"Jade Mark Points?" John asked.
"It's what everyone has started calling the scores branded on us," the youth replied.
"Ah, that makes sense," John replied while nodding his head. It was the Jade Dragon Empire after all, and the symbols branded into them were jade green as well. His gaze lingered on the arena below, in which the battles were quite heated, but no one was making any significant moves yet.
"I'm Hareu, by the way," the youth introduced himself, as he had never done so with John formally before. Since John was a first year and Hareu was a second year, such formality was not expected. However, John had displayed his freakish strength when fighting Lyeon, and strength was all that truly mattered when it came to respect in the cultivation world.
"This is Haily, Belmont, and Gale," Hareu said as he introduced the other members of his group. John nodded his head at the others, while Iris introduced herself to them afterwards. After the introductions, the group continued to converse while watching the trials below.
'It seems as though the first true Warrior Mark trial is a trial amongst the participants of this trial. I figured it would be against enemies or obstacles created by the trials, but I suppose fighting against the other disciples is the truest test of talent after all.'
"Why are they mostly staring at each other?" John asked after a moment of watching the fights carry on below. While some of the battles were heated, most of the one hundred participants were keeping to themselves and being defensive.
"That's because the only goal is to sit on the pedestal at the end of the two hour mark," the youth replied. "Fighting and draining your energy early on will all but guarantee you're not the one to sit on the pedestal, so everyone is conserving their energy. While a few of them are confident enough to fight until the end, not all are so bold."
John once again nodded his head, as the explanation made sense. His gaze shifted back to the one sitting on the pedestal in the very center of the arena, who had a calm expression on his face, as if the hundred other trial participants were of no concern to him.
"Who is he?" John asked as he gazed at the youth on the pedestal. "He seems quite confident."
"Oh, him. That's Alderen of the Cinderflame Clan," Hareu replied.
"The Cinderflame Clan? Never heard of them. Are they strong?" John asked. He had not heard of most of the sects and clans of the alliance, so not hearing of the Cinderflame Clan was not unexpected.
"Indeed they are," Hareu replied. "When it comes to their disciples, they're just as strong as our sect, maybe even stronger. From what I've gathered from the others around here, Alderen is in the top five of his clan, and his power is strong enough to give Rael and Lily a good fight."
"That strong, huh?" John replied as he gazed at Alderen. As if he could tell he was being stared at by a strong opponent, Alderen opened his eyes and gazed into the stands. His gaze locked onto John's, and a slight look of surprise appeared in his eyes before he closed his eyes once more.
"He's definitely quite strong," John replied after exchanging gazes with Alderen. He could truly tell that he was indeed as strong as Rael and Lily, or at least in the same ballpark of strength.
"From how you describe Alderen, it seems as though he's established his name and strength already," John said to Hareu.
"You would be correct," Hareu replied. "I arrived here about ten hours ago, and Alderen was sitting on the center platform at that time. He's been up there ever since, and had not once been dethroned."
"He's been up there for so long? Can he indefinitely earn points by sitting there?" John asked.
"I'm not sure. I'm sure there's some kind of limit, but at the moment the points he's obtaining seems to be enough to entice someone as powerful as him to stay," Hareu replied.
Bang!
Bang!
The sounds of fighting continued to wash over the arena as the time limit started approaching the two-hour mark, and the fighting became more frantic. An hourglass hovering above the arena dictated the time limit, which was visible for all to see.
In the heated frenzy of battle, a lone disciple suddenly launched an attack at Alderen, who calmly raised his arm and unleashed an incredibly powerful flame battle art. The two arts collided, and the attacking disciple was instantly overwhelmed by Alderens power. His body launched across the arena, coming to a smoldering stop on the other side.
"Why are they not working together to knock that Alderen off the center platform?" Iris chimed in while watching the battle.
"Because they're all from different sects and clans, and no one trusts each other. Also, these are the top geniuses from each power, and doing an underhanded thing such as ganging up on their opponent is beneath them and their pride," John explained.
"So have you tried fighting in the arena yet?" John asked Hareu after a short pause in their conversation.
"Once, when I initially arrived ten hours ago," Hareu replied, his mood becoming a bit downcast. "But I wasn't even able to cause Alderen to move even slightly, so I'm just waiting until he leaves, and then I'll try my luck again. The third and fourth years are quite lucky to have the true advantage in these lands, while the rest of us first and second years pick up the scraps."
"I have just one question though. I can tell his cultivation is at the Middle Heaven Tribulation Realm, yet he seems a bit weaker than that. What's going on?" John asked Hareu.
"Ah, that. That's because the arena normalizes all cultivations to the Early Heaven Tribulation Realm, making it an even fight for all the disciples," Hareu explained, before his gaze shifted to John and became quite awkward. Both John and Iris were in the Meridian Forging Realm, and were amongst the only few disciples in these entire lands who had cultivations that low.
"So that's how it is," John mused out loud, ignoring the awkward look from Hareu. "The Jade Dragon Empire land was far more powerful than we are now, so Early Heaven Tribulation must have been the absolute minimum requirement to enter these lands, and so it normalizes to that level."
John remained silent as he watched the battles below come to a frenzied end. The disciples all battled amongst themselves, and the last remaining victors tried their luck against Alderen. However, his strength was beyond what any of them could manage, and his powerful flames reigned supreme once more.
The last grain of sand in the large hourglass above the arena dropped down, and a resounding gong sound bellowed out over the arena, signifying the round's end. The battered and bruised participants all made their way out of the arena, looking to tend to their wounds and lowered energy reserves.
On the central pedestal sat Alderen, who seemed relaxed and unbothered, as if the fighting he had just been a part of was of no trouble at all. With the previous round ended, the new round was open until one hundred participants entered the arena.
"Well, time to start accumulating points," John said out loud as he stood up. His gaze shifted to Iris, who stood up alongside him as well.
"After I gather the points I need, I'll clear the way for you to do the same," John said to her. Iris smiled back at John, truly appreciative at hearing such words.
"Just remember, that bastard from before is mine," Iris replied with disdain as she recalled the young man from before.
"He's all yours," John replied with a smile as he jumped from his seat in the stands and landed powerfully on the arena below. The first true Warrior Mark trial of the Jade Dragon Realm Empire lands was about to begin.
