Linley and Mackenzie

"Please."

Mackenzie was a Saint Realm Mid-Stage powerhouse, after all, so naturally, he couldn't attack first. He spoke courteously.

"Careful."

Linley didn't waste words. He had to give it his all against a Saint Realm expert. This was a great opportunity to train.

When he had sparred with Garen before, the gap between them had been too large. Linley couldn't keep up with his speed at all—the Tiger-Striped Warrior was absurdly fast. They were both Four Ultimate Warriors; there was no way Linley could challenge him across ranks.

Linley cast the eighth-level spell Extreme Speed on himself and quickly closed in.

Mackenzie stayed where he was. Although Linley was an Ultimate Warrior, Mackenzie didn't think a ninth-level Linley could pose any threat to him. He still treated the spar as an opportunity to offer guidance, confident in his own abilities.

When Linley saw Mackenzie letting his guard down, he didn't dare relax in the slightest. He swung the Violetblood Soft Sword with all his strength.

The attack carried a trace of the Profound Truth of Speed. A flash of violet light streaked past.

"Whoosh!"

Mackenzie's expression changed dramatically.

His powerful Fire-style battle-qi erupted, barely managing to cancel out the force of Linley's sword.

The hurried block forced Mackenzie back several steps. A section of his sleeve was sliced off and drifted away in the breeze.

"How can his sword be so fast? And so powerful?"

Mackenzie was shocked. There were ninth-level warriors among the younger members of his clan, and when he occasionally instructed them, none of their attacks were anywhere near this fast.

"Are all Ultimate Warriors this monstrous?"

The thought flashed through his mind. When he saw Linley attack again, he no longer dared to let his guard down. A long, fiery-red spear appeared in his hand.

"Clang!"

The soft sword clashed with the spear, ringing like metal striking metal.

"Whoosh!"

Just as Mackenzie thought he had blocked the blow, the sword suddenly curved and continued toward his chest.

Mackenzie retreated at Extreme Speed, barely dodging the strike.

After retreating dozens of meters, Mackenzie burst into laughter.

"Haha! As expected of one of the Four Ultimate Warriors. Your strength and attack speed have both reached the Saint Realm. Now I'll have to use my full strength, too."

Linley's eyes lit up. He had only sparred with Garen before and assumed all Saint Realm experts were monsters like him. He hadn't expected to have a chance against a Saint Realm Mid-Stage powerhouse like Mackenzie. His blood immediately began to boil.

"Come on, let's fight!"

"Good. Be careful."

As Mackenzie spoke, battle-qi surged around him and flames roared to life. His fiery-red spear was engulfed in flames, and when he unleashed his full speed, several afterimages appeared.

"So fast!"

"A Saint Realm expert who uses Fire-style battle-qi is this fast, too?" Linley was astonished.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

The flaming spear seemed to transform into a Fire Dragon. Linley fought with all his strength, but the Violetblood Soft Sword could only barely fend off the spear's attacks.

The violent flames of Mackenzie's battle-qi sent him staggering backward. The dragon scales on his palm began to shatter, and the web between his thumb and forefinger split, blood trickling out.

"Too fast—and every strike is infused with powerful battle-qi!"

After exchanging several blows, Linley gradually realized he was being completely suppressed. He could barely keep up with the speed of Mackenzie's attacks.

"Gravity Spell!"

A ring of earthy-yellow light spread across an area a hundred meters in radius.

At the center, Mackenzie was caught in the powerful gravity. His speed dropped sharply, and the rhythm of his attacks fell apart.

"Hm? What terrifying gravity! That has to be at least an eighth-level Gravity Spell. This kid is a monster—he's an eighth-level mage, too!"

Once Linley had cast the Gravity Spell on Mackenzie, he immediately felt far less pressure. He could keep up with Mackenzie's speed now.

The Gravity Spell weakened Mackenzie's movement speed as well as the force of his attacks.

For a time, Linley and Mackenzie fought back and forth, and Linley even gained a slight advantage.

"Linley, your strength is impressive. If I were only at the Saint Realm Early-Stage, I'd probably be no stronger than you. But be careful now."

Suddenly, a powerful pressure swept through the air. The surroundings seemed to freeze, and Linley felt as if a mountain had been pressed down on him. Even though he used his own Momentum to resist, he still felt incredibly uncomfortable. His speed was less than half what it had been.

"That's the Momentum of a Saint Realm expert. It's far too powerful. I can't resist it."

Although Linley had comprehended Momentum long ago, Mackenzie had combined his Momentum with his battle-qi. The difference between their battle-qi was simply too great for Linley to withstand.

If Linley unleashed the baleful aura within the Violetblood Soft Sword, he might have been able to resist. But this was only a spar, so there was no need.

Watching Mackenzie attack again, Linley called out,

"Mackenzie, I surrender."

"Haha, let's call it a draw. I was only using my Momentum to overpower you. I feel that your understanding of the profound truths may already surpass mine, young Linley. Remarkable—truly remarkable!"

During their earlier conversation, Mackenzie had learned that Garen and Linley were the same age. They had both just turned twenty-one. With strength like theirs, perhaps they were unprecedented on the Yulan Continent—and would never be surpassed.

Neither of them had shown their full strength in this fight.

In a battle to the death, Mackenzie wouldn't fight Linley on the ground.

Even if Linley could fly with Wind-style magic, the flight speed of an eighth-level mage was vastly inferior to that of a Saint Realm Mid-Stage expert. In the sky, Mackenzie would also be far less affected by the Gravity Spell, leaving Linley with little chance of victory.

Linley had already begun to grasp the Profound Truth of Speed in the Wind-style and the Earth Pulse in the Earth-style.

If he suddenly unleashed the baleful aura within the Violetblood Soft Sword to affect Mackenzie's mind and weaken his strength, then used the Black Jade Heavy Sword to unleash the Earth Pulse and clash with him, the Earth Pulse's ability to ignore surface defenses might even let him injure Mackenzie in an instant.

But their main reason for visiting had been to accompany Garen and help Jenny and Keane deal with the trouble hanging over them. They had only sparred and exchanged pointers along the way, so Linley hadn't wanted to use his full strength.

"Haha, Mackenzie, what do you think? Does my brother Linley's strength meet your approval? He's the most talented monster I've ever met."

Garen meant every word.

Without the system, he really wasn't sure he could have cultivated as quickly as Linley. Linley's comprehension was especially extraordinary; he understood everything after a single explanation.

Linley gave a wry smile and said nothing. He knew how strong Garen was, and the two of them were still far apart in ability.

"Brother Garen, you're already a ninth-level warrior in human form. After transforming, you must be at the Saint Realm. And you can even tame Saint Realm flying magical beasts. I can't even imagine how you two train. Compared to you, I suddenly feel like I've wasted my whole life."

Among Saint Realm magical beasts, flying beasts were much harder to tame. In every other respect aside, their flight speed was definitely faster than that of ordinary Saint Realm peak experts.

Mackenzie praised them.

According to the legends, Dragonblood Warriors were powerful in attack and defense, and fast as well—they excelled in every way.

Tiger-Striped Warriors were powerful attackers, and their speed was even more exceptional.

They were both Four Ultimate Warriors, yet Mackenzie had struggled against a ninth-level Linley. Given Garen's Saint Realm strength after transforming, Mackenzie felt he probably wouldn't stand much of a chance.

Work's been busy lately. I'll try to update twice a day.