Into The Arena

After explaining himself to Edd and the rest James and his group made their way back to Patriarch Colton while dragging Zen who was passed out. They would have been fine with leaving her passed out on the ground but knew that if they did that then they would get in trouble with people at the sect.

'As much as I don't like her I can't have her just lay there.' James thought to himself as Noel dragged her on the ground like some sort of broken doll.

Another thing that the trio thought about as they made their way back was how all three of their auras combined at once to turn into some sort of super aura. None of them had thought that was going to happen or even attempted such a thing before so it was quite surprising.

The power that James felt surging within his body while in that state was something he had never dreamed of. Even someone like Noel was shocked at the power she felt she had access to at that moment.

It made a much larger impact on her since at her stage of cultivation even a slight strength improvement was an amazing feat, "We may not have time for now but we will test more on that feeling later. For now, we should get farther away because I'm sure everyone in the city felt that." Noel said in a quiet voice as they walked.

Cara and James both nodded their heads in agreement with the power shown being enough for both Cara and Noel to put their differences aside for the moment.

"There you are! We have been looking everywhere for you three. Is that Zen?!" Someone suddenly said as they approached the group. When the person got closer James realized it was Patriarch Colton and the Matriarch.

"Yes it is she encountered some trouble on the way here so we bailed her out." James said with worry faked all over his expression. He wasn't going to tell Patriarch Colton that he and the other two were the reason behind Zen being knocked out cold.

"I see, I will investigate that myself later on but for now you three need to head inside the beginning entrance of the tournament will begin soon." Patriarch Colton said with a smile as he picked up Zen himself and ushered them inside the huge arena.

The entrance of the arena was surprisingly empty making James wonder if there were any other people besides the sects there or if everyone had already made their way inside. The only person there was a man wearing the same uniform as the men who let them out of the carriage earlier on.

"I assumed this is the Martial Sword Sect? Welcome to the annual sect tournament in our lovely city. If you follow me inside I will show you to your seats since you were the last to arrive." The man said with a smile proving that they were indeed the last people to arrive at the tournament.

James and his group slowly followed behind as the other participating members of the tournament caught up to the group like Robert and Seele. They all began making their way through a dark entranceway that was barely visible.

The only lights that were visible were the small lamps hanging on the sides of each wall illuminating the area in front of them as they walked as well as letting them see their guide who was leading them.

As they made their way further and further down the hallway there was a sound that was slowly increasing in volume the further they went. It sounded like the rushing of a wave or tsunami that was slowly crashing into them.

Once the sound reached a certain point they were able to tell that it was not a wave crashing at all but instead the sounds of people screaming at the top of their lungs shouting in excitement, 'What is happening in there?!' James thought to himself in confusion as they made their way into another opening for the first time.

The second that James made his way through this entrance he was hit in the eyes with one of the brightest lights he had ever seen. He had to cover his eyes for multiple moments before adjusting and seeing what was in front of him.

"RAHHHHH!!!!!" Thousands of voices filled James' ears in the room as he realized he was in the middle of a huge arena. Surrounding him were dozens and dozens of seats filled to the brim with every manner of people who were all cheering in their direction.

"Welcome to the annual sect tournament everyone!" A voice shouted pouring into every section of the room with their voice. The owner of this voice was also in the middle of the arena surrounded by many people all wearing different sect robes.

The area they were in was like a pit or grounded area of the arena expanding as long as a farm field giving plenty of room to fit all of the people present. When the person's voice reached everyone's ears they all seemed to quiet down in anticipation for what was about to happen.

"Thank you! Now, welcome once again to our annual sect tournament! This year like many past years we will be seeing who among all of the current sects is the strongest! Their disciples will go head to head in matches pre-determined by yours truly to see who is the superior one!" The man shouted as James thought that he must be some important figure within the city to be able to decide on the matches like that.

Another thing that James realized was that Old Man Edd and all the people that wore the same robes as him were in front of the podium as well accompanied by other people of the same robes, "So you just noticed? Old Man Edd is the Patriarch of the White Lotus Sect." Noel whispered to him.