Facing off across from their new opponents, Luna could see that separation that Cain had been talking about. They were together, allied from the same sect, but they weren't really one unit, just a collection of individuals.
That would be a huge advantage for their team, who were actually working together to balance each other's strengths and weaknesses.
"We should switch it up to confuse them. They are used to Luna standing back to protect Sabbat while she uses her fire magic, but we could have Tena do the same thing this time, with her Energy Dragons to keep the water attacks away and her close combat skills.
Then Luna could go on the offense, and that should catch Jade River off guard." Penny suggested.
"That could work. We don't want to be too predictable. We might be forming up in the most optimized formation, but everyone else has seen it now, so they can plan around it if we don't change anything.
Sabbat does need to stay back this time, since there will be water attacks, but maybe not next fight." Tena agreed.
"Why don't I go on offense? They will never expect it, with fire being weak against water. It will grab their attention for a few seconds and you all can blitz them." Sabbat asked, looking over the group for a weak link.
"There, the extra cocky one that is smirking at me. If I go all out with the fire and charge him I think it will put the others off balance and throw off their plans."
"Do it. If it goes wrong, we will have the summons cover for you. I can call a second set if we need it, I'm just holding them back in case we need them as a trump card later. So dump all your fire on him and see if you can overcome his water talent even at the disadvantage." Luna agreed.
With the plan made, the disciples prepared for a hard fight. Going all offense would make things easier, with numbers on their side. In the best-case scenario, they could herd the Jade River Sect into one group and then overwhelm them.
"Is everyone ready?" The referee asked, looking at the physically mismatched teams smirking at each other as if they both knew something that the other didn't.
"Ready, Sir," Luna replied, while the leader of the other team nodded.
"On my Mark. Ready, Set, Begin."
As predicted, the Jade River Sect immediately called a meter of water to cover the arena, forcing both Luna and Tena, who were not nearly tall enough for such an environment, to activate movement skills to get off the ground.
Sabbat lit up in an intense blue fire, and the water around her was dispersed, leaving her standing on dry sand while she sent a barrage of [Fire Arrows] at her chosen target, who was forced to brace himself behind a water shield.
Penny transformed into Lycan form and charged ahead with her six-wolf pack at her heels, startling her enemies.
That wasn't a skill that they had expected, though they had expected summons of some sort.
The wolves were slowed by the water, but they were magical creatures and pushed through without much issue as Penny charged into the Jade River Sect ranks, flanked by Jen and Luna.
Luna called sixteen dragon carp, their shining golden scales flashing in the light as they raced happily through the water toward the blue-robed cultivators and began firing water jets to break their targets' defenses.
"It's an illusion. They're just solid energy. Crush them with blades and wash the girls back to the far barrier." The leader ordered.
Technically, summons were solidified energy, but they were not an illusion, as the disciples found out the hard way when they tried to dispel them with a talisman.
The Jade River fighters were very skilled swordsmen though, and other than the one that was pinned down by Sabbat, desperately trying to avoid being boiled alive by the steam from his faltering shields, they charged into melee with the Forbidden Treasure Sect without hesitation.
Short blades met Scimitars and claws in a furious exchange, and for a moment the battle ground to a halt.
Then the Dragon Carp launched another round of attacks, putting the Jade River Sect off balance, and causing them to lose one member to the wolves and another to Luna's blades.
Then the leader's barrier faltered under the heat of Sabbat's flames, and the water in the arena vanished in an instant.
The last two stood back to back, knowing that they were already doomed, but not wanting to embarrass themselves in front of their Elders and the crowd.
Luna and Jen didn't give them a chance to think about that for long though, and their furious assault drove the two men to their knees before the Referee stepped in and ended the fight, putting a protective barrier over the downed cultivators.
"Winner Forbidden Treasure Sect. Congratulations on moving to the next round ladies." The referee congratulated them, while the crowd screamed its appreciation for the fight.
"Pure brute force to overcome water with fire. That is impressive. I don't think that anyone will underestimate your disciples after this." Elder Ling told Cain, who was making mental notes of the way the girls worked together, so he could come up with a plan to make them even better.
"I'm glad you liked it. I can see that some of the other Sects aren't too impressed though. They think that the match was fixed, or that I brought ringers, transformed to look innocent." Cain chuckled, as the accusations were clearly heard among the audience members who had bet against the Forbidden Treasure Sect.
"Nobody gets past the scanners. But I must say, the thought that you might have made your Sect look less threatening had crossed even my mind. The scan only tells you if they are under the age of twenty-five and mortal. A pair of twenty-four-year-old Spirit Rank Cultivators in children's bodies would be an incredible power play if you were looking to get underestimated." Elder Ling shrugged.
None were quite that old, but she had a point. Cain had made both Luna and Tena look deliberately non-threatening, even if Tena had specifically requested it.
"I don't think it will help once they grow up. They'll still be hard to take as a serious threat, even if you are judging by their aura." Cain laughed.
"What do you mean by that?" A female Elder to Cain's right asked, her eyes as gold as her robes, with long white hair.
"It's part of the technique that they train. It suppresses the threat of their aura unless they deliberately try to spread it. So they will always be underestimated since opponents will assume that they aren't a threat, even if they sense their overall power level." Cain explained.
Mostly it was that the system didn't build up an aura of power the same way that the regular cultivation techniques that everyone here used did. All of the disciples had cores, so they would radiate power, but thanks to the system, it would seem benign and not have that aura of danger that a cultivator who regularly killed and fought would carry.
"What a useful skill for a traveling Sect to know. It seems that you have put a great deal of effort into the training and planning for your disciples' futures." The Elder told Cain with a smile on her weathered face.
"Not as much as you would hope, but they are doing well enough for now, and I can start planning for their futures as we go. They are gaining power at a steady pace, so with a little luck, I will have very nearly forever to plan and help them, but you never really know do you?" Cain asked.
"No doubts at all that they will make the transition to Immortality? It's not such a small thing to most, and it takes a lot of confidence to say that even one of your proteges will make it that far in their cultivation."
The girls made it back before Cain could respond, all of them excited to see how Cain would respond to their performance in the Arena.
"Excellent work ladies. The change of tactics was a nice touch, they never knew what hit them, even to the end. Just make sure that you are in a position to support each other should one of your targets prove harder to lock down than planned, you don't want to lose one of your team to an error in judgment." Cain told them, patting each head in turn as they approached.
Having gone first, they could actually leave for the evening now and find out who their next opponents would be tomorrow, but it would be better if they watched all the matches themselves, so once they started to settle down, Cain brought out another rice cake, as well as some sliced Magical Beast meat and fruit, as well as some Mythic Fruit Juice to help his disciples recover.
"Settle in to watch the matches. I've got blankets with me as well if it gets cold.
Elder, would you like a light evening snack? The juice is a particularly fine one, produced on my family farm." Cain offered, drawing the interest of both Elders near him.
"Is that juice from a Mythic Rank fruit? And you are just drinking it as an evening refreshment?" Elder Ling asked.
"It's highly diluted for exactly that purpose. It helps with recovery, energy, and mental refreshment." Cain offered, pouring each of them and all fifteen disciples a small shot of juice.
"Now, that is incredible. If I ever get the chance, I would love to travel to your family farm and see just what sort of Clan could cultivate such trees. Even the Lotus Blossom Sect, with its long history, would pay a great amount for a single seed of a Mythic Peach Tree." Elder Ling sighed as she sipped her juice.
"I might be able to help you there, but we can discuss that when we aren't in public. Now, everyone finish your juice and eat your dinner before the next matches start. I think they're going to be good ones."
