A Bug In Fate

The sun rose over the horizon, and the warm sunlight passed through the windows, marking the beginning of a new day.

Ravenhold was already bustling with activity as people prepared for the tournament and thought about how they could benefit from it. The streets were more crowded than usual, with people moving from one place to another while discussing the upcoming matches.

Vendors opened their shops with high spirits. Today, they didn’t even need to shout to attract customers, as people were already flocking toward their stalls. Some were busy shopping, while children ran around the streets and threw tantrums, forcing their parents to chase after them.

Many people couldn’t sleep properly because of their anticipation for the tournament, while others hadn’t slept at all, having spent the entire night drinking and celebrating.

The entire city seemed to be waiting for something.

And finally, that something had arrived.

"Hurry up, Mom! Dad!" a child shouted as he dragged his parents toward the center of the city.

"Wait, slow down! We aren’t going anywhere," his mother said as she hurried after him.

"But we’ll get a bad seat!" the child complained, pulling them even harder.

At another spot, two friends were dragging their friend, who had been unconscious after drinking the whole night.

"Hurry up, man! At this rate, we won’t get a seat," one of them said, smacking his head in an attempt to wake him up.

"Wake up! The tournament is starting soon!"

"Ugh... five more minutes..." the unconscious man muttered.

"Five more minutes? Are you insane? We’ve been waiting for this for days!"

"Yeah, we want the closest seat possible," another friend said as they continued dragging him through the crowded street.

"Forget the seat! Just make sure we get there before the gates close!"

All around them, similar conversations could be heard as people hurried toward the tournament grounds.

"Come on! We’re going to miss the opening!"

"Hurry up!"

The entire city seemed to be moving toward the same destination, their excitement filling the streets as the long-awaited tournament was finally about to begin.

The arena stood at the centre of Ravenhold, and just looking at it was enough to make anyone realize how massive the tournament actually was.

As the time for the tournament drew closer, people began moving toward the centre of the city, where the arena was situated. The streets became increasingly crowded as countless spectators hurried toward the same destination.

It was nearly seventy kilometers wide and seventy kilometers long, covering an area so enormous that the other buildings around it looked almost insignificant in comparison.

The outer walls stretched far into the distance, while countless seats surrounded the enormous battlefield in several layers.

There were nearly forty lakh seats in total, enough to accommodate a massive portion of the city’s population along with visitors from the neighboring cities.

Crowds were already filling the seats, and the noise coming from the arena could be heard from far outside its walls.

Cheers, conversations, and excited shouts mixed together as people searched for their seats.

The arena wasn’t made only for ordinary spectators either.

Several VIP rooms had been constructed above the main seating areas, each one large enough to accommodate nobles, important guests, and influential figures who had come to watch the tournament.

Some rooms even had their own private balconies overlooking the battlefield.

At the centre of everything was the enormous arena itself.

The battlefield was so large that cultivators could fight without worrying about accidentally reaching the edge too quickly.

For a tournament involving five cities and their most talented young cultivators, the arena was more than large enough.

And today, every single seat was waiting to be filled.

While people were searching for their seats in anticipation, the participants were going through a line.

At the corner of the arena, exactly 163 participants were waiting for their turn as some kind of orb was placed on the table.

Five individuals wearing red and blue robes were standing nearby—three women around twenty years old and two men around the same age. They were all in the Metamorphosis Realm.

The five individuals remained near the table, calmly observing the participants as they waited for their turn. Their presence alone was enough to make some of the younger participants slightly nervous, especially those who were unfamiliar with the people standing before them.

The line stretched across the corner of the arena, with participants standing one after another while occasionally glancing toward the blue orb on the table.

At this moment, a participant placed their hands on the blue orb, causing it to begin glowing. Something appeared on its surface.

"18."

One of the women in red robes nodded at the participant as he was allowed to move forward, where the other participants who had already been checked were also waiting while chatting among themselves.

Another female participant at the Spark realm moved forward as she placed her hand on the orb.

"17."

She also moved to the other side after receiving permission.

After that, a beautiful girl with green hair and black eyes stepped forward with calm steps before glancing back toward a corner, where a woman in guard gear nodded at her and smiled faintly.

"Hey, isn’t she Elara Windmare from Windmare City?"

"Shhh... Shut up. She’ll hear you."

Elara walked with a calm stride, and without looking at the five individuals, she placed her hand on the orb.

"17."

Without looking back, she moved forward. A moment later, a boy with enthusiastic energy moved toward the orb with a grin on his face.

He was Marcus from Redmont City.

"18."

"Good," he said before walking away with the same energetic attitude.

"He is Marcus from our Redmont City... Haha, I’m sure he will win," a boy muttered, even though he himself was a participant.

"Hey, look over there... Aren’t they the famous twins from Greyhaven City?"

"Look, Lucas is also going to verify his age."

"Why are all the famous participants going one after another?" A young man couldn’t help but ask out loud.

"Fool, it’s all about momentum."

One thing to notice was that all these people everyone was whispering about were at the Peak Rupture Realm, while the others were at the Spark Realm, with some in the early stages of the Rupture Realm.

At this moment, Mina and Liam also moved forward. The orb glowed, and the duo nodded as they walked away, but their eyes seemed to search for something—or someone—as they glanced around with narrowed eyes.

Fifteen minutes later, half of the people remained to verify themselves when a young man with blue hair and black eyes stepped forward at a relaxed pace.

If it weren’t for the people behind him cursing at him, he could have looked like he wasn’t at a tournament, but rather on a vacation.

It was none other than the man who had introduced himself as Amon at the betting organization.

But one thing about him was now different. Instead of his Peak Awakened Realm cultivation, he was now at the Intermediate Rupture Realm, which was an impossible feat in every sense.

So how was it possible? What was his real cultivation?

Was he hiding his cultivation yesterday? Or, more importantly, how could one know if that was his real cultivation? After all, for all we knew, he might be hiding his cultivation even at this moment.

Unfortunately for all of us, there wasn’t anyone to answer that. And if there was, they weren’t willing to answer that.

Maybe only the upcoming tournament will be kind enough to reveal the answer to poor souls like us.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!