The moment the white egret dissolved into blood mist, the camp fell into deathly silence.
Qingzhu’s scream stuck in her throat. Her fingers clutched so tightly at the hilt of her short sword that her knuckles turned white, as if they might snap.
She watched in horror as the crimson fog drifted away on the breeze, white feathers mixed with shreds of flesh scattering across the grass—ghastly beyond words.
Just a moment ago, that egret had seemed so graceful and full of life. Now only a bone-deep chill crawled up her spine, making her shiver uncontrollably.
“Miss… it’s lucky you stopped me just now. Otherwise…” Qingzhu trailed off.
Had she stepped forward, she would likely have ended the same way as that egret—blown apart into mist.
The thought alone filled her with terror.
“This is the horror of a confrontation between high-level experts,” said Margaret, her face grave. “Their spiritual power has already formed a tangible domain. Any living being that steps inside is no different than an ant beneath the grinding stone—nothing left, not even bones.”
Around them, the soldiers no longer dared to whisper. They all stepped back several paces, eyes fixed in fear and awe upon the two figures in midair.
No one dared breathe too loudly, terrified of disturbing the duel.
Meanwhile, Dustin and the handsome man had already sunk into the realm of the spirit.
Here, there was no sky, no earth—only an endless deep-blue sea.
The waters were unnaturally still, like a solid sapphire. No sunlight shone here, only the occasional deep rumble rising from the abyss, sending faint ripples across the surface.
There was no wind, yet the air carried an invisible weight. Each breath felt like swallowing shards of ice.
Upon this sea stood Dustin, balanced on a small gray-blue boat forged entirely of sword qi. Its edges gleamed sharp as blades, and each gentle sway left a faint sword mark across the waves.
He wore his white robes like a beacon against the dark sea. In his hand, his longsword glimmered coldly, the cloud patterns along the blade shifting faintly with his breath.
Opposite him, a hundred meters away, the handsome man floated, his body wreathed in light that coalesced into the form of a colossal white whale.
The whale’s scales gleamed like pearls. With a single sweep of its tail, towering waves rose, carrying razor-sharp spiritual force. They surged toward Dustin like countless flying swords.
“Is this all you’ve got? You think you can stop me?” the man’s voice echoed through the spiritual realm.
Dustin’s gaze sharpened. His hand closed upon the hilt. With a resonant hum, a beam of azure sword qi burst from his blade, cleaving the surging wave in half.
But the whale seized the opening, lunging forward. Its maw yawned open, revealing a pitch-black vortex that seemed capable of devouring all spiritual power. Even the surrounding sea began to spiral into its pull.
Dustin’s toes pressed lightly against the boat. His body shot forth like a streak of light, dodging the vortex while unleashing a storm of sword qi like a downpour upon the whale.
But each strike dissolved against its shining scales, leaving only shallow marks—like scratching an itch.
“Your spiritual force is strong,” Dustin said calmly, his voice carrying unshakable weight, “but it is far too domineering. You do not understand restraint.”
As his words fell, his spiritual force expanded outward. From beneath the sea rose countless towering pillars of azure sword qi, forming a forest that encircled the whale.
The air quaked with their sharpness. The waters boiled.
The man sneered, “Restraint? To deal with you, I need none!”
With a flash of hand seals, the white whale’s body erupted in dazzling radiance, swelling several times over before ramming into the forest of sword pillars.
Boom—!
The impact shook the entire spirit realm.
Where whale and sword clashed, the sea instantly evaporated, exposing black fissures in the seabed. From those cracks surged a chaotic torrent of dark spiritual force, writhing like venomous serpents.
Dustin remained calm. With a twist of his wrist, his sword dissolved into countless streams of qi, swarming like bees through the chaos to strike the whale.
A sharp gleam flashed in the man’s eyes. Abandoning restraint, he drew his aura tight. The entire spiritual ocean quaked violently.
From the abyss rose a massive sea vortex, a maelstrom brimming with annihilating force. Its spin grew faster and faster, warping the very space around it.
“Courting death!” his voice roared with fury, as the vortex surged down upon Dustin.
Where it passed, the waters vanished, leaving only endless void.
Dustin inhaled deeply. All his sword qi converged into the blade in his grasp, which now blazed with radiant azure light—transformed into a dragon of pure sword force.
The sword dragon roared, its scales etched with intricate patterns, claws sharp as knives, charging headlong into the vortex.
Crash—!
At the instant dragon and vortex collided, the entire realm seemed on the verge of collapse.
The sea exploded upward in towering walls of water. Cracks split the world itself. Shards of shattered spirit scattered like falling stars.
A terrifying shockwave rippled outward. Dustin’s spectral boat shattered instantly, and he staggered back several steps, golden blood trickling from the corner of his lips.
This was a wound of the spirit—so severe it tore at his body in the real world.
The whale’s radiant image shattered as well. The man hovered unsteadily, breath ragged, chest heaving, eyes wide in shock.
He had never imagined this seemingly ordinary white-robed man possessed spiritual power strong enough to withstand his full might.
The blast hurled them both to opposite ends of the sea.
Though the waters still churned, torrents raging wildly, neither man struck again. They only stared coldly at one another, the air between them crackling with tension, the taste of battle growing heavier by the second. - Marinien
Comments