Chapter 61- Array field
The arena was buzzing from the previous battle. Jin's unusual tactics had stirred up confusion and intrigue. Many cultivators had never seen such method of learning in real combat before. Even though Jin had not revealed his full strength or elemental breadth, his array work and the spatial prowess of Gorr had left spectators speechless. Whispers echoed through the stands.
"Who is that guy?"
"He didn't even lift a finger. It was all arrays and a beast."
"Did you see how his beast manipulated space itself? What kind of contract beast is that?!"
In the viewing platform where sect heads and elders watched, the air was tense. The Luminous Peak Sect elders had been searching the massive roster and astral mirror projections for Reivan, but he was nowhere to be seen. A senior elder, narrowing his eyes, clenched the edge of his chair.
"Still no trace of Reivan?"
Another elder beside him muttered with a pale face, "No... not even his token responds."
The Sect Head of Luminous Peak, seated beside the other two great sect leaders, stayed silent. He had tried a divination before the tournament began, but the backlash had injured his spirit. Something had erased Reivan from this realm in a way that defied normal laws.
Meanwhile, Jin and Gorr sat quietly on the edges of the arena ground where combatants waited for their turn. Lyra sat cross-legged beside them, refining her essence calmly. Her fire and light elements shimmered faintly around her body like dual auras. Jin, however, had his essence completely suppressed. No one but the tournament system could tell his actual realm or his elements.
"You know\..." Gorr stretched his arms lazily, while laying on his belly "That guy really thought blowing himself up would faze you."
Jin smirked. "He did last longer than I expected. But the array sequences held. I need to improve the third rune line for stability though."
"And how's the soul cultivation?"
"Completed," Jin said calmly. "What remains now is to train the elemental transitions in real-time battle."
Suddenly, a bell rang out in the distance, signaling the next set of matches. The glowing formation overhead began to shine again. New names and pairings started appearing, and the crowd leaned forward in anticipation.
Jin's name appeared again, this time against someone much more well-known: Seric of the Blazing Phoenix Sect, a mid-stage Adept Realm fire cultivator who was infamous for using flame chains and suppressive flame-based fields.
Jin stood, dusted his robes, and stepped onto the newly reconstructed section of the arena. The crowd immediately erupted. Jin had become a curiosity after his last fight, and now, facing a recognized genius, the excitement soared.
Across from him, Seric stepped in, shirtless and draped in crimson tattoos, his eyes burning with disdain.
"You let your beast fight last time," Seric sneered. "Are you hiding behind pets again, or will you show me your real strength?"
Jin said nothing.
The referee raised his hand. "Begin."
Flames burst forth from Seric's feet as he lunged forward, creating a massive net of flaming chains. The sheer heat distorted the air. Jin stepped aside and drew a quick rune in mid-air with his finger. A dome of layered earth burst from the ground, shielding him entirely.
Seric grinned, thinking Jin was on the defensive.
But Jin was simply testing.
Inside the dome, Jin sketched more runes rapidly, and the lines began to glow. When Seric shattered the dome with a flaming spear, a grid of rune-laced earth pillars burst from the arena beneath him, each one drawing essence from the surroundings.
The field erupted into a miniature formation ground.
Seric gasped as his movement slowed, the temperature dropped, and his flames sputtered. "What is this?!"
"An energy-dispersing field," Jin explained with a casual tone. "Still experimental."
Seric roared, forming a dozen flaming blades around him. He launched them at Jin, but Jin flicked two fingers, and the air warped slightly.
A previously drawn rune at his feet activated.
Jin vanished and reappeared behind Seric, placing a palm on his back.
A surge of force blasted Seric forward into the formation wall.
The referee raised his hand again. "Match concluded. Jin wins!"
The crowd was stunned. Again.
It wasn't just strength.
It was intelligence.
Strategy.
Control.
Back in the spectator stands, the sect leaders narrowed their eyes.
"That boy... is dangerous," said the Howling Storm Sect head. "Not just because he's strong, but because he's unpredictable."
Jin returned to his seat beside Lyra and Gorr. Lyra gave him a small smile. "You didn't even use a single elemental attack."
"Didn't need to," Jin replied, leaning back. "The real opponents will come later."
In the clouds above the stadium, the realm spirit that governed the Grand Ascension Realm stirred.
Something ancient had begun to awaken.
And it was watching Jin closely.