Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 260 - 259 - Unexpected Qualifications

A week passed before the end came in sight for round 3.  Over half of the competitors were removed from the mazes but no one aside from Lind had been declared a winner.  As time passed and more arenas emptied, Lind began to suspect he was right about the purpose of the round.

It was a race but not against the opponent, so much as oneself.  The idea of an opponent was to invigorate the cultivator to push themselves.  It puts pressure on them to try and overcome the challenges in the maze.

"Genius."  His whisper drew his wives' eyes but they did not ask.  Only his name glowed on the list of winners but the context was not listed.  All with people still competing, whether inside the mazes or not, all were on edge to learn how the round would be graded.

A few more days passed but no one reached the center like Lind had.  A few seemed to have come close as the difficulty of their advance seemed to melt before the last person was teleported out.

"Round 3 complete.  Evaluating qualifications."  The words of the realm spirit made all snap to attention.  Hope rose in those that were expelled at first.  If the words were interpreted correctly, it did not matter when someone was expelled, but how well they understood the maze they faced.

"What do you think the results will be, Lind?"  Qing was on his right but Ethry was between them.  The small dragon was now the length of his torso, but she curled around his shoulders.  Despite how long she had become, she still was very tiny in circumference.

Without a reference, he did not know if that was healthy but the amount of food she consumed until she was full seemed to indicate she was fine.  Still, Lind had been satisfying her need for attention and she was much calmer now.

It was odd.  He had heard from some beast tamers that their companions could be affectionate depending on how they were bonded, but Ethry was very different from a tamed beast.

If Lind was to put the bond in context, it would be closer to simply a connection between them.  He wondered about the nature of it but he had no time to analyze it.

"Lord Frey, I see you are once again first on the lists."  Cara suddenly showed up but she looked exhausted.  Lind had observed her maze and it had been an odd one.  He would have expected hers to be like her fellow disciples.  They had faced swords, axes, and other weapons that were alive.

Cara, on the other hand, faced what appeared to be creatures Lind would describe as demons from Earth.  They had scaly skin, horns, and even a few with wings.  Lind had confirmed with his wives that no such creatures existed, but did confirm that demon cultivators could transform into such beings.

Even so, they looked nothing like the beings Cara faced.

A suspicion flared in Lind's mind but it was not his place to confront a possible fellow reincarnator.  It was equally possible that a former reincarnator shared stories that were passed down.

"I merely grasped the point of the round.  After that, it was a test of my comprehension.  You seemed to have a deeper grasp of your own dantian compared to others."  It was true.  Despite facing fearsome creatures from a mythical Hell, she made it very far into the maze.

Next to Lind, she was part of a group that had gotten 1 or 2 turns away from the center.

"I wonder why no one else has been listed yet?"  She looked confused and worried but Lind felt firm on his grasp of the round.

"If I am right, the results will not be what we expected.  The first round was truly elimination as I suspect the second round was.  This round, however, feels more like sifting the mud for gold."  All looked a little confused at him, but Lind did not have to explain as the display changed.

"Qualifications assessed and displayed."  The realm spirit drew all eyes to the floating display of names.  Even before cheers went up, confusion suffused the crowd.  The expected 125 names were not before them, instead it was 200!

"What is going on?!"  Lind was not surprised by the outburst as it echoed across the observers and contestants as well.

"Realm spirit, could we see your evaluation, please?"  Lind directly addressed the air and all wondered if he would finally be ignored but they were stunned once more as the simple list of names changed.

[Lind Frey - Peak Dantian Comprehension]

[Selim Moray - Excellent Dantian Comprehension]

The list continued by how well a cultivator comprehended their dantain and had mastered it along with their Arts and techniques.  A cultivator could progress on their path without completely mastering their dantian, but the difficulty was higher and the results lackluster.

Lind began to understand the realm spirit was selecting winners not only on their power but their ability.  It was just as he suspected and now all of the crowd understood.  A prodigy was easy to spot and nurture but many focused on martial skills and pure strength over such a nuanced approach.

Lind's success made far more sense now as he was blazing a trail for 6 elementals so he was required to fully master his dantian, realm, and elements.  It was as if the current tournament was tailored for Lind Frey so far.

"Evaluation of final selection complete.  The 200 competitors have been selected for the quarter finals."  Now Lind looked confused.  Quarter finals?  Should it not be the semi finals?  He turned to his wives but they shrugged.  He looked around but no one in the crowd seemed to understand either.

It was clear that the realm spirit had the final say on how the tournament would unfold.

"The next round will begin in 1 day.  Recover to peak condition as you will battle an opponent with all your talents, skills, and tools.  The final 100 for the semi-finals will be selected by that battle."  Lind arched his eyebrow at the rather simplistic description.  Given the previous rounds, he had his doubts, but like the rest, he was at the whim of the realm spirit.

He had already long recovered but he was ready to reach high Iron Tier and a day was more than enough to stabilize his foundation.  He moved off to a strange space behind the seats that seemed ideal for breaking through.

Lind assumed the lotus position and began his breakthrough.  Ethry actually willingly left his side and curled around Cyntilla.  They all watched over him, including the other disciples of the Heavenly Maiden Sect and Divine Sword Sect.

The heavy duty guards made sure no one disturbed him but others shared his idea that were below peak Iron Tier.  Several others advanced a minor realm or 2 depending on their comprehensions.  The rounds had been highly instructive, even for those that lost.

Fetid breath exhaled from Lind fairly quickly as his aura progressed.  A strange thing then occurred.  His body began to glow with golden light and his wives' realized that his body advanced as well!

He had been able to withstand conjured attacks from high Gold Tier cultivators, so would that mean he could now withstand a major realm above him, or near low Diamond Tier?!  They all wondered but then he stood up and went through a complex and profound set of moves no one had ever seen before.

His wives recognized it as the moves he had been ingrained with by the Relic in Altair.  He had refined it in spars and now real combat during the last 3 rounds.  The change in his moves were apparent to Cyntilla and Shoti who were mired in combat more than Qing and Annabelle.

The other combat masters around also felt the threat just watching Lind settle and stabilize his foundation via such a method.  Some even felt an itch to face him to test themselves and him.

"How long?"  Lind's question brought everyone out of their reverie.

"Only about ⅔ of a day.  There is some time left."  Lind nodded and returned to a meditating pose as he cultivated his fonts and the emerald lump of iron nearly filling his dantian.

Time seemed to fly when the realm spirit teleported all 200 of them away.

The dias had been transformed once more.  It had not shrunk and now had 100 very large areas.  There were no landscapes but rather than simple stone, it was a verdant plains.  That detail was not missed by anyone.

It had stated it would be combat, but each round had been something different from what was expected of a tournament for cultivators.  Instead, they had been pushed to comprehend themselves and prove they had mastery of their skills.

That last thought made Lind look grim.

"So that is what this will be."  The competitors near him glanced in interest but Lind kept his lips tight.  He was more than happy to guide those that lost, but he still wanted to win.  More than a few looked upset he did not keep speaking but then each of them saw their names once more and an assigned arena.

Lind made his way to battlefield #37.  He really wondered how battlefields were assigned but likely it was a bit random.  It was also possible pairs were selected based on their results.  Lind wondered who he was going to face when a familiar person appeared in front of him.

It was Cara.

She had been near the top of the list and now she faced him.  Her silver hair seemed to move in a slight breeze from somewhere, but both looked at each other firmly.  There was no reluctance nor trepidation about facing a friend in the tournament.  In fact, given all the help he had to the 2 great sects, it was hardly surprising he would run into them as the number of competitors dwindled.

"It would seem I got my wish, Lord Frey."  Lind disliked that appellation in front of his name.  He had been a king for a short time but that was a planned obsolescence from the beginning.  He may have taken on servants but that was also voluntary at that point.

He did not rule as a noble should, in his opinion few cultivators did, but still, correcting Cara was pointless.  Her face was calm, but he could see excitement dancing in her eyes.  Compared to the spar back in the camp, this would be a true battle.

"So it would seem, Lady Cara.  Do not hold back, because I will not."  Lind tossed his upper robes into his ring.  He then pulled out a short dark cylinder.  It was metal and had elemental crystals seemingly blended into it.

A weapon!  Lind Frey finally took out a weapon!

The rumors of his old staff weapon breaking back in Altair were confirmed by the man himself, but its feature of extending from a much smaller shape was well known.  Had he replicated that weapon once more?

Cara's smile spread wide as she saw he was taking the next round seriously.  All the time in the camp and right now, she had seen signs and clues he had advanced to at least high grade 3 in Forging.  So what kind of weapon did he wield?

Lind smiled as he held out the short, dark cylinder in front of him before all 6 elements glowed around it.  Emerald light flared before a humming beam of light emerged from both ends.

Any little boy or girl on Earth often had a dream after seeing a certain series of movies and Lind found refining could not get it done, but Forging could.  Now, he held as close to one as he could make in his hands.

The hum of the 2 light blades were very satisfying as he began to move through the basic set of practice steps he used for staff attacks.  The dirt around him strangely did not get cut up at all, but became invigorated as the emerald blades passed by.

"I am ready!"  Lind was smiling ear to ear and Cara looked shocked at the weapon he held.  Peak grade 3!  It was a peak grade 3 weapon!  She also knew what it was.  There were ancient records of a legendary kind of blade that was made of no metal, but light itself.

Her smile stretched as the realm spirit finally spoke.

"Begin quarter finals!"