Zishen unleashed the strongest breath attack that was known to his soul, bringing forth death and destruction with one single blow. The ground trembled as the world came to a halt. White leaves dropped down from the weeping willow tree, bringing a sense of ethereal beauty to the mundane ravine. Though, it didn’t matter to the Azure Dragon Lord if the world was dyed white or red. As long as Junius, the man who had caused his master so much harm, had perished, everything else didn’t matter.

The light from the heated dragon’s breath created a billowing smoke, one so dense that it covered the entire Tree of Illusions. Mist was replaced with dark, throat-constraining smoke while the verdants grasslands were swapped with breathtakingly dangerous pale blue flames. Zishen was a Spirit Beast that used the Water-Element, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t create fire. Condensing all of his mana into pure external spiritual energies, the Azure Dragon Lord could easily douse the world with peerless destruction.

Most men, including Spirit Saints, would unquestionably pale up when attacked with such an otherworldly force. However, Junius remained utterly calm. He didn’t move a single inch as he stood confidently under the Empyrean Wonder’s canopy. The resultant force was capable of breaking down mountains and creating torrential storms that would last for days. Alas, against the defensive capabilities of the Godlike tree, Zishen’s all-out attack fell short.

The smoke dissipated, revealing the completely intact Tree of Illusions, alongside a fully healthy Junius. His eyes weren’t muddied in the slightest, and the two blades in his hands were vibrating violently, seemingly in blissful anticipation of what’s to come. The Empyrean Wonder had repelled Zishen’s immense might, a deed that only a few in the world could ever pull off.

“This damned brat...” A flaming flower bloomed with Lady Seph’s beautiful eyes as she took five steps forward. If pure physical might couldn’t cut it, then what about astral attacks? The blonde beauty raised her hand up, congregating a large portion of her golden light within those dainty fingers. In her Angel Form, Lady Seph’s abilities were all boosted, particularly the ones that controlled another human’s body. In one breath, the woman hollered out with a voice that seemed to come from the divine.

[KNEEL!!!]

Unleashing the Words of the Angel, Lady Seph laid out an order upon the Rank 60 Spirit King. Junius’ face broke out in a grimace as cold sweat flowed out from all his pores. Facing the Divine Healer’s spiritual ability without the proper resistance was tantamount to suicide. In due time, Junius lost control over his body, and his legs began to shake. He’d felt as if a thousand stones had been mounted upon his shoulders. Lady Seph smiled, feeling confident that her ability was working on the man.

A long time ago, when the First Elder first brought Junius and Shin to Yakkokyu Clinic, Lady Seph had used this very same ability to heal Junius’ crippled legs. It was ironic that now, she was using the exact same ability to cripple his body.

Whhhhhhhhhhhooooooooosssssssssshhhhhhhhhh!!!

Alas, not everything would go as planned. Before Junius knees could touch the ground, one of the falling branches of the weeping willow tree enveloped the young man, bringing his body back to its original posture. Lady Seph’s spiritual ability was instantly countered, and the woman fell to her bum in shock.

Two abilities thrown, two abilities failed. One was a dragon breath that could dominate any battlefield while the other was a divine ability that could dominate any man. Yet, the Empyrean Wonder standing behind Junius had countered them all. Evidently, it wasn’t thrilled with the idea of Junius being beaten by someone far stronger than him. The Tree of Illusions wanted to see a fair fight. Even if it were an inanimate creature, it knew that there was a bond connecting Shin and Junius. For an entity that lived millions of years unhindered, it was keenly waiting for something to entertain it. There was no way that the Tree of Illusions would allow Junius to perish in the first few blows by a bunch of Spirit Venerates or Tier 9 Spirit Beasts.

And Shin could tell that… Perhaps it was due to his connection to the Celestial River, Shin could feel the emotions of the tree just as Junius could. Sighing, the Prince raised his hand and stopped his seniors: “There’s no point in forcing it… If the Tree of Illusions really wants to protect Junius, there’s nothing that you can do...”

At the same time, Shin offered his own answer to the deadlock by raising the deadly spear that rested firmly on his hands. The Shard of the Azure Dragon beamed out droves of dense spiritual energies all while the water orbs danced happily around the youth.

“Let me deal with Junius...”

“Your Highness, that can’t be done!” Venerate Maurice leapt out ready to interject with his most boisterous voice. However, once again, Shin’s cold expression and chest-contracting pressure silenced the Spirit Venerate.

“Don’t worry about it,” the youth remarked apathetically. “If there’s any danger, Master or Senior Zishen will jump right in. Also...” Shin spun his spear around, sending waves of elemental energy flying all around. How long has it been? How many times has Shin played this scenario in his head over and over again? Shin was far stronger than he’d ever been. He’d trained so tirelessly, grabbed his spear until both his palms bled out the crimson fluid of life. All for this one moment…

And Shin didn’t feel like he could lose.

“I’m going to kill Junius with my own hands!!!”

As Shin made his way closer to the tree, Junius raised both his brows. He examined the expressions of all the elites that followed Shin, making sure not to miss a single flinch. Only when he was completely confident that he wouldn’t be attacked, did the man finally leave the protection of the tree. Junius stared Shin right in the eye, his two blades glistening in the light of the Empyrean Wonder.

Junius had never thought of fleeing. If he had, the Blade of Death would have long escaped through the tunnels. Just like Shin, Junius wanted to end everything today. It didn’t matter if he lived or died. The bond between Shin and himself had grown ever so weary, and it was time to sever it once and for all.

GROOOOOOOOOOOOARRRRR!!!

Cold, black wisps emerged from the Obsidian Water Blade and congregated themselves into a blob of matter. Slowly, a replica of the same Spirit formed right next to Junius as a fully grown male body grew out from its hilt. Junius had cast the deadly ability that had taken Shizen’s life, the one ability that Venerate Maurice now hated more than any other… The enigmatic Sword Partner.

Whhhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!

Before Junius could even command his Sword Partner to do anything, a sharp whistle tore through the air at a speed at that not even Junius could match.

SPLAT!!!

Instantly, the Sword Partner halted its aggressive nature. A pointed two-metre-long ice spear was protruding out of its body as white smog dropped down onto the mossy floor from its shaft. Created by the water of Junius’ Spirit, the Sword Partner was in no way capable of resisting the Ice-Elements that now overtook its entire body. In just a fraction of a second, the Sword Partner turned into an ice sculpture and collapsed on its weight, destroying Junius’ spiritual ability before it even had the chance to act.

“What?” The Brahmin looked perplexed. How could one of his most powerful abilities, the one ability that had got him through so many tough situations, just fail? It hadn’t even been a second since Junius had summoned the Sword Partner.

Tracing the trajectory of the spear, Junius saw Shin’s right hand turn red from contracting his muscles too much. A trace of smoke flowed out from his palms as the young man slowly returned to his original posture. Shin was calm like a dandelion bracing a spring’s breeze. He brought his middle finger and thumb together before letting out the familiar snap. Once again, a new Spear of Aiglos formed, practically instantaneously. There was no almost no wastage of movements from the moment Shin threw the spear, to the time he remade another.

“Do you honestly think that I wouldn’t have prepared countermeasures for all your abilities?” Shin scoffed with his chest puffed out. There wasn’t conceit in his gaze, just pure, unadulterated confidence…

What was Shin’s speciality? Wasn’t it precisely analysis and creating counters to each one of his enemy’s specialities?

In battle, Shin understood that knowledge was key. The one who had more information always held the upper-hand. Therefore, Shin would always make it a priority to analyse and calculate the best way to take down his opponent, even if he was facing the foe for the first time. Junius was Shin’s mortal enemy, the man that he’d chased for over seven years. In the past, Shin had even trained tirelessly with the man.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Shin had examined everything that was needed to know about Junius. His tells in battle... What spiritual abilities did he rely upon... How skilful he was at the sword… Nothing was left to the imagination. For every ability that Junius had, Shin would create ten counters. For every sword art that Junius was proficient in, Shin would learn a thousand weak points.

Sword Partner, being the ability that took down Shizen, was the top ability on the list that Shin had made. Shin calculated and examined the information he’d gotten from Maurice, intelligence reports from the Alliance Information Network, and even whispers from the commonfolk that had witnessed the Blade of Death in battle. In the end, Shin had come up with a simple conclusion to counter the replica Sword Partner that used Junius’ martial arts with ease…

‘I’ll just freeze it before it can strike or hide...’

Shin preemptive strike was far too unexpected for Junius to foresee. In the end, the Brahmin had wasted a portion of his mana before the battle had even begun. Alas, it didn’t take long for the seasoned fighter to regain his wits. Junius had fought in countless battles over his years of servitude to the Allfather and instinctively knew that Shin was about to launch the next attack. Therefore, Junius lowered his hip and blade down, entering his signature stance for his infamous attack.

“PIERCE!!!”

The Obsidian Water Blade expanded rapidly, at least ten times the speed of sound. It bolted straight at Shin, thirsting for the crimson blood that circulated the Prince’s body. Junius ‘Pierce’ had once again improved by leaps and bounds, reaching speeds that were unheard of for such a mundane innate skill. In battle, Junius had fallen hundreds, if not thousands, with this one strike alone. Alas…

SPLLLLLATT!!!

“Eh?” Junius’ brows instantly rose as his expanding sword burst out into splatters of water. ‘Pierce’ was unable to find its target and instead, had detonated itself the moment it touched Shin’s glistening domain. It was as if… The Brahmin’s blade was a servant to Shin, unable to raise a single hand upon its Prince.

Shin puffed his chest up, flashing a haughty expression. “Junius… Have you forgotten my nickname? The name that had gotten me into the upper echelons of the cultivation world?”

The youth took two steps forward and pierced the Spear of Aiglos into the soil. He raised both his hands, and dense water droplets arose from the moist ground. Bit by bit, Shin’s domain became more humid as rapidly rotating water spheres orbited around the young man’s body. It wasn’t just water orbs, numerous water weapons, spears, swords, and even humanoids sprouted out within the domain.

“All water is under my control…” Shin’s azure eyes continued to sparkle as ripples burst forth from the bottom of his feet. “Let me show you the wrath… Of the Prince of Water!!!”