Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 254 - 253 - Gallery

There were 5 great battles being unleashed across the first round.  The 10 coliseums were each marked with a different sigil and color.  The crowd that came with the 1000 slot holders were now in a space overlooking the large battlefield.

Depending on their origin, they were allowed to look only at the associated coliseum.

Shoti, Annabelle, Qing, and Cyntilla were consoling the upset Ethry who kept trying to go towards the image of Lind.  They noticed the mark on his cheek which was revealed by some kind of realm spirit to be the leader of their coliseum.

None of them were surprised but Elder Quin was shocked.  While the boy was powerful, she was stunned the realm had chosen him.  What had it seen inside him?

"What is that?  None of the others have a structure like that at all!"

"How is that fair?!"

Voices from the opposing area reached their ears but even Elder Quin found them valid.  Why was one of the coliseums holding a fortress that was so powerful?

"He made it."  A voice cut through the swath of complaints and all eyes turned towards the group of 4 women and dragon.  It was Annabelle that spoke but the other 3 nodded knowingly.

They were the closest to him and had seen him working hard on Forging so his skills were evident to them.  Also, who else but a 6 elemental could create such a structure for the tournament?

The seats they sat on gave a full view of the 2 battling coliseums.  They also looked at each other across the space showing the overview of the battle.

"Explain that!  How can anyone make a fortress out of nothing?!"  A man in dark robes with bags under his eyes screamed from the opposing side.  Despite being on the winning side, many others had similar looks of demand.

A bit of laughter suddenly came from a section of cream colored robes.  It was allies but all looked at them in frustration as they seemed to look on at the argument with joy.

"Master Frey has clearly broken through to high or peak grade 3 Forging.  He simply put his resources to the best use and since he is a grade 4 elixir master, he likely had plenty of Qi to use."  Many had their faces clear in understanding but the crimson coliseum audience had dark faces.

"If Master Frey can create an entire fortress from nothing but local resources, he is far beyond grade 3."  A Diamond Tier of dark red robes spoke but his words caused a dangerous murmur to begin.

Indeed, if Lind Frey could create such a formidable construct on such short notice, he was far more dangerous than many realized.

"Ha ha ha!  Jealous much?!  You forget the unique conditions of this tournament.  It is far more likely that only these ideal and highly unrealistic set up allowed such a miraculous result.  How many areas of our continents have such a powerful light Qi source?  How many of our lands hide sufficient stone and Qi of all 6 elements in a single spot?"  A vibrantly green robed woman laughed.

Unlike the previous ones, Shoti recognized the alchemical sect robes from the Divine Sword Sect lands.  She believed they were called Blooming Flame Sect.

By the color of her robes, she was part of the core elders.  She would be a low Gold Tier at least but her aura was carefully controlled.

Her words made many clear up as it made sense.  The tournament was in a special realm and the rules were dictated by the realm spirit.  The resources and even the Qi were all supplied by the realm.

Such conditions never existed in the real world.

The reality before them was a result of the artificial tournament set up.  It allowed for a test of skills which would include production if the environment allowed it.  Tournaments in the past had alchemical concoction change the battles drastically when environments were used like they were now.

While the man in dark red robes and the other in black robes frowned darkly.  Clearly they wanted others to get revenge for the humiliation of their members.  Elder Quin smirked at them.  The audaciously named Fire Lord Sect was the dark crimson robes but the black cloaked robes were from the Black Lotus Sect.

They were both located in the northern reaches of Sarth and were suspected of connections to the Shadow Sect.  Given the reveal of the powerful Shadow Puppet Art, the rumors were likely true.

Their existence, however, was very much normal for sects.  Their interests took priority over anything else and someone that clearly engineered their defeat should suffer in their eyes.  Quin made a note about it for later, but the battle continued.

The outer wall fell and they were all stunned as the extent of Lind Frey's planning made others look in concern.  It was not totally perfect, but the level of planning and sneak thinking required to come up with the traps showed a devious mind at work.

Lind Frey was known for his perseverance, hard work, and stunning crafting ability.  He was essentially thought of as a scholar and a master of his craft.  While martial training was essential to all cultivators, only a few excelled at it.

It was the consensus that Lind Frey fell under the majority that did not excel at combat, but the mind needed to come up with a defensive plan and vicious attack showed a fierce battle potential.

Now, that equation was being turned on its head.  Elder Quin already knew it was coming and she suspected the Heavenly Maiden Sect had always known.  Lind Frey was a monster.  He had simply been held back and held down by his 6 elemental difficulties.

Now that he had reached the World Realm, he would show what a 6 elemental was truly capable of.

The crowd were pulled back to the battle as a ball of light blazed so brightly the display had to dim it to allow viewing to continue.  They were all stunned as a vicious attack unleashed on the shadow puppets.

Shortly afterwards, the far more vicious traps in the outer city made what should have been a rush attack come to a halt.  While Lind Frey had laid the groundwork, his team members were the ones to actually defeat the weakened foes.

Unlike the contestants, the observers had live updates of the current battle state.

[Violet Hold:  97 members]

[Leader:  Lind Frey - mid Iron Tier 6 elemental]

[Crimson Hold:  99 members]

[Leader:  Athena Milliard - high Iron Tier 4 elements]

The information was basic but revealed what could be publicly discovered.  Given the crimson coliseum's environment, it was a fair guess Athena had darkness, fire, earth, and air.  It would make sense for the leader to be able to use both fire and darkness.

Whatever other criteria the realm set for selection was unknown.  There were peak Iron Tiers of great power on both sides but none were chosen as the leaders.

As the battle unfolded, Elder Quin smirked as things became a bit one sided.

[Violet Hold:  89 members]

[Crimson Hold:  77 members]

For all that the powerful shadow puppets and other attacks that were employed, the defenses and strategies of Lind Frey had made a clear advantage even as they all fell back to the final wall.

Just as a heated battle was expected, Qi flared on the stretch of buildings the enemy all avoided after the last set of traps.  Elder Quin felt her jaw drop open as a massive chasm opened in a circle around the inner wall.

Light blazed out and the last of the shadow puppets were consumed.  They had all wondered how Lind was going to use the source of light Qi but this application was genius.

The only cultivator that would be unaffected by the trap would be mono light elemental.  The nature of their cultivation made it such that they were essentially immune to anything dealing with light Qi.

While fire elementals could survive the attack fairly unscathed, darkness elements in any dantian would be heavily injured by such an attack.

Crimson lights flared everywhere, but the battle did not end.  Elder Quin and Lind's wives took perverse pleasure in the score update.

[Violet Hold:  89 Members]

[Crimson Hold:  46 Members]

"How did he do that?!"  For once, it was not the enemy asking the question but one of the Divine Sword Sect members.  They had seen his body skills but nothing like what was displayed now.

All looked to his wives but they shrugged.  They truly did not know how Lind set up the trap but his Forging was clearly the source.  The method could only be explained later.  While the crimson coliseum seats seethed in anger, the battle waged on.

Overcoming the chasm and then the last wall now became a horrifying feat for the remaining members of the enemy side.  While numbers were not everything, they could make up for difficult situations.

It was a pity Lind had not tagged Athena in that trap as the battle could have easily ended right then and there.  Still, that was reality.  Plans could achieve many goals but miss the critical one if not implemented correctly.

Perhaps he should have waited and it showed his inexperience that he did not.  Still, none could deny that a single cultivator had dictated the flow of this fight from start to finish.  Lind Frey was indeed a monster, but his depths were only beginning to be revealed.

Elder Quin felt it likely that those that wished him ill would end up like Tolan.  Broken and unable to advance in cultivation ever again.