Cultivation Through Artifacts

When Khal enrolled into Moon Academy, right at the Announcement Day, Jas told not only him but everyone else there that those in possession of the V.I.P keys must fight every 3 days to keep the keys' right, let it be they who challenged someone or them who got challenged. However, if for some strange reason they forgot to fight or declined all the challenges and passed the 3 days deadline, then they would automatically lose the right to hold the key, while the privilege would fall accordingly onto someone else; this was an absolute rule and no one could avoid it!

Since Khal entered Moon Academy, he only fought once which was against Angor, right after he came back from a hunt with Logan.

However, since then, 2 whole days had already passed and the end of the final day was extremely near; so near that right now, inches above his key, a countdown has formed from white light!

/2 hours, 58 minutes, 21 seconds/

"..."

"Fuck!"

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The sun was hanging high above the boundless sky, shining the entirety of Moon City in its full glory. And right inside the very interior of Moon City, inside Moon Academy, two young girls in black uniforms were walking next to each other on the streets, merrily chatting with each other.

The left one was petite; she had medium-short brown hair, a delicate face with a pair of shining chestnut eyes. Her thin but sharp brown eyebrows, her small cherry red lips, and her smooth white skin which was almost akin to the snow's luster gave her such a mature and graceful charisma that all the men would fall over her with a single glance.

On the other hand, the right one was even more glamorous. She had long, silk-smooth black hair that shone under the sunlight and was in perfect harmony with her gray eyes. With her slim waist and long legs, she was almost a head taller than her friend on her side, while her beaming smile was like the smile of Aphrodite; indescribably glamorous.

As these two beauties, that looked and walked next to each other like a pair of angels fallen from the heavens, walked on Moon Academy's street, suddenly the space split before them, and blinding white light broke out in a flash.

"Huh?"

"I need to fi-, eeeh?"

*BAM!*

With a loud 'bump' sound, the girl with the petite body suddenly was knocked behind, falling completely onto her back, while a young man fell on top of her; naturally, it was Khal.

"Alia! Are you all right?" the girl's friend who watched all this from the side, hurried over to her friend and pushed Khal away from the top of her before helping her up.

"Ouch! I-I am sorry! It was an accident!" muttered Khal as he stood up in a flash, completely ignoring the fact that he was pushed to the side like a piece of trash; well he was in the wrong so he couldn't complain at all.

"..."

Alia, the girl who Khal knocked over as he hurried out from his private space in fear he would be late to challenge someone, stood up slowly and raised her stare at Khal.

"!?"

Instantly as Khal saw the girl's piercing stare, he felt kind of intimidated and stepped back a meter, "She... Is on the Third Cultivation Stage! And what's more about to break into the Fourth Stage!"

Feeling the pressure that Alia's leaking presence put on him, Khal smiled wryly and started to talk, "Again, I am truly sorry. I didn't mean to harm nor abuse you. I was ju-"

"What is your name?" cut into Alia, ignoring entirely that Khal was in the middle of his sentence.

"Eh?" Khal on the other hand however was surprised. To think that this pretty girl, who looked quite attractive, didn't start to attack him nor began to scream in fear that he wanted to molest her, but simply asked for his name made him feel shocked, but at the same time strange.

"It's Khal... Khal Nevio. It's my ple-" started to say Khal but once again, he was unable to finish what he wanted to say because Alia cut him off, "I see, so it's you."

"Eh? Me? What do you mean it's me?" asked Khal, pointing at himself in confusion.

"Yes, you. The one who beat someone a Stage above him on his very first duel. Khal Nevio, Second Stage Cultivator with two respective Talents!" talked suddenly Alia's friend from the side, causing Khal to tilt his gaze at her tall but slim figure.

"And you are?"

"Hmph! The name is Izara, as for my family name, you do not need to know about it! You do not qualify!"

"..." Khal looked at the girl before him in complete silence, unknown how to react to that statement at all; was she a bit... Arrogant? If that was the right term to describe her behavior.

While Khal stared at Izara with a blank stare, Alia walked closer to him and pointed right at the middle of his chest with her slim and tiny index finger, "I want to challenge you right now! That key... I want that!"

"..."

"Huh?"

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After the unexpected which turned out to be a blessing in disguise, Khal accepted Alia's challenge gladly and instantly; even though she was on the Third Cultivation Stage, he didn't have a choice. If he decided to refuse her just because of her Stage, it was unknown how much time it would take him to find someone else. 

That is why he accepted Alia's request for battle as merrily as a kid would a candy.

However, what he did not expect, that the news that he and her fighting would become news almost in the entireness of Moon Academy. Just like the previous time when he fought against Angor, the moment Alia and he stepped into the arena, hundreds of people were standing or sitting on the viewing area with exciting expressions and spirited whispers. Even Logan and a guy in a suit were standing on both sides of the ring making Khal's complexion turn from shock to confusion in a single instant! 

"Just how the hell did the news about our battle spread so fast? It isn't even 5 minutes that I have been challenged!"

"Oh? Surprised by the number of spectators?" Alia who walked beside Khal in lull all this time curved her cherry lips and took out her Cultivator's Badge, "Every challenge where the V.I.P key's right is at the stake will automatically appear on everyone's badge. To be more specific, at the back of it."

Upon hearing this, Khal took his Cultivator's badge out, and just as Alia said, right above the map, small words were written.

/New Challenge!/

/Khal Nevio -vs- Alia Endo/

"So that's how..." thought Khal with a firm nod but deep inside he was grieving, "Then that means all of my duels, all of my challenges will be viewed by hundreds of people! Like that... Keeping the key will be quite hard."

What Khal thought was in fact true. If he wanted to keep the key's right to cultivate his Talent faster than others, he needed to take challenges every 3 days under watchful eyes that were informed about all of his battles every time he challenged or he was challenged by someone!

What did that mean? It meant the more he fought against someone, the faster his weaknesses would become obvious while the possibility of stronger opponents that could counter him would rise too!

"Keeping this key in my possession is not that easy, isn't it?" sighed Khal helplessly as he tilted his gaze up toward the onlookers, but suddenly noticed a familiar face, "Liza!"

Although expressionless all the time, the moment Liza saw Khal's wave toward her direction, a gentle smile emerged onto her beautiful face, making her already delicate expression turn even brighter!

But people naturally misunderstood Khal's gesture and began to discuss this behavior with scorn instantly.

"Look at him, what a clown! He had been challenged again by a Third Stage Cultivator and still acts so arrogantly! What does he think who he is?"

"Well, considering that he beat Angor, who was also on the Third Cultivation Stage, his arrogance could be seen as natural."

"But still!"

"Well, let's wait patiently first."

"Pff... As if he would win against two Third Stage Cultivators in a row!"

People talked lively amongst each other, trying to figure out which of the two will be the winner of this duel.

On the other hand, however, right at the very top of the arena, several rows above Liza, Jane was quietly standing below the shadow, while a profound light appeared in her eyes.

"This child..."

Jane of course noticed Khal's intention and immediately understood that he waved not because of arrogance that came from his previous win, but just simply gestured at his friend, Liza. There was not even a bit of arrogance in his act which amazed her a bit.

"Even though he won against an opponent that was an entire Stage above him, he remained humble and didn't forget about his friends. 8 out of 10 people would always fail to do this, which is surprising."