The grand courtyard inside the Colosseum was a sprawling plaza of polished black glass granite, wide enough to drill ten royal legions.
Surrounding the central combat ring were seven raised spectator pavilions, each carved from a distinct elemental stone to honor the Seven Great Sects of the Southern Continent. Above the southern balcony, flags of crimson silk bearing roaring dragons marked the pavilion of Roaring Thunder Valley. To the west, dark jade banners emblazoned with golden lotuses signified the Blood Lotus Pavilion. To the north, towering slabs of unpolished dark rock formed the gallery of the Heavy Earth Hall.
Lin Tao and Tie Shan walked behind Elder Song into the registration pavilion, their boots clicking steadily across the black glass floor.
Everywhere around them, the air crackled with packed spiritual pressure. Fighters from across the southern realm gathered in dense clusters, their bodies wrapped around in radiant auras of flame, frost, lightning, and wind. The surrounding heat inside the courtyard fluctuated wildly. It was driven by the volatile breathing cycles of dozens of Core Formation elders and chosen students.
The seven great sects had sent their finest prodigies.
To the left stood Lei Zhen of Roaring Thunder Valley. A towering young man whose bare arms were bound in heavy copper torcs. Violet sparks danced across his knuckles with every breath he drew. His eyes glowed with the untamed savagery of a mountain beast. Behind him, students whispered of his lineage. He had burned up the heart of a fifth-rank Thunder…
