?Ning arrived at the large stage that was separated into 4 different quadrants. Each one of those quadrants was supposed to be a stage by themselves.
He couldn't hear anything but muffled shouts from not just the audience in the arena but also the other fighters on the stage. It took him a moment to realize that he was even having a hard time seeing through them, all sight blurred to his vision.
Was this something that was done by the arrays?
He was quite curious about the arrays now. He wanted to learn more. But for now, it was his fight that mattered.
A man in his late 20s appeared in front of him, with a thick beard and a shaved head. He had a leather armor strapped onto his chest, leaving his beefy suntanned arms bare for everyone to see.
On one hand, he held a fiery axe with the edges jagged, as if they were the shape of flames themselves. On his other hand, he held an elaborate earth shield, with pieces of rocks forming the image of a beast that was a lion or something similar.
The man glared at Ning, more to intimidate him than anything, but Ning only looked back nonchalantly. That seemed to anger the man more than anything Ning could've said.
"Get your weapons ready!" A voice drifted in between them as a woman looked at the both of them. The referee of the arena.
Ning brought out a blue trident, with a slender shaft and 3 prongs at the end, each of equal length and equally sharp.
The man gave a confused look after seeing the weapon as it didn't stand out as anything more than just that, a weapon. It was as if one made it with little care for what it looked like.
Those sorts of weapons weren't easy to find in the Ulharis city and were more often than not looked down on. Although, the man did wonder what it was made up of. The blue color made him think it was water or ice, but he had seen them and this one looked different.
"If you are ready," the woman looked on either side and the fighters got on their stances. "Fight!"
The man acted the moment the match began. He slashed his axe forward, sending a stream of fire billowing forward.
Ning switched to his Sound core and created a small pulse of sound that caused the air to push forward, dissipating the fire before it landed on him. Then, immediately, he switched to Lightning Core and poured Lightning Essence into the Lightning Trident he held in his hand.
He pointed the trident forward and 3 bolts of lightning struck around the man. One to his left, one to his right, and one right in between his legs.
The pure confusion of what he had just witnessed filled the man, forcing him to look all around to see if it wasn't just him.
The referee was equally confused as she was surprised, and she looked at Ning, hoping for some answers. No doubt the rest of the audience members were doing the same.
Ning only gave them a cheeky little grin and held his trident in one hand before gesturing to the man to continue with his other hand.
He had come here to make a demonstration. He wasn't going to win or lose so early on.
The man attacked, using his techniques this time around, flinging out multiple large rocks at Ning.
Ning danced.
A trident was nothing more than a spear with three heads instead of one, and a spear was nothing but just another limb for him. The movement came as easy to him as walking.
He weaved through the thrown rocks. He destroyed some, dodged others, and something tossed one back toward the man. His hands moved in a blur, the blue trident equally blurred except for the blue trail it left behind.
From time to time, it slipped out a small bolts of lightning struck the ground around him, and that happened enough times that the man was certain now that the trident was made up of Lightning.
He couldn't imagine how one could capture lightning to make such a thing.
When the streams of rocks ended, Ning sensed Earth essence beneath him and jumped. Rock spikes appeared below, nicking a side of his leg but did not damage.
Ning flipped in the air and sent a bolt of lightning next to the man before he could channel his Essence into his weapons.
Falling, he threw his trident into one of the rock spikes where it stuck stiffly, and he landed on the trident. He crouched on the trident's shaft and looked at the man down below.
"Come on," he said in a mocking voice. "Surely you can do more than just this." He made a yawning gesture as well.
If he wanted the fight to become more bombastic, he would have to taunt the man into using more and more attacks, so he could show off more.
The battle lasted for nearly 5 more minutes in which Ning only used lightning bolts to surprise the man more than anything for the majority of the fight. If the attack landed, the man would immediately lose.
Ning also didn't use any of his techniques except for when he had to protect himself and fought the majority of the battle with just the Lightning Trident.
By the time he won with a simple kick to the man's stomach, the majority of the crowd was cheering for him, even though he couldn't hear them properly.
'But they can hear me,' Ning thought with a smile and raised the Trident, sending out bolts of lightning that streaked toward the sky in multiple directions.
The surprise alone shocked the crowd into silence.
"This is the Lightning Trident," Ning shouted, aided by his Sound Essence when he saw people no longer speak.
"Tomorrow at 2 in the afternoon, I will be selling this to the highest bidder in my shop Heeran's Love. Make sure you come."
