Chapter 165: Oh! The Battle Maniac Is Fascinated

Chapter 165: Chapter 165: Oh! The Battle Maniac Is Fascinated

The thirty-second preparation period passed quickly.

The moment the battle officially began, both men moved at the same time.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Brilliant sword lights flashed across the battlefield.

The two swordsmen exchanged several attacks in rapid succession, their movements so fast that many spectators struggled to follow them. Sword energy swept through the arena as the two figures repeatedly closed in on each other before pulling away.

Neither fighter held back when it came to swordsmanship.

They had also reached an unspoken agreement. Neither would use other special abilities or rely on additional techniques to gain an advantage. They would settle the match through their sword skills alone.

Of course, flying wasn’t considered a special ability.

At the Star Sea Realm and Divine Power Realm, martial artists already possessed extraordinary physical strength. Their leg power alone was enough to propel them through the air, allowing them to change directions and evade attacks while airborne.

This was a basic skill for martial artists at their level.

The battle continued at an incredible pace.

Before the spectators realized it, five minutes had already passed.

During that time, Xavier and Liam had gained a much clearer understanding of each other’s abilities.

From Xavier’s perspective, Liam’s swordsmanship was exceptionally refined.

His movements followed no obvious pattern. Every strike came from an unexpected angle, and his timing was so precise that it was difficult to predict where the next attack would land. His sword techniques possessed a natural elegance, as though every movement had been carefully arranged by nature itself.

Even more surprising was his speed.

Despite having awakened divine speed, possessing the physical enhancement of his Chaotic Body, and cultivating Phantom Step to the Perfect stage, Xavier wasn’t clearly faster than Liam.

The exchange had given him plenty of valuable insights.

By observing Liam’s movements and responding to his attacks, Xavier was learning new ways to apply his own swordsmanship. His control over the Phantom God-Slaying Sword Technique was improving rapidly, and each exchange made his execution smoother and more precise.

However, Xavier did recognize one area where he held a clear advantage.

His sword energy was faster and covered a much wider range.

That was something Liam couldn’t easily match.

On the other hand, Liam was equally surprised by his opponent.

Xavier’s swordsmanship was incredibly fierce. His movements weren’t as elegant or refined as Liam’s, and some of his attacks even seemed a little awkward.

Yet his speed was frightening.

Every time Liam thought he had found an opening, Xavier’s sword energy would arrive before he could fully react.

If Liam hadn’t spent more than two years fighting in the Destiny Space and witnessed countless unusual martial artists, he might have suspected that something was wrong.

How could someone at the Third Star of the Star Sea Realm possess this level of combat strength?

It was almost unreasonable.

And yet, the two of them had been fighting on equal terms for five whole minutes.

After narrowly avoiding another wave of sword energy, Liam suddenly spoke.

"Continuing like this won’t get us anywhere."

He adjusted his grip on his sword and looked directly at Xavier.

"How about we stop testing each other and settle this with one decisive move?"

Liam’s suggestion made perfect sense.

The two men had been exchanging attacks for five minutes, yet neither had managed to gain a clear advantage. Even when their sword energy occasionally struck their opponents, the attacks were mostly neutralized by their powerful defensive abilities.

If they continued fighting this way, the battle might drag on until one of them ran out of energy.

Liam had no interest in such a meaningless contest.

He had challenged Xavier because he wanted to learn from his swordsmanship and experience the strongest technique his opponent could offer. He wasn’t interested in spending hours fighting an evenly matched opponent.

With his current strength, Liam could easily fight for three days and three nights without becoming exhausted. But what would he gain from that?

It would simply be a waste of time.

That was why he had suggested settling the battle with their strongest attacks.

"Sounds good."

Xavier readily accepted.

His time was valuable too. There was no reason to prolong the fight when they could determine the winner with one decisive exchange.

Seeing that Xavier agreed, Liam’s expression became more serious.

"I’ll be using the strongest sword intent I’ve comprehended so far. I call it One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Laws."

He paused and looked directly at Xavier.

"Be careful. This is not an ordinary attack."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liam stopped moving.

He held his longsword with both hands and slowly raised it above his head. A brilliant golden light immediately gathered around the blade. Within moments, the light expanded into a massive pillar that stretched more than a hundred meters into the air.

Countless tiny, illusory sword shadows appeared around the golden pillar. They flickered in and out of existence, releasing an overwhelming pressure.

Even the spectators standing outside the arena felt a chill run down their spines.

The energy was so powerful that even the protective barrier surrounding the battlefield couldn’t completely conceal its terrifying presence.

Xavier wasn’t idle either.

He raised the Dragon-Slaying Sword and activated the sword intent of the Phantom God-Slaying Sword Technique.

In the next instant, countless streams of sword energy materialized around him. They continued appearing until they formed a dense field of deadly blades, completely hiding his figure from view.

Every strand of sword energy contained frightening destructive power.

Anyone watching could tell that Xavier was preparing to unleash an attack capable of shaking the entire battlefield.

A flicker of surprise crossed Liam’s eyes.

He hadn’t expected Xavier to possess such a terrifying technique. Nevertheless, he didn’t say anything. Since his opponent was ready, there was no reason to delay.

Liam’s eyes sharpened.

He brought his sword down.

The golden sword intent immediately surged forward, shooting toward Xavier like a massive pillar of light descending from the heavens.

Although its movement wasn’t particularly fast, something strange happened as it approached.

Xavier felt as though the attack had locked onto him completely. The invisible pressure made it extremely difficult to move, leaving him with little room to evade.

Besides, the battlefield wasn’t large enough for him to escape such an attack even if he wanted to.

There was only one way to respond.

"Go!"

With a thought, Xavier released the countless sword energies surrounding him.

They surged forward like an unstoppable torrent, rushing directly toward the descending golden pillar.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of sharp metallic clashes rang across the battlefield.

One sword energy after another struck the golden pillar. Each collision produced a brilliant flash before the attacking sword energy disappeared.

The scene resembled countless moths throwing themselves into a blazing fire.

However, something unexpected happened.

Although the golden pillar destroyed every sword energy that touched it, its size gradually decreased with each collision.

After the first hundred sword energies struck, the enormous pillar finally reached its limit.

Crack!

The golden light shattered.

The remaining energy dispersed into countless brilliant particles before gradually dissolving into the surrounding air.

But Xavier’s attack wasn’t over.

More than twenty sword energies had survived the destruction of Liam’s ultimate move. Without slowing down, they continued toward their target.

Liam stood directly in their path.

For some reason, he made no attempt to dodge.

He simply watched the incoming attacks with a look of astonishment, as though he had already accepted the outcome.

The remaining sword energies pierced through his body.

A Divine Power Realm martial artist could hardly survive such an attack without activating some form of protection. Liam’s body was immediately torn apart, leaving nothing but shattered remains.

A moment later, the familiar white light of the Destiny Space descended and restored his body.

The battle was over.

Liam Shelby had lost.

The eighth-grade gloves and the willpower-enhancing runestone he had offered as his wager now belonged to Xavier.

However, Liam didn’t seem disappointed in the slightest.

The moment he was revived, he hurried over to Xavier with an excited expression.

"Brother Major! Was that the Phantom God-Slaying Sword Technique you just used?"

The spectators were still struggling to process what they had witnessed.

Nobody had expected Xavier to defeat Liam so directly.

This wasn’t an ordinary opponent.

Liam had once defeated a martial artist at the Third Star of the Divine Power Realm. That achievement alone placed him far above most people of his generation.

Yet Xavier, who was only at the Third Star of the Star Sea Realm, had defeated him in a direct confrontation.

What did that mean?

It meant Xavier possessed the ability to defeat opponents across an entire major cultivation realm!

Such a talent was incredibly rare.

Throughout history, only a handful of exceptional geniuses had demonstrated the ability to overcome such an enormous gap in cultivation.

There was another possibility, of course. Perhaps the Destiny Space had made a mistake when determining Xavier’s cultivation and combat strength.

But that was almost impossible.

The Destiny Space had existed for countless years, and nobody had ever heard of it misjudging someone’s cultivation.

That left only one reasonable explanation.

Xavier was an extraordinary genius.

The thought made many people feel both admiration and envy.

However, before anyone could properly discuss what they had witnessed, Liam’s excited question caused an even greater commotion.

"What?! The Phantom God-Slaying Sword Technique?"

"Are you talking about the Phantom God-Slaying Sword Technique created by the Highland Sword Emperor, Alaric Steele?"

"That can’t be right! The Phantom God-Slaying Sword Technique is a ninth-grade martial skill. No wonder Major’s swordsmanship is so frightening!"

"But how did he obtain that technique? Could he be a descendant of the Highland Sword Emperor?"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! The Highland Sword Emperor is already a peak Venerable Realm expert. He’s been guarding the Abyss Demon Clan for the past ten years. How would he have time to personally teach a disciple?"

"Wait a minute. If Major really knows the Phantom God-Slaying Sword Technique, doesn’t that mean he has a peak Venerable Realm expert backing him?"

"No wonder he’s so wealthy! He can buy practically anything he wants without worrying about the price. It seems we’ve underestimated his background!"

The entire audience was thrown into an uproar.

The Phantom God-Slaying Sword Technique wasn’t some obscure martial art that could be found in an ordinary cultivation manual.

It was the signature technique of Alaric Steele, the renowned Highland Sword Emperor. It was also recognized as the highest-ranked ninth-grade martial skill known in the world.

And Alaric Steele wasn’t just any powerful martial artist.

He was one of the ten publicly recognized Venerables in Asterra. His strength was widely acknowledged to be among the top three of those ten.

If Victoria Quill was the pride of the martial arts community in Valemont, then Alaric Steele was someone almost every advanced martial artist in the Dragon Kingdom admired.

To those who had reached the Star Sea Realm and beyond, the Highland Sword Emperor was practically a legendary figure.

Now, they had discovered that the mysterious newcomer, Major, possessed his signature martial skill.

How could they not be shocked?

"Brother Major, am I right?"

Liam approached Xavier again. Seeing that he hadn’t answered, he couldn’t help asking once more.

Xavier looked at him.

What else could he say?

He had indeed used the Phantom God-Slaying Sword Technique. He also knew of the Highland Sword Emperor’s formidable reputation, but he had never imagined that the technique was his signature martial art.

After all, someone of Alaric Steele’s standing had once been far beyond the reach of Xavier’s former self. He hadn’t paid much attention to the origins of the technique when he obtained it.

This situation was quite different from the time someone recognized the Six Directions Heaven-Piercing Finger.

Back then, very few people knew about that technique, and everyone who had witnessed Xavier using it had eventually died.

Besides, Venerable Blazing Sun, whose name had once been associated with that martial art, was already dead.

But the Highland Sword Emperor was still alive.

What would happen if Xavier encountered him someday?