Book 9, His Fame Shakes the World – Chapter 8, The Prodigy Sword Saint
With a single stroke, Linley had defeated a Saint-level expert who was the personal disciple of the War God. In addition, Linley’s current transformation was into a terrifying form. This deeply shocked everyone present. None of the 80,000 viewers actually dared make a single sound.
Deathly silence. Terrifying silence!
Blumer stared terrified at Linley, still hovering in mid-air. At this moment, Linley’s cold, remorseless dark golden eyes were fixed upon him. Blumer felt as though he could die at any moment. This utmost sensation of terror caused him to run even closer towards the Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson.
Silence. No one dared to speak.
“Drip!” A single drop of bright red blood dripped down from the tip of Bloodviolet, landing on the dueling platform and splattering on it. In the silence, that clear sound rang out loudly.
This was the blood of Kenyon.
Kenyon was standing at the edge of the dueling platform, in miserable shape. Controlling his muscles and battle-qi, he sealed his wound and stopped the flow of blood. But he didn’t dare fight against Linley again.
He was a Saint-level, true. But he was ‘only’ a mid-stage Saint-level. In terms of their comparative levels of enlightenment, he was far lower than Linley.
“Master Linley.” Johann finally spoke. His voice echoed in the Colosseum, seeming to come out of nowhere, causing more than half the people to turn to him. His face still covered in smiles, Emperor Johann said, “Although I knew you were a powerful warrior, I had no idea that your talent in this field was not one whit inferior to your talent in stone sculpting.”
Emperor Johann’s words visibly eased the tension.
Just then, Linley’s vicious demeanor had caused those 80,000 onlookers to not even dare breathe loudly. But as soon as Emperor Johann finished speaking, the entire Colosseum became filled with the sound of countless conversations.
“Master Linley? Ah! Could it be that he is that youngest-ever grandmaster sculptor?”
“Master Linley belongs to the Holy Union. I heard that Count Wharton had originally come from the Holy Union as well. Dragonblood Warriors truly are formidable!”
“Master Linley is so young! When he was sixteen, he created ‘Awakening From the Dream’, and only eleven years have passed since then. A twenty seven year old Saint-level combatant. Doesn’t that make him even more incredible than Lord Olivier?”
.....
Countless conversations regarding Linley could be heard. Linley had appeared out of nowhere. His status as a master sculptor was well known to many aficionados of stone sculptures.
This was an individual who was almost on the same level as Master Proulx.
And now, this young master sculptor, only twenty seven years old, had defeated in a single blow a Saint-level expert who was a personal disciple of the War God!
Unavoidably, many people began to compare him and Olivier.
Compared to Olivier, Linley was even younger.
“My young friend Linley, that technique you used just now should have been derived from your insight into the Laws of the Wind, yes?” The Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson, spoke, his voice ringing from the judge’s platform.
As soon as Haydson spoke, everyone else in the Colosseum fell silent. What did the Monolithic Sword Saint wish to discuss with this genius, Linley?
“It was indeed, Mr. Haydson.” A calm reply from Linley.
“Might I ask what the name of this technique is?” The Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson, was a man devoted to his training and focused on reaching the Deity-level. Haydson was very much interested in the mysteries gleaned by other Saint-level experts. Perhaps by doing so, he might suddenly gain some new insights and have a breakthrough.
“The name of this technique is Rippling Wind.” Linley didn’t try to hide it.
In order to learn a powerful technique, one must possess a certain level of understanding and insight with regards to the Laws of a certain element. Without that level of understanding, no matter how clearly you explained a technique to someone, they wouldn’t be able to learn it.
Still standing in mid-air, Linley glanced at the distant Kenyon. Calmly, he said, “Your name is Kenyon, correct?”
At first, Kenyon had thought Linley was someone who wasn’t even at the Saint-level. Naturally, he was furious when Linley rebuked and cursed at him. But now, he knew that Linley was more powerful than he was.
Although he was still rather angry, in his heart, Kenyon already viewed Linley as someone on the same level as himself, or perhaps at an even higher level.
“I am.” Kenyon nodded slightly.
“Mr. Kenyon, given your level of power, you should have been able to clearly discern the seriousness of my younger brother’s injury. Given that you knew exactly how wounded he was, you shouldn’t have said the words you said. Remember. As a judge, you have to be at least somewhat impartial. We had admitted defeat, after all. You can’t go too far!”
As soon as Linley finished speaking these words coldly, he flew down towards his own squad. Linley was still concerned about his younger brother’s injury.
Having been rebuked by Linley yet again, Kenyon felt rather embarrassed.
But he knew that he had acted wrongly here. Just then, the other side had admitted defeat. He did indeed go a bit too far by acting in such a manner.
.....
“Wharton, are you okay?” Linley said worriedly as he returned to his human form, rushing to his little brother’s side and crouching on one knee.
Right now, quite a few people were surrounding him. Even Nina had ignored everything and rushed over.
“Lord Linley.” A light-style magus next to them smiled. “Don’t worry. I just utilized recovery magic on him. Lord Wharton’s wounds are already half-healed. Given Lord Wharton’s natural healing abilities, in ten days or half a month, he should be totally fine.”
“Big bro, I feel much better.” Wharton was able to speak fairly easily now.
Linley finally calmed down.
At the same time, he felt rather satisfied with the preparations the Colosseum had made. Linley knew exactly how effective light-style magi were in treating wounds. Generally speaking, low-ranking magi would only be able to treat superficial wounds. Only powerful light-style magi would be able to heal broken bones or internal injuries.
And of course, the most powerful light-style magi could even totally restore to peak condition anyone who had not yet died. For example, when Linley had received the Divine Boon at the Radiant Temple, that divine power had carried just a bit of healing power with it, but that little bit had been enough to totally restore Linley’s body to peak condition, healing all of his broken bones.
This sort of regenerative ability was very formidable.
“Everyone!”
At this moment, the tournament organizer, that silver-haired old man, reappeared on the dueling platform. His face covered in smiles, he said, “I imagine everyone has had an incredible time watching this battle today. Haha. Even our dueling platform has been destroyed as a result of this battle.”
The 80,000 viewers stared at the shattered, crater-marked dueling platform, and they all began to laugh as well.
This duel today had absolutely been worth watching.
Not only had they seen a competition between two ultimate geniuses, they even had had a chance to see the terrifying power of Wharton’s older brother, Linley. He had, in one blow, defeated Kenyon.
Although the exchange between Linley and Kenyon was very brief, the ‘value’ of watching that exchange was much higher than that of the battle between Wharton and Blumer. After all, this was a battle between Saint-levels. Many people would live their entire lives without having a chance to witness such a battle.
“And the results of today’s duel, I’m sure everyone will agree, are without question. I announce...” The silver-haired old man’s words came to a halt, as he stared at the air above him.
Not just him. The tens of thousands of people sitting on the side of the judge’s stand were all staring at a glowing line streaking at high speed through the air towards them.
In the blink of an eye, the streak of light arrived at the Colosseum.
“Saint-level!”
The Colosseum once again was filled with excited shouts. Yet another Saint-level expert had appeared.
This man wore simple, sackcloth clothes, and seemed very calm. But his eyes seemed to blaze with the light of the stars. His hair was black mixed with streaks of white, but judging from his face, one could tell without a doubt that this was not an old man; rather, this man was very young.
“Who is this person?”
“Don’t recognize’m. His hair is turning white. Which Saint-level expert is this?”
.....
The stands were filled with the sound of discussions being held. It seemed most people were surprisingly unable to recognize who this Saint-level was, that had just flown here. After all, many people had seen some of the more famous Saint-level experts.
The young man flew towards Blumer.
“Second brother, what happened?” The young man said.
“Big brother!” Blumer’s astonished, overjoyed voice rang out.
This exchange seemed to have lit a fire within the audience at the Colosseum. This youngster with white and black hair, dressed in a simple sackcloth attire, was the Prodigy Sword Saint, Olivier!
“Olivier. Wait, that can’t be. Olivier’s hair should be brownish-black, and he likes wearing white clothes.”
“Olivier. He was such a marvel to behold. How did he become like this?”
“I can tell for certain that this is Olivier. Compared to how he looked when he last battled against Lord Dillon, his appearance is almost identical. Only, his hair looks different, and it seems his aura is different as well.”
.....
Right. His aura was different.
No wonder those 80,000 viewers were unable to recognize him. In the past, Olivier’s aura was astonishingly sharp, like a sword that had been unleashed from its scabbard. In addition, he wore a pure white robe.
His handsome face and his fierce aura had made Olivier famous throughout the imperial capital.
But the current Olivier had changed dramatically compared to before.
The current Olivier didn’t have a fierce aura, and his hair, now part-white, seemed aged. Olivier had never used to dress in sackcloth before either.
“He is Olivier?” Linley looked at Olivier as well.
Yale nodded next to Linley. “Right. According to my clan’s intelligence, in the years after he reached the Saint-level, Olivier had been roving about the various Empires and engaging in training. According to the predictions of our intelligence unit, he should have defeated many Saint-level experts.”
Linley nodded slightly.
As soon as he had seen Olivier, Linley had the sense...that this Olivier person was an extremely terrifying expert. Compared to Stehle of the Radiant Church, he was even more formidable.
“Has he come for the purpose of doing battle on behalf of his little brother?” Linley immediately began to quietly chant the words to a magic spell.
Olivier was extremely famous. Given his reputation, Linley definitely wouldn’t underestimate Olivier, nor did he dare to be insufficiently cautious.
A gust of wind suddenly swirled about Linley.
Wind-style spell of the ninth rank – Windshadow technique!
.....
Olivier finished listening to his younger brother’s description of this battle. Blumer intentionally made the situation sound even worse. “Big brother, that Linley bullied me with his superior power. If it wasn’t for the assistance of my elder fellow apprentice, I’m afraid...”
Olivier frowned.
The Akerlund clan was actually a very ordinary, common clan. Their parents had died early on, and Olivier had to rely on himself to protect Blumer and help raise Blumer.
Blumer was Olivier’s only family member. The two brothers shared a very deep love for each other.
“Kenyon.” Olivier glanced at the nearby Kenyon. “Thank you. I, Olivier, will definitely remember your benevolence in assisting us.”
Kenyon hurriedly said, “Olivier, no need. Blumer is my younger fellow apprentice. I can’t just sit and watch.”
Olivier smiled at Kenyon, then stared coldly at his younger brother. He rebuked, “Second brother, I told you long ago, unless the situation is a matter of life or death, you are not to use that forbidden technique. Given your current level of understanding, you are far from being able to use it properly. Do you know how harmful that most powerful attack was to you? The damage it caused was more severe than that of your broken arm!”
Blumer lowered his head.
In order to defeat Wharton, in the end, he had utilized a forbidden technique, and the damage done to himself by this forbidden technique wasn’t something which light-style magic could heal. When Olivier had taught him this technique, he had instructed him to only use it in a life-or-death situation.
“Elder brother. I am sorry.” Blumer knew that Olivier was looking out for his interests.
Olivier shook his head and sighed, then turned to look at the distant Linley. A fierce look appeared in his eyes, previously as tranquil as the depths of the seas. Olivier flew directly over.
“Olivier, wait!” Knowing things were taking a turn for the worse, Emperor Johann immediately spoke out.
“Your Imperial Majesty, I will not spare someone who tried to kill my younger brother. Your Imperial Majesty, it’s best if you don’t get involved in this matter.” Olivier didn’t give Johann any face at all.
Emperor Johann didn’t say anything else either. He understood Olivier’s temperament very well.
But as far as Johann was concerned, both Linley and Olivier were important members of the Empire. He didn’t want these two geniuses to battle each other.
Olivier hovered in mid-air, his long robes fluttering about him. His cold, fierce gaze was on Linley. “Linley, come out!” This explosive shout rocked the Colosseum like a thunderbolt, echoing nonstop within it.
“Come out!” “Come out!” “Come out!”
Everyone in the Colosseum held their breaths. Good heavens. The tickets they had bought were absolutely worth it. They had already seen two battles, but now, it seemed as though they were going to see an even more exciting one.
The 80,000 pairs of eyes in the Colosseum all swung towards Linley.