From outside the arena, the spectators looked on with wonder and awe at the massive Yang lotus domain within the arena. It was as if a mountain-sized flower of flames and heat had blossomed to life, bathing the arena in vibrant heat and life.
Inside the domain was a completely different story, one everyone could feel in their bodies and souls. Inside the domain was a literal hellscape, the temperature within pushed to the absolute limit. What remained of the arena landscape turned to magma, which then turned to ash and dissipated into nothingness, not even magma itself able to withstand the horrifying heat within the lotus domain.
It was as if a true star had appeared within the arena, with Jaxus and Ji'Han trapped firmly within.
"Jaxus has successfully cultivated the Nine-Petal Hell Domain?" the Sword-Sovereign asked with surprise, looking towards the Yang-Sovereign who looked down on the arena with a calm, neutral expression, making it impossible to know what he was thinking.
The Nine-Petal Hell Domain was the signature domain of the Yang-Sovereign. It had been created by him after studying the Yang-Lotus for millennia, and had allowed him to climb to the top of the Nine-Dao cultivation world. The mere mention of the domain filled the Devils and Beasts with dread, as there was almost none who could withstand its terrifying heat.
"He has," the Yang-Sovereign replied, eyes glued to the battle below. "Although he has not managed to grasp the full profundity of the domain yet."
"I see," the Sword-Sovereign nodded his head, noticing the five petals unfurled instead of nine, which was a sign of true control over the domain. Only the Yang-Sovereign had ever managed to unleash the full Nine-Petal domain, a testament to its difficulty and profundity. "He's a true genius, one worthy of his status as a pinnacle prodigy."
The Sword-Saint was an antagonistic man towards many that opposed his opinions and stood in his way, such as the Prime Shadow and John. However, he was not an unreasonable man, and had much respect for the Yang-Sovereign. As such, he treated him with the respect a sovereign deserved. While he had full confidence in Ji'Han winning, he would not insult Jaxus or the Yang-Dao Sect in any way, especially not when he stood in for the Sword-Sovereign, who was in closed-door cultivation.
"As is your son," the Yang-Sovereign replied calmly. "Despite being in the middle of the domain, he seems quite calm."
The Sword-Saint gave the Prime-Shadow, who was sitting between him and the Yang-Sovereign, a sly smirk, as if saying 'this is what true genius looks like.' He then looked away and smiled silently, allowing the battle below to do their talking once more.
Pure Yang flames roiled with ruinous heat and power with the Nine-Petal Hell Domain, leaving nothing untouched.
Ji'Han looked all around him, slight surprise at the sudden appearance of the domain.
"This is new," he said, lifting his hand before his face, which began to char at a visible rate under the immense heat. Ji'Han frowned as his Flame Attribute Body essence runes flared to life, pushing his heat resistance upwards. Each rune looked somewhat like a tiny flame, the branches of the runic patterns waving like a flame would. While he had not awakened his essence runes yet, they naturally responded to heat, activating in a purely defensive way when provoked.
After flaring for an instant, the fire-colored runes on his skin began to fade, becoming dim as fast as they had lit up brightly. The process shocked Ji'Han, who showed surprise on his face for the first time.
"When it comes to flames and fire, Yang is the true king," Jaxus said loudly, his voice carrying over the sound of crackling flames and roiling heat. "You may have Heaven-Grade Flame Essence Runes, but you have not awakened them yet. Within this domain of mine, all things Yang are under my control, including your essence runes. I will make you regret looking down on and ignoring your flame attribute body."
"I see," Ji'Han said as he lowered his hand, which had started to char over, becoming almost black. A moment later his expression hardened, turning from his former calm to seriousness for the first time.
"Ji'Han looks flustered for the first time this battle," the announcer exclaimed. "He's even taken ten percent damage in the few seconds he's been in the domain. Has this domain pushed him to his limits, or can he deal with it someway?"
John glanced to Ji'Han's metrics on the floating formation screen, and saw what the announcer had mentioned. For the first time, Ji'Han had taken actual damage. His health metric now hovered at ninety percent, then dipped down to eighty-nine percent.
On the other side, Jaxus' health was higher thanks to his Life-Yang Restoration Art, but his overall Qi reserves were lower than Ji'Han's. His Qi reserve metric was at sixty percent and was falling a percentage every minute, revealing the shocking level of Qi the Nine-Petal Hell Domain consumed.
His Flame Attribute Runes no longer effective, Ji'Han moved with haste before the horrifying heat of the hell domain damaged him further. He waved his hand in the air before him, thousands of swords of Qi materializing in the air. They moved around him a moment later, forming the same sphere of swords that he had used earlier.
The swords formed a defensive cocoon around Ji'Han, greatly reducing the power of the domain around him. The falling of his health percentage slowed greatly, while his Qi began to slowly fall instead. As the swords formed the cocoon around him, the outer swords were quickly incinerated by the terrifying heat, dissipating into nothingness.
Those swords were quickly replaced by the layer beneath, while new swords were formed from Ji'Han's Qi every second to keep the defensive integrity. A stalemate between the two quickly broke out, as both burned through a terrifying amount of Qi to resist the might of the other.
"Impressive, but that's not enough to deal with me," Jaxus roared, his lotus wings growing larger behind him, as if he had been augmented by the Yang energy within his domain.
He shot forward with explosive speed, as if a volcano had erupted behind him, propelling him forward. He streaked through the sky like a shooting star, carving a path of ruinous Yang power wherever he went.
He arrived before Ji'Han and his sphere of swords instantly, then raised his fiery saber and slashed down with his full might.
"Yang-Saber Eruption!" he roared, his saber exploding with ruinous Yang energy as it slammed against the sphere of swords. An explosion nearly as strong as the lotus star's erupted, bathing Ji'Han, Jaxus, and everything around them in calamitous Yang energy.
The explosion shook the entire stadium as it blanketed the domain in its power, dissipating only a short while later. The crowd gasped as they saw Ji'Han's sphere of swords shattered, most of them completely shattered or thrown aside by Jaxus' saber attack, exposing Ji'Han to the power of the domain once more, his body covered with open wounds, his skin slickened with his own blood.
