The Rise of a Master It Starts With Rejection novel Chapter 915

"I'm sorry! I didn't know who I was dealing with. Please forgive me," the man begged.

Though his mind was swirling with a thousand questions, the burly man apologized immediately. What choice did he have? If it came down to a match on the arena stage, was he really willing to risk getting beaten to death?

"Thank you, all three of you," Felix said, nodding in gratitude.

Of course, he recognized them. They were the people he had saved during the banquet incident.

"Dr. Zeller, you're being too polite."

"This is the least we could do."

"Without you, I wouldn't even be standing here today. Please, don't thank us."

The three of them knew they had no hope of winning the competition. They were simply here for the experience. Even if they walked away empty-handed, building a good relationship with someone like Felix was well worth the trip.

The contestants in the Stage One rest area were visibly stunned. Most of them were strangers to one another, and there had been virtually no interaction up to this point.

Suddenly, seeing Felix, a seemingly ordinary competitor, being openly defended by three powerful experts naturally drew more than a few curious glances.

As time passed, the martial arts competition officially began. There were no speeches or grand opening ceremonies. The battles started immediately, with a level of simplicity that was almost jarring. They got straight to the action.

A staff member entered the rest area and glanced down at the iPad in their hand.

"Contestants 13 and 21, please proceed to the stage for your match."

The matchups were determined randomly by a computer and generated instantly. There was no need for contestants to waste time drawing lots or picking numbers. Everything was designed with speed and efficiency in mind, a format that probably hadn't been seen before.

"Excuse me. How do I get to the arena?"

Contestant 13 looked utterly confused. The staff member didn't even glance back and made no effort to guide anyone. With only one exit visible in the rest area, everyone was left wondering what the process actually was.