"You are right, Kai," Lucien said lazily. "A rusty sword is useless. So, I guess I have to fix it."Lucien sat up straight. He did not stand up. He stayed sitting on the cold stone floor. He placed both of his hands flat against the flat sides of the cheap iron sword. He closed his eyes. "Watch carefully, Sect Master," Lucien whispered to Seraphina. Seraphina stopped pacing. She watched his hands. Lucien opened the invisible door to his [Vein-Concealment Aura] just a tiny, microscopic bit. He pulled the deep, heavy, pitch-black power of the Abyssal Chaos Veins into his palms. He did not use a hot forge. He did not use a heavy hammer. He used pure, overwhelming magical pressure. Lucien pushed the dark Chaos energy directly into the cheap iron sword. The sound was terrible. It sounded like the metal was screaming in pain. The rusty iron began to violently shake. The dark magic flooded into the we

The loud, heavy bell rang across the Imperial Arena. The sound signaled the start of the final death match. In the center of the giant stadium, the white sand had already melted into a pool of hot, bubbling liquid glass from the terrible heat of the True Sun-Piercer. The legendary sword of the Golden Sword Saint was not made of metal. It was a jagged blade of pure, roaring, golden plasma. It hissed and popped like a wild fire. The Golden Sword Saint stood on the hot glass. He was dying. The semi-divine sword was eating his life. Bright, burning golden veins crawled up his right arm and spread across his neck. His skin cracked like dry dirt in a desert, and blinding yellow light poured out of the cracks. His pure white hair was turning to grey ash and floating away in the hot wind. He was sacrificing his own soul to kill the beggar. He was willing to burn his life away to protect the honor of the Saint-Aurelius Clan. "I will burn you to nothing!" the Golden Sword Saint screamed. H

Lucien did not just move quickly. He turned into a cloud of thick, dark mist. He completely bypassed physical space. The Sword Saint’s powerful thrust hit absolutely nothing. The old master stumbled forward, his eyes wide in confusion. "Where did he go?!" the Emperor shouted from the Royal Box, standing up from his throne in a panic. Lucien appeared directly behind the Golden Sword Saint. Lucien did not swing his sword immediately. He stood there for a split second, letting the old man feel his terrifying presence. The Sword Saint felt the suffocating, freezing cold on the back of his neck. He spun around wildly, swinging his glowing sword in a wide circle. But Lucien was already gone again. Lucien stepped through the space. He appeared on the left side of the arena. Then, he appeared on the right side. To the crowd, it looked like there were ten Luciens standing in the arena at the same time. The dark, misty afterimages confused the eye. The Golden Sword Saint panicked. He sw

If the Sword Saint exploded right now, the massive fireball would wipe out the entire center of the arena. It would hit the Coach's Box. It would vaporize Seraphina. It would instantly melt Kai, Lin, and Jian into ash. It would kill thousands of innocent people running in the stands. Lucien only had one second to make a choice. He could use the Cloud-Piercing Step to teleport far away and save himself. Or he could stay. Lucien did not run. He threw his pitch-black iron sword onto the sand. He ran directly toward the exploding old master. "No, you don't," Lucien growled. Lucien reached the glowing, burning man. The heat was melting the skin off Lucien’s arms. But Lucien ignored the terrible pain. Lucien opened his arms wide. He stepped forward and wrapped his strong, muscular arms completely around the Golden Sword Saint. He hugged the exploding man tightly to his chest. "What are you doing?!" the Sword Saint screamed in confusion, his body vibrating with explosive light. "I am

The Sword Saint was completely desperate. He did not care about the innocent people in the crowd anymore. He only cared about killing the monster in the center of the ring. He swung his arms downward. The thousands of giant, burning golden swords fell from the sky like a rainstorm of pure fire. They fell toward Lucien. They fell toward the crowd. Lucien stood on the hot glass. He looked up at the falling golden death. He did not panic. He did not try to run away. If he used the Cloud-Piercing Step to dodge, the golden swords would hit the Coach's Box. They would hit Seraphina and the children. They would melt the innocent people in the stands. Lucien could not dodge. He had to destroy the attack completely. Lucien closed his eyes for one tiny fraction of a second. He remembered the giant, dark obsidian statue of his ancestor in the hidden tomb. He remembered the glowing blue screen of the System. He remembered the Legendary Tier reward he had received. “System,” Lucien commanded