Chapter 9: Sparring
Sly, Higginson, Miller, and a few others stood quietly in the distance, watching the trial.
“Now, let’s assume my speed is inferior to yours,” Hayward said, smiling at Linley. “Come on, attack me. Watch how I deal with you.”
Linley was also somewhat expectant. If one’s speed was inferior to the opponent’s, how would a Saint-level Magus defend?
Linley instantly burst into motion, transforming into a black blur. The moment Linley moved, Hayward transformed into a streak of fire and immediately retreated at extreme speed, but it was obvious that Hayward’s retreat speed was far inferior to Linley’s.
“Let’s see how you block this,” Linley said, staring at Hayward.
“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!”… Suddenly, in the air, a large number of flaming meteors, each the size of a house, formed out of nowhere. These flaming meteors, carrying terrifying power, crazily surged towards Linley, densely covering the space in front of and above him almost instantly.
Linley’s expression changed.
A rank 9 fire-style magic—Meteor Shower. Although this technique was far inferior to the earth-style forbidden spell ‘Meteor Fall’ in terms of quantity, range, and individual power, with so many meteors charging at him, he had to break through them to continue pursuing Hayward.
They were densely packed, leaving no space even for a tiny gap to dodge.
“Boom!” Linley charged forward without hesitation, smashing heavily into the flaming meteors.
One flaming meteor after another was sent flying by Linley’s impact, and some were even shattered directly. Although Linley’s body was tough and he wasn’t afraid of this level of attack, continuously crashing into the flaming meteors greatly reduced his speed.
“Bang!” Smashing the last flaming meteor blocking his path with a punch, Linley finally saw Hayward in the distance.
Hayward stood in mid-air, his red face full of smiles. “Linley, you lose again.”
Linley nodded.
“Your rank 9 magic can’t hurt me, but it greatly reduces my speed. By the time I break through, you’ve probably already cast a forbidden attack magic,” Linley said. He understood very well. In fact, he had no other choice. Those meteors weren’t ordinary rocks, and Linley had to use his strongest power to break through them.
Desri, who was watching from the side, said, “Linley, the most basic method for a Saint-level Magus to deal with a Saint-level warrior is to use instant-cast magic to block the opponent. They quickly create distance and then cast forbidden magic to attack the opponent.”
Linley nodded.
“But Mr. Hayward, being able to instantly cast rank 9 magic is truly…” Linley felt the other party was formidable. Even with the Coiling Dragon Ring, Linley could only instantly cast rank 7 magic at most.
Hayward chuckled and said, “Of course, generally, Saint-level Magi have strong spiritual energy. They can usually instantly cast rank 8 magic… I can instantly cast rank 9 magic simply because I’ve cultivated for so many years and my spiritual energy is stronger.”
Linley sighed inwardly. “Phoenix Transformation, condensing a fire phoenix hundreds of meters in size down to ten meters. I’ve never even heard of such a thing before.”
An ordinary forbidden spell ‘Phoenix Transformation’ forming a hundred-meter-tall fire phoenix was already terrifying. But this Hayward… was clearly a pinnacle figure among Saint-level Magi.
“But even with rank 8 magic, in a critical moment, a Saint-level Magus can frantically instant-cast rank 8 magic to slow you down. That’s also achievable,” Hayward said with certainty.
Linley nodded and smiled. “But it’s not as effective as Mr. Hayward’s rank 9 magic. It took me much longer to break through your ‘Meteor Shower’. If it were rank 8 magic blocking me, my speed would probably be much faster.”
“Linley, you are also a pinnacle figure among Saint-level warriors. If it were an ordinary Saint-level warrior, facing instant-cast rank 8 magic, their speed wouldn’t be as fast as yours,” Hayward said.
Linley nodded.
Linley fully understood… It was like an ordinary person. Running a hundred meters might take ten seconds. But if the track were filled with mud, and they had to run again, it might take fifteen seconds or even longer. Mud wasn’t particularly harmful to an ordinary person.
But blocking the path, it could definitely slow you down.
Mud to an ordinary person was like these flaming meteors to Linley; his speed naturally decreased.
“Linley, you must understand. What a Saint-level Magus does against a Saint-level warrior is generally to slow the opponent down! For example, instant-cast magic, or negative effect magics like some slowing techniques from the darkness system… etc. As long as they prevent you from catching up for a moment, the Saint-level Magus has the chance to cast forbidden magic to attack you.”
Desri and the others also flew over.
“You’ve experienced the power of a Saint-level Magus’s forbidden magic, haven’t you?” Desri said to Linley with a smile.
Linley nodded.
Forbidden magic was terrifying. For instance, with ‘Phoenix Transformation’, even if Linley pierced the fire phoenix’s head with his sword, the fire phoenix would continue attacking without concern because it was formed from elements, not a living creature. This kind of forbidden magic was even more frightening than a Saint-level magical beast.
At least a Saint-level magical beast was still afraid of being stabbed.
To deal with forbidden magic, one could only attack it repeatedly until its energy was depleted.
“Linley,” the beautiful woman ‘Besseline’ also said with a smile, “Instant-cast magic to slow the opponent’s speed is just a relatively passive method for a Saint-level Magus. In fact, a Saint-level Magus has an extremely powerful technique.”
“Oh?”
Linley looked at Hayward in surprise. “Mr. Hayward, do you have another technique?”
Could a Saint-level Magus be that terrifying?
Hayward nodded. “Of course. This technique is the one Saint-level Magi rely on the most. Linley, come and attack me again. Experience it yourself, and you’ll understand clearly.” Saying this, Hayward quickly retreated, maintaining a hundred-meter distance from Linley.
“The one they rely on the most?” Linley was curious.
“Boom!” Linley charged at Hayward again, but Hayward stood still in the distance, watching Linley with confidence.
When Linley was about to get close to him, Linley’s expression suddenly changed drastically. He only felt a terrifying spiritual storm sweep over him, impacting his soul. In just an instant, Linley felt his mind go blank.
His body swayed, and it took several seconds before he regained clarity.
Several seconds, in a Saint-level battle, could decide one’s fate.
Linley looked at Hayward in shock. “Spiritual attack?”
“Haha…” Miller flew over and laughed, “Linley, that’s not even considered a spiritual attack. If it were a real spiritual attack, you would probably have a splitting headache and fallen by now.”
Desri and the group all flew over.
Desri personally explained, “Linley, where do mages have an advantage over warriors?”
“Spiritual energy,” Linley answered without hesitation.
Desri nodded. “Right. The strongest aspect of a mage is spiritual energy. The spiritual energy of a Saint-level Magus is as vast and terrifying as an ocean. It’s incomparably higher than that of a Saint-level warrior. Except for a few who have just entered the Saint domain, the vast majority of Saint-level Magi can use relatively basic methods like ‘Spiritual Storm’.”
“This ‘Spiritual Storm’ isn’t a spiritual attack created by comprehending elemental laws. It’s very simple… directly using a massive amount of spiritual energy to impact the opponent’s soul. This method is relatively simple. Generally, after reaching the Saint domain, a Saint-level Magus will comprehend it before long,” Hayward affirmed.
Linley understood.
What was just called ‘Spiritual Storm’ was like a large amount of spiritual energy rushing over together, repeatedly impacting the opponent’s soul. In reality, it wasn’t a strong soul attack.
“Hayward has long comprehended a unique spiritual attack. If he really used a spiritual attack on you, you’d be in trouble,” Desri said with a smile.
Linley understood that the essence of a spiritual attack (soul attack) was to instantly condense soft spiritual energy into something like a ‘sharp knife’ and stab it into the opponent’s soul. This kind of attack was truly terrifying! If one’s soul wasn’t strong enough, it could even be directly pierced, causing the soul to scatter.
“Spiritual Storm! Haha…” Hayward shook his head and laughed. “That name was given by Saint-level Magi long ago. But in reality, it’s just the most basic form of spiritual attack. It can only deal with Saint-level warriors whose spiritual energy is far weaker than theirs.”
Linley felt a shiver in his heart.
Saint-level Magi were indeed terrifying.
Whether it was instant-cast magic to slow the opponent’s speed or using Spiritual Storm to impact the opponent’s soul, both were very effective.
“Saint-level Magi are rarer than Saint-level warriors, and generally, Saint-level Magi have a slight advantage,” Higginson said with a hearty laugh. “Linley, but there are strong among Saint-level warriors and strong among Saint-level Magi. In the end, who is stronger depends on the individual.”
Linley nodded.
If he were truly fighting Hayward to the death, when faced with Hayward’s meteor obstruction earlier, Linley could have used ‘Earth’s Profound Truths – Hundred Layered Waves’ to turn the meteors on the path into dust and create a passage.
Back then, Linley had pierced through the belly of Mount Tujiao with a single sword strike.
Earlier, Linley had only simulated an ordinary Saint-level powerhouse. If it were a real life-or-death battle, Bebe would probably also attack. Linley and Bebe charging from two directions… with Bebe’s speed, how many Saint-level Magi were faster than him?
Even with a spiritual attack, could it attack both Linley and Bebe at the same time?
“The idea that Saint-level Magi are stronger than Saint-level warriors is just a general result. It can’t be applied universally,” Linley understood.
Of course, this Hayward could definitely kill him easily. If the other party used a ‘spiritual attack’, with his spiritual energy, he could definitely make Linley’s head ache and fall, and then attack with the fire phoenix. Linley would have no way to escape.
There was always someone stronger.
Hayward was powerful, but if he met Fain, he would probably be outmatched. Linley had experienced Fain’s spiritual attack firsthand.
…
On the way back, Bebe, perched on Linley’s shoulder, communicated through soul transmission: “Boss, once you cultivate to the Saint-level Magus rank in the future, combining the Dragonblood Warrior and Saint-level Magus abilities, hmph… dealing with them will be a piece of cake.”
Linley smiled.
If he reached the Saint domain in human form and also reached the Saint domain in magic, combining the two, his strength would probably multiply dozens of times or more. At that time, Linley would probably have the confidence to fight against powerhouses like Fain and Desri.
******
In the Yulan Empire’s capital, at Master Lorance’s residence.
Dylia sat alone in the courtyard, drinking tea and flipping through Master Lorance’s magic notes. The Thunderbolt Wind Eagle ‘Pare’ and the Earth Bear ‘Harton’ were beside her, quietly conversing in the beast language.
“Hmm?” Dylia’s eyes lit up as she looked at a point described in the magic notes, a smile appearing on her face.
A Saint-level Magus’s understanding of magic was indeed very high. Dylia felt she was benefiting greatly.
“An outsider is coming,” the Earth Bear ‘Harton’ said. Dylia looked up at Harton in confusion. “Someone’s coming? Why hasn’t the guard reported it? Ah Huang, are you just messing with me?” Dylia said, smiling at the Earth Bear ‘Harton’.
The Earth Bear’s small eyes tried to widen. “Dylia, you don’t believe me? Am I that kind of bear?”
“Someone really is coming,” Dylia said at that moment. She could also sense it. Her ability to sense her surroundings was far inferior to that of a Saint-level magical beast.
After a while, footsteps sounded from outside.
“May I ask if Master Lorance is in?” A calm and confident voice came from outside.
“Come in,” Dylia said casually. Someone who could come without being announced was definitely not an ordinary person. The courtyard door was pushed open, and two handsome young men walked in together. Dylia immediately stood up upon seeing them. “Dylia pays respects to Your Majesty.”
One of the two young men was none other than the Emperor of the Yulan Empire, Emperor Lande.
Emperor Lande’s eyes lit up when he saw Dylia, and he smiled, “Dylia is getting more and more beautiful. By the way, where is your teacher?”
“Your Majesty, please wait with George for a moment,” Dylia said, then looked at the Earth Bear. “Ah Huang, ask the teacher if he has time now. His Majesty wants to see him.” The young man who came with Emperor Lande was none other than the youngest minister of the Yulan Cabinet in the Yulan Empire and the red-hot favorite beside His Majesty, ‘George’.