High above them, Elder Drew couldn’t help but shift uncomfortably. Though he was a Divine Rank expert, there was a quiet anxiety flickering in his heart. He didn’t care whether Max won or lost—victory wasn’t everything. But the reputation of the Great Ruler Empire was on the line.
Losing in a fair fight was acceptable. Being crushed and humiliated, however, would be a stain that would take years to wash away. He had heard Lyra’s account of Max’s performance during the recruitnt assessnt, and though her words had been confident, this opponent was not so inexperienced genius.
This was a seasoned 3rd level Champion Rank, a whole realm above Master Rank, soone no 8th level Expert Rank should even dream of facing.
Elder Drew sighed deeply and folded his arms, silently praying Lyra’s gamble wasn’t a mistake. ’I hope you’re right, Lyra,’ he thought grimly as he focused on the battlefield.
Just then, the holographic display hovering in the air buzzed to life, and the word "Start" appeared in bold, glowing letters.
In the sa instant, Max’s figure exploded in a flash of blue lightning. His body vanished from view, moving so quickly that the very air cracked behind him. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared right in front of Kai, his blue dragon sword already mid-swing, slashing down with terrifying speed and precision.
But Kai, a genius nurtured by one of the Middle Domain’s overlord forces, wasn’t so common genius to be caught off guard. His eyes narrowed, and in a heartbeat, three rings of pure purple lightning spun into existence behind him.
They rotated rapidly, humming with dangerous power as his entire body lit up in an aura of violent purple electricity. In a blur of motion, a sleek, jagged-edged sword appeared in his grasp, crackling with the sa violet current. Without hesitation, he brought his sword up to et Max’s blow.
Clang! BOOM!
The sound of colliding blades and the eruption of elental energy echoed through the hills like a thunderclap. A wave of force blasted the surrounding terrain, kicking up dust and loose stones.
A single figure was sent flying through the air, crashing back-first into the rough, uneven slope of the hill with a thunderous impact. It was Max.
Groaning slightly, he flipped mid-air and landed on his feet, skidding backward, leaving deep marks in the dirt as he tried to stabilize himself. His arms trembled faintly from the clash.
Kai, anwhile, hadn’t moved a step. He stood in the sa spot, eyes narrowed with a cruel smile tugging at his lips. "You’re fast, I’ll give you that," he said with a sneer, lightning still crackling around him like a living serpent, "but that’s it for you. Speed alone won’t save you now."
His voice dripped with contempt, but also hidden caution. That first exchange had shown him Max wasn’t ordinary—yet in his eyes, Max was still a sheep pretending to roar like a lion.
Max chuckled lightly, the sound calm and confident despite the force of the previous clash. "You haven’t seen my full speed at all," he said, and the mont the words left his mouth, his entire body turned into a blur of pure blue lightning.
It wasn’t just movent—it was like he had rged with the lightning itself. A bolt of light flashed behind Kai before the young man could even register it. Max’s figure materialized in an instant behind him, his sword humming violently.
The air around his blade trembled as Max infused it with the full force of his Level 2 Concept of the Severing Sword, a power sharp enough to cleave through space and thoughts alike.
With a sudden swing, he unleashed the first move of his Severing Flow Sword Art, and the blade scread down with a pressure that tore through the wind like paper.
Kai’s instincts scread at him. His body moved on its own, twisting around and raising his sword just in ti to et Max’s terrifying blow.
Clang! BOOM!
The collision erupted like thunder, but this ti, it was Kai who was overwheld. His entire body was blasted back, flipping through the air before crashing against the uneven ground.
He rolled down the hill several tis before skidding to a halt, dust and small rocks spraying around him. When he finally ca to a stop, he staggered up to one knee, his chest heaving, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Shock was written all over his face—not just because of Max’s insane speed that seed to mock the laws of motion, but because of the sword intent he had just felt.
That strike... it wasn’t ordinary. It carried with it a bone-chilling sharpness, a will that sought to sever everything in its path—his body, his energy, even his confidence. That was the pressure of a genuine Level 2 sword concept, and it terrified him to his core.
"A Level 2 Sword Concept!" Elder Drew’s voice rang out in shock, his usually calm expression tightening as his eyes locked onto Max. His brows furrowed deeply, unable to hide the astonishnt he felt.
"How could it be a Level 2 Sword Concept?!" Elder Bras from the Thunder Monarch Hall exclaid, his voice sharp and disbelieving. The arrogance that once filled his tone had vanished, replaced by genuine surprise.
His eyes narrowed on Max, trying to figure out how soone at the 8th level of Expert Rank could wield such a terrifying comprehension.
anwhile, Lyra stood silently beside them, but the faint upward curve of her lips betrayed her satisfaction. Even she, despite all her confidence in Max, hadn’t expected this. She had assud Max was strong enough to compete, yes, but a Level 2 Concept? That was far beyond her expectations.
One had to understand that reaching Level 2 in any concept wasn’t sothing just any genius could achieve. Even among the top young talents of the Middle Domain, comprehending a Level 2 Concept was a milestone typically reserved for Legend Rank.
At that level, their experiences, battles, and ntal perception had matured enough to allow such comprehension. Even if an expert possessed divine treasures or spiritual tools that accelerated understanding, it would still take months or even years of cultivation, ditation, and life-or-death tempering to reach Level 2.
For soone like Max—who wasn’t even a Master Rank expert yet—to manifest a Level 2 Sword Concept so naturally and use it in battle as if it were second nature... that was a kind of talent and mystery that simply defied common sense.
"Co on, this is just starting," Max said with a calm smile, his voice laced with excitent as he activated his Dragon Scales Transformation. In an instant, black glowing scales surged across his skin, spreading rapidly until both his arms were completely covered, the scales climbing up to his neck like a living armor.
ach scale pulsed with a dark, ominous light, exuding a faint aura that shimred with power. His physical aura rose sharply, the air around him crackling from the pressure as a visible shift in his strength occurred.
He had already realized from the earlier exchange that Kai wasn’t soone he could defeat without going all out. Those two earlier clashes made it clear—Kai’s strength at the 3rd level of Champion Rank wasn’t to be underestimated. And Max knew that unless he unleashed everything at his disposal, this battle would drag on longer than he could afford.
But even so, Max made a decision—to fight using only his Sword Concept. He could used his Lightning Concept, his Space Concept, or even his Fla Concept to overwhelm Kai. But he wouldn’t.
Because if anyone here discovered that he, soone whose sword concept had already reached Level 2, also had mastery over other concepts, it would send shockwaves through the entire Middle Domain. Elders from various factions would surely monitor him. Enemies would start plotting. And so hidden forces might even attempt to erase him before he could grow further.
No, not yet. Until he reached the point where he could protect himself without relying on others, Max understood that revealing too much was foolish.
So he would rely only on his sword. Only on what the others had already seen. And that alone—he promised himself—would be enough to crush his opponent.
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