Several months passed as the young men and young ladies experienced Thirteen's hellish training.

But just like them, the members of the young generation from all over Pangea were preparing for the greatest battle that could make their names resound far and wide in the entire world.

The Dragon and Phoenix Tournament, which would be held three months before the Winter Solstice, was almost upon them.

For this reason, they strove harder in their training, with some even going as far as training by fighting Jinns on their home turf, Solterra.

Of course, those who wanted to save time and effort simply headed to the North of the Sirius Continent, where countless Jinns roamed the land.

The reason for this surplus of monsters was the dozens of Dimensional Gates that opened at the north of the continent, most of which were Tier 2 up to Tier 4 respectively.

Since Tier 1 and Tier 2 Gates were only open in less than half an hour, the number of Low-Ranking Jinns in the Continent numbered in the tens of thousands.

Tier 3 Gates opened every five days, while Tier 4 Gates opened every month.

Of course, there were dozens of Tier 5 and Tier 6 Gates as well, which was the reason why even with two Monarchs, from the Central Government and the Osborn Family, protecting the Sirius Continent, the Northern Lands had always been a headache for them.

Even when they regularly cleaned their backyard, the pests just kept on coming!

That being said, the talented youths of the current generation didn't hesitate to challenge themselves by fighting against these monsters in order to make their final preparations for the upcoming tournament.

Time moved swiftly like the shifting sand inside an hourglass.

Soon, the flags of Dragons and Phoenixes were raised all over the Territory of the Ashford Clan.

This was the sign that the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament would soon begin, attracting the attention of everyone in Pangea.

Somewhere in the Rigel Continent…

Thirteen opened up his eyes and. once again, found himself in the embrace of Erica and Sherry, who would usually sleep beside him every night.

Seeing the snowy peaks of the Sorceress in front of his eyes, Thirteen moved his hands to help fix the string strap of Erica's nightgown, tying it properly.

He then gently pried Sherry's hand, which was resting on his waist, before propping himself up from his bed.

In order to let everyone get some proper rest, Thirteen asked his uncle to send some carpenters to build simple houses near their training area.

Naturally, Thirteen asked for some furniture to be delivered, which made everyone very happy.

But despite the fact that he had built a bigger house for the girls, so all of them could sleep together, Sherry and Erica would still always come to his small home and spend the night with him.

Of course, Thirteen didn't mind. After all, the two young ladies had always been with him ever since their journey in the lands of Fractured Heaven.

The two girls also knew that the teenage boy was not like other men who would take advantage of them in their sleep.

In fact, it was the two ladies who liked to take advantage of Thirteen in his sleep!

Tiona, who had noticed that his Master was already awake, crawled to his body until she reached his neck.

She then nuzzled the teenage boy and flicked her tongue on his cheek a few times, greeting him a good morning.

"Good morning, Tiona," Thirteen said before kissing the black snake's head.

This was a habit he had long developed after being with her for many years, and for some reason, it made him feel at peace.

Exiting the small house, Thirteen breathed in the cold morning air.

It didn't smell as fresh as the air in his home, which was surrounded by trees.

In fact, the air smelled of many different things, mainly the scent of monsters who were loitering around in the vicinity.

'The time has finally come,' Thirteen thought with a smile on his face as he checked the communicator on his wrist.

The Ashford Clan had sent him an invitation to join the tournament, making him a seeded player who would only fight during the semi-finals.

However, Thirteen had no intention of participating in the tournament.

He was certain that the Ashford Clan only wished to see his fighting abilities so that they could have an accurate measure of his strength.

As if wanting to make sure that the teenage boy would join the tournament, the Ashford Clan presented some amazing prizes, including rare herbs, artifacts, pills, weapons, armor, and other miscellaneous items, all of which would make any Wanderer drool at the sight.

But Thirteen didn't put such trivial treasures in his eyes.

As someone who had access to the Treasury of the Apocalypse, which contained Mythical, Legendary, and Divine Equipment, Artifacts, Accessories, and miscellaneous items, how could the Ashford Clan's "treasures" even compare?

While it was true that Thirteen had no intention of joining the tournament, he planned to join it using another method.

As for whether he would succeed, it all depended if the Ashford Clan was willing enough to leave a good impression on him.

After organizing his thoughts, Thirteen pressed a few buttons on his communicator.

Soon, the projection of his Uncle Michael appeared in front of him.

"I'm guessing that their training is over?" Michael asked.

"Yes, Uncle," Thirteen replied. "It's time for you to send someone to pick us up."

Michael nodded. "The Family's Private Jet will arrive in the afternoon to pick you up. Make sure that everyone has properly packed by then."

"Thank you, Uncle," Thirteen replied. "Will Grandpa go to the Sirius Continent as well?"'

"No." Michael shook his head. "Father has reached a critical moment."

Thirteen smirked before nodding in understanding. "How about Grandma?"

"She says that she needs a little more time." Michael fixed the glasses on his face. "As for me, I guess I need half a year at most. Hans said that he might need a year."

"That's already good," Thirteen commented. "But remember, this is not the time for the four of you to step up. We need to lie low until the perfect opportunity comes."

"We know that." Michael smiled faintly. "Even Father, whose temper wasn't always the best, understood that now is not the time to change the status quo."

"I'm guessing that things will change after the threat of the Jinn Invasion in the Cygni Continent ends," Thirteen commented. "By then, everyone would be itching to bare their fangs."

The corner of Michael's lips rose faintly. "By then, they won't know what hit them."

Thirteen chuckled because he wholeheartedly agreed with his Uncle's choice of words.

After the invasion of the Cygni Continent ended, old grudges and new conflicts would rise one after the other.

The continent of Pangea would plunge into chaos, for those who hungered for power, influence, and authority would finally make their move.

"We still have at least three to four years before the chessboard is flipped over," Thirteen stated. "Until then, continue with the projects I have proposed."

Michael nodded and did some small talk with his nephew before cutting their connection.

The teenage boy then glanced in the distance and saw the members of the E4 Mafia doing their morning run, carrying boulders on their shoulders.

Behind them, Roland, Derek, and Joshua were doing the same.

"Dragon and Phoenix Tournament…" Thirteen smirked. "This is going to be fun."

The teenage boy was certain that once the people he had trained stepped on that grand and dazzling stage, the Ashford Clan would pull some strings to arrange the matches.

However, it didn't matter.

They were not the only ones who were capable of doing such things.

If they could rig the matchings, so could he.

In fact, he was already looking forward to the expressions of the heirs of the Monarch Clans and the Prestigious Families, who would find themselves facing each other in the arena at the early stages of the tournament.