And now, this young master sculptor, only twenty-seven years old, had defeated in a single blow a Saint-level expert who was a personal disciple of the War God!
Unavoidably, many people began to compare him and Olivier.
Compared to Olivier, Linley was even younger.
“My young friend Linley, that technique you used just now should have been derived from your insight into the Laws of the Wind, yes?” the Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson, spoke, his voice ringing from the judge’s platform.
As soon as Haydson spoke, everyone else in the Colosseum fell silent. What did the Monolithic Sword Saint wish to discuss with this genius, Linley?
“It was indeed, Mr. Haydson.” A calm reply from Linley.
“Might I ask what the name of this technique is?” The Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson, was a man devoted to his training and focused on reaching the Deity-level. Haydson was very much interested in the mysteries gleaned by other Saint-level experts. Perhaps by doing so, he might suddenly gain some new insights and have a breakthrough.
“The name of this technique is Rippling Wind.” Linley didn’t try to hide it.
In order to learn a powerful technique, one must possess a certain level of understanding and insight with regards to the Laws of a certain element. Without that level of understanding, no matter how clearly you explained a technique to someone, they wouldn’t be able to learn it.
Still standing in mid-air, Linley glanced at the distant Kenyon. Calmly, he said, “Your name is Kenyon, correct?”
At first, Kenyon had thought Linley was someone who wasn’t even at the Saint level. Naturally, he was furious when Linley rebuked and cursed at him. But now, he knew that Linley was more powerful than he was.
Although he was still rather angry, in his heart, Kenyon already viewed Linley as someone on the same level as himself, or perhaps at an even higher level.
“I am.” Kenyon nodded slightly.
“Mr. Kenyon, given your level of power, you should have been able to clearly discern the seriousness of my younger brother’s injury. Given that you knew exactly how wounded he was, you shouldn’t have said the words you said. Remember. As a judge, you have to be at least somewhat impartial. We had admitted defeat, after all. You can’t go too far!”
As soon as Linley finished speaking these words coldly, he flew down towards his own squad. Linley was still concerned about his younger brother’s injury.
Having been rebuked by Linley yet again, Kenyon felt rather embarrassed.
But he knew that he had acted wrongly here. Just then, the other side had admitted defeat. He did indeed go a bit too far by acting in such a manner.
“Wharton, are you okay?” Linley said worriedly as he returned to his human form, rushing to his little brother’s side and crouching on one knee.
Right now, quite a few people were surrounding him. Even Nina had ignored everything and rushed over.
“Lord Linley.” A light-style magus next to them smiled. “Don’t worry. I just utilized recovery magic on him. Lord Wharton’s wounds are already half-healed. Given Lord Wharton’s natural healing abilities, in ten days or half a month, he should be totally fine.”
“Big Bro, I feel much better.” Wharton was able to speak fairly easily now.
Linley finally calmed down.
At the same time, he felt rather satisfied with the preparations the Colosseum had made. Linley knew exactly how effective light-style magi were in treating wounds. Generally speaking, low-ranking magi would only be able to treat superficial wounds. Only powerful light-style magi would be able to heal broken bones or internal injuries.
And of course, the most powerful light-style magi could even fully restore anyone who had not yet died to their peak condition. For example, when Linley had received the Divine Boon at the Radiant Temple, that divine power had carried just a bit of healing power with it, but that little bit had been enough to fully restore Linley’s body to peak condition, healing all of his broken bones.
This sort of regenerative ability was very formidable.
“Everyone!”
At this moment, the tournament organizer, that silver-haired old man, reappeared on the dueling platform. His face covered in smiles, he said, “I imagine everyone has had an incredible time watching this battle today. Haha. Even our dueling platform has been destroyed as a result of this battle.”
The eighty thousand viewers stared at the shattered, crater-marked dueling platform, and they all began to laugh as well.
This duel today had absolutely been worth watching.
Not only had they seen a competition between two ultimate geniuses, they even had had a chance to see the terrifying power of Wharton’s older brother, Linley. He had, in one blow, defeated Kenyon.
Although the exchange between Linley and Kenyon was very brief, the ‘value’ of watching that exchange was much higher than that of the battle between Wharton and Blumer. After all, this was a battle between Saint-levels. Many people would live their entire lives without having a chance to witness such a battle.
“And the results of today’s duel, I’m sure everyone will agree, are without question. I announce…” The silver-haired old man’s words came to a halt, as he stared at the air above him.
Not just him. The tens of thousands of people sitting on the side of the judge’s stand were all staring at a glowing line streaking at high speed through the air towards them.
In the blink of an eye, the streak of light arrived at the Colosseum.
“Saint-level!”
The Colosseum once again was filled with excited shouts. Yet another Saint-level expert had appeared.
This man wore simple, sackcloth clothes, and seemed very calm. But his eyes seemed to blaze with the light of the stars. His hair was black mixed with streaks of white, but judging from his face, one could tell without a doubt that this was not an old man; rather, this man was very young.
“Who is this person?”
“Don’t recognize’m. His hair is turning white. Which Saint-level expert is this?”
The stands were filled with the sound of discussions being held. It seemed most people were surprisingly unable to recognize who this Saint-level was, that had just flown here. After all, many people had seen some of the more famous Saint-level experts.
The young man flew towards Blumer.
“Second brother, what happened?” the young man asked.
“Big Brother!” Blumer’s astonished, overjoyed voice rang out.
This exchange seemed to have lit a fire within the audience at the Colosseum. This youngster with white and black hair, dressed in a simple sackcloth attire, was the Prodigy Sword Saint, Olivier!
“Olivier. Wait, that can’t be. Olivier’s hair should be brownish-black, and he likes wearing white clothes.”
“Olivier. He was such a marvel to behold. How did he become like this?”
“I can tell for certain that this is Olivier. Compared to how he looked when he last battled against Lord Dillon, his appearance is almost identical. Only, his hair looks different, and it seems his aura is different as well.”
Right. His aura was different.
No wonder those eighty thousand viewers were unable to recognize him. In the past, Olivier’s aura was astonishingly sharp, like a sword that had been unleashed from its scabbard. In addition, he wore a pure white robe.
His handsome face and his fierce aura had made Olivier famous throughout the imperial capital.
But the current Olivier had changed dramatically compared to before.
The current Olivier didn’t have a fierce aura, and his hair, now part-white, seemed aged. Olivier had never used to dress in sackcloth before either.
“He is Olivier?” Linley looked at Olivier as well.
Yale nodded next to Linley. “Right. According to my clan’s intelligence, in the years after he reached the Saint level, Olivier had been roving about the various Empires and engaging in training. According to the predictions of our intellig
ence unit, he should have defeated many Saint-level experts.”
Linley nodded slightly.
As soon as he had seen Olivier, Linley had the sense… that this Olivier person was an extremely terrifying expert. Compared to Stehle of the Radiant Church, he was even more formidable.
“Has he come for the purpose of doing battle on behalf of his little brother?” Linley immediately began to quietly chant the words to a magic spell.
Olivier was extremely famous. Given his reputation, Linley definitely wouldn’t underestimate Olivier, nor did he dare to be insufficiently cautious.
A gust of wind suddenly swirled about Linley.
Wind spell of the ninth rank – Windshadow technique!
Olivier finished listening to his younger brother’s description of this battle. Blumer intentionally made the situation sound even worse. “Big Brother, that Linley bullied me with his superior power. If it wasn’t for the assistance of my elder fellow apprentice, I’m afraid…”
Olivier frowned.
The Akerlund clan was actually a very ordinary, common clan. Their parents had died early on, and Olivier had to rely on himself to protect Blumer and help raise Blumer.
Blumer was Olivier’s only family member. The two brothers shared a very deep love for each other.
“Kenyon.” Olivier glanced at the nearby Kenyon. “Thank you. I, Olivier, will definitely remember your benevolence in assisting us.”
Kenyon hurriedly said, “Olivier, no need. Blumer is my younger fellow apprentice. I can’t just sit and watch.”
Olivier smiled at Kenyon, then stared coldly at his younger brother. He rebuked, “Second brother, I told you long ago, unless the situation is a matter of life or death, you are not to use that forbidden technique. Given your current level of understanding, you are far from being able to use it properly. Do you know how harmful that most powerful attack was to you? The damage it caused was more severe than that of your broken arm!”
Blumer lowered his head.
In order to defeat Wharton, in the end, he had utilized a forbidden technique, and the damage done to himself by this forbidden technique wasn’t something that light magic could heal. When Olivier had taught him this technique, he had instructed him to only use it in life-or-death situations.
“Elder brother. I am sorry.” Blumer knew that Olivier was looking out for his interests.
Olivier shook his head and sighed, then turned to look at the distant Linley. A fierce look appeared in his eyes, previously as tranquil as the depths of the seas. Olivier flew directly over.
“Olivier, wait!” Knowing things were taking a turn for the worse, Emperor Johann immediately spoke out.
“Your Imperial Majesty, I will not spare someone who tried to kill my younger brother. Your Imperial Majesty, it’s best if you don’t get involved in this matter.” Olivier didn’t give Johann any face at all.
Emperor Johann didn’t say anything else either. He understood Olivier’s temperament very well.
But as far as Johann was concerned, both Linley and Olivier were important members of the Empire. He didn’t want these two geniuses to battle each other.
Olivier hovered in mid-air, his long robes fluttering about him. His cold, fierce gaze was on Linley. “Linley, come out!” This explosive shout rocked the Colosseum like a thunderbolt, echoing nonstop within it.
“Come out!” “Come out!” “Come out!”
Everyone in the Colosseum held their breaths. Good heavens. The tickets they had bought were absolutely worth it. They had already seen two battles, but now, it seemed as though they were going to see an even more exciting one.
The eighty thousand pairs of eyes in the Colosseum all swung towards Linley.
9
Linley vs. Olivier
“Linley, come out!”
Olivier’s explosive shout still echoed in the Colosseum, but Linley seemed to be deaf to it. He remained on one knee besides his younger brother’s side, discussing something with his younger brother, seemingly not having heard Olivier’s shout at all.
Olivier, standing in mid-air, couldn’t help but frown.
“What is Master Linley doing? Didn’t he hear it?”
“Impossible. Maybe he is afraid of Olivier?”
The people in the Colosseum were puzzled by Linley’s lack of reaction. After letting out this angry shout, Olivier fell silent, staring coldly from mid-air at Linley.
After finishing his conversation with his little brother, Linley turned and glanced upwards at the mid-air Olivier. In that instant…
Their gazes met! One on the ground, the other mid-air.
Their gazes seemed to clash in the air like physical blows.
“Olivier.” A hint of a smile was on Linley’s face. He calmly said, “Ever since arriving in the O’Brien Empire, I’ve heard people praise you as the Prodigy Sword Saint. To tell the truth? Given that you reached the Saint level at age forty, I don’t see what makes you a ‘prodigy’.”
Olivier’s forehead furrowed slightly.
The combative nature of Linley’s words caused all eighty thousand onlookers to grow excited. Good heavens. These two geniuses were really being antagonistic towards each other.
This would be the true duel between geniuses.
A duel between Linley and Olivier would clearly be on a entirely different level from the duel between Blumer and Wharton. The battle between the older brothers definitely would be a duel between two of the utmost geniuses in the entire Yulan continent.
This duel was about to start at any moment.
Linley suddenly rose directly into the air above the dueling platform. Only after he came to a stop did the blur beneath him slowly disappear.
What terrifying speed.
“Rumble…” Black draconic scales quickly covered Linley’s entire body, and ferocious spikes erupted from his spine, his knees, his elbows, and his forehead. That black, scale-covered draconic tail flashed with a cold, gloomy light.
Floating in the air, Linley stared at Olivier with those dark golden eyes.
This was the first time he had seen such a terrifying transformation. Even the normally calm and composed Olivier had a flash of surprise in his eyes, but he quickly returned to his usual calm.
“Saint-level Dragonblood Warrior?” Olivier looked at Linley, a terrifying aura of battle-lust emanating from him. “You aren’t at the Saint-level pre-transformation. It seems that your current condition isn’t the most powerful condition and time for a Dragonblood Warrior. Pity… such a pity…”
Olivier truly wanted to have a battle with one of the legendary peak-stage Saint-level Dragonblood Warriors.
“Olivier, a person should know their limits,” Linley’s cold voice rang out in the Colosseum. “Do you think the likes of you are a match for the Supreme Warriors?”
The two genius Saint-levels stared at each other in mid-air. Everyone held their breaths, carefully watching this never-before-seen battle.
“Linley!”
Olivier extended his hand to his back. On Olivier’s back, there were two longswords; one of them, a translucent sword, appeared very similar to Icedream. The other sword was pitch black.
“Against you, using the Lightshadow Sword technique is enough.” Olivier drew the longsword that was as translucent as a block of ice. This sword really was identical to Blumer’s; it was also an ‘Icedream sword’.
With a flip of his hand, that devilish-looking Bloodviolet flexible sword appeared.
“Enough talk. Power is demonstrated through actions, not words.” Linley paid no attention to Olivier’s arrogance at all.
A hint of self-confidence was in Olivier’s eyes. Staring at the Icedream sword in his hands, he murmured, “After I reached the Saint level and defeated Dillon, I have roamed the various countries. In total, I met eighteen Saint-level experts, and won each battle. Unfortunately, not a single one of them was able to match me in speed.”
A series of surprised murmurs from the eighty thousand onlooke
rs.
No one had known that Olivier had subsequently done battle against eighteen Saint-level experts.
Olivier looked at Linley, a hint of self-confidence in his eyes. “In general, someone who cannot match me in speed will definitely lose.” As he spoke, the Icedream sword in Olivier’s hand began to shine as a white light began to swirl about the surface of the sword.
Seeing this, Linley began to grow cautious.
Linley could remember clearly how when Blumer used this Lightshadow Sword technique, the light on the Icedream sword had been golden. Only afterwards, when Blumer had used the ‘forbidden’ technique, did Icedream carry a hint of white light within it.
Although it was just a hint of white light, the attack power of Icedream had multiplied several dozen times.
Originally, Icedream had not been able to harm Wharton, but afterwards, it had been able to pierce through Wharton’s palm, and then pierce past the scales on Wharton’s chest. And that was just a hint of white light.
But Olivier’s? It was pure white.
“The power of this attack is most likely far more powerful than Blumer’s all-out desperation attack.” Linley naturally was prepared for this.
“Linley, I’m afraid that today, the world will have lost another genius,” Olivier said in a quiet, calm voice, and then the white light began to flash repeatedly.
With each flash of white light, another shadow-Olivier appeared in the air above the dueling platform. The power and efficacy of this white light clearly was much higher than Blumer’s technique; in the blink of an eye, 108 shadow-Oliviers had appeared in the sky.
Everyone was shocked speechless.
“Third bro.” Yale and Reynolds were so nervous that they had begun to sweat already. Wharton, Barker and his brothers, Rebecca, Leena, and Jenne also watched nervously as well.
The injured Blumer, by contrast, watched with confidence.
“Blumer, your older brother’s Lightshadow sword has already reached the perfected level, filling the skies with his shadows.” The seated judge, Monolithic Sword Saint Haydson, smiled calmly at Blumer.
Baruch Rising_Book 3 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 7