In recent days, no matter how low a profile Sonia kept, the rumors surrounding her inevitably fermented and spread far and wide.
The reincarnation theory, the inheritance theory, the innate talent theory—all manner of hypotheses sprang up endlessly, yet not a single soul believed Sonia had reached the Sanctuary realm through normal cultivation.
Half a year!
Even for a prodigy, half a year wasn't necessarily enough to cultivate a full set of silver wings!
Although they couldn't move against her directly, nearly every prophecy sorcerer, truth sorcerer, and fate sorcerer in the Starry Country had tried to unearth the secret Sonia was hiding. Not only that, but reasonable probes within the boundaries of the rules had never ceased.
“The Sea of Knowledge has vortexes, and the Time Continent has mobility miracles, but the Distant Sky Realm offers no room whatsoever for shortcuts or cheating,” Butterfly Mask said coldly. “An impostor who lacks real strength like her probably won't be able to decipher even a single phantom bubble, leaving her stuck in the Distant Sky Realm forever!”
The bartender wiped a glass and mumbled, “Insulting our Sword Flower right here at Sword Flower University... I don't know about your strength, but you certainly have no manners...”
Butterfly Mask's gaze turned chillingly cold. She casually flicked a finger toward the bartender, sending the air into motion. Without even tapping into sorcery power, she relied purely on a faint trace of sorcery spirit resonance to carve out a miniature wind blade in midair, intending to slice a bloody gash across the bartender's chubby cheek—
Snap!
The wolf-costumed youth swatted upward like he was batting away a mosquito, dispelling the half-formed wind blade barehanded.
Turning his head to stare at Butterfly Mask and Black Tiger Mask, he mused, “Trying to bait the Sword Princess out by stirring up trouble?”
Gold Mask was slightly surprised—while Lan Shile was simple-minded and kind-hearted, his mind was remarkably sharp when confronted with malice. No wonder rumors claimed the Count of Stardust wanted to elevate him, his third son, to heir.
Black Tiger Mask remained silent, while Butterfly Mask spoke: “We only want that duel-dodging coward to surrender the honor that doesn't belong to her—the First Sword Sorcerer Under the Stars.”
At first listen, the title sounded far too arrogant. Besides, there were Legendary Sorcerers above them; wouldn't a Sanctuary Sorcerer claiming such a title just be inviting humiliation?
Yet this title was actually tailor-made for winners of the Meteor Tribulation, requiring one to be a Meteor Tribulation champion, a sword sorcerer, and the recipient of broad popular support.
Of the three criteria, the last was actually the hardest. Someone like Dimi had already won the Meteor Tribulation once, but his status as an eldest son of a duke meant the public's jealousy and adoration toward him carried equal weight.
Put simply, it was taken for granted that Dimi would win the championship; failing to win would only bring him disgrace.
Sonia, however, was different. Her background as a country girl from an agricultural town became the key catalyst for her skyrocketing popularity. What could strike a deeper chord with the masses than an underdog's rise from the grassroots? Combined with her legendary journey, the common folk didn't care about the massive gulf between Sanctuary and 'Legendary'—they simply slapped the accolade of 'First Sword Sorcerer Under the Stars' onto her.
Add to that the fuel poured on by the entertainment media, and Sonia's fame was on the verge of eclipsing the Ten Great Sword Saints. Perhaps Legendary Sorcerers didn't care, but many sword sorcerers found it hard to stomach—especially those Sanctuary Sorcerers who saw right through Sonia's true foundation.
“The Sword Princess's swordsmanship realm isn't at the Sanctuary level at all; she hasn't even touched the ceiling of the gold level,” Butterfly Mask said coldly. “If Dimi hadn't been taking it easy in the beginning, she would have lost long ago.”
Gold Mask chuckled. “There's no need to glorify Dimi like that. The Sword Princess's original miracles were quite troublesome. Rather than saying Dimi wasn't taking it seriously early on, it's more accurate to say he was gathering intelligence.”
Butterfly Mask continued, “The Sword Princess turning down every challenge from other Sanctuaries in recent days is the best proof. Now that she's reached the Distant Sky Realm, her inadequate strength makes it even harder for her to benefit from Void Realm exploration. Once she clashes with other Sanctuaries, everyone will easily discover how utterly hollow her reputation is.”
The bartender retorted indignantly, “That's because the people issuing challenges have no shame! The Sword Princess only advanced to Sanctuary a few days ago. Why would she agree to spar with veteran powerhouses who've been in Sanctuary for years or decades? Wouldn't that just be asking for abuse?”
“What about 'Twin Curved Sabers' Yadas, then?”
At the mention of that name, even the bartender fell silent—because 'Twin Curved Sabers' Yadas was also a new Sanctuary who had advanced just recently!
Yadas was an Abyss adventurer. While the Meteor Tribulation was underway, his team had accidentally triggered a trap in the Abyss and tumbled into its depths, trapped for half a month. Pushed to the brink of death, he broke through into Sanctuary. After entering the Distant Sky Realm, he underwent the Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon Synchronization Forbidden Rite just once before learning how to construct a Sanctuary, and then led his teammates in carving their way straight out from the bottom of the Abyss back to the surface!
Yet back then, Jialesi was still immersed in the colossal shock brought by the Sword Princess, leaving Yadas's glorious feat completely eclipsed under her dazzling starlight.
It should be noted that Yadas was only twenty-seven years old. Though not from an agricultural town, he was merely an ordinary resident of a small city, commanding nowhere near the resources Dimi had. At this age and with such talent, he was indisputably one of the Starry Country's top prodigies!
So while other Sanctuaries only invited Sonia for friendly exchanges, Yadas directly issued a combat challenge, bent on settling who was superior!
Yet Sonia rejected all invitations, remaining in the academy to cultivate and study.
With enough rejections, rumors naturally began circulating: 'The Sword Princess is all flash and no substance,' 'The Sword Princess has exhausted her potential and will stall out in Sanctuary,' 'Vase Sword Saint,' and the like.
As they argued at the bar counter, a crowd began gathering around. Some supported the Sword Princess, while others mocked her.
As the commotion swelled, the noise even drowned out the singing from the stage, drawing curious looks from students on the dance floor.
“The Sword Princess is busy consolidating her strength; declining duel challenges is only natural! Those veteran Sanctuaries just want to suppress her!”
“Oh? Then why didn't she accept a clash with Yadas? If the Sword Princess is truly such a genius, how could Yadas—who only broke through to Sanctuary a few days ago—possibly be her match?”
“Honestly, if she fought Dimi again, she probably wouldn't beat him. After all, Dimi already knows her trump cards...”
“Ridiculous! Keeping trump cards hidden is part of tactics in the first place! Why didn't you demand that Dimi hide his 'Turning Extinction Wave' until the very last second to catch her off guard?”
“'Twin Curved Sabers' Yadas has ten years of experience in the Abyss, having slain countless monsters with vastly richer combat experience. The Sword Princess definitely can't beat Yadas right now.”
“Not just right now—she won't beat him in the future either,” Butterfly Mask declared loudly. “The Sword Princess's swordsmanship faction isn't at the Sanctuary level at all! She is far too weak. Exploring the Distant Sky Realm? Does she even have the ability? The classes you skip must eventually be made up! Even if she cheated her way into the Distant Sky Realm early, she still has to slowly raise her swordsmanship realm. Does she truly possess that kind of talent?”
Someone suddenly asked, “How can you be so sure the Sword Princess's swordsmanship isn't at the Sanctuary level?”
At that moment, Black Tiger Mask, who had remained quiet all along, finally spoke: “When you are a swordsmanship Sanctuary, you can naturally perceive the level of another's swordsmanship.”
Several hot-blooded students in the crowd who had been preparing to swarm and beat these two obnoxious guests felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over their heads.
Many onlookers also noticed two curved sabers hanging at Black Tiger Mask's waist. They were unadorned, weathered and austere, clearly not decorative props.
The scene abruptly fell quiet. The ethereal singing reclaimed the night.
Just then, Gold Mask asked, “Since Twin Curved Sabers failed to challenge the Sword Princess, your next target would probably be...”
“Naturally, I must experience the Vosloda family's Wave Swordsmanship.” Black Tiger Mask was a man of few words, but his tone was even sharper than the venomous Butterfly Mask's.
“I only came tonight to unwind, but it seems you aren't going to let this opportunity slip by.”
Gold Mask sighed and stood up. He casually drew an ornamental sword from the hip of a nearby wine-red-haired girl cosplaying the Sword Princess and flicked the blade with a finger. “Fair lady, may I borrow this sword for a moment? In return, I'll pay you back with a victory later. What do you say?”
Flattered and overwhelmed, the wine-red-haired girl stammered, “Of course! But this isn't a good sword... No, let me borrow a real one for you right away—”
“No need, this is enough.” Gold Mask smiled and walked with Black Tiger Mask to the center of the dance floor. The other students parted voluntarily to clear a ring for them. Several two-winged sorcerers had already taken flight into the air to watch. Even those who had been in the dark quickly realized who the two on the floor were.
The masquerade ball had suddenly turned into a sword duel arena, yet no one dared object. Only the masked song maiden on the main stage continued singing with all her heart and soul.
“I possess more iridescent sorcery power than you. Going all out would put you at an unfair disadvantage, and this isn't a proper combat venue anyway, so let's refrain from using sorcery spirits or Sanctuaries,” Gold Mask said. “We test only our swordsmanship.”
Black Tiger Mask nodded and drew his twin curved sabers. “To determine the superior.”
Their eyes met. After a fleeting silence, the two collided like phantom blurs.
Even without using sorcery spirits, their physical capabilities were top-tier!
Clang!
A violent vibration traveled from the saber blade into Black Tiger Mask's wrist, propagating all the way into his internal organs and even his pituitary gland!
The Vosloda family's Wave Swordsmanship was a pinnacle combat technique even without sorcery spirits. Empowered by the Sanctuary realm, the Wave Swordsmanship could generate concussive shockwaves against an enemy through contact alone!
Still, my years in the Abyss weren't spent idling.
Black Tiger Mask's twin curved sabers danced in a flurry, churning and binding the opponent's longsword like oceanic waves. Gold Mask tried several times to pull back and disengage, but his sword seemed bound as if by seawater. Unable to control his sword path, he felt as if he was about to be swallowed whole by surging tides!
Even when he actively retreated, Black Tiger Mask pursued as if treading the waves—moving like a dance, sabers rolling like surging breakers, resembling a whirling storm, mimicking a swirling whirlpool's turbulent currents!
This was the combat technique created by 'Twin Curved Sabers' Yadas—the Wave Saber Dance!
His core sorcery spirit was the 'Wave Saber'. Through years of study and accumulation, he had used the 'Wave Saber' as a foundation to develop a complete combat system, which in turn fed into his swordsmanship realm. Thus, when Gold Mask proposed comparing swordsmanship realms alone, he hadn't feared in the slightest.
The ancestral Wave Swordsmanship was formidable, but it belonged to ancestors; though his Wave Saber Dance was still in an unrefined, embryonic stage, it was tailored perfectly to himself!
From the very start, the two engaged in a ferocious clash, the ringing of blades ringing out incessantly!
The surrounding students watched in dazzled awe. Sword sorcerers drank in the display like thirsty travelers finding an oasis, while sorcerers of other factions didn't dare blink, terrified of missing a single brilliant moment—this was a rare contest between two Sanctuary Sorcerers relying purely on their mastery of martial technique!
“Could it be that even Dimi can't match Yadas?”
“How could that be? If Dimi used 'Turning Extinction Wave', Yadas would definitely be cut down!”
“Yeah, but not just Yadas—all of us spectators would get obliterated too...”
“Still, speaking purely of swordsmanship realm, Dimi really does seem inferior to Yadas, doesn't he?”
While everyone debated, Gold Mask abruptly altered his combat rhythm. Instead of maintaining a defensive sword posture, he actively followed the flow of Black Tiger Mask's twin sabers, dancing along with him!
Soon enough, Gold Mask transitioned from parrying desperately at an awkward disadvantage to an even back-and-forth, even showing subtle signs of gaining the upper hand!
“The tables are turning!”
“Dimi adapted to Yadas's style! Yadas can't win!”
“But Yadas hasn't lost either! Dimi still can't break free of his twin sabers!”
“They clearly aren't using sorcery spirits, so why does it look more ferocious than if they were?”
“Is this the true demeanor of sword saints...?”
“No wonder Servi didn't dare accept the challenges. The gap really is too vast...”
While the watching students marveled in admiration, they had no idea that the two fighters locked in the circle were already unable to stop.
The essence of the Wave Saber Dance was to create a vortex to strangle the enemy. When Gold Mask threw himself into the vortex to flow along with it, it meant the vortex's rotation would only accelerate, spinning faster and faster until it spiraled beyond either man's control. It would take a severe injury to bring it to an end!
Although they could deploy sorcery spirits or their Sanctuaries to break out of this 'sword-intent vortex', doing so was tantamount to conceding defeat. Both would rather sustain severe wounds than violate the terms of their contest!
Just as the two were locked in their dance of death, the masked song maiden on the main stage sang her final note. Accompanied by the band, the lingering melody curled away into the night sky.
Below the stage, only the bartender at the counter and two female students clapped. The bartender then retrieved a sword bag from beneath the counter, jogged along the perimeter, and tossed it to the masked song maiden on the main stage. Nodding in gratitude, the masked song maiden drew a wooden sword from the bag, leapt down from the stage, and walked straight toward the two men who were unable to disengage.
“Hey, it's dangerous over there!”
“Those are two swordsmanship Sanctuaries clashing! Is she trying to break them up?”
“Has she lost her mind? She should look at her own strength first!”
“Wait, she's holding a wooden sword...”
“A wooden sword against real blades... wait, a wooden sword?!”
By now, Gold Mask and Black Tiger Mask also noticed the masked song maiden approaching them. However, they lacked any spare capacity to protect her and could only warn her with their eyes to leave immediately—and then, they saw three arcs of light!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
With three crisp ringing sounds, the twin curved sabers and the ornamental sword flew high into the air before clattering onto the ground.
Relying on the impact delivered by the masked song maiden, Gold Mask and Black Tiger Mask seized the chance to break free of the vortex, staring in shock and bewilderment at this sword saint whose strength was in no way inferior to their own!
No one understood better than them just how difficult it was to separate them from that vortex state without harming either of them! Not only did it require a swordsmanship realm at the Sanctuary level, but it also demanded a complete insight into every single seam and flaw within both Wave Swordsmanship and the Wave Saber Dance!
“I am responsible for security at tonight's masquerade ball.”
The masked song maiden raised her wooden sword and swiftly rapped both Gold Mask and Black Tiger Mask across their heads. “If you want to fight, take it outside. Don't die here and cause trouble for me.”
With that, she turned and walked toward the bar counter. The watching students parted instinctively to make way. She picked up a cocktail from the counter and took a sip, only to spray it all over the bartender's face in the next second.
“Even if it tastes bad, you didn't have to spit it in my face?!”
“Sorry, I genuinely didn't expect a cocktail to taste corrosive... Maybe you should consider majoring in the poison faction?”
The crowd stared blankly as they left the ball, many blushing red, wishing they could crawl into a hole and hide. Just moments ago, they had been clamoring that the Sword Princess was far inferior to Dimi and Yadas, yet in the very next breath, the Sword Princess had subdued two sword saints all by herself!
Would you dare interfere in a clash between two sword saints?
Could you knock the weapons out of the hands of sword saints?
Could you rap a sword saint on the head before they could even react?
At this moment, all the rumors of 'Vase Sword Saint' and 'the Sword Princess's realm isn't at the Sanctuary level' collapsed completely of their own accord!
The wolf-costumed youth murmured, “That... was way too cool...”
Gold Mask removed his mask, revealing a handsome face framed by sunny blonde hair. He remarked, “Barely more than a month has passed, yet she's already caught up—and maybe even surpassed me. If we fought the Meteor Tribulation again, I'm not confident I would win.”
Black Tiger Mask took off his mask to reveal a cool, resolute countenance. Across his left cheek were three scars, resembling claw marks from a cat. “That was her?”
“Who else could it be?” Dimi replied. “Do you still want to challenge her?”
Yadas shook his head. “No. I'm going back.”
“Back where?”
“The Abyss.” Twin Curved Sabers turned and strode away without looking back. “I will surpass both of you.”
***
After taking off her stage costume, Sonia planned to practice in the training grounds for a while longer. On the way, however, she spotted a luxury silver limousine waiting.
“You're here again,” the Paw-Stretching Club president said with a grin. “Why don't you check out the masquerade ball? Your brother is having a fight over there.”
Inside the car, Felix seemed to filter out the mention of Dimi entirely and cut straight to the point: “Sword Princess, we can help you.”
Sonia refused decisively. “I have nothing I need help with.”
“Is that so?” Felix said leisurely. “What a pity. I heard you've been looking into ways to cross between countries lately, and I thought I might be able to help you with that.”
Chapter 634