The Sword-Saint recoiled slightly, completely surprised by John’s sudden outburst towards him. He gripped his sword tightly, his guard raised to the maximum as the two locked eyes. In that moment, the Sword-Saint felt what true terror was, of locking eyes with a creature of pure malevolence, pure destruction.

He could tell that John was sincere in his words, that he would turn his scythe towards the Saint if he interrupted this battle of his. The Sword-Saint gritted his teeth, unsure of how to proceed for the moment.

He had already been shocked to his core upon seeing John unleash his Domain of Anguish, which was unlike any domain the Sword- Saint had ever seen. It was a completely brutal domain, one that inflicted just as much harm onto John as it did his opponents. However, this only seemed to fuel John’s anger, fuel his bloodlust, turning him into a frenzied beast with no thoughts other than to slaughter and destroy.

The Sword-Saint then breathed a slight sigh of relief as John turned and shot towards the Yang-Sovereign once more, his sword tightly gripped in his hands. His mind raced with next steps, but only one thought seemed to have any hope of victory.

‘I need to support John,’ the Sword-Saint thought, studying John’s body closely. This form of his is beyond his bodies ability to withstand, and each action of his does as much damage to him as it does the Yang-Sovereign. While he seems to have a slight advantage against at the Yang-Sovereign, his body will give out before he is able to turn that advantage into victory. There is only one option I can choose; trust in John, and help him no matter the cost.’

Mind made up, the Sword-Saint sped forward towards the battle, his sword pointing directly towards the Yang-Sovereign’s heat.

‘Divine Sword Pierces the Firmament!’

Che!

The Yang-Sovereign’s grimace deepened as his attack was thwarted, then breathed a sigh of relief after John paused to confront the Sword-Saint instead of press the advantage. His weapon returned to his side as he recovered as much strength as he could in this opening, his grimace turning into a confident yet pained smile as he saw John approach.

‘His body will fall apart before long. All I need to do is stall and wai-‘

The Yang-Sovereign’s gaze snapped to the side as he felt a lethal danger approaching from his side. He spotted the Sword-Saint’s battle art, the Divine Sword Pierces the Firmament, piercing towards him with unimaginable speed.

This was the same battle art that Ji’Han had unleashed against Jaxus to destroy his lotus battle art, only far faster and more lethal due to the Sword-Saint’s higher cultivation and increased control over the Sword-Dao.

The Yang-Sovereign roared out with panicked fury as he slashed his flail towards the attack, knowing that his Yang Lotus Transformation form could not fully protect his body from such a terrifying attack.

Bang!

Sword and flail smashed into one another several dozen yards from the Yang-Sovereign, creating an explosion of Yang and Sword. The Sword-Saints sword image shattered like glass, unable to withstand the power of the Yang-Sovereign.s more explosively powerful flail. Yet, that opening was all that was needed, one the Yang-Sovereign realized as his gaze snapped upwards towards the one falling down towards him.

“Hahahaha!” John’s maniacal laughter boomed out as he slashed down with his scythe, which cleaved directly towards theSovereign’s head.

All nine lotus petals sun-ounding the Yang-Sovereign’s body surged upwards towards John, hoping to stop his scythe for long enough to put distance between the two of them. Another burst of frenzied laughter boomed from John as he did the unexpected, and threw his scythe towards the Sovereign. His arms burst into a shower of blood from the force at which he threw his extraordinarily heavy scythe, but his maniacal laughter showed no signs of caring about such damage or pain.

Che!

The scythe, turning head over heels like a wheel of ruin, cleaved directly through the lotus petals, its power and sharpness far too great to be stopped by concentrated Yang Qi alone. The Yang- Sovereign opened his mouth, which lit up brightly like the sun, followed by a beam of pure Yang Qi blasting towards the scythe.

Bang!

The scythe was blasted aside, finally stopped by the Yang- Sovereign’s attacks. The beam then blasted onto John, exploding against his body with horrifying power, stopping his momentum and blasting him upwards away from the Sovereign.

The sound of bones breaking boomed out as John was blasted upwards, blood spurting about him, turning to ash in the terrifying heat. His maniacal laughter paused for only a moment before he righted himself and burst alight with power once more, speeding back towards the Yang-Sovereign with unwavering dedication, grabbing his falling scythe on the way.

He didn’t even utter words anymore, the only sounds he made were guttural roars and frenzied laughter.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

John and the Yang-Sovereign smashed into one another over and over, their apocalyptic power shaking all of creation. The Sword- Saint continued to fight alongside John despite his earlier warnings, staying just outside the range of his domain, keeping John alive whenever he could.

As such, the battle, a battle that appeared to be a battle between gods and demons for those watching from below, raged on with unbelievable power and cruelty. The sky fractured and the realm shook under the weight of their powers, seeming as though it would fall apart at any second.

As the battle raged on, the Sword-Saint became increasingly anxious, his fears of defeat growing by the second. Despite John’s incredible power and horrifying domain, and despite him holding the slight advantage in their direct battle, the Yang-Sovereign was able to hold on. Even with the Sword-Saint doing all he could, the Yang-Sovereign persisted like an undying battle god, waiting for the time that John’s body finally succumbed to the internal destruction, at which point the Sovereign’s victory would be assured.

And based on the rapidly deteriorating state of John’s body, that time was rapidly approaching. It was already a miracle that his body could withstand such incredible power and such a horrifying burden for so long, especially considering his true body was only in the Dao Transformation Realm.

It was beyond heaven-defying, but even those who defied the heavens had their limits. And if the Yang-Sovereign was not defeated before that limit was reached, then everyone was doomed to perish.

‘As expected of a Sovereign. He’s truly deserving of his title; the Sword-Saint thought, although he hated to admit it. He always was jealous of the Yang-Sovereign, and considered him the Sovereign’s equal despite his lower cultivation.

Now he understood that there was a gap between them, one that determination and the Sword Dao alone could not bridge. While speeding through the Lotus realm, following the battle and unleashing his most powerful sword arts, the Sword-Saint glanced downwards, his eyes locking onto a figure on the other side of the Lotus realm, standing in the arena far below.

The Sword-Saint locked eyes with his son, Ji’Han, for a singular moment, then breathed in deep as he made up his mind. The anxious look on his face vanished immediately, replaced by one of pure resolve. A look formed by a resolve so strong, the Sword-Saint could not recall a time when he was more resolved in his life.

A resolve to win this battle at all costs, regardless of the personal price he had to pay. For his son’s survival, everything was an acceptable price. A deep breath then escaped the Sword-Saint’s mouth as, mind firmly made up, he sped towards the battle again, piercing into the Domain of Anguish as his aura exploded like a brilliant, white sun, powered by the burning of his blood essence, the lifeblood of a cultivator.

Poster Notes: This is a left over chapter from the previous month that I was too lazy to post, sorry about that. I’ll most likely get priv this month again and start posting, thanks – Gus𝑖𝘦.𝘤𝑜𝘮