Chapter 568 Not quite there yet...  

The old man, Hal, furrowed his brow and glanced at the woman, but she quickly looked away to avoid his gaze. He sighed and changed the subject.

"What about the other elders? Among the seven elders involved in the war on the other side of the universe, I am here, and one more should have arrived by now. Has she contacted any of you?"

"We need her here. The two Shadow generals will arrive at the Gladiator Arena any time now... I don't want any of the participants in the Gladiator Arena to die because of the dark side."

One of the people sitting behind Old Hal leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"She's here. But she's in the crowd. She mentioned she would watch discreetly, and if the Shadow generals acted out, she would step up to fight them."

Old Hal nodded, and at that moment, two loud cries echoed from one of the three massive gates leading into the Gladiator Arena. The old man squinted his blue eyes and saw two bonded beasts in mid-air outside the gate, glaring at each other.

One was a huge eagle with piercing grey eyes, while the other was a towering horned lynx adorned with iridescent scales. The eagle held the divine rank, whereas the lynx was only at a pseudo-divine rank, yet the lynx stood its ground, matching the eagle's intense gaze without flinching.

Old Hal furrowed his brows at the scene and looked back at one of the young men seated behind him at a distance.

"Go and check what's happening. Whose bonded beasts are causing trouble. They are outside the towering walls, and I'm sure they don't know that bonded beasts are not permitted to revert to their original forms once inside the Arena. Their large forms could disrupt the peace of this place."

The young man in robes nodded and quickly moved from his spot to check what was happening and to control the crowd that had started gathering around the two beasts. But before he could intervene, a group of elves and some humans swiftly surrounded the lynx. Then, an elven woman with amber eyes among them hurriedly calmed the lynx down.

Nox shot a glare at the eagle, who returned it with mocking eyes, and then transformed back to his smaller form before grumpily sitting on Yue's shoulder, prompting a soft sigh from the elven woman.

'That eagle started it! She dared to try and break my left horn! How could she even touch my precious horns!'

'Only you and the crimson phoenix have the privilege to lay a hand on them!'

Nox complained in Yue's mind, ready to tear the eagle apart even though the eagle was stronger than him; he was sure he could handle it! Jian and Xavier both quickly arrived beside Yue, and the trio glanced at the eagle's owner. She was a young woman with cunning eyes like a fox and pointed ears on top of her head, signaling she was from the demi-human race.

The woman stood surrounded by many other demi-humans, each with a bonded companion by their side. She sneered at Yue, Jian, and Xavier before calling back her eagle, which transformed into a smaller size and landed on her arms.

"I gotta admit, your little lynx is one brave fella. He went for my eagle, even knowing he couldn't beat it."

Yue glanced at the woman, her eyes showing nothing, but hidden anger flashed in her gaze, and she decided the woman wasn't worth a response.

She saw the woman surrounded by many powerful demi-humans and knew that if a fight broke out, neither Yue nor the woman could join the Gladiator Arena. While she thought about her next move, Jian interrupted with a dark expression. "Hey, hey, hold your horses."

"Your ugly eagle barely escaped by fleeing. If Nox had attacked, it would be six feet underground by now."

"So, count your blessings!"

The woman's expression turned sour as she pointed her finger at the group with furious eyes. Numerous powerful old demi-humans emerged from the group, and as they flew towards the young elves, Wesley, Ronan, Oldeus, and the supreme rank elven woman vanished from their positions and floated in front of the younger elves.

The conflict was among the younger generation, so the supreme rank elves refrained from intervening initially, but if the powerful individuals from the demi-human side attacked, they were prepared to retaliate as well.

But before a fight could erupt between the two groups, a gentle pressure that didn't harm anyone but still sent chills down their spines descended on their bodies. Wesley lifted his gaze and locked eyes with the young man in cream-colored robes who materialized between the two groups and began speaking in a solemn tone.

"All of you, cease this conflict at once, or none of you will be permitted to participate in the Gladiator Arena."

The young man glanced at the demi-humans, who quickly backed off, then turned to the elves, who also retreated with their young ones. His eyes narrowed at the lynx and the eagle briefly, and he recalled his own bonded beast who was fighting in the war. Unconsciously, he compared the lynx and eagle to his bonded companion, and a sneer crossed his face.

"What are they both so arrogant about? Their bonded companions are just so-so. Not even worthy of attaining a rank above the divine rank."

He mumbled under his breath as he left the area, but both Nox and the eagle, who heard his words, were enraged. The two beasts glared at his retreating figure with dark, ominous eyes, and even their owners displayed anger in their gazes.

Yue clenched her fists and shook her head when Jian looked at her with an expression that hinted they should challenge the man who dared to label Nox as unworthy. She then eased her grip, and a smile lit up her face, contrasting her spoken words.

"Not quite there yet... but I have a feeling that we will soon be on par with him. Then we will see if he has the nerve to declare someone else unworthy."