Merry Christmas guys! Spending it alone so thought I'd take the time to write a chapter haha. Hope yall have fun and stay safe.

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It was a few hours later when Aileen was meditating at the edge of the Tundra that Lineir materializing. He called over,

"Hey!"

"Oh wow Lineir, you're back so soon? Are you sure you're ok? We can wait, there's no rush." She said but he shook his head with a rueful grin.

"Don't worry, I recover fast, let's get on the road." He made to head off with her and she gathered her things and made to follow. However as they approached the end of the Tundra, she looked back over her shoulder hesitantly. Lineir, sensing her halt, walked back and grabbed her arm,

"Something wrong?"

"It's just...look I was angry at my clanmates, but they were well in their rights to leave. But the gems we used to locate each other aren't responding. I wonder if they're out there, waiting for me..." She said forlornly. Lineir sighed, being careful to keep his voice as calm as possible,

"Mmm...maybe we'll run into them on the road. But I get the feeling the Karma between them and us has been severed." He pulled her forward and they started to walk. But as they went, she continued to glance over her shoulder from time to time,

"Maybe..."

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It was several days of peaceful travel until they started to notice more and more foot traffic. All manner of lesser races in the Hells, but especially the dominant demons were starting to become common. It seemed everyone was hustling to be closer to the biggest event for centuries...The Grand Duel!

The excitement was palpable, everyone was excited, from the smallest imp child to Grandmaster Demon Champions, even to eccentric wanderers. The chance to witness a famed champion of the last generation of Humanity, face off against one of their own, The Three Step King was something they had never anticipated seeing in their lives or the next. After all, how many generations could go by without a conflict of such magnitude occurring, and if there was such a conflict, how could such little beings such as them survive even being close to a single battle? However, the organizers had thought of all that. A giant stadium had been erected outside the nearest city, and numerous adjudicators who had cultivation bases sufficient to at least be present on the outskirts of the battle would record it using Scrying Crystals for everyone to see.

"Come on Lineir, your master probably didn't think to arrange seats for you. Our Baraz Clan has something better than the Scrying Mirror Arena. We will have protected seats with our Clan in one of the VIP boxes. Our Patriarch is a Pinnacle Celestial Emperor. With him guarding us, we should be completely safe from a distance of ten thousand kilometers!

Lineir felt his enthusiasm slip away when he heard how far away the "VIP" boxes were. He had been hopeful that he was about to strike it lucky and obtain a seat near the duel but considering that enhanced sight enchantments were being woven into the protective forcefields around the boxes, it was apparent that even cultivators at the level of a mighty clan like the Baraz were not confident in being near such a vicious battle.

"Hmm...do I accept, or do I try to find a spot on my own? On one hand...I'll stick out a lot less if I'm with the Baraz Clan, and it sounds like I'll have some advantages there if I stick with Aileen. But leaving might prove difficult when the critical moment comes. But if I go it alone, there may be complications. My cultivation is just too low, ugh this mission is ridiculous." Lineir grumbled while he internally debated. Finally after considering many factors he decided to join Aileen and enter the Baraz Clan. After all, he reasoned, if things should change, he could always leave after.

Just like that he ended up preparing for the Grand Duel with one of the demon clans. It was only a short time until the Grand Duel began so he first visited one of the many estates of the Baraz Clan with Aileen. Upon arriving with her, he found a large manor secluded deep inside of a lava lake. When they banged on the gate, Lineir noticed that Aileen had a hopeful expression on her face. Ugh...I hope she's not too disappointed when her companions aren't here. But I had to do it. Damnit I feel like a bad guy now.

"Who is it? Oh...is that? AILEEN!" A surprised feminine voice comes out and Lineir almost jumped backwards as the door slammed open at lightspeed! Heavens! Did she use the Laws to open that door?

"Muareen!" Aileen ran forward and gave a great big hug to the female demon behind. The two demons bore quite a similar resemblance to each other and Lineir had to wonder... Are they sisters?

"Who's this?" The comely looking demon at the door turned to face Lineir. She had the same brilliant emerald eyes as Aileen but was a little taller and clearly more developed. Her cultivation was also higher at the Initial Celestial King Realm. "He doesn't seem to be from the Baraaz Clan. Hey where's Jeirsus an Lysus? Weren't they traveling with you?" Suddenly Aileen's face fell, as did Lineir's heart. Ahhh...here we go.

"They're not with you? We got separated...Lineir saved our party from Cang Shuifeng. Later we entered a Yin Yang Arctic Danger Zone. Lineir attracted the attention of some Drakewraiths and I wanted to help him but they didn't. So they left...I had hoped they made it here. But considering how long it's been..." One could see from Aileen's tone and expression what fate she imagined for Jeirsus and Lysus. Even if they had left her behind, they had traveled for quite some time together so she was still affected greatly by the news. Maureen, sensing the atmosphere turning dark, appraised Lineir who shifted uneasily.

"I'm sure they're fine...besides, they left you. Their fate is their own, so do not worry about it. As for you...Lineir, your cultivation is so low yet you fought of Cang Shuifeng? There's more to you than meets the eye. What Sect do you hail from?" She peered curiously at the black robed youth who seemed to be slightly perturbed from the whole situation.

"I'm a wandering cultivator with no close attachments to any Sect." Lineir said as he secretly prayed that Yu's disguise technique would hold up under the scrutiny of higher level demons. His worries were entirely unfounded however. She detected nothing amiss with his appearance seeing only a young demon. Muareen was a little bit suspicious that a wandering cultivator would have the ability to fend off Cang Shuifeng from a lower cultivation level but she shrugged as Aileen had vouched for him.

"Lineir is here to see the Grand Duel. Can he watch from our viewing box?" Aileen, sensing some hesitation jumped into assist. She implicitly trusted Lineir after he had miraculously defeated the Drakewraiths.

"Aileen...you know the box is only for our clansmates..." Muareen hedged but Aileen was insistent.

"He saved my life sister. We have plenty of space."

"Yes...ok he can come." Muareen sighed. It really wasn't that big of a deal, just one more thing to explain to their clan Patriarch but there was another reason she didn't want Lineir to come. Their clan had a lot on their minds at the moment. Aish, this little sister of mine. Hopefully her new friend doesn't get dragged into this mess.