Thanks to the Time Formation, it was easy to have the competitors healing themselves. So when the time came for the first battle, both Iem Turo and Tirande were in top condition.

"Dalin Universe, Iem Turo."

​​

"Enmatio Universe, Tirande."

Both competitors entered the stage.

Tirande was already in his True Form. Surprisingly, he wasn't of any rare race, but quite a common one. Tirande was a Shadow Leopard, the same one Krune's group encountered back in the Makui Planet. Seeing that, Krune couldn't help but remember the time he fought against one of these. Nowadays, a simple thought could already trash those Shadow Leopards from the Makui Planet.

Of course, as a seeded Demon Beast, Tirande was anything but weak.

The judge looked at the two of them and nodded.

"Begin!"

Tirande's fur stood up as Lightning began to run through his body. Suddenly, two shadows separated from his body and became perfect copies of the original one. It immediately caught everyone's attention since it was the first time Tirande used this ability.

The ones present were especially more so since they couldn't see which one was real with their Divine Sense. Well, that was the case for those around Tirande's level. The Divinity Realm cultivators and demon beasts outside could still see through it, but that didn't matter at the moment.

If there was a participant that could also identify the real one, that one was Krune. With his Soul Power equivalent to a peak Divine View Realm, his Divine Sense could barely see a few differences in the Shadow Leopards. However, Krune didn't need to rely on that since everything was pretty much evident when he used Mental Energy instead.

Iem had to admit that even he couldn't tell the real from the false. But he didn't care. He simply stepped forward and initiated his attack. Tirande also didn't waste time and dashed forward as well.

"Dark Lightning Domain!"

When Tirande's Domain spread, everyone saw Dark Lightning everywhere. They constantly danced as they entered and left Tirande and his two copies.

'He fused both Dark and Lightning Laws, impressive.'

When Iem and Tirande reached each other's range, Tirande and his copies became streaks of Dark Lightning. His speeds simply exploded to the point that even Krune was taken aback.

'As expected of a seeded participant. I would only be faster if I went all out with my Tribulation Lightning Movement. Even so, I would be only slightly faster, not enough to make much of a difference.'

Krune looked curiously to see how Iem would deal against such speed.

*Slash!*

Suddenly, a tear appeared on Iem's cloth. Or better, Dark Lightning passed at high speeds there and slashed it apart. Under his clothes, a small cut could be seen as well. It didn't stop there, though. Be it Tirande or his two copies, it seemed like all three of them had the same attack power. That being said, Dark Lightning attacked Iem from all directions incessantly.

Iem looked at his situation and couldn't help but smile.

'Interesting.'

Suddenly, the Dark Lightning Domain that was covering Iem began to disappear as a much more powerful Domain started to take form.

"Heavenly Domain!"

As soon as Krune saw that, he was taken aback.

'He can also use all Primary Elements in a Domain! No, he can use all Elements. Light and Dark are also present inside!'

Krune was right. Iem's Domain boasted all Seven Elements at once, different from his that had the five primary ones. Of course, Krune's strongest Domain would have all five primary Elements and the Purple Tribulation Lightning Domain too. But that didn't matter now since he wasn't the one fighting Iem.

Tirande had his highest speed while inside his Dark Lightning Domain, but once he got close to Iem, his speed would drop considerably. That's because his Domain Laws would enter into conflict with Iem's Heavenly Domain, so they couldn't support him entirely. Not to mention that he could tell that his Dark Lightning Domain was weaker than Iem's as well.

When the next Dark Lightning entered Iem's range, he counter-attacked. His leg suddenly crystallized, and it moved as fast as the Dark Lightning itself. Not only that, but Iem's attack was covered, believe it or not, with Dark Lightning!

"Impossible!"

Boom!

Both Dark Lightnings hit each other. The stalemate only lasted for half a second, though. It the next moment, one of the Shadow Leopard copies was sent flying like a cannonball!

"Hahaha! What is impossible? You didn't really think you were the only one capable of Fusing Dark and Lightning, did you? In that case, let me show you something even more interesting."

Suddenly, Iem's Dark Lightning changed completely. It was now a White Lightning instead. Anyone who saw that immediately understood, Iem was using Light instead of Dark Laws/Elements. The next second, Iem dashed forward in a streak of Light.

Seeing that, Tirande smiled bitterly. Light Laws/Elements were the best counter of his Dark ones. Still, he gritted his teeth and counter-attacked. If Light is the bane of Dark, then Dark is also the bane of Light. He had nothing to fear.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dark and Light Lightning hit each other incessantly. It was really a splendid fight based on speed. At first, Iem and Tirande seemed to be evenly matched. While Iem was stronger, Tirande had his two Leopard Copies that weren't any weaker than himself.

"Hahaha! Great! That's really amazing."

While Tirande was giving his all, Iem seemed to be having a lot of fun. He couldn't be blamed, though. As a Heavenly Race member and a Heavenly Divine Soul Owner, fiding opponents at the same cultivation level with similar combat power was just too hard.

However, everyone noticed something. Iem and Tirande are literally fighting a physical battle. However, Iem isn't just a melee cultivator, but he is also an amazing long-ranged one. Still, he only played with Tirande with Physical Attacks.

The stalemate didn't last long, though. First of all, Iem's Domain was much stronger than Tirandes, so Tirande was being suppressed the entire time. Also, with Iem's Crystallization ability, Tirande could barely cause any damage at him.

What others didn't know is that Tirande wasn't supposed to be fighting at this level. He could only put up such resistance because he was also consuming his Bloodline Power! Although a shadow leopard isn't a rare demon beast, they still have their own bloodline. Since Tirande is a Heavenly Divine Soul Owner and a Divine Path Realm demon beast, his bloodline had improved by leaps and bounds. A common shadow leopard like the one Krune fought in the past simply couldn't be compared.

Still, his bloodline power was dropping at high speeds.

Suddenly...

*Boom!*

Tirande showed an opening, which Iem used to deliver a heavy blow. This time, he hit the real Tirande, which made the shadow leopard vomit blood instantly. Tirande tried to get up as fast as he could, but Iem didn't lose the opportunity. With a streak of White Lightning, he arrived in front of Tirande and attacked once more.

*Bang!*

Even Tirande's copies couldn't prevent the second hit. Immediately after, the fake leopards disappeared. Not only that, but Tirande's Dark lightning Domain crumbled together. Iem's second hit was really hard, and Tirande didn't have enough time to put a defense.

Seeing Tirande's Dark Lightning Domain disappearing, Iem couldn't help but sigh.

"Is it over already? That's a pity..."

Iem then turned around and began to make his way out of the arena. Tirande, on the other hand, tried his best to stand up once more. Unfortunately, he already used too much of his bloodline power. Besides, he was really heavily injured.

"I won't give up!"

However, the moment Tirande tried to move again, he noticed that his body couldn't anymore. It was utterly locked by a powerful spiritual energy that didn't allow him to take even a single step forward.

"That's enough, Tirande. You are not his match. At the moment, it is good enough that he doesn't want to kill you."

Tirande looked at the skies, just to see an old woman with fiery red hair staring at him. She was his protector, and also a Demon Beast of the same Universe.

With her intervention, the judge announced.

"Tirande's protector intervened. Iem Turo is the winner and the first competitor in the top 8."

Tirande gritted his teeth unwillingly. Still, he knew that it was over.

"Sorry."

The woman shook her head as she sighed. It seemed that the Dalin Universe slot had some other meaning for Tirande and herself as well. Still, there was nothing more they could do.

"You are not to be blamed. It's just that you were too unlucky to be paired against such a freak. If you had advanced into the top 8, I'm sure you would have taken one of the five slots."

The woman then gave Tirande a Healing Pill and brought him away from the arena. Finally, the first fight was over with the not too surprising Iem's victory.