Spirit Cultivation

They passed the crowd in front of the counter and instead of entering straight into the roaring arena they entered into a special staircase protected by one arena staff member. The staircase was leading towards the private room from which they could watch the whole tournament away from the crowd.

The room was quite spacious, but it only had one large couch directed towards the arena and a table full of snacks in front of it. There was a glass-like barrier partially blocking the sound from the outside but they could see through it clearly. Yiren sat down on the couch seeing all the delicacies on the table, letting Xuefeng free.

Being released, Xuefeng approached the glass curious about the ongoing fight. He saw a man flying in the sky sending spell after spell towards another man that stood firmly on the ground. Xuefeng touched the glass by accident thinking he can lean on it, but he almost fell out of the room as he touched it. His hand passed through the barrier like through the water.

"Haha, this is a water barrier so we don't hear too much noise while we want to talk. Also, people outside can't see what we are doing inside. Sit down for now until you are called out for a fight. It should be after those two finish theirs." The Queen laughed as she sat down beside Yiren and put a piece of cut fruit into her mouth.

"I have almost fallen down... you could have told me before." Xuefeng rolled his eyes and walked over to the couch. It was pretty close to the barrier so even if they sat down, they could see everything in the arena.

Seats all around were taken by cheering elves and it seemed to be roughly a few thousands of them. Many gathered here today to watch as there were not that many events in the Holy Land.

"Sit down between us." The Queen proposed, patting the place next to her as he was choosing where to sit. The Queen moved to the right leaving a tight spot in the middle of them. If he sat there, he was bound to touch both of them.

Having no choice, Xuefeng squeezed between them and Yiren rested her head on his shoulder eating a banana-shaped fruit cutely. She didn't think there was anything wrong with them sitting like that as long as she was next to him.

Xuefeng put an arm around her, securing her in place and continued to watch the fight in the arena. He was surprised that they didn't use any weapons, focusing only on spells and fist arts. Both of them had mastered the Air element but their second element was where they differed. One had Earth Qi and the other Water Qi.

One had an advantage in the air and the Earth Qi user had a clear lead on the ground. If he wanted to use Earth Qi, he had to stay on the ground, but facing against a Water Qi spells, that was the best choice. The moment the elf in the sky bombarded him with Water bombs he blocked them, creating wooden pillars from the tree arena.

The platform wasn't the typical dusty ground arena Xuefeng knew from the history on earth, but a tree platform that was leveled off leaving a smooth surface. Now they were destroying it during the fight but it should be restored later.

The man in the sky didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that all of his water bombs were being blocked and continued to launch an attack after attack while flying around his target.

"The Water Qi user will win this round." The Queen suddenly said from the side.

"How do you know? Isn't the Earth Qi stronger than water? It can block water attacks and probably even absorb them. The man in the sky will rather end up using all of his Water Qi instead." Xuefeng gave the fight another look and disagreed with her.

"Want to have a bet? If you win I will give you one hundred additional high tiered Fate Stones." The Queen asked playfully, luring him into the bet.

"What if I lose?" Xuefeng knew that he shouldn't even ask this question but he could imagine Ling's celebration when she receives such amount of Fate Stones.

"I want to join you guys, tonight…" The Queen leaned over so that Yiren won't hear anything and breathing hot air into his ear as she whispered.

'There is nothing you can lose in this deal! You should agree! It's a win-win situation.' As expected, before he could react, Ling called out excitedly telling him to accept this deal. She counted that with 100 high tiered stones she could upgrade a few levels just like that.

'Come on, how is it a win-win. I won't be able to stop them anymore if the Queen joins us.' Xuefeng complained but didn't hear anything else from Ling.

Xuefeng looked at the arena and saw the elf in the sky already sweating from the Qi consumption, but the guy on the ground was relaxed and he was even smiling.

"Okay, deal." He decided to risk for the chance of getting free fate stones.

"What did mother say?" Yiren asked confused seeing her mother's deepening smile.

"You will know later today after I win." The Queen behaved as if she already knew that she won, causing Xuefeng to look at the battle with more interest. He was curious as to what could happen to make the man he chose, lose.

The fight was still ongoing, but it was heading towards the end. The Water Qi user was already at his limits and was flying down to the ground. Xuefeng expected him to surrender as soon as he touched the ground, but he cried something loudly and slammed his hand into the arena.

Everything happened so fast that Xuefeng couldn't keep up with the situation. The water that was splashed everywhere around the Earth Qi user suddenly swarmed towards him from every direction forming a large bubble and locking him inside.

He tried to create an earth spike that could pierce through it, setting him free, but the water lifted him from the ground making him unable to perform the Art. He struggled a bit but it didn't bring him any results and in the end, he lost consciousness.

The referee came in just in time and destroyed the bubble, letting the man out and announced the Water Qi user's victory.

"I won. Remember our deal." The Queen put the snack into her mouth and smacked with her lips satisfied.

"How did you know he knows such an art?" Xuefeng asked as he sighed.

"I'm the queen, I know everything. You should listen, it will be your fight soon." The Queen shrugged and opened a small hole in the water barrier so they could hear the announcer's voice.

Xuefeng finally realized he was tricked and couldn't help but slap himself on the forehead. He looked at the arena and saw a few staff members cleaning the platform, preparing it for the next fight.

The cheering sounds entered into the room, but when the manager they met earlier stepped on the stage, everyone quietened down. If the manager was involved then it meant that there were some changes made to the tournament.

"Congratulations to all the winners from the first round. As the number of contestants in round two is not even, we decided to add one more member so the tournament could go more smoothly. Because of that, there will be one more fight you can place your bets on. The man who will be joining is the human that recently arrived in our Holy Land." The manager informed everyone about the change.

Before he could finish, he had to stop as chatter and noise interrupted his announcement. Everyone knew that Xuefeng arrived, but they didn't expect he would join the tournament. As arrogant as male elves were, they didn't think he even had the chance to stand against them.

"The odds for that fight will be 1 to 10 in favor of the human cultivator. It means if he loses, everyone placing the bet will gain ten times the amount of Fate Stones. Those who are interested in betting can visit the counter at the entrance." The manager continued, when the noise diminished a bit...

Not many were fired up when they heard him, as they thought it was a bit fishy. If the human was fighting someone weak, it was possible for him to win and they would lose their bets. The odds were just too unreal for a tournament like this.

"Oh, and the opponent we draw for him is… Bloody Monster!" Seeing a small interest with this deal, the manager smiled and finished, revealing the last bit of information that everyone was waiting for.

Just as he said it, everyone exclaimed loudly and started to lose their minds, pushing each other as they wanted to be the first to place their bet.

"Who is that Blood Monster?" Xuefeng asked feeling uneasy while watching the excited elves in the arena.

"Mom! You can't put him against that monster on his first fight!" Yiren also called out to her mother, with a shocked expression.

"Don't worry, he will be fine. Shouldn't you believe in your man?" The Queen smiled relaxed at her daughter's worry.

"He is a man who doesn't leave his opponent in one piece when he wins the fight." The Queen turned towards Xuefeng and explained as her smile changed into a playful one.

Xuefeng looked again at the wild elves and noted in his mind to never play or bet with the Queen in the future.