Chapter Seven: The Metal Fortress
"This Krei isn't injured at all, yet he actually admitted defeat." Lin Lei chuckled, putting away the purple-blood soft sword into his spatial ring before flying straight down.
The numerous experts below now had a clear understanding of Lin Lei's strength. Krei was among the top tier of these experts, and only a handful were stronger than him. Those experts understood... Krei's strongest attack was his fists.
His body's defense was slightly weaker than his fists.
Just now, Lin Lei's single sword strike had already left a faint blood mark on that fist. If it had struck Krei's body, it would at least have drawn blood.
"Lin Lei, it's been thirteen years since we last met, and your strength has actually progressed to this level." Fighting spirit ignited in Faun's eyes.
From the previous battle, Faun knew that Lin Lei's comprehension of the Laws was already quite high. Combined with his Dragon Blood Warrior talent, Lin Lei should now have the strength to fight him. Faun felt a bit of a desire to spar with Lin Lei himself.
"Everyone wants to fight my big brother? If you've got the guts, fight me!" Bei Bei sensed Faun's fighting intent and immediately flew in front of him.
Faun looked at Bei Bei before him, paused for a moment, then seemed to remember something and quickly said, "Oh, Bei Bei, right?" Faun dropped the subject of sparring and instead pulled Lin Lei and Bei Bei along, enthusiastically drinking and chatting.
Midnight. A strong mountain wind blew; the early spring night wind was chilly, of course, the experts didn't care at all, still chatting and laughing.
"This Olivera really has a different aura from the past." Lin Lei glanced at Olivera sitting in the distance, who was also one of the twenty-two experts. "The old Olivera would joke around, but now, he seems much colder, and his gaze is much sharper too."
The present Olivera was like a drawn sword—extremely sharp.
This made the surrounding experts consciously keep their distance; clearly, this Olivera was not easy to approach.
"Lin Lei, this time, you and Olivera are the main ones who've emerged in our group. Although Olivera's strength isn't as great as yours, he's still a bit stronger than Krei," Faun praised. "The power of his attacks is astonishing."
"Oh?" Lin Lei was surprised.
He knew Olivera's strength very well: "Back then, Olivera lost to Hodesen. I heard he killed Hodesen with a single sword strike twelve years later, but it's only been twelve years—can his progress be that terrifying?"
He himself had broken through to the Saint Realm, and the power of his peak Dragon Blood Warrior body had increased more than tenfold. Combined with his deepening comprehension, his strength had improved so much.
But Olivera? His Dou Qi strength had long reached the peak of the Saint Realm; his only progress could be in his comprehension of the Laws. How could it have improved so much?
"Olivera's sword is not only fast, but it also contains the Laws of both Darkness and Light. One strike... even Krei wouldn't dare block it head-on," Faun praised. "One strike containing two Laws—it's the first I've ever seen. Even my master was full of admiration."
"What?" Lin Lei couldn't believe it.
Lin Lei stared in disbelief at Olivera in the distance, his heart filled with shock: "One strike containing two different Laws? How can different Laws be combined?" For Lin Lei, the Law of Earth was the Law of Earth, the Law of Wind was the Law of Wind.
Fusing the Law of Earth with the Law of Wind was impossible!
After all, they were two different Laws.
"Yes. When Olivera strikes, Darkness and Light coexist... That's how Hodesen was split in two with a single blow," Faun said admiringly.
Lin Lei nodded slightly.
He had to admit, the power of that strike from Olivera, purely from the perspective of the Laws, had already surpassed his own strike using 'Rhythm of the Wind.'
"I wonder how that strike of his compares to my 'Pulse of the Earth' in power." Lin Lei was also confident; his Pulse of the Earth had already undergone a transformation from 256 layers to 128 layers, increasing its power several times over. Most importantly...
Relying on his peak Dragon Blood Warrior talent, Lin Lei's own Dou Qi, strength, and defense were ten times that of Olivera's.
His foundation was far superior.
This was why Faun, Desly, and others also regarded Lin Lei as an opponent on their own level.
During a night of laughter and conversation, Lin Lei came to know these experts. The ones he could remember more clearly were Krei, Boichi, and the 'Third Senior Brother' from the Martial God's sect, among a few others. The rest, he only roughly recalled their names and appearances.
Morning.
The blood-red sun rose from the eastern mountains, its warm light covering Martial God Mountain. Although the twenty-two experts hadn't slept all night, none of them felt the slightest discomfort. At their level, they had long surpassed the need for sleep.
"Creak!" The gate of the secluded courtyard, long closed, swung open.
The twenty-two experts stood up almost simultaneously, all looking respectfully toward the person walking out of the courtyard. That person had hair as red as blood, and when his eyes opened and closed, it was like blades of light shooting out. That domineering aura made the twenty-two experts not even dare to breathe too heavily.
This person was none other than the Martial God, O'Brien!
The Martial God swept his gaze over everyone, pausing for a moment on Bei Bei perched on Lin Lei's shoulder, before saying calmly, "Since you're all here, follow me." With that, the Martial God's entire body rose directly into the air.
"This Martial God is quite decisive," Lin Lei couldn't help but smile inwardly.
But on the surface, Lin Lei, like everyone else, followed protocol and flew straight up, following behind the Martial God as they headed east. The twenty-two flew in a certain order; at the very front were Faun and Lin Lei.
Everyone had a clear sense of their own strength.
The stronger ones were in front, the weaker ones in back.
"Faun, are we going to the Dark Forest now?" Lin Lei looked at the direction that imposing figure ahead was flying, which was indeed toward the Dark Forest, and couldn't help but ask quietly to Faun beside him.
"Yes," Faun also answered in a low voice. "Every time we set out for the Divine Tombs, the experts of the Yulan Continent gather in the Dark Forest. After all, the passage to the Divine Tombs can only be opened by Lord Belute."
"Oh." Lin Lei thought to himself. "It seems the passage to the Divine Tombs is difficult to open; even the Martial God and the others cannot do it."