Desly, Higginson, Miller, and several others stood quietly at a distance, watching the sparring match unfold.
"Now, let's assume my speed is inferior to yours," Hayward said with a smile at Lin Lei. "Come, attack me and see how I handle you."
Lin Lei felt a flicker of anticipation.
If his speed was greater, how would a Holy Domain Grand Mage defend himself?
Lin Lei burst into motion in an instant, transforming into a streak of black shadow. The moment Lin Lei moved, Hayward became a flash of crimson light and retreated at tremendous speed — but it was obvious that Hayward's retreat was far slower than Lin Lei's advance.
"Let's see how you block this," Lin Lei fixed his gaze on Hayward.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! ... Suddenly, massive flaming meteorites the size of houses materialized in the air. A torrent of fire-wreathed meteorites surged toward Lin Lei with terrifying force, and in nearly an instant, the space before and above him was completely blanketed.
Lin Lei's expression changed.
The ninth-level fire magic — Meteor Fire Rain. Although this spell was far smaller in both range and individual power compared to the Earth Forbidden Magic "Meteor Descent," the sheer number of meteorites meant he had to break through them to continue his pursuit of Hayward.
They were packed so densely there was no room for even the slightest dodge.
Lin Lei surged forward without hesitation, slamming headlong into the flaming meteorites.
One meteorite after another was sent flying from the force of his impact, and some were shattered entirely. Though Lin Lei's body was tough enough to endure the damage without concern, the repeated collisions drastically reduced his speed.
With a final thunderous blow, Lin Lei smashed through the last meteorite blocking his path and finally caught sight of Hayward in the distance.
Hayward hovered in midair, his ruddy face beaming with a smile. "Lin Lei, you lost again."
Lin Lei nodded.
"Your ninth-level magic can't hurt me, but it drastically slowed me down. By the time I broke through, you'd have already unleashed a forbidden attack spell," Lin Lei said. He understood the situation perfectly — he had no real answer for it. Those meteorites weren't ordinary rocks either; he'd had to use his full strength to shatter each one.
Desly, watching from the sidelines, spoke up. "Lin Lei, the most basic method a Holy Domain Grand Mage uses against a Saint Realm warrior is to cast instant magic to obstruct them while rapidly creating distance. Once there's enough space, they can then unleash forbidden magic on their opponent."
Lin Lei nodded.
"But Hayward, the fact that you can instantly cast ninth-level magic is truly..." Lin Lei felt the man was genuinely terrifying. Even with the Coiling Dragon Ring, Lin Lei could only instantly cast seventh-level magic at most.
Hayward chuckled. "Well, naturally. Most Holy Domain Grand Mages have extremely powerful Mental Power, so they can typically instant-cast eighth-level magic. The fact that I can instant-cast ninth-level magic is simply because I've cultivated for so many years that my Mental Power has grown even stronger."
Lin Lei silently marveled to himself: "Phoenix Transformation — condensing a fire phoenix hundreds of meters in size down to just ten meters. I'd never even heard of such a thing before."
Normally, a forbidden magic like "Phoenix Transformation" was already terrifying enough when forming a fire phoenix a hundred meters in size. But Hayward was clearly one of those peak figures among Holy Domain Grand Mages.
"However, even with eighth-level magic, in a critical moment, a Holy Domain Grand Mage could frantically instant-cast eighth-level spells to slow you down — that much is certainly achievable," Hayward affirmed.
Lin Lei nodded with a smile. "But Hayward, your ninth-level magic is far more effective. Breaking through your 'Meteor Fire Rain' took me considerably longer. If it had been eighth-level magic, I'd have broken through much faster."
"Lin Lei, you're considered a peak warrior among Saint Realm fighters. For an ordinary Saint Realm warrior, facing instant-cast eighth-level magic, their speed wouldn't be nearly as fast as yours," Hayward said.
Lin Lei nodded.
He understood completely now. It was like an ordinary person running a hundred-meter dash in ten seconds. But if the track were filled with thick mud, it might take fifteen seconds or even longer. The mud itself had no offensive power whatsoever.
But placed in the runner's path, it could absolutely slow you down.
The mud was to the ordinary person what those flaming meteorites were to Lin Lei — his speed was naturally reduced.
"Lin Lei, you need to understand. When a Holy Domain Grand Mage faces a Saint Realm warrior, their primary goal is almost always to slow the opponent down — instant-cast magic, dark-element debuff spells that reduce speed, and so on. As long as they can keep you from catching up, they'll have the opportunity to unleash forbidden magic on you."
Desly and the others flew over.
"You've seen the power of a Holy Domain Grand Mage's forbidden magic for yourself now," Desly said to Lin Lei with a smile.
Lin Lei nodded.
Forbidden magic was truly terrifying. Take "Phoenix Transformation" for instance — even if Lin Lei drove his sword straight through the fire phoenix's head, the creature would simply continue attacking without a care, because it was formed entirely from elemental energy, not a living being. This kind of forbidden magic was even more fearsome than a Saint Realm magical beast.
At least a Saint Realm magical beast could still be hurt by a stab.
The only way to deal with forbidden magic was to attack again and again until the caster's energy was completely drained.
"Lin Lei," the beautiful woman Bing Selin said with a gentle smile, "instant-casting magic to slow down an opponent is actually a rather passive method for a Holy Domain Grand Mage. In truth, there's one far more formidable approach."
"Oh?"
Lin Lei looked at Hayward in surprise. "Hayward, you mean there's still another method?"
A Holy Domain Grand Mage — weren't they already terrifying enough?
Hayward nodded. "Of course. That method is the one Holy Domain Grand Mages rely on most. Lin Lei, come attack me again. Experience it firsthand, and you'll understand perfectly." With that, Hayward swiftly retreated, putting a hundred meters of distance between himself and Lin Lei.
"The one they rely on most?" Lin Lei's curiosity was piqued.
Boom! Lin Lei charged toward Hayward once more, but this time Hayward stood perfectly still in the distance, watching Lin Lei's approach with a confident smile.