Chapter 36: One Against a Million
"Whoosh!"
Linley was like a streak of light, darting through the passageway. His speed had already been pushed to the limit. But in terms of speed, the Abyssal Blade Demons, comparable to Desri and Bebe, were a cut above Linley. Those Abyssal Blade Demons were getting closer and closer.
His eyes were bloodshot, as if spewing fire, but Linley was silently chanting a magic incantation under his breath.
"Swish!" Linley's flight direction suddenly changed.
He turned around and shot diagonally downward toward the depths of the earth. In fact, there were also many Abyssal Blade Demons below, chasing after Linley. Linley went down, the Abyssal Blade Demons below came up, and almost in the blink of an eye, the two sides were about to meet.
"Roar~~" The Abyssal Blade Demons below immediately let out roars.
The group of Abyssal Blade Demons that had been chasing along Linley's original direction immediately turned and went down as well, while Linley closed in on the nearly hundred Abyssal Blade Demons below. Those Abyssal Blade Demons almost simultaneously drew the warblades from their backs with lightning speed, but a cold gleam flashed in Linley's eyes.
Boundless wind elements suddenly gathered.
"Die."
"Crackle~~" Very abruptly, a pale cyan 'Dimensional Edge' that was four or five meters wide appeared out of thin air in front of Linley, and then flew directly downward toward the charging Abyssal Blade Demons.
Seeing the Dimensional Edge, those Abyssal Blade Demons immediately tried to dodge in terror.
But the Dimensional Edge was too fast.
"Crackle~~" Their metallic bodies were directly sliced into pieces. Under Linley's spiritual energy control, that 'Dimensional Edge' traced an arc as it swept through, instantly cutting dozens of Abyssal Blade Demons into fragments. The other Abyssal Blade Demons also dodged in panic.
"Whoosh!"
Linley took the opportunity to charge straight down, following the gap created by the 'Dimensional Edge' toward the depths of the earth.
...
The Dimensional Edge technique was only effective when dealing with a small number of Abyssal Blade Demons. If there were thousands of Abyssal Blade Demons, how many could the Dimensional Edge kill? This was why Linley had chosen to make an abrupt turn and fly downward.
By turning suddenly, he temporarily widened the distance from the Abyssal Blade Demons behind him.
"I can escape for a little while, but I can't keep running like this forever." As Linley fled downward, he was also thinking of a way to 'escape with his life'. "If I could cast 'Dimensional Edge' instantly, that would be great. No matter how many Abyssal Blade Demons came, I could make them all die." For a moment, a wild fantasy surged in Linley's heart.
Casting 'Dimensional Edge' instantly?
Just a pipe dream. Linley also knew it was unrealistic.
"Hmm?" While darting rapidly toward the depths of the earth, Linley suddenly had a thought. "Dimensional Edge?"
Linley wasn't entirely clear on the principle behind forming the forbidden magic 'Dimensional Edge'. He only knew how to gather elements through magical power to create this 'Dimensional Edge'. But at this moment, Linley recalled the scene of executing 'Dimensional Edge'.
Dimensional Edge, to be precise, was the ultimate state of 'Wind Blade'.
When Linley used his spiritual energy to barely control the 'Dimensional Edge' to turn at a slight angle, he also noticed that countless winds were spinning inside the Dimensional Edge. Some fast, some slow, following a strange pattern, ultimately creating the terrifying power that could cut through space.
"Fast? Or slow?"
Linley hadn't thought about it before, but now he found a point of confusion. "The faster this Dimensional Edge is, the better. Why are some winds inside seemingly slow?"
"No." Linley recalled carefully.
The countless winds flowing inside the Dimensional Edge weren't actually slow. It just produced an effect of a 'slow realm', appearing slow but actually fast. Different characteristics of wind blades combined into one, forming the 'Dimensional Edge'. What was the principle behind this?
"Fast realm? Slow realm? Dimensional Edge..."
The scene of executing 'Rhythm of the Wind' also surfaced in Linley's mind. That was when the Violet Blood Soft Sword continuously alternated between the 'fast' and 'slow' realms, creating diametrically opposite results, causing spatial oscillations and generating air blades at the edge of the Violet Blood Soft Sword.
The scene of 'Ten Thousand Swords as One' also appeared in Linley's mind.
When he had studied that technique back then, Linley was puzzled. Why did thousands of sword shadows executed in the fast realm, when fused into one, create the effect of 'space freezing'? How could the fast realm and the slow realm be interchangeable? Linley didn't understand at the time, but he had simulated the 'Mother Empress's' technique to create this move.
In reality, why the 'fast realm' of thousands of sword shadows produced the 'space freezing' of 'Ten Thousand Swords as One'—the mystery behind it, Linley didn't grasp.
"Dimensional Edge... Rhythm of the Wind... Ten Thousand Swords as One..." Scenes flashed rapidly through Linley's mind. The fog shrouding a certain profound mystery of the Wind Elemental Laws seemed to be slowly dissipating before Linley's eyes.
Linley felt a vague understanding.
As if he had touched something, yet as if he hadn't understood anything at all.
Linley didn't even notice that two Abyssal Blade Demons behind him were getting closer and closer. At this moment, Linley was completely immersed in that special state. Those two Abyssal Blade Demons were also puzzled. Usually, before they got close, Linley would try every means to escape.
But this time...
Linley was flying in a straight line, not changing direction at all. The Abyssal Blade Demons were faster than Linley! Flying straight, they could naturally catch up.
"Shriek~~" The piercing screech finally jolted Linley awake, and at the same time, two warblades slashed directly at him.
Linley broke out in a cold sweat from fright. The Violet Blood Soft Sword in his hand immediately swung out. Linley didn't notice at all that this sword strike was neither 'Rhythm of the Wind' nor 'Ten Thousand Swords as One'. It was just an ordinary-looking slash.
"Pfft!" As if cutting through tofu.
Linley's Violet Blood Soft Sword flashed like lightning across the bodies of the two Abyssal Blade Demons, and both were directly cut in half.
"This?" Linley was astonished. Although the defense of these Abyssal Blade Demons wasn't top-tier, even executing 'Rhythm of the Wind' required full effort to split an Abyssal Blade Demon in two. But just now... he had seemed to effortlessly cut two Abyssal Blade Demons in half with a single sword stroke.
"Just now..." Linley couldn't help but recall that unconscious sword strike.
"Ah!" Linley's eyes suddenly widened.
The profound mysteries of the Wind Elemental Laws that had been hazy and indistinct in his mind now seemed like clouds parting to reveal the moon. His heart was clear and bright.
"Rhythm of the Wind? Ten Thousand Swords as One? Dimensional Edge?" Linley actually burst out laughing. "Fast realm? Slow realm? Fast and slow opposites? Haha... wrong, all wrong. The fast realm and the slow realm are the same, the same!!!" Linley's figure suddenly moved.
Like a gust of wind, seemingly light and slow, but in an instant, he was a thousand meters away.
"Spatial overlap? Spatial disorder? Spatial stagnation? Spatial freeze?" Linley laughed with unrestrained joy.
"It's that dragonman." A large number of Abyssal Blade Demons spotted Linley.
"Kill." With a roar, countless Abyssal Blade Demons swung their blades simultaneously, sending sharp blade auras toward Linley. Blade auras crisscrossed, splitting the metallic ground. Although most of the blade auras missed Linley, some still converged on him.
"Hum!" Where the blade auras gathered, the metallic ground turned to powder.
"He's dead for sure!"
"Hmm?" Suddenly, the Abyssal Blade Demons were shocked.
Because Linley, who had been several thousand meters away, casually flickered twice and was right in front of them. They only saw an eerie purple light flash, and their heads were sent flying.
"Fast realm, slow realm... haha, all strayed onto the wrong path!" Linley laughed loudly, casually swinging his sword to easily kill the Abyssal Blade Demons. With a flicker of his form, he effortlessly left the Abyssal Blade Demons far behind. In terms of speed, he was more than twice as fast as the Abyssal Blade Demons!
Too fast!
Even if the red Abyssal Blade Demon came, its speed wouldn't be half of Linley's current speed.
"I used to think that cultivating the fast realm to the extreme could lead to godhood, and cultivating the slow realm to the extreme could also lead to godhood. Yes, it can lead to godhood. But that's taking the wrong path." Linley's heart was now clear and open. He had a sense of looking down from a high vantage point. "When the fast realm is cultivated to the extreme and the slow realm is cultivated to the extreme, they will ultimately have to merge..."
In that moment of hazy enlightenment, the profound mysteries contained in the fast realm and the profound mysteries contained in the slow realm collided and combined in Linley's mind. The diametrically opposite principles, reflecting each other, instantly elevated Linley's understanding of both realms by a large margin.
"Whether fast or slow, these two realms actually belong to the Wind Elemental Laws..."
"The Speed Principle!"
Linley casually swung the Violet Blood Soft Sword. At first glance, it seemed slow, but on another look, it was as fast as lightning. Observing from different angles yielded different results. On the edge of the Violet Blood Soft Sword, a pale cyan air blade similar to the 'Dimensional Edge' even appeared.
With a casual sword strike, space vibrated, producing extremely fine spatial cracks.
Linley's casual sword strike now already had part of the power of the 'Dimensional Edge'.
Linley's figure rapidly appeared in various places. With a flash of purple light, a large number of Abyssal Blade Demon heads flew off.
"This technique, I'll call it... Speed Principle: Dimensional Slash!"
"Swish." Linley's body shot directly out of the ground.
"Haha, he's out! My children, kill!!!" The red Abyssal Blade Demon immediately gave the order excitedly. Countless screeches sounded as hundreds of thousands of Abyssal Blade Demons charged down like locusts, almost simultaneously swinging their blades to send blade auras at Linley.
But Linley's figure had already reached the center of their group.
Linley was like a gust of wind, appearing here and there. Wherever his body passed, the heads of the Abyssal Blade Demons were sent flying. Before Linley, those Abyssal Blade Demons had no power to resist.
Screams and terrified roars rang out continuously. Golden blood splattered everywhere.
...
In a very short time, the number of dead Abyssal Blade Demons had already exceeded one hundred thousand. All the Abyssal Blade Demons were terrified. They had had fighting spirit at the beginning, but now they had none left.
"No, impossible." The two red Abyssal Blade Demons shouted in fear.
But a gentle breeze blew over, and one red Abyssal Blade Demon's head flew off. Linley's Violet Blood Soft Sword was then placed against the neck of the other red Abyssal Blade Demon. His dark golden eyes looked calmly at this red Abyssal Blade Demon, and he said indifferently, "Well, still want to fight?"
"Spare me, lord!" That red Abyssal Blade Demon immediately knelt in terror.
As soon as the leader knelt, the countless Abyssal Blade Demons, whose courage had already been shattered by Linley, all landed on the ground and knelt down.
On the eleventh floor of the Necropolis of the Gods, on the vast, desolate land, a large number of corpses lay scattered. At the same time, countless Abyssal Blade Demons knelt on the ground, too terrified to even dare to lift their heads and look. The horrific slaughter just now had shattered their very courage.
The Abyssal Blade Demons knelt prostrate. On the vast land stained with golden blood, only Linley stood alone.
"It's a pity that my understanding of the fast realm and the slow realm isn't deep." Linley was still recalling the principle he had just comprehended. "Even now that I've combined the two realms into one and comprehended the 'Speed Principle' of the Wind Elemental Laws, I'm still one step away from reaching godhood."
At this moment, Linley could already feel the threshold of the divine plane.
In fact, cultivating either the fast realm or the slow realm to the extreme was enough to become a lesser god. After that, completely merging the two realms into one to form the 'Speed Principle' at its peak would allow one to become a demigod.
The two realms seemed diametrically opposite. Merging them couldn't be deduced through reasoning; it required a moment of enlightenment.
The higher one's understanding of the two realms, the harder it was to merge them, like walking two opposite paths—the farther you go, the harder it is to bring them back together.
Linley's understanding of the two realms wasn't very high, so the difficulty of comprehending them was much lower.
Back then, Linley's 'Rhythm of the Wind' had consciously combined the two realms, and 'Ten Thousand Swords as One' was a step further. Then, by executing 'Dimensional Edge', he felt a resonance in his heart. Finally, through accumulated experience, he comprehended the true 'Speed Principle'.
His movement technique instantly increased two to three times, and he also comprehended his strongest sword technique—Dimensional Slash!
"You know where the divine spark is, right?" Linley looked down at the red Abyssal Blade Demon trembling on his knees.
"Yes, I know, I know." This red Abyssal Blade Demon was terrified that Linley would kill him.
"Lead the way." Linley said.