Fierce Battle with Fain

"Bebe, do you think An can win?" Linley asked quietly.

Bebe crouched on Linley's shoulder, his little eyes fixed on the sky, wearing a rare look of seriousness. "An is very strong. But Fain is no weakling either. They're both at the Saint-level Limit. It's hard to say."

Linley nodded, his gaze locked on the sky.

High above, An and Fain faced each other a hundred meters apart.

The cold wind howled, snapping their robes.

An extended his right hand, and the Azure Frost Sword flew out of his Interspatial Ring into his palm.

Fain also drew a purple spear.

"An, I won't hold back," Fain said, a note of solemnity in his voice. He had pushed his lightning-element battle qi to its limit, and blue lightning formed a suit of armor around him, enveloping his entire body.

"Neither will I," An said. His wind-element battle qi surged at full power as well, green light swirling around him to form vortex after vortex.

The instant the words left his mouth, Fain moved.

He was as fast as lightning. An's Wind of Perception caught only a purple afterimage before Fain was already in front of him.

The Thunderclap Spear thrust forward with the might of overwhelming thunder.

Terrifying lightning energy gathered at its tip, blue electricity compressed to its limit into a ball the size of a fist. Wherever the spear tip passed, space warped ever so slightly.

An's gaze sharpened.

He twisted aside while sweeping the Azure Frost Sword diagonally upward. Green light blazed along the blade, and countless wind blades shot out like a torrential downpour.

Wind-Cutting Formation!

This was An's best area-of-effect spell. Hundreds of wind blades flew from the Azure Frost Sword, blanketing the sky and engulfing Fain.

The wind blades sliced through the air with piercing whistles, like countless vengeful ghosts howling.

Fain snorted coldly and swept the Thunderclap Spear sideways. A curtain of lightning formed before him, woven from countless bolts into a massive electrical net that shielded his entire body.

Boom, boom, boom, boom-

The wind blades struck the curtain with deafening explosions. Blue arcs collided with green wind blades, erupting in dazzling light. But the lightning curtain was immensely sturdy. Dense as the wind blades were, they could not pierce it.

"Your Wind-Cutting Formation won't work on me," Fain said, charging again.

He was even faster than before. The Thunderclap Spear became countless purple spear shadows, enveloping An. Each thrust carried the power of lightning, swift as a flash and dense as driving rain, leaving An no room to breathe.

An retreated.

He was fast, but Fain was faster. The speed advantage granted by the lightning flash profound mystery left An thoroughly outmatched in movement. He could only rely on the wind dimension's perceptive ability to anticipate Fain's attack paths, dodging and parrying in advance.

The Azure Frost Sword and the Thunderclap Spear clashed again and again, ringing with the sound of metal striking metal.

With every clash, An felt a powerful electric current surge from the Thunderclap Spear, numbing his arm.

An gritted his teeth, forced himself to endure the numbness, and retreated again.

Fain pursued relentlessly, the Thunderclap Spear attacking faster and harder with every strike.

An's retreat grew slower, and his parries became increasingly strained.

In the plaza below, the spectators held their breath.

"Fain has the upper hand," a Saint-level expert said.

"An can't keep up with Fain's speed. All he can do is defend. At this rate, he'll lose sooner or later."

"It seems there's still a gap between someone who has only just reached the Saint-level Limit and a veteran expert."

Fain could sense that although An kept retreating and his defenses seemed on the verge of collapse, they were actually airtight. Every parry wore down the force of his attacks.

I can't give him any more time.

Fain took a deep breath, unleashing all the battle qi within him.

His attacks grew even more ferocious. Lightning energy poured wildly from his body, ionizing the surrounding air. Blue arcs leaped around An, forming a lightning domain. Within it, Fain's speed and strength increased tremendously, while the lightning interfered with An, slowing him even further.

The lightning on the Thunderclap Spear grew brighter and denser.

At last, a gap appeared in An's defenses.

The Azure Frost Sword was a fraction of a second too slow, failing to seal off the Thunderclap Spear's line of attack completely. The mistake was minuscule, but to an expert like Fain, it was a fatal opening.

Without hesitation, Fain drove the Thunderclap Spear into that gap.

The spear tip shot straight toward An's chest with overwhelming thunderous might, its speed and power enough to pierce a mountain. Blue electricity gathered at the tip, forming a highly compressed ball of lightning. The energy inside churned violently, ready to explode at any moment.

Yet at the very instant the spear tip touched An's chest-

The Azure Frost Sword thrust out with unbelievable speed.

Only a single, nearly transparent line of light lay along its blade.

The line was as fine as a strand of hair, impossible to see without looking closely. It extended from the tip of the Azure Frost Sword, shooting straight toward Fain.

Wind Thread.

This was the ultimate technique An had comprehended during his secluded training in the Miniature Space.

It compressed the wind dimension profound mystery to its limit, forming a "thread" as fine as a hair. Any material that touched this fissure would be sliced apart like paper.

Fain sensed a deadly threat.

His soul screamed a frantic warning that the thread before him was lethal, impossible to block. He wanted to retreat, but it was too fast.

His lightning shield offered no resistance, silently sliced apart.

The line of light shot straight toward Fain's chest.

Fain's pupils contracted sharply.

He knew he could not block this attack.

Fain closed his eyes.

Just then, a crimson figure appeared between them.

The War God, O'Brien.

He had been standing in the small courtyard atop War God Mountain all along. The instant An's Wind Thread appeared, his eyes widened, and he vanished from where he stood.

The War God appeared between An and Fain.

He extended his right hand, and crimson divine power transformed into a flaming shield.

The flaming shield stood in front of Fain.

The green line of light slashed against it with a piercing grinding sound.

Hiss, hiss, hiss-

In the end, the line of light was stopped.

"An impressive Wind Thread," the War God said, his deep voice carrying a hint of admiration. "Give you a few more years of training, and even I would have to take this attack seriously."

An put away the Azure Frost Sword and bowed slightly. "You flatter me, Lord War God."

Fain stood where he was, his face pale. If his teacher had not intervened, he would already be dead. He looked at An with a complicated expression, filled with shock, disappointment, and respect.

"I lost," Fain said, his voice slightly hoarse. "And I accept my defeat wholeheartedly."

He took a deep breath to compose himself, then walked up to An and solemnly cupped his fist. "An, your Wind Thread is the most terrifying Saint-level attack I've ever seen. If we encounter danger in the Necropolis of the Gods this time, I hope we can join forces."

An nodded. "All right."

Fain was the senior disciple of the War God Sect. Having entered the Necropolis of the Gods four times, he knew its conditions better than anyone. Joining forces with him would benefit An as well. The Necropolis of the Gods was fraught with unpredictable dangers. One more friend was always better than one more enemy.

Linley walked over and patted An's shoulder, a proud smile on his face. "An, you've grown stronger again."

That night, War God Mountain blazed with lights.

Twenty-two Saint-level experts gathered to drink, talk, and laugh as they prepared to depart the next day. An and Fain sat together, discussing what to watch out for in the Necropolis of the Gods. Fain shared everything he had learned from his four visits without holding anything back.