“Quan Yan? What’s that?” Niubao scratched her head, utterly confused. This is what happens when you don’t go to school.
But you couldn’t blame her. Most adventurers had never heard of such a legend. It didn’t sound like anything good.
“She’s not completely blind, but rather in a state of partial blindness. Since childhood, a special medicine was applied to her eyes. The world she sees should be like it’s covered in a layer of mist,” Red Ghost explained.
“What’s the point of that? How does she actually see things then?” Niubao asked curiously.
“They deliberately make themselves half-blind to sense the world of ‘Qi’ and cultivate their Qi better,” Blue Ghost answered gravely. “However, there’s no theoretical proof this method works. Moreover, it’s too backward and cruel, and has long been lost.”
“If this method really worked, the world would be full of blind people. You never know what crazy things the Human Race will do in pursuit of power. Poking out their own eyes isn’t even considered a price in their view,” Red Ghost sighed.
“But if there were no successes, this bizarre method wouldn’t have been passed down,” Blue Ghost said. “So today, we’re probably encountering someone who successfully passed the trial.”
“She can sense the flow of Qi. Every person has Qi; all living things have Qi flowing within them. And that’s how she ‘sees’ the world—in her eyes, we should appear as human-shaped figures emitting streams of Qi. She can’t distinguish faces, but she can judge strength and weakness, and predict our movements through changes in Qi. That is the [Quan Yan],” Blue Ghost continued to explain.
“So that means, right now, she’s at her full power,” Red Ghost said quietly.
Then, what kind of power would Cresia, with her Quan Yan opened, possess? No one knew.
Blue Ghost and Red Ghost exchanged a silent look, because they didn’t know either.
“Removing the eye patch means she wasn’t fighting at full strength before?” Niubao kept pressing.
“You’re the first to push me to this point,” Cresia said flatly.
This clichéd “power-up line” added a touch of bizarre absurdity to the tense atmosphere.
The twin ghosts and Niubao didn’t dare act rashly. The three of them surrounded Cresia in a triangular formation. She clearly had no way out, just one last strike away from defeat.
But after Cresia removed her eye patch, she didn’t make any move. She just said that one sentence and then stood there motionless, hands hanging down, like a statue.
Her pale, dull eyes were unfocused, staring into nothingness, making her look like someone lost in thought.
Cresia with the eye patch was like a god of slaughter, but after removing it, she seemed like a harmless disabled person.
“Trying to buy time? Bluffing!” Blue Ghost quickly lost patience and charged forward with a slash.
She was unwilling. They were so close to defeating the Sword Saint—the title of “Sword Saint” should belong to them, the sisters!
Clang! Cresia easily raised her sword horizontally, blocking Blue Ghost’s heavy slash.
“What?” Only then did Blue Ghost realize she wasn’t bluffing.
Cresia’s Red Tassel Sword was now covered in pure Battle Aura, as if a Weapon Enhancement ritual had been cast on the weapon. She had reinforced her flexible sword with Battle Aura, forcefully blocking the strike from the Snow Reflecting Mad Blade.
Remember, before this, the Hero Sword Saint could only avoid the twin ghosts’ blade techniques; her weapon simply couldn’t withstand a direct clash with the blood blades.
But now, she had done it.
In fact, the twin ghosts covering their tachi with Blood Qi was also essentially a form of weapon enhancement. But at this moment—
Boom! Cresia’s entire body erupted with Battle Aura, directly unleashing a shockwave that blasted Blue Ghost away.
Blue Ghost landed and stumbled back two meters before barely regaining her footing, her scalp tingling. Red Ghost was also sweating profusely.
Because the answer was now very clear—
Aside from the predictive ability brought by the [Quan Yan], Cresia’s “Qi” itself was far stronger than that of the Twin Heroes.
Sword fighting had somehow escalated into a “Qi clash”… the scene was becoming more and more fantastical.
But thinking about it, this actually fit the “Sword Saint” setting quite well.
“Sis!” Red Ghost shouted.
“I’m okay…” Blue Ghost managed to say.
Looking back at Cresia, Battle Aura was continuously leaking from her body, like a balloon with a leak, blowing away all the sand on the ground to reveal the concrete underneath.
Standing nearby, the twin ghosts and Niubao felt as if they were standing at the edge of a storm, buffeted by the air currents until they were unsteady, forced to desperately channel their own strength just to stay upright.
Let alone continue fighting.
This god-like power was staggering.
The leaking Qi even seemed to solidify into blade-like entities, cutting deep sword marks into the ground and walls.
And this was merely the aftermath of Cresia being in her “full power state.”
She hadn’t even truly attacked yet.
What kind of destructive power would she unleash if she attacked with full force?
“Careful… it’s coming…” Blue Ghost warned in a low voice.
The entire indoor sand arena seemed to freeze at that moment.
The next instant, Cresia retracted her Battle Aura, then abruptly unleashed it—
The spectator stands fell silent. Only the sound of air being sliced could be heard, but no sword technique was visible.
Cresia’s form split into three, transforming into three figures standing quietly before the twin ghosts and Niubao.
They did nothing, just looked at the three of them.
Blue Ghost and Red Ghost wanted to counterattack but found themselves unable to move. Straining with all their might, they could only barely lift an arm a little, as if bound by an invisible force.
Niubao was the same. She wanted to retreat and run, but her legs trembled, disobeying her commands.
This was the first time in her life she had felt true fear.
Simultaneously, there was an indescribable sense of shock and yearning.
In the past, Niubao had never desired anything. She felt it was enough to live by Samimi’s side, free from wants or needs.
But at this moment, she finally understood—what she truly desired.
However, Cresia merely patted Niubao’s shoulder lightly, then vanished like the wind.
The next instant, time resumed its flow.
The spectator stands erupted in noise again, and everyone regained their ability to move.
Blue Ghost and Red Ghost still held their raised blades, faces full of confusion—no one knew what had just happened.
It was too profound.
Looking back at Cresia, she was still by the wall, but had collapsed on the ground, seemingly unconscious.
Right at that moment—
Hundreds of marks left by invisible sword Qi suddenly appeared on the three of them, then instantly dissipated into blue smoke.
No injuries, but clearly visible.
They were—the traces of having been “slashed.”
Blue Ghost was stunned, speechless. Cold sweat dripped from her chin.
Red Ghost and Niubao were the same.
They finally understood what this meant—
During the time they were completely suppressed by the “Qi” and unable to move, the Hero Sword Saint had already slashed hundreds of times around them.
If Cresia had harbored killing intent, they would now be a pile of minced meat.
The most terrifying part was—
They couldn’t even perceive when she had drawn her sword.
The gap in strength was despairingly large.
In the end, however, Cresia had fainted due to excessive Battle Aura consumption.
It seemed the eye patch itself was also a type of “Seal.” Her invincible state couldn’t be maintained for long.
But that momentary burst just now was enough to crush everything.
The outcome was indeed as Samimi had initially analyzed—
They had “worn down” the Hero Sword Saint over time.
But… could this really be considered a victory?
Just look at the state of Blue Ghost and Red Ghost. Though their expressions were hidden behind masks, the feeling of being “burned out” was clearly visible.
Unharmed, yet like candles in the wind.
Nine medics and members of the Third Guild quickly rushed out from the player tunnel. They checked Cresia’s condition—she was merely exhausted and unconscious, with no life-threatening injuries—and then carried her away for treatment.
“We’re done fighting. We lost… utterly lost,” Blue Ghost said helplessly, sheathing her sword, all will to fight gone.
“Sigh…” Red Ghost also let out a long sigh, sheathing her own blade.
They were still alive only because Cresia had shown them Mercy.
Though their fighting style was indeed underhanded, it wasn’t despicable to that extent.
The Twin Heroes retreated to the edge of the ring, choosing to withdraw from the battle.
Continuing to participate would be too lacking in Martial Virtue.
Niubao stood where she was, somewhat hesitant.
Technically, she was also “defeated.”
But she was more worried about Samimi.
She knew very well the strength of that traitor Bemore—though she hated to admit it, she was indeed strong.
Among Magic Users of the same age, only Bemore could push Samimi to this extent.
“Hey Cow, what are you looking at? Come over and join us in penalty standing,” Red Ghost called out.
“It’s fine, Niubao. Follow the righteousness in your heart. We don’t do unfair things.” From a distance, Samimi’s voice came, as if seeing through her thoughts.
“I understand, Mi… Shalum. Also, my name is Niubao, not Cow,” Niubao said with a bitter smile, ultimately walking over to stand beside the Twin Heroes.
The three of them were like players in a live-action shooting game who had been “hit” and could only exit the current round, waiting on the sidelines for the next one.
At this moment, only the two dueling Magic Users remained on the field.