Steller stood in front of the shattered courtyard wall.
The temperature in the courtyard kept falling.
White frost spread along the flagstones and climbed the corners of the walls in the blink of an eye.
Linley watched the silver-white longsword in Steller's hand, and the Dragonblood Battle Qi within him erupted.
An earthen-yellow light instantly enveloped the entire courtyard.
Eightfold Gravity Spell!
The ground abruptly sank.
An earthen-yellow glow lit up around Sessler, Bebe, Haeru, and the five Barker brothers at the same time, shielding them from the effects of gravity.
The two Gold-furred Zombies were also enveloped in earthen-yellow light.
Only Steller was left unprotected.
He remained standing in midair, ten meters above the ground.
Only a tiny fraction of the gravity reached him.
"Go!" Linley shouted.
Barker did not hesitate, leading his four brothers toward the rear wall.
Haeru leaped onto the wall, his enormous body blocking the pursuing guards.
Bebe turned into a black blur and lunged at a ninth-level warrior on the other side.
Sessler waved his staff, and the two Gold-furred Zombies charged Steller together.
"Hold him off!"
The two zombies lunged, one from the left and one from the right.
Steller's figure suddenly vanished.
An instant later, he was already in front of the first zombie.
His silver-white longsword slashed diagonally downward.
Clang!
The zombie crossed its arms and forcibly blocked the blade.
Its body sank, its feet plunging into the ground.
The second zombie rammed toward him from the side.
Steller did not turn.
Silver-white Battle-qi erupted from his body.
Boom!
The second zombie flew away along with a large swath of paving tiles.
"Now!" Linley charged.
He stamped both feet against the ground, a cold gleam flashing across his black dragon scales as his Black Jade Heavy Sword cleaved straight down with tremendous force.
Steller raised his sword to block.
The two heavy swords collided.
Boom!
A muffled thunderclap seemed to explode above the courtyard.
Linley's Black Jade Heavy Sword was knocked aside.
The silver-white longsword in Steller's hand merely trembled slightly.
"Is that your strength?"
Steller stepped forward.
His blade swept past Linley's chest.
Linley twisted aside, and the wind from the blade scraped a white mark across his black dragon scales.
So fast!
Linley's pupils contracted.
He had already fully Dragonformed, his speed and strength both reaching the peak of the ninth level. Yet when Steller struck, he could only dodge, unable to counterattack.
Steller swung his sword again.
This strike looked very slow.
The blade advanced slowly, seemingly without any force.
Linley did not let his guard down.
He held the Black Jade Heavy Sword across his body.
The next instant, a cold gleam flashed in Steller's eyes.
The slow sword instantly accelerated.
The silver-white longsword tore through the air and reached Linley in a blink.
Linley did not retreat.
The soles of his feet pressed against the ground, his entire body becoming one with the earth beneath him.
The Black Jade Heavy Sword rose to meet it at a seemingly slow, yet steady speed.
Clang!
The swords collided.
Steller's blade veered aside.
The first tremor traveled along the blade.
The second tremor followed close behind.
The third tremor abruptly overlapped them.
Steller's arm shook slightly.
The three forces did not disperse on impact, instead passing straight through the longsword and surging into his body.
The silver-white Battle-qi around Steller fluctuated violently.
For the first time, his expression changed.
Pfft!
A trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Linley used the recoil to retreat several dozen meters.
The web between his right thumb and forefinger split, and blood ran down the sword's hilt.
"What a bizarre attack." Steller raised a hand to wipe the blood from his mouth. "A ninth-level warrior like you actually managed to injure me."
Linley did not answer.
Although his Triple Tremor had succeeded this time, he knew full well that Steller had suffered only a minor injury.
This was the peak Saint Realm.
"Sessler, take them and go!"
Linley shouted.
Sessler had already brought Lina, Rebecca, and the five Barker brothers to the rear wall.
"Go!"
The two Gold-furred Zombies lunged at Steller together.
Sessler waved his staff, and an aura of undeath surged into the sky.
Steller snorted coldly.
The silver-white longsword in his hand traced a bleakly dazzling arc of sword light.
The first Gold-furred Zombie's body split from shoulder to waist.
The second Gold-furred Zombie had only just reached him when the sword light flashed again.
Its chest was cleaved open, and its massive body toppled backward.
Both zombies lost the ability to fight at the same time.
Sessler's face paled.
"Retreat!"
Haeru seized one of the Barker brothers by the shoulder in his jaws and leaped straight over the rear wall.
His tail coiled around another brother, flinging him out along with them.
Bebe darted to the third brother's side and forcibly dragged him toward the outside of the wall.
The remaining two followed behind Barker, desperately charging out.
Although their bodies were powerful, they had been bound with dark-gold ropes for a long time and suppressed with the Church's drugs, so they were not fast at all.
Sessler stood at the very rear.
The black undead knight he had just summoned burst from underground, swinging its sword to intercept Steller.
Steller took a step forward.
The longsword in the black undead knight's hand snapped in two.
The next instant, the knight was sent flying by a kick.
At the same time, Sessler spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered backward.
Linley rushed to his side and brought the Black Jade Heavy Sword down fiercely.
Steller raised his sword to block.
Boom!
Linley was knocked back again.
Steller said coldly, "You think a few warriors at the peak of the ninth level can stop me?"
"We won't know until we try," Linley said.
He raised his left hand.
Earthen-yellow light spread once more.
The Eightfold Gravity Spell enveloped Steller.
This time, Steller did not evade.
He let his body sink until his feet touched the ground.
Boom!
The power of the Gravitational Field abruptly intensified.
Every flagstone beneath Steller's feet shattered.
A trace of delight flashed in Linley's eyes.
But the next instant, silver-white light rose from within Steller.
The silver-white light grew brighter and brighter, like a cold sun.
The earthen-yellow light of the Gravitational Field rapidly receded.
All the Earth Element energy in the courtyard was forced out.
The Eightfold Gravity Spell ceased to work.
Steller floated into the air.
He looked at Linley and said calmly, "That move of yours might work against someone who has just entered the Saint Realm."
"Unfortunately, I entered the Saint Realm centuries ago."
Silver-white light spread across hundreds of meters.
The temperature plummeted.
Frost rapidly formed on Linley's black dragon scales, and the circulation of Dragonblood Battle Qi within him slowed as well.
In the distance, the five Barker brothers had just climbed over the rear wall.
Sessler grabbed Lina and Rebecca and continued retreating with them.
"Don't stop!"
Haeru glanced back at Linley.
His master was still in the courtyard.
Bebe also paused for an instant.
"Boss!"
"Go!" Linley shouted fiercely. "Don't come back!"
Watching this, Steller slowly raised the longsword in his hand.
"Frozen World."
The silver-white light abruptly flared.
Cold engulfed the entire courtyard.
A thick layer of ice covered the walls, ground, and rooftops all at once.
Linley felt as though his body had become trapped inside an iceberg.
He clearly saw Steller raise his sword, yet could not move in time.
Steller's blade initially swept out slowly.
The sword's path was clearly visible.
But when the blade came within ten meters, its speed abruptly increased.
Space seemed to have frozen.
Linley could not turn his body.
He could only force himself to swing the Black Jade Heavy Sword.
Clang!
The Black Jade Heavy Sword had barely risen before the silver-white longsword swept it aside.
Steller's second strike followed immediately.
Linley gritted his teeth, the Dragonblood Battle Qi within him surging wildly.
The black dragon scales kept cracking apart.
He had no way out.
The third tremor gathered once more.
Linley swung his sword to meet the attack.
Boom!
The tremor surged out.
But this time, the first wave of force had barely emerged before the second dispersed within the frozen space.
The third tremor failed to form.
The Black Jade Heavy Sword flew from his grasp.
Steller's silvery-white longsword slipped past the heavy sword, thrusting straight at the point between Linley's brows.
Linley tried to dodge.
But his body would not move.
All that remained in his vision was that streak of silvery-white sword light.
The sword tip drew closer and closer.
Death was already before his eyes.
"Linley!" Bebe's voice rang out from afar.
Haeru also let out a low, furious roar.
Sessler gritted his teeth and raised his staff, but he was too far away, and the undead passage had yet to take shape.
The tip of Steller's sword had already touched the point between Linley's brows.
At that instant, Doehring's hands suddenly clenched.
The cuffs of his moon-white robe billowed without a breeze.
Earth Element divine power surged from within him, gathering in his palms in an instant.
As long as he released it, Steller's sword would stop.
The divine power was about to leave his body.
Suddenly, the entire world fell still.
Steller's longsword stopped before the point between Linley's brows.
The falling ice shards hung motionless in midair.
The blood dripping from the web of Linley's hand also froze in the air.
The divine power in Doehring's palms slowly dissipated.
He raised his head and looked toward the end of the street.
A man with long black hair hanging loose strolled lazily toward them.
He wore a loose robe and looked as though he had just woken up, a faint, languid smile on his face.
"Master Linley, long time no see."
The man walked up beside Steller and casually waved a hand.
Steller's body abruptly flew backward.
Boom!
He smashed through the wall behind the courtyard, crashed through several houses in succession, and finally slammed into a distant street.
Space began to flow again.
Frozen World shattered with it.
Linley's body went limp, and he nearly dropped to his knees.
The man reached out and steadied him.
"Don't collapse just yet."
He smiled.
"I'm not too late."