Sparring

"Lord Laurent flatters me. Compared to Roy, how could I be called a genius?"

The red-haired young man shook his head, refusing Laurent's praise while also praising Roy.

"Heh, you brat still think you can fool me?"

After teasing Charles, Laurent stepped past him and pointed at a burly man over two meters tall. "This is Mark of the Queller Tribe, a Mid-level God of the Earth Element. You two should get to know each other better."

After introducing those two, Laurent said nothing more about the other twenty-odd God-level experts. Instead, the Gods themselves approached Roy, introducing their Tribes and names.

At this point, Roy roughly guessed that the Zacharias Tribe and Queller Tribe Laurent had introduced were, like the Morgan Tribe, large Tribes guarded by High-level Gods.

The others were either medium-sized Tribes guarded by Mid-level Gods or small Tribes with only Low-level Gods. They were not worth Laurent's attention.

As wine cups passed around, everyone gained some understanding of Roy, and the worries in their hearts eased slightly.

At the very least, judging from Roy's current behavior, he did not seem like someone obsessed with conquest and expansion. He was more like a powerful ascetic.

Once the feast was over, the God-level experts from the other Tribes all grew quiet.

They knew that the main event was about to begin.

Whenever a new God-level expert joined a Tribe, the Tribe would hold a celebration to inform the surrounding Tribes that its strength had increased.

How much it had increased, and what attitude the other Tribes should adopt toward them in the future—this was the celebration's most important purpose.

Roy was a Mid-level God, so the only ones capable of measuring his strength were Charles, also a Mid-level God of the Fire Element, and Mark, a Mid-level God of the Earth Element.

Those two were both among the top three experts of the Zacharias Tribe and Queller Tribe. Their upcoming battle would determine the Morgan Tribe's standing from then on.

"Hahaha, Roy, since we're both Mid-level Gods of the Earth Element, how about the two of us have a little fun first?"

After Charles and Mark exchanged a glance, Mark rose first and invited Roy.

"To receive guidance from Eldest Brother Mark is exactly what I hope for."

"Then let's go."

With that, Mark flew straight into the sky.

Battles between God-level experts caused far too much environmental destruction.

This was Morgan Tribe territory. Fighting on the ground would displease Laurent.

After nodding to Laurent Morgan and Alva, Roy followed behind Mark and flew into the sky.

"Whoosh, whoosh..."

Mid-level Gods were far faster than Low-level Gods.

A few seconds later, the two were already facing each other tens of thousands of meters in the air.

Fighting at this height would have far less impact on the ground.

"Mark of the Queller Tribe, Mid-level God of the Earth Element. Please!"

"Roy of the Morgan Tribe, Mid-level God of the Earth Element. Please!"

After clasping their fists in salute, Mark stretched out his hand. A massive sword nearly two meters long and more than twenty centimeters wide appeared in his grip.

Then, he stomped through the air and rapidly closed in on Roy, bringing his greatsword down upon him.

Mountain Collapse!

Facing Mark's attack, Roy swept both hands out. Two crescent-shaped arcs of earthen-yellow light crossed as they flew toward Mark.

Lone Moon Dune!

Boom!

The two crescent arcs collided with Mark's greatsword in a thunderous blast. Mark's Mountain Collapse shattered the two yellow crescent sword energies Roy had released, but Mark himself was also forced to stop.

"Is that the Profound Mystery of Earth Pulse?"

Feeling his sword energy disperse, Roy's eyes flashed as he recognized the Profound Mystery contained within Mark's move.

He spread the five fingers of his right hand, forming a small yellow sand tornado in his palm before hurling it at Mark.

Sand Storm!

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

The instant Roy threw it, the tiny yellow sandstorm expanded into a massive desert tornado more than a hundred meters wide and tall, engulfing Mark.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang..."

Within the sandstorm, armor appeared on Mark's body. Yellow light bloomed from it, keeping the sandstorm outside.

"Was this Roy originally a mage before becoming a God-level expert?"

Mark had not expected to be forced to reveal his Defensive Divine Artifact just as the battle began.

Before becoming Gods, people's cultivation paths were divided into Warriors and mages.

After reaching God-level, everyone comprehended the Profound Mysteries of Laws. Mages could use divine power to strengthen their bodies for close combat, while Warriors could use the Profound Mysteries of Laws to launch long-range attacks. The two sides had basically returned to the same level.

However, their fighting styles still differed somewhat.

For instance, Mark was more skilled at close combat.

He raised his greatsword high, then brought it down fiercely with both hands.

Earth Split!

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang..."

Waves of Profound Mystery spread from beneath Mark's sword. In an instant, the enormous Sand Storm Roy had unleashed was shattered by the vibrations.

After dispersing the sandstorm, the remaining shockwaves of Mark's attack rapidly surged toward Roy.

Desert Saber!

Roy swept his right hand downward. Countless yellow lights gathered into a straight line and slashed toward Mark.

In an instant, the grains of sand broke through the lingering shockwaves of Mark's Earth Split and stabbed straight at him.

Mark raised his sword to block. With a thunderous boom, earthen-yellow divine power exploded outward, and he was driven back a hundred meters by the attack.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Next, Mark moved in an S-shaped pattern, dodging several of Roy's Lone Moon Dunes as he rapidly closed in on Roy.

Sand Binding Coffin!

Seeing this, Roy extended his left hand. At once, five earthen-yellow streaks of light curled toward Mark. Mark swung his sword with both hands, shattering the five streaks rushing at him.

But to Mark's surprise, after those lights were shattered, more continued pouring toward him without end.

Soon, the five yellow streaks wrapped around Mark's limbs and neck, fixing him in midair.

In the Morgan Tribe's plaza, the Saint Domain experts normally could not see the figures of God-level experts fighting at all. They could only judge the battle's situation from the explosive sounds in the sky.

However, Roy and Mark's battle was easy to follow.

Because from the beginning of the battle, Roy had not moved his body even once.

From the direction of Roy's attacks, they could determine Mark's location.

Judging from the current situation, although Roy was a newly advanced Mid-level God, he was already able to suppress Mark.

"Good!"

The God-level experts watching Roy and Mark fight also regarded Roy more highly.

From the battle so far, Roy and Mark were using the Profound Mysteries of Laws of Earth Element and Earth Pulse, respectively.

In terms of the strength of the Profound Mysteries of Laws, the elementary Profound Mystery Earth Element was a level weaker than the intermediate Profound Mystery Earth Pulse.

Yet from their battle, it was clear that Roy had suppressed Mark.

This meant that Roy's techniques amplified the Profound Mysteries of Laws more than Mark's techniques did.