Garion scanned the hall slowly, eyes moving across thousands of nervous, sweating teenagers.

"I will only choose 450 of you."

A wave of gasps exploded through the crowd.

Garion raised one finger.

"And, maybe, three of you will become my direct disciples."

There was a silence for a moment before panic.

"Only four hundred and fifty?!"

"There's FIVE THOUSAND of us!"

"What kind of ratio is that?!"

"Bro, we're dead."

Garion watched their reactions with an amused smirk.

Meanwhile, deep inside the crowd, two figures stood out sharply from everyone else.

A tall boy with bright red hair, a massive frame, and a cocky smirk cracked his knuckles loudly.

"So that's the sect leader of the God Gym, huh?"

He narrowed his eyes at Garion.

"My father said this sect suddenly rose to the top because of some crazy body-cultivation path… I want to see if it's better than my Vulkran Clan's methods."

Next to him stood a girl with silver-blue hair, icy eyes, and an aura that screamed, "I am better than all of you."

She crossed her arms.

"Valtor, don't get ahead of yourself. That man defeated a Third Realm expert… while not even being Third Realm himself."

Valtor snorted.

"Please. News gets exaggerated all the time."

He tilted his head toward her.

"And you? Why are you even here, Seira? You're not a body cultivator. Last I checked, your clan is pure ice mana cultivation."

Seira's cold brows twitched.

"…I'm here to observe you. If you cause trouble, it will affect my clan too."

She glared sideways.

"I can't let you take over the God Gym just because of your stupid pride."

Valtor grinned wider.

"So you're babysitting me? Cute."

Seira's mana froze the air instantly.

"Say that again and I'll freeze your mouth shut."

Valtor laughed, completely unbothered.

"Hah! That's more like the arrogant Ice Princess everyone fears."

The other kids around them trembled, whispering.

"Isn't that… Seira of the Shivera Clan?"

"And that guy must be Valtor… the berserker of Vulkran Clan…"

"Why are THEY here?!"

"We're doomed…"

Meanwhile, up front, Garion noticed that two people were quite striking.

Every other recruit kept a safe distance from them, whispering nervously.

Garion narrowed his eyes.

"…Rendric. Those two. You know them?"

Rendric followed Garion's line of sight. The moment he saw the pair, his expression tightened.

"Yes, Master Garion. I recognize them. They're… not ordinary."

Garion's grin sharpened.

"Oh? Do tell."

Rendric bowed his head slightly.

"The boy is Valtor Vulkran, young master of the Vulkran Clan."

Garion raised an eyebrow.

"Vulkran… That's a top clan, right?"

Rendric nodded.

"Yes. They're known as the Flame Berserker Clan."

Garion blinked.

"…Flame Berserker? Seriously? That sounds awesome."

Rendric gave a helpless smile.

"They're famous for it. Their path is a mix of Fire Mana Cultivation and extreme Body Cultivation. Very rare. Only a few clans in the entire world practice both."

Garion's eyes brightened with interest.

"So they're body cultivators too. That explains his ridiculous arms."

Rendric nodded.

"Valtor is likely here by order of his father. They probably want to check your God Gym… because until you appeared, they were the only major body-cultivator clan."

Garion chuckled. "So my existence is ruining their monopoly. Nice."

Rendric continued.

"As for the girl… the cold one beside him…"

Garion tilted his head. "Yeah. What's her deal? They dating?"

Rendric shook his head immediately.

"No, absolutely not. Their clans are rivals."

Garion blinked, looking more interested.

"Rivals? Then why is she following him around like an angry chaperone?"

Rendric nodded.

"That girl is Seira Shivera, the Ice Princess of the Shivera Clan. Another top clan that cultivates Pure Ice Element Mana."

Garion looked at her again, mainly at her cold eyes, stiff posture, and the way she glared at Valtor constantly.

"She definitely looks like the 'step within my boundary and die' type."

Rendric sighed.

"She came because of Valtor. The Shivera Clan is… worried."

Garion raised an eyebrow.

"Worried? About what?"

Rendric lowered his voice.

"Worried that your body cultivation path might let the Vulkran Clan grow stronger than them. If Valtor becomes your disciple, the Shivera Clan could lose their balance of power."

Garion smirked, rubbing his chin.

"So the ice princess came to keep an eye on the flame berserker."

Rendric nodded firmly.

"That's right, Master Garion. If she thinks he's taking advantage of your training or your path… she'll probably intervene."

Garion laughed softly, watching the two bicker in the distance.

Valtor bragging.

Seira threatening to freeze him.

Everyone else was giving them a ten-meter radius of space.

Garion tilted his head, his grin stretching wider and wider.

"Now this… this is going to be fun."

He glanced to the side, eyes flicking toward the invisible screen only he could see.

'Alright, system. Same routine. Show me who's worth dragging to Demon Gate Island.'

[Scanning potential recruits…]

[Filtering by compatibility…]

[Selecting candidates…]

Garion waited lazily, hands in his pockets, while thousands of tense youths held their breath.

Every single one of them was imagining some kind of dramatic trial, or duel, or test of talent.

And then suddenly...

Swoosh!

450 faint arrows appeared above random kids across the hall.

And also... three golden arrows also appeared.

Garion's eyebrow shot up.

"Oh? Already picked my direct disciples, huh?"

He leaned forward, squinting just to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

They were Valtor Vulkran, Seira Shivera, and one more girl in another place.

Garion rubbed his chin, shoulders shaking with a silent laugh.

"Wow… So these two hotheaded rivals are supposed to be… my direct disciples? This is going to be fun."

He could already imagine their reactions.

Meanwhile...

The thousands of recruits below had no idea what was happening.

They whispered nervously, eyes jumping from Garion to Rendric to the elders.

"How is he going to choose…?"

"There's more than five thousand of us…"

"What if he picks based on strength?"

"No! What if it's based on looks? I'm dead!"

"I think he'll just fight us all!"

"SHUT UP, DON'T CURSE US!"

Garion chuckled softly at their worried faces.

He took one step forward, hands slipping into his pockets.

All eyes locked onto him instantly.

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