Page 242

But that doesn't mean I am afraid.

"I thought it would be 'Flame Saint' Levis coming, but I didn’t expect to see you," I said coldly as I dismounted from the Ghost Wolf and slowly drew the demonic blade *Hu Po* from behind my back. Although I was mentally prepared for the fact that these human Sword Saints wouldn’t sit idly by when the orcs launched their large-scale attack, I hadn’t expected the *Blade Saint* to be the one seeking me out.

"The 'Flame Saint' is here as well, but he’s gone to the Four Nations Alliance first," came the faint reply from the mountaintop, causing a slight tightening in my chest. I hadn’t expected my Fontainebleau to be so highly valued that both Sword Saints would journey north together. Catherine’s safety might be in jeopardy. However, I quickly regained my composure. The White Dragon *Winter Night*, who stayed by Catherine’s side, had a telepathic connection with me. Although we couldn’t converse over long distances, the signals had been quiet so far, indicating that nothing had happened yet. Nevertheless, I immediately used telepathy to summon another powerful being bound by contract—the *Ice Female Battle Slave* Zha—to move towards Catherine’s location to ensure her safety.

The *Blade Saint* Yashu was no younger than the old lion Leimen. His hair had long turned white, but those who had reached the Sacred Domain could significantly extend their lifespans and showed little sign of aging. This master, who had stood in the Sacred Domain for over a hundred years, appeared to be only fifty or sixty. Lean and scholarly, he seemed more like a mage or scholar than a warrior. Among humans, he was of medium build, even shorter than me by half a head. Yet, with his unique aura, even the tallest hill giants or mammoth tribe’s elephant men wouldn’t feel that he was shorter than them.

"Why isn’t he the one staying? It seems I have more grudges with him," I asked as I climbed the mountain. The orc alliance hadn’t kept secret my disguise as a *Holy Grail Knight* to enter the human world and steal divine artifacts. The human world’s higher-ups naturally knew about it. If they deduced carefully, they might have already learned not only about the old grudge of stealing the *Crystal Dragon* data but also about my assassination of the Flame Saint’s two disciples and provoking him to seek revenge on Saint Spirit Mountain. With Levis’s fiery personality, how could he not come specifically to kill me?

"Your decision to abandon the road to *Qingfulu City* and return via Tania is just my speculation based on your movements over the past twenty days. The *Flame Saint* grew impatient and decided to eliminate your subordinates first before attacking Fontainebleau. If I hadn’t found you, he would have waited there for your return to kill you. Of course, if you don’t return, without reinforcements, you’ll be exterminated by the human armies," Yashu replied as he slowly rose to his feet as I approached. "As for why I’m here, the divine sword *God's Punishment Thunder* in your hand is ultimately the treasure of my sixteen southern countries. After killing you, it will still need to be retrieved."

Both of us were intelligent, and there was no need to continue the conversation further. The demonic blade in my left hand emanated a faint blue light as I strode forward and shouted, "Interesting. I was just about to test which of us is truly the number one blade master of the continent. If you want to kill me, prove your strength! 'Sea Moonlight—Dragon Slashing Blade!'"

Not daring to let this veteran expert make the first move, I waved and unleashed thousands of blade lights before he could draw his blade. Now that I had fully mastered the *Qiankun Extinction Blade* and made a breakthrough in the *Nine Yin Manual*, this combined magic and martial technique had taken on a new dimension. The countless virtual and real blade lights of "Ten Thousand Blades Dividing the Sea" merged with the vast hydra’s water-attributed magic contained within the demonic blade *Hu Po*, transforming into a nine-headed dragon that pounced on the *Blade Saint* from all directions, above and below. This was merely the opening prelude. Once the nine-headed dragon sealed off all space, it simultaneously exploded, creating a dense net of sharp blade vortices spanning several dozen feet. Even a real super-beast would be wounded and bleeding profusely under such an attack.

"Excellent blade technique," praised the *Blade Saint* Yashu. Even facing my blade technique, he remained calm, his face still smiling. Suddenly, a thick and boundless blade energy erupted from him, causing my sky-full of blade lights to stall slightly. In that instant, Yashu lightly flicked his right fingertip, and a heavy four-foot-long blade appeared in his hand out of thin air. He held the precious blade upside down, his feet moving mysteriously, suddenly turning into a bright, crystal-like blade circle that broke through the approaching dark blue, water-attributed blade lights. Then, raising the long blade vertically, he soared into the air, carrying with him a blade technique like a thousand overlapping mountains, splitting open my dense net of blades and carving out a path of survival.

"You’re quite something, young man. No wonder my disciple Gao Bo admires you so much. You are indeed the most astonishing young man I’ve ever met. Given twenty more years, you might even surpass me. But unfortunately, I can’t wait that long. So, I’ll use this heavenly blade *Zhan Huang Lei*, which I’ve never used on anyone other than a Sword Saint, to show my respect for you," said Yashu as he spoke loudly in the air. Even though Sword Saints couldn’t fly (this book isn’t *Feng Zhi*, so even with similar power levels, there’s no plan for everyone to fly around), a leap was enough to astound any martial artist from a previous life. The wolf knights, over a kilometer away, also felt a slight chill from his imposing presence.

However, the cold murderous intent in my eyes at this moment couldn’t be hidden. Even my master Huang Yaoshi didn’t have the qualification to decide my life or death, so what makes you think you can? The *Hu Po* in my hand seemed to sense my endless killing intent and let out a long wail, transforming again. The semi-transparent blade, which had been dyed light blue by the water-attributed magic, suddenly turned into a clear, colorless crystal with a hint of bluish-green. At the same time, the air pressure within a hundred feet around me changed drastically. The mountaintop, which had already been stripped of a layer by the *Sea Moonlight Dragon Slashing Blade*, now cracked open with numerous huge gaps. A violent tornado centered on me shot straight into the clouds, throwing all the rocks and snow into the air.

"Not finished yet, old man Yashu. Take my—'Great Wind Rises—Clouds Fly!'"

The demonic blade *Hu Po* was forged from the remains of an incompletely evolved super-beast. Although its starting point wasn’t high, it unexpectedly gained the ability to absorb other powers to evolve. I once used a hydra’s crystal core to give it the ability to manipulate water-attributed magic. I had always wanted to further enhance this demonic blade, but limited resources and my subsequent deployment to the human world forced me to leave it in Fontainebleau, halting my plans. However, I never relaxed my search for suitable super-beast crystal cores. To complement the second form of the *Qiankun Extinction Blade*, the *Thousand Blades Slashing the Sky*, I naturally hoped to obtain a wind-attributed core. Originally, I had my eyes on the wind-attributed epic scimitar core in the possession of the *Holy Grail Knight* Lansino, but my momentary softness in the Northern Country allowed my opportunistic disciple Xi Luo to escape with the divine blade, leaving only Apu’s earth-attributed epic-level giant wolf hammer.