Aldrian dodged the continuous slashes and stabs coming at him. He tried to gain distance by teleporting to different locations, but Xin Haotian seemed to anticipate his movements, knowing exactly where he would go. Xin Haotian wielded his sword with seamless precision, aiming for fatal points with minimal but deadly efficient movements.
Aldrian didn't always block the incoming attacks with his borrowed sword because he knew its limitations, and the Illumination Sword in Xin Haotian's hand was on a completely different level.
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Illumination Sword
Description: The sword hails from the God of Light realm and has become a legacy weapon of the Xin clan. It now always accompanies Xin Haotian and is known as his famous sword.
Level: Middle Divine.
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Aldrian was truly flabbergasted by the quality of Xin Haotian's sword. Where could he have obtained a sword of such quality? And what is the God of Light realm? Where is it? He was curious, but he saved those questions for later. Every time the Illumination Sword touched his own, he could feel the durability of his borrowed weapon diminish, even though he had already coated it with his golden energy and spatial energy, utilizing space laws.
The power Xin Haotian exuded was strong enough to make Aldrian's hand tremble and destabilize the energy coating his sword. Aldrian quickly realized that this man was an extremely dangerous opponent, one who could threaten his life if they met outside of his domain. With Xin Haotian's powerful attacks and incredible speed, Aldrian needed his full concentration just to track his movements. He couldn't afford to lose focus for even a split second against such speed.
"If he can follow me in every direction I take, then..." Aldrian thought to himself.
Suddenly, Xin Haotian felt an immense pressure, his body growing heavy, and his movements becoming sluggish. Aldrian didn't waste this opportunity; he slashed toward Xin Haotian's neck. However, sensing something at the last moment, Xin Haotian tilted his head, narrowly avoiding the full force of the attack. The tip of Aldrian's sword grazed Xin Haotian's conical straw hat, knocking it off his head, just as Xin Haotian countered with a slashing motion aimed at Aldrian's head. The pressure vanished, and Xin Haotian dashed forward to attack again.
"You can control gravity too? It looks like you've got quite a few tricks up your sleeve. But my light is strong enough to cut through your space of gravity!" Xin Haotian exclaimed.
Aldrian was genuinely impressed by Xin Haotian's mastery of light energy and the light laws. This battle was giving him valuable insights into how to fight fast and powerful opponents like Xin Haotian. If his opponent primarily relying on speed, then his technique, the 'Slash of The End,' could prove effective.
The pressure from this technique, enhanced by gravity laws, would lock the target in place, preventing them from moving. However, Aldrian wasn't sure if that would be enough to subdue Xin Haotian, after all, he could slash through space without even causing a spatial crack. Given his speed, Aldrian doubted Xin Haotian would allow him to unleash 'Slash of The End.' He needed to find an opening.
"What marvelous control of power," Aldrian thought, but he quickly formed another plan.
"If slowing you down isn't possible, then what about this?"
Xin Haotian attacked once more with his technique, but suddenly he found it difficult to control his energy. The flow of energy became unstable, reducing the power of his attack. Sensing his surroundings, he was shocked to discover that the energy flow around him was in chaos, preventing him from maximizing his output power.
Aldrian's control over the energy within his domain proved invaluable in this situation, even though it could only reduce Xin Haotian's power due to the significant gap in their cultivation stages. If their cultivation levels were closer, as with Eleine, Aldrian could have even canceled his opponent's technique activation entirely. Aldrian blocked Xin Haotian's diminished attack with his sword and attempted to deliver a punch to his body. However, Xin Haotian, with his nimble movements, evaded the punch and leaped back, creating distance between them.
Now, they stood facing each other, 50 meters apart.
"I have to admit, it's been a long time since I've had a fight this good. Are you really only at the Viscount stage? From your appearance, you seem like an early teen, but I can sense you're using a disguise," Xin Haotian observed.
"Well, what if I am? And what if I'm not? But I do wonder about your true motive for meeting me. Care to explain?" Aldrian replied.
"Didn't you hear what I said? I want to kill you."
"No, you're not emitting any killing intent, and your mind is as clear as water. If you truly wanted to kill me, there would be at least some trace of killing intent, even in your thoughts," Aldrian countered.
Xin Haotian fell silent after hearing Aldrian's words. This was also one of the reasons Aldrian had refrained from using the 'Slash of The End.' He didn't need to kill someone who had approached him without murderous intent. The other reason was that he didn't want to unleash such a powerful technique carelessly.
The situation in the Ivory Empire had already become hectic again after his duel with Arthur. The technique's effects were felt across the continent, and now people knew there was someone with swordsmanship as strong as, if not stronger than, Xin Haotian in the Ivory Empire. They were even calling him the eleventh great swordsman of the continent.
Although the identity of this mysterious swordsman remained uncertain, some were already investigating traces of him within the Ivory Empire, with many having arrived in Evergreen City, waiting. Aldrian couldn't afford to draw more attention to himself. He felt guilty for causing chaos and having the Evergreen family cover for him.
On the positive side, the devils had completely halted their movements. It seemed they had ceased operations in the cities they had infiltrated. However, Aldrian couldn't pinpoint every single one of them due to the limitations of his cultivation, which was inversely proportional to the size of his domain.
"It looks like I need to move to another territory for the time being, to divert attention from the Ivory Empire," Aldrian thought, still eyeing Xin Haotian.
"Amazing. In all my life, I've never fought like this. You are truly an opponent full of tricks, with strong power and sharp instincts. It's like you have no weakness," Xin Haotian finally said.
"Well, thanks for the compliment. Now, can you answer my question?" Aldrian replied, trying to avoid further trouble. He could simply teleport Xin Haotian to a faraway place as long as it was within his domain, but he didn't want to deal with the annoyance of Xin Haotian continually returning. Killing him without reason wasn't Aldrian's style, and it would require considerable effort to do so.
"I need your help," Xin Haotian said, his words leaving Aldrian stunned.
"You need my help? If it's something even the strongest of the great swordmasters of the continent can't solve, I'm afraid I won't be much help," Aldrian replied.
"No, I know you didn't use your full power in our battle just now. This is something I'm sure only you can do," Xin Haotian said as he sheathed his sword. Aldrian followed suit, returning his own sword to its sheath before asking again.
"Something that only I can do? Can you tell me what it is?"
"We can discuss that later. I'm sure the elves already know about our situation and have probably dispatched teams to search for you. You can come to me at this place and time." Xin Haotian threw a piece of paper to Aldrian, who caught it between his fingers. He unfolded the paper to read its contents before looking back at Xin Haotian.
"And why should I help you?" Aldrian asked.
"I'm certain you'll gain something from this. It involves the God of Light's inheritance, but obtaining it will depend on your own ability," Xin Haotian replied as he retrieved his conical straw hat from the ground, dusted it off, and put it back on.
Now Aldrian was genuinely intrigued. This might also be the opportunity he needed to divert attention away from the Ivory Empire.
"Now you've piqued my interest. Alright, I'll listen to what you have to say." With that, Aldrian teleported them back to the spot where he first met Xin Haotian. Without waiting long, Xin Haotian vanished, leaving the surrounding elves stunned by Aldrian's sudden appearance.
A few of them recognized him from earlier when he was attacked and disappeared, so they quickly reported the incident to the imperial family. Aldrian reassured them not to worry and informed the imperial family that he was safe using a long-distance communication device shaped like a pentagon crystal. Now that he had an appointment later, he knew he needed to speak with the imperial family directly.
He returned the borrowed sword to the elf, who had brought his sword as secondary weapon, and gave him a few high-level energy stones as compensation and for the sword's repair. He needed to return to the Imperial Palace immediately to inform Emperor Ladwin of his plan to leave the Ivory Empire for the time being.