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This was Xi Luo's ultimate combat form, yet if possible, he would rather not use this attribute. Because...

"Hahahaha! Light magic? Bring it on!" Chen Xuanfeng laughed heartily as a platinum sword aura erupted upward, not only severing myriad luminous strands on a massive scale but also blocking all the incoming radiant magic artillery.

Xi Luo couldn't help but frown—this was exactly what he had feared. A Sword Saint's domain, in essence, forcibly pulls a segment of the Astral Void that resonates most closely with their energy attribute into the material realm. Since a Sword Saint's power is originally drawn from this space, removing the spatial barrier naturally amplifies their strength to unprecedented levels. Moreover, due to the dense energy properties within the domain, everyone except the Sword Saint themselves would, to varying degrees, suffer elemental suppression and rejection. Even enemies sharing the same attribute could not avoid this, as within a broad attribute category, there exist finer subdivisions—such as seraphic radiance, sunlight, and starlight within the light attribute.

However, nothing is absolute. What truly gave Xi Luo pause was the hierarchy within the same attribute classification: certain supreme attributes at the apex could suppress lower-tier ones. By all logic, the seraphic radiance Xi Luo wielded through his divine artifact should have been sufficiently advanced. Yet, against Chen Xuanfeng, it proved ineffective—because this terrifying lycanthrope possessed an even superior manifestation of light power: Gilded Lightning.

Gilded Lightning, though named as such, was both light and lightning. While it usually appeared as gilded lightning, its true core was the highly condensed divine light of Mother Earth. As the creator of all deities and the World Tree, Gaia's divine power held unparalleled supremacy. Though the Gilded Lightning in Chen Xuanfeng's "Sword of Divine Punishment" was not the original but an imitation crafted by a goblin arch-alchemist, it was more than enough to gain a significant advantage within Xi Luo's light domain.

Xi Luo had anticipated this outcome beforehand, which was why he initially sought to avoid the light attribute and instead aimed for victory using ice. However, he hadn't expected Chen Xuanfeng's Tide of Void to perfectly counter his non-Sword Saint weakness, forcing him to revert to the light attribute. As predicted, the moment Chen Xuanfeng unleashed the "Sword of Divine Punishment," it began drawing energy from the light domain as if it were a shared space between him and Xi Luo. Though he couldn't manipulate the light threads, the sword's power doubled, and Gilded Lightning's suppression of light magic cannons intensified further.

But now, with no retreat left, Xi Luo could only fully unleash the domain's power while absorbing vast amounts of ambient light elements to attack Chen Xuanfeng.

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While nearly a quarter of the Holy City was engulfed in the colossal octochromatic elemental realm, where the newly crowned Beast King and the equally newly appointed Radiant Pope clashed fiercely, far to the south in the human alliance's military headquarters, a young man in black robes stood deep in thought over a map. The sound of approaching footsteps heralded the arrival of a uniformed swordsman.

"Marshal Yang, we have news from the north," the officer reported respectfully to the young mage, who was thirty years younger.

The dark mage, Enlai Ke Weili Yang, looked up and asked, "Has it begun over there?"

The officer nodded. "Yes, The Radiant Pope has already deployed his domain in the Beast capital. The current state of the battle remains unobservable."

As Enlai Ke nodded and returned his gaze to the map, the officer hesitated before speaking again. "Marshal, the grand prelate of the Radiant Temple came earlier to inquire... What are the actual chances of success for this operation?"

"Chances of victory?" Enlai Ke blinked and smiled. "If they're asking about Xi Luo's odds of killing the Beast King... you can tell them: zero."

"What... how? The Radiant Pope's domain is clearly so powerful! And if there's no chance of success, why did you plan this operation in the first place?" the officer stammered in shock.

"Though I'm no Sword Saint, I understand that for a warrior, sheer force isn't what matters—what matters is how much of it can be perfectly wielded. Xi Luo's domain, inheriting the energy of eight forbidden spells, indeed surpasses any Sword Saint in history. But right now, he can't even control two elements simultaneously—how could he possibly contend with that lycanthrope, who might even surpass the 'White-Haired Demon Lion King' Leimen?" Enlai Ke sighed. "But victory or defeat isn't the point. We've prepared for this. Even if Xi Luo suffers a crushing defeat, he can escape in time. Our true goal is simply to have him stall the Beast King... and reignite the suppressed flames of civil war among the beastmen."

Heroic Werewolf Scroll, Chapter 102: Reversed Gains and Losses, Whetting the Blade in Secret

Just as Enlai Ke, the human southern front marshal, had predicted, the battle between Xi Luo, Pope of the Radiant Temple, and the newly crowned Beast King Xuanfeng Blizzard Wolf ended in Xi Luo's crushing defeat—yet it successfully paved the way for the beastmen's civil war.

The reason was simple: the battle lasted a full seven days.

When Xi Luo, severely wounded, finally detonated his domain and teleported away, Chen Xuanfeng remained stone-faced and silent.

In truth, defeating Xi Luo had taken him less than an hour. Despite the overwhelming power of Xi Luo's divine weapon domain, despite Xi Luo exploiting his ability to heal with light magic to employ suicidal tactics, and despite Chen Xuanfeng being injured and limited to just over half his strength—none of these were the real reason he had been delayed so long.

The true trap lay outside the domain—a temporal distortion magic.

"Seven days in the cave, a millennium in the world."

"A day in heaven, a year on earth."

Such sayings were common in the myths of Chen Xuanfeng's past life, but he never imagined he would fall victim to one himself. Inside the domain, the battle had indeed lasted less than an hour. But when the domain collapsed, he discovered seven days had passed outside. Almost instantly, Chen Xuanfeng guessed the culprit—that damned undead lich Ancestor of Sword Saints, Leinster. Among the humans, only this revenant would know such time-bending secrets.