The other Hunters looked on in shock and confusion, all eyes fixed on Ed, who had just stood up.
On the stage, Brown turned back around, eyes narrowing. "You're the one who told me to stop just now?"
"What do you want?"
Ed didn't raise his head. From Brown's elevated position on stage, he couldn't see Ed's expression clearly.
But when Ed finally spoke, though his voice wasn't loud, it struck every ear in the hall like thunder.
"I want to challenge you," Ed said.
The moment those words left his mouth, Brown actually blinked in disbelief, wondering if he'd misheard.
"Are you serious?" Brown asked, frowning.
Ed didn't hesitate. "Absolutely."
He happened to remember quite a bit about Brown from before.
Not because Brown had held any real status back in school, but because of his character—or rather, his lack of it.
Brown had been one of the school's infamous bullies. He was always seen hanging around with Kate, helping her pick on other students—her most loyal lapdog.
Those memories from Ed's previous life, combined with everything that had just happened, left him with zero affection for Brown. In fact, he felt nothing but disgust.
Seeing Brown now frowning, as if trying to gauge whether Ed's challenge was serious or not, Ed didn't give him the chance to overthink it.
"What's the matter? You hesitating?" he asked, coolly.
"Or are you just in a rush to flee now that you've lucked out in a few matches?"
A collective shiver ran through the crowd.
What the hell is with this kid? Not only was he challenging Brown—but he was provoking him?
A few Hunters exchanged bewildered glances.
"Is this guy brain-dead?"
"Pissing off Brown is basically suicide!"
On the stage, Brown stared at Ed. His eyes narrowed at first… then widened in outrage. A smirk twisted across his face, ugly and furious.
"Well, well," Brown sneered. "Haven't met someone this bold in a long time."
"Fine. Get up here."
"Let's see what kind of tricks you've got—unless your mama gave birth to you without a brain!"
By the time he spat out that last line, his voice was practically a roar. He cracked his neck, rolled his shoulders.
His fighting spirit reignited in full force.
Down below, the Hunters who had already witnessed Brown's overwhelming strength could only silently mourn for Ed in their hearts.
But the nobles and guests? They exploded with cheers—utterly thrilled.
They'd thought the fighting was over. Now, out of nowhere, someone had stepped up to provoke Brown? That meant another fight—and maybe the best one yet!
In an instant, the crowd erupted with cheers and mockery:
"Good boy, get up there and let Brown tear you to pieces!"
"Gotta love these cocky kids who don't know their place!"
"Hey, listen up! If you actually win, I'll throw you some gold coins!"
But as Ed stepped toward the stage, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Hold on a second," he said calmly, as if nothing could rattle him.
"The hell? Don't tell me you're chickening out now!" Brown's eyes bulged with disbelief.
"No," Ed shook his head and turned slightly toward the host. "I just forgot—could you remind me what the reward is for winning?"
The host blinked, clearly a little speechless. You're about to fight a monster and you're still thinking about the prize?
Still, he kept a neutral tone as he announced:
"Defeat Brown, and you'll receive one hundred gold coins, along with a B-rank meditation technique."
"Good." Ed nodded and finally stepped up onto the stage.
All eyes locked onto him.
Brown cracked his knuckles with loud, deliberate pops.
"You've really got balls, kid. I'm gonna tear you apart with my bare hands."
He had noticed how young Ed looked—and more importantly, that he wasn't even wearing a Hunter's cloak.
Brown hadn't drawn his sword against the two older Apprentices earlier. Against this kid? He saw even less need.
"You're not drawing your sword?"
Ed asked, still not looking up. "Then… may I draw mine?"
Brown's face darkened. "You little bastard, what is with all this talking?"
"Use whatever the hell you want—use your sword, your fists, or even your mama's damn tampons!"
But before Brown could finish the sentence, Ed heard his permission—and in that instant, he drew his sword and slashed at Brown!
The speed at which Ed drew was blinding—lightning-quick. Almost no one in the audience could follow the motion with their naked eyes.
At the exact moment of drawing, Ed stepped forward, channeling all his power into a single, focused strike.
The sword swung at Brown's body—precise, powerful, and elegant, like a hidden horn of an antelope, perfectly angled and flawlessly executed.
Whoosh!
A roar tore through the air as the blade sliced forward.
Brown's eyes went wide in shock—not from pain, but from pure disbelief. Arrogant or not, he was still a trained Black Iron-tier Hunter.
And from just that one movement, he immediately realized how refined—how deadly—that sword strike was.
"This swordsmanship… even my master and his peers… might not…"
Brown tried to draw the sword on his back to block it—but it was far too late. He couldn't even move back in time.
His only option—the best he could do—was to twist his body and let the thickest part of his armor, his shoulder plate, take the hit.
BANG!
The steel sword slammed into the armor with a thunderous crash.
Under the force of that terrifying strike, Brown felt like his shoulder had just been run over by a freight truck.
"AAAHHHHH!!"
He screamed in agony, stumbling backward, his entire body convulsing in pain.
His armor had been split open with a massive gash—though it hadn't been pierced clean through, his left arm was still fractured!
"Decent armor quality," Ed commented calmly, as if analyzing a training dummy.
Brown, meanwhile, was completely stunned.
Everyone watching—whether it was the jeering nobles or the skeptical Hunters—had the exact same reaction:
Eyes wide. Faces blank. As if an earthquake had just hit their minds.
Everyone saw it clearly—during that first exchange, Brown had come off worse.
Brown, who had seemed untouchable until now… had actually lost ground.
"What the f***? That kid actually knows what he's doing?!"
Henry, still battered and defeated after crawling off the stage, had been utterly demoralized—until now. His eyes were wide open in disbelief.
He had sat right next to this kid earlier, and hadn't thought anything of him!
"Old Henry, did you see that sword technique? That's not normal!"
A few other Hunters nearby also gasped in shock.
While the rest of the audience tried to process what had just happened, up on the stage…
Brown was trembling with rage. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Ed, filled with humiliation and pain.
"I'm going to kill you!" he roared.
Ed stood there calmly, barely lifting his head. Had Brown bothered to actually look, he might've recognized his old classmate standing in front of him.
From the moment he stepped onto the stage, Ed had been wondering when this guy would realize who he was.
And what would happen after that moment.
But clearly, this was still the same meat-headed lackey who'd once followed Kate around bullying people. No awareness, no brain, and now—blinded by rage.
Brown didn't care what Ed looked like. He didn't care who he was.
"I'm drawing my sword too!" Brown shouted, grabbing the steel blade strapped to his back with his good arm.
Even with one arm already shattered, he refused to back down.
In his mind, all he had to do was draw his sword and he could turn the tide—wipe away this disgrace!
"Die!!" Brown growled like a wild animal, snorting through his nose.
Then he charged, swinging his sword wildly at Ed in a furious flurry.
But to Ed, it was a mess of openings and amateurish overexertion.
"This guy fights just like that Shawn earlier."
He thought with a slight lift of his brows.
Clearly, low-tier Hunters like them—lacking both experience and true strength—relied entirely on brute force. They had no real form, no technique.
In most fights, that might work if your cultivation level was higher. But right now? Brown didn't even have that advantage.
"Watch carefully," Ed said casually, and with ease, he moved his blade.
Crack!
The next second, Ed struck directly at a weak point. Brown's sword flew out of his hand and clattered onto the ground over ten meters away.
Without hesitation, Ed followed up—slashing straight toward Brown's face.
There were standard rules for these challenge duels: no killing, no maiming. Breaking those rules could bring serious consequences.
So even though Ed could've easily taken Brown's head clean off… he held back.
Killing wasn't allowed. But with this guy's behavior? A proper lesson was definitely in order.
Splurt!
Blood sprayed into the air as Ed's blade cut a deep gash across Brown's face.
Before Brown could even scream, his entire body crumpled to the ground. And right as he hit the floor, eyes wide in shock, he finally got a good look at Ed's face—that moment, he recognized him.