Kali and Amber quietly moved out only 200 meters away, subconsciously knowing the duel won’t be long or flashy.
At this time, Qiu Lan’s profound gaze continued to remain on Cain. Memories were flashing within her mind.
It only seemed like just yesterday that she was talking to a mortal with zero aptitude for cultivation.
That kind and peaceful face were nowhere to be seen.
Now, there was only a cold, calculating indifference lighting up Cain’s abyss-like black pupils.
He had already dipped his toes into the cultivation world and managed to soar to the heavens in one step!
As for her, Qiu Lan barely changed at all in these last months. There really was nothing she could feasibly do to enhance her Martial talent in such a short amount of time.
But the difference still stirred her soul in numerous ways.
In the end, Qiu Lan lightly sighed, lamenting out loud, “Truthfully, it’s only been a few months since our last encounter. But that time already seems like a distant dream.”
Cain gave a casual smile. He nearly felt a sense of nostalgia from the first moments he came to this universe.
During that time, his dear sister was much more cuter and more compliant. And now, she changed into an incomparably proud warrior who seemed to resemble Ice itself.
Cain shook his head of such amusing thoughts and replied to Qiu Lan with, “Life always changes. Things, whether we know of them or not, will never stop moving. I hope after this battle, it helps clear up some confusion plaguing your mind.”
Qiu Lan solemnly nodded. Then, she quickly ignited her spatial ring and brought out a beautiful golden-colored sword.
The golden sword had streaks of blue lines running along its bladed surface in a similar appearance to lightning. And the most eye-catching part was the numerous Spirit insignia symbols also inscribed on the blade.
Cain, Kali, and Amber identify the ranking of the Spirit weapon with a single glance.
A Royal Grade True Spirit Sword.
Cain felt a slight rise of intrigue over Qiu Lan’s use of the sword.
As one who cultivates Sword Laws, Cain kept his Divine Sense focus to perceive how Qiu Lan controls her energies.
“Cain, before we start, can you please promise this? Don’t hold anything back at all. Because I won’t.”
The moment she finished her sentence, Qiu Lan fully erupted every ounce of strength within her Inner World!
Her Divine aura intensified as a golden light burst from her body. The golden light exuded a sharp presence of a sword as if it could slice through any materials or being in the world.
Instantly, the golden light converged into Qiu Lan’s Sword energy aura. And within her Sword energy aura, occasional sparks of golden-colored lightning flickered.
At the same time Qiu Lan unleashed her full strength, her spirit weapon, the Slayer Sword, was fully stimulated.
,m The Spirit insignia symbols pulsated like a beating heart, discharging power that perfectly fused with Qiu Lan’s Divine aura.
In that moment, Qiu Lan seemed in tune with the art of a sword.
This was the specialty of her Soaring Sword Arts.
It allows her prowess to tremendously increased with the mastery of a powerful Spirit weapon sword.
For 5 meters around Qiu Lan, the air visibly trembled. Beneath her feet, cracks started to split the ground.
𝐎𝒱𝑙xt.𝗰𝑜𝚖
Qiu Lan’s Divine Origin 2fall prowess even faintly eclipsed a bottom-tier 3rdfall expert!
Such power washed over Cain’s group.
But none of them held any reaction, wholly used to experiencing such a small amount of power at this point.
Cain did give one smirk of encouragement as he said, “Well, at least you seem just a bit better than Kielong.”
After he spoke, Cain didn’t waste any more time. He directly unleashed his Chaos Spirit Force, Soul Form, and Draconic Lightning Arts!
With a loud bang as if a bomb had just exploded, Draconic Lightning erupted out of Cain’s body. His powerful aura instantly climbed to its peak, causing the surrounding around him to tremble.
That powerful Divine aura Qiu Lan was exuding got instantly suppressed.
Qiu Lan’s pupils were completely dilated. She genuinely could barely breathe under this immense pressure!
Cain’s aura was akin to an ocean of inescapable energy!
The disparity truly was too massive to even think about overcoming.
And yet, Qiu Lan didn’t dare to give up.
A sense of indignation rose from her soul and sparked through her entire being like lightning. Even at this moment, she wanted to give her all!
Forced with immense aura pressure, Qiu Lan went beyond her limit.
She gave no expense, revolving every part of her Inner World until it started to violently quiver.
‘One Thought Sword!’
Qiu Lan’s whole body flashed a blinding, brilliant golden light, and her Divine aura soared once again.
In that instance, Qiu Lan blasted forward in a stream of golden Sword and Lightning essence!
She streaked forward in a brilliant display of golden, sparkling light.
Even before reaching Cain, Qiu Lan’s Sword Law essence completely engulfed Cain.
Cain slightly curled his brows. He felt as if something was trying to weigh down his mind and slow his thoughts down. If that were to happen, all of his proceeding actions would be significantly affected.
He would only be able to perform at half his usual speed!
‘A neat art. However…’ This moment of his mind slowly down lasted only for a split moment.
Cain’s soul surged with power, unleashing waves of soul energy instantly into his Spiritual Sea.
That soul energy completely vaporized the effects of Qiu Lan’s ‘One Thought Sword.’
And at that same time, Cain opened his mouth. His Draconic silts wildly pulsated.
Cain then gave a mighty Dragon roar, unleashing his Draconic soul pressure!
‘Houu~!’
The dignity of a true Dragon smashed upon Qiu Lan like an unstoppable tidal wave.
Qiu Lan completely froze up. The dignity of a true Dragon caused her Soul’s Core to directly quiver in instinct fear.
She was only prey facing a true king predator!
There was no other hope for her life!
At this time, a flash of green sparked right next to Qiu Lan.
Cain’s lightning encased hand was right near Qiu Lan’s soft, delicate neck. If he were to simply swipe his hand, that delicate neck would be brutally detached from Qiu Lan’s body.
Qiu Lan returned to reality at that moment. She blinked her eyes in utter bewilderment, feeling that she couldn’t move at all.
The small stream of Draconic Lightning essence shattered right through her Divine defenses, invaded her internal body, and forcefully suppressed her Inner World.
The duel was already over.
And it happens only within mere moments.
Qiu Lan silently put away her Slaying Sword as her expression gradually became unreadable. It was as if she could hear a loud crack splitting her Martial Heart.
At this time, Cain recalled his prowess. He slowly walked back over to his original spot while saying, “You did say not to hold back. And I really gave it my all.”
Qiu Lan suddenly blinked, breaking out of her daze. Her expression was far more downcasted compared to how she first arrived.
She gave a light sigh full of emotions. “Indeed you did. I thank you for this duel.”
With that, Qiu Lan prepared to leave.
However, Cain finally felt a pang of sympathy seeing dispirited Qiu Lan. Because of their past relations, he decided to quickly speak up.
“Hey. I hope we can exchange more pointers in the future. Your Sword control was enlightening to see. And before you go, I have a tale that you may be interested in hearing. It’s about the Sea Collision Master.”
“The Sea Master?” Indeed, Qiu Lan turned back around to Cain with evident intrigue plaguing her expression. She temporarily forgot her previous dispirit.
Cain lightly smiled and continued his sudden tale. “The Sea Realm master origins actually showed in a very different light. You see, he was birth in an era where peak-level heaven-defying talents were as common as the cloud in the skies. The Sea Realm master was talented, but he simply couldn’t compare to others, whether they were friend or foe. In fact, he was heavily suppressed for most of his life and experienced countless failures.”
“Even the Sea Realm master has origin like that?” Qiu Lan muttered in slight shock. She was fed stories that Sea Realm was practically invincible during his era.
Even at the early stage of his cultivation, it was told that he didn’t experience that many setbacks. And even if he did, the Sea Realm master would come back dozens of times stronger!
These tales are why the Sea Collision Realm is so attractive. A completed mystic realm with an inheritance from an invincible genius Heavenly Venerate master was a recipe for great success!
But now, hearing a different side to the tale, Qiu Lan couldn’t help but wonder why this was never brought up.
She didn’t doubt Cain’s words on a subconscious level. His feats just made it seem like he has all the answers inside that intelligent Spiritual Sea.
Amber and Kali were similarly surprised to hear this tale.
Kali even curled her brows, asking, “Hey, where did you hear this from? Grandmother’s lessons didn’t include this tale.”
“Well, I’m not sure why but grandmother only specifically told me this tale. And she didn’t say I couldn’t share it with anyone else.” Cain helplessly shrugged, having zero intentions to question his grandmother’s unfathomable ways.
Pausing for a moment, Cian continued to say, “The tale doesn’t end there, however. The Sea Realm master was actually framed and schemed against during his early days of Divinehood. This led him to get pursued by the greatest enemies of his era. He fought hard, but it simply wasn’t enough. In the end, he barely escaped with his life and wasn’t heard from for dozens of years.”
“The greatest enemy of that era…the demon Primal Vaisers?” Qiu Lan muttered in realization. “So such a thing really did happen. Then, from this tale, it seemed like he died? How could he become the invincible legend known today?”
“Unfortunately, that’s where the tale ended. Grandmother wasn’t too sure about how the Sea Realm master completely conquered the Sea Collision realm. But there is one crucial thing she told me last. That in that same tale, the Sea Realm master left behind this one phrase. ‘Never falter, never hesitate. If there’s a calculated risk, take it and succeed!”
That phrase slithered into not only Qiu Lan’s mind but also Amber and Kali’s. Their expressions crossed over into deep thoughts.
Seeing this, Cain struck while the iron was hot. “I think it’s pretty straightforward to understand, right? The Sea Realm master could be considered only an ordinary genius, and yet he carved out an unforgettable legend that remains even in the current era. He never falters on his Martial Road. And not just him. I’m more than sure our Elders, Masters, and Ancestors all struggle with the massive disparity of geniuses. Think about it. They were all born in eras where peak geniuses were as common raindrops. And yet, they survived through it, creating powerful Holy Lands that last to this day. Even if you can’t match to other geniuses, so what? Never falter on your Martial Road. Be proud of your own feats.”