The paper talisman in his hands got hotter until one word after another appeared on the surface of the previously white paper. The words were blurry at first, but after a few seconds, they got increasingly clearer.

  In the beginning, Arslan resolved not to do anything rash, even if the young miss begged him to help Yasha — the stakes were simply too high.

  Only Eleanor’s master, the current sect master of the Moon Flower Sect, had the qualifications to make such a decision that could very well end up in war, if it was not handled carefully. But after looking at the message, Arslan was first stumped and then couldn’t suppress the sigh of relief that escaped his mouth.

  With the message in mind, he did not hesitate any longer and immediately vanished from the VIP lounge. Reappearing on the stage, he protectively stood in front of Yasha, cancelling out the massive pressure that Dairo exerted on the young boy. It wasn’t that he did not want to help that young boy, but his position simply did not allow him to act like he wanted. That one message from Eleanor, however, changed things, giving him an opportunity. It would be difficult to win against Dairo, if they really ended up fighting, but at least his conscious was clear.

  Surprised that really someone dared to oppose him, a glint flashed through his eyes, while countless thoughts ran through his mind. Suppressing his fury, he tried to reason with Arslan, “What do you think you are doing, Arslan? This guy is clearly possessed by some evil force and must be eradicated. You clearly know the consequences should you stand in the way of the Azure Dragon Sect!”

  As the center of attention, Arslan was surprisingly calm, which made Dairo think even harder. Arslan responded after a deliberate pause, “I know exactly what I am doing. But can you say the same? Do you really possess the qualification to make such a decision? Although you represent the Azure Dragon Sect, you are not allowed to wantonly interrupt the tournament. According to the rules, a fight is only finished, once a participant is unconscious or surrendered or once the judge declares a victor. But that’s not even the point I originally wanted to make, I digress.”

  Before Dairo could answer, Arslan continued, “The most important part is of course that the young miss left me no choice but to interfere. She already notified the sect master and let me know that should I dare to oppose her order, she would report me to the sect master. So, you see, I had no choice.“ Towards the end, he raised his shoulders and feigned innocence.

  Arslan knew that this was a bad excuse, and he had no idea if Eleanor really went so far as to contact the sect master, but the important point here was, that it would work as a kind of feint and intimidation. But looking at Dairo, this plan was sure to backfire, as the old man did not seem be impressed by his empty threat.

  At first, Dairo was surprised and if he wasn’t so furious, Dairo would have laughed, as this was one of the worst excuses he had ever heard.

  “Very well. You leave me no other choice then, let’s see if you can still laugh after this one.” Dairo spat out. His fury already was at an high before Arslan interfered, as he was unable to deal with Yasha after he personally took action. And now Arslan was even questioning his qualifications and was spouting random bullshit, which made his fury rise ever higher.

  I will first deal with the matter at hand and think about the consequences later, Dairo thought.

  Accompanied by the sound of dripping water, Dairo’s spiritual energy output increased yet again, but this time, it looked like he opened a flood gate, as torrent after torrent of azure colored spiritual energy spiraled outward, flooding the area. The spiritual energy then became tangible, no different than real water.

  Reacting quickly, Arslan flew to Yasha, who was barely breathing, and carried him in his arms, afraid that Yasha would drown in the rising water. Quickly checking whether Yasha was still alive, he immediately shifted his attention to the furious man in front of him.

  After flooding the arena, both Arslan and Dairo stood on the surface of small lake. The water surface was as clear as a mirror, reflecting the gloomy sky. Beneath their feat, a shadow of giant creature appeared from time to time.

  What kind of technique is this? It had been quite some time since he last fought against Dairo, but he was sure that he had never seen this technique before.

  As if reading his thoughts, Dairo suddenly began to speak, “From the look in your eyes, I can tell that you have never seen this technique before.”

  Slowly walking forward, he continued his speech, “Now, that you dared to enter my domain, you and that evil brat can only dream of leaving this coliseum. Die for me!” He then sprang into action and summoned a translucent sword out of nowhere and flashed forward.

  Shit! The second Arslan heard the old man saying and pronouncing the word domain, he knew that he had underestimated Old Man Dairo. Domains were some kind of special ability that only cultivator in the Dantian Grade, also known as the Law Seeking Stage, could comprehend. They were the result of a cultivators life time worth of comprehension and a reflection of their inner world, the world inside their dantian. However, not every Dantian Grade expert was able to project a reflection of their inner world to the outside world. In order to do this, they would need to have an even deeper understanding of their own strength and self.

  On the outside, this domain was a double-edged sword: it brought forth great power, but it also made the user incredibly vulnerable. In this domain, the user was like a king and was able to influence and perceive the tiniest speck of dust. But the moment someone was able to break their domain, would often result in their own demise. Damage to the reflection on the outside inflicted the same damage on the original domain in the dantian. As the center of a human’s cultivation, any damage to it would have severe consequences.

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  This was the reason why domains were mostly used as a last ditch effort.

  Still shocked that Dairo not only comprehended a domain, but also used it right from the start, made Arslan regret his actions a bit. However, immediately after, he saw the hopeful eyes of Eleanor amid the spectators, which prompted him to stop whining.

  Since when am I, Arslan Chitan, afraid of someone in the same level as me? Come on then old man, show me what you got! After this thought, Arslan also sprang into action and laid down the young boy in his arms. Just like Arslan and Dairo, Yasha also hovered above the water mirror.

  Although Arslan shielded Yasha and coated him in a protective layer of spiritual energy, the might of the domain was simply too strong and still managed put enormous pressure on the young boy, so Arslan could not protect Yasha completely. Still mortally wounded, the abnormal regenerative power of his body barely kept him alive. Nevertheless, the fire inside his eyes did not diminish, it was quite the opposite, it kept getting stronger instead. If he was able to, he would immediately stand up and throw himself at Dairo again, wanting to rip that old bastard in thousands of pieces.

  Looking at Yasha, Arslan felt a shiver running down his spine. Those eyes, is he really human…?

  Before he could ruminate about this topic, Dairo finished setting up his domain that now was comparable to an entirely different dimension. Inside the watery world, Dairo, Arslan and Yasha were completely shut off from the outside world.

  In the coliseum, the spectators could only see a gargantuan bubble that was filled with water, but they could not see what was going on inside — even the other elders in the VIP lounge found it difficult to penetrate the domain with their senses, barely able to catch glimpses of the spectacle that was about to unfold.

  In the domain, Arslan had shrouded himself in a coat of foggy red and had conjured countless blood red lotuses that hovered all around him. Similar to Eleanors technique, each lotus flower contained immeasurable power. Each blood lotus not only contained the spiritual energy of the Dantian Grade, each flower also possessed Arslan’s law energy. Every one of the countless lotus flower contained half of Arslan’s full power.

  Seeing that Dairo already brought out his ace in the beginning, Arslan did not hesitate to bring out his strongest technique right from the start, the one that earned him his nickname Blood Lotus Arslan.

  “Now, that’s what I want to see Blood Lotus Arslan, show me what you got, if you think that you can protect this brat!” Old Man Dairo’s roar started as a human shout, but quickly transformed into a dragon’s roar.

  At the same time, the gigantic shadow beneath the water mirror broke through the surface and rose above the sea. Contrary to Levi, Dairo could already use the stronger iteration of the Five Phases of the Azure Dragon. What Levi used was the first form and was a sword technique, but the real form of the Five Phases of the Azure Dragon was a bloodline technique that was entirely focused on stimulating and using the power of the Azure Dragon blood.

  At Levi’s level, the Energy Tempering Stage, it was impossible to canalize the power of the Azure Dragon blood, even if he had the fabled Azure Dragon Body. If really used that technique, his body would explode immediately, as it was unable to contain that much energy. Contrary to Yasha, Levi ultimately was still a human, as he did not undergo a complete transformation.

  After his roar, Dairo vanished and appeared directly in front of Arslan, thrusting his sword forward, while the Azure Dragon around him attacked simultaneously, blocking all escape routes.

  Pushed into a corner, Arslan waved his sleeves, ordering the blood lotuses to form a formation. As a result a complex diagram formed from the lotus flowers appeared, that managed to absorb and divert the power of Dairo’s assault.

  “Hmph, again!” Unimpressed that Arslan still managed to block his attack, although he was weakened by his domain, which not only suppressed his spiritual energy, but also restricted his movements, Dairo continued his attacks.

  The sword in his hands moved so fast that it looked like he fought with more than one sword, while the Azure Dragon switched between different attack angles: rising from beneath the water, attacking directly from the front or diving down from above.

  Weakened by the domain, Arslan could could not block every attack and was soon wounded, albeit not seriously.

  Seeing that this led to nothing, a vicious glint flashed through Dairo’s eyes, which made Arslan shudder. He suddenly had a bad feeling.

  Dairo continued his attacks on Arslan, but the Azure Dragon around him dove back into the water, separating itself from Dairo and instead intended to deal a lethal blow to Yasha who was still lying on the water surface barely conscious.

  “Is this how the esteemed elders of the Azure Dragon Sect handle their stuff, attacking gravely wounded juniors?!” Furious at Dairo’s underhanded methods, Arslan could only push some of his blood lotuses to Yasha, in hopes they could buy enough times for him to arrive and block the projection of the Azure Dragon. However, Dairo made impossible for Arslan to arrive in time.

  Feeling like having victory in his hands, a wicked smile gradually unfolded on the old man’s face.

  But before the Azure Dragon was able to tear apart the helpless boy on the water surface, Old Man Dairo suddenly spat out blood, which caused the Azure Dragon to fade before it could deal the finishing blow, while the sky of the domain was riddled with cracks. The mirror like surface of the water was also strewn with cracks. A few seconds later, the whole domain shattered like glass.

  “Who dares to sneak into the kingdoms tournament?!” A panicked cry escaped Dairo’s lips, who could not grasp what was happening. Now, that his domain was broken, this could only mean that someone forcefully broke it. But from all the persons present, he was sure that no one was able to break his domain, without him noticing anything at all. Before he could react or even retract it, it was shattered. Not even Calamity Shadow possessed such strength. Ultimately, they were all Dantian Grade expert here.

  “Haha, my my, what do you mean with, sneak into the tournament. Am I not allowed to witness the kingdoms tournament in my own home and watch the amusing display of a clown?” A calm, elderly voice answered Dairo.

  Looking for the source of the voice, Dairo hastily turned around and immediately spotted an old man with deep, blue eyes that seemed to contain vast oceans or the endless starry skies.

  Dairo carefully mustered the unfamiliar face, but no matter how hard he thought, he could not put a name to this face.

  Yasha on the other hand, who was as surprised as Dairo, immediately knew who this newcomer was. What is the elder from the Weapon Pavilion doing here? And why is he also helping me?