Chapter 460: Devastating Intention

The Central Elder was now absolutely certain: Priam had more than enough ability to go toe-to-toe with an Exalted Sage without getting miserably crushed. As for Suien, she displayed the same absurd potential to slaughter opponents of higher Ranks than her own.

Grizzy’s face turned pale the instant her body was hurled backward at high speed, spewing a stream of blood into the air.

She had been selected for that duel simply because nobody there believed in Suien’s true potential, assuming she was nothing more than Priam’s shadow.

When Suien displayed her Elemental Physique, everyone noticed that her potential was only at the intermediate level. However, nobody even bothered to consider that mediocre. On the contrary, they had even praised her for mastering the Water element.

For that reason, they had chosen an opponent of exactly the same Rank as hers, who wasn’t even remotely the most talented option available.

As a result of such overwhelming arrogance… the duel between the two ended with a single all-out move from Suien.

Meanwhile, in Priam’s main battle…

Only Elder Lione and the Central Elder retained the ability to continue watching everything up close. Any enormous boulders hurled in their direction were stopped by an invisible barrier and reduced to dust before they could touch them.

However, Priam and Aella showed no signs of slowing down.

The energy accumulated by both continued to rise without limit, and every punch they threw carried an even more devastating force than the previous one.

Aella began channeling her Ether. Priam matched her in the very same millisecond.

After another half dozen frantic exchanges of punches, she began burning her creation essence. Without hesitation, Priam followed suit once again.

Despite being an entire Rank below her, he maintained their equal footing with a calm, indifferent expression. It was as though he wasn’t even truly going all out.

A profound darkness caused by spatial fissures began forming and continuously expanding around the two of them.

The disciples watched everything from far away in absolute shock. Although they were accustomed to fighting every day, they always limited themselves to purely physical and elemental combat, since that was the site’s inviolable rule.

Given everyone’s explosive temperament, any little spark was enough to trigger a brawl. Without severe restrictions on the use of power, they would’ve already destroyed everything in the sect. That was precisely why the sect had established itself in the heart of a desolate mountain range and maintained an extremely rustic infrastructure.

There was absolutely no point in building beautiful or luxurious structures there, since they would be reduced to ruins within days.

The entire valley was kept simple so that any disciple could throw down whenever they felt like it. As long as they restricted themselves to physical strength and elemental control, anything went.

Since the full use of Ether and creation essence was forbidden in everyday life, even the disciples themselves had no idea that Aella had already reached such a brutally high level of power.

Upon witnessing the true extent of her strength, everyone let out a chilling gasp of astonishment. The warrior women who regularly challenged Aella were especially dismayed.

They usually fought her using only pure hand-to-hand combat, and when they attacked in groups, they could sometimes even land a punch or two. Although they knew Aella was superior, they genuinely believed they had some chance of competing with her.

But now, watching her unleash her unrestricted power, they realized the abyssal gap in strength separating them.

Some distance away, Suien helped her defeated opponent get back to her feet. Then she turned around to watch her brother’s battle, her eyes shining with pure excitement.

*BOOM!*

The ground beneath the fighters’ feet exploded, and a curtain of dust and rock filled the air. Two figures shot upward at incredible speed, their fists locked in relentless combat.

They soared into the sky like two furious dragons entwined in a deadly duel. Their fists and legs collided without pause, producing deafening booms and unleashing a terrifying pressure across the entire surrounding area.

Once the two began exchanging blows while truly using their powers, the disciples watching from a considerable distance couldn’t even follow the sequence with their eyes. All they could see were two blurry figures frantically pummeling each other high above.

“What absolute monsters!” the disciples shouted, their mouths hanging open as they stared at the sky.

Even Priam was surprised by Aella’s vigor and physical density. Although they mastered different elements, her mastery of elemental control was in no way inferior to his own.

Every exchange of blows was raw and direct, without any showboating or fancy techniques. They were competing purely in brute strength and endurance.

Aella’s offense and defense were both at the highest level, and her speed was no slouch either.

Priam possessed top-tier speed and striking power, while his defenses were far from mediocre.

Every punch thrown through the air made the very fabric of space twist and crack violently. If those disciples weren’t witnessing the spectacle with their own eyes, they would never have believed that brute force—without the aid of any powerful Magic Arts or weapons—could reach such a terrifying level.

“Not bad. Looks like our sect just gained two unmatched monsters out of nowhere,” the Central Elder murmured with a satisfied smile.

Although the number of core disciples there was relatively small compared to those of the other major sects in the northern region, every single one of them represented the elite of the elite. The reason the leadership actively encouraged their daily brawls was the special body-tempering technique they all practiced.

Intense, bloody battles stimulated their temperaments and the growth of their physical structures. Once they recovered from the impacts, their physical bodies returned even more resilient, and their control over their Elemental Physiques advanced to another level.

Whenever the Elders felt that the disciples weren’t beating each other up viciously enough, they would come up with some flimsy excuse to give everyone a special beating themselves.

Sometimes, the Elders attacked to help the disciples unblock their meridians, improve blood circulation, and accelerate their bodies’ potential… though, of course, most of the time, the real reason was that the Elders themselves needed to blow off some steam and find an excuse to dish out a few slaps and punches.

*BOOM!*

The two fighters suddenly separated in midair.

Priam and Aella hovered in the sky, calmly looking at each other.

She regarded her opponent with pure, genuine admiration. After all, opportunities to engage in such a free, unrestricted, and exhilarating duel were exceedingly rare.

Suddenly, a massive, broad-bladed sword appeared in Aella’s hand. This was the standard weapon used by the elite of the Heavenly Elemental Body Sect—all of them had an almost sick obsession with incredibly heavy weapons.

With the greatsword firmly gripped in her hands, it was as though a profound seal inside Aella had been shattered. A fierce, bloodthirsty aura surged upward toward the heavens.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had this much fun. Priam, why don’t we make this even more exciting?”

Battle intent continuously emanated from Aella’s eyes, burning with an almost insane intensity. In truth, she resembled a genuine battle maniac. Aside from fighting and testing her limits, she simply couldn’t think about anything else.

“Let’s decide victory or defeat in a single move!” Aella’s determination to deliver the final clash reached its peak. “I’ll attack with one hundred percent of my being!”

Priam gave a slight nod.

“Fine. But… I can’t return the favor with one hundred percent of what I have. After all, fighting isn’t my specialty.”

“Are you fucking looking down on me?!” Aella’s expression instantly darkened, a spark of anger flashing across her face.

Priam snorted softly. “Fighting really isn’t my specialty. I have no intention of looking down on you, but I’ve spent my entire life training with a single focus: attacking and killing my enemies. Competing to see who’s stronger is just a contest I’m not particularly suited for.”

“Hahaha! Arrogant and domineering… But I like that! Do whatever you want, but don’t blame me if you end up half-dead,” Aella laughed with absolute confidence. “I suggest you surrender right now!”

Priam merely waved his hand dismissively.

In the very same millisecond, Ananke enveloped his fists, merging with them and taking the shape of scarlet gauntlets.

[Use Power Rune?] [Yes / No]

Priam confirmed, burning a Yin and Yang Enchantment Rune.

As soon as the activation was complete…

…it was as though the entire world had fallen into absolute silence.

Whether it was sound or color, everything around him seemed to freeze. Only Priam’s presence continued to pulse with reality.

This was definitely not a level of power that could be achieved through mastery of the Wind Elemental Physique alone.

Priam’s aura suddenly multiplied dozens of times over, leaving every single spectator completely catatonic.

‘How the hell is this possible?!’ the Central Elder cursed mentally, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

Priam calmly clenched his fists and turned his indifferent gaze toward Aella.

At his current level of power, if he truly went all out without holding anything back, he could even injure his sect’s Central Elder. Killing someone like her might be nearly impossible without resorting to his forbidden techniques, but he definitely wouldn’t die in a direct confrontation with someone of that level.

A mere Level 1 Exalted Sage? One Power Rune was all Priam needed to knock her down in a single move.

“So? Still want to try taking a hit?”

Aella trembled for a brief moment, feeling an instinctive chill run down her spine. However, she then tightened her grip on the hilt of her heavy sword even further and nodded, a manic look spreading across her face.

“Good,” Priam nodded and charged forward.

His fists shot forward in the exact millisecond that the colossal blade came crashing down on him.

*BOOOOM!*

Space collapsed, and a terrifying shock wave erupted from the collision. Aella was hurled backward like a meteor, spewing a stream of blood into the air as her skin cracked all over, leaving her drenched in red.

At the same instant, Elder Lione waved his hand and unleashed his full strength. A pulsating aura projected a massive barrier, dispersing the residual energy before it could injure the people nearby.

Aella felt as though every bone and joint in her body had been ground to dust. She slammed into the ground and rolled miserably for dozens of meters before finally coming to a stop, unable to move a single muscle.

Priam let out a slight sigh, hovering motionlessly at the center of the impact.

At the exact moment of the collision, he had obviously pulled back some of his destructive energy to avoid inflicting excessively severe injuries on his opponent.

“!”

At that very instant, every hair on Priam’s body stood on end, warning him of imminent mortal danger.

He abruptly turned his head, only to find a colossal fist less than two meters from his head, hurtling toward him with the speed and force of a falling meteor.

A devastating killing intent emanated from that strike, as though it intended to reduce him to dust.

Priam was stunned. It was the Central Elder! She was already far too close, and he didn’t have enough time to unleash his full strength and block the attack!

And as always, any Golden Tickets and Stones are welcome. ??