Red Rock Ridge

On the morning of January 1st, 9985 of the Byron Calendar, before dawn had fully broken, the residents of Maple Leaf City, the imperial capital, rose early and headed for the barren hills in the western outskirts beyond the city.

Though the barren hills in the western outskirts were not particularly tall, they stretched on in an unbroken range. Since Leian and Robert had not specified an exact location, everyone could only wait in small groups at the foot of the mountains.

Before long, as the sun rose, an enormous figure slowly approached the western outskirts from afar. It eventually climbed one of the hills and stopped there.

Everyone had seen that figure several days ago. It was Robert's mount—a ninth-level Blue Dragon.

"Robert is at Red Rock Ridge! Quick, get over there! The battle will take place at Red Rock Ridge!"

Before long, the news spread through the crowd like the wind, and everyone began moving toward Red Rock Ridge.

Red Rock Ridge was not particularly high. It got its name from the crimson rocks covering the ground, and there was hardly any vegetation on its surface. Even from the foot of the mountain, one could clearly see the summit.

However, the best places to watch were the hills surrounding Red Rock Ridge. The hills stood less than a thousand meters apart, so even ordinary people could clearly make out human figures. In less than an hour, the surrounding hills were packed shoulder to shoulder with people.

At a glance, the number had completely exceeded one million.

On one of the hills closest to Red Rock Ridge, Emperor Joyce and a group of nobles had arrived early under the protection of the royal knights and were waiting there.

"Mr. Tailun, do you think Robert's challenge to Mr. Leian this time is merely grandstanding, or does he truly have confidence in winning?"

As they waited, Joyce could not help himself and quietly asked his personal guard, the ninth-level warrior Tailun.

"This... forgive me, Your Majesty. I am not familiar with Robert, so I cannot say what his reasons are. However, given Mr. Leian's current realm, Robert's chances of victory are probably less than ten percent!"

After thinking for a moment, Tailun quietly gave his judgment.

His teacher was a Saint Realm expert, and had once clearly told him that anyone who could fully invoke the power of heaven and earth while still at the ninth level was practically invincible beneath the Saint Realm.

After experiencing that sword strike several days ago, he knew that Leian was precisely such a person. Thus, Tailun simply could not imagine Leian losing.

Upon hearing this, Joyce slowly nodded and said nothing more.

Not long after, Leian finally appeared at the foot of Red Rock Ridge. Compared to Robert's impressive arrival atop the Blue Dragon, Leian, who had come on foot, looked far more shabby.

Yet no one present dared underestimate this young ninth-level expert.

As Leian arrived, the crowd beneath Red Rock Ridge very consciously opened a path leading up the mountain.

Barry, the only person who had followed Leian here, stopped behind him. Looking at his son's back, Barry warned with a solemn expression, "Leian, be careful!"

"Don't worry, Father!"

Leian turned around and gave Barry a confident smile.

Following the uneven path along the slope, Leian quickly reached the summit of Red Rock Ridge.

The summit was an uneven stone platform, barren in every direction, without a blade of grass. Robert was currently sitting atop the Blue Dragon, waiting off to one side.

Seeing Leian arrive alone, Robert leaped from the dragon's back, reached out to pat the Blue Dragon's head, and instructed it to return to the foot of the mountain.

Leian flipped his hand and drew his standard-issue black longsword. He said calmly, "Anything else to say? If not, let's begin!"

Leian had no favorable impression of someone like Robert, who wanted to use him as a stepping stone, even if Robert was also an ascetic warrior.

Therefore, in this battle, he would take everything—including Robert's life!

A faint curve remained at the corner of Robert's lips, while eagerness occasionally flashed in his eyes, as though he had waited a long time for this moment. Upon hearing Leian's words, he immediately drew the broadsword from his back and shouted:

"There's nothing more to say. Let's settle it with our blades!"

"Then come!"

Leian turned his wrist, his longsword tracing half a flourish before leveling toward Robert.

Both of them laced their words with battle qi, and their voices carried far into the distance. Everyone around them heard every word. Seeing that the two were about to fight, the crowd widened their eyes, excitement filling their faces.

Although there were fighting arenas within the imperial capital, those who usually arranged duels were only fifth- or sixth-level fighters. Battles between ninth-level experts were seen only once every few years, or even decades. It was clear just how excited everyone was.

On Red Rock Ridge.

"Hah!"

With an angry roar, Robert launched the first attack. He stomped both feet down and crossed dozens of meters in an instant, arriving before Leian. His thick broadsword, shrouded in an earthy yellow glow, cleaved toward Leian with an irresistible force.

Bzzzz—

As the blade descended, the air trembled. In that instant, Leian actually felt as though space itself had locked onto him.

"The power of heaven and earth!"

Leian narrowed his eyes, a sharp light flashing within them. He truly had not expected Robert to have also completely comprehended the realm of "momentum." The sensation of being oppressed by space could not have been clearer.

"This man has been a ninth-level warrior for more than sixty years. With his accumulated battle qi and his comprehension of this realm, breaking through the ninth level and entering the Saint Realm would be no more than a matter of resolve. Yet instead of breaking through, he challenged me at this time. He clearly wants to use me to make his name famous across the continent."

"This bastard is asking to die!"

As those thoughts flashed through his mind, Leian no longer concealed his killing intent. His battle qi surged, and the instant he shattered the spatial lock, his figure flickered. He swiftly circled to Robert's left, his longsword shooting like lightning toward Robert's left ribs.

"So fast!"

Robert had already been startled when he saw Leian effortlessly escape his attack.

Now, seeing Leian's speed, which completely surpassed that of an ordinary ninth-level warrior, Robert was even more horrified. He no longer cared about maintaining a graceful posture and hastily rolled across the ground, narrowly avoiding Leian's sword edge.

In an ordinary sparring match, Leian would certainly have stopped his attack after that strike and given his opponent time to recover. But at this moment, he had no such intention. With a tap of his toe, he rapidly closed in on Robert.

"Damn it, how can this guy be so fast?"

From the corner of his eye, Robert saw Leian's sword light stabbing toward him once more, and his face darkened. There was no chance for him to rise and evade it. Left with no choice, he could only continue rolling to one side to avoid the blade.

At the same time, his lips began moving without pause.

He had never expected that, just as the battle began, he would already be completely at a disadvantage, forcing him to reveal his trump card ahead of time.

Originally, Robert believed that no matter how talented Leian was, at most he would have comprehended the realm of "momentum." Who could have expected that Leian also possessed such terrifying speed? Such speed should never have appeared in a ninth-level warrior.

However, how could Robert possibly know that Leian had fused with a ninth-level magic crystal core?

Some readers may feel that this duel is somewhat unnecessary. In truth, I deliberately wrote it as practice. Unfortunately... sigh, I simply cannot write with that Tomato-style flavor. So frustrating!