Elena frowned at the sudden change in Aldrian. His bearing and aura had beco much stronger, exuding a pressure that should not belong to soone at the Marquess stage. She felt shaken—why would a cultivator at his level emit such an overwhelming and stifling presence? It was beyond her comprehension.
What she didn’t know was that she was already inside one of Aldrian’s domains—one he had established upon arriving in this city, days before he attacked the Larson family. As a precaution, he had created several domains, and one of them happened to be here, just outside the city walls, where few people ever passed.
Aldrian lured her here not only because this was his domain, but also because he was curious about Elena and wanted to face her personally.
Aldrian suddenly disappeared from Elena’s sight, making her eyes widen in shock. However, she quickly lifted her peak Heaven-grade sword and blocked the sudden attack coming from her left.
Tang! Whoosh!
The clash of swords echoed as a gust of wind swept through the surroundings. Elena had successfully blocked Aldrian’s attack, but she gritted her teeth, shocked by the sheer power behind his strike.
"How can a Marquess-stage cultivator have this kind of power?!" she thought before finally channeling her energy into her sword and trying to push Aldrian back.
"Aahhh!!" she shouted as she managed to push Aldrian. However, taking advantage of her montum, he lifted his sword, forcing hers upward. With a swift movent, he brought his blade down, aiming for her shoulder. If his sword struck its target, her arm could be severed.
Elena did not let that happen. She moved her body with extre agility, her swift motions accentuating her curves, followed by a quick slash of her sword. Aldrian easily parried the attack and continued his relentless assault. Each of his strikes was powerful, forcing Elena to retreat while keeping her focus on the direction of Aldrian’s blade.
His swordsmanship was unpredictable yet beautifully executed, with each movent flowing seamlessly into the next. There was no gap she could exploit, making it impossible for her to launch a counterattack. Forget counterattacking—she had to use a considerable amount of power just to block Aldrian’s strikes, as each one was heavy and relentless.
"This can’t go on. I will be defeated before I can unleash my technique," she thought.
Rumble!
Each ti their swords t, the ground beneath them cracked and shattered. The trees nearby were swept by the powerful wind generated from their clashes.
After hundreds of exchanges, Elena finally spotted a small opening and instantly took advantage of it. With a sudden counter, she slid her sword along the ground, kicking up dirt and hurling it toward Aldrian’s eyes, intending to blind him.
It was quite cunning, but she had to do sothing to break Aldrian’s montum. Aldrian simply tilted his head to avoid the dirt, but that was enough ti for Elena to put so distance between them. Aldrian didn’t pursue her and stood there, watching her with a smile.
"Truly impressive, Miss Elena. You are truly worthy of being called one of the ten great swordmasters of the continent. I have to say, your swordsmanship is exceptional. It must have a great origin, right?" he said.
Elena took a deep breath after the continuous assault by Aldrian, using the brief mont to recover, but she still answered him.
"It is great indeed, but you are truly a monster. Even without exuding your energy and relying solely on your pure swordsmanship and martial arts, you have this much power. And even I cannot find the gap in your attacks," she replied.
"So, mind telling now, what is your real purpose behind this charade? Why are you searching for the mysterious swordsman and suddenly attacking without any purpose?" Aldrian knew that, although her attack was full of power and directed toward the fatal parts of his body, which could be dangerous, she harbored neither killing intent nor ill intent.
From what he knew, she was more curious and wanted to make sure whether he was the real deal or not. That was also why he hadn’t attacked her with his sword techniques to end the fight instantly. There was no better opportunity for him to have a sparring partner with techniques and movents he was unfamiliar with. She also seed to have her own objectives, so he only needed to lure her here for a more private conversation.
Elena smiled at Aldrian as she pointed her sword toward him.
"Show your energy first, and I will tell you."
"Well, since earlier, I never felt the need to release my energy to face you."
Elena felt irritated because Aldrian seed to underestimate her, and although she hated it, what Aldrian said was true. His martial arts and swordsmanship were already powerful without him having to release his energy, but she, too, was only relying on her own swordsmanship and martial arts. The only ti she released her energy was when she tried to create distance from Aldrian, right after their swords first clashed.
"Alright, I will make you take more seriously so you can show your real skills," she said before taking a stance.
Aldrian knew that Elena would finally use her technique, so he would need to take this more seriously. Elena’s aura beca more intimidating, and the surrounding air around Aldrian grew fragrant with a sweet scent that refreshed his mind. Her eyes beca sharp as she attacked Aldrian again.
She suddenly lifted her sword, and it trembled slightly.
The Start of Spring
Suddenly, the energy around them began to take shape, forming blooming plum blossoms—tens, hundreds, thousands—the number increasing until their surroundings were covered with an overwhelming sea of blossoms, each one carrying a sharp sword intent. Aldrian was amazed by Elena’s control, as each blossom held enough destructive power that he would have no hope of protecting himself if he were outside of his domain.
The scenery resembled the bloom of plum blossoms in the spring, a beautiful display of nature. However, behind those blossoms lay condensed power.
"Spread!" she swept her sword down, and as she did, each of the plum blossoms suddenly "exploded." Each petal, carrying sharp sword intent, shot out like projectiles, moving at a speed faster than the eye could catch.
Boom, boom, boom!
Each petal struck at Aldrian with such force that even the ground beneath them shook and cracked. Dirt and dust instantly engulfed Aldrian as the petals fell like rain, all aid at the spot where he stood. The attack didn’t stop until every petal had vanished from the air. The area, extending for about 500 ters, was reduced to dirt and dust, thick with sharp sword intent that could be felt all the way inside the city.
Elena looked at the dust that covered her sight of Aldrian, not letting her guard down as she kept her focus on his position. However, she didn’t detect any movent, even after waiting for a few seconds, which left her confused.
"I didn’t kill him, did I?" she thought.
Her question was answered a few seconds later when she heard a voice.
"What a powerful technique you have there, Miss Elena. Were you trying to kill with it? I thought you only wanted to spar with ?" Aldrian said.
As the dust cleared, revealing Aldrian, Elena widened her eyes. The ground around him was utterly destroyed, filled with holes and sword intent, yet a half-ter radius around Aldrian remained untouched, completely clear of any destruction.
From her perspective, it seed that Aldrian had created a spatial shield to protect himself, and that shield was strong enough to block her attack! She was truly amazed by it, as her attack just now could have injured a low Emperor Stage cultivator. Yet, he had not shown any of his energy, which disappointed her.
At that mont, she was already 70% sure that this young man was indeed the mysterious swordsman.
"Kill you with that? If you had, I would be disappointed," Elena said with a smile.
Aldrian smiled as well but then looked toward the city wall.
"It looks like our spar has already garnered a lot of attention, with many cultivators approaching this place," Aldrian said as he looked at Elena again.
"Then I will entertain your request so we can end this spar on good terms, right?" he added.
Elena tilted her head slightly, her eyes widening as they glimred with admiration when she finally saw Aldrian unleash his golden energy, enveloping the blade of his sword. The golden energy shone beautifully, but beneath that beauty, Elena could feel the unique power emanating from it. It made her heart tremble, filling her with a deep sense of reverence.
"That’s it, I found it," she thought.
She suddenly sheathed her sword and raised her hands in surrender.
"Stop, I finally found what I’m looking for, so can you stand down? I give up," she said.
Aldrian tilted his head.
"Who told you the spar is over?"
Elena widened her eyes.
"You—"
Suddenly, Aldrian slashed his sword, and a golden energy slash flew toward her with incredible speed. She unsheathed her sword, trying to block the energy slash, but she couldn’t. The power behind it was too great for her to withstand.
Her sword was thrown from her hands, and the last thing she saw was the slash striking her before her vision turned to darkness.
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