Chapter 5: The Arena
Night fell, and the imperial capital Blazing Flame City remained as prosperous as ever, but the wilderness east of the city was desolate. On a lonely road, a figure moved forward swiftly like a ghost.
In the blink of an eye, the figure had already traveled over a hundred meters.
This person was none other than the personal disciple of the War God, the dazzling new star of the imperial capital—Bloommer Archison. Blazing Flame City was surrounded by mountains; to the west lay the War God Mountain and many other peaks, while to the east there were some lesser-known hills. Bloommer soon arrived at a seemingly ordinary high mountain.
At the top of this mountain, there was a peak that looked as if it had been sliced by a blade. On the summit, a man sat cross-legged. Seeing him there gave one the strange feeling that he had existed in that spot for tens of thousands of years.
Bloommer approached the peak and said respectfully, "Big Brother."
Clearly, the man sitting quietly on the peak was Bloommer's elder brother, the famed Sword Saint, Olivia. Under the night sky—especially tonight, with no stars or moon—the darkness only allowed a vague outline of Olivia's figure.
"Second Brother, what is it?" a cold voice rang out.
Bloommer knew that his elder brother had been sitting in meditation on this desolate mountain peak for three full years, neither eating nor drinking, using the sky as his canopy and the earth as his bed.
Three years ago, when he had last seen his brother, he had felt a terrifyingly sharp aura emanating from him. That aura was such that a single thought from his brother seemed enough to defeat him.
But three years later, his brother was like a stone on this barren mountain, devoid of any sharpness. No one knew just how terrifying Olivia had become now.
"Big Brother, on the fourth of next month—fifteen days from now—I will duel with a member of the Dragonblood Warrior family at the imperial arena," Bloommer said respectfully.
"Dragonblood Warrior family?"
The usually indifferent voice seemed to carry a hint of emotion. "Legend has it that a Saint-level Dragonblood Warrior is the strongest among Saint-levels. I would very much like to fight a Saint-level Dragonblood Warrior, but on the Yulan continent, there hasn't been one for a long time. Hmm, how strong is the person you're dueling?"
"After transformation, he should have peak Level Nine strength," Bloommer replied respectfully.
"Oh, with the swordsmanship I taught you, you should be invincible among Level Nines." Olivia's voice was flat. "Alright, you may leave."
Bloommer hesitated for a moment, then said quietly, "Big Brother, on the day of the duel, can you come?"
Olivia was silent for a while.
"February fourth, I know. If I have time, I will come," Olivia said, his voice still without any fluctuation, utterly calm.
"Then I'll take my leave." Bloommer immediately withdrew.
The desolate mountain peak returned to silence. The blurry figure in the darkness remained motionless, as if it would stay on that peak for eternity.
February 4th, Year 9999 of the Yulan Calendar. This was the day of the duel between the two geniuses. The entire imperial capital was buzzing with excitement as people rushed to the arena. The eight thousand seats had been sold out long ago. Those coming to watch the duel were not just from the capital but also from other cities, and even from other provinces.
Linley and his group had arrived at the arena early. In a room inside the arena, Linley, Reynolds, and Yale were chatting animatedly.
"Yale, I didn't expect you to make it here at the last moment," Reynolds said with a laugh.
Yale had sweat on his forehead, but seeing Linley and Reynolds, he smiled cheerfully. "I heard that the fourth brother had come to the capital, and the third brother was here too. No matter how important my business was, I had to put it aside. Besides, I had to cheer for the third brother's younger brother."
"Yale, fourth brother, you're both here. Now we're only missing the second brother," Linley said with a sigh.
"The second brother is now a minister in the Yulan Empire's Yulan Pavilion, holding a high position. And with thousands of miles between us, how could he have time to come?" Yale remarked.
Reynolds laughed and cursed, "Among the four of us, the second brother was always the slickest. He participated in all the academy activities and was great at organizing. I knew back then he was suited for officialdom. Look, in less than ten years, he's already a minister in the Yulan Pavilion."
"And with the new emperor's ascension in the Yulan Empire, the second brother's status has shot up even more," Yale added.
Footsteps sounded outside the room.
"Big Brother, we need to head to the arena. Let's go," a voice called out. Linley, Yale, and Reynolds all stood up and left the lounge.
The central arena platform was three hundred meters wide and three hundred meters long. The platform was made of large, flat, solid stones, with a large-scale magic array inscribed on the surface.
On the east and west sides of the platform were the seating areas for the friends and family of the duelists.
In front of the platform, a row of seats was reserved for the officials hosting the event.
As Linley, Wharton, and the others emerged from the passage below and saw the densely packed crowd of eighty thousand spectators filling every seat around the arena, they felt a sense of awe.
"So many people," Wharton said with a smile.
Gates, one of the five Barker brothers, grinned and said, "Wharton, there are eighty thousand people here today. Don't embarrass yourself."
The roar of the crowd swept through the arena like a tidal wave. Linley's group could fully feel the passion of the spectators.
The O'Brien Empire was a martial nation, and this duel between two top-tier geniuses naturally attracted countless people. Eighty thousand were watching inside the arena, while many more outside desperately hoped to catch a glimpse of the battle.
On Wharton's side, Linley, Yale, Reynolds, the five Barker brothers, and others all took their seats. Bloommer's side had also arrived.
Bloommer's group was large, over a hundred people.
"Many of them are nominal disciples of the War God Sect, here to cheer for Bloommer," Linley said with a faint smile.
He could tell that these people were all quite strong.
"Having more people doesn't mean much," Yale said dismissively.
Just then, the cheers from the stands grew louder. Clearly, the appearance of the duelists had excited the crowd.
"Eighty thousand people. The largest gathering I've ever seen in the military was just over ten thousand during training," Reynolds remarked, looking around the arena. The four empires hadn't fought any large-scale wars recently, so large troop assemblies were rare.
"Everyone, quiet!"
A voice like thunder rang through the entire arena, and the eighty thousand spectators fell silent, all eyes on the silver-haired old man standing in the center of the platform.
Linley smiled. This silver-haired old man was a Level Nine warrior. With his level of battle qi, making his voice heard throughout the arena was no challenge.
"Such events need experts to host them," Linley mused.
The silver-haired old man boomed, "Ladies and gentlemen, today's battle is the most important duel the arena has seen recently. The two combatants are, on one side, the War God's personal disciple, Marquis Bloommer, and on the other, Count Wharton of the Dragonblood Warrior family. Both are undoubtedly geniuses. But who is stronger?"
The old man smiled. "You'll find out soon enough. And today's judges—I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear who they are."
"First, we have Lord Kenyon, a personal disciple of the War God Sect!" the silver-haired old man announced loudly.
A middle-aged man in a green robe, with graying temples, walked out of the passage. With a single step, he moved like a phantom to the leftmost seat in the judges' row and sat down.
The moment Lord Kenyon appeared, the entire arena seemed to go wild, with countless spectators cheering loudly.
"A Saint-level expert," Linley confirmed. Kenyon had flown directly from the passage to the leftmost seat.
"Second, we have His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of the O'Brien Empire!" the silver-haired old man said, his voice rising. The lavishly robed Emperor Joan walked slowly toward the judges' seat, smiling, and finally sat in the center.
The emperor's arrival naturally drew another round of cheers.
The silver-haired old man beamed. "And the third judge today—I was both surprised and delighted when I found out who it was." He paused deliberately, and the eighty thousand spectators fell silent, straining to hear who the third judge could be.
"The third judge is the pride of our empire—the Rock Sword Saint, Lord Hedderson!"
As the name "Hedderson" spread, the arena erupted into frenzy. Countless spectators shouted and screamed in excitement.
"Hedderson! Hedderson!!!"
"Rock Sword Saint!!!"
Some of the stronger warriors used their battle qi to shout, their voices like thousands of thunderclaps echoing through the arena. Everyone was ecstatic.
"Crazy, they've gone crazy," Gates said, stunned. "Is a Saint-level expert worth this much excitement?"
Sessler glanced at him and said with a smile, "You've never lived in the O'Brien Empire for long, so you don't know the influence of the Rock Sword Saint."
Reynolds's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Lord Hedderson has fought countless battles since reaching the Saint level, and he has never lost! Even when fighting peak Saint-level experts from other empires, he wins decisively. The strongest Saint-level warrior—no one at the Saint level can defeat him. That's the Rock Sword Saint, Hedderson."
Linley, Wharton, and the others all looked toward the distant passage, waiting quietly for Hedderson to appear.
Hedderson finally emerged.
His face was ancient and weathered, as if carved from stone, firm and resolute. He wore a simple gray robe, and on his back was a heavy earthen-yellow sword.
With steady steps, Hedderson did not fly; he simply walked.
With his first step, he moved from the entrance of the passage to the steps of the judges' platform. With his second step, he was beside Emperor Joan, and then he sat down next to him.
It was like teleportation!
"What is that?" Linley exclaimed, as if seeing something unbelievable.
Barker and the others were dumbfounded.
"Is it teleportation?" Wharton murmured.
But Linley was certain it wasn't teleportation. As far as he knew, no one had ever achieved teleportation—it was nothing but a legend.
"When Hedderson walked, the entire earth seemed to ripple, as if the distance had shrunk in an instant. He took a single step and covered dozens of meters. So effortlessly, without relying on speed, just a simple step—and the distance shortened?"
It was utterly shocking.
Linley's training followed two paths: one was understanding the laws of the earth element, and the other was understanding the laws of the wind element. The simple technique Hedderson had just displayed was related to the laws of the earth—but Linley couldn't comprehend how Hedderson had done it.
"Whoosh."
Letting out a slow breath, Linley calmed down.
"Being called the strongest Saint-level warrior, undefeated for so many years—it's only natural for someone like him to have such abilities," Linley thought, still full of confidence.
The other might have such divine skills, but his own vibration-wave attacks were probably just as incomprehensible to others.
Both were comprehending the laws of the earth element, but the paths they walked were different.