Olivia immediately flew back to the stands, a flicker of surprise in his gaze as he looked at Lin Lei.
Then, to everyone's astonishment, he burst out laughing. "Good, good, good. Your sword speed actually keeps up with my 'Phantom Dream Sword.'"
"You're not bad yourself. You actually managed to block my 'Wind Wave,'" Lin Lei's cold voice rang out.
The Second Level of Wind's Profundity — Wind Wave.
Light-Shadow Sword — Phantom Dream Sword.
The two were evenly matched.
After exchanging these brief words of acknowledgment, the two great geniuses fell silent, watching each other warily. Clearly, in the battle that had just unfolded, each had come to regard the other as an equal.
The air in the dueling arena seemed to freeze solid. The suffocating pressure made all eighty thousand people on the field feel as though they couldn't breathe.
"If you can take my next strike, I'll spare your life." A hint of appreciation flickered in Olivia's eyes as he looked at Lin Lei. "Survive my next blow, and you'll be worthy of being my opponent."
The moment these words left his mouth, Bark and the others below erupted in curses.
"Damn it, this Olivia hasn't gained any advantage at all, and yet he's running his mouth — 'survive my next strike and you'll qualify as my opponent'? What the hell is with that attitude?" Gates spat furiously.
The other four brothers among Bark's group also grunted不满ly.
Indeed, Olivia's remark had rubbed more than a few people the wrong way. Anyone with eyes could see that Olivia held no advantage whatsoever. And yet he spoke like this? The arrogance was staggering.
"My opponent?" Lin Lei said with a faint smile. "If you can take my next strike, then you'll have earned the right to call yourself my opponent."
Identical words from both sides.
"Haha… then feel the power of my 'Aurora Sword'!" Olivia laughed heartily, then tapped the edge of the stands with one foot and hurtled toward Lin Lei even faster than before.
Lin Lei smiled coldly.
He was preparing to use the second technique of Wind's Profundity — the Pulse of Wind. This, too, was a single strike, delivered at maximum speed with overwhelming force.
BOOM!
A violent explosion of air erupted.
Lin Lei's grotesque dragon tail whipped to the side, and his entire body blurred into a phantom as he charged forward, the Purple Blood Soft Sword in his hand blazing with dazzling violet light.
The white glow of the Ice Dream Sword in Olivia's hand flared to blinding intensity, so radiant that the blade seemed to burn like the sun itself.
The scorching white light forced everyone in the arena to squint.
The strongest strike of the Light-Shadow Sword — the Aurora Sword!
The strongest strike of Lin Lei's Wind's Profundity — the Pulse of Wind!
The eerie purple light surged forth like a furious thunderbolt, yet at the same time carried a gentleness as soft as a spring breeze. Two utterly opposite sensations expressed in a single sword stroke.
That peculiar rhythm sent tremors through the hearts of countless onlookers.
"What a formidable strike!" Rock Sword Saint 'Hederson' exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. He could fully perceive the terrifying power behind Lin Lei's blow.
Under the influence of that strange rhythm, a wind blade naturally formed along the surface of Lin Lei's Purple Blood Soft Sword. To be more precise, it was an air blade.
The eerie purple light and the blinding white light collided in the air above the dueling arena.
BOOM!
A savage, devastating shockwave exploded outward from the point of impact in every direction. The stands directly below were riddled with holes as though pierced by countless invisible arrows. At the same time, a ferocious gale blasted outward, sending all eighty thousand spectators rocking in their seats.
CRACK!
Several poles planted beside the stands were snapped clean off by the violent wind.
The audience clung desperately to the stone seats bolted to the stands, and only after the gale had passed did the arena gradually return to calm. Yet many spectators were stunned to discover that loose outer garments they'd been wearing had been blown clean off.
What terrifying power.
Everyone stared in shock at the two supreme fighters hovering above, while Olivia and Lin Lei continued to face each other in midair in tense silence.
The Pulse of Wind versus the Aurora Sword.
Once again, they were dead even.
Olivia's gaze toward Lin Lei brightened, and a faint smile appeared on his face. "Lin Lei, what did you call that last strike?"
Lin Lei saw no reason to hide it. "The Second Level of Wind's Profundity — the Pulse of Wind."
"The Pulse of Wind… the Pulse of Wind…" Olivia replayed the memory of Lin Lei's strike in his mind, his eyes filling with admiration. "Lin Lei, I can hardly believe you're that young stone-sculpture grandmaster. To achieve this level before the age of thirty — I admire you."
Olivia's attitude toward Lin Lei had visibly shifted.
"I said if you survived my strike, I would spare your life. I'll honor my word. From this day forward, your name joins my list of opponents. I look forward to watching you grow." Olivia spoke with a smile.
Lin Lei's brow creased.
This Olivia — the arrogance was something else.
Down below, among Bark's five brothers, the hot-tempered Gates immediately sprang to his feet and bellowed, "Damn it, Olivia! You didn't beat my master at all, and here you are blabbering away, acting all high and mighty. Who the hell do you think you're fooling? I can't stand guys like you!"
This outburst sent countless people across the stands into roaring laughter.
It had to be said that many of them agreed with what Gates had just said.
Olivia's earlier words had clearly been the tone of a senior expert lecturing a junior — condescending and patronizing, with lines like "I look forward to your growth" and "I'll spare your life."
If Olivia had actually won, then maybe people would have called it magnanimity.