Later that night, Yulie Forgon finally sneaked back into his house. His face was pale, and he coughed several mouths full of blood. He was obviously in great pain, but he seemed not to notice anything at all. One could only see some helplessness in his eyes. Hundreds of years of his cultivation disappeared just like that. The secret art ate it away in exchange for a boost in speed, not to mention that the blood escape technique severely damaged his foundation as well. If he got unlucky, he might fall one or two more stages before finally stabilizing again.
But as the Guild Head, he soon calmed himself and focused on his recovery. The Selection would continue in a few hours. Everyone probably is guessing he had something to do with this assassination attempt. But if he suddenly disappeared right after, it would only get worse. At this point, the Yule Continent Guild Head had probably told all the other guilds that the culprit paid a very high price to escape. So he can't disappear now, even if he wanted!
The thing that made him angry was that Bary Casfiu was right. It was his only chance to get rid of Krune. After the Selection starts again, it won't stop until the eight victors are decided. And there is no way Lian Casfiu will lower his guard now. His Sky Fall Continent hasn't brought any Soul Forging cultivators this time around. And even if they had, he couldn't possibly ask for them to kill a junior of another continent guild at this point.
In the end, Yulie only sighed. His nephew is already 37 years old, so he won't be able to fight another Martial Gathering anymore. He can only rely on himself to pass this Hurdle.
The sun came up, and the cultivators started to emerge from their rooms when it was finally nine o'clock. Bary came to fetch Krune. As expected, nothing else happened after that. People began to gather around their own arenas, and those who had already lost were also there to see the outcome of the battles. The elder took their sits and chatted while waiting for the battles to start. However, there was something different today. Quite a few people were looking in the direction of the Sky Fall Continent seats. Although no proof could be found, it was pretty obvious which continent was behind what happened last night.
That time Yulie Forgon also appeared around and sat on his place. Although his seat didn't look too well, he did his best to pretend nothing was wrong, Bary saw that and chuckled.
"Guild Head Yulie doesn't look fine. Could it be that something happened last night?"
Yulie heard that and felt like he'd eaten a fly. But nothing could be seen on his face. He just smiled and looked back at Bary.
"I had some problems with cultivation last night, nothing too serious."
Bary heard that and laughed.
"That is normal. We all run into unexpected problems now and then. I wish Guild Head Yulie recovery to be smooth."
As unwilling as Yulie could be, he still politely replied.
"Then, I thank Guild Head Bary for your concern."
The other elder and guild heads saw that and just snorted. They could feel how bad Yulie's injuries were, but that had nothing to do with them. They were just curious as to what the battle between Krune and Shad Forgon would turn out to be today.
On the stages, the cultivators from Sky Fall Continent had ugly faces. Although they had nothing to do with what had happened last night, it still didn't change the fact that they were part of the same people. They wanted to retort, but because no one was saying anything and were just looking at them, there was nothing to retort for. So they simply decided to focus on the battles for that moment.
One of the referees came forward and announced the start of the battles.
"Everyone who hasn't fallen yet, stay ready! Those who had lost already, stay further away from the arenas! The Selection will continue now. The first stage, Drorne vs. Lina Jue, the second stage…"
Immediately, all the attention was grabbed by the first arena. Drorne was the other Dark Horse of this competition, and he was finally challenging the seeded mercenary of that stage, Lina Jue. The battle between Deno and Tasier was very interesting. Everyone was expecting to see the same type of battle at that time as well. Yusa just so happened to be fighting the first battle of the eighth arena too, but her opponent wasn't one that people thought she could lose against. So no one was paying too much attention to that.
Drorne, as a water dragon, was obviously specialized in water first.'' Lina, as for the second element, he had opted for earth to help cover the water dragon weakness for lightning. He could have chosen lightning, but as his race weakness, he would have had a hard time to specialize in it. It would have been a huge time consumer, so he didn't do so.
Lina, as mentioned before, is a Fire and Lightning element user. She had watched the water dragon battles and knew that thanks to its earth element, lightning alone wasn't that dangerous for it as she hoped for. And her fire element just so happened to be weaker against his water element. However, as one of the seeded contestants, Lina had the confidence to fight even in odd conditions, so she wasn't the least bit afraid.
The battle started, and the water dragon immediately used the earth element to fortify his body against the lightning element. After that, he rushed forward, like a dragon. Close combat was obviously his best style while moving forward. He shot forward hundreds of water balls the side of candy, but the sheer amount [was enough to cover any retreat path. Although each one wasn't that strong, when so much hit you simultaneously, you would still feel suffocated.
Lina was already expecting that and created a fire armor around herself. That was the first time people saw her using that, but she didn't give them time to pay attention. Using the lightning movement, Lina dashed forward as well and took out two chakrams. That was also her first time using her weapons. Those chakrams were made of a material compatible with both fire and lightning, so she could use her specialized elements while attacking with them. The chakrams were charged with her lightning and fire and were shot forward in two different directions.
Drorne saw that and knew he couldn't underestimate those weapons. He immediately used his claws and tail to fend off their attacks, but those were two flying-type weapons. Right after being deflected, they charged back again. Of course, the amount of fire and lightning inside them would diminish after every hit. It was enough for three or four attacks before they would need to go back to Lina to be charged again.
But Lina wasn't just looking while the weapons she controlled attacked the water dragon. She immediately used the thunder line skill, the same Krune had used back in the Rainbow Sect Gate. The difference was that it also had the fire element on it. The fire element might be weaker against the water dragon. Still, it didn't mean that it was useless, not to mention when used by a top tier cultivator like Lina.
The water dragon wasn't to be trifled with either. Noticing that he was going to get hit by Lina's attack while defending against the chakrams, he stomped its legs on the ground. Right after, a thick earth wall appeared right in front of the thunder line attack. The attack hit the earth wall and was reduced to rubble, but that was enough to stop it. The water dragon used the fact it was behind the earth wall at first to create a water prison. Drorne was expecting that since Lina couldn't see him, she wouldn't notice him using the prison.
However, Lina wasn't a seeded player for nothing. Although she couldn't see what the dragon would do for a moment, she knew that the earth wall was probably used for concealing something. As soon as it appeared, she used her lightning movement again and charged to the sides, as expected. A second after she left, an enormous water prison appeared just where she had been a moment ago. Although it wasn't as big as Yusa's one, it was still big enough to be a threat in case you didn't leave the place in time.
The chakrams came back to Lina once more. Their Fire and Lightning elements were totally used, so she had to charge them again. Flying weapons also needed spiritual energy to stay in the air, and, each time they exchanged blows with the dragon, a huge amount of it was used. But that wasn't a problem for Lina. It only took her two seconds to recharge and send them out once more. It went to show how familiar she was with her weapons, not to mention its high compatibility with her chosen elements.
The water dragon was very calm. Lina's attacks were full of power and could cause serious damage, even with his earth element protection, but they also used huge amounts of spiritual energy. Drorne was very confident in his endurance. If things continued like that, he would be the final victor.
Lina also noticed that problem, but she just chuckled while thinking.
'If you think my reservoir of spiritual energy is the same as the other mercenaries in this selection, you will come to know that I'm quite different from the norm.'
It was true. The main reason why Lina focused on powerful attacks was that her cultivation technique was focused on her amount of spiritual energy and the spiritual energy recovery over the battle. In that Selection, probably only Krune had a rate of spiritual energy recovery higher than Lina during the battle.
The battle continued, and blow after blow was exchanged. Sometimes the water dragon was hit, others, Lina was the one to receive some kind of injury. The water dragon's confidence started to disappear, it didn't matter how many attacks Lina used. Her spiritual energy seemed to stay at the peak all the time, as if she had an unlimited supply.
Knowing that he had hit a metal wall, Drorne changed his tactics. He could only focus more on pursuing Lina while ignoring some of her attacks. Otherwise, the one who would have run out of spiritual energy. In the end, it would have been him.
Lina saw that and started to laugh. She was waiting for the dragon to do that and waited for a moment when its guard would be low and mounted a sneak attack. She concentrated her spiritual energy on her hands and prepared to use one of her trump cards. It didn't take long for the moment to come. As soon as the opening appeared, she attacked straight away.
"Thunder-Fire Explosion!"
Her hands touched the side of the water dragon's body, and an enormous explosion could be heard. The water dragon's body was sent flying. She saw that and thought it was finally over, but it was then she heard a voice behind her:
"Gotcha!"
Lina was alarmed! She immediately tried to use her lightning movement to flee, but it was too late.
Drorne had somehow appeared right behind her. He opened his mouth and shot a water attack straight at her back.
"Dragon Water Cannon!"
Lina could only close her eyes and do her best to reinforce her fire armor, but water was the weakness of fire abilities. Although it reduced some of the damage at first, she was still sent flying while coughing some blood. Drorne didn't let the chance go and pounced at Lina the moment the attack hit her back. Just as its claws were about to pierce her chest, his body suddenly stopped mid-air, it didn't matter how much Drorne wanted to move. He couldn't advance even a centimeter forward, but he soon realized why was that. Lina was a foundation establishment cultivator just like himself. There was no way she could have such power, meaning that the one who stopped him could only be the referee!
Lina didn't move, she had lost consciousness in that last attack. That was the reason why the referee stopped Drorne. The water dragon noticed that as well and finally calmed down. The power that bound it also disappeared after that. The referee came forward and proclaimed:
"Water Dragon Drorne Wins!"
Everyone was taken aback with that fight. Looking at the dragon's body that had been hit by Lina's Thunder Fire Explosion, they noticed that it had turned into a pool of water. Tasier looked at that and narrowed his eyes. It was the same technique as his lightning replacement, just that it used water. The incredible thing was that Drorne was able to trick Lina with his enormous body, but the trick behind it was a skill t Yusa knew very well. Water frame! Drorne used that skill only once during the battle, and it was right before Lina charged over to attack. In the end, the dragon which showed that opening wasn't the real Drorne to start with.
The people of the Makui Continent were disappointed. While the Ice Continent people were cheering, Drorne was a water dragon from their continent after all. No one expected he would win, which means that they would have one more contestant to fight for the five slots in the final phase.
In Yusa's arena, the battle was over a long time ago. Her opponent had received quite a few injuries during the last-day battles, and they hadn't fully recovered yet. Even if they had, he wasn't Yusa's match to start with, so Yusa was able to finish it quickly. She took that chance to watch the battle between Lina and Drorne, and when the battle was over, she sent a Divine Sense message to Krune.
"I think I understand the principle of that water replacement. I will try to master it before the Martial Gathering."
Krune heard that and nodded.
"It's not that hard, it is simply using the water element to make a water copy. As for why the body looks like a real dragon, that is just a mirage caused by the light control with the spiritual energy left behind in the copy. Also, the other element replacements might not be exactly like that, but they follow the same principle."
Yusa heard that and got curious.
"Does it mean you can use it?"
Krune nodded.
"I can use any type of elemental replacement now, or should I call it an elemental clone, maybe?"
Yusa got furious.
"Then, why didn't you tell us about that before? You could have shown that to Ao, Shinja, and myself!"
Krune looked back at Yusa with a puzzled face.
"But I just learned it after Tasier's battle yesterday. Only today, before the battles started, did I finally finish getting used to the five elements. There wasn't enough time for me to teach you at all!"
Yusa almost fainted. He understood the replacement of all five elements in a single day!
"I hate this elemental core of yours!"
Krune was amazed. It wasn't like he chose to get an elemental core himself, you know?