According to the schedule, they were the second of four matches in this final eight round and then would fight in the semifinals after lunch if they won, with the final match going in the early evening to give the teams a chance to rest in between fights.
Today, they got the whole arena to move around, which was a massive advantage to the Mountain Wind Sect under normal circumstances. Cain wondered if that had been factored into their odds of victory, but he had faith in his disciples to put on a good show for the crowd.
The first matchup would be the Physical Cultivators against a Sword Cultivation Sect. They had a wide variety of energy and blade techniques that would offset the advantage of the physical fighters, assuming that they couldn't simply withstand the attacks.
The referee started the match, and the body cultivators drew swords and charged the sword cultivators, who met them with a wave of energy attacks. They parried, dodged, jumped over the attacks, and kept advancing, turning the battle into a brutal melee between two groups of talented combatants.
"See, that's such a dull fight. Teleport behind them and FIREBALL." The violet-eyed male cultivator from yesterday told Cain, appearing behind him without anyone noticing.
"Oh, I like this guy. Fireball solves everything. If my blowgun could use [Fireball], it would be amazing." Luna cheered, then got a look of pure excitement as she considered ways to make it possible.
"If you put the Rune on the dart, it should ignite once it was launched." The violet-eyed man chuckled while Cain shook his head. Luna didn't need any help coming up with strange new ideas.
"Why don't I make you a new one? One that will create a fireball when used so that you don't need to burn through enchanted darts?" Cain suggested.
"They are fighting right after this match. I don't think you have time for that." Elder Ling from the Lotus Blossom Sect pointed out.
"Sure, there is time. I have a bit of bamboo here with me and an etching tool. It might be quick and dirty, but it should get the job done well enough for a one-off tool to fight in the next match." Cain shrugged, taking out the items.
"You know they're going to freak out, right?" The man with violet eyes asked.
"Minor details. Think of it like an impromptu lecture, like the ones they're holding all over the city. Only this one will be very short, with no explanations." Cain told him.
Luna stared intently at the man as Cain talked, earning her an interested look and an offering of candy produced from within his fancy black robes.
"Thank you. Did you know your eyes glow a little when you're amused?" Luna asked him.
"It is unavoidable, I suppose. But it's a small thing, just an abundance of energy." The man told her.
Luna seemed to accept that explanation without question, then reluctantly pulled a piece of fruit from her inventory.
"You should try this. It might help." She suggested.
What she had given him was a small piece of dried Mythic Apple, which contained a huge amount of Ice Element mana.
"How might this help?" The man asked curiously, looking at the piece of apple.
"You know how when you eat a whole ham in one bite, you get that indigestion while your body tries to digest that much at once? It's the same thing, I think. A bit of juice to wash down the ham and a bit of extra mana to help your body digest all the mana that it has just sitting around." Luna informed him.
The violet-eyed cultivator reached out and ruffled her hair as he laughed. "That's not how it works at all. It would just make everything overflow, like when you eat too much and make yourself sick. But I appreciate the thought."
While they chatted, everyone else was intently focused on what Cain was doing, etching Runes on a plain bamboo tube. At first, it didn't seem like much or even a worthwhile effort, but as he continued scribing runes around the tube, the gathering of power drew more and more attention away from the stalemate of a fight in the ring onto Cain's work.
Cain finished the inscription and smiled to himself. A combination of Lightning Arrow and Fireball, with a final rune meaning targeted implosion, so it would suck everything in the area toward the core of the detonation before it exploded with a fireball.
The speed of the projectile should be enough to keep the Mountain Wind Sect from dodging the attacks, and the explosion at the end would be a nasty little surprise.
Using Lightning Arrow meant that they didn't need actual darts, only mana, so it was ready to go as soon as he connected the lattice of energy that would activate the Runes.
"Writing it out is the easy part. You just need to know where everything goes. The final part is tougher. You have to link it all just right to make it activate." Cain told Elder Ling, who was watching with rapt attention.
"This is far beyond the bat of Bonk." She breathed, and the man in black looked at her with a mix of incredulity and amusement on his face.
"Pardon, but can you repeat that for me?" He asked, barely keeping himself from laughing.
"The young lady Luna made us a bat with a single string of runes on it. It exemplifies the true nature of the bonk. If you like, we can show you after the matches." Elder Ling suggested.
"Oh, I know what you mean. I just didn't expect to hear it. You truly live up to your calling little lady." The man told Luna.
"It is glorious. I should make another one for dealing with annoying strangers." Luna told him.
"You can't just bonk people to end conversations you don't feel like having." Cain reminded her.
"It's better than stabbing them," Luna muttered, unconvinced.
"No stabbing them either," Penny added, in mimicry of Cain's voice, while the others laughed.
"It seems I am too predictable these days. Alright, I will activate this, and we are ready to begin the match whenever those guys get tired." Cain told his audience and poured Mana into the Rune Weapon in the making, turning the dull green bamboo into a light blue with flickering streaks of lightning down its length.
Watching it for a while, you could see the blue flicker as if it was a contained flame while the lightning flashed sporadically. The audience was enraptured by the weapon, unable to believe what they were seeing.
"That has to be cheating. Are you actually allowed to make custom weapons to deal with your opponents?" Someone asked.
"You can switch between matches. You just can't accept outside help during the fight itself. Everyone switches swords if they have one that is facing a hard counter by their opponents." Another Elder disagreed.
"Still, the artificer made a Rune Weapon while we watched, custom to order for his disciple. How much power do you think they have hidden away as a trump card if he can do things like that on a whim?" Another cultivator asked.
"You have a point. Hey Casino boy, I need to place a wager." Someone called down the stands to where the worker taking bets was waiting to be called on.
The Mountain Wind Sect was sitting on the far side of the arena, so they had a clear, though distant view of what Cain had done. They likely didn't know what he had made, but their Elder should at least be able to tell them that Cain had made either an inscribed talisman or a Rune Weapon.
Most would assume it was a form of Inscription and not Rune Magic, which was incredibly rare and far more powerful than the standard items that most Sects could make.
The Mountain Wind Elder was giving Cain an unimpressed look, not quite knowing what Cain had done but certain that it was an underhanded attempt to strengthen his Disciples at the last minute.
"Boys, I have something for you. Talismans of Dismissal. Those summoned creatures that they use are not mere illusions. They use some sort of talisman or device to temporarily create actual creatures. If you touch them with this talisman, they will disappear." He told his team quietly.
The boys got a vicious glint in their eyes, now certain that they could deal with the trickery of the Forbidden Treasure Sect. The girls had fought well enough, but their summoned creatures were the difference between victory and defeat, at least in the eyes of the Mountain Wind Sect.
The first match went for almost the full hour allotted before it would be decided by the Judge's decision, with the Sword Cultivators of the Sweeping Blade coming out on top.
"Alright, my Treasures. You're up. You know what to do. Go out, do your best and make me proud." Cain told them as the arena was cleaned and leveled for the next match.
"You've got it, boss. We won't let you down." Jen told him, hopping over the crowd to stand on the barrier wall, waiting for the signal to enter the arena.
"Yeah, what Jen said. We will make you proud. I have a good feeling about this fight. I think it is going to be a fun one against the fast-flying guys." Tena agreed, walking down to join the Paladin on the wall, taunting the Mountain Wind Sect with their confidence.
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