The Sword King continued to watch expectantly, except those expectations seemed to drift further and further with every passing second. By the time he finished his peanuts, his face had already grown frosty. Bang! Part of the roof was pulverized in his hand! He came with high hopes, but this… Was this supposed to a joke? Because he did not find it funny. Looking at them filled him with indignation and frustration. It was like seeing a legendary sword being used to chop firewood, a blatant waste of talent! With that thought, he sighed. He wanted to observe them more, but he changed his mind. He could not bear to look for one more second. The man then leapt off the rooftop and landed in the courtyard, scaring the four.
"Master! When did you arrive?" Benedict asked. Having been around the Sword King for half a year, he knew a little about his master's strange habits. It was only a matter of time before his friends caught his master's attention.
"Just now," the Sword King casually said, despite Benedict's disbelieving gaze.
"Sword King Sin, to what do we have the honor?" Elizabeth remained guarded against this man. When and how did this man slip in? There were numerous Perception Realms, including Royal Guards, who watched the perimeter, yet none of them noticed anything? She feared what the consequences might have been had he any bad intentions.
"Nothing special. I came because I thought I saw something interesting."
"You thought you saw something interesting?" She raised an eyebrow. "What might that be?"
He gave them a condescending gaze. "I saw four idiots stupidly squandering their talents."
"What?" Shirley was incensed, while Freon also grew unhappy.
Elizabeth returned a sharp look. "I request that you retract that statement, Sword King Sin. I will not tolerate any undue slander against me or my friends."
"And why should I? I'm telling the truth."
Sensing the hostile atmosphere, Benedict's mouth twitched by itself. Why was his master like this? He did not know. He hurried to mediate, "I'm sure my master has a perfectly good explanation for everything. Master, I think you should explain."
"I could, but I want the four of you to attack me first."
"Huh?" Elizabeth doubted her hearing.
"Hurry up. I don't have all day," he snapped impatiently.
Elizabeth, Shirley, and Freon stared at each other in confusion. They had no idea what was happening, but they were certainly not going to tempt fate by attacking him. This was the Sword King they were talking about here! One wrong move, and he might go berserk and kill them! The smartest decision was to do nothing instead. Only Benedict groaned, having understood his master's intentions.
"My master wants to spar to measure our current ability," he explained. "My senior martial brothers and I have done this multiple times in the past. There's no other meaning behind it."
"That's right. In consideration for your injuries, I won't ask that you overexert yourselves. Just show me what you can do," the Sword King sneered.
"This…" Elizabeth was still uncertain.
"Fine by me!" Shirley shouted.
She had grown sick and tired of his haughty attitude. It was time for her to put him in his place! She smoothly grabbed her halberd and charged at the man! Although her injuries were still healing, her vitality was nothing to scoff at, especially now that she was a Half-Perception Realm. The girl was as tough as a bull! Benedict seamlessly joined her as he executed one of the Cloud Sea Style's techniques. Ever since the Battle of Liguang, his inspirations had been bubbling to the surface, ready to overflow. This was the perfect chance to put his sword to the test! Without a word, the two flanked the Sword King while he stood still. He did not even bother unsheathing his sword as though to say that his hands and feet were enough. It was the ultimate sign of confidence! However, his unperturbed calmness was suddenly stained by surprise.
Benedict took a deep breath and condensed the Martial Energy inside his body. Originally, he wanted to avoid this, since his body was badly wounded, but he needed to demonstrate his growth. He needed to prove he was worthy to be the Sword King's disciple! The boy carefully recreated the motions in his head, directed his Martial Energy, and stomped down. Boom! His image became a mere blur as he shot across the courtyard at blinding speeds. Autumn Hawk! Likewise, Shirley accumulated a vast quantity of Martial Energy. Her proficiency in using Martial Energy had grown by leaps and bounds since the Battle of Liguang, allowing her to use it as she pleased. She immediately activated Mock Perception and focused on the Sword King's every movement. No matter what he did, she would track it! And though Benedict warned her not to use this in the Sword King's presence, she ignored his advice. Swinging her halberd down, a torrent of Martial Energy followed. Cloud Sea Style: Crashing Waves! The two attacks slammed into the Sword King and created a thunderous boom!
The guards arrived due to the commotion though Elizabeth raised a stand to stop them. Despite her confusion, she understood this was the Sword King's test. Things became simple then. She picked up her bow and summoned a shimmering white arrow made of Magic Energy. Instead of Eclipsing Theatre, which boasted incredible destructive power, she opted for a simpler spell, which focused that lethality into a single strike. This was the same attack that nearly killed Reverent Monk! With a resounding bang, Elizabeth loosed her arrow, transforming it into a flash of light that pierced straight towards the Sword King. Sky Piercer! Freon also summoned a large Magic Circle. He was not about to use his Bloodline Ability, but he was not out of options yet. When he fought Emperor Lianghu previously, he displayed a third of this spell's full potential because his Core was too weak. Now though, as a Peak Gaseous Fog, he could use its full power. A bright red beam blasted forth, splitting into thirty-six smaller beams halfway, and accelerated ten-fold. High Gaseous Fog spell, Thirty-Six Falling Stars!
Another large explosion rocked the surroundings and created a larger shower of debris and snow. Elizabeth, Shirley, and Freon held their breaths. Their injuries might have held them back, but their current power was nothing to joke about either. For example, Freon's spell could flatten an entire building! The four of them attacking a defenseless man seemed excessive. Surely, the Sword King could not emerge unscathed from that, right? Did they make a mistake then? Had they gone too far? Once again, Benedict was the only one who understood his master. This was someone who could emerge victorious in a battle against himself, Hidek, and Lanar simultaneously. Keep in mind, Hidek and Lanar were Perception Realm Masters who grasped Martial Energy for far longer than him. They were far above him in strength and yet, they failed all the same. Hence, there was no way his master would be defeated now!
And as Benedict expected, a lone figure slowly appeared in the smoke cloud, his leisurely voice saying, "Your offense isn't bad, but what about the rest?" When the smoke cleared, he vanished!
Suddenly, an extremely dense killing intent approached the four from behind. It was close enough to feel the touch of death! Shirley was the first to react and jumped away, brandishing her halberd. Her combat instincts were a sight to behold. Benedict was half a second later in using Martial Energy to leap away. Elizabeth and Freon were noticeably slower since they were Arcanists, not martial artists. Their senses and mobility were far weaker than the other two. Bang! The four blasted back, slamming into the walls with unparalleled force. They were instantly defeated! The Sword King reappeared in the middle of the courtyard with a thoughtful expression on his face, as though he was not the one fighting just now. The guards were thoroughly at a loss for what to do.