"The first battle has concluded," the artifact spirit said as it materialized in the center of the arena next to Rahze. "The next battle between Rahze and Serilia shall start in one hour."
The artifact spirit golem then raised its hand and touched Rahze's shoulder. A strong healing energy flooded out from the golem and into Rahze, healing his wounds and restoring most of his Qi. The other cultivators raised an eyebrow when they saw this. The golem said fighters would be fully healed after a battle, but it was still hard to believe it would be so quick.
The healing formations the golem had control over must be beyond profound, and was yet another testament to the profundity and complexity of the divine realm they were in. Just how strong and knowledgeable were the Divine Source Monastery to create a place like this?
Putting these thoughts aside, John stared at Rahze and digested the battle he had seen.
'No wonder Rahze and the others were so against this format. That final attack of his is quite terrifying, and would most likely work on most others in here if he managed to land the attack. But now that it's been revealed, he cannot use it as a surprise attack anymore. It seems like this format does benefit me quite a bit,' John mused.
John was confident he would be able to resist the ability, and he was sure Lilian could do so as well due to her control over the Dao of Death, which Rahze would not want to absorb at all, but as for the others, he wasn't so sure.
The hour quickly passed as Rahze fully recovered his Qi fully, and then the golem started the next round.
Serilia flashed into the arena, appearing before Rahze. The two stared at each other, waiting for the official announcement, and then began their battle.
As expected, Serilia kept her distance from Rahze, making sure she was not hit by that attack of his. Rahze chased after her while unleashing his sword arts, which filled the massive arena with a tempest of crimson swords. Each sword was capable of shattering a mountain, and there were tens of thousands of them cleaving towards Serilia at every moment.
However, the swords seemed to narrowly miss her, as if Rahze was unable to accurately target her. Serilia specialized in soul arts, and emanated a strong soul-aura the entire battle. Based on the strength of the soul-aura, John could tell there was a similar restriction to how their dantians were restricted, as the power was much less potent than expected from a World Expansion soul cultivator.
As the battle raged on, Rahze's attacks became less accurate and sharp, eventually becoming on threat at all to her.
Rahze finally stopped and stood in the arena, as if in a daze. His face was blank, and Serilia calmly walked up to Rahze without fear, as if she were in full control of the battle. She tapped Rahze's head, and he fell backwards onto the floor unconscious.
The second battle was over, and it was hardly a battle at all. Serilia had just fled until her soul-power was able to invade Rahze's soul, although that was the method in which most soul cultivators fought. It was a much less flashy battle style than Miko's, who also specialized in soul arts, but unleashed much more powerful and eye-catching one shot soul-arts, instead of slowly working his way into the opponent's soul.
"The second battle has concluded," the golem said as it appeared next to Serilia, and like before, healed her to her near perfect state. "The next battle shall be between Serilia and Lua, and will commence in an hour."
The next battle started, and both Lua and Serilia remained motionless, surprising all those watching. Both were emanating a strong soul-aura, although the two were completely different in nature. Serilia's soul aura was vibrant and ethereal, while Lua's was dark and mystical.
The two stood in place for quite some time, staring at each other, battling not in the arena but in their minds. As the soul-battle raged on, a smirk appeared on Lua's face as she stared at her opponent.
"My soul-arts might not be quite as strong as yours, but my soul is more than strong enough to resist your soul-arts," Lua said, her tone filled with confident arrogance. "So why don't we mix it up a bit," she added and then dashed forward towards Serilia, two daggers appearing in her hands.
Her speed was incredibly fast, and she appeared before Serilia in an instant. Her body vanished from sight, as if she had completely disappeared from the arena. Only the faintest shimmers of light revealed her location, but it was difficult to pin down exactly where she was.
John raised an eyebrow as he watched, as Lua gave off a very familiar feeling. It was the feeling that Slaughter One had given off. A feeling of silent lethality.
Lua was no doubt an assassin; one that used her strong soul arts to lul victims into a daze before swiftly and silently killing them with her equally strong assassination arts. He shivered at the thought of Lua's full power. Just how strong would a World Expansion assassin be? If she had her full power, would he even be able to detect her before she landed a lethal blow on him?
"I concede," Serilia suddenly said, her voice and face calm.
"What? She conceded already?" both John, and those watching from outside the realm exclaimed with great surprise.
"Serilia is a soul cultivator. She had no skill or interest in physical combat," Lilian explained, "once Lua proved that Serilia's soul arts were useless on her, the battle was over. Such is the life of a soul cultivator. It's all or nothing."
'I suppose Miko is just a step above other soul cultivators," John mused, realizing that Miko's formidable combat prowess was not usual for a soul cultivator.
"The third battle has concluded," the golem said as it appeared next to Lua, but didn't heal her as there were no wounds suffered in their battle. As for the expended soul power, that would naturally replenish before the next battle.
As the golem appeared, John leaned forward slightly, unknowingly preparing himself for the next announcement.
"The next battle shall be between Lua and Zeras, and will commence in an hour."
Both John and Lilian's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing the announcement. Zeras' battle was about to start, where both John and Lilian would get a glimpse of his power. The hour quickie passed by, and the golem announced the start of the next round.
Zeras calmly shifted his gaze towards the two and smirked, and then flashed into the arena like a blur. Lua's smug confidence from the previous battle was no more, and a serious look was on her face instead as she stared at her formidable foe; the number one World Expansion genius on the Divine Martial Continent.
The golem checked that both fighters were ready, and then vanished from the arena.
"Begin!"
