Secrets of the Universe

After lunch, twenty teenagers walked into Todd's room in the guest house, accompanied by Todd Elliot.

"Close the door," instructed Todd, with a serious face.

A teen reached out to the door and closed it in a single swing.

*Baam!*

With the atmosphere being tense, the teens did not know what to expect. They could hardly bear to talk under Todd's bearing.

The silence went on for minutes until one of them summoned the courage, "M--M--Master Todd?"

The teenager received the full brunt of Master Todd's piercing stare, "Yes."

"You called us here."

"So?..."

Todd Elliot glanced at all the teenagers, making sure they all got the full brunt of his stare. He was trying to find out if they would flinch from the pressure he was exuding.

After minutes of not finding anyone flinching, he smiled, dispersing the tense atmosphere with his bright self.

"Good. Good. Good. I have not chosen wrongly," he laughed, "I'm sure some of you are wondering what just happened, but in time, you would understand."

Suddenly, he took a seat on his chair as he addressed the standing teens, "Seeing as we are complete, let's begin. We shall start with the King's Celebration---"

He took a pause for them to digest before he continued, "--First and Foremost, while you are out there, I want you to remember that you are representing our city, Pinesun city, your birthplace. Everything you do out there will be linked back to our city. So, make sure to give favorable impressions to others."

"Second, You should also know that when there is a company of nobles, there will always be mind games. You should keep yourself alert at all times. They might try to break down your mental wall, try to make you embarrass yourself, but you should always keep your composure, is that clear?" asked Todd.

The teenagers hollered back, "Yes, sir!"

"Good. On that note, don't forget to have fun out there. Let one part of you have fun and the other part be on guard," cheered Todd.

"Master Todd, do we get an etiquette class before the King's Celebration," asked one of the teens.

It was a fact that one could always differentiate a noble from a commoner by the way they act. The teens would be disgracing themselves if they went to the King's celebration without being equipped.

"Hahaha, don't worry about that. You would meet many commoners there, the same as you. The King's celebration is the only event where everyone gets to play noble."

His words brightened the mind of the teens, who were happy to be involved in such an event.

"With that said, let's talk about the competition. The six who will be participating are the only ones who must hear this. The rest of you, if you don't want to hear this, you can leave."

Being teenagers, they were curious about what Master Todd wanted to say. Their curiosity was even fueled further when Master Todd gave them an option to leave.

They didn't move a single inch from their position, showing their intentions to Mater Todd.

Todd smiled at their display, "Good. One should always be curious."

He went to his desk, dragged out a drawer, taking out a file he kept within it.

He opened the file, "A wise man once said, one should always know their enemy, in this case, your opponents. I might not know the rules of the competition as there are ever-changing, but I do know most of the contestants. Those who you are likely to meet on the competition stage."

His words managed to provoke the competitive spirit of the teenagers, especially the six representatives, excluding Jake, who thought it was beneath himself to act like a child.

"As I previously said, most of the contestants will be nobles. What I meant by that was that most of the major contestants would be nobles. It is known that only iron can sharpen the finest blades, so it is of no wonder that the children of noble houses are the ones with the finest of talents."

"With my connections, I managed to find out all the participants for the competition. First on our list is a youth from the Vargas family, an earl-ranked noble house. His name is Joshua Vargas, also known as the miracle child," Todd said as he showed the group a drawing of the youth.

"Why is known as the miracle child?" asked of the teens, with a mocking expression.

"Good question. As of last year, Joshua was known to possess little talent, but this year, he took the spotlight as the most popular youth. Why is that? It is because he managed to break through multiple stages in one year like it was butter, hence the name, Miracle child."

"His last reported cultivation base was [Stage 8 Morning Dew Realm]."

"What in heaven's name?" exclaimed one of the teens.

"Is that even possible? he is almost you--"

"He is one stage behind me," completed Todd.

It was widely known that the older ones are the ones with the richer cultivation base, they are the stronger ones. However, once in a while, certain young individuals cultivate so fast, that in no time, they catch up to the older generation.

They are what is sometimes referred to as Geniuses, aberrants of the social norms.

Todd clenched his fist behind his body. It was hard to know that one of the younger generations has overtaken him, especially one from a rival house.

"Let's continue!" in an attempt to control the loud crowd, he shouted.

"If you find yourself against Joshua, surrender, as he is not one of mercy. Being a member of the Vargas Family, his technique will include the legendary Flame God's sword."

"Next on our list is Alexander Grant, child of the Grant Noble family, a duke-ranked house. He is praised as one of the most gifted children of this generation. He is at [Stage 9 Morning Dew Realm], and he is known for his family technique called Crystal Body. Due to the family's long use of the technique, he was born with a unique body and energy pathway that fully utilizes the technique. He is one of the pinnacles of this generation"

Todd purposefully started with the big names. So that the teens could find motivation from the listed names. If they fell into despair at the mere mention of geniuses, then they were not fit to see the outside world.

"The next on our list is one of the Aztec's Four stars--" Todd was cut off by the shouting of the teenagers

"--Aztec's four stars. Of course, they would participate. They are the crowned kings and queens of our generation, possessing both wealth, talent, and even beauty," exclaimed one of the teens.

"If they are participating, then I see no hope in winning," joined another.

"What are you saying? you had no hope from the start," laughed a teenager.

"Would you all shut up and let him finish talking," shouted one of them, one whose frustration had reached its limit.

It was no surprise as it was Jake. Jake was deeply interested in the tales of the younger generation. He wanted to know his odds of winning, and so far it wasn't looking good.

His emotionless voice managed to silent all that was present, well except Jake's best buddy...

"Hi, Jake," said a high-pitched voice.

Jake looked at the source and found a young teenager, the same age as him, with a perverted grin on his face as he smiled at Jake.

Swiftly, as if not seeing anything, he turned back to Todd. All this while, he was not a fool, he had noticed the trio present, but he had purposely blocked them from his mind.

"Hi, Jake," squeaked Nico a second time.

However, Jake wasn't having it, he downright ignored the poor boy and said to Todd, "please continue sir."

Todd twitched as he also ignored what was going on between the two, "The third on our list is Isabella Hayden, one of the four Aztec stars, a child of the Duke Hayden family. Her feats have been recorded in Aztec's history book."

"Isabella Hayden completed [Physique Modeling Realm] at the age of 13. She is now 16 at [Stage 8 Morning Dew Realm] and is certified to complete the [Morning Dew Realm] this year. However, that is not all about her, she possessed the ability to defeat others one stage above her, that is [Stage 9]. She is practically unrivaled in the [Morning Dew Realm], her only opponents are the other four stars."

Jake listened to Todd and made sure to glue the name of the young genius into his mind. He thought, 'Isabella Hayden, possesses the ability to jump stages, I did that in the [Physique Modeling Realm], but I'm not sure about the [Morning Dew Realm]. She is quite young, however, I'm sure I could surpass her in time, but…... I don't have time on my side.'

Todd continued, "Isabella is famous for her family technique, the water snake style. With it, she is a force to be reckoned with even among her peers…..."

"Next on our list is...."