Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 516 - 515 - Zhandou Island

It took Lind the better part of 4 months to make his way to Zhandou Island but he was stunned at what he found.

The island had few resources but the wide open plains was chock full of massive arenas run by sects and kingdoms for entertainment.  The space was well used but the sheer number was not what stunned him.

What stunned him was the indifference to the massive temple structure that floated above the island where its best arenas had once stood.

Over 75 years ago, the skies had been torn open and a tan colored temple had replaced a part of the island entirely.  All occupants had been lost where it appeared but it was an Inheritance so they should have been somewhere inside.

A few were kicked out but many never appeared again.  Those that tried to enter were myriad but few were accepted before the rough requirements were worked out.

A cultivator had to be only 1000 years old and had to have some kind of weapon intent mastered.  There were a few other requirements but they were not fully worked out.  No one knew when a random Inheritance would drop like the current one so it was not all figured out but a few had returned over the 75 years.

They spoke of battle trials which might explain why it came to Zhandou Island.  They also stated that so long as a person won, they would keep advancing.  As many had not come out from its initial arrival, it was likely many had died inside.

Lind knew he might not qualify as he had been taken to intent on various weapons only due to the Relic he faced in the former Kingdom of Altair.  He stood before the simple steps leading up to the double stone doors.

It looked nothing more than like a temple but Lind felt it was weaker than Skinwalker's Inheritance.  It gave him hope his friends might be alive.

He went to ascend the stairs when a few cultivators stopped him.  They were in simple earth colored robes and smirked at him.

"You need to pay the toll before entering the Inheritance.  Our sect controls this area."  Lind narrowed his eyes as no emblems nor any such knowledge was known to him before.  While there were a few mid grade sects on the island, they were not known to try and restrict anyone.

They valued personal skill and simply looked to improve their battle skills.  While it was not impossible for a sect to regulate an Inheritance, the unique nature of Zhandou Island made that unlikely.

Lind also noticed they were only tier 2 Sky Realms and he was restricting his aura so they had no idea how strong he was.  He almost pitied them.

"I see, I was unaware a sect had claimed the inheritance.  How much do I pay?"  Lind smiled as they also looked happy at his response.

"It is a mere 10 peak Sky Stones."  Lind nearly laughed at the price.

For a scam, they were asking for an insane price that the average cultivator would be hard pressed to have to spare.  He made it seem like he was going to pull out Qi stones when Protean came into his hands.

It gained the blade of a spear while he assumed a stance in front of them.  The glowing emerald blade made all 5 of them began to sweat.  They could clearly feel his mid tier 8 aura.

"S-senior!  We did not mean to—"  Lind vanished as he suddenly put the blade against the middle man of the 5.  He had been at the back but now his life was totally in Lind's hands.

"I am merciful compared to many.  I would recommend leaving this place quickly or you will lose your lives to another expert."  The man nodded barely as the others felt cold sweats break out on their backs.

They had not even seen Lind move!

All 5 ran off as he walked up to the door.  He was about to use his intent when the doors opened on their own.  It seemed his demonstration had qualified him to enter.

He felt the dislocation of entering a separate space before his vision cleared to an odd view.

He was overlooking a set of arenas where cultivators were battling with various foes.  Some faced beasts, others similar races to themselves but all were duels.  Further, they faced foes at least a tier above them in strength.

He looked around and found he was alone looking down at them and frowned.  He did not know why but he felt as if the Inheritance was familiar.

"You carry the mark of Battle Master at initiate rank."  A voice made him jump as a lithe young woman appeared next to him.  She was a realm spirit.

She was pale blue but her shoulder length hair was tied up in a bun with a massive glaive on her back.

"Battle Master?"  Lind had not heard the term but he then observed the arenas again and noticed that while some had won, they were now using different weapons and new enemies.

"You passed the trial of Battle Intent Mastery and carry the mark of it."  Lind realized the Relic he faced centuries ago was related to the current Inheritance.

"Am I unable to participate?"  The spirit shook her head but she looked out with a frown.

"You will need to increase your intent to aura to advance but there are not enough rivals to challenge you."  Lind frowned but then summoned Protean once more.  He then went through every type of weapon that existed.

Protean's hilt could shrink or expand as he needed so swords were now used of various sizes as he repeated the training from the Relic all those centuries ago.  In short order, his intent progressed to aura to the spirit's shock.

Some of his intent had already advanced, so he simply had to take the time to comprehend and apply what he had learned over the many battles he had fought.

Fey was instrumental as a sparring partner over the years.

The spirit smiled as it bowed to him.

"You are now qualified to reach the next level."  Lind felt the space shift before a group of cultivators appeared around him.  Many were demons and humans but a few aether children were mixed in.

The massive arena was full of teams fighting each other but Lind noted the skeletons in the bright sands as blood flew in the air.

He understood why the Inheritance had fallen on Zhandou Island.  It was basically the same mindset behind the island!

The similar spirit clearly drew it once weapon aura had reached the commensurate level or perhaps simple resonance of battle intent brought it down.

"You will be assigned to a team.  You must win 10 battles with different weapons to proceed to the next level."  Lind nodded to the female spirit but looked around for any familiar faces.

He found none in the arene but there were a few hundred cultivators around him and his senses were restricted.

"Ryu and Callisto, can you hear me?!"  Lind shouted which drew eyes but the names made a circle appear around him.  Why did everyone back off?

He suddenly felt a threat and Protean changed to a shield as a sword slammed into it.  He easily deflected the attack but found a familiar woman smiling at him.  Her wild smile gave him a chill before a male demon chopped the back of her neck.

Ryu looked tired as he smiled at Lind.

"I knew you would not die so easily."  Lind smiled as the 2 embraced.  He looked at Callisto in confusion but Ryu waved his hand around the arena.  "We are 4 battles shy but the rules of this place are frustrating.  It seems focused on fair fights at all times."

Lind frowned as that could be very bad.

Those that could fight above a realm would actually be punished by waiting for a proper foe to be assigned.

"What is the Inheritance looking for?"  Ryu shrugged as he carried his wife off to a corner.  Lind followed and found some more demons that looked guarded at Lind's arrival.

"He is an old friend."  Lind bowed at them but then a few disappeared in sparkles of light.  Lind looked over to see they were in the arena.  "Sigh, I hope they survive."

Lind had not had a chance to examine their strength but they seemed to be doing well.  He notice their opponents were human and one of the men's weapons shattered to his frustration.

"You can't repeat weapons or the Inheritance shatters them but more than a few people here are stubborn."  Lind nodded at Ryu's words.

"How long have you been here?"  Time was a subjective thing when it came to Inheritances.  Some moved faster while others moved slower.

"It has been almost 1000 years, what was it outside?"  Lind nodded and told him what he knew.  Ryu breathed a sigh of relief as it meant his lifespan was not as bad as feared.

"Well, I hope we are not sent as enemies but Callisto and I have sat out the last 300 years of battles.  I am not sure what the Inheritance wants but it seems impossible to fulfill."  Lind titled his head as Ryu pointed at the crowd.

"Almost no one here trains in more than 3 to 4 weapons.  Even I only train in 7, but this Inheritance seems to be forcing us to expand our weapon foundation."  Lind nodded as he recalled his meeting with the realm spirit.

He was about to reveal what he learned when his vision went white.  When his vision cleared he found 4 more people with him and saw Ryu and Callisto in the opponents team.

It seemed things would not go his way nor theirs but Lind readied Protean as a glaive to start as the battle commenced.