# Chapter 8: The Genius Sword Saint
With a single move, he defeated a Saint Domain powerhouse and a personal disciple of the War God. Coupled with Linley's transformation, it gave everyone a powerful visual shock. Among the eighty thousand people in the arena, no one dared to make a sound.
Dead silence. A terrifying silence.
Bloomer stared in terror at Linley, who stood suspended in midair. At this moment, Linley's cold, emotionless dark golden pupils were fixed on him. Bloomer felt as though he could be killed at any moment. This extreme fear drove him to move closer to the position of the Panshi Sword Saint 'Hederson'.
Silence. For a moment, no one dared to speak.
"Slap!" A single drop of bright red blood fell from the purple blood soft sword onto the battle stage, splattering apart. The crisp sound was unprecedentedly loud.
This blood belonged to Kenyon.
Kenyon stood awkwardly at the edge of the battle stage, using his body's muscles and battle qi to seal the wound and stop the bleeding. But he no longer dared to fight Linley again.
He was indeed a Saint Domain powerhouse, but only a mid-stage Saint Domain. In terms of realm, he had only reached the 'Shi' realm, far lower than Linley.
"Master Linley." At this moment, Emperor Qiao'an spoke up. His voice sounded particularly abrupt throughout the arena, and nearly half the people turned to look at him. But Emperor Qiao'an still wore a full smile on his face. "Although I knew you were also a formidable warrior, I never expected that your accomplishments in this area would be no less than your achievements in stone sculpture."
Emperor Qiao'an's words clearly eased the atmosphere.
Just moments ago, Linley's violent demeanor had made even the eighty thousand spectators afraid to take a deep breath. But now, as soon as Emperor Qiao'an finished speaking, murmurs and discussions arose throughout the arena.
"Master Linley? Ah. Could he be that youngest stone sculpture grandmaster in the world of stone carving?"
"Master Linley is from the Sacred Alliance. I heard that Count Wharton also came from the Sacred Alliance back then. Dragonblood Warriors—truly formidable!"
"How old is Master Linley? He created 'Stone Sculpture Awakening' at sixteen, and now only eleven years have passed. A twenty-seven-year-old Saint Domain powerhouse—doesn't that make him even stronger than Lord Oliver?"
...
Countless discussions about Linley kept arising. This suddenly appearing Linley, with his identity as a stone sculpture grandmaster, was clearly remembered by many who loved stone carving.
This was a figure who could rival Master Pruks.
And now, this young master, barely in his twenties, had defeated a personal disciple of the War God and a Saint Domain powerhouse with a single move!
Spontaneously, many people began comparing him to Oliver.
Compared to Oliver, Linley was younger.
"Brother Linley, that move of yours should have been created from comprehending the laws of the wind element, right?" At this moment, 'Panshi Sword Saint' Hederson from the judges' panel spoke up loudly.
As soon as Hederson spoke, the arena immediately quieted down. Everyone wanted to hear what this Panshi Sword Saint and the newly emerged genius Linley had to say.
"Yes, Mr. Hederson." Linley's indifferent voice sounded.
"May I ask, what is the name of this move?" 'Panshi Sword Saint' Hederson was actually an ascetic cultivator pursuing the path to the divine level. He wanted to learn from the mysteries of other Saint Domain powerhouses, hoping that he might suddenly gain insight and break through.
"This move is called 'Wind Ripple'." Linley did not hide it.
To learn a powerful move, one needed a certain understanding of the elemental laws. Without that understanding, even if others explained it clearly, you still couldn't learn it.
Linley, standing in midair, glanced at Kenyon in the distance and said calmly, "Your name is Kenyon, right?"
Kenyon had initially thought Linley was someone below the Saint Domain. When Linley rebuked him, he naturally became furious. But now that Linley was stronger than him...
Although there was still anger in his heart, Kenyon had already placed Linley on an equal, or even higher, level.
"Yes." Kenyon nodded slightly.
"Mr. Kenyon, with your level of cultivation, you should have clearly seen the extent of my brother's injuries. Since you knew, you shouldn't have said those words. Remember, when serving as a judge, at least be fair. We had already conceded defeat, so there was no need for you to go too far!"
Linley said coldly, then flew directly down toward his own people. His heart was still concerned about his brother's injuries.
Kenyon felt embarrassed being scolded like this by Linley.
But he knew he had no justification. When the other party had already conceded and he still acted that way, it was indeed excessive.
*******
"Wharton, are you alright?" Linley returned to his human form, flew to his brother's side, knelt before him, and asked with concern.
Many people were gathered around at this moment, and even Nia had rushed over regardless of everything.
"Lord Linley." A light-style magician beside him smiled and said, "Please rest assured. I have just cast a healing spell. Lord Wharton's injuries have mostly recovered. With Lord Wharton's recovery ability, he should be fine in ten days to half a month."
"Big brother, I'm much better." Wharton could now speak relatively easily.
Only then did Linley feel relieved.
He was also somewhat satisfied with the arena's preparations. Linley knew very well the healing abilities of light-style magicians. Ordinary low-level magicians could at most treat flesh wounds. For internal organ injuries or broken bones, more powerful light-style magicians were needed.
Of course, the strongest light-style magicians...
Could even achieve instant complete recovery as long as the person wasn't dead. For example, when Linley received the 'God's Favor' at the Radiant Temple, the healing effect attached to that faith force instantly restored Linley, whose bones and tendons had been nearly completely severed, to full health.
This kind of restorative ability was simply terrifying.
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
At this moment, the silver-haired old man hosting the competition also stepped onto the battle stage, his face full of smiles. "Today's great battle must have been extremely exciting and thrilling for everyone to watch. Haha, even our arena's battle stage has been destroyed because of this battle."
The eighty thousand spectators looked at the cracked battle stage with its many large craters and also laughed.
Today's viewing had truly been worth it.
Not only had they seen a duel between two great geniuses, but they had also witnessed the terrifying strength of Wharton's older brother 'Linley'. This single move that defeated Kenyon...
Linley and Kenyon's fight was short, but its viewing value was far higher than that of Wharton and Bloomer. After all, this was a battle between Saint Domain experts. Many people would never see two Saint Domain experts fight in their entire lives.
"And today's match result should be beyond doubt. I hereby announce—" The silver-haired old man's words came to an abrupt halt as he stared blankly at the distant sky.
Not only him, but the over ten thousand spectators on the judges' panel side also noticed a streak of light shooting toward them at extreme speed from the distant sky.
Almost in the blink of an eye, that streak of light arrived inside the arena.
"Saint Domain!"
The entire arena erupted in exclamations once again. Another Saint Domain powerhouse had arrived.
He wore simple linen clothes, with an indifferent expression on his face. But his eyes were as dazzling as brilliant stars. He had black and white mottled long hair, yet looking at his face alone, there was not a trace of aging—he looked just like a young man.
"Who is this person?"
"I don't recognize him. Gray-streaked hair—which Saint Domain powerhouse is this?"
...
Murmurs from the audience kept rising. Clearly, many people couldn't identify which Saint Domain powerhouse this flying figure was. After all, many had seen the more famous Saint Domain powerhouses before.
This gray-haired young man flew toward Bloomer.
"Second brother, what's going on?" The gray-haired young man spoke.
"Big brother!" Bloomer's joyful voice rang out.
This form of address immediately caused an uproar throughout the arena. This gray-haired young man in simple linen clothes was actually the Genius Sword Saint 'Oliver'!
"Oliver? No, Oliver's hair is all dark brown, and he likes to wear that white robe."
"Oliver, so dazzling—how did he become like this?"
"I see clearly. It's Oliver. Same appearance as when Lord Oliver fought Lord Dillon last time, just different hair and a different aura."
...
Yes, the aura was different.
No wonder the eighty thousand people in the arena hadn't recognized him at first. The Oliver of the past was like an unsheathed sword, with a striking aura, and he always wore pure white robes.
His handsome appearance and sharp aura had made Oliver very famous in the imperial capital.
But the Oliver of today had changed too much from the past.
The Oliver of today had none of that sharp aura. His gray-streaked hair added a touch of world-weariness, and he had never worn linen clothes before.
"He's Oliver?" Linley also looked at Oliver.
Yale beside him nodded and said, "Yes, according to our clan's intelligence, after Oliver entered the Saint Domain, he spent several years traveling through various empires for ascetic training. Based on intelligence estimates, he should have defeated quite a few Saint Domain powerhouses."
Linley nodded slightly.
The moment he saw Oliver, Linley had a feeling—this Oliver was definitely an incredibly terrifying powerhouse, even surpassing Shitler of the Radiant Church.
"He won't stand up for his brother, will he?" Linley immediately began silently chanting a magic incantation.
Oliver's reputation preceded him. With such a great reputation, Oliver's strength was definitely not to be underestimated. Linley didn't dare to be too careless.
A gentle breeze formed around Linley's body.
Wind-style ninth-level magic—Wind Shadow Technique!
...
Oliver listened as his brother recounted the events of the battle. Bloomer embellished the story: "Big brother, that Linley relied on his strength. If it weren't for Senior Brother's help, I would probably..."
Oliver frowned.
The Archison family was actually a very ordinary commoner family. The brothers' parents had died early, and Oliver had always protected and raised Bloomer.
Bloomer was Oliver's only family member. The bond between the two brothers was extremely deep.
"Kenyon." Oliver looked at Kenyon not far away. "Thank you. I, Oliver, will remember your help."
Kenyon quickly said, "Oliver, no need. Bloomer is my junior brother. I wouldn't just stand by and do nothing."
Oliver smiled slightly at Kenyon, then coldly looked at his own brother and scolded, "Second brother, I've told you many times—don't use the forbidden technique unless it's a life-or-death situation. Your current realm and cultivation are far from sufficient. Do you know how much damage forcefully using this move causes? It's far more serious than a broken arm!"
Bloomer lowered his head.
In order to defeat Wharton, he had ultimately used the forbidden technique. The damage from that technique couldn't be healed by healing magic. When Oliver had originally taught him this move, it was meant to be used only in life-or-death situations.
"Big brother, I'm sorry." Bloomer knew Oliver was doing this for his own good.
Oliver shook his head and sighed softly, then turned to look at Linley in the distance. A sharp gleam suddenly appeared in his eyes, which were as calm as a deep ocean. Oliver flew directly into the air.
"Oliver, wait." Emperor Qiao'an knew something was wrong and immediately spoke up.
"Your Majesty, I will not let go of anyone who intends to kill my brother. Your Majesty, it's best if you don't interfere in this matter." Oliver showed no respect for Emperor Qiao'an.
Emperor Qiao'an said no more. He knew Oliver's temperament very well.
But in Emperor Qiao'an's heart, both Linley and Oliver were important members of the empire. He didn't want two geniuses to fight each other.
Oliver stood in midair, his robe fluttering in the wind. He coldly looked down at Linley below and shouted, "Linley, come out!" This roar was like thunder, echoing throughout the entire arena, reverberating endlessly.
"Come out!" "Come out!" "Come out!"...
Everyone in the entire arena held their breath. Good heavens. This viewing had truly been worth it. They had already seen two matches, and now it seemed they might witness an even more spectacular one.
The eyes of the eighty thousand people in the arena all focused on Linley below.