Level Nine

Andres's battle with Yulian was scheduled for one month later.

For the entire month, Andres remained behind closed doors, focusing on cultivation.

Time passed in the blink of an eye.

On the day of the battle, Andres stepped out of the small courtyard where he lived.

"Lord Andres!" Matos had been waiting outside the courtyard gate.

Teresa and Inori were there as well.

"Andres, how is it? How confident are you?" Inori asked.

"One hundred percent," Andres said confidently.

The moment those words left his mouth, Teresa and Inori were both stunned.

"Teacher Andres, I heard a Saint Realm expert say during class that Yulian is now practically the strongest below the Saint Realm. You—" Teresa hesitated and did not finish, but the expression on his face made it clear that he thought Andres was being arrogant.

Holy Alliance Trainees attended a class once a week, and the instructors were all Saint Realm experts from various races.

After Andres challenged Yulian, their battle became the hottest topic among the trainees.

During class, many trainees asked the Saint Realm experts what they thought of the upcoming battle.

The Saint Realm experts' predictions were all more or less the same.

The two sides were evenly matched, and the outcome was difficult to predict.

Thus, neither Teresa nor Inori had expected Andres to be so confident.

Andres smiled faintly and offered no further explanation. "You'll know soon enough."

The reason for his confidence was that over the past month, his Profundity of Swiftness had improved again, and he had finally raised his Battle Qi to Level Nine, making up for his greatest weakness!

My current strength should be close to Linley's when he first fought Steller, Andres thought.

When Linley first fought Steller, the Saint Realm Peak expert of the Church of Light, he had been a Level Eight Warrior. After transforming into a Dragonblood Warrior, he had reached Peak Level Nine. In terms of realm, he had only just entered the Profundity of Earth Pulse and created the Earth Profound Meaning, Triple Wave.

Although Andres's Battle Qi and body were inferior to Linley's after his Dragonblood Warrior transformation, in terms of realm, his comprehension of the Profundity of Swiftness was deeper than Linley's had been at the Triple Wave stage.

Back then, Linley had been able to use Triple Wave to inflict a slight injury on Steller.

Andres did not dare claim that he could injure Steller, but dealing with magical beasts below the Saint Realm that had not comprehended Law Profundities would be as easy as turning his hand.

Andres took the lead and headed toward the Battle Arena.

Teresa and the others followed behind him, half believing and half doubting.

The Battle Arena was packed with people, even livelier than Yulian's previous battle with Richard.

When Andres arrived beside the ring, Yulian had not yet arrived. Teresa and the others headed for the spectator stands.

He swept his gaze around. The stands were already nearly full, and among the best seats closest to the ring, he spotted quite a few Saint Realm experts.

Andres saw Trevor, Yasen, Abad, Patur, and other Human Saint Realm experts. He also saw Saint Realm Elves with pointed ears, stout Saint Realm Dwarves, and others.

Many Saint Realm experts were also paying close attention to this battle.

Trevor gave Andres an encouraging look, and Andres nodded.

In the stands, Trevor softly said to the Human Saint Realm expert beside him, "If Andres can win, then our human race will have another number one on the Cadet Ranking. Last time—"

As he spoke, Trevor suddenly seemed to realize something and quickly stopped.

The expressions of the other Human Saint Realm experts changed.

Abad even snapped, "Trevor, watch your mouth!"

Trevor seemed aware that he had misspoken and did not dare say any more.

The Human Saint Realm experts also fell silent. They looked somewhat nervous as they cautiously observed Yasen.

Yasen smiled faintly. "All right. Trevor is right. Being able to produce another genius like Creig is a blessing for us humans."

Only then did the Human Saint Realm experts seem to relax.

Patur looked at Andres standing beside the ring. His expression remained unchanged, but inwardly, he sneered again and again.

He had already learned from Borg that Yulian had also been improving over the past month. He had absorbed more and more Mithril, and he was now only a step away from the Saint Realm.

Defeat Yulian and become number one on the Cadet Ranking? Keep dreaming!

The commotion among the Human Saint Realm experts did not draw anyone else's attention. At that moment, the Battle Arena was abuzz with voices and filled with noise as the spectators discussed the battle that was about to begin.

Yulian arrived. He walked to stand opposite Andres, the two separated by the ring.

Whoosh!

A streak of light descended from the sky and appeared atop the ring. It was the Saint Realm expert responsible for officiating the battle.

He was a green-haired young man with pointed ears and a face as beautiful as a woman's. His narrow eyes tilted slightly upward at the corners, and his pupils were a crystalline azure, like dazzling blue crystals.

"Ah, it's Lord Rhode!"

The moment the green-haired young man appeared, waves of startled cries erupted from the spectator stands.

Andres's expression changed slightly as well.

"He's Rhode! That genius of the Life Elf Race!"

He had heard of Rhode's reputation. He was the most outstanding genius the Life Elf Race had produced in centuries. At just over a hundred years old, he had already become a Saint Realm Limit Expert and was hailed as the Saint Realm expert most likely to become a god.

When Andres looked at Rhode, the system in his mind finally reacted.

"Target: Rhode."

"Talents: Mid-level God of Life Rule, Low-level God of Water Element."

"Binding Quest (determined by the target's inner desire): Heart of Love."

"Completion Condition: Help Rhode win Lulutia's heart."

"Completion Reward: Choose one of the two talents—Mid-level God of Life Rule or Low-level God of Water Element."

After Yasen, Rhode was the second person Andres had encountered in the Holy Alliance with god-level talent.

"Low-level God of Water Element!"

Andres did not care much about the Life Rule. According to what Hongmeng had said in the original novel, Linley had been able to transcend because he possessed the four elemental talents of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind. One less would not do, while one more would be undesirable.

It was not that having one more was impossible, but that it was undesirable. Even someone as powerful as Hongmeng considered it a bad thing, so Andres did not dare take that gamble.

He intended to obtain only the four elemental talents of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind.

Rhode's Low-level God of Water Element talent was exactly what he needed at present.

"Lulutia? Who is that?"

When Andres saw that Rhode's Binding Quest was to win the heart of someone named Lulutia, he could not help feeling puzzled.

With Rhode's strength and talent, the woman he admired could not possibly be ordinary.

Yet during his time in the Holy Alliance, Andres had heard more or less about many powerful Saint Realm experts, and none of them was named Lulutia.

However, this was not the time to investigate. Andres could only set his doubts aside for now.

"You two, come up to the arena." Rhode smiled at Andres and Yulian.

Although he and Yulian were both elves, one was a Life Elf and the other a Druid. They belonged to different races among the elves, so he could serve as the referee for this battle.

Andres stepped onto the arena and walked toward Rhode.

Across from him, Yulian also approached at an unhurried pace.

The two stopped several meters apart, while Rhode stood between them.

After Rhode gave a brief explanation, he slowly flew into the air and announced the start of the battle.

Cheers erupted from the audience seats. They had been looking forward to this battle for a long time.

Amid the cheers, Andres and Yulian attacked at the same time.

Yulian instantly transformed into a Stone-Devouring Beast, while Andres drew a flexible sword from his waist.