That said, despite how miraculous his survival was, he did not go unscathed. His Bloodline Ability was not quite strong enough to resist a Noble Grade treasure, and he could not control it perfectly. Two long, deep cuts went across his chest that narrowly avoided his organs. It was so close that a finger could poke through… The severity and grotesqueness could be seen. These cuts were a minor concern compared to the blunt force he received though. His Bloodline Ability was like armor. It could protect him from being impaled, but it could not dissipate the impact. He had to receive it with his body, and given that these daggers were Noble Grade treasures, it was easy to imagine how powerful it was. It felt like a carriage ran him over! He grabbed his chest painfully. Blood dripped from his mouth and nose, as he felt his broken bones. His lungs were probably punctured, making it ten times harder to breath. Every act brought a new wave of pain to the surface, and that was with his sense of pain dulling. How severe must his injuries be? He did not want to think about it. Those two daggers almost sent him straight to the afterlife!
His mentality was surprisingly solid. Although he stood on death's door, although enemies were everywhere he looked, although the situation seemed hopeless, his eyes were firm. He did not waver. He did not stop. He never once considered it. After all, he went through too many life-threatening situations already. This was not enough to break him! Benedict sheathed his broken hilt of a sword and revolved the remaining Martial Energy inside his body. There was not enough to survive another hit from Lord Xu's daggers, and even if he had enough Martial Energy to activate his Bloodline Ability, his body could not last. He had a tinge of regret. Originally, he hoped to escape to the skies, but he never thought his opponent would have such a powerful long-ranged weapon. It came back to haunt him. More importantly, there were powerful Perception Realms converging on his position. He needed to escape quickly. Looking at Shirley with a somber face, he made up his mind to use World Energy!
Meanwhile, Lord Xu was stunned because he knew exactly how sharp and strong his daggers were. Once, he tested it against a fully armored dummy only to pierce through it with ease. Thrown at full force, he could probably impale through three to five people. Combined with the dagger's light weight and slim shape, its lethality was especially astounding, doubly-so when a Perception Realm Expert used it! His timing and angle were flawless. He should have killed Benedict three times over, and yet… the knight was clearly alive, albeit on his last legs. This humiliated Lord Xu. How would he show his face if he could not handle a measly Half-Perception Realm? He brandished his four remaining daggers with two in each hand. In truth, this was a three-stage attack called Three-Step Kill: one dagger to stun, two to restrict, and four to kill! Lord Xu originally prepared this move for those at the peak like Sir Winstin, Cardinal Hui, or Lady Mingyu. He had the confidence to kill a legendary Perception Realm Master! Now, Benedict would face it too. Four daggers flew out! He was sure of it this time. There was no chance for survival!
Benedict inhaled sharply through the pain and blood to focus. Currently, he was a Half-Perception Realm, one step away from entering Perception Realm. What was Perception Realm? As his master, the Sword King, explained, Fundamental Realm was to learn Martial Energy, and Perception Realm was to master it. The Royal Guards, the Imperial Sentinels, Lord Xu, and even those standing at the apex of the world, namely Sir Winstin, Cardinal Hui, and Lady Mingyu, could not be considered 'true' Perception Realms due to this. Without Martial Energy, they were inferior to those who could use it. This was why Benedict, Shirley, Elizabeth, and Freon could seemingly break free of the norms of this world and challenge people a realm higher. They were never standing on the same stage to begin with. If Benedict were to battle his senior martial brothers, for example, he would be dead before he knew it.
The key to mastering Martial Energy and breaking into Perception Realm was externalization, the ability to project energy outward. Benedict's display of the Cloud Sea Style paled in comparison to his senior martial brothers and master due to this. Only when a person could externalize their energy could a martial technique reveal its true power! And Benedict was finally approaching this point. He exhaled, as a strange mist escaped his mouth. It was incredibly faint to the point it was almost invisible. One would need a strong pair of eyes just to see it, but it was unmistakably present! When the sunlight shined through it, a rainbow seemed to emerge. That was right… It was Martial Energy!
However, Benedict was completely unaware. He had retracted all his senses, even neglecting to sense the incoming four daggers. It was impossible to dodge or block it after all. Rather, he needed to place his full concentration into manifesting and controlling his Martial and World Energy. That was his one chance to survive! The battles below, Lord Xu, the daggers, Shirley, and even the earth below and heavens above… Everything slowly receded from his mind before vanishing. In this void, only he existed. Only he remained! This was a state of absolute focus. Time seemed to crawl to a halt as his life flashed before his eyes… Being born into the grand Hawken Household with a long history of Royal Guards, his path seemed set in stone from the very beginning. He trained diligently since young, never stopping, never resting, and always swinging his blade, in hopes of mastering the Hawken Style. Everything was to make his family proud and yet… his father never looked at him fondly. Why? Because he had the tall shadow of his brother, Lorenzo, standing over him.
Although Lorenzo Hawken might not compare to those geniuses like Ten Dawn Nassandra, he was still extremely talented in his own right. He quickly mastered the Hawken Style's five stances, reached Fundamental Realm Master, and became a Great Knight of the Realm. This was a shining star of the next generation, the heir to the Hawken Household, and a future Royal Guard! He thoroughly made their father proud. On the other hand, what did Benedict accomplish? He struggled with the first three stances of the Hawken Style, stagnated at Fundamental Realm Novice, and barely became a knight. When he joined the army, he fell in love with someone… only to lose her. It almost broke him and he almost vowed to never hold a sword again. Such a mentality, it was obvious that his father would discard him. He became the family's disgrace.
It was thanks to Lorenzo, and later Elizabeth, Shirley, and Freon, who pushed him out of that dark abyss, so he could stand strong again. Then, through various trials and tribulations, he painfully scaled the steps from Fundamental Realm Novice to Expert and mastered the first three stances. Getting accepted by the Sword King was possibly his greatest fortune, as he grasped Martial Energy, the Cloud Sea Style, and advanced to Major Sword Form and Fundamental Realm Master. Now, he stood on the boundary of Half-Perception Realm. His aura suddenly retracted to nothingness, as he wove Martial Energy and World Energy together. The faint rainbow wisps from his mouth grew thicker with every passing breath until finally… today, he stepped into the realm of legends! Boom! His aura exploded to monstrous heights as his five senses erupted! Everything in the world was revealed! Benedict had finally reached Perception Realm!
His aura was instantly noticed by the people below, particularly by Lord Xu, and the other great Perception Realms. Although Benedict had just reached Perception Realm, the weight or 'density' of his aura was far greater than normal. It was like the difference between a cup and a bucket. This was the power of Martial Energy! Everyone felt a vague sense of danger! However, rather than dissuading them, this convinced everyone of one thing: they had to slaughter Benedict today! Whoosh! A vast monsoon of auras and killing intent soon arose and dominated the skies before charging towards Benedict. Including Lord Xu and the four approaching daggers, he had many new opponents to deal with, all of whom were incredibly famous and powerful Perception Realms. Yet, he did not panic. Using his newfound insight over Martial Energy, he wove it into his new technique…