He tightened his grip on the Dragonslayer Sword and charged again. This time, his sword came faster, harder, and more absolute.
Lydia stood in the distance, watching the fight. Her brows drew tighter and tighter. She could see it clearly: Jared was fighting like a man with nothing to lose, every move fierce, every strike thrown without regard for himself, but Skylar still clearly had strength left in reserve.
Every attack Jared launched was neutralized by Skylar with exact precision. Every burst Jared forced out was met by Skylar with the same calm ease. If this kept going, Jared would run out first. And when that happened, the next step would be the line between life and death.
Her hand tightened around her sword. Ghostly miasma rolled off her as she prepared to step in and help.
“Lydia, don’t!” Jared’s voice suddenly cut through the battlefield, firm and leaving no room to argue. “This is between me and him. Don’t interfere.”
Lydia bit her lip. Something hard flashed in her eyes, but in the end, she did not move. She knew what Jared was like. When Jared said she wasn’t to interfere, he meant exactly that. There was nothing loose or negotiable in it. If she forced her way into the fight anyway, Jared wouldn’t thank her for it. He’d turn that anger on her instead.
That was his pride. And just as much, it was his stubbornness! The fight went on. Jared only grew fiercer as it dragged on. The Golden Dragon Bloodline inside him had boiled all the way to its limit.
It came over him like he was a piece of steel thrown into a furnace, hammered again and again, burned and reforged in the hottest fire. Every swing of the Dragonslayer Sword carried the kind of resolve that looked ready to burn his life away if that was what it took.
The dragon sigils on the Dragonslayer Sword had brightened to the very edge. The whole sword blazed with a harsh golden radiance, like it might burst apart at any second. Every line carved into the blade was pulsing. Every mark was burning. This ancient divine weapon, passed down through untold years, was answering its master’s will.
Little by little, Skylar lost that flippant look. Something heavier settled into his eyes. He could tell Jared was still getting stronger in the middle of the fight itself, as if there were no ceiling on him at all.
Each sword strike hit harder than the one before it. Each attack came in more violently than the last. That terrifying talent, growing stronger the longer he fought, made even Skylar hold back a little deeper inside.
This guy… Hmm…
A trace of bitterness flashed through Skylar. He had paid far too much for the power he had now. He had fallen onto the demonic path, and he had endured the pain of that demonic aura tearing back through him. He had devoured the cultivation of countless strong opponents, and what he carried because of it was a stain that would never be washed clean, not in this life or any other. He had thrown away the person he used to be.
What stood here now was someone even he barely recognized. All of that had only bought him the strength he had now. And Jared had only just reached High Immortal Realm Level Four, yet his combat strength already stood on the same level as Skylar’s.
What gave him that right?! What gave him the right to stay one step ahead of me every single time?!
A vicious edge flashed through Skylar’s eyes.
“Jared, you really are strong,” he said coldly. “But it’s still not enough…”
Before the last word even finished leaving his mouth, the demonic aura around him exploded upward. This wasn’t that faint, barely there haze from before. It burst out of his body like a volcano going off, swallowing the sky and smearing the whole stretch of heaven black.
Inside that demonic aura, the sound of wailing ghosts and howling beasts seemed to rise and fall. Those were the grudges left behind by the strong opponents he had devoured. They were the sins hanging on his back.
Then he threw a punch. This punch was nothing like any of the ones that had come before. The astral fist came out black as ink, but it wasn’t just black anymore. Dark red light moved through that inky mass. Countless twisted faces wailed inside it. And under all of it, a force was gathering that looked ready to wipe everything out. This was his full-power strike. A blow strong enough to flatten the mountain peak.
Jared gritted his teeth and swung his sword straight into it. He knew he couldn’t take that punch. But he couldn’t back off. If he gave ground now, the momentum would break. And once it broke, there would be no chance to turn this around. The Dragonslayer Sword let out a grieving cry, as if it also knew this was the last collision.
Boom! This impact was ten times fiercer than any of the ones before it. The instant the golden radiance and the demonic aura crashed together, they both exploded. A visible shockwave burst out from the point of impact and spread in every direction faster than sound. Where the shockwave passed, the ground was ripped up, rocks were crushed apart, and even the air was compressed into something almost like a high-pitched scream.
Under that blow, the Mountain-Guarding Grand Array around Saintlight Peak shuddered violently. Dense cracks spread across the golden barrier like an eggshell on the verge of breaking. At the heart of the array, the spirit stones were drained dry of spiritual power in an instant and turned into pale gray powder. Several dozen Elders maintaining the array spat blood at the same time and collapsed to the ground.
Jared was blasted backward like a golden meteor and slammed hard into the ground several hundred yards away. The impact smashed out a huge crater several yards deep. The bottom was packed with scorched black dirt and shattered rock.
He struggled to get back up, but every inch of bone in his body cried out, and every muscle shook. The Dragonslayer Sword stood buried in the ground at Jared’s side. The light along the blade had dimmed to almost nothing, and a thin, weak whine leaked from it.
Blood seeped from the corners of his mouth, from his nose, from his ears. The blow had shaken his insides hard enough to leave them injured. He stayed on one knee, dragging in heavy breaths. His vision kept going dark in waves.
Skylar wasn’t in much better shape either. The force of the rebound had driven him back more than 10 yards. His feet carved two deep trenches through the ground. Several tears had been ripped through his black clothes by the sword aura. One strand of sword aura had even cut across his arm, and blood dripped from his fingertips.
He lowered his eyes and glanced at the wound. Something flickered through his gaze. How long had it been since he’d been hurt? Ever since he had fallen onto the demonic path, ever since he had gained the power he now carried, he had gone a very long time without tasting injury.
“Jared…” The name slipped out in a low murmur, carrying more than one meaning. Up on Saintlight Peak, Aurelius watched the scene below. A sharp glint flashed through his eyes.
The chance has come… Jared is badly wounded, and Skylar has burned through a great deal as well!
This was the best moment for him to make his move. If he could use this opening to get both of them killed, the Celestial Basilica would wipe out two major threats in one stroke and rest easy from then on.
The calculation ran fast through Aurelius’ mind. Jared already had a grudge against the Celestial Basilica. Leaving him alive would turn into trouble sooner or later. And Skylar might look like he had no interest in the Celestial Basilica, but who could say he would not change his mind later?
Rather than wait for Skylar to free up his hands, he might as well move now, helping Skylar finish off Jared first, then look for a chance to make a move on Skylar too. The enemy of an enemy was a friend—a principle that simple was not something Skylar could fail to understand. As long as Aurelius showed enough sincerity, Skylar should have no reason to refuse.
“Pass the order. Open the Mountain-Guarding Grand Array!” Aurelius said, his voice low.Hearing this, the Guardian Elder was stunned. “Hall Master, what are you doing?”
Aurelius gave no answer. His figure blurred, and he left the Mountain-Guarding Grand Array with several True Immortal elders, flying straight toward the Ancient Battlefield.
Lydia was the first to spot them.
“Jared, watch out!” she shouted, sharp enough to cut through the chaos. Jared was still struggling to pull himself out of the pit. The instant he heard Lydia’s warning, he tried to fall back. He was too late.
Aurelius struck with his palm. A golden palm print roared out with the terrifying power of the True Immortal Realm wrapped around it, like a mountain dropping from the sky driving straight at the middle of Jared’s back. The strike came as fast as lightning and as vicious as it could be, without the slightest restraint.
Where the palm print passed, the air compressed into something almost like solid and let out a shrill scream. Caught completely off guard, Jared barely twisted aside and avoided a fatal hit. But the force from the palm still smashed across his shoulder.
