Looking at Linley, Fain recalled his master’s instructions. He couldn’t help but let out a resigned sigh. The reason he actively asked Linley to spar was also at the behest of the War God.
According to the War God, it was time to let Linley have an idea as to how powerful the true experts of the continent were.
“Linley, I am extremely fast. Be careful.” Fain said with a smile. In fact, Linley had chosen to use Bloodviolet precisely because he had heard that Fain was fast.
Bloodviolet could reach an astonishing level of speed when used correctly.
“Let’s begin.” Fain’s eyes lit up.
“Swish!” An azure light suddenly flowed out from Fain’s body, so powerful that it crackled and popped.
Fain suddenly moved.
Linley only felt an azure bolt of lightning suddenly streak towards him, at least twice as fast as Olivier’s top speed. This terrifying speed rendered Linley completely unable to dodge.
“How frightening!”
Linley leapt backwards while hurriedly transforming Bloodviolet into a tornado of movement, creating countless flashes of violet light which attacked that azure bolt of lightning.
Profound Truths of the Wind – Rippling Wind!
Linley didn’t dare to use any other techniques. If he were to use the ‘Tempos of the Wind’ instead, he probably wouldn’t even be able to touch his opponent. Only by using this extremely fast technique could he just barely defend himself.
“Bam!” A terrifying force struck onto the tip of Bloodviolet.
And then, Linley could clearly sense that azure bolt of lightning seem to be transmitted through Bloodviolet towards him, striking onto his black scales.
“Bang!”
It was as though a heavy warhammer had struck Linley’s soul. Linley flew upwards, then immediately collapsed onto the floor, his entire body trembling as that azure lightning continued to ripple across Linley’s body.
His entire body felt paralyzed. Linley could sense that his muscles had lost all power, and he was barely able to remain conscious.
After a long period of time, Linley finally regained full consciousness, and his four limbs and his muscles slowly gained strength as well. Only now did Linley stand up, staring at Fain with disbelief.
When he had dueled with Olivier, Linley had believed himself to be a peak-stage Saint, which meant that there should be very few people in the continent capable of defeating him.
But now, after sparring with Fain, he realized that the difference between himself and Fain was extremely vast.
Fain was twice as fast as him. Although that didn’t sound like much, when engaging in a battle of speed, even a tiny advantage in speed meant the faster party held an advantage. Twice as fast…this was an unbridgeable gap.
There was no way for him to counterattack.
What’s more, that lightning-attack had stunned his very soul. Fain had actually held back from using his full power as he had not wished to injure Linley.
“What, you can’t believe it?” Fain sat back down on his wooden chair, laughing.
Linley’s mind was in a state of chaos. “Although I knew that you are strong, Mr. Fain, I didn’t expect…I couldn’t resist at all. Mr. Fain, have you reached the Deity-level?”
“No. I’m still just a peak-stage Saint.” Fain shook his head.
“I’m also a peak-stage Saint. But…” Linley couldn’t understand.
Laughing, Fain looked at Linley, then sighed with emotion. “Linley, don’t be fooled by the four words, ‘peak-stage Saint-level’. In the eyes of experts such as us, the so-called ‘peak-stage’ doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is how much and how well you understand the Laws.”
“If you understand just the tiniest bit of the Laws, then you are a ‘peak-stage’ Saint in the eyes of ordinary people.” Fain said disdainfully.
Linley was startled.
Right. That was indeed the case. When Linley’s proficiency with the sword had reached the ‘impose’ level, that was merely borrowing the ‘imposing force’ of the heavens and the earth. It didn’t have anything to do with the Laws.
But the techniques he had developed based on the Profound Truths of the Earth and the two techniques he had developed based on the Profound Truths of the Wind, the Rippling Wind and Tempos of the Wind techniques, were indeed based on what he himself knew was but a tiny bit of understanding of the Laws.
“According to what Master says, the Elemental Laws are as vast and boundless as the seas. If you’ve understood a single drop of water in those seas, you are a peak-stage Saint. If you’ve understood a hundred drops of water, you are still a peak-stage Saint. But there is a huge difference between the two!”
A hint of loneliness could be seen on Fain’s face. “The Elemental Laws truly are vast and boundless. Supposedly, only after mastering 1% of a Law can one reach the Demigod stage.”
“As for you and Olivier, you haven’t even mastered 0.01%.” Fain laughed as he glanced at Linley. “Tell me. Although both of you have gained some insights, can your insights compare with the likes of those of us who have been training for thousands of years?”
Linley understood.
No matter how much of a genius he was, he had spent less than ten years meditating on the Elemental Laws.
And Fain? He had been doing the same for thousands of years. Even if Fain wasn’t as talented as him, how could his understanding of the Laws be lower than Linley’s?
“Linley, most of the famous Saints in the world, such as that ‘Monolithic Sword Saint’ Haydson, all became famous in the past millennium. Those true experts who have been training for thousands of years are all far past the point of caring about worldly fame. All of them are meditating and training in private.”
Linley was stunned.
The Monolithic Sword Saint had the reputation of being the most powerful Saint, after all.
“Those lists and rankings that you might have heard about are nothing more than the experts which most people of the continent know about. Do you know how powerful the experts you are unaware of are? All of the lucky survivors of those battles from five thousand years ago have been in training in secret since then. I refuse to believe that they would be willing to leave the plane of the Yulan continent.” A hint of a smile was on Fain’s face.