Out of the 16 candidates, three had been removed after the First Stage of the Conquest, leaving only 13 Challengers for the Second Stage of the Conquest. The wounded Challenger from Kshugenu was still unconscious, thus unable to continue in the Conquest. A Team from Whamei too lost their position due to the loss of too many members of their team. They were the same team who had gone against the Ice Mortaris Hounds near the Core Region mountains. And then again suffered under the same opponents on the last day.
Moreover, the Gavarnum had rigid rules when the cultivators entered the Mystic Lands. They could pick up ores, plants, herbs, and other resources. But no beasts originating in these Mystic Lands were allowed to be brought out. The cultivators from the Beyi Team had tried to break this rule, almost causing a massacre in the process. May cultivators from the different teams were either dead or seriously injured, causing a headache to all the Major Clans.
All the cultivators responsible for this massive loss of life were already placed in the Spirit Prison of the Gavarnum. And since the Challenger of the Team was unable to keep a check on his own team members, he too was removed from the Conquest. His punishment would be decided later by the Heads of the Four Major Clans after the Gavarnum's Coronation.
As the spectators entered the arena for the next stage of the events, a hidden undercurrent could be felt by all of them. An internal strife between the four clans was slowly boiling, though the Clan Heads were trying to keep it hidden. Especially Whamei and Kshugenu, who had suffered the most, were at odds with Zenoba Major Clan, since the team at the root of the massacre was from Zenoba Branch Family.
Amidst all the hidden agendas and nasty mood, the Second Stage of the Conquest took off.
This was a Arena Fight Round, and each of the opponents would be facing each other one on one, displaying their level of power and techniques. The cultivators respected powerful cultivators, and thus it was important that the Gavarnum's were powerful enough to gain the respect of all the Major Clans.
Rihanna had been listening to the thoughts of the surrounding people as they waited for the event to begin. Most people seemed very dissatisfied with Zenoba. Which was understandable, since the Beyi Prefecture was the weakest amongst the Quad. The large Auditorium, seating thousands of spectators, was surging with inner monologues of these people.
'....Will this be the start of the downfall of the Beyi Prefecture?...Should I inform my clan and tell them to start thinking of shifting?....'
'Tsk! The other Three Major Clans were already dissatisfied with the things going on in Beyi Prefecture. Now Zenoba Clan has truly provoked them....'
'....I wonder if Beyi will be broken down and merged with the other three prefecture territories...such things have never happened in our country.....as yet....'
'....See! We were all laughing at the situation in Ruaan-Jamphu, and it is our turn to be laughed at! Why don't these people take a look at the chaos in our neighboring country and learn something from it?!....'
'.....But our country has always had these Four Prefectures and Four Major Clans.....ever since our country was established.....will this disaster inside the Mystic Realm really change anything outside?....'
'The Four Major Clans are very shrewd. They know that they balance each other. No doubt all this inner tension is just temporary. They would never break their balance for such a minor matter...'
'.....Hmph! The other Three Major Clans should create some trouble for the Zenoba's! The Beyi prefecture has fallen so far behind the other three. Anything and everything seems to be happening in that prefecture nowadays....and the Zenoba Major Clan is always unable to handle it!.....'
Truthfully, Beyi was at a disadvantage when compared to the other three Prefectures. It was not just lacking in resources and wealth, but also a lot of crimes and disappearances had been taking place in Beyi in recent years. Lone cultivators were more susceptible to such schemes, making them afraid of travelling in Beyi. Which cost a lot of resources to Beyi, since these lone cultivators often brought many rare and precious resources from the different lands and sold them in the various cities.
This aura of internal strife, which every spectator sitting here in the arena auditorium could feel vividly, was making them feel restless and a bit panicked.
Nonetheless, the event finally began.
The arena was still in the same Flower pattern as before. However, the 16 petals had lost three petals, and now only 13 petals surrounded the central circular base of the flower. The 13 Challengers, who had successfully crossed the First Stage Threshold, were now standing in the arena, one Challenger on one petal each.
Unlike the first day, the petals looked a bit too big today. Rihanna was confused, looking carefully at each petal, till she remembered that on the first day, each Challenger had been accompanied by his or her Team of cultivators on the petal. No wonder the large petal suddenly looked too empty and big with just a lone Challenger standing on it!
The central circle of the flower started rotating clockwise, slowly moving downwards. At the same time, each petal gave a jerk, slightly separating from each other. Then the petals started shifting outwards, creating a clear circular space around the base circle of the flower. The base circle itself only came to a stop after moving at least 10 feet below the level of the arena.
At the end of all the shifting, the base circle was inside a ten feet deep pit, with another 7-8 feet wide secondary circular area around it. This secondary circular are was covered in spirit stones and other inscription materials, making complicated patterns all over the secondary circular area. At the outskirts of this secondary area, were the 13 petals, at a height of 100 feet above the base circle. The Challengers were still standing on these petals.
"So the Challengers will be going down in the circular arena stage during their fight, while the rest wait on the petals?"
"Hmmm....only the winners will be returning back onto their petals. Those who lose the fight will be leaving the arena. The petal on which they were standing will also disappear."
"....But there are 13 Challengers..."
"Oh!.....Have I not told you about that?.....My mistake....sorry. The Ye Challenger, who had driven off the Ice Mortaris Hound during their first confrontation near the Core Region, on the mountains, had shown great tactics, and also saved a number of team members, both from Ye and Whamei. So he was granted the Token of Light. The Token of Light allows him to sit out the first round of this Challenge. So only twelve will be fighting with each other, from which six will be selected. Then the seven, including the Token of Light Challenger, will be going against each other, and the final three will be selected."
".....Three?? Aren't there only 2 Gavarnum's?"
"The Third is known as the 'In-Place Gavarnum'. Whenever one of the Gavarnum's have to go out or is unavailable, then the 'In-Place Gavarnum' takes over temporarily."
".....Why is the Gavarnum unavailable??"
".....They may be taking up the post of Gavarnum's, but they are still Cultivators.....their path of cultivation will not stop just because they become Gavarnum's....."
"Oh!...you mean Cultivation Seclusions?...."
"Hmmm....one of the few things which can make a cultivator unavailable...."
Rihanna nodded slowly, turning back towards the arena.
Artreya's eyes were shining, as he leaned forward in anticipation. Of the three, he was the one most easily excited. Surprisingly, Rihanna had discovered that this excitement was only for superficial things. When it came to things he really cared about, he was far more cautious and close mouthed.
Ye Luo on the other hand, hardly ever lost his calmness. Only his eyes would tell Rihanna when he was excited or angry or happy.
Rihanna secretly glanced at the two, wondering how different they both were. One looked laid back and easy to approach, yet was rather wary and cold when forming real attachments. The other looked cold and unapproachable, but was rather warm and emotional inside.
As she was busy trying to understand her pals better, a hand reached over and tapped on her shoulders. She turned around, not surprised to see the grinning faces of Uncle Ye, Uncle Yaoi and Uncle Ranaba. Ranaba had been released the day before, and had already been told of her having come here to spectate the Conquest.
He smiled at the little girl he had somewhat grown fond of through the time they had spent together. He glanced at Ye Luo and Artreya, smiling politely on the surface as he hid his curiosity within. He was indeed very surprised and curious how a young commoner girl had managed to befriend such young yet strong cultivators. He already knew of Ye Luo, but even the other boy was surprising enough. He couldn't understand why such high-potential cultivators would want to befriend a commoner girl...he was happy for Rihanna.....but he was also a bit worried.
"The first fight is beginning! Look.....it is a Challenger from Ye Vs. a Challenger from Kshugenu!"
"Do you think they will be using their Guiding Weapons during their fights?"
"They should be using it if they wish to gain some edge over their opponents. They are all in their Sprouting Level, some even in the threshold of Sea of Consciousness Level. These fights will be all about the strength and potential of their Guiding Weapons, and their own capability of handling these Guiding Weapons."
As Uncle He replied to Rihanna, both Artreya and ye Luo turned to stare at Rihanna. Having been with her for so long, how could they not see through her façade. Had she come along with Ye Luo for only this moment?....To check out everyone's Guiding Weapons?!
Uncle Ranaba too caught this look of both of them, and being very sharp, he even understood the meaning behind the look. However, he was unable to understand why a commoner was so interested in seeing the Guiding Weapons of different cultivators!
The two Challengers leaped over the Secondary Circle, landing perfectly on the Base Circle of the Arena. As soon as they landed, the rune stones on the periphery of the Secondary Circle lit up one by one, and gradually the entire complicated pattern lit up. Various energy streams started weaving patterns in the air, and slowly a large sphere of energy wove its way around the Base Circle of the Arena.
A Protective Barrier, Spirit Energy Absorption Barrier, Illusory Screen Array, Sensory Enhancement Array.....there were so many arrays activated by one single Array Pattern. Rihanna was itching to go down and study this method of combining different arrays into one. She was already leaning as far forward as possible, trying to make out the pattern construction within the Secondary Circle of the Arena. Ye Luo tapped on her shoulders, speechlessly staring at her antics. Glancing at him, she came back to her senses, once again settling back while clearing her throat awkwardly.