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Sure enough, as his ash-gray sword gleam swept past, the time around Leinster dilated once more. To an ordinary person, this temporal distortion would be imperceptible, but in Chen Xuanfeng's eyes, it was unmistakable—the airflow within several meters around his opponent slowed by a hundredfold in an instant. Yet that wasn’t what truly shocked or terrified Chen Xuanfeng. What did was that this time, Leinster himself was completely unaffected by the time dilation. Not only that, Chen Xuanfeng could even discern that the temporal influence on the airflow around Leinster had become erratic—some areas suddenly accelerated, while others slowed to near stillness. This meant that, regardless of whether the time-manipulation ability stemmed from the cursed blade 'Hundred Years' or Leinster himself, at the very least, when he wielded this sword technique, his control over time had reached an extraordinarily refined level.

Time… swordplay? By now, Chen Xuanfeng no longer knew what expression to make. If the spatial swordplay "Heaven's Descent" was invincible in long-range combat, then the temporal swordplay "Epoch's End" was clearly the king of close-quarters combat. The crux was that Leinster had fully mastered both techniques—combined, they spelled "invincibility." Chen Xuanfeng very much wanted to say, "You don’t have to take this so seriously; let’s just spar casually." But sensing the overwhelming battle intent radiating from his opponent, he dared not utter a single demoralizing word. The moment his fighting spirit wavered, he might find himself impaled through the heart in the next instant.

The black-robed undead Leinster swung the cursed blade 'Hundred Years' a few times before stopping, speaking apologetically, "Forgive me. It seems combining temporal and spatial swordplay into a truly flawless technique will require much more exploration. I’m afraid I can’t demonstrate it for you today. I can only fight with the pure 'Epoch's End Swordplay.' My apologies."

"Haha, no… need for courtesy!" Faced with the former Sword Saint, now wholly immersed in the fervor of swordsmanship research, Chen Xuanfeng was at a loss for words. After that brief reply, he launched an all-out offensive.

Silent Annihilation Blade, Eight Sceneries Sword, White Bone Claw, Heart-Crushing Palm, Phantom of the Void.

Lunar Tide Dragoncleaver, "Great Winds Rise, Clouds Soar," "Mountain-Toppling Might, Aura to Overwhelm the World," "Blade Pierces the Heavens, Shatters the Netherworld."

Holy Grail Battle Qi, Nine-Headed Dragon Battle Qi, Nine Yin True Qi, Qi-Steered Steel, Golden Bell Armor.

Saint Ice Thorn Aura, Magic Aura.

Heaven's Descent Dance, White Gold Sword Energy.

Blade and Sword Combo—First Form: Snowragon's Fall, Second Form: Lament of the Abyss.

Having resolved to go all out, Chen Xuanfeng naturally held nothing back, unleashing nearly all his martial techniques.

Yet despite his power being nearly tenfold that of his opponent, the moment they clashed, he was utterly suppressed.

Completely and absolutely.

The Nine Yin ultimate techniques were riddled with holes under the assault of temporal manipulation; his fusion of magic and blade arts shattered beneath the enemy’s sword; battle qi and true qi dissipated before even reaching the foe, eroded by the power of time; the rigid effects of his auras were laughable against such a versatile adversary; his spatial swordplay had already been learned, and his white gold sword energy was useless if it couldn’t strike its target. As for his blade-and-sword divine techniques—designed for absolute power at the cost of flexibility—using such moves against a time-controlling opponent was tantamount to suicide.

Leinster’s cursed blade seemed to carry the rhythm of all creation, each swing and thrust tracing the arc of some profound cosmic law. Every technique Chen Xuanfeng employed felt as though he were voluntarily presenting his weaknesses to the enemy’s blade. Soon, he could barely complete a single move, forced into constant retreat.

Only now did Chen Xuanfeng realize that Leinster’s swordsmanship wasn’t just high-level—it was divinely transcendent. Even without the miraculous ability to manipulate time, defeating him would have been impossible. During the "Nine Saints War," Chen Xuanfeng had witnessed the swordplay of the leonine 'Battle Saint' Leimen, who could fuse countless supreme techniques into a single stroke, each move brimming with infinite variations. At the time, Chen Xuanfeng had believed such skill bordered on the supernatural. Yet compared to the Ancestor of Sword Saints before him now, Leimen’s mastery, though profound, still fell several tiers short. Had Leinster regained his former Sword Saint-level power, slaying Leimen would likely have taken no more than a hundred moves.

What Chen Xuanfeng didn’t know was that while Leinster’s title "Ancestor of Sword Saints" stemmed from founding the Holy Domain, the title "Sword Saint" had been bestowed upon him long before he comprehended such power. Back then, it signified that his swordsmanship had ascended to sagehood—among the beastmen sword emperors of the era, only masters of the Leonine Imperial Art could rival him. Later, upon grasping new heights of power, he named the domain after his epithet, a legacy that endured for centuries. Yet over time, the origins were forgotten, and few knew that the "Sword Saint" predated the "Holy Domain."

After becoming the Sword Saint, he challenged masters from all factions, continuously refining his martial arts until he reached a point where he could perceive, learn, and dismantle any technique at a glance. The martial knowledge enshrined in the "Nameless Heavenly Sword" within the Moonlight Tower by the Nameless Lake in later generations represented but a fraction of his prowess—yet even that was enough to shock the world.

Centuries after his death, resurrected as an undead due to certain circumstances, his combat energy dissipated, and his death energy limited in potency, Leinster poured even greater effort into perfecting his techniques. Necropolis Isle teemed with legions of the deathless, some even ancient elders dating back to the great wars of angels, devils, and other races. Battling his way through them all, Leinster ascended to even greater heights. With the aid of the serendipitously acquired cursed blade 'Hundred Years,' he grasped the temporal-manipulating "Epoch's End Swordplay," becoming the first to touch the divine realm through sheer technique. Though his "Epoch's End Swordplay" was theoretically on par with Chen Xuanfeng’s "Heaven's Descent Dance," decades of refinement had elevated its depth and breadth far beyond what the white-maned lycan had achieved in mere months.

By now, Chen Xuanfeng had shifted from fierce offense to desperate defense. The blazing aura of his Tiger God Cleaver and Sword of Divine Punishment could not withstand the meter-long streak of ash-gray light wielded by his foe. Though the battle seemed hopeless, his mind raced furiously for a solution.