His hammer, Lightning Descent, looked dull and heavy as usual. The Storm of Blades also looked normal. Only the violet Lightning Bow appeared to have changed.
The Lightning Bow was now glowing brighter than before. This was an indication that it had stored a lot of lightning energy within it.
Because the external golden core within it was only at the early stages of the fourth mortal coil, the Lightning Bow could only store two arrows that could be released without any preparation.
He thought about this and said to himself, "I should save them for a critical moment when I can catch him off guard."
They said that the fight is just an exhibition fight and shouldn't be taken seriously. But he is taking this fight seriously.
He is so serious about it that he is preparing as if he is about to have a fight to the death with Green Viper. His mindsetis to fight as if he really wants to kill Green Viper.
He doesn't know what the Purple Flower sect is planning, but he won't let it happen if it will endanger his life. So for this fight, he is going all out.
After examining his weapons, he strapped the Lightning Bow to his back. Then he grabbed the handle of Lightning Descent with his right hand and held the core of the Storm of Blades with his left hand.
Once he was prepared, he left the mansion. As he left, the white disc flew after him.
Arthur rose into the air and left the territory of the outer sect completely. He didn't stop rising until he had passed the protective formations and created a large distance between them and him.
Green Viper was already waiting for him up in the sky. This place was to be their battlefield.
Green Viper wore a white robe with a green snake drawn on it. The robe was tied around his waist so it looked like a bathrobe.
He wasn't wearing anything else below this robe. The only thing he had on him was the shiny black gauntlet on his hands.
The battlefield was set for somewhere that everyone in the sect could witness the fight and be safe while doing so.
This was why the protective formation was fully activated after the two of them reached the battlefield. This way, any stray attacks won't reach the spectators watching below.
Of these spectators, less than a fifth of them were cheering for Arthur, while the rest were booing him. This difference in the proportion of the two sides showed just how popular and hated Arthur was in general.
By the looks of things, he was mostly hated by people. But this didn't bother him much.
He even had the leisure to scoff at them and think to himself, "What are they even here for? What can they see when we start fighting?"
He can still remember when he was at the early stages of the third mortal coil and witnessed a fight between two golden core cultivators. He hadn't seen anything specific or useful in that fight.
All he saw in that fight were two golden clouds smashing into each other. This was because the two fighters were producing too much mana and power for his eyes to bear.
So he doesn't expect that the people below will be able to see much of this fight. Yet, Purple Vine had stated that this fight was for them to see. It is another reason why he suspects that Purple Vine was lying.
While he was thinking to himself, Green Viper was quietly examining him.
The usually boisterous and loud man was silent. Instead of talking or shouting at Arthur about how Arthur had killed his son, he only glared at Arthur silently.
Arthur could see a silent anger in the green eyes glaring at him. He could also sense venom and the intention to seek revenge by inflicting a lot of pain on his person.
This made him grin and think to himself, "Just as I guessed. This fight is not going to be simple."
He wasn't surprised by the way that Green Viper was looking at him. This was why he could afford to grin in such a tense situation.
But his grin might have been a mistake because it only made Green Viper angrier. His grin didn't ease the situation at all.
Green Viper became so angry that he couldn't keep quiet anymore. He sneered and said to Arthur, "Feel free to be amused while you can. Cherish this moment because you won't have it for the ten minutes of the fight."
Arthur responded with a smile, "You should also cherish this moment while you can still talk big. Very soon you will realize that just because you're older than me doesn't mean that I will be easy to beat. In fact, I might be the one to beat you up."
Green Viper laughed when he heard Arthur's claim. Then he flexed the black gauntlet on his hand and said, "We will see."
He didn't say anymore because the referee for the fight had arrived.
The referee was Pale Shadow. Arthur didn't trust her to be impartial, but he didn't have a golden core elder from his sect that he could count on to balance her.
Pale Shadow said to them, "The fight will only last ten minutes. During that time, you can use any means you have at your disposal except the spiritual energy bestowed onto you by nascent soul patriarchs."
"Anyone can choose to surrender in the fight. If they can't surrender, the fight will be forcefully ended if one of you becomes critically injured and can no longer fight."
"That is all. You may start."
She ran away from the two of them as soon as she finished speaking. It was a good thing because the two of them had exploded.
Energy erupted from Green Viper in the form of green caustic and acidic gas. The ejected gas was so much that it was enough to form a large green cloud around Green Viper.