"You do know that you can fake an excited expression, right?" Javier found Russell standing in his way, his hands crossed on his chest, and with a smug grin plastered across his face. Javier simply shook his head disapprovingly in response to Russell's words, saying, "I don't like to fake emotions. I dislike being a faker. And what emotions I show and don't show is not anyone's business."

"Hey, I'm just giving you tips to stand out. Why're you getting angry at me?" Russell raised his hands up and acted defensively while letting out a chuckle. His eyes then moved to the stage, and he said, "Though, you might want to show a bit of emotion for this next fight!"

Javier turned around to see Claude walking up to the stage with a calm expression on his face. Russell watched Javier's face and let out a snicker. "Now that is an excited expression!"

'My first official fight as a Grand Astral Faction member.' Claude thought to himself as he stepped in the training arena, and his eyes shifted to the top of the gallery, where the Headmaster sat in his chair with two Elders standing on either side of him. Claude could feel the strong gaze of the Headmaster on him, and he couldn't help but sigh in response. 'He must be really looking forward to seeing me perform, huh.'

His gaze then turned to face his opponent for the first round, a young man by the name of Eric Norton, who looked at him with a wide grin on his face.

Claude raised his eyebrows in response. From the looks of it, the young man seemed to be a senior to him. Perhaps he was angry at them for entering their Grand Astral Faction? 

"Warriors! To the front!" Elder Kenneth yelled out as he stood in the centre of the arena, and both Claude and Eric walked forward, only stopping once they were close to the Elder, standing opposite to each other.

"Now bow!" As soon as the Elder finished speaking, both Claude and Eric bowed their heads in unison. 

"You must think that we seniors are merely stepping stones for people like you, don't you?!" Eric's voice entered his ears as he was bowing his head, and Claude raised his eyebrows.

After finishing bowing their heads, the two cultivators glanced at each other, and Claude furrowed his eyebrows at Eric, who simply flashed a cold smile in response.

"I saw your fight with Ian." Eric said, and Claude widened his eyes in surprise. "Are you a friend of Ian? Did he pay you to take revenge for him?" Claude asked Eric, who simply shook his head. With a sigh, he said, "Of course not. Quite the opposite, in fact. I dislike that guy. He's way up his own a**. He's completely delusional. The only thing he has is his family's money."

"Oh? Well that's surprising." Claude really was surprised. He had definitely thought that Eric was Ian's friend from the way he spoke. After all, the incident with Ian was the only time he really disrespected his seniors in the Grand Astral Faction. But if that was not the case, then why was this person antagonistic towards him? "I'm confused. Why are you angry at me?"

"Because, even though Ian was a delusional and arrogant piece of sh*t, he was still, nevertheless, your senior!" As he spoke, Eric's smile vanished, and in its place appeared a serious expression. "And not to mention the seniors who were with Ian as well. You also disrespected them." 

"He tried to take advantage of his status!" Claude snorted coldly, as he began walking back. After all, they had both finished their greetings. And now, it was time for them to get ready and take their respective positions and wait for the Elder to announce the beginning of the fight. "And his buddies followed suit. In my eyes, Ian and his friends were the ones who were disrespecting the positions of the faction. I simply took action against the defiling of our faction."

"You speak well, junior brother Claude. Perhaps, if you had been speaking to someone else, you would've easily been able to fool them with your eloquent way of speaking!" Eric let out a short chuckle as he also began moving away. "But you and I both know the positions of the Grand Astral Factions aren't something that can be changed by you alone. They aren't positions of merit, but of time. And no matter what you might think about the actions of Ian and his buddies, the fact still remains that he is your senior, and that is not something that you can simply change by yourself!"

Both of the young men had now created quite a bit of distance between the two of them. Elder Kenneth looked at the two and yelled out, "Contestants! Assume your battle stance!"

BZZZ!

Claude immediately summoned his katana, while Eric waved his hands and a giant axe appeared in the air, and he gripped it tightly.

"You may be right. But if you think that I was going to let someone talk down to me and bully me, then you're dead wrong. I don't care if what I did was right or wrong, but I will not take it while sitting down!" Claude replied with an indifferent expression as he pulled up his katana and held it close to his chest, tightening his grip. "And if you think your beliefs are going to be enough to defeat me, then you're dead wrong…. Senior!"

Eric let out a snort, as he raised his hammer. "I'm going to make you regret ever saying that, junior!"

Elder Kenneth looked at the both of them, and yelled out, "Start!"

BOOM!

Claude pressed his foot on the ground hard, and a giant crater formed under him as he shot forward like an arrow. 

ZOOM!

He arrived right in front of Eric with his katana swinging right at his head, and Eric instantly reacted by pulling up his axe to block Claude's attack!

BAM!

The force that resulted from the collision was so powerful that it created a shockwave that passed through the ground and into the gallery, and was felt by most of the disciples who were watching the fight. 

"Sh*t!" Eric, who had been flung backwards into the air, cursed loudly as he tried to find his footing, but Claude who had successfully stuck to the ground even during the powerful explosion shot forward yet again, this time appearing right behind Eric, who was still in the air.

Slash!

Claude swung his katana straight at the back of his head, and Eric, in a last ditch effort, twisted his body quickly and brought both his hands up in the nick of time.

BANG!

The powerful strike of the katana caught both of Eric's elbows and the impact of the attack burst through his skin and smashed his hands backwards, hitting his chest, as he yelled out in pain.

But Claude wasn't done yet! Without wasting any time, he pulled back one of his hands and raised it high in the air, and a bright light began shining in his palm. 

"Looks like this is the end of the road for you, senior!" Claude said with an evil grin as he swung his glowing hand downwards, right at his head, and the impact of the attack pushed the two of them downwards, crashing down onto the ground with such force that a powerful gust of wind burst out into the gallery, followed by dust and debris filling the air.

The figure of Claude could be seen through all the dust and smoke, who stood in the middle of the arena and raised his hand victoriously as the crowd erupted into cheers.

"Now that is how you bring excitement into your matches!" Russell Davies, who was watching the match with enthusiasm, turned his gaze towards Javier, who was also watching the match. "See, even the kid knows how to be a good showman. You really need to learn more, Javi."

"I told you before and I'll say it again, Russell. I'm not a showman," Javier turned to look at Russell with an annoyed expression on his face. He then paused for a second, contemplating on his words before continuing, "And don't call me Javi."

Russell let out a short chuckle in response, and he shifted his gaze towards the arena once again.

"Thi- This son of a b*tch," Of course, there was still someone who was hating all the cheers that Claude was receiving, and that someone was Ian, who was watching the entire fight while gritting his teeth and mumbling to himself. "I'll get you… I'll get you..."

Behind him stood his lackeys, who looked at each other without speaking, and simply shook their heads.

Elder Kenneth walked in the direction where Eric lied and inspected him for any serious injuries. After making sure that he was not in any dangerous condition, he walked towards Claude and stretched out his hand to him. Claude let out a short snicker and accepted the handshake, after which Elder Kenneth raised his hand and announced, "The opponent has been knocked out. Claude wins!"