Since there has been a minor boom in growth here, along with me receiving a cover, I will be doing a chapter a day this whole week. Enjoy everyone.

The Arena was a bustling place, with hundreds going in and out. All around, you could tell that the surrounding 25,000 meters was carved out for the Arena. Even past that, there were no buildings for meters. The Arena itself was huge and circular, with thousands of inscriptions written on it, strengthening it. The background of The Arena was so legendary that even Sky rank experts sometimes have competitions here, but most frequent were the competitions such as the one today. They would offer up prizes for the winner, and depending on the quality, the more people would show up.

There were eight main entrances to The Arena, with two competitor entrances, all dotted around the place. They were ornately made, with restriction inscriptions planted so only those with tickets or the appropriate status could enter. It was the way of the world, while any True or Earth cultivator would have to pay, a Sky expert would naturally not have too. The competitor entrances were much more vigorous, however. Only those of the specified rank were allowed to enter, although that was the only requirement.

In the competitor waiting room, Audun and Avari found themselves carefully absorbing every detail. It was huge, and was able to fit hundreds of contestants. Along the walls were paintings of legendary contestants, and the founders of The Arena. They were still alive today, although they had locked themselves in reclusive training years ago. What was of real interest to the two, however, were the competitors.

Almost every seat in this competitor room was full, and they could both imagine it was the same for the other one too. While most of the people in the room didn’t warrant heavy attention, two in particular did. One was a female who was fairly tall, and had hair so short that one could make out her scalp, and with deep grey eyes. The most defining thing on her though, were tattoos that adorned her completely, whose images swirled and shifted. Staring at them for too long made Audun grow dizzy, but he was curious. He had heard that one could use inscriptions on oneself to allow them not only to cultivate at a higher rate, but also use power beyond one’s limits. They were almost nonexistent outside of the islands, however, so seeing one in the center of the continent like this was shocking.

The other one was a small child, who appeared to be merely ten years old. He had long, flowing gold hair, with eyes of the same color to match. He was adorned in extravagant clothes, with white frills adorning the red dress coats sleeves and neck. Equally expensive were the pants and shoes, both black. And the youth threw out an oppressive aura of peak True stage, almost ready to break through. The strange thing was, neither Avari nor Audun knew him. Every ten thousand years, in this world, four children would be porn at the peak of the Nascent realm. This was how the bandit had a guess as to who it was that killed Varen. Of the other three, two were born to the Joka’s, while one was currently the leader of a small rogue tribe. The child who was here with them, however, was not one of the four super geniuses, since the others were accounted for.

“It looks like we are going to be in different sections, Audun, so I don’t have to take you out round one at least.” Avari gave him a playful smile. Ever since yesterday, she had been more upbeat.

“That’s good for you, you mean. I wouldn’t want to show everyone how I can upstage the princess. That could get me executed.” Audun gave a laugh, before a voice that prevailed through the whole arena interrupted him.

“Would the contestants in block one please make their way to the Stage.” The stage was what they called the platform that they would all be fighting on. It could change dynamically to force those who would try to stay back to enter the fray, and prevent someone from entering the top two who doesn't deserve it.

Audun happened to be in the first round, so he gave Avari a hug, before running off to the stage. Avari was blushing, but she had become used to the closeness of being with Audun. She was worried for him, however. People are known to die in the Arena, and the kid gives her the creeps. At least the tattooed lady stayed behind, who knows what tricks she has.

The stage, at the moment, was very plain. It was just rock all throughout, with walls of steel raising up the seats around so everyone had a good view. In the middle section of the seats, the whole circumference was taken up by aristocratic seating, while the top row was for their servants. Yet every level boomed with excitement.

Audun took in everyone around him, they were all near the peak of the True realm. Each one had a calm assurance, reminding himself that he was probably one of the few newbies. It was slightly intimidating, made even more so by the cloudy sky, so he had to remind himself that he had the body of a Sky expert. Only a very select few would be able to harm him.

The other entranceway was filled with more similar characters, but none of the other side could compare with the child at least. Audun knew that as soon as the announcer called time to fight, he needed to distance himself. If he was caught off guard, he could lose his life.

“Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves for the fight of a century. Today, these combatants throw down for a treasure the like of which our humble Arena sees once every thousand years. And as a special guest, in block one, we have the child of one of our founders. Only recently has he had his first child, and he certainly will not disappoint fans tonight.” The crowd roared, while the blood drained from Audun’s face. Even though one was only allowed to bring one weapon into the arena, as to not allow the rich to completely dominate, the child of a peak Saint expert who has existed for so long… He is a forced to be reckoned with.

“Now, let the fighting begin!” The second the announcer’s voice stopped, the restrive spells loosened, and Audun was already on the other side of the Arena. As he slowed his acceleration, a giant wall erected itself between the two side, and fighting ensued. It was utter chaos, and Audun had no time to breathe before he was ducking and dodging around tens of abilities.

There were about fifty people on each side, so the real test was one of restraint. While everyone on the other side had seemed seasoned, only a few over here did not go all out. Within minutes, half were already incapacitated. When you were knocked out, or ran out of energy, you would be instantly teleported out. This made it so death was rare here, and many used this as a safe way to train.

Audun himself didn’t waste any energy fighting yet, merely dodging around. These quick, instinctual movements eventually put him in front of a lean woman, who lashed out with tiny water coils from her arm. Audun was able to ignore their penetrating power due to his body, and took her out with a kick from his right leg. Electricity circled around her, and Audun was gone with a boom before she was even down.

All of this happened in merely three minutes, but in that time, the wall had dispersed. The only person left standing on the other side was the child, who had blood stain his already red shirt. He looked bored, and began walking over.

Audun felt a sense of urgency overtake him, there were still twelve people left, and all of them were at the peak true stage. He needed to take them all out before the kid arrived, and then they would both get to advance. He didn’t feel confident about his ability to take him out unless it was one on one, and he could focus every ounce of his power on the task.

With only a moment's hesitation, he sank into the sixth stance of Martial Asura’s Requiem. He had been reluctant to use the ability up to now mainly because it showed just how deep his ties with the Baste clan were. He also hadn’t yet found a circumstance where it was absolutely necessary to reveal his full power, until now. World qi, wind ki, and lightning qi all congealed around him, creating a fierce aura. Everyone looked at him in shock, with even the kid beginning to get a sinister smile.

Audun felt fear overtake him again, and he put all his speed in power into advancing into the twelve, they were all close together, so it allowed Audun to take everyone out with four kicks and two punches. Everyone around him was down, and they were teleported out. Instantly, the restrictive spells were back in place, but Audun felt a breath on his back.

“You’re pretty good, you get to know my name. Finis Eran.” The kid had been directly behind Audun, not only matching but utterly surpassing his max speed. If the kid had been any closer, Audun knew he may still not be alive.

“And the fight is over! Our great founders son obviously made it, and our mysterious newcomer, Arimasen, did too! How was this stranger able to prevail even though he is clanless, why was he exiled, who exactly is he! Find out all this and more, next time!”