Bolstered by the fact he could finally take back some of his inner anger on the skeleton boss, he breathed out sharply as he drew his sword straight toward the boss" skull. He couldn"t help but see a smug face on it and felt like smashing it as soon as he attained his range of attack. His sword pierced through the air and, aided with his deep seated hatred for the skeleton kind; he ironically achieved one of the fastest pierces he ever executed.The skeleton boss didn"t let Fell do as he wanted, and as soon as the young cultivator entered his attacking zone, the flame in his eye socket intensified and began burning brighter than ever. Contrary to what one might have expected, the surrounding temperature didn"t increase; it was even the opposite. As his sword moved toward his opponent"s skull, he felt the nearby temperature drop at an incredible rate. By the time his sword was going to make contact, he felt through his blade the extreme temperature that was exuded from the skeleton boss"s body.
"Another power!?" he thought as he swiftly stepped back due to the intense feeling of danger. During his retreat, he glanced at the hand that was grasping his sword. The blood that had been flowing from his injury was frozen — no more drops of blood hitting the ground. "Extreme coldness…", he a.s.sessed as he saw the change his body endured in that slight moment when he attacked.
"This is going to be much more difficult than I thought…", he mumbled as he felt that the current situation had put his back against the wall. He sighed before softly whispering, "Sun Above.". A blinding light took over the edge of his sword, and in a split second, his bladed weapon had turned into an incandescent flame, lighting the surroundings of the plaza. He had been avoiding using any special moves due to his tired state, but now he had come to face the harsh truth. If he ever wanted to come close to victory, he would need to go all out and reveal his hand before his opponent.
"Let"s see if my flame won"t pierce through your shield of ice!", as soon as he spoke, his leg stomped on the ground in front of him. He pierced through the short s.p.a.ce that separated them and appeared in front of the skeleton boss with a burning will. He knew that he needed an utmost conviction in his own capacities. If there existed even a seed of doubt that he couldn"t pierce through the skeleton"s defense, then that was over for him. Even his intent, as a swordsman, would be severely hindered by the experience.
"Die!", Fell voice turned hoa.r.s.e as he shoved his entire self in his sword strike. His whole body"s weight and momentum were added to his strike, and in the final moment before the confrontation, he executed "Solary Dive" to empower his blow even more. He was truly going for broke. If with all of this he didn"t achieve any decent result, then that was over for him, and that would mean the end of the trial by fire.
His speed more than doubled before the impact adding even more momentum. His figure turned into a blinding flame for a split second before crashing straight on with the skeleton giant.
Boom! The ground of the plaza was leveled the moment Fell crashed onto his opponent. A giant mushroom filled with dust and sc.r.a.ps rose after the impact. In the middle of the cloud, Fell stood in front of the giant soldier. The extreme coldness from his foe seemed to freeze time itself, and their confrontation lasted more than it should have been. Fell fought the malicious ice with his blazing sword and sheer burning will. A swordsman only needed confidence, and Fell had plenty of confidence in cutting the skeleton in front of him.
Just the after shock that had slipped through the skeleton"s icy zone had been enough to level the plaza. What Fell"s avatar was receiving was the full strength of the after shock condensed by the skeleton"s absolute coldness. When it came to swordsmanship, the ancients who had paved the way had found long ago that confidence played a large role when it came to cutting solid matter. If there existed even a sliver of doubt in the sword user"s heart, then he wouldn"t even be able to cut a simple piece of wood.
Confidence in one"s sheer ability, and confidence to cut through anything. That was the way of the immortals who used the sword as their main mean of attacking. Although hexes and technique always came into play, what was genuinely relevant when speaking about talented swordsman was their intent to cut through any existing matter in the universe. If G.o.ds stood upon their path, they would cut. If Devils stood upon their path, they would cut. If Demons stood upon their path, they would cut. Cut! Cut! Cut! Cut! Cut Heaven Itself. That was the ancient way of swordsmanship.
Although Fell had lacked an instructor in the sword way, he had always trusted in his guts when it came to his learning principle and knew that confidence and intent played a major role in the way of the sword. Through his sword, he had come into contact with laws, and through his sword, he had achieved feats that he would never have dared doing. Although Anzar"s teaching had been a big boost in his cultivation path, in the end, the Ma.s.sin Martial Art had long been turned into a Sword Art. A sword Art that was Fell"s own work of sweat and blood.
He never feared anything, except the fear of being disappointed at himself for being weak-willed. And today, his burning will was helping him in the tremendous task that stood in front of him; he had never faced a stronger opponent than the skeleton boss. Being capable of executing sword strike through s.p.a.ce itself was an abstruse concept that would only be prayed openly by the strongest in the world.