Linley's current technique was called "Pulse Guard," a defensive application of the Profundity of the Pulse of the Earth. With Pulse Guard, Linley truly possessed strength close to that of a third-tier Saint Realm expert, though his battle qi still lagged somewhat behind.
After all, Linley was only at the 9th level in his normal state. Only after Dragon Transformation did he possess Saint Realm power.
"I have to thank Mr. Liewen for his guidance." Linley was deeply grateful to Liewen. Before this, he had never considered that the Profundity of the Pulse of the Earth could also be used for defense.
"It had little to do with me. Even without me, you would have discovered it sooner or later."
Liewen did not claim credit. He had merely informed Linley in advance based on his memories of the original work. Without him, Linley would have thought of it himself.
Of course, Linley only took it as Liewen being modest.
"Mr. Liewen, between you and Fain of the War God Sect, who is stronger?" Linley was very curious.
Over the past few days, he had sparred with Liewen. Although Liewen had not gone all out, Linley could clearly sense that Liewen was stronger than him.
Earlier, when he had been summoned by the War God and gone to the War God Sect, he had sparred with Fain, the War God's eldest disciple. He had been defeated without any ability to resist.
He truly wanted to know who was stronger, Liewen or Fain.
Liewen smiled. Ever since his battle with Useno, he had been cultivating the Profundity of Purification. By now, he had fused two hundred rays of light.
To rival Saint Realm Limit experts, he needed to fuse one hundred and twenty-eight rays of light.
"Fain is stronger. He is a Saint Realm Limit expert, while I am still a little short of that," Liewen said truthfully.
"A Saint Realm Limit expert?" Linley was startled.
At this point, Linley had encountered too few Saint Realm experts and did not yet know how their strength was classified.
According to the original work, the War God should have told Linley this information after Linley drew with Haydson. However, since it was not particularly important, Liewen simply told Linley in advance.
Liewen explained the strength classifications of Saint Realm experts to Linley.
"Haydson belongs to the third tier. Now that you have mastered Pulse Guard, Linley, you have barely entered the third tier as well. As for Olivier, he has yet to reach the third tier," Liewen said.
Linley was shocked. "Then Olivier's duel with Haydson..."
"Olivier cannot win," Liewen said.
May 4th, Yulan Calendar 10009. Night. Chiyan River.
Several million people had gathered along both banks of the Chiyan River. From the sky, the crowd looked like a dense sea of heads. All of them had heard of this Saint Realm battle and rushed over from across the empire to watch it.
Three months had passed since Haydson accepted Olivier's challenge, enough time for many people to arrive.
Countless torches lit up both banks of the river, while the O'Brien Empire deployed one hundred thousand soldiers to maintain order.
The best spots nearest the riverbank were reserved for the major nobles, with the commoners positioned behind them.
Liewen, Lena, and Kuhn had been arranged beside His Majesty Joanne. Linley and the others were also here, watching the battle.
Above the Chiyan River, Haydson stood suspended in the air in a plain gray robe, waiting for Olivier.
Olivier had arrived.
He wore a black robe, his hair was streaked with white, and his handsome face was framed by eyes as brilliant as stars. A white sword and a black sword were strapped to his back.
Amid the crowd's cheers, the decisive battle began.
Olivier immediately drew the black sword. This was his trump card, the Black Stone Sword, created from his comprehension of the Laws of Darkness. Its attacks contained Soul Attack.
Olivier moved. Dreamlike, dazzling white light flickered, and with every flash, another Olivier appeared in the air. In the blink of an eye, the number of Clones had reached one hundred and eight.
"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. What he was using now was the Laws of Light.
Liewen had yet to gain entry into either the Profundity of Light Speed or the Profundity of Light and Shadow Clones, so he could not tell which one Olivier was using.
Olivier truly deserved the title of Genius Sword Saint, Liewen thought.
Olivier had become a Ninth-Rank Warrior at thirty and entered the Saint Realm at forty-seven.
On the Yulan Continent, Linley and Olivier were the most talented of their generation. There was no need to mention Linley; in the future, Olivier's strength would not be low even in the Higher Plane of Hell.
Of course, neither of them could compare to Liewen at this time. By the Saint Realm strength classifications, Olivier had yet to reach the third tier, while Linley had only barely stepped into it.
Meanwhile, Olivier's opponent, Haydson, was a genuine third-tier expert.
All one hundred and eight Oliviers attacked Haydson at once, yet Haydson dodged and neutralized every attack.
All of Olivier's figures merged into one, and a cold black glow appeared around his body.
The black light seemed to devour all surrounding light, making Olivier's figure impossible to see clearly.
Is that the Profundity of Devouring from the Laws of Darkness? Liewen guessed inwardly. This profundity had been mentioned in the original work.
A black ray of light that seemed to devour everything tore through the sky and stabbed toward Haydson.
Haydson merely threw a simple punch.
Olivier's Black Stone Sword struck Haydson's fist.
With a tremendous boom, Olivier's right arm fractured, while Haydson did not move in the slightest.
He had suffered Olivier's Soul Attack.
Dizziness. A splitting headache.
However, he had experienced this attack before and recovered quickly.
Olivier was, after all, a warrior. His spiritual energy was not strong, only equivalent to that of an 8th-Level Mage. His Soul Attack posed little threat to Haydson.
Olivier used Light Battle Qi to heal his right arm, and the two clashed once more.
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 at once.
However, once his trump card, Soul Attack, proved ineffective against Haydson, the outcome of this decisive battle was completely without suspense.
Haydson used his strongest technique, Earth Split, while Olivier also used some kind of forbidden technique.
In the end, Olivier was sent crashing 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 frantic with anxiety.
A Ninth-Rank grand magus of the light element, who had long been waiting nearby, immediately cast healing magic.
Olivier's injuries were quickly healed, but he could not wake up.
For that final strike, he had risked mutual destruction by using a forbidden technique, only to suffer its backlash.
Liewen watched the unconscious Olivier with great interest. He was the only person present who knew that Olivier was undergoing a soul mutation at this very moment.
Once the mutation succeeded, Olivier would be able to fuse the powers of darkness and light.
"Mr. Liewen, do you know what is happening to Olivier?" Linley noticed Liewen's expression and asked.
"It is still too early to say. Perhaps Olivier may gain a blessing from this misfortune," Liewen did not explain directly.
Everyone was somewhat confused, but Liewen said nothing further.
Blumer carried the unconscious Olivier away.
After this battle ended, Haydson issued a challenge to Linley. Linley accepted. The time was set for three months later, and the location was the sky above Tujiao Mountain west of the imperial capital.
Another battle between Saint Realm experts was coming, and the people of Chiyan City were stirred into excitement once more.
Before Linley and Haydson's decisive battle arrived, the Yulan Empire's delegation reached Chiyan City.
The delegation's envoy was Delia.
Before you continue