Arden stood over ten men that he had just beaten. They were all sprawled across the arena, breathing hard.

Arden tilted his head slightly and smirked, looking back at the other men.

"Is this all? Just as I expected... you're all just too weak. Is this all the men of the Avenora Clan can do?"

The male members clenched their fists in anger, while the female members tried to hide their laughter, but none of the male members dared to argue.

The ten men who had just fought Arden were all strong but still got defeated by him alone.

Garion crossed his arm, watching the match proudly from the sidelines. "That's my boy."

Arden then looked around, scanning the crowd, searching for someone.

When he found the one he was looking for, his eyes narrowed and his smirk widened.

"Avro! Come down here! Didn't you always say I'd never amount to anything? That I'd be nothing but a pretty face?"

Arden grinned as he spread his arms wide and stepped on one of the ten men's heads.

"Now tell me? Do I still look the same? Come here now and find out if you can still talk like that after you take a beating!"

Avro, the man that Arden called, stiffened and quickly appeared from the crowd.

He had messy green afro-like hair and a pretty large build but was not muscular like Arden and Garion's other disciple.

Avro looked at Arden and frowned. He gritted his teeth and jumped down into the arena.

"Arden! I admit that you've gotten stronger. But don't think that means you can mock the rest of us."

He reached behind his back and pulled out a massive battle axe, glowing with green and brown mana.

"For all the men of the Avenora Clan, I'll discipline you and also show you what real strength looks like."

Arden smirked, shifting his stance. He slid his feet apart and relaxed his shoulder a bit.

His breathing was slowed as his stance was different than before. It was like another kind of martial art.

Garion raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Oh? Switching from [Aikido] to [Karate], huh?"

Dahlia smirked. "Guess he wants to finish this with impact."

Garion chuckled. "Good choice. Time to show them how to hit back properly."

Aveline, still watching from beside them, spoke softly. "Don't underestimate Avro."

Her gaze turned back to Avro. "He may not look impressive, but he's one of the strongest youth here."

Dahlia tilted her head, smirking. "Oh? How strong are we talking here?"

Aveline met her eyes. "Strong enough to stand among our elders. He's already reached the [Integration Stage] of the [Mana Core Realm]."

Garion's brows lifted slightly, smirking a bit. "Oh? That's quite a feat. His arrogance is not just for show, huh?"

Dahlia's grin widened. "As expected of a clan that values power above all."

Then she tilted her head, teasing them. "Though… it seems like in this clan, the uglier the men, the stronger they are."

That comment made several male cultivators frown immediately.

One of them looked at Dahlia and shouted. "Watch your mouth, girl!"

Another one nodded and added another. "Show some respect! You're in the presence of the Matriarch!"

But Dahlia only crossed her arms and smirked. "Respect is earned. And I'm just stating what everyone's thinking."

The women of the clan tried to stay quiet, but a few of them couldn't help it and laughed quietly.

Some even nodded in agreement, whispering among themselves. "Honestly, she's not wrong and has a point."

The male cultivators' faces turned red, but they didn't dare act rashly.

Aveline covered her mouth with her hand, clearly trying not to laugh. "Your disciple is quite a troublemaker, Sir Garion."

Garion just shrugged, looking completely unbothered. "She's just telling the truth. No harm done, right?"

Raviel chuckled under his breath. "You're lucky she's on your side, not ours."

The male members, including the elders, frowned and clearly wanted to argue back, but none of them dared to speak.

Garion turned his head slightly, giving them a glance. Although his expression was calm, his eyes were really intimidating.

And the man's body was built like a wall, and that body paired with his aura really made them not want to fight him.

Garion only smirked as he turned back to the arena, watching how Arden will make this Avro guy suffer.

Arden looked at Avro, tilting his head slightly and smirking. "Come on, Avro."

He raised his hand and motioned him to come forward. "Let me give that ridiculous Afro hair of yours a fresh cut."

Garion, Raviel, and the others laughed after hearing what Arden said.

Even Dahlia was holding her stomach, barely containing it. "Fresh cut... good one!"

Avro's face quickly turned red. He gritted his teeth until veins bulged on his forehead.

"You dare insult my hair.... I'll make you pay for insulting it! Now that this [Root Strike]!

Vines and roots appeared from beneath him and began to cover his axe.

His axe glowed with greenish-brown mana as thick roots wrapped around the blade until it looked twice its original size.

Avro then stomped forward, rushing toward Arden. "Let's see if your fancy 'training' can stop this!"

He swung the axe horizontally, and in an instant the vines around it snapped and began to lash toward Arden.

Arden stayed still until the very last moment. Only when the axe and the vines were close to him... he finally moved.

He sidestepped, lowering his body to grab Avro's wrist, and then twisted the arm sharply, redirecting all the momentum.

The axe slammed into the ground beside them, shaking the arena a bit, but it didn't really disturb Arden at all.

He quickly spun and slammed his elbow cleanly into Avro's side, forcing him to stumble back.

Avro coughed but quickly regained his footing. "Not bad, but don't think it's over."

Arden only smirked as he stepped back a bit and motioned his hand for him to come over like before.

Avro frowned and took back his axe, readying for his next move.

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