Dual Cultivation of Magic and Martial Arts

At this moment, seeing Robert completely on the back foot after a single exchange, the spectators all around changed color.

Among them, the subjects of the Byron Empire were mostly all smiles, with a few even cheering recklessly.

In contrast, the expressions of the people from the Beni Empire were much uglier.

On Red Rock Ridge, Robert rolled along the ground once more, clumsily dodging Leian's attack, his eyes turning blood-red and practically spitting fire.

At this moment, while he was shocked and angry, he also felt immense regret; he regretted being so arrogant earlier. If he had used all his means from the start, he would never have been in such an embarrassing position.

The only consolation was that it wasn't too late, and the scales of victory were still tipped in his favor.

Thinking of this, Robert's lips moved faster and faster. Just as Leian's third sword thrust came, suddenly—

"Hum—"

A layer of earthy-yellow light suddenly covered a hundred-meter radius centered on Leian. Looking from afar, the yellow light flickered, and a peculiar ripple instantly spread outward.

Leian felt a chill in his heart, sensing an astonishing gravitational force coming from the ground. Under the pull of this gravity, his entire body, flesh, and even his internal organs seemed to sink, and the movement of his sword-thrust involuntarily stalled.

"This is... Earth-style magic—Gravity Spell!"

Gravity Spell, a fifth-tier Earth-style magic, adjusts the gravity within a certain range by controlling the flow of Earth Elements. At the same time, the magnitude of the gravity can increase as the mage's realm improves.

At the sixth tier, gravity is doubled; at the seventh, four times; at the eighth, eight times; and at the ninth, sixteen times!

"This guy is actually a mage too!"

Leian narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably. This Robert was truly beyond his expectations.

A dual cultivator of magic and martial arts—that's the template usually reserved for a protagonist!

Moreover, judging by the gravity he was experiencing, this guy's magical cultivation had also reached the realm of a ninth-tier Great Mage.

This talent, while far from being comparable to Linley, could still be considered rare on the Youquan Continent.

After all, even Leian himself, who had been cultivating his spiritual energy since childhood, only had spiritual energy at the peak of the eighth tier.

On the other side, Robert wore a ferocious expression. He had been waiting for this moment while silently chanting his incantation.

As an Earth-style mage, he knew the power of the Gravity Spell well.

It is not difficult for an ordinary person to carry a load twice their own weight, but under twice the gravity, the heart is highly likely to fail, leading to sudden death.

This is because the muscles on the surface of the body can be trained, but internal organs like the heart and lungs are difficult to strengthen. Even with the reinforcement of Battle Qi, the improvement is far less than that of the external muscles.

Therefore, in Robert's view, even if a ninth-tier powerhouse like Leian could withstand the internal pressure under a sudden "sixteen-fold gravity" assault, his movements would definitely be affected.

And this was his chance!

At this moment, the instant Leian's movements stalled under the Gravity Spell, Robert swung his war blade without mercy. The broad blade swept upward, its tip like a bolt of lightning, heading straight for Leian's chest.

In a battle between powerhouses, victory or defeat often hinges on a single instant.

Just as it seemed Leian was about to be gutted, he suddenly moved as if guided by a god. With a push of his feet, his chest grazed the blade, and at the very last moment, he slid along the ground to a position several meters away.

"Impossible!"

His confident strike having failed to land, Robert's expression turned incredibly ugly.

Since the fight began, Leian had exceeded his estimates several times. While it hadn't shaken his resolve, he couldn't help but feel a trace of agitation.

Leian kept a cold face, his expression devoid of any arrogance.

It must be said that it had been truly dangerous just now. If not for his past experience practicing swordplay underwater, which made him highly sensitive to gravity, and the fact that he had fused with a Magic Crystal Core, strengthening his body inside and out, he might not have been able to adapt to that powerful gravity in time to dodge the fatal strike.

However, although his body had adapted to the gravity, with this Gravity Spell in effect, his speed would still be hampered. Without the advantage of speed, winning from here on out would not be easy.

Just as Leian was deep in thought, Robert sneered:

"Leian, I really underestimated you. To think you could dodge that. But under my Gravity Spell, let's see how much speed you can still muster!"

As he spoke, he kicked off the ground hard, his entire body trailing a blur as he rushed toward Leian at high speed. The moment he closed the distance, he brought his long blade down in a heavy overhead chop.

Trapped under the Gravity Spell, Leian no longer thought about winning with speed. Looking at this strike, which contained immense power, his expression remained calm as he thought:

Isn't this just a test of brute force? As someone who cultivates Destruction Battle Qi, why would he fear or retreat?

"Hmph!"

With a cold snort, Leian swung his long sword, meeting the attack without hesitation.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The blade and sword clashed repeatedly, emitting dull thuds as visible shockwaves of air scattered in all directions.

With their realms being similar, the two were unexpectedly locked in a stalemate.

At the same time, the surrounding ridges were in an uproar. The moment Robert unleashed the Gravity Spell, the crowd seemed to explode.

"What is that yellow light?"

At this moment, many people asked the question weighing on their minds.

"It looks like Earth-style magic."

"It's a Gravity Spell! This Robert actually practices magic on the side!"

"Another dual practitioner of magic and martial arts?"

Just as the crowd was still discussing the Gravity Spell, a silvery-white radiance suddenly erupted from Robert, wrapping around him from head to toe in an instant like a suit of metallic armor.

"That is—the Earth Guardian Saint Armor!"

There was no shortage of experts and well-informed individuals among the spectators.

"Platinum Saint Armor, a ninth-level spell. This Robert is a ninth-level Grand Magus!"

"He really is a dual practitioner. How old is this Robert again?"

"I heard he's around a hundred and something."

"This, this... another genius?"

Under normal circumstances, a warrior who reaches the ninth level before the age of forty can be called a genius. As for magic, since there are no shortcuts to cultivating mental energy, reaching the ninth-level Grand Magus realm before the age of eighty is also considered genius-tier.

Although this Robert was already one hundred and seven years old, he was a ninth-level expert in both magic and martial arts. If viewed separately, he could certainly be called a genius.

As this conclusion spread, the crowd looked at one another, suddenly at a loss for words.

Who could have imagined that Robert was actually a dual practitioner of magic and martial arts?

At this moment, even those from the Byron Empire who stood on Leian's side found it difficult to belittle Robert any further.

As for the experts from the Beni Empire, they shed their previous embarrassment, holding their heads high and speaking of "Mr. Robert" and "Lord Robert" with immense pride.

On Red Rock Ridge, Leian looked at the Platinum Saint Armor on Robert and knew that ordinary attacks were useless. To win, he would have to use the sliver of Destruction Profundity he had comprehended yesterday.

Thinking of this, he felt a wave of relief.

If he hadn't gained an entry into the Destruction Rule yesterday, it would have been virtually impossible to win today without transforming into his Magic Beast form.

With that thought, Leian decisively unleashed that sliver of Destruction Profundity, and the purple-black halo enveloping his blade suddenly surged.

Seeing this, Robert assumed Leian had become desperate and was ready to risk everything, so he sneered inwardly and immediately channeled his battle aura to meet the attack head-on.

However, the result of this clash completely exceeded Robert's expectations.

"Crack!"

Amidst a strange sound, a finger-length section of the blade where the weapons collided eerily turned into a cloud of powder and scattered.

Robert's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The battle blade in his hand had been forged from several rare minerals; even a Saint Realm expert would find it extremely difficult to damage, let alone a ninth-level warrior like Leian.

How could this be?

Leian ignored Robert's reaction. With the battle blade broken, there was nothing left to block his longsword. He flicked his wrist, and the pitch-black blade thrust toward Robert's chest with an unstoppable momentum.

Robert's expression changed drastically, and he retreated rapidly without a word. Although he wore the Platinum Saint Armor, he was no fool; if his precious blade couldn't withstand a single strike from Leian, the armor wouldn't be of much use either.

However, his retreat could not outpace the thrust. He had barely taken half a step back when the tip of the sword was already pressing against his chest.

Bang!

With a soft sound, the area of the Platinum Saint Armor where the sword tip struck instantly turned into powder, leaving a palm-sized hole.

Seeing that the sword was no longer blocked and was about to pierce Robert's heart, a powerful pressure suddenly descended from high above. Affected by this, Leian's arm sank involuntarily, and the sword that was meant for Robert's heart pierced through his abdomen instead.

"A Saint Realm expert!"

This was not the first time Leian had encountered such pressure. He quickly withdrew his sword and, while retreating, looked up toward the sky.

Hundreds of meters above the mountaintop, a yellow figure stood silently in mid-air.

"Who are you?"

Leian felt no respect for this strange Saint Realm expert who had stopped him from killing Robert, and he asked in a cold tone.

Of course, in the past, he wouldn't have dared to use such a tone even if he were unhappy, but now that he possessed the Goddess Token, he did not believe the other party would dare to attack him without justification.

The facts were as Leian expected; the stranger did not attack. After sizing Leian up for a moment, the expert suddenly spoke:

"My name is Cavila. Spare Robert's life, and consider it a favor I owe you."

Upon hearing the name "Cavila," only one thought crossed Leian's mind: As I thought!

On the Youquan Continent, Robert was not the only dual practitioner of magic and martial arts. Before him, there had been a very famous expert—the Magic-Martial Sword Saint, Cavila!

Since Cavila, there had been many dual practitioners on the Youquan Continent, but very few had managed to persist. When Robert used his ninth-level magic, Leian had suspected he might have some connection to the Magic-Martial Sword Saint.

The facts proved he was not wrong, and judging by Cavila's intervention to save Robert, the two had a deep connection—perhaps even that of master and apprentice.

Since a Saint Realm expert was offering a favor, Leian found it hard to refuse, even if he was unhappy.

Furthermore, Robert was already severely injured and had no power to resist. Leian disdained killing someone who was completely defenseless.

However, he didn't particularly care for Cavila's favor either.

With that thought, he sheathed his sword, let out a soft snort, and turned to walk down the mountain.