Boom!
As a thunderous sound reverberated through the void, a blood-red blade collided fiercely with the old man’s wind blade, instantly turning the area within a kilometer into flat ground. Following that, the old man flew backward like a kite with a broken string, spewing a mouthful of blood. He flew a distance of two to three hundred meters before crashing heavily to the ground, then slid for dozens of meters before finally coming to a stop, collapsing onto the ground like a deflated balloon. Meanwhile, Billy, after sliding for about twenty or thirty meters, came to a halt. Apart from his slightly disordered aura, he didn’t sustain any serious injuries.
Not far away, Casey couldn’t help but inhale sharply since he realized that a Seventh-rank Sovereign had been slashed to death by Billy.
“Boss, are you alright?” Casey quickly walked up to Billy, slightly stunned.
“I’m good.”
Then, the two of them approached the old man in the black robe.
“How… how is this possible? You… a Fifth-rank Sovereign, how can you possess such dominant spiritual power?” The black-robed old man struggled to lift his head to look at Billy.
“You’re staring through the cage.” Billy responded calmly. “Don’t you know that spiritual power can be learned?”
This was Billy’s first time using spiritual power for an attack, and judging by the results, it was quite effective. With his current level of spiritual power, even if he encountered an opponent at the Eighth-rank Sovereign, he would still have a good chance of victory.
Heart Sutra of the Azure Void truly lived up to its reputation as one of the Heart Sutras of Transcendence.
“In the entire world of ancient martial arts… to cultivate spiritual power, it’s extremely rare. How… how could you?” the old man continued to respond.
“Then have you heard of Heart Sutra of the Azure Void?” Billy asked again.
“Hmm?!” Upon hearing the name, the old man’s pupils contracted. “Are you… from Ether Mountain?”
As a strong member of the Meskill family, there was no way he wouldn’t know about Heart Sutra of the Azure Void, which was the unparalleled technique of Ether Mountain.
“Idiot!” Casey interjected. “My boss is the young master of Ether Mountain. Do you think he’s from Ether Mountain or not?”
“What?” The old man exclaimed in shock. “You… you’re Commander Gardner, Billy Gardner?” Although he hadn’t left his home for decades, in just a few days after venturing out, he had already heard Billy’s name at least ten times. He had been curious about what kind of young man could achieve such accomplishments. He never expected to encounter him so soon, and to become his mortal enemy.
“Congratulations, you got it right!” Billy shrugged his shoulders.
“So it really is you!” The old man took a deep breath. “A rare genius of the millennium… truly deserving of your reputation…” He finally understood the true power of this national hero. Having lived for nearly two hundred years, Billy was undoubtedly the most remarkable young person he had ever encountered. That old master from Ether Mountain, his vision was truly sharp. Furthermore, as a guest member of the Meskill family, one of Glavale’s oldest families, he knew more than the average person; Ether Mountain was far more terrifying than what outsiders saw. Regret surged in his heart as he realized that he wouldn’t have gone all out against the person from Ether Mountain if he had known Billy was the young master.
“Go back and tell the Meskill family that Felicia is my sister. If they dare to harm her again, I won’t mind paying them a visit myself!” Billy responded coldly. “Also, tell your second miss that her engagement with Casey is canceled. If she has any objections, she can come directly to me!”
After speaking, he narrowed his eyes and struck out with another palm.
“No…!” The old man in the black robe cried out in despair. A gust of wind swept into his abdomen, and he spewed a mouthful of blood.
“You… you’ve crippled my cultivation to the War Grandmaster realm?” the old man said with a despairing expression after a while.
“I spared your life so you can deliver my message. Otherwise, do you think you would still be alive?” Billy said, ignoring the old man and walking towards the courtyard gate.
Casey followed closely behind.
…
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, ten days had passed. There was only one week left until Global Martial Arts Competition. On this morning, Billy and the others gathered in the capital city again to make their final preparations for the competition. Harleen and Felicia were also present. They insisted on participating in the championship, and Billy had no choice but to agree.
After arriving in the capital city, Billy first took Casey and the Azure Dragon Four to the headquarters of the War Department and attended Casey’s promotion ceremony. After the Competition, the four of them would officially take up their positions.
Around one o’clock in the afternoon, Billy and his group returned to the SHADOW base from the War Department headquarters, and Ivy also came from the cabinet to join them.
“Harleen, are you going with Felicia?” Ivy asked Harleen and Felicia, looking slightly surprised.
“Ivy, don’t forget, both my sister and I are members of Ether Mountain now!” Felicia said playfully. Then, with a righteous expression, she continued, “The rise and fall of the nation is every man’s responsibility. Global Martial Arts Competition is such a significant event, of course, we have to participate!”
Hearing this, Harleen smirked and said, “You brat, just make sure you don’t drag us down when we go.” After speaking, she looked at Ivy and smiled, “Ivy, Felicia and I have nothing better to do at home, so we’re just joining in the fun.”
“That’s good. This competition will be fierce. With you and Felicia joining, we’ll have a better chance at winning.” Ivy nodded.
“You flatter me!” Harleen responded with a smile. “Ivy, have you found out about the top-ranked countries and the participants they’re sending?”
“I have a basic understanding. Our insiders in those countries have sent us the information,” Ivy replied. “But the information may not be completely accurate because some countries may still be hiding even more talented individuals and won’t reveal them easily until the last moment.”
That was understandable. This competition was related to the distribution of resources in the Polar Domain, so the top-ranked countries would definitely be cautious. They wouldn’t easily reveal their hidden exceptional talents until the final moment.
“Ivy, based on the information we’ve received so far, what realm do the top-ranked countries’ most powerful participants belong to?” Azure Dragon asked.
“The top-ranked participants from Northfortia, Aquilandia, and Xidengia, are all at the same level as Billy, mid-stage Sovereigns!” Ivy replied.
“Really? That’s impressive!” Azure Dragon’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Indeed, it was impressive. To reach the level of Sovereign Mid-stage before the age of forty was extraordinary, even on a global scale.
“Furthermore, it is known that the top 15 participants from these three countries are all at the Sovereign realm or above!” Ivy continued.
“Damn.” Judge blurted.