Chapter 365: Spectacle (End of Book 5)
Ashlock had watched the fight between Celeste Starweaver and the outsider Serena Blacktide with great interest. It was a rare opportunity to see cosmic affinity in action and what peak Soul Fire Realm cultivators were capable of when pushed to fight to the death. Qi was hard to accumulate, so it wasn't often that a peak Soul Fire Realm cultivator on the brink of attaining enough Qi to ascend to the elusive Star Core Realm would recklessly waste years of Qi on a fight unless it was to the death.
That is what Ashlock had wanted to witness. The raw power a Soul Fire Realm cultivator could output. However, his excitement had been soured a little as he knew what the fight's outcome would be from the start.
"Why is someone like her here?" Ashlock couldn't help but wonder as he looked at Celeste Starweaver through his Evil Eye via a portal. He used the illusionary sky powered by the arena's formations to hide his sight from everyone below to prevent his gaze from affecting the participants. "Her Qi reserves are on another level. Even now, as the battle has drawn to a close, her Soul Core is still brimming with Qi, while Serena Blacktide's is like a lifeless husk."
Of course, it was a lot of Qi for a Soul Fire Realm cultivator. Stella, who had stepped onto the arena, dwarfed Celeste's Qi pool many times over, and Ashlock's Qi pool that surrounded his Inner World was like an endless galactic ocean in comparison.
"I had hoped to use this fight to judge the limits of cosmic and abyssal tide Qi, but it would appear I messed up. The matchup was simply too one-sided despite them being in the same stage and realm. Half-steps really are something else." Ashlock sighed, but he couldn't be too hung up over it. The person running amok with his cursed sap had been captured and would soon be dealt with. The tournament had otherwise run smoothly, with many talents having been picked out from the Qi Realm brawls, and he almost wanted to thank Serena for opening his eyes to security risks regarding his cursed sap and other things. All in all, it had gone better than the alchemy tournament they held many months ago.
While Ashlock was musing, Stella pulled Serena to her feet and, in a flash of white, repositioned them clearly in the center of the arena. The mist had cleared, as had the fires, so the thousands of mortals, rogue cultivators, nobles from the academy, and more could clearly see the two.
"Looks like the finale to all of this is about to begin," Ashlock said, pulling up his system.
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