The Science of Cultivation-Chapter 252: Start of the Arena
“That young gentleman we saw earlier sure has an interesting set of techniques,” Li Lang commented as he continued to spectate the various duels taking place on the platforms around him. “I can’t believe he has such good mastery of both the water and light attributes to create illusions when he is so young."
Wei Ping and Long Yi ignored him, as they were each deep in thought. They had just asked a passerby from the Bloodwave Conclave about what to expect. While none of their fellow participants knew what was to come, they talked about precedents in the previous few events. They found out the first event was generally a free-for-all, where they would be facing off against challenges instead of each other.
That was why so many people were dueling prior to the event. They realized they may not have the chance to face off against each other, so they wanted to make the best of their opportunity to face off against various cultivators from different regions.
All of this gave the spectators a good show. While the venue continued to be filled, Li Lang was able to witness numerous clever applications of cultivation techniques.
A majority of cultivators only focused on one attribute, but even then, there were numerous variations. He had seen a water element expert specialized in close-quarters combat, enveloping themself in a layer of water that absorbed the impact of enemy attacks. Others who employed the water attribute used powerful Qi arts to overwhelm their foes, while just as many made use of the flexible properties of water to get around defenses.
Li Lang wanted nothing more than to study all their techniques in detail, but alas, this dream was likely never going to come true. As a result, he paid particular attention to those more relevant to him, those who practiced multi-attribute techniques. Being able to observe the synergy and interaction between all the different elements would definitely be a boon to him.
He relished every moment of this time until someone interrupted him. A hand landed on his shoulder and pulled him back.
“Hey, sleepy heads! You guys sure are relaxed about this event if you managed to oversleep this morning.”
Li Lang was the first to turn around, spotting their acquaintance, Sima Xue. Wei Ping and Long Yi reacted a second later. They shrugged at her criticism and directed a pointed look at Li Lang.
“Apologies, a p-particular member of our group, gets side-tracked easily,” Wei Ping commented.
Long Yi nodded several times, showing his avid agreement.
Seeing his two companions throw him under the bus, Li Lang also shrugged.
“It’s better this way. It wouldn’t be too good for others to see us so close to Nightmoon Valley when they realize we aren’t one of their members.”
“Yeah, well, Senior Brother Jian still waited for you until the last second. You should go apologize to him.”
“Hm, I will.”
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Li Lang didn’t bother to argue any further, despite being glad he hadn’t come to the arena with Jian Beiyun or Sima Xue. It would only hint at an extraordinary relationship between him and their organization, which wasn’t what he wanted. He had agreed to work with them in order to retrieve his pocket realm in secrecy. Doing anything that highlighted their special relationship would work contrary to that.
Thankfully, the status quo so far seemed to be acceptable. The elders from The Orchid Covenant were completely clueless about their dealings and he would like to keep it that way.
The four early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators bantered some more as the duels continued until the sound of a bell being rung caught the entire venue’s attention. It rang three times in quick succession before taking a brief pause and then repeating. After it rang out for its fifth set, the entire place became deathly quiet.
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“Greetings, fellow cultivators from Violet Isle. I am Jun Oubei. I thank you all for coming to our Sword Saint Isle for this year’s Dark Sea Arena. We’ll be getting things started momentarily. I ask that the spectators return to their seats and for all the participants to ascend up the stages. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask any of our members. You can tell who they are by the armband they are wearing.”
Right after the speaker finished talking, everyone in the venue erupted into action. It could be said most of the participants were adults, so they knew how to behave. No matter how much friction there was between the demonic path and the orthodox path, everyone hid their animosity for the moment.
It was a relief to Li Lang that everyone proceeded smoothly. Soon, several members of Sword Saint Isle flew up above each of the nine platforms within the venue. They had the powerful aura of someone in the Violet Core Realm. It was only when they all got into position that the speaker continued.
“This year’s Dark Sea Arena will start off with a survival game. Our formation masters will soon send all the participants into an illusion world. Only those who survive for a full day will be able to move on.”
The organizers trusted in the competence of the Foundation Establishment experts present and didn’t elaborate too much. Without offering to answer any questions, the formation masters didn’t hesitate to start channeling their powers.
A giant circle filled with symbols manifested above each platform. It slowly descended as the wind constantly rushed toward it.
Li Lang found himself near the edge of the platform, next to his companions. He spied the other platforms where the more advanced cultivators were, and they were all stoic and calm, unlike his fellow competitors. He nodded in understanding upon reflecting on the difference.
Most of those experts are hundreds of years old. All the people in the early stage with me are a mixed bag of talented young people and those who are struggling to get past their bottleneck.
He didn’t get to mull any further when the formation circle engulfed them, and his vision went white.
His vision quickly returned, and he found himself alone in the middle of a desert. He blinked blankly as he assessed his surroundings, which were towering dunes of sand and a blazing sandstorm.
This feeling—the humidity and sandstorm is so realistic. Is this another type of pocket realm? No, pocket realms are either natural cracks to a different subspace or artificial within artifacts. This is from formation masters…so could it be an illusion? A mental hallucination of some kind?
Li Lang took another few seconds to try to find anyone nearby. His companions had just been inches away from him a moment ago, but they were nowhere to be seen. It wasn’t his first time encountering these types of situations, but it was a first that the objective had been so vague.
He was used to having directives, whether it be hunting down Qi beasts for points or competing directly against his peers. He wanted to watch others in action and maybe even have a thorough discussion with these experts. Being isolated completely ruined that.
As someone who had yet to pick an Earth-grade technique, he didn’t think his odds were that good compared to others. Even his students appeared quite powerful with their new techniques, while he was still deciding his direction.
With nothing to do, but getting pelted by the sandstorm, Li Lang soon got a move on it. He walked across the dry sandy desert, at a loss for what to do.
If survival is the goal, I guess the first thing to do is to find a safe place that will shield me from this sandstorm.
He didn’t take too many steps before he suddenly found his steps unstable. He found his feet sinking into the sand, so he pushed forward to get out of the way. The further he walked, the deeper he sank.
Is this what they mean by survival? Survive the hellish terrain? Is this supposed to be a challenge, though?
Once the sand almost reached his knees, Li Lang simply began to fly up into the air. All Foundation Establishment cultivators could achieve such a feat easily. However, he could instantly feel the drain on his spiritual sea, meaning a huge expenditure in his Qi. It was the reason cultivators invented more efficient methods of flying, like skyswords and Skyrunners.
Slowly ascending, Li Lang took the chance to scour his surroundings once more, albeit at a better vantage point. Everywhere looked the same, with nothing in sight. Seeing this, he decided to make use of the Tracing Origin Art to locate his companions first.
If it was a survival challenge, having numbers could only help.
