A few hours earlier, at the Golden Arena.
The clash within the Echo Domain had been deadly, but it had passed in a flash.
From Xia Lun's attempt to strike the Dancer with Echo Attack to the moment an unknown Secret Art Scholar blocked it and failed to find him, less than twenty seconds had passed.
Outside, the one-armed gladiator had only just scrambled into the stands, escaping death by a hair. Two red-eyed lions leaped after him but were stopped by the arena's towering walls.
Across the box's floor, foul-smelling wine flowed through shards of crystal. Black flames still burned, embers swirled, and smoke rose in streams.
"Are you all right?" The owner of the Golden Arena glanced warily at Xia Lun's sword and swallowed with difficulty.
Xia Lun took a deep breath and shook his head, then silently sheathed his sword.
Clashing with an unknown Secret Art Scholar had gone far beyond his original plan. But panicking over an unexpected turn would do no good. He needed to adjust his plan to fit the new situation.
If the other party did not reveal himself, Xia Lun had almost no way to seek out the hidden Secret Art Scholar. Since he could not attack, he could only defend and leave as few openings as possible.
For now, because he had chosen "See the Present" for his Knowledge 2, his tracks were concealed. The other party would have trouble locking onto him directly with a Secret Art.
That meant the other party had no easy way to find him, either. After all, a Ritual formation that identified Fundamental Duties could not identify "Secret Art Scholar" as one. And now that Xia Lun had the Tree Herder's backing, he was somewhat integrated into this Scenario's world. Conventional means would not make