535: Danger

Danger

Saru's feet angled upwards, leaving on the tips of her toes gracing the ground as an unparalleled savage and bestial aura dripped from her.2

Dyon looked at the majestic elephant in the skies. There was only one way for a body cultivator like Saru to display a manifestation… Whatever her bloodline was, it was at the level of a transcendent level beast at a minimum!

'Come… huh?' Dyon watched silently as Saru continued to sink into the ground. It seemed that the arena itself could collapse around her at any moment.

For the first time in this competition, Dyon's humanoid manifestation made an appearance.

A domineering aura flooded the arena, clashing with Saru's sovereign path will. It leered over the surroundings, suffocating all those who looked at it.

Arrogance. Confidence. Unbridled contempt for all those who even had the thought of looking at it.

Six flaming black gold circles bobbed gently behind its twin pair of wings as wills erupted around Dyon.

His eyes reddened, carrying flecks of gold and purple as he pushed the Mathilde family's Asura's eye boldly flashed into existence.

The world became clear in an instant. Everything was so clear that even with the raging sound of the crowd, Dyon could see and hear the robust beating of Saru's heart. Her blood pumped so vigorously and with such vitality that her power could not be questioned.

Suddenly, all Dyon could hear was the beating of his own heart. It wasn't that the crowd had silenced itself, or that he had entered some kind of zone. The sound quite literally could not make it to them.

And then, Saru attacked.

Her speed was blinding, something that even lower level saints couldn't match up to. She blurred on the monitors, disappearing from sight. And yet, her movement were incomparably clear to Dyon.

His black metal wrist band sprung to life, appearing as a blade six feet in his hand.

Saru's trajectory didn't change. Her every muscle flexed in unison, like an engine revving all of its pistons at once.

This time, the air in her palm not only held the ripple of vibrations and her oppressive white energy, but also a flurry of lower level wills, boosting her power directly.

Dyon's movements were slow, but deliberate. His sword swung with a qi fused perfectly with her sparkling space will, sheering space in half with such power that the distinct sound of tearing filled even their vacuum-like space.

In an instant, blade met palm. And yet, there was no sound. The wills let a muffled groan loose as they both retracted their attacks before immediately continuing in a burst of exchanges.

Saru's speed was only matched by her nimbleness. Dyon's sword play didn't seem to have a style of its own. In fact, it was basic and simple. And yet, every strike held an ease of movement and a calculated lethality that seemed to cut off Saru's plans multiple steps ahead of them taking action.

The crowd almost wanted to laugh at Dyon's simple and reserved swings. Was this really what you'd call a sword master? And yet, as their exchanges continued, the less the waves of laughter came.

There was no doubt that Saru was much faster than Dyon, and yet, she had yet to land a solid hit. She felt stifled and stuffed into a box. Dyon sword play wasn't an art. It was a science.

The space around Dyon's jet black blade song with a whistling superiority, perfectly countering each of Saru's attempts.

The swordsman in the crowd didn't know how to feel. Was this really the discipline they had spent studying their whole lives? It was so… crude…

A simple first level sword and space will danced along Dyon's blade as he continued to minimize his movements. What few noticed was that as time passed, his movements became more minimalistic. And with every swing of his arm, the wills on his blade became thinner and sharper.

Saru's features remained calm, but her heart was dancing about wildly. Any one of the things Dyon was doing to her now seemed ridiculous. And somehow, she got the lurking feeling… That he was still learning!

Her palm struck out again, meeting Dyon's blade for maybe their hundredth exchange.

Saru winced, her foot burying itself into the ground as she explosively retreated.

Looking at her palm, Saru's features fluctuated for the first time.

Blood slowly dripped from her toughened skin, falling to the ground silently under her gaze.

Dyon raised his sword above his head, causing a reverse pulse of space to accumulate as though it was a heart beat. The air vibrated and oscillated violently, trembling under the pressure.

Suddenly, the space and sword will fusion went under a fundamental change that sent small blades of unparalleled sharpness dancing around the stage.

Saru's arms crossed her face, protecting it as she dodged.

'A level two fusion… Truly a wasted genius…'

"Maybe if you were as old as you said you were, you would have won." Dyon said lightly, taking advantage of the fact their noise was isolated. "This is the first time I've met a woman who willfully added years to herself."

Saru froze. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Dyon smiled but didn't say anything further. "Be sure to say 'I give up' in time. I would hate to be the man who erased such a beauty from this world."

Saru's heart raced as Dyon's sword oscillated yet again. 'No… Third level?!'

How often did Dyon get to fight someone on his level? The sad truth was that it was rare for him. Quite frankly, as his soul strength continued to sky rocket, he found fighting people in and around his cultivation tedious. Their movements were so slow, and his mind calculated so quickly that even if his energy and body couldn't keep up, he could take shortcuts to succeed.

But, Saru was different. She was the first that he had met since he awakened his energy cultivation that truly pushed him. And because of that, he was able to refine himself and learn.

"Take my attack." Dyon said faintly as his hand swung down from its lofty position.

Suddenly, the barrier of sound completely shattered. An incomparably large gash of space and sword qi twinkled with a dangerous light, prepared to halve Saru's perfect body.

There was only one thought Saru's bestial instincts screamed through her ears.

"Danger!"

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