A flash of azure silk cut through the rising smoke at the southern perimeter of the arena. Senior Brother Bai vaulted over the heavy stone barricade, his leather boots hitting the white sand with a spray of fine grit as his hand gripped his broad law sword.
"Step aside, Ye Chen!" Bai roared, sprinting across the central ring with his black scabbard rattling against his iron greaves. "Under Section Four of the Grand Covenant, possession and deployment of abyssal iron is an immediate capital offense! This jurisdiction belongs to the Law Enforcement Pavilion!"
He pulled a pair of heavy suppression shackles from his leather belt, the cold iron links jingling with runic seals designed to bind spiritual meridians. He drew his gleaming steel blade, its polished surface reflecting the noon glare
