Chapter 57: Learning in the Midst of Death

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Learning in the Midst of Death

Asaro’s speed reached a terrifying degree, but what was even more frightening was her incredibly precise control over her power.

Every swing of her weapon and every step she took contained not half a point of excess movement. Every angle of her attack was so perfect that Jeremy could not find a single opening to counterattack.

He frowned, his muscle blocks tense with every dodging motion. Jeremy understood very well that even if he threw caution to the wind regarding the risks of backlash and unleashed all of his killer skills right now, they would be easily neutralized by his opponent.

A two-star gap could be compensated for with schemes or techniques, but a three-star gap was like a massive canyon blocking the way, not to mention the opponent was a monster bearing a high-tier Sacred Covenant.

If that was the case... then he would use this opportunity to spar and learn a little.

As long as he didn’t encounter brainless idiots like Amber, Jeremy inherently harbored no deep obsession with winning or losing. Clearly recognizing that defeat was certain in this match, he immediately shifted his focus. Jeremy’s eyes darkened, concentrating his entire mind on memorizing and analyzing Asaro’s combat techniques.

He gave up using raw muscle power to confront her head-on, switching to passive defense, using the pressure from her as a springboard to consolidate his newly broken-through realm.

After a few exchanges, seeing Jeremy begin to execute moves and dodging postures exactly identical to hers, Asaro paused slightly, almost bursting into laughter out of frustration.

"You really are..."

She took a half-step back, seemingly unable to find any words to describe the cunningness of the young man in front of her. Pausing in thought for a beat, Asaro narrowed her eyes: "Should I call you as sly as a fox?"

Jeremy stood up straight, letting out a long breath through his nose, and smirked: "I will take that as a compliment from you."

Asaro raised an eyebrow: "Suit yourself."

Despite her words, the force in Asaro’s wrist did not decrease by half a point. The scythe roared once again, sweeping horizontally toward Jeremy’s flank.

Jeremy immediately bent his body to dodge, his toes stomping hard on the arena floor to widen the distance. Using the momentum, he threw the scythe in his hand like a giant dart, shooting straight at Asaro with wind-tearing speed. However, Asaro did not budge in the slightest, just standing still with her arms crossed.

Right when the audience in the grandstand held their breath anticipating a fiery collision, Asaro’s body suddenly blurred, transforming into a layer of ethereal mist. Not only did she let the scythe pass through her body without dealing a hint of damage, but when her form condensed back, she also leisurely reached out and caught the handle of Jeremy’s weapon.

His hand jerked slightly. The magic power controlling the weapon was completely severed; the scythe firmly grasped by Asaro could no longer be summoned back. Watching the scene unfold before his eyes, Jeremy clenched his jaw slightly, falling into speechlessness.

...Was this the power of a Sacred Covenant?

"Damn it! Is this the power of a Sacred Covenant!"

The screams ringing out from the grandstand seemed to speak for the shock in his heart, the volume so loud it echoed straight down to the arena.

"It’s the extremely rare Void skill again! No wonder she didn’t even bother to dodge."

"The first place in the solo tournament is truly on another level, completely overwhelming!"

Jeremy cast a quick glance over his teammates’ combat situations.

Evelyn had just successfully eliminated the opposing support mage. But on the opposite side, Phoenix had been knocked out of the fray by Xiumis. At this moment, the eight-star Xiumis was lunging desperately at Evelyn. In another corner, Leon and Lucius were still locked in a neck-and-neck stalemate with their opponents since the match began. The sky-filling, brilliant magic particles clashed with all sorts of skills; the entire arena was engulfed in a chaotic mess of thick dust.

Asaro stood right in front of him, having absolutely no intention of turning around to support her teammates. On the contrary, she released magic power to seal off the surrounding space, trapping him in this area. Jeremy truly couldn’t understand why she focused her attention so heavily on a six-star like him.

The outcome was already decided. Just as Jeremy was about to open his mouth to surrender and save himself the trouble, Asaro suddenly spoke up, her eyes cold: "You’re not planning to proactively surrender, are you?"

Jeremy feigned raising an eyebrow: "How did you guess so accurately?"

Speechless, Asaro lowered her tone to an extremely dangerous level: "...I am provoking you, could you act a little bit tougher?"

"Can’t act tough." Jeremy spread his arms, his reasoning very eloquent: "My Sacred Weapon was snatched away by you, do you expect me to fight you with my fists?"

Asaro gave a cold snort, flicked her wrist lightly, and tossed the scythe back to him: "I’ll just return it to you, happy?"

"..."

The situation being unexpected, Jeremy reached out to catch the scythe handle securely, his toes stepping back a half-step to neutralize the force. He raised his eyes to look at the girl in front of him: "You clearly could have eliminated me from the very beginning, why have you dragged it out until now?"

The original owner did not know Asaro at all. Jeremy’s impression of her stopped at the title of first place in the solo tournament. Judging by the current situation, they had no personal grudge, and her actions did not look like she was intentionally humiliating him or venting her anger.

Facing Jeremy’s confusion, Asaro’s face maintained a calm demeanor; her jade-like purple eyes held not a single ripple. She merely replied in a flat voice: "I felt like it, is that not allowed?"

Jeremy burst into laughter: "...Of course it is."

Truly capricious enough.

The tip of Asaro’s scythe pointed straight at Jeremy’s face, the displeasure in her eyes unhidden: "Since you are standing on the arena, then fight with all your might. That cowardly thought of retreating before even fighting, you had better drop it immediately for me."

Her curiosity toward Jeremy stemmed from his calm performance in the solo tournament and the Eclipse Team’s preliminary matches. But after truly crossing hands, his half-hearted defensive attitude had poured a bucket of cold water on the expectations in her heart, and that feeling was not pleasant at all. Asaro suppressed her frustration, flipped her hand, and instantly swung out two crisscrossing magic blades that tore through the air toward him.

Asaro’s emotions were displayed all too clearly, and Jeremy now roughly understood what she wanted. A duel that did not place heavy emphasis on winning or losing, but rather both sides going all out. His lackadaisical giving up because the opponent had a higher realm was indeed a lack of respect for the opponent. To put it more seriously, that action was both insulting to himself and insulting to the enemy.

Thinking up to here, Jeremy’s gaze sharpened. He swung his arm, and the giant scythe instantly split, transforming into the pair of Crescent Blades he wielded most proficiently.

The moment the two cross-shaped magic blades slashed close to his face, Jeremy channeled magic power into both hands and slashed a sharp, straight line, shattering the attack. The impact caused both of his arms to vibrate until numb, but this time, his spine remained perfectly straight, holding no intention of stepping back.

He looked straight at the purple-haired girl in front of him, the corners of his lips curling into a sharp smile: "My apologies for the disrespect just now. From now on, I will exert all my capabilities to give you a satisfactory answer."

Hearing that, the corners of Asaro’s lips seemed to curve up into a tiny arc.

Jeremy took in all of her demeanor. Before Asaro’s scythe could swing over, he erupted his magic power, instantly casting his first and second skills. The protection of the Domain of Light stacking with wide-area enhancement immediately covered the arena. Three clones broke out from the glass cage, concealing the true position of his main body and deceiving her line of sight.

As the clones charged into the fray simultaneously, Jeremy retreated backward, using this opportunity to chant a large-scale summoning magic - "Holy Fire Judgment!"

The magic circle beneath his feet formed brilliantly. A massive golden Dharma wheel appeared above his head.

From mid-air, nine fiery dragons were born from the void, roaring as they lunged straight toward Asaro - who had just unleashed a strike to wipe out the three clones.