Dong Li rested his face over his fist, reclined on the sofa he always carried with him. He was a royalty after all, with his own set of comfortable items. All in all it was a well-earned moment of relaxation. He actually had the temptation to stay here for a couple more hours, but he couldn’t ignore his mission.

He smirked, moving his eyes on a nearby rock. “For how much longer are you going to spy on me?”

The rock responded by rolling itself up, revealing a small snake that hissed out from behind it. Illuminating lights spread around the snake’s body as it transformed, turning into a beautiful red-haired maiden.

Her body completely naked, she gazed at the hovering formation. “Why haven’t you killed him?”

Dong Li rolled his eyes. “Same reason why you couldn’t. How about you put on some clothes first, eh?”

She didn’t appear ashamed as she took out a new set of garments, taking her time dressing up. During the process, her eyes never left the cage for a moment. “Back then… the entire arena laughed at him. I would like to see their faces now if they had to see him in this state.”

Dong Li didn’t comment but appeared pensive nonetheless. This whole affair didn’t add up. He had already used a special talisman to double-check that this Jack was actually of the 5th Qi Seeking Realm, and not someone who was suppressing his own power. But a 5th Qi Seeking Realm cultivator shouldn’t be able to use an essence to such a degree, and neither should he be able to employ the strength equivalent to twice the average 5th ranking cultivator. But the most shocking of all, was him displaying powers that fitted the descriptions of tribulation lightning.

Earlier, he had observed this Jack in the arena. He saw him drinking wine, chattering, smiling and laughing; just a normal young man enjoying his life. But this Jack here, if one had to ignore his human appearance, there was nothing else that could associate him with anything human.

That’s why he conjured that either this Jack ended up being possessed by some powerful spirit, or was an image created by the realm. But both these theories had their flaws. Considering the first scenario, the being that possessed Jack would have targeted someone stronger. And an image created by the realm was supposedly weaker than the original, not to mention that it didn’t make any sense for someone to have himself as an image.

The more he tried to solve the puzzle, the more confused he became. Giving up, he stood up, sucking in the sofa and preparing to depart. “I’m heading away, and you’re going to stay here, guarding this formation. It is very fragile from the outside; I am sure you don’t want that man to break out, right?”

She frowned. “I am not your lapdog.”

Dong Li floated upwards. “Consider this as punishment for acting like an asshole earlier. Maybe I’ll come back to check in two days. So long.”

Without giving her the chance to say anything, he transformed into a prismatic beam, disappearing from her vision shortly after.

She crossed her hands, lifting her breasts. “As if!”

She had already flown herself away for a couple of metres when she thought about the sealed monster, shivers running through her entire body. Letting out a sigh of hopelessness, she stopped, actually deciding to stand guard. With the other two supposedly hunting for gems, she didn’t have to worry about the competition.

Calming down, she stared again at the formation above her, praying that it would hold until the competition ended.

***

From outside the arena, one could hear the cries of the spectators. However, they weren’t the screams of celebrations.

The audience frantically pumped into each other as they watched a giant beast ascending above the central platform.

A humanoid beast, twice the size of an ordinary cultivator, standing on a dark cloud of smog. A set of coiled horns spiked out from its forehead, while on its back appeared a set of wings, and below a tail that swung fervently.

Its demonic eyes surveyed the ten Spirit Realm cultivators that surrounded it. “Despicable… one death, I could close an eye... but three… you are purposely targeting us!”

It pointed both claws at the Empire’s and Cult’s stands. “Come, both of you, I’ll take you both on. I don’t care who you are, I am not afraid of you.”

The Cult Elder frowned. “Chief Iron Hand, this behaviour is beyond you. Haven’t you heard the Palace Head already sent in reinforcements? Don’t be jumping to conclusions.”

“Shut up!” His roar deafened not only the arena but the entire city. “I feel their blood... boiling for revenge… I will not rest… until their deaths are paid with blood!”

The aura of a peak Spirit Realm Expert blew-out like a cyclonic tempest of elements, suppressing the arena and causing cracks to appear over a number of stands. A large boom resounded from above as the artificial moon cracked bit by bit, exploding into large chunks of rocks that bucketed down all over the place.

The Palace Head was shocked by this show of strength. Face full of disbelief, he immediately ordered his subordinates to protect the vulnerable. “Chief Iron Hand! How dare you act like this inside the Palace’s lands?!”

The Beast laughed in anger. “It wouldn’t have made any difference even if these were the lands of hell! Better tell these ten f*ckers to stand down. Otherwise, you will be picking up their corpses soon enough.”

For all this time, the Masked Elder had remained passive observing how the argument progressed. Finally deciding that it was time for him to make an entrance, he rose, removing his mask.

“That’s enough, everyone.”

It was a simple phrase, but it contained a pressure equivalent to one hundred mountains pressing down. Everyone inside the arena was forced to a halt, as if time was frozen in place.

“Iron Hand... I wouldn’t be surprised at all if our competitor killed them. If that’s the case, we can settle this in a one on one match after the competition ends. This competition is of utmost importance for us, so I suggest you stand down for the time being,” he paused, expression turning serious, “Unless… you don’t want to see an entire army come knocking at your tribes. Trust me, I am more than capable of that.”

Chief Iron Hand narrowed his beastly eyes. He never expected another powerhouse appearing here. He paused, examining his course of actions.

After a while, his body reverted back to his usual self, flashing back over his stand. His face still showcased anger as he glanced back from the side. “I’ll take you at your own word.”

Noting this development, the Palace Head let out a sigh of relief. He was also a Peak Spirit Realm Cultivator, but he had the premonition that this Iron Hand was much stronger than him. It seems that the legends surrounding this man weren’t exaggerated in the slightest.

Leaning back down on his seat, he nodded appreciatively towards the Empire’s Elder, or more precisely, the Empire’s number two, Crown Prince Dong Wei.

The audience that remained behind couldn’t believe their eyes. The famous Dong Wei, the second most powerful expert of the Divine Vajra Continent? Initially confused, they eventually figured why he was here when they glanced at the Holy Daughter.

With the commotion finally over, work for repairs had immediately started as the frantic stewards ran in circles trying to fix up the mess, helped by the Palace’s Spirit Realm Cultivators who were forced to do the dirty work. However, it was clear that people had lost the motivation to continue the festivities, and now the arena was almost empty.

From the Divinities Alliance’s stand, the Grand Elder’s heart was jumping with joy, though he didn’t express it out. On the other hand, Dai Jun was frowning. “Had to end when it started to get interesting…”

Long Mu grinned, staring at Dong Wei. “This kid… he would make a fine genius even in the higher realms.”

“And what does an idiot like you understand about the Greater Realms?” The Grand Elder shook his head with incredulity, just to appear pensive a moment later. “Please, boys and girls, be safe inside there. I am praying the gods that you don’t meet the same fate as those three.”

“Good luck with that, praying to the gods...” Long Mu rose, his body movements hinting that he was about to leave the arena.

“Huh? Where are you going?!”

“Need some fresh air, boring here.”

Without giving any further explanations, he suppressed his strength and left with a flash. His sudden movements had gone mostly unnoticed by the rest. He flew straight ahead, jumping from roof to roof like a ninja. On his way he had extended his aura, making sure that nobody was trailing after him.

After travelling to the City’s edge, he eventually stopped on the platform, not far away from the spot where the Ark had landed.

From that position, he could glance in the direction of the Divinities Alliance. Soon feeling a bit lonely, he softly chatted with himself. “Hah, did that idiot give up? I’ve never felt my soul this calm before today. And it seems that the remaining memories of my lesser half also started to awaken.”

He narrowed his pensive eyes. “Descendant of the Ancestral Divinity? My ass! I am a creature brought here from the Greater Realms to serve as its substitute! Damn fools… what kind of method did they use to travel between the realms without invoking Heaven’s Wrath? This... I need to find out…”

His expression changed, similar to a little boy who was scheming of something nasty. “Quite a few tricks you have under your sleeves, eh, Sky Water Sect?” His grin widened. “Though calling you Sky Water Sect is also inaccurate at this point… right? Lackeys of the Cathedral...”