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"Hiss————" Just as I was about to strike, a sudden cold wind erupted from behind. My instincts told me it was a cold, eerie, and incredibly sharp sword qi. Its power was comparable to a regular orc Sword Master's full-force strike, yet I hadn't sensed any premonition beforehand. It dawned on me then why Xian Lan and Xue Lingpei dared to confront me despite knowing they were no match. They had gambled their hopes on this ambush. Sure enough, at the moment the sword qi surged from behind, Xue Lingpei took advantage of my momentary hesitation to lean back with all her strength, dodging my incoming claw.

Unfortunately for her, she hadn't realized how determined I was to kill her. In the split second she thought she had escaped, my right hand suddenly extended half a foot forward. With her movements already exhausted, how could Xue Lingpei dodge this sudden change? She could only watch helplessly as my sharp claws pierced her beautiful face. With a blood-curdling scream, she collapsed to the ground, her face covered in blood, her eyes frozen in terror.

At the same time, the sharp sword qi behind me had almost touched my skin. I didn’t dare risk using my Golden Bell Shield to gauge the sharpness of this unknown attack. Immediately, I executed the mysterious footwork from the *Nine Yin Manual*, "Phantom of the Underworld," turning my body into countless ghostly shadows. This bizarre transformation bought me a split second, allowing my magic blade "Hu Po" to swing back. The wide crystal blade met the icy sword qi head-on. "Clang!" The moment our weapons clashed, my Hu Po was instantly encased in a thick layer of ice from the extreme cold sword qi. However, I used the impact to dissipate the massive force and landed, shattering the ice on the blade. As I turned around, I saw the retreating figure of the ambusher stumbling back.

This person, I was very familiar with. However, I never expected that the one ambushing me would be him.

Xi Luo, my human disciple, a youth who had escaped death by my own hand in the Northern Country, who hadn’t even reached the Sword Hero level back then. Now, standing ten meters in front of me, clutching a crystal sword as white as snow, was the same child.

Could it be... that in just a short year, he had overcome countless obstacles and reached the Sword Empress level? I was doubtful. I knew that the Radiant Temple had a secret technique that allowed a Sword Empress-level *Holy Grail Knight* to sacrifice all their cultivation to grant a chosen individual a perfect and powerful "Holy Light Body," which greatly accelerated their cultivation of Radiant Temple martial arts. I had examined the bodies of Apu and Lansino, two Holy Grail Knights, and knew that the two of them had worked together to transform Xi Luo's body. But even so, his progress exceeded reason. Advancing in battle qi isn’t just about accumulating power; it also requires strengthening the body and deepening one’s understanding of martial realms. Otherwise, I could have simply used the Innate True Qi from the *Nine Yin Manual* to soar to the level of an unrivaled expert.

Assured of this, I carefully examined my human disciple before me. Indeed, although his progress was astonishing, he had only just surpassed the Sword Hero level and entered the realm of the Sword Master. He was far from the powerful strike that had just threatened me. Moreover, if he truly possessed Sword Empress-level strength, he wouldn't have been injured and coughing blood from my counterattack. It seemed likely that he had some method to unleash a powerful strike beyond his level. With this thought, my gaze shifted to the crystal longsword in Xi Luo's hand. In terms of shape, this crystal sword was the mysterious grey ancestral sword passed down in Xi Luo's family. However, it was no longer the dull grey it once was. The sword's body flickered with a white glow, containing a hint of icy blue, emitting a cold air that radiated power, allowing one to sense its strength from afar.

But... this white glow... this cold air... it felt so familiar. Where had I seen it before?

Suddenly, it hit me. "Xi Luo, I didn't expect that your sword had absorbed the power of the 'Ice Mark.' No wonder that strike earlier was not only incredibly powerful but could also hide itself before being unleashed. An item capable of triggering a forbidden spell is truly extraordinary. However, using power beyond your limits comes with a backlash that isn't easy to bear. Your battle qi cultivation has indeed made remarkable progress. It’s extremely rare for a human to achieve the Sword Master level at the age of fourteen, especially in a world where orcs and other races often dominate the martial arts. It wasn’t in vain for Apu and Lansino to sacrifice themselves to enhance you. I didn’t expect to encounter you among the allied forces of the Yellow Dragon and Tiele."

The reason Xi Luo could move freely within my Saint Ice Thorn Aura was simple: he had also mastered the Saint Ice Thorn Aura. The Radiant Temple had gained another *Holy Grail Knight*.

Xi Luo's breathing gradually steadied, though his face remained pale. However, his expression had matured significantly compared to a year ago in the Northern Country. It seemed that the hardships he endured had not only matured him but also hardened his resolve. With a bitter smile, he said, "Heh... I didn't expect to run into you outside the main battlefield, Master. If I had known the orc alliance’s main general was here, I would have called upon all the Temple’s elite. You are now one of the top ten targets that the Temple must eliminate."

I slowly raised "Hu Po" and laughed proudly. "Hmph, the fact that you can still speak without tension shows how much you've grown. However, even if you try to stall for time, you won’t be able to change the outcome of this battle. I've already won this fight. The question you should be asking now is, how will the two of you escape with your lives?"

The Tiele’s 30,000 elite Thunder God Knights and the Yellow Dragon’s 20,000 heavily armored cavalry should have overwhelmed my mere 5,000 Snow Wolf Knights in no time. However, they didn’t know that I could remotely enhance my subordinates with the "Magic Aura," nor did they know that my limit allowed me to support 8,000 Minos warriors and an additional 5,000 wolf knights. Thus, when the Snow Wolf Knights displayed astonishing combat power again, they held their ground against the allied forces without retreating. Meanwhile, the central Minos Great Labyrinth Formation, in conjunction with the immortal Ghost Wolf, gradually expanded its small advantage, while the left-wing Snow Wolf Knights continued to charge at the scattered Yellow Dragon cavalry, preventing them from regrouping and turning their chaos into a rout. The entire battlefield, once evenly matched, was now shifting in our favor.