Chapter 489

"Rekri…"

The Demonblade's eyes trembled as he watched Rekri, who was unconscious with foam coming out from his mouth.

The disciple that he'd worked so hard to raise was shoving his mouth in the dirt because he couldn't even lift his head.

'How did it even happen…?'

He was well aware that Raon was going to win against Rekri.

It was a question of how and how long he lasted, but Raon had ended the match in only four attacks. The difference was overwhelming.

"This is impossible!"

He would have accepted the result if Raon had used an attack of will. He would've acknowledged it even if the match had ended in a single clash.

However, Raon hadn't used his will at all, instead overwhelming Rekri with nothing but swordsmanship and spirit.

He was on a whole different level. The Demonblade couldn't comprehend how there could be such a huge difference between two highest-level Masters.

"Hmm…"

The Queen of Swords also widened her eyes, surprised by Raon's prowess.

It had been a very long time since the last time she'd made that face because she rarely showed her emotions.

"Incredible."

The Demon Slaying Spear exclaimed and leaned forward from his seat. The fingers rubbing his chin were trembling slightly.

"He's finished off a warrior at the same level as himself in only four moves without using his will. Not a single person in the entire continent should be capable of this."

He murmured that it was a violent talent, capable of trampling upon all of the other geniuses he'd seen so far.

"Hmm…"

The Demonblade twisted his lips. He wanted to find a way to refute it because he didn't like Raon, but he didn't manage to find anything. It was extremely frustrating, but he had no other choice than to admit it.

'Is he really twenty-one years old?'

He still couldn't believe that a boy who hadn't even reached the Grandmaster's wall had defeated Rekri in four moves. He was filled with more and more questions as he kept thinking about it.

"We need to stop this."

The Thespian Emperor bit her lip while looking at the three other leaders.

"It will be a problem whether this match happens or not, but it will become uncontrollable if we end up losing."

The fighting contest was prepared to show the Five Divine Orders' power to the Six Kings.

Naturally, the disciples of the Five Divine Orders were supposed to be the protagonists, but Raon was going to snatch away that fame instead—and even muddy the Five Divine Orders' name at the rate things were going.

"And how are we supposed to stop it?"

The Demon Slaying Spear licked his lips while roughly scratching his hair.

"Raon just proved his skill by easily beating Rekri's sorry ass to the ground, just like he previously declared. It's going to cause a huge uproar if we withdraw now."

He pointed at the spectators with his thick finger.

"Whoaaa!"

"Raon! Raon! Raon! Raon!"

"Come out! Come out! Come out!"

"Three-on-one! Three-on-one! Three-on-one!"

The spectators were shouting their heads off for the three-on-one match between Raon and the disciples of the Five Divine Orders to happen.

"Hmm…"

The Thespian Emperor bit her lip while looking down below.

"It looks like our great Thespian Emperor didn't manage to predict this situation even though she can read heaven's flow."

The Demon Slaying Spear grinned. He looked like he was glad to have an opportunity to tease her.

"It's already too late."

The Queen of Swords crossed her arms once again and leaned her back against the chair.

"Withdrawing now will be an even bigger disgrace than losing the match."

"She is right. The Five Divine Orders might even get called cowards from now on."

The Demon Slaying Spear nodded in agreement.

"Let's believe in our youngsters for now."

He shook his finger, saying that Raon wouldn't be able to win against three highest-level Masters even if he used a martial art of will.

One of the Demon Slaying Guild's warriors entered the arena upon seeing that gesture.

"I'm curious what he's going to show us this time."

The Demon Slaying Spear grinned while looking at Raon instead of his disciple who had just entered the arena.

"..."

"Kuh."

The Queen of Swords was also quietly watching Raon, and the Demonblade bit his lip to the point of bleeding in frustration.

"Haa…"

The Thespian Emperor sighed while pressing her temple with her finger. She gritted her back teeth while looking at Raon.

'Raon Zieghart… How long are you planning to mess everything up?'

Raon looked at the first man to enter the arena.

He was wearing a leather vest, revealing his shoulders and silver armor. The long spear he was holding in his left hand clearly revealed his affiliation.

"I'm Jerome from the Demon Spear Guild. I acknowledge your skills, but are you sure about this?"

Jerome slammed the arena with the long spear while he introduced himself. His expression and manner of speech revealed his displeasure at the situation.

The next person to enter was a tall woman wearing a light purple martial uniform. Her skin was slightly sunburned, but her eyes were as clear as a snow field.

"Pendleton from the Blade Martial Pavillion."

She briefly revealed her name and affiliation before she closed her eyes while grabbing the hilt of her sword hanging around her waist. She seemed to be collecting her mind before the match.

Step.

The last person to enter the arena was a young man. He was wearing white clothes without a single speck of dust on them, and his long black hair was neatly swept back. Raon could guess his personality from his towering nose ridge and elegant gaze.

"I am Mason from the White Whale. I'm honored to cross blades with the White Sword Dragon."

He placed his hand on his chest and greeted him politely. It was behavior befitting the Thespian Emperor's disciple.

Raon swept his disheveled hair up and analyzed their capabilities.

'All of them are highest-level Masters.'

Just like Denning Rose's information had said, all three of them were highest-level Masters.

Considering they'd reached that realm at their young ages, they were definitely capable enough to carry on the future of each faction.

'It will be a nice spectacle if all three of them get defeated at once.'

Since that was the last thing the Thespian Emperor must've wanted, Raon wanted to make it happen no matter what.

"Hmm…"

The referee awkwardly climbed onto the arena. His face was pale, unlike in the beginning.

The way he was rolling his eyes showed that he wanted the fighting contest to end already.

"A-are you really doing this?"

He walked up to Raon and swallowed nervously.

"Of course."

Raon nodded while declaring that he was obviously doing it.

"Hmm, what about you three…?"

"It's an order from above."

"I made a promise."

"I accept."

Jerome, Pendleton, and Mason nodded one after the other.

"I-in that case, the match between Raon from Zieghart against Jerome from the Demon Spear Guild, Mason from the White Whale, and Pendleton from the Blade Martial Pavillion is starting… now!"

The referee's trembling hand cut through the thin air before he ran outside the arena.

"I have an impatient personality, so…"

Jerome spun his long spear to create wind before he swiftly kicked off from the ground.

"You two match my movement!"

He dashed fiercely and thrust his long spear. The violent trembling of the spearhead showed that the shaft was flexible. It almost looked like there were dozens of spearheads attacking Raon.

'But only one of them is real.'

The resonance of the Ring of Fire increased Raon's physical senses to the peak. The vibration of the spearhead filling his vision faded away, and its original appearance could be seen.

Whaap!

Raon's right hand extended like lightning. Crimson flame stormed around Heavenly Drive in his grasp. It was the Revolving Sky of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, utilizing Rekri's swift technique from earlier.

Clang!

Wrapped in fire, Heavenly Drive deflected the spearhead rushing towards his chest and advanced towards Jerome.

"Kuh!"

Jerome rapidly rotated his spear. The spear shaft got in the way and unleashed an astral spear as thick as a boulder.

'I expected that counterattack.'

Raon lowered himself like a flying sparrow and used the Supreme Harmony Steps. He evaded the spear shaft with a paper-thin difference before piercing into Jerome's space.

Whoosh!

Just as he was about to execute the downward slash with Heavenly Drive, powerful waves occurred from both sides.

"Stop."

"This is as far as you go!"

Pendleton was performing a sword draw from his right, her hand turned dark, and Mason was punching from the left with an astral fist.

Rather than being a surprise attack, they were trying to warn him to withdraw.

"Yes, of course. A three versus one wouldn't be an easy fight. However…"

Raon smiled faintly and nodded.

"I don't know how to stop."

He rolled his lips into a deep smile and advanced.

Jerome's spear had come to a halt because he believed that Raon was obviously going to stop, and Raon slashed downwards towards his chest.

Psssh!

A long laceration was created from Jerome's right shoulder to the left side of his waist, and red blood gushed from it.

'It's time to block their attacks now.'

Pendleton's sword and Mason's fist were approaching him from behind. It was too late to turn around for defense.

'That's why… I prepared this in advance.'

Raon smiled coldly and focused Glacier's coldness on the Black Dragon Coat's scales. A round shield covered the scales of the Black Dragon Coat, frost smoke rising from it.

He was originally unable to do it because he was using the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation at the same time, but he'd become capable of using the two energies simultaneously after he'd started to utilize the wind.

"Hmm!"

"Th-that's…"

Pendleton and Mason furrowed their brows upon witnessing the round wall of ice created from coldness.

'They are quick to notice.'

They seemed to have realized that it was the same as Runaan's shield, but it was already too late to stop their attacks.

Craack!

The ice wall shattered into dozens of pieces upon being hit by the astral energy and absorbed the impact.

At the same time, the scattering pieces became frozen daggers rushing toward Pendleton and Mason.

"Kuh!"

"Argh…"

Mason consecutively punched with an astral fist, and Pendleton created a sword barrier to sever the frozen daggers.

While those two were focused on defense, Raon examined Jerome.

Despite the dangerous amount of blood gushing out from him, the laceration wasn't too deep. Jerome had moved back at the moment of attack to minimize his injury.

'So they are not complete idiots.'

Considering that Jerome had managed to figure out the sword's trajectory to move back and that the other two had remembered Runaan's technique the moment they'd seen the ice wall, all three of them were good enough to be called highest-level Masters.

'Even so… Nothing is going to change.'

Raon twisted his right foot. He exploded the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation's heat at the mana circuits under his ankle and the femoral muscles in his thigh.

Thud!

He charged towards Jerome, who had withdrawn to the edge of the ring, with a dynamic movement that maximized his speed.

"Ugh!"

Jerome had put himself together in that short period of time and thrust his long spear while maintaining his distance.

The spearhead surrounded by blue astral energy took the shape of a huge hammer and fell.

It was an excellent attack that didn't have any drawback at all in terms of speed, power, and sharpness, but it didn't pose any threat, either.

Cring!

Raon drew a line similar to a tidal wave with Heavenly Drive. It was the Hill under the Clouds of the Blizzard Sword Art. The astral spear was pouring down like a mountain, but the flow was completely cut off and it dropped to the ground.

Raon stepped on the spear with his left foot in the air and was about to enter Jerome's distance when a black shadow followed up from the right.

Whoosh!

Pendleton had followed after deflecting all the ice shards. She thrust her sword, her eyes shining red.

On top of being fast, the sharpness of the attack seemed capable of cutting through the space. It felt like an assassin's deadly move rather than a swordsman's.

'I'll have to block this.'

It was too late to create an ice wall like earlier. It was going to make a hole in his body if he didn't stop it.

Raon gave up on cutting Jerome down and turned his shoulder around to unleash the Firewall.

Whaaap!

The fire shield was ignited along Heavenly Drive's trajectory to block Pendleton's attack and also pushed away Jerome's spear shaft.

However, those two weren't the only opponents. A huge wave of aura could be felt from behind him.

Mason was thrusting his fist from where he was standing in the beginning. Golden astral energy rushed at him, huge enough to swallow the entire arena.

'How peculiar.'

It wasn't an ordinary martial art. The thrust looked like a punch, but the area was as wide as a palm strike and it was faster than a sword slash. It couldn't be stopped with the Firewall that was chipped away at during the previous defense.

Raon turned around and pulled Heavenly Drive back. His blade was extended at the same time as his left foot, and the fire dragon's breath was unleashed from it.

Whaaam!

The Flame Dragon Art's fire clashed against the golden punch from Mason, and a powerful shockwave was created as a result.

Raon was enduring the impact by putting his weight on his legs, and Jerome's spearhead pierced at him from the left.

The spearhead trembling along the shaft was extended like an awl, and the astral energy rained down from it. It looked like Jerome had also started to use his special technique.

'Interesting.'

Raon pierced Heavenly Drive towards the sky while tapping on the hem of the Black Dragon Coat. The coldness dashed through the blade and created a round barrier to cut apart Jerome's astral spear.

Pendleton's sword soared explosively, and Raon cleaved down with the Fangs of Insanity.

Rumble!

The consecutive explosions of astral energy were causing a numbing pain in his hand. Even though Heavenly Drive was covered in Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, it was pushed back for an instant.

'Did she overlap it?'

Pendleton seemed to have overlapped the astral energy on top of the black aura surrounding her blade.

A thin smile appeared on Raon's face as he stepped back.

'I like how there are so many things to learn.'

Pendleton's overlapping technique, Mason's long-ranged punch, and Jerome's variable spear technique. All of them were martial arts worth learning.

'They said that everything is a lesson.'

Glenn and Rector had advised him that he should learn from many experiences in order to achieve the versatile sword.

Just like they'd said, Jerome, Mason, and Pendleton's special techniques were giving him a new idea that he hadn't realized before.

Raon felt like he could complete a new technique from the Azure Sky Sword if he kept facing their martial arts a bit longer.

"Are you really smiling?"

"..."

"I'll erase that smile from your face for you."

Jerome frowned, and Pendleton bit her lip. Mason also seemed angry, veins bulging from his forehead.

Rumble!

Raon rolled his lips into a smile while watching the three people charging at him with their special techniques.

"I can't help smiling."

'Because this is my restaurant.'

Where? Where's the restaurant?!

* * *

Whaam!

Mason bit his lip as he watched Raon easily cut through his astral fist.

'This doesn't feel right…'

His punches were less and less effective the longer they fought.

It was normal to get used to the opponent's martial art as the fight progressed, but it almost felt supernatural in Raon's case.

The fight hadn't even lasted for that long, yet he seemed to have already analyzed everything about his martial art.

Whir!

Mason held his breath and unleashed the Cloudy Sky Divine Fist. It was the special technique of the Lofty Cloud Fist, faster than a sword and as wide as a palm strike despite being a punch.

Whoosh!

Raon swirled his sword and unleashed his astral energy from the side of his sword instead of the edge. The astral energy violently burst from his sword and clashed against the Cloudy Sky Divine Fist.

Whaaam!

The astral energy raging in red completely removed the Cloudy Sky Divine Fist and created a crater on the floor through its tremendous power.

However, that wasn't the most surprising part.

'Th-the astral energy he's just unleashed… was similar to the Cloudy Sky Divine Fist.'

Raon wasn't too good at long-range slashes, but it had become faster and wider as if he'd gained the strength of the Cloudy Sky Divine Fist.

It was difficult to believe, but he seemed to be improving during the battle.

"Damn it! What the hell is he?!"

"My Black Hermit Sword…"

The gloomy faces of Jerome and Pendleton implied that they were thinking the same thing.

'Now that I think about it…'

Raon was using an illusion sword with a storming aura against Jerome and clashed against Pendleton head-on by overlapping his astral energy.

'Don't tell me… is that crazy bastard…?'

He realized that Raon was defeating the three of their martial arts by using the same type of skills.

Gnash!

Mason violently ground his teeth. He used the Cloudy Sky Divine Fist to destroy the arena floor in front of Raon.

Whoosh!

He withdrew next to Jerome and Pendleton while Raon's vision was covered by the dust.

"You should've noticed it, too. We are definitely going to lose at this rate."

"Damn it…"

"..."

Jerome and Pendleton couldn't deny it. They bit their lips in frustration while looking in Raon's direction.

"We have only one option. We have to hit him with everything we've got and finish him off while he's still obscured by the dust."

"Are you telling me to reveal all my secrets?"

Jerome bit his lip.

"You can keep hiding it if you want the dishonor of losing a three-on-one fight."

"I'll do it."

Pendleton fixed her grip on her sword.

"It's already miserable, but it will be even worse if I don't."

"Indeed. We have to win no matter what. For the honor of the Five Divine Orders."

"Why did I end up with a bastard like him?!"

Mason nodded, and Jerome spun his spear shaft while swearing.

Whoosh!

The moment Raon removed the sandy dust and emerged, the three kicked the arena at the same time.

Jerome's spear shaft was being slammed down like a collapsing sky. The astral energy engulfing the spearhead split into five different raging storms.

The astral fist concentrated around Mason's fist made it look at least four times bigger.

His body turned golden, and the majestic astral fist unleashed as a result was huge enough to cover the entire arena.

As for Pendleton, she overlapped the astral energy to the point where the blade was about to break, slashing down in a curve. The dark crescent moon severed Raon's space.

As the three warriors unleashed their special techniques at once, a dark shadow appeared in the arena. There was literally a tidal wave of astral energy.

"It's the perfect time to finish this match."

Raon smiled faintly while facing the outrageous power falling towards him.

'Because I've already taken all I needed.'

He'd learned all of the principles of their special techniques during the fight. A new idea settled down, and a new sprout started to grow.

Glenn was the image of that sprout.

It was Glenn's back that he'd seen in Eden's branch. He remembered the supreme sword that had driven the White Blood Religion's leader and the Fallen at once with a single strike.

Raon advanced calmly, just like Glenn had done back then. He pulled Heavenly Drive to the left and unleashed the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier at the same time.

The heat and coldness soared through the refreshing wind and engulfed Heavenly Drive to create a sublime radiance.

'He is my sky.'

He swung Heavenly Drive while imagining Glenn Zieghart's strike.

"You won't reach my sky."

The second technique of Azure Sky Sword, the Unreachable Azure Sky.

The auspicious radiance flowing through Heavenly Drive cut apart the tidal wave of astral energy filling the sky.