There was an explosion, and so what?
Although it was unexpected, it wasn’t like they were about to stop the battle. Not even in the slightest.
Kent had just gotten into the battle, and the Saintess was also enjoying it. Though she hadn’t recognized it yet, she was starting to like Kent more and more as they fought.
Their friendship meter had already risen to 10%, and as the battle progressed, it began to climb even higher as Kent and she clashed more fiercely.
A flaming lion flashed out of Kent’s sword and sped toward the Saintess, who swung her spear, sending out a powerful wind arc that obliterated the lion.
Three more lions followed as Kent unleashed another three strikes. These lions were much larger and fiercer as he continued using the [Elemental Manipulation] skill he had received from Lilian.
“Wind Bees!”
The Saintess unleashed a powerful attack that immediately filled the air with the buzzing sound of bees. They buzzed as they sped toward Kent, who suddenly found himself facing hundreds of wind arcs buzzing at him.
‘Damn… this is troublesome.’
Kent didn’t wait around and unleashed a counter.
“Rapid Slash!”
This was the first form of the [Annihilation Sword] he had gotten from Vexthra. It had seven forms, and the first form was [Rapid Slash.]
This was the best counter for him, as just a single swing was enough to unleash countless sword arcs, almost like the wind arcs coming at him. He managed to unleash the attack twice, releasing hundreds of sword arcs.
But they weren’t enough to stop the bees, forcing him to use his Blink to escape. However, just as he did, he came within the line of sight of the Saintess, who moved like the wind and thrust her spear at Kent’s neck.
“Really?”
Kent parried the stab and kicked forward, but the Saintess caught his leg and tossed him into the air. She jumped up and landed a powerful kick to his stomach, sending him flying toward the ground. However, the Saintess wasn’t done.
She appeared on the ground where Kent was about to land, ready to strike him again.
However, before she could attach again, she was forced to step back when lightning suddenly surged out of Kent’s body, shooting toward the Saintess.
“Wait a minute, you have dual elemental affinity?” she asked, staring at the lightning now dancing around Kent.
“What can I say? I’m just that awesome,” Kent smiled. “Now face my lightning!”
Golden lightning danced around him, leaving a trail behind as he sped toward the Saintess with a much faster stride.
“…Unbelievable”
The Saintess muttered as a powerful strike from Kent pushed her back. More attacks followed, with Kent switching between skills and techniques.
The Saintess, too, was the same.
Kent didn’t have the upper hand, but he also wasn’t at too much of a disadvantage as they battled. In a way, the Saintess’s main objective, which was to torture him, changed when she sensed his talent.
Kent was just too talented, and as someone who was also considered a genius with the spear, she began to like him more and more as they fought. Kent was also thrilled, despite knowing he wasn’t her match… not just yet.
Gaia had analyzed the Saintess and told him she was only using 70% of her strength and skills below the Heaven grade to attack. Kent wasn’t disappointed. He knew she was doing this to keep the fight going.
In that case, Kent was thrilled and started measuring his skills and honing them to the stage he could currently handle.
But even after 30 minutes of using the Annihilation Sword technique, he still hadn’t reached the true form of even the first form. This meant he wouldn’t be able to start mastering the second form.
He managed to achieve 100 sword arcs from a single rapid slash. But even that wasn’t enough to measure the true form of the technique.
In fact, he was far from reaching that stage, which begs the question of just how monstrous the technique was and how much he had to put into it just to reach its true form.
Kent had to switch to a new technique, which is the [Nine Calamities Sword Strike]. This technique came from the sword sheath, and at the moment, he was only at the [True Despair Sword Strike], which is the first form.
This one, too, was much more complex than he had expected. The Saintess, who raised her strength to 70% the moment he started using it, shows just how dangerous the skill is.
He used this one for a couple of minutes and then stopped. Unlike the [Rapid Slash], which he managed to utilize in countering the wind arcs, the [True Despair Sword Strike] was much more suited for killing.
Kent switched back to elemental manipulation, and for another 30 minutes, he went through it gradually until he decided to unleash the true, current form of the skill.
“Elemental Lord.”
Kent swung his weapon, and a large, pointed sword made purely of fire erupted from his sword, shooting toward the Saintess, who immediately sensed danger.
The attack was just like when Kent unleashed the 72-String Sovereign Strike. It was his first time using it and also his first time forming a sword from his flame element.
The spear arrived in front of the Saintess, who immediately unleashed a powerful Heaven-grade skill just to counter.
“Heaven-Piercing Spear!”
She stabbed her spear forward, and a powerful, colossal form of the spear appeared, colliding with the flaming spear.
BOOM
The attacks exploded, and both the Saintess and Kent were sent flying. They each coughed up a mouthful of blood, but in the next second, they clashed again.
Ingrid was watching all this with a shocked expression. She knew deep within her heart that she wasn’t Kent’s match—not even in the slightest.
She couldn’t last even 30 minutes when she sparred with her master. Yet Kent was going on for hours already. That is just monstrous.
Four hours later, Kent was sent flying back, landing on the ground with a heavy thud, and passed out. He was spent, but he had forced the Saintess to use 75% of her strength, which was a great achievement on his part.
Saintess Neomi walked to his passed-out body, picked him up in a princess carry, and took him to a room to rest. She was pleased with Kent’s performance.
All those who saw it were shocked.
Gate Master Mara and Gate Master Camilla were present, along with some elders and others who had watched the battle from a distance.
Of course, none of them realized this battle had brought the Sect Master, who had been in seclusion for 10 years, out.
When Kent unleashed his aura, the Sect Master sensed it, and despite his seclusion, he emerged to see who could unleash such a terrifying aura.
He thought a divine being had descended for a moment, but when he saw Kent, he was forced to raise an eyebrow. As a peak Root Ascension cultivator, he could somewhat sense the nature of the sword’s intent, qi, and aura.
Then, he witnessed Kent’s four-hour battle with the Saintess, and in that moment, he saw a way out—a future for the Sword Gate and the sect as a whole.
After returning to his residence, he immediately called a meeting with the Spear and Sword Gate Masters. Since they had witnessed Kent’s battle, he wanted them to take the lead on what he had in mind.
Kent, however, was passed out for ten hours. When he woke up, he saw his master sitting beside him, wiping his naked body with a wet towel…
“So I lost, huh?” Kent muttered, but a smile played on his lips…