Mike and Antony had heard of Ricky before. However, when they saw him, they were taken by
surprise. Their impression had been that no one else would have come this far.
Ricky's presence immediately alerted them to his abilities. Since they were ace geniuses, they knew
how difficult the test was, which meant that they couldn't underestimate this man. He could pose a
serious challenge.
Their gazes then shifted from Ricky to the young man in black whom they had never seen before.
"Does anyone know who that young man is? The one wearing black? I don't think we've ever met him
or even seen him before today," some of the saints outside the ancient battlefield asked others around
them.
"I don't know him!" Most answers were in the negative and the exercise bore no fruit.
"Looks like he might be another genius we are unaware of; or were unaware of till now."
"Apart from Mike and Antony, Ricky and this stranger are the only ones who passed the test, which
means they are powerful geniuses too. I wonder if they are stronger than Mike and Antony."
"Rumor has it that Ricky was once an incredible demi-spiritual emperor. I don't know if it is true but
that's what I've heard."
"Can someone here verify that rumor?"
"Beats me! If we want to know the answer, we need to ask those from the Five-element Sect about it."
Inside the Combat Space, Mike asked the stranger, "Hi, may I know your name?"
"Hi! I am Chad." the young man answered, the tone exceedingly polite, as he cupped his hands in
response. There was a soft tone in his voice that made people feel like he was a nice guy.
Ricky felt like Chad was a very calm and collected person who never lost his cool.
However, his seven zones warned him that he was wrong about Chad.
His intuition was saying that this man was more dangerous than Mike and Antony. What was more,
Ricky felt like he had seen this man somewhere before.
'Whoever he is, his presence is weird!' Ricky frowned inwardly.
None of the three participants noticed that Chad's attention had been mostly focused on Ricky. He was
sizing Ricky up and was curious about his strength.
"Chad, may I ask where you are from? I hope you won't feel offended if I do. It's just that we all get
curious about geniuses," Antony piped up.
"That's okay. I am from a small place just like Ricky here. I live in a corner of the Northern Land," Chad
replied.
"Wait! How do you know where I am from?" Ricky was surprised to hear the comparison. "The Northern
Land lies far away from the Eastern Land. Have you been there before?"
His suspicions about having met Chad somewhere earlier in his life had become much more definite
now.
"No. I have never had the honor of visiting the Eastern Land, but one of my friends went there. I've
heard a few things about you from him," Chad replied with a friendly smile.
"Oh, is that so?" Ricky was even more curious after hearing this. "Can you tell me your friend's name? I
wonder if I know him."
"Certainly. His name is Charles Kong, and he hails from the Western Land as well. You might
remember him by the fact that he possesses the Rock Mutant," Chad replied pleasantly.
"Charles Kong..." Ricky repeated thoughtfully.
The name didn't ring a bell at first, but he remembered who Charles was very soon.
When Ricky had been in a tournament while he was in the Western Land, Charles had tried to defeat
him under the orders of Oswald who had the Blue Water Mutant. Interestingly enough, his effort had
been unsuccessful.
After that, Charles had left since he didn't want to be controlled by Oswald.
"Do you recall my friend, Ricky?" Chad asked.
"Yes, I do. So, you are Charles' friend?" Ricky responded with a fake smile.
His sixth sense told him that Chad was lying. The true reason he felt that he knew the man was
because he could sense a trace of Oswald's aura emanating from Chad.
Ricky was curious and confused, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out Chad's real
identity. Eventually, he just let it go. He would know soon enough.
After Ricky activated the Time Zone, his power and cultivation base had improved significantly, and he
was confident that he could take on any opponent that came his way. Hence, he decided to play it by
ear.
'Perhaps Chad is involved with Oswald somehow. But in any case, I will handle whatever happens,'
Ricky thought to himself.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries and greetings, the four highly talented warriors glanced at
each other with determination in their eyes.
From this point forth, formalities were over, and they were competitors. One could even call them
enemies since none of them would want to give up Paul's inheritance.
"Only one of you can get his hands on Paul's inheritance. This Combat Space will be divided into two,
and you can fight in groups of two as well.
There are no rules. I am looking for the strongest warrior here, so the last man standing wins.
If you don't want to lose your life, you can admit defeat and you will be teleported out," Paul's will called
out to them once more.
The next moment, an overwhelming force gushed in and split the Combat Space in half. Now, the four
warriors had been divided into groups of two.
Ricky was going to fight Mike and in the other group, Antony was to face Chad.
Outside the ancient battlefield, a few talented warriors from other regions of the Middle Land had
gathered and were now discussing something animatedly. One of them was heard saying in an envious
tone. "Why did the ancient arena appear in this place?"
"Who knows? You know what gets me? No matter who among the four of them wins, they'll be no
match for us. And yet, here we are!"
"Yes. It's a shame Paul's inheritance will fall into their hands instead of ours. We all know that he was
an invincible warrior from the ancient times so his martial skills must be brilliant."
"I can say one thing for certain though. The inheritance isn't going to fall into the hands of anyone from
the outer region."
In the Combat Space, Mike fixed his gaze on Ricky. As he spoke, his momentum and strength were
increasing rapidly. "Ricky, I know you were once an incredible demi-spiritual emperor!"
Mike knew that he needed to take his opponent seriously since the latter had made it this far, which
was an incredible achievement in itself.
"Oh... I know you can utilize the heavenly power. It's no wonder you are recognized as an ace genius
and rank first among the top ten geniuses.
Did you know that I always wanted to go a few rounds with you? But, I didn't expect that we would
meet like this," Ricky replied politely.
"I'm flattered, Ricky." Mike smiled slightly.
"But these are just titles. It is our strength that matters. Regardless of who fights who in this battle,
there will only be one winner today. Only one man will enjoy fame and reward and the rest of us must
go home losers,"
he added.
With that, his fighting spirit integrated with his strength. He was going to make his move when his
fighting spirit and strength had increased to the highest possible level.
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