Olivier and Haydson

The technique Linley was currently employing was called "Pulse Guard," a defensive application of the Profundity of the Earth's Pulse. With Pulse Guard, Linley truly possessed strength approaching that of a third-tier Saint Realm expert, only lagging slightly behind in terms of battle qi.

After all, Linley was only at the ninth rank in his normal state, and only possessed Saint Realm power after undergoing Dragonblood Transfiguration.

"I have Mr. Liewen to thank for this guidance." Linley was very grateful to Liewen; before this, he had never considered that the Profundity of the Earth's Pulse could also be used for defense.

"It doesn't have much to do with me. Without me, you would have discovered it sooner or later."

Liewen did not take the credit. He was merely informing Linley in advance based on his memories of the original story; without him, Linley would have figured it out on his own eventually.

Of course, Linley just assumed Liewen was being modest.

"Mr. Liewen, between you and Fain of the War God Sect, who is stronger?" Linley was very curious.

Over these past few days, he had sparred with Liewen. Although Liewen had not used his full strength, he could clearly feel that Liewen's power was above his own.

Previously, he had been summoned by the War God and visited the War God Sect, where he sparred with the War God's eldest disciple, Fain, and was defeated without being able to put up any resistance.

He really wanted to know who was stronger between Liewen and Fain.

Liewen smiled. After his battle with Useno, he had been continuously practicing the Profundity of Purification, and by now, he had fused 200 rays of light.

If he wanted to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the peak Saint Realm experts, he would need to fuse 128 rays of light.

"Fain is stronger. He is a peak Saint Realm expert, while I am still a bit short," Liewen said truthfully.

"A peak Saint Realm expert?" Linley was stunned.

At this moment, because Linley had not come into contact with many Saint Realm experts, he did not yet know the classifications of power among them.

According to the original story, this information should have been told to Linley by the War God after Linley fought Haydson to a draw. However, since it wasn't particularly sensitive information, Liewen simply told Linley in advance.

Liewen explained the power hierarchy of Saint Realm experts to Linley.

"That Haydson belongs to the third tier of experts. Once you master Pulse Guard, Linley, you will barely enter the third tier. As for Olivier, he cannot reach the third tier yet," Liewen said.

Linley was shocked: "Then the duel between Olivier and Haydson, wouldn't that mean—"

"Olivier cannot win," Liewen said.

May 4th, Yulan Calendar 10009, evening, Chiyan River.

Millions of people gathered on both banks of the Chiyan River. Looking down from high above, the heads were densely packed; they had all heard of this Saint Realm battle and rushed from all over the empire to watch.

From the time Haydson accepted Olivier's challenge until now, three months had passed, which was enough time for many people to arrive.

Countless torches lit up both sides of the river, and the O'Brien Empire dispatched one hundred thousand soldiers to maintain order.

The best positions closest to the riverbank were arranged for the major nobles, and behind the nobles were the commoners.

Liewen, Lena, and Kuhn were arranged to be beside His Majesty Joanne, and Linley and the others were also watching the battle from here.

Above the Chiyan River, Haydson, dressed in a simple gray robe, stood in mid-air, waiting for Olivier.

Olivier arrived.

A black robe, graying hair, handsome features, eyes as bright as stars, and two long swords—one white and one black—strapped to his back.

Amidst the cheers of the crowd, the decisive battle began.

Olivier drew his black long sword directly. This was his trump card, the Black Stone Sword, which he had created through his insights into the Laws of Darkness; his attacks contained soul attacks.

Olivier moved. Dreamy, dazzling white rays of light flickered. Every time they flickered, another figure of Olivier appeared in the air. In the blink of an eye, the number of clones reached 108.

"Is this the Profundity of Light Speed or the Profundity of Light and Shadow Clones?" Liewen stared intently at Olivier's movements.

Olivier cultivated both the Laws of Light and the Laws of Darkness, and what he was currently displaying was the Laws of Light.

Liewen had not yet gained entry into either the Profundity of Light Speed or the Profundity of Light and Shadow Clones, so he could not distinguish which one Olivier was using.

"This Olivier is truly worthy of the name Genius Sword Saint," Liewen thought to himself.

Olivier became a ninth-rank warrior at thirty and stepped into the Saint Realm at forty-seven.

In the Yulan Continent, Linley and Olivier were the most talented people of their generation. Linley went without saying, and in the future, Olivier's strength in the higher plane of Hell would also be formidable.

Of course, at this moment, neither of them could compare to Liewen. In terms of the power classification of Saint Realm experts, Olivier had not yet reached the third tier, and Linley had only barely stepped into it.

And at this moment, Olivier's opponent, Haydson, was a genuine third-tier expert.

All 108 of Olivier's figures launched an attack on Haydson simultaneously, but they were all dodged or neutralized by Haydson.

All of Olivier's figures merged into one, and a cold black light appeared around his body.

The black light seemed to devour all the surrounding light, making it impossible for people to see Olivier's figure clearly.

"Is it the Profundity of Devouring from the Laws of Darkness?" Liewen guessed in his heart; the original story had mentioned this profundity.

A black ray of light that devoured everything tore through the sky and pierced toward Haydson.

Haydson simply threw a single punch.

Olivier's Black Stone Sword struck Haydson's fist.

With a loud bang, Olivier's right arm fractured, while Haydson remained motionless.

He had been struck by Olivier's soul attack.

Dizziness, a splitting headache.

However, he had tasted this kind of attack before and quickly recovered.

After all, Olivier was a warrior, and his spiritual energy was not strong, equivalent only to that of an eighth-rank mage; his Soul Attack posed little threat to Haydson.

Olivier repaired his right arm with Light Battle Qi, and the two sides clashed once again.

This time, Olivier held the black Black Stone Sword in one hand and the white Ice Dream Sword in the other, attacking with both swords simultaneously.

However, once his trump card, the Soul Attack, proved ineffective against Haydson, the outcome of this decisive battle was no longer in doubt.

Haydson unleashed his strongest move, Earth Split, while Olivier also employed a certain forbidden technique.

In the end, Olivier was knocked into the Chiyan River, unconscious.

Olivier's younger brother, Blumer, rushed into the river and carried the heavily injured, unconscious Olivier out.

"Quick, quick, where are the healers?" Blumer was burning with anxiety.

The ninth-rank light-element grand magus, who had been waiting on the sidelines, immediately cast healing magic.

Olivier's injuries were quickly healed, but he remained unable to wake up.

For that final strike, he had risked mutual destruction by using a forbidden technique, and as a result, he suffered a backlash.

Liewen observed the unconscious Olivier with great interest; he was the only one present who knew that, at this moment, Olivier was undergoing a soul mutation.

Once the mutation was successful, Olivier would be able to fuse the powers of darkness and light together.

"Mr. Liewen, do you know what is happening with Olivier?" Linley noticed Liewen's expression and asked.

"It's hard to say for now, but perhaps Olivier will turn this misfortune into a blessing," Liewen said, without being explicit.

The crowd was somewhat confused, but Liewen did not speak further.

Blumer carried the unconscious Olivier away.

After this battle ended, Haydson issued a challenge to Linley, and Linley agreed; the time was set for three months later, and the location was above Tujiao Mountain, west of the imperial capital.

It was to be another duel between Saint Realm powerhouses, and the enthusiasm of the people in Chiyan City was ignited once again.

Before the decisive battle between Linley and Haydson arrived, the delegation from the Yulan Empire reached Chiyan City.

The special envoy of the delegation was none other than Delia.