The Elder who had promised to see Cain in the finals had every right to be confident. His Holy Guardian Sect was a multiple-time champion, not only in the Outer Sect but in the Inner Sect and Core Power divisions as well. In their earlier battles, they had seemed relatively evenly matched, but once they took the floor in the Semifinals, they started to go all out, lighting up the arena with holy power and crushing their opponents in under a minute.

They were also one of the few truly mixed Sects in the area, and most of their disciples were the children of the previous generation, with an emphasis on their most accomplished Elders and Core Disciples finding partners among each other to make an even more powerful generation in the future.

It seemed to be working out for them, and these Disciples were head and shoulders above the competition, despite most of them still being in their late teens and not close to the twenty-five-year age limit.

"Do you think your disciples are up for that?" The violet-eyed cultivator asked Cain, though his look and tone didn't express any concern about the battle.

"I have it on good authority that the world loves a good upset. It keeps life interesting. On that note, will each of you ladies please take a copy of this tome?" Cain suggested, handing them all an identical book.

[Life Link] Rank S. Usable by all classes. Links the health of all party members with this skill into a single pool.

The black-robed cultivator seemed to know what Cain was doing, or perhaps he could read Ancient and simply read the cover. Cain searched his appearance to see if he was going to out him for unscrupulous techniques, but the man only winked at him and returned to watching the crews clean up the arena.

There was a long gap now before the finale, so the spectators were preparing to have dinner. However, nobody was leaving their seats, knowing that getting out and then back into the arena was essentially impossible.

"I have stew for everyone. Do we have a flat spot where I can set up the cauldron?" Cain asked, looking around the packed stands.magic

"The landing of the stairs should do. Unless the cauldron is over two meters wide." Elder Ling suggested.

That was a perfect idea, and Cain began to set up the pot, throwing ingredients into it, then spices and water, and finally sealing the lid on the huge pressure cooker.

"Give it half an hour tops, and it will be ready to go," Cain informed them, lighting a magical fire under the pot while the rest of the people around them prepared sandwiches and travel-friendly meals.

The whole stadium snacked and chatted as they waited, though some chose to meditate, and the participants themselves were intensely focused on regaining their energy before the match.

The pressure cooker's whistling stopped with a hiss as Cain opened the pot, producing a stack of bowls for his disciples. "Ladies, get something to eat. It will help with your energy levels."

The aroma of fresh stew wafted over the crowd, and everyone from the spectators to the judges and the vendors selling various street foods gave the Forbidden Treasure Sect envious looks.

Cain handed out the first round to his disciples and the Lotus Blossom Sect, then prepared another set of bowls and put them in his inventory in case the disciples wanted seconds and called to the crowd.

"I made twenty gallons of stew. Anyone who has a bowl is welcome to join us for dinner."

His words nearly caused a stampede as the disciples from the ascetic Sects, who viewed food as a basic necessity to be made as simple as possible, rushed to get some decent stew.

"You really know how to make friends, don't you?" Elder Ling asked with a motherly smile for the hungry crowds."It works every time. I don't know why more Sects don't start doing the same. Adding Magical Beast Meat and medicinal herbs can not only make it taste better, but it is a way to build power all by itself." Cain shrugged.

It might only be one single experience point for him, but for lower-level sorts, the Mythic Beast Meat would make a huge difference. It wasn't unknown for some basic classes to get almost as much experience from a high-level meal as from a single monster kill.

"I promise it's not poisoned if you're hungry." Cain offered the Holy Guardians, who were eating plain bread with cheese and water.

"A carefully managed diet regulates the mind and body, as well as pleasing the Gods." The Elder responded, shaking his head in denial.

"As you wish. I wouldn't want to give anyone a stomach ache from unfamiliar food before a crucial match. It would reflect horribly on the character of my Disciples after all." Cain agreed.

Ten minutes before the appointed time, and late enough that everyone had time to eat and have a nap or meditate to restore their energy, the announcer returned to the stage.

[Welcome everyone to the finals of the Outer Sect challenge. In a historic first, both teams are still at full strength for this final match, so they have the full choice of their teams to face off against each other.

You all know who they are, the Holy Guardians Sect from the Light Mountain, and the Forbidden Treasures Sect, who we are informed arrived with the Lotus Blossom Sect as friends.

As of this moment, betting is closed, and the arena will be sealed to prevent any outside interference. I expect to see all participants give their very best in this match. No holding back out of consideration for your opponents.

Now, will the selected teams please proceed to the center of the arena?]

The announcer finished his speech, and the two groups of five made their way to the floor to face off against each other.

"Have we got this?" Penny whispered to Luna.

"One hundred percent. Wait and see." Luna whispered back with a wink.

While they ate, she had pulled a Seraphim Inquisitor into Merger with her for the one skill that only it could offer.

Seraphim Inquisitor Class Skill: [Repent, Blasphemer] The Inquisitor is the embodiment of the will of the Divine and is therefore immune to Holy Power-based damage.

If the Holy Guardians thought that they could ambush her and make the summons disappear with an early match group attack, they were in for a nasty surprise.

[Doesn't this feel a bit dishonest? Like we're cheating. Even Oath Breaker is a bit embarrassed by your shamelessness.] The inquisitor asked in her mind.

[Shush you. All is fair in love and war. Or do you want me to summon Seraphim into the arena and cause a huge spectacle? That's what I thought. I guess we are sticking with Oath Breaker.] Luna replied while the Demon chuckled at her antics.

[You're even worse than your father.] The Seraphim complained but didn't try to annoy Luna any further, secretly eager to see these humans who dared to use Holy Power against its vessel punished.

"Same plan as last time, only this time, I will go all out. Penny, we will need all your friends again." Luna informed the group, then prepared to Summon her secret weapon. A full squad of three dozen Lamia Scourge Casters at Spirit Rank, along with the four copies of Oath Breaker.

She would call the Lamia first to cause chaos and then the greater Demons to take advantage of the situation. If she did it right, the Holy Guardians would never know what hit them. This time, there would be no lower-grade summons. She would use [Versatility] every time and then apply it to the Dark Elven Combat Techniques for the ensuing battle so that she could eliminate her opponents more efficiently.

There was no taunting, only grim determination from both sides as the referee checked them all for hidden injuries or active enchantments that would disqualify them from the competition.

[Both teams ready? Good. Begin.] He announced and flew up to his usual spot above the center of the arena.

Luna had been exactly right about their attentions, and the entire Holy Guardian team bombarded her with Divine Strike skills while she summoned her Lamia.

Cain began to laugh at the appearance of the Lamia, who had taken the Holy Guardians by surprise, appearing right between them and lashing out with their energy blades before wrapping the cultivators up.

"Damnable Demon Cultivators." the Elder from the Holy Guardians muttered as his team fought to avoid being incapacitated by the slender serpentine bodies of the Scourge Casters. Most of their ankles were wrapped, and the Scourge casters were happily grabbing anything they could while they slashed away at their victims with their short swords.

One after another, the Lamia were killed, and their bodies vanished, but the Forbidden Treasure Sect had closed the distance, leaving only Sabbat standing behind Luna and throwing flames at every male body she could see.

This, unfortunately, entirely missed two of the Holy Guardian team members, but since it was increasing the number of attacks on the others, nobody bothered to call her on it.

"Position Seven," The leader called, and every Holy Guardian member who could move shifted into a back-to-back circle and then lashed out with a combined Holy Light that enveloped the entire ring, wiping out most of the Scourge Casters in a single strike.

It clearly took a lot out of them, but in seconds they had made a full circle and were prepared for an attack from any angle, with one member inside the main encirclement, watching the others' backs.

That was the one that Oath Breaker went for first, distracting the others for a split second while the Forbidden Treasure Sect engaged again, with Sabbat bathing the enemy in flames, knowing that Oath Breaker wouldn't take damage as a friendly target.

"Why aren't they going down? The summons can't have taken all the damage." The Elder from the Holy Guardians mumbled, then looked to Cain, who was trying and failing to hide his amusement.

[Repent, Blasphemer] Didn't work on the summons, but the girls themselves hadn't taken more than a single point of Holy Damage, as it was all negated by the skill thanks to the life link. The skill kept pouring the damage into Luna to even the damage distribution out, but in the end, everyone else took one point of damage, and she took zero.

"You look confused. The simple truth is that cuteness is Justice. The will of the divine won't affect disciples so utterly lovely." Cain informed him with the most serious look he could muster.

"Aye, and my mother is a Holy Divinity. I think you gave them a limited-time immunity ability to activate after the battle started. How long is it? One minute? Five minutes?" The Elder asked, but Cain only looked away to the match, where the battle had gotten intense, with Oath Breaker being summoned in and all four Clones going for the Holy Guardians.

While the demons did their best to hold them back, the cultivators went for the Forbidden Treasure disciples, finding that while their attacks didn't work as well as they expected, they were at least doing damage and leaving wounds.

"Position eighty-six." The leader of the Holy Guardians called, and all five fighters took a knee with their shields over their heads.

Red light filled the arena and exploded outward, momentarily blinding all the spectators.

"Blood Magic, is it? Well, that should get around the restriction." The violet-eyed man muttered as four white flashes appeared, leaving only Luna standing and all of the Holy Guardians barely conscious, drained by the sacrifice to power the skill.

Her hit points were under five percent, and her mana was not much better, but she was still in better shape than anyone else. The others on her team were all out of mana and saved with only a single HP left, while the Holy Guardians were out of energy and at five percent health.

[Holy Light] Luna muttered, calling on the skills of the Seraphim Inquisitor to heal herself and damage her enemies.

The spell hid the light of the protective bubbles that removed the Holy Guardians, and the crowd's vision cleared to show only a battered Luna in a nearly shredded dress standing in the ring, with nine combatants sitting in front of the medical bay.

[Winner! The Forbidden Treasure Sect has defeated the Holy Guardians in the most remarkable upset that I have ever seen.] The announcer called, flying into the ring as an exhausted Luna collapsed to the ground and straight into sleep, too tired from mana exhaustion to care that she had won the fight.