初女破初的娇喘

As expected, the first Continental Superhuman Tournament became a big deal. Everyone was tuned in to the event regardless of their status; even the soldiers who were stationed at the walls were watching the festivities through the livestream.

Of course, those who displayed their awesome skills practically turned into celebrities overnight. The online forums are filled with bets, rankings, and other related posts about them. Some of the information seen there was true, but most was false. It can\'t be helped; some people just want attention as much as others.

But it\'s also because of this that everybody can see just how much difference there is between the old and the new.

About 15 years ago, an event of this scale was impossible to do since the resources of humanity weren\'t enough to support it. At most, the grandest event the public could witness was the entrance exams of the Starlight Royal Academy; otherwise, everything was bleak for them. Moreover, the number of talented people back then was too small and too weak compared to the people of the new age.

Now, though, everything was possible. Not only did the world become larger for humans, but the resources they had access to were also more abundant. Demons could no longer invade their land and could only be encountered during the Hell Dives. People were more energetic, and progress never stopped because of the new freedom humans have.

What a day to be alive, and to think that there\'s still the rest of the world waiting for them out there is truly something to look forward to.

The finals of the Continental Superhuman Tournament took place a week later, after the regional screening.

Contrary to people\'s beliefs, aside from the close relatives of the participants and the event staff, the site at which the event will take place isn\'t open to the public. Because of this, people could only tune in to the livestream of the event.

Because of the grandness and excitement brought by this event, everything else became secondary; people\'s priority was to watch the event until the end, afraid of missing even a single second.

As for the participants, all of them are gathered in a massive collesium and are divided into their respective brackets. Aside from a handful of people, everyone else felt the tension. It\'s almost suffocating. Fortunately, some people arrived to disperse the tension and bring their attention elsewhere.

The people who arrived were in uniform. Upon seeing them, everybody perked up subconsciously because everyone knew who they were.

These people were the Regional High Marshals of the Prime Earth Federation; they are included in the group of people who are considered to be the real pillars that held up the skies for humanity to prosper. In short, they are the heroes that drove away the demons from this land and made it possible for humans to reach this step in their development.

Raven Armstrong, High Marshal of the Northern Region. Cassandra Zephyrus, High Marshal of the Southern Region. Anthony Selner of the Western Region and Filius Greenwood of the Eastern Region. It\'s these four that entered the same conference where the participants waited, and their presence immediately demanded respect and awe.

"Good day to all of you." Raven Armstrong stepped forward and greeted them. "I am pleased to see young and talented young people such as you participating in this grand event."

Raven paused for a while and said, "We, humans, have come far. If any of you were born before the liberation of Azure Terra, you\'d undoubtedly be an era-defining genius."

"The prosperity we experience today is paved by using the blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice of our ancestors. This event is staged not only to display humanity\'s progress but also to honor those who bravely sacrificed their all for the small chance of this future happening."

"We made it, and we will not retreat or cower anymore. We will continue moving forward in search of a more prosperous and glorious era for humanity."

"Glory to humanity!" The High Marshals bellowed.

"Glory to Humanity!" The participants of the event as well as everyone who is watching bellowed as well.

There was a brief pause after this, as if they were waiting for everybody to calm down first before moving on. After that, Raven said:

"Finalists, you have faced several challenges that tested your skills, willpower, and determination during the regional screening. These challenges filtered your numbers, leaving only the cream of the crop."

"But as you all know, the Demon Race is still a threat to us. They may not be able to invade our home since the liberation, but that doesn\'t mean that they\'re gone."

"The Lost Continent has long since turned into their nest. Even the vast seas and oceans were tainted by their corruption too, and this isn\'t even mentioning what\'s outside of this world."

"We have stabilized Azure Terra as our new home, but the war against them is far from over. Because of this, we need all of you to hone your skills and contribute to the effort of freeing our world from their influence."

"In light of this, the contents of the finals are none other than survival," Raven announced. "For further explanation, we invite the one who made the largest contribution to the prosperity we experience now."

"Everyone, please welcome the sage who ushered us into the new age: Cedric Stormrider, the Sun Sage!"

Deep down, everybody was already expecting that he\'d make an appearance. What surprised them is that they would actually reveal his name to them. This was the first time I heard of it, and everyone has mixed reactions.

The majority felt that it\'s ironic that his Sun Sage\'s surname happened to be Stormrider, which has nothing to do with his title at all. Others were just curious about what he actually looked like since they\'d only heard myths about him before and had never seen him in person.

Of course, the ones that were truly surprised were none other than the people who personally knew Cedric but never knew that he was this mythical Sun Sage.

His entrance was akin to the sun falling from the sky. His radiance was blinding, so much so that it forced everybody to squint in discomfort. Once the light dissipated a bit, Cedric\'s face became visible to all.

And to say that they were stunned would be an understatement.

His presence didn\'t need any further emphasis. From the moment they saw him, he became the sole focus of their attention. He was tall, handsome, and had an otherworldly aura around him.

What really left an impression on everybody was his pair of golden eyes that looked as if they were twin suns. They shone with splendor and vibrancy, which dimmed everything else. There also seems to be a sunlight halo hovering behind him.

He wore a loose white robe adorned with violet gold ornaments. He also stood on clouds, making him look like a god who graced the world with his presence. There was a peaceful smile on his face that put everybody at ease, making them feel and think that so long as he\'s around, everything is fine.

The High Marshals could only sigh at this. Say what you want, but the Sun Sage really knows how to make an entrance. Also, being close to him made them feel just how unfathomable this person has become. They simply couldn\'t measure him through common sense anymore.

But perhaps the ones who really felt the most complicated about his appearance were the ones who personally knew him before.

Orion, the teacher who used to be in- charge of their batch; Cedric\'s batchmates, of course; Darius, Francis, and Floyd of Team Elric, who were speechless after seeing him again fifteen years later; and finally, Isabella and Garrick, who\'re looking up to the platform he\'s on.

Garrick could only smile helplessly. He initially thought that he\'d left Cedric in his dust before seeing that he hadn\'t heard of him for fifteen years already. He used to gloat about this to make him feel better about himself. But reality was cruel. He didn\'t expect that the one he admired the most, despite not seeing him in person, would turn out to be the same one he thought was already dead.

Isabella, on the other hand, was truly bothered this time. She could\'ve never imagined that she would see the person who haunted her dreams right here and now. Looking at his face, she felt guilt and shame, especially because her brain was reminding her about the contents of the dreams she had about him.

As for everybody else, they could only speechlessly look at him in awe. They couldn\'t help but think that he was truly a god amongst men.

"Hello everybody. Thank you for welcoming me. Without any further ado, let me explain the contents of the final challenge for this tournament."