Bab 331: The Imperial Duel I
After lunch, we were guided to an expansive, state-of-the-art training ground housed within the palace itself. Sleek walls gleamed under fluorescent lighting, and the hum of mana-conducting technology blended seamlessly with the historic grandeur of the Slatemark Empire.
Waiting for us was the Second Division of the Imperial Knights. At their helm stood their low Immortal-rank Captain—a towering figure who ranked among the top two hundred strongest in the world.
Thankfully, he wasn't my opponent.
Instead, my match was with the man standing just behind him. Shorter in stature but no less imposing, Nolan Wright's ice-blue hair gave him an almost serene air. Despite his relatively young age for someone of his rank, his presence commanded respect.
As the Vice Captain of the Second Division, Nolan was at peak Ascendant-rank, making him one of the top three hundred warriors in the world. Facing him would be no easy feat.
"You're not nervous?" I asked Cecilia, noting her unshaken confidence.
"Of course not," she said with a small smirk. "If you can't beat someone like him, you're not the man I love."
Her unwavering faith brought a smile to my face. I nodded in acknowledgment, her words bolstering my resolve.
'Are you not nervous?' Luna's voice echoed in my mind.
Was I? Perhaps. After all, Nolan was a formidable opponent—far stronger than most. But I had faced greater challenges, including an Immortal-ranker before. Back then, I only needed to survive. Today, I had to win.
"You can still back out," Quinn murmured, his tone a mix of challenge and warning.
I simply shook my head, a flicker of mana propelling me onto the stage. Nolan exchanged a glance with his Captain before leaping into the arena as well.
"Nice to meet you," he said, his tone surprisingly friendly and warm, contrasting with the stoic image one might expect from an Imperial Knight. "I've heard a lot about you. Let's have a good match."
"Likewise," I replied, my Eclipse Blade materializing from my spatial ring in a flash of silver and black light.
This wasn't a fight where I could afford to hold back.
I activated everything.
Seraphim's Embrace amplified my senses to their peak, working seamlessly with Soul Vision, a gift from my Soul Resonance with Luna, sharpening every detail to crystal clarity. I divided my focus through Mind's Aegis, weaving spellforms with precision. Mythic Body fortified my physical frame, while Lucent Harmony balanced the storm of mana within me, ensuring a perfect synergy of strength and control. Finally, Astral Manifestation layered my blade in shimmering, resonant pseudo-astral energy.
Across from me, Nolan's sword radiated a cool, flowing power, encased in water astral energy that seemed to ripple like a living tide.
Our eyes met briefly, and then we moved.
With a single step, I launched myself forward, and Nolan mirrored the motion. Our blades collided with a resounding clash, astral energy sparking and rippling outward from the point of impact.
Astral energy was superior to pseudo-astral energy by nature. But unlike the vast gulf between sixth-circle magic and enhanced aura, pseudo-astral energy was close enough in potency that, with skillful application, I could hold my own.
Our blades pressed against each other, the clash reverberating through the arena. Nolan's sword felt like the relentless pull of an ocean tide, but I held firm, focusing every ounce of my strength and skill into the Eclipse Blade.
Nolan's sword carried weight—strength honed through years of relentless training. Each clash sent vibrations rippling through my arms, a testament to his power. Yet, it wasn't enough to overwhelm me. Not yet.
We exchanged a series of rapid strikes, the training ground's protective magical runes humming as they absorbed the shockwaves. Without them, this sparring session would have reduced the arena to rubble.
His strikes were precise and forceful, but precision alone couldn't pierce through resolve.
I stilled my blade, allowing it to shimmer faintly in the air. Slowly, it multiplied into countless mirrored copies. Illusion Sword, my Grade 3 art, refined and sharpened to its very peak. What had once been a simple technique was now the cornerstone of my swordsmanship.
Each illusion carried the weight and presence of a real blade. I wove them through the air, mixing feints into the chaos, forcing Nolan onto the defensive. His footwork adjusted as he stepped back, his brows furrowing as the battlefield shifted in my favor.
But Nolan wasn't one to falter for long.
Snowflakes began to form at the tip of his blade, shimmering like fragile glass in the light. They hovered momentarily before exploding outward, destroying my illusions in a cascade of frost. Each burst struck with precision, battering against my Eclipse Blade. My Mythic Body, reinforced by pseudo-astral energy, absorbed the brunt of the impact, but the sheer force of it forced me to grit my teeth.
This wasn't ordinary swordplay anymore. It was the mark of mastery.
A Grade 5 art.
I exhaled, steadying myself. If Nolan wanted a battle of Grade 5 arts, I would oblige.
Tempest Dance Technique—a Grade 5 art that built momentum with every movement, a storm growing stronger with each strike. It began with a downward slash, the blade cutting cleanly through an astral snowflake, splitting it like a fragile ornament.
A thrust followed.
Then a diagonal slash.
The early strikes, though precise, felt precariously close to shattering under the pressure of Nolan's astral energy. His snowflakes, cold and relentless, pushed back with a force that threatened to unbalance me. But my Mythic Body held firm, absorbing the strain. Slowly, the true strength of Tempest Dance began to emerge.
A gentle stream transformed into a roaring waterfall.
The waterfall surged into a mighty river.
The river expanded into a vast sea.
And the sea swelled into an unrelenting ocean.
Each strike compounded the momentum, building power with every movement. The rhythm of my blade reached a crescendo, far surpassing the limits I'd achieved against Vaelor. Back then, I had only brushed against high Integration-rank. Now, I stood at the very edge of the Wall itself, my strength amplified, my mana overflowing.
Yet Nolan was no simple opponent.
His sword, wrapped in a pale blue glow of astral energy, trembled with a chilling resonance. It wasn't merely a weapon—it was an embodiment of an ice sheet, vast and unyielding. As my ocean of strikes surged forward, his glacier met it head-on. The clash was deafening. The force of his sword sent cracks rippling through the tide I'd built.
Then, his sword began to beat to his Sword Heart.
My ocean shattered.
But that was the opening I had anticipated.
Nolan seized the moment, driving his blade forward in a decisive strike, aiming to end the duel. His focus sharpened to a singular point, his movements precise. He thought he had me.
It was bait.
Light, the King of Elements, gifted me speed and precision beyond comprehension. My Mythic Body, augmented by pseudo astral energy, gave me flexibility and elasticity that bordered on inhuman. As his blade surged forward, I shifted. With a burst of time and light magic, my body bent impossibly—my feet swept from the ground, my head and chest arcing backward to dodge the blow.
Nolan's eyes widened in disbelief as his sword cut through empty air.
He tried to recover, lowering his blade in a desperate bid to regain control, but I was already faster. My foot, wrapped in a concentrated burst of pseudo astral energy and the full force of Mythic Body, connected with his elbow.
Hard.
The resounding impact echoed through the arena, and Nolan's sword wavered in his grip.
'He held on,' I mused, a flicker of respect sparking in my thoughts. I hadn't expected Nolan to falter so easily—his strength was formidable, and he proved it once more.
My leg coiled around his arm, locking him in a vice-like grip. Nolan gritted his teeth, his astral energy surging to reinforce his arm. Yet, even with his strength, the pressure bent his limb, forcing his body forward like a marionette pulled by unseen strings.
Using the momentum of his motion, I leveraged his body to propel myself in front of him. My chest and head glowed faintly as pseudo astral energy surged through me, fortifying my strike. His sword nicked my chest, drawing a thin line of blood, but the pain was fleeting. I delivered a brutal headbutt, releasing his arm at the same moment, sending his body hurtling to the ground like a meteor.
He landed with a crash, the ground beneath him cracking from the impact. I didn't waste a second. My sword rose above him, its edge trembling with hunger as I poured my intent into it—the feeling of emptiness, the gnawing void that consumed all.
Hollow Eclipse. The second movement of my Grade 6 art.
Nolan's resilience shone yet again. With sheer willpower, he lifted his blade just in time to meet mine. The clash sent a shockwave through the arena, but the effort cost him dearly. The strain of blocking Hollow Eclipse without sufficient reinforcement rippled through his arms, leaving his muscles and ligaments damaged despite his first body metamorphosis.
A cry of pain escaped his lips as he unleashed his ice astral energy in a desperate wave. The frost surged outward, freezing the ground and air in a brilliant, chilling expanse. I reacted instinctively, leaping high into the air to avoid the icy deluge.
Suspended in the sky, the wind coalesced beneath my feet, holding me aloft as I hung upside down. The world felt distant, a canvas painted in frost and sweat. My blade returned to its sheath, and I closed my eyes, exhaling deeply as I gathered every ounce of my focus and strength.
God Flash: Absolute.
The world stilled as the technique took shape, and for a brief moment, the sky held its breath.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone