The Sect Master was sitting up on the reconstructed mountaintop along with a small group of Immortals who were basking in the intense Divine Energy that Cain had trapped in the stones after his tribulation.
It would take thousands of years for the energy to disperse, and every Cultivator who trained there would extend the time, adding their own energy for the Divine Energy to absorb and convert in its final attempt to continue the tribulation.
"Sect Master, while I had some free time, I created a gift for the Crushing Mountain Sect to show my appreciation for your hospitality and the lovely spot you provided for my Tribulation. Please accept this small token with my thanks." Cain greeted the group.
"And what might that be? Some sort of artifact made from a Divine Dragon Scale?" The Sect Master asked, looking at it with great curiosity.
"Exactly right. It will create a Divine Grade Arena for your Sect members to train in, with the same benefits and functions as the Spirit Grade one that my Disciple has created for your Outer Disciples to train in.
As long as they are not above the Immortal Realm, there shouldn't be any fear of damage to the building or death of the contestants within the arena made by this token." Cain informed him, passing over the scale.
All of the Immortals gathered to look at the Runic Inscriptions all over the scale and admire the Divine Aura coming off of the small scale.
"This is a truly incredible treasure. Are you sure you wish to part with such a thing so easily?" The Sect Master asked.
"Don't misunderstand. It's not a treasure I found somewhere. I made it for you specifically. I think a Divine Arena will be an excellent conversation point when you entertain guests in the future." Cain informed the Sect Master.
"That is hard to argue with, Sect Master. Not many Sects can boast that they have an Arena of this nature, much less one of Divine Realm quality. The Crushing Mountain Sect could safely host Immortal Realm tournaments in the future with such a treasure." Divine Elder Mariel agreed.
"Then I thank you for the gift. Your knowledge truly is prodigious to be able to create an artifact like this. I can't even read the Runes on it." The Sect Master replied with a sigh at his failure to decipher the creation technique.
Part of that was due to the fact that Cain had inscribed the runes in three dimensions since they didn't all fit on one surface, so looking at it from any direction didn't always place them in any coherent order, but mostly it was just that the language he used had never existed in that world.
"How about we have your Disciple take down the existing arena, and we place the new one? Will it be the same size?" One of the Immortal Elders asked.
"It can be, or it can be much larger or smaller. Whatever you have space for will be fine." Cain shrugged.
"Why not inside the mountain? We have hollowed out a huge cavern that we haven't yet assigned a purpose. It would hold four of the other arena, enough people that it would put the great arenas of the City of Knowledge to shame." The lead blacksmith suggested, stroking his beard as he thought.
"Inside out of the elements would also make the training grounds more pleasant to watch from since the arena is open topped. It even provides its own light if it's the same as the other arena in that aspect." A Human Elder added.
"Then, inside the mountain, we will put it. Just make sure that we are all finished with the work in the area since the Arena will be staying there. Does the arena need any other attached facilities we should build before placing it?" The Sect Master asked his Elders.
"Not really. It has an underground staging area and a recovery room as well as the stands. The mountain is on the edge of the Sect, so it is a short walk to anything they might need, and under a minute for the Core Disciples and Elders whose homes are closest to the caverns."
"Since it will give off Divine Energy while it is active, perhaps you should make some meditation caves off to the sides for guests to spend time in while they wait or for Elders to Meditate in? Then they get to go to the arena and beat each other senseless when they get frustrated about not reaching epiphany?" Cain suggested.
Most of the Elders laughed, but the largest of them spoke up. "Don't dismiss it so fast. That's actually a very good idea. Being able to smash something without killing it when I'm frustrated would be an excellent release."
"Then perhaps we should add an additional feature to it? A sparring partner, for times when someone wants to train individually?" Cain suggested.
"And how would we do that?" The big man asked.
"That's the easy part. It's a Divine Artifact. Divine Level spells are never so simple that they can't be adapted. Once it is active, I will convince it to add a sparring option." Cain offered.
The Immortal Elders spread out after a silent order from the Sect Master, who was still holding the small Scale in both hands and looking at it reverently. Despite also being a Demigod, this sort of crafting was beyond him.
For one, he wasn't a Dragon or any sort of magical creature, which made it impossible to use his own body as materials for enchanting, and he didn't know the art of Runecrafting or Spellcrafting, so he couldn't inscribe such a technique even if he had a suitable base for the artifact.
The Immortals were hard at work creating more caverns inside the mountain and preparing the entryway for the arrival of the new Arena. It was a mine that they had been extracting metals for the smithy from before they decided to make a larger cavern for a future indoor endeavor or expansion to the Sect compound, but they hadn't finished working on it yet.
The three Divine Realm cultivators waited atop the peak while the Immortals used their Earth Elemental skills to carve a hundred new small caverns inside the mountain, all around the perimeter of the cavern, and then enlarged the entrance so that a portion of the arena could be viewed from outside, giving a visual teaser as the contestants approached.
Usually, only humans would be here, but the large entrance felt much grander than the small mine entrance had, and the sight of the Arena walls would certainly build anticipation among the Disciples making the trip up the hill, so it was decorated by the dwarves with the rough outline of statues and pillars to come, once they had time to really work on them and create a worthy masterpiece.
"It seems they have the basics ready. We can go down and place the Artifact." The Guild Master announced, leading the way down the hill.
Cain and Mariel flew along behind him, happy to play along with his show of reverence and refusing to acknowledge that Cain had plucked the scale from his arm and made it on a whim because the other arena was too weak for the stronger disciples to go all out.
They were also ignoring the fact that the artifact would need to be refilled with energy at regular intervals because it wasn't really their problem, and the Sect Master could do it in an instant once every few years, or every Disciple who came here to train could add a little, and it would be full all the time.
"This is a good cavern. I like it. Needs more fire, though. The arena gives off its own soft white light, but caverns need fire and heat, or they just don't feel alive." Cain sighed.
The humans looked confused, but the Dwarves understood right away.
"I think we can fix that. Give me a second." One of the Dwarven Elders called out and then ran out into the Sect, returning a few minutes later with a bunch of enchanted torches.
He placed one between every cavern mouth until he ran out of them and looked around with approval.
"Once we have them on all three levels of meditation caverns, it will be perfect. The cave will be properly lit with fire, while the Arena's lights will give an ambient glow to the center of the room."
The Sect Master didn't seem to understand, but he played along anyhow and focused on placing the arena in the middle of the room, leaving twenty meters on every side so that visitors to the area could walk easily around it and see the full majesty of the building from the walkways in front of the upper-level caverns.
This one was very much like the one Luna made outside. Only there were more Dragons on the carvings, and the bleachers had a serpentine theme to them, being made of warm silver scales instead of cool metal.
"Now, I will make the minor change so that it will work as you wish it to. Referee, might we have a moment of your time?" Cain called out.
"What can I do for you, World Dragon." The referee, a silver-skinned Seraphim with six wings on his back, asked.
"I would like for you to add a function to the Arena. If someone comes along and asks for a sparring partner, please create one for them at either their Realm of Cultivation or the power level that they request." Cain replied politely.
"That won't be a problem, as it's well within my abilities as long as they're not Divinities." The referee agreed.
"Marvelous. Some of the Immortal Realm Elders have frustrations to work out and lack a sparring partner."
The Seraphim smirked at Cain, who winked back at him. The Immortals would get a sparring partner alright, but there were no promises that they would win the fight.
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