Walking back into the waiting area, Adam headed towards the corner of the large hall that he had previously sat in, and as he did, the eyes of many were glued onto him.
Amazed that he had been permitted to return to the waiting area and take part in the tournament, since the Martial Arts Union was known for being very strict when it came to their rules.
They had a no-tolerance policy and once one broke their rules once, getting back on their good graces and being accepted by them was almost impossible.
And yet Adam, the unusual individual they knew nothing about had managed to do so, and very quickly at that.
It had been only a minute since he had been escorted away, and now he had returned.
There was still the lingering smell of blood along with a large dark red stain on the ground that had mostly dried up, which Adam scoffed at as he sat down comfortably.
Without even needing to use his spiritual sense or look around the waiting area, he could feel the gazes of many on him, which slightly annoyed him, but he decided to ignore them.
Completing the tournament quickly was most important and there wasn't anyone in particular that stood out very much, with most of them being pretty talented, but none could be classified as a heaven-defying genius.
Although Adam's standards and evaluations were very harsh, they were honest and accurate, as he closed his eyes and recovered the energy he had lost when he had previously used the Charm Skill.
Half an hour quickly passed and the cultivators in the waiting area were starting to get restless, with most of them itching to begin battling and display their capabilities to the world.
Most were representing a cultivation family or some sort of organisation, since being a lone and independent cultivator was very difficult and rare. And as the tournament took place in a large arena with most capable cultivators in the region going to attend, many were eager to show off in front of the audience and make a name for themselves.
Obviously, Adam couldn't care less about that and was more interested in observing and learning from the martial arts of the others taking part, while also making his way to the national tournament where many senior figures of the Martial Arts Union were likely to be.
Each of the cultivators in the waiting area was given a badge with a number and then led to another waiting area that was on the edge of the arena and gave them a view of the arena where four stages were set.
"Since there are quite a lot of participants in this region this year, the tournament will take part on 4 different stages. Lots will be picked randomly and numbers called. If your badge number is called, head to the stage that it was called from," announced the man, that was also the one that was meant to interrogate Adam after what had happened.
From what Adam had gathered, he was the Branch Master and someone that was below only the elders, great elders and masters of the entire Martial Arts Union.
His cultivation level was at least at the Grandmaster Cultivation Level and he was the one in charge of the tournament. While despite being quite a lot older than Adam, was still quite young for a cultivator.
He was also the one that would be the judge, referee and announcer of the tournament, planning to oversee all 4 stages at the same time by himself.
For a skilled cultivator, observing 4 moving entities at once was quite an easy feat, however, observing 4 battles between skilled and capable cultivators was a totally different story. And he was also supposed to intervene and stop any of the battles that had gone too far or he thought were unfair or over.
Although there were quite a few skilled cultivators on standby that were also ready to intervene if necessary, it seemed as though they were all confident in the Branch Master's capabilities.
Which made Adam even more curious to see what he was capable of and even more impressed by himself for being able to dominate and control him.
Adam could feel a power welling up inside him and even without hunting in the dungeon, he was sure that he was on the verge of breaking through and triggering a series of rapid improvements.
It seemed as though all the pressure, hard work, development and experiences were taking their effect, and with Adam continuously seeking power, his body was evolving, adapting and improving at unbelievable rates.
And to his surprise, the number he was designated was one of the first 8 numbers that were called out and the one he was facing had a lean figure and was wearing fancy, but also simple white robes.
He had tanned skin and had a more south-Asian appearance, but that didn't make him any less well known, with many in the audience cheering for him.
There were thousands of spectators and it seemed as though it was quite the big event, with Adam facing opposite him on a large stage in the centre of a giant arena.
If this was merely a small branch of the Martial Arts Union and it had such large facilities, this many capable cultivators and this much influence, Adam was excited to see what the headquarters of such a large organisation would be like.
But before reaching that, he had to defeat his first opponent and all the others that came after him.
"So, what's your name? I saw you handle that big guy and I must say, you are worthy of being recognised by the future champion of the National Youth Martial Arts Tournament," he asked in a gloating manner.
Adam just smiled, amused by how many cultivators would let their measly power, wealth and fame get to their heads, as he answered, "The name's Liao Wei, and don't bother telling me yours, your fan girls are screaming it loud enough and I don't really care who you are,"
And with that, the sparks of battle intent were almost visible between the cultivators on the stages.