Kael and Zoey immediately rose from their seats as their attention shifted toward the entrance of the study.
The door slowly opened, revealing two figures stepping inside.
One of them was someone Kael had already met before.
Albert.
The other person, however, was someone entirely different.
A handsome gentleman man with long white hair and a calm expression walked into the room while wearing a simple white robe. There was nothing extravagant about his appearance, yet the moment he stepped inside, the entire atmosphere of the room seemed to subtly change.
It wasn’t pressure, nor was it intimidation.
It was simply the presence of someone who had reached a level where his very existence influenced everything around him.
Zoey’s eyes immediately lit up the moment she saw him.
"Grandfather."
Her voice carried a hint of respect and warmth that Kael had never heard from her before.
Hearing that, Kael’s gaze shifted toward the white-haired man.
So this was him.
Zoey’s grandfather.
The Sword Saint.
As Kael observed him, he quickly noticed that the Sword Saint was observing him as well.
Just then, their gazes met.
And the very instant they did...
The world changed.
The study disappeared.
The walls.
The furniture.
The presence of Zoey and Albert.
Everything vanished in an instant.
When Kael opened his eyes again, he was no longer standing inside the study.
Instead, he found himself standing within a world made entirely of brilliant sword light.
The entire space seemed endless.
Every direction he looked, all he could see was a dazzling white glow that carried an incredibly sharp sensation. It was as if the entire world itself had been transformed into a sword.
Standing in the distance was a single figure.
The Sword Saint.
His body stood calmly within the endless sword light, yet the aura radiating from him caused Kael’s eyes to narrow slightly.
No.
Radiating wasn’t the correct word.
The Sword Saint wasn’t releasing sword aura.
His entire existence itself seemed to be a sword.
Every movement.
Every breath.
Every thought.
Everything about him carried the sharpness of a blade capable of cutting through all things.
Kael immediately understood what had happened.
A Mental Domain.
The Sword Saint had pulled him into a domain formed from his own sword intent.
Seeing this, Kael couldn’t help muttering internally.
"So this is a Mental Domain..."
He suddenly remembered Varek’s previous explanation about domains and how the Quasi-Transcendent had made it sound like creating one was an impossible task.
But seeing the Sword Saint unleash one here made him question the credibility of Varek’s statement.
Unbeknownst to him, however, Varek had not been lying.
A Mental Domain was indeed one of the hardest types of domains to form.
Simply comprehending some kind of intent wasn’t enough.
That was only one of the basic requirements.
The conditions needed to manifest a domain were far more complicated than that.
The Sword Saint was simply an exception.
A special case.
Unlike Kael, who possessed the absurd Infinite Reward Multiplier talent, the Sword Saint’s talent came purely from himself.
And that talent was terrifying.
If he had been born among some ancient and powerful family within the vast cosmos, surrounded by endless resources, ancient inheritances, and countless techniques, his achievements would’ve been far beyond what they currently were.
Unfortunately, he had been born within this small world.
A world that couldn’t provide him with the opportunities that existed beyond the stars.
Yet despite that limitation, he had still managed to reach this level entirely through his own effort.
That alone was enough to prove just how monstrous his talent truly was.
While Kael was analyzing him, the Sword Saint finally moved.
"Interesting."
His calm voice echoed throughout the endless sword world.
"To think you’ve managed to hold on until now."
Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Hold on?
Before he could question what the Sword Saint meant, the old man continued.
"How about you defend against this?"
The Sword Saint slowly raised one finger.
The moment he did, the entire world trembled.
Countless streams of sword light began gathering toward his fingertip, converging rapidly into a single point.
Kael stared at the scene before him.
He couldn’t help but feel speechless.
"Seriously?"
"Does everyone in this family have a habit of attacking people the first time they meet?"
Although he could clearly sense that the attack carried no killing intent, it was still annoying.
First Morgan.
Now the Sword Saint.
Apparently, this family had a strange method of greeting guests.
Kael looked at the approaching sword light before releasing a small breath.
"Fine."
"Come on, old man."
"You think you’re the only one with a Mental Domain?"
The moment his words fell...
The world behind him changed.
A terrifying crimson light erupted from his body.
The endless sword world trembled as another domain began forcing its way into existence.
The Blood Domain.
The instant it appeared, the two domains collided.
Crimson.
And white.
Blood.
And sword light.
The two opposing worlds violently clashed against one another, each attempting to overwrite the other and establish dominance.
As the collision occurred, Kael suddenly remembered something Varek had once told him.
The most effective way to destroy a domain was not always through direct force.
A domain was the manifestation of its owner’s authority.
Trying to destroy one from the outside was extremely difficult.
However...
If another domain was introduced, the two would naturally clash for supremacy.
The stronger authority would consume the weaker one.
At the time, Kael understood the explanation but never truly experienced it.
Now, seeing it happen before his eyes, he finally understood.
If he had attempted to attack the Sword Saint’s Mental Domain directly, even with all his abilities, he probably wouldn’t have been able to break through.
But by simply releasing his own domain...
The result was immediate.
Cracks began spreading across the endless sword world.
The Sword Saint’s Mental Domain was beginning to fracture.
Of course, Kael’s Blood Domain wasn’t completely unharmed either.
The overwhelming sword intent constantly cut into the crimson world, creating countless cracks across its surface.
Meanwhile, upon witnessing this, the Sword Saint’s calm expression shifted slightly, yet he didn’t pause for even a moment.
The sword light gathering around his finger continued to intensify.
More.
And more.
Until the single finger pointing toward Kael contained enough sword aura to make even space itself tremble.
The Sword Saint finally released it.
A dazzling beam of sword light erupted forward.
It wasn’t large.
It wasn’t flashy.
But the moment it moved, the entire world seemed to split apart.
A sword capable of piercing through everything shot toward Kael.
Yet Kael didn’t move.
He simply stared at the approaching attack with calm eyes before slowly raising his hand.
"Blood Domain."
The crimson world behind him roared.
"First Form..."
The countless rivers of blood began surging upward.
"The Weeping Abattoir."