Whoosh!
One slash. →
Aries Palace's head flew off. His body caught it and immediately retreated, while a thread of blood kept his head connected to his neck.
It was the same with this slash. He had seen it coming. There had been no fancy tricks. Yet it had struck him anyway. He had clearly dodged, and the blade's path had not changed, so why had it hit him?
It was too strange.
In theory, he had retreated beyond the blade's reach. Once the swordsman swung, the blade's path was fixed. It had not suddenly grown longer, and the swordsman had not moved. Yet the blade had struck him all the same.
It was like a paradox.
Half an hour passed before anyone realized it. Aries Palace was still at an absolute disadvantage. His formidable vitality and vast reserves of star power kept him from being killed easily, but the fight was heart-stopping to watch. Time and again, he seemed to dance on the edge of death.
The First Swordsman was not holding back. He had nearly killed Aries Palace in a single blow several times. Perhaps it was the breath of death that spurred Aries Palace to evade his blade.
"I think I'm starting to understand," Nameless said to Lin Renmei.
Lin Renmei looked at him curiously. Nameless explained, "Look at the space around them. Don't let the blade or the First Swordsman distract you."
Lin Renmei's pupils widened sharply. "So that's how it works."
When the First Swordsman swung, he was never cutting at Aries Palace. He was cutting the surrounding space. Each slash shifted it out of alignment. Caught in the middle, Aries Palace could hardly notice the change, while onlookers could miss it too if the blade drew their attention.
Only by stepping back from the