, a young man walked in with a slightly sickly-looking face.

It looked like he'd been sick for a while.

"Hello, have you come to take the test?"

The receptionist asked with a smile.

"Yeah…"

Kiernan, with his gray hair falling over his ears, replied with a slightly unhealthy-sounding voice.

"Please, sign these!"

She said and handed him some papers, which he quickly signed with a borrowed pen from the receptionist, and wrote his name down.

[Name: Kiernan Hunter]

When she saw the name, she thought that she had seen that name somewhere but couldn't remember where, and with a smile, led him to the back room.

"…Still someone? This late? Tch, tch, tch!"

The black-suited man was sitting behind the table, so when he saw someone enter, he had to stand back up.

He had already thought that his job was done here, as it was only thirty minutes before the closing, but surprisingly, there were still people who left it at the last moment to come and take the test.

"Place your hand on the crystal ball, please."

The black-suited man said with a not-so-approachable tone.

With a nod, Kiernan touched the crystal ball, felt something happening inside the ball, and waited.

"…"

With a crouch, the black-suited man looked inside the ball, and slowly, his eyes rounded up in horror and shock.

"W-What's your name?"

"Kiernan… Hunter."

When he said that, the black-suited man's eyes almost popped out of his sockets.

He was part of the organization that worked alongside the Junior Martial Arts Championship and knew the young man in front of him.

However, during the Junior Martial Arts Championship, which happened several months ago, he was supposed to be only Low Stage Martial Master.

What he saw in the crystal ball made him rethink life, and with dry lips and voice, he said.

"H-High Stage Martial Grandmaster… You've officially passed the test and met the requirements to compete in the first selection rounds."

"Thanks…"

Kiernan stepped out of the room, leaving behind the shocked black-suited man who was already calling his superiors, and then stepped out of the building.

"How did it go?"

With an excited look, Aoi ran over to him with an expectant look, and Kiernan just weakly smiled and nodded.

"I made it through."

"Nice…"

Aoi said, but it was obvious that he was going to make it, especially with his current strength that even shocked her.

She took the test yesterday and also made it to the first selection round—she already knew where the two of them had to go—to the Selection Mansion.

She knew that there was a bus leaving in about an hour that would take them there. It was a free ride. But they had to show proof of their identity.

They had already received confirmation through the email that they had accepted into the first selection rounds, so they were allowed to take the bus there.

"…What's the time?"

Kiernan pulled out his phone, but he accidentally squeezed too hard and caused the screen to crack.

"Oh man…"

"You need to be careful, Kiernan. You aren't used to your strength!"

Aoi said with a pout.

The same happened with some cups they had back in the inn, which Kiernan also crushed, as he hadn't come to terms with his current strength.

In the Martial Grandmaster stage, the gap between each rank was immensely large.

The difference between Low Stage and Middle Stage was as big as the gap between Low Stage Martial Champion and Low Stage Martial Master.

The difference between Middle Stage and High Stage was as large as the gap between Low Stage Martial Master and Low Stage Martial Grandmaster.

Thus, if Kiernan had drunk this potion as a Low Stage Martial Master, he would've definitely made it all the way to Low Stage Martial Grandmaster.

However, with his current condition of the martial soul, which was slightly damaged, it would take him years to advance a single stage in Martial Grandmaster.

Luckily, he was already a High Stage Martial Grandmaster, so he had to heal his soul and then start his advancement to Martial King.

It could still take him years, but at least he wasn't Low Stage Martial Grandmaster with a broken martial soul.

It would be horrible.

…

"…High Stage Martial Grandmaster, am I hearing that right?"

The headmaster of the selection mansion asked as he received the report from his subordinate.

"Yes… Kiernan Hunter took his test and is heading over here right as we speak. The crystal ball is never mistaken."

The subordinate said.

"With Kiernan, it means that we have three High Stage Martial Grandmasters in the selection rounds. That's good, but it's not enough…"

The headmaster said with a troubled look.

"I received a report of whom Animal Kingdom chose as their representatives, and it isn't looking good, I must say.

"Beast King Arazimir, Low Stage Martial King, and the son of the Beast King Vladimir.

"Dawn Pawford, High Stage Martial Grandmaster, and the princess of the Snow Leopard clan.

"Zacred Windstalker, High Stage Martial Grandmaster, and the prince of annihilation of the Direwolf clan.

"Percival Foxhelm, High Stage Martial Grandmaster, and the four-tailed fox.

"Alistark Prowel, High Stage Martial Grandmaster, and the strongest fighter of the Lynx clan.

"Shafira Baridah, High Stage Martial Grandmaster, and the talent that the Cheetah clan decided to send even though they rarely participate in tournaments.

"Singlar Blackwhisk, High Stage Martial Grandmaster, and member of the Black Panther royal clan. There is not much information about him.

"Somehow, we need to beat them to win the tournament… I honestly don't know how we are supposed to do that."