More than ten days had passed since Jason first saw the Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiend.
"Jason, I heard you've broken through to the ninth level?" Prince Vittorio asked as he walked gracefully into Jason's room.
"Oh, yes. I only broke through yesterday."
A twenty-six-year-old ninth-level warrior was a rare genius in the outside world, but in a treasured place like Bloodshadow Valley, he could only be considered outstanding.
Prince Vittorio patted Jason on the shoulder. "You comprehended Force before, didn't you? Help us fight a Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiend. She's also at the ninth level and has comprehended Force. She's already beaten more than a dozen of us Rhines, and some ninth-level warriors couldn't even withstand three of her moves."
As they had more opportunities to interact, the Rhine Clan and the Violet-Eyed Family had become familiar with each other. The Rhine Clan generally referred to themselves as Rhines and called the Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiends Violet-Eyes.
None of the ninth-level members of the Rhine Clan had comprehended Force, because in Bloodshadow Valley's environment, once they comprehended Force, they only needed to spend enough time accumulating battle-qi or meditating to break directly into the Saint-level.
Only the Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiends, as members of the demon race, had a "racial bottleneck." The bottleneck they faced in breaking through to the Saint-level was far greater than that of humans, so they could comprehend Force and still remain at the ninth level for a long time.
Jason followed Prince Vittorio to the training grounds.
Veronica happened to be at the training grounds as well. This time, Bloodshadow Valley had also allowed some relatively trustworthy relatives from outside the clan to enter and train, and she had made several friends during this time.
Veronica, who had only shown the strength of an eighth-level warrior, often brought Linda the cat to the training grounds to spar with others.
Standing before Jason was a relatively slender Bladewing Fiend.
"My name is Ailin. You can also call me Yulan 697. I'm at the peak of the ninth level," the Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiend briefly introduced herself to Jason.
"You can talk!!" Jason jumped in fright, then realized his reaction was a little inappropriate. "I'm Jason, an early-stage ninth-level warrior."
"Hm?" The Bladewing Fiend named Ailin narrowed her eyes, but explained nonetheless. "Not all Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiends are extremely ferocious from birth. At least, I'm more rational than other Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiends. And as demons, Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiends can learn to speak human languages before reaching the Saint-level-demons can hardly tempt humans into corruption without communicating with them.
"As for 'Yulan 697,' that's the number the family gave me. As for my name, I chose it myself later."
Although she had doubts about Jason's strength at the early stage of the ninth level, Ailin prepared to fight. "Can we begin?"
"Let's begin."
As soon as Jason finished speaking, a red light flared around Ailin, and she swiftly closed in. Ailin could cast Power of Weeping Blood instantly; it seemed to be a Destruction Magic spell every Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiend knew.
At the sight, Jason was startled. His opponent might have comprehended not just Force, but also the Edicts-and the highly offensive Edicts of Destruction at that.
A fierce claw strike came at him. Jason held his saber crosswise to block, guiding the tremendous force to one side. His knee, infused with battle-qi, shot toward her lower abdomen, but Ailin blocked it with her left arm and used the force to retreat.
"It seems the Rhine Clan has geniuses too." Although Ailin was "female," her voice had the raspy, piercing quality peculiar to demons and was not pleasant to hear at all.
Jason, who knew the original story, did not dare call himself a genius. "I wouldn't call myself a genius. I can only say I've been relatively lucky."
"Yes. Comprehending a Profound Mystery below the Saint-level depends heavily on luck to begin with."
Ailin nodded in agreement. Under Jason's astonished gaze, she took a long, narrow two-handed curved saber from the Interspatial Ring on her hand and attacked again.
So Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiends can use metal weapons, Jason marveled inwardly as he raised his saber to meet her.
After several exchanges, the two had gauged each other's abilities.
Ailin's Edicts enhanced her overall combat ability, but she was not particularly strong in any one aspect. What Jason had comprehended should be the Water Element's "Profound Mystery of Roundness." It was primarily defensive, but also made Jason's attacks flow more smoothly and slightly increased their power.
Jason also had some insight into death, but it worked only intermittently. Even he could not say what use it had, and there was no way to use it in actual combat.
The two clashed again. Ailin held the initiative, but Jason's defense was exceptionally steady, and he often seized opportunities to counterattack.
Jason's disadvantage was that he did not have enough battle-qi. He had broken through to the ninth level less than three days ago, so his battle-qi could not last long.
Of course, Ailin's combat strength was also sustained by magic. Her body was only as strong as one at the peak of the fourth level. As a genius, she inevitably had an unsteady foundation in some respects; for example, her physical strength had not reached the fifth level expected of a ninth-level Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiend.
The two were evenly matched.
"That's rare. The Rhine Clan actually has a ninth-level warrior who can match Ailin."
"It is quite rare. The bottleneck to the Saint-level is very small for us humans, so very few humans comprehend a Profound Mystery before reaching it."
A Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiend and a Rhine commented from below the platform.
Just then, Prince Vittorio noticed the odd pair. After thinking back for a moment, he immediately hurried over. "Are you Ancestor Edward? I am Vittorio, the younger brother of Maisiji, the current and forty-seventh emperor of the Rhine Empire."
"Oh? It's rare to find anyone who still remembers me."
"There's a portrait of you in the imperial palace." Prince Vittorio's face was full of respect.
Edward Rhein was the seventh emperor of the Rhine Empire. During his reign, the Rhine Empire defeated the combined forces of the Luo'ao Empire and the Yulan Empire, expanding its territory by a third. He was a renowned great ruler in history.
"That's all in the past. I'm Edward Rhein now. Once I came to Bloodshadow Valley, my ties to worldly affairs outside were severed." Edward looked at the Violet-Eyed Bladewing Fiend beside him. "This is Dante, my 'contractor.' Oh, you youngsters might not know this, but in our time, Rhine Clan members with exceptional aptitude would make contracts with members of the Violet-Eyed Family and become partners."
"Mr. Dante." Prince Vittorio bowed. Edward was a figure from three thousand years ago; by that reckoning, both of them had to be Peak Saint experts.
Dante asked, "What's that young man's name, and how old is he? Ah, I forgot to mention, Ailin on the platform is my daughter."
"Oh, I see. That young man is Jason Rhine, the current Rhine emperor's second son. He's twenty-six this year."
Edward nodded. "Not bad. He can already use a Profound Mystery skillfully at the early stage of the ninth level. Back then, I only began to use a Profound Mystery in combat when I reached the peak of the ninth level."
When many people first comprehended a Profound Mystery, they had only a vague understanding of it and had no idea how to use it in combat. It might even fail to work-when Linley first encountered the "Pulsation Profound Mysteries," they often failed him.
Jason and Ailin could use their Profound Mysteries so skillfully in combat that they were already stronger than many at the Saint Realm Middle Stage.
A human Saint who did not comprehend a Profound Mystery and relied solely on accumulating battle-qi could reach the Saint Realm Middle Stage at most. Magical beasts had it a little better: relying on their innate gifts, they could reach the third tier of Peak Saints. Those were the limits humans and magical beasts could reach without comprehending Profound Mysteries.
The battle between Jason and Ailin was nearing its end. Neither could keep up their battle-qi or magic power much longer, an inevitable outcome of a fight between ninth-level combatants who had comprehended Profound Mysteries.
They had only just begun to explore Profound Mysteries, so differences in their profundity could not yet influence the battle. Even comprehending a little of a Profound Mystery could multiply one aspect of a ninth-level combatant's abilities.
As long as they played to their strengths, that was enough to make both sides wary. After all, even a slight mistake would leave them gravely wounded and on the brink of death.
The defense Ailin gained from ninth-level magic alone could not stop an attack enhanced by a Profound Mystery. Even though Jason's Profound Mystery focused on defense, his attacks were still stronger than those of most ninth-level combatants.
At last, Ailin, who had remained on the offensive throughout the fight, sprang backward. "Let's call it a draw."
"All right."
Both sides stopped fighting.