In the courtyard.
"Ha!" Luo Ao once again mustered all his strength and viciously slashed his sword through the empty air before him.
"Buzzz~" Almost imperceptibly, space itself seemed to ripple in widening rings.
In fact, when Luo Ao had previously unleashed this move at full strength, he had already noticed that it made space vibrate. He simply had not made the connection at the time.
It was like a transparent membrane. Once he saw through it, understanding naturally followed.
"If I let this vibrating force scatter, all its power will leak away. I have to gather it together." With his eyes closed, Luo Ao swung his sword again and again, slowly adjusting how he attacked.
He understood the principle, but putting it into practice was not so simple.
Luo Ao stood in the courtyard, a layer of fiery-red waves of energy rolling around him like clouds and mist.
Once he truly settled down and immersed himself in cultivation, he could not feel time passing at all. In the blink of an eye, three days went by.
"Mr. Luo Ao, are you there?" The one calling was Ladar. He had come to remind Luo Ao that the day of the duel had arrived. Behind him followed an excited Lansi.
But when the two pushed open the courtyard gate, they discovered-
Fiery-red battle aura churned around Luo Ao's body like clouds and mist, his entire figure barely visible and indistinct within those fiery-red waves of energy.
Luo Ao had been about to swing his sword again, but hurriedly stopped when he sensed someone approaching.
"Mr. Luo Ao."
"Lord Luo Ao!"
"I never imagined you trained so hard every day, Lord Luo Ao. But today is already the day of the duel. Teacher and I were afraid you might become so absorbed in your cultivation that you forgot about it, so we came specifically to find you." Lansi smiled shyly at Luo Ao. He was a fellow with a very pure heart.
"Thank you. If you two hadn't come to remind me, I really might have missed this duel." Luo Ao smiled at them in thanks.
Truly immersing himself in cultivating the laws felt wonderful. Luo Ao had not sensed the passage of time at all.
In three days, although I haven't comprehended it to the limit yet, I've figured out the principles behind this vibrating force and even created a new killing move.
Luo Ao was quite happy inwardly.
In the past, his attacks had relied purely on tremendous strength. That worked well enough against magical beasts like Steven, who clashed with him head-on, but against human Saint-level experts with high attainments who knew techniques for redirecting force, it might not have been so effective.
Now, however, his ultimate move had gained an added layer of vibration and restraint. Although its strength itself had not increased much, it was harder to dodge or deflect, and its destructive force was more concentrated. Its power was definitely more than a notch above what it had been.
It was a bright, sunny day, with a gentle breeze and beautiful weather. Outside Darren City, the waters of the Azure River were as clear as ever, flowing ceaselessly into the distance.
As though attending some celebration, many residents of the imperial capital had come to wait by the Azure River early that morning. They gathered along the riverbank in groups of three or five, waiting for the spectacular battle to begin.
"Hey, Captain, when do you think Lord Gaspar and Lord Luo Ao will get here? When Lord Gaspar issued the challenge, he didn't make it clear. He only said three days later. Did he mean morning, noon, evening, or midnight three days later?"
"Who knows? We can only wait here. Anyway, the spot our city guards have is definitely an excellent place to watch."
This question had troubled many others as well. Although three days was a short time, quite a few people had rushed over from other cities. Combined with the already enormous population of the imperial capital, Darren City, the size of the audience was easy to imagine.
Aside from the few who were not interested in such things, more than half the imperial capital's population had come out to watch. Together with those from other cities, they numbered tens of millions. Only because the banks of the Azure River were spacious enough could they accommodate so many enthusiastic spectators.
"Look! Someone's flying over from the horizon! It's a Saint-level expert!" Flying through the air was an ability unique to Saint-level experts!
Although wind mages of the seventh rank or above could just about manage low-altitude flight, how could they be as free and unrestrained as Saint-level experts?
"Who is it?"
"It looks like Lord Luo Ao!"
"So this is Lord Luo Ao? He really is so young!"
Many people had heard Luo Ao's famous name, but this was their first time seeing him in person.
"There really are a lot of people." Ladar and Lansi were among the Darren Academy contingent. The entire group was stunned by the sight before them.
More than ten million people had gathered on the two banks of the Azure River. The sight made their scalps tingle. For the first time, they understood what a sea of people truly meant. At the same time, they gained a clearer understanding of a Saint-level expert's drawing power.
A single public duel had attracted over ten million spectators in just three days. It was terrifying.
"Now this is what it means to have all eyes on you." Standing among the academy contingent, Lansi could not help yearning for it.
Luo Ao flew above the Azure River and glanced around, only to receive a shock himself. He truly had not expected a duel he considered ordinary to attract so many people.
"Finally here? It's time for the show to begin." Gaspar, concealed out of sight, had actually arrived long ago. However, he felt that showing himself first and waiting around for his opponent would be beneath his status. Thus, he deliberately waited until Luo Ao appeared before flying over unhurriedly from the horizon.
Above the Azure River, Luo Ao hovered in the air, wearing the Azure Battle Armor with the Crimson Annihilation Divine Sword on his back.
Although nominally a sparring match, in public challenge duels like this, both sides often gave their all. It was common for someone to fail to pull back in time and accidentally kill their opponent. Naturally, Luo Ao would not treat it as a game.
Luo Ao settled his mindset and looked into the distance behind him. A black-robed figure flashed past, and in just a short while, another figure appeared above the broad Azure River.
It was none other than Gaspar, carrying a pitch-black longsword on his back. Today, Gaspar still wore long black robes, with a confident, gentle smile on his face that made him look very approachable.
"Lord Gaspar is here too!"
"Wonderful! Is it about to start?"
The tens of millions who had been waiting anxiously suddenly erupted in cheers. Their voices swept across heaven and earth like a tidal wave, even making the waters of the Azure River tremble slightly. Calling the cheers of tens of millions deafening was no exaggeration.
Although spectators crowded the surroundings and their cheers never ceased.
Luo Ao and Gaspar, above the Azure River, remained completely unaffected. They faced each other in midair, Gaspar's fighting spirit higher than ever before.
He had remained quiet for far too long and desperately needed a victory to prove his talent to the world.
"Luo Ao, the path of 'Wind-Cleaving' I studied under my teacher knows only advance, never retreat. If you are unfortunate enough to die beneath my sword today, don't blame me for snuffing out a genius." Gaspar took down his pitch-black longsword, and his entire bearing instantly changed, becoming incomparably sharp.
Luo Ao glanced at Gaspar with a faint smile. "Kill me? If you can, go ahead and try."
The opening exchange between the two Saint-level experts alone made the spectators below tremble with excitement. Heavens, were these two Saint-level experts actually going to fight to the death?
The two Saint-level experts here today were no ordinary Saint-level experts. One was the youngest genius Sword Saint in the history of the Darren Empire. The other was the direct disciple of the legendary Wind-Cleaving Sword Saint.
This battle was destined to be spectacular, making everyone anticipate it all the more.
After several bursts of exclamations, silence fell!
Among tens of millions of people, not a single stray sound could be heard. There was only the whistling wind above the river.
"Luo Ao, let me test the fruits of my many years of bitter training on you." Gaspar was already growing impatient. He took the initiative and flew straight toward Luo Ao, his pitch-black longsword arriving in an instant as though it would pierce through space itself.
"So this is the path of 'Wind-Cleaving'?" Luo Ao's gaze sharpened slightly. The power of this move was not to be underestimated. No wonder his opponent was so conceited; he did have some ability.
"But if this is all you have, I certainly won't be the one dying today." At that moment, Luo Ao actually closed his eyes abruptly. Then he slowly drew the Crimson Annihilation Divine Sword, aimed at the space directly ahead of him, and suddenly struck!
"What is this?" For some reason, Gaspar sensed an aura of destruction from this sword strike that filled him with dread.
But he still gritted his teeth and continued charging forward. He refused to believe that a brat who had only just broken through to the Saint level could have comprehended Profound Mysteries more powerful than his own!