Dyon's image in the air was particularly dazzling. Every swing of his arm caused the crystalline lights of his armor to shimmer with an overflowing power, every step he took shattered the skies, and every attack he dealt silenced the world.
Two men fought back and forth, neither willing to take even a single step backward.
Sokzac's technique was very clearly of the Earth level and heavily suppressed Dyon's. However, with every blow, it seemed as though Dyon's saber was slowly catching up, lasting longer and longer under the claps of thunder.
Planet Cathedral trembled as natural disaster level threats ravaged its landscape. Ocean waves standing hundreds of meters tall collapsed coast lines, 10.0 Richter scale earthquakes shattered peaks and created valleys, even the atmosphere itself threatened to break apart completely as it heated to inconceivable levels.
"The legendary Weapon's Master will" The celestials could hardly breathe, neither could their eyes leave the dazzling armor that faded in and out of existence on Dyon's body.
If there was one major difference between the Dyon just minutes ago to the one now, it was definitely this armor. If it wasn't for it, how could Dyon suddenly withstand the very same strikes that shattered his arms moments ago?
Even though Dyon gained access to his soul and energy cultivation, his soul couldn't directly increase his physical strength, nor could his energy cultivation. After all, Dyon was still an essence gatherer, albeit a peak essence gatherer. The difference between the celestial rank and the essence gathering rank was too large to make a tangible difference in that respect.
However, what was clear was that his techniques reached a new tier of power. Now that Dyon was fusing essence energy into them as he was meant to, to say their power doubled was an understatement.
That said, there was something else that changed within Dyon, something much more subtle.
What was the original purpose of the [Inner World: Sanctuary] technique? Was it not to create your own world? To create a space where nothing in the world could suppress you?
Even without activating his cultivation technique fully, Dyon felt that his suppression had decreased by as much 5%!
The most shocking part was that although Dyon had reached the peak of the essence gathering stage, he had yet to expand his world to adequately match his cultivation. This meant that his inner world was still at its lowest state, yet even without activating, it could decrease his suppression by this much!
Usually, experts could only rely on their pseudo-domains and true domains to achieve this effect, yet Dyon accomplished this at the essence gathering level!
Dyon's saber roared forward, shattering the barrier holding him within the large success realm and directly climbing to the completion stage.
At that moment, Dyon's eyes flashed with a meaningful glint. From the beginning until now, he had yet to use his saber qi. Although his Weapon's Master will was vibrating with anticipation, he held it back.
However, the moment he felt his breakthrough, he unleashed a devastating attack.
Not all wills were created equal, and this was especially true for those who followed the sovereign path. It was far more difficult to advance in this path, but the reward was the ability to suppress wills of the same ilk even while being a level below.
At the moment, Dyon's saber intent wasn't a match for Sokzac's. While his was at the mere first stage, Sokzac's was already at the fourth!
For perspective, the first to third stages were of the essence level in quality, whereas the fourth to sixth were of the saint level in quality. The meeting of these two wills head on was the equivalent of a lower essence gatherer fighting a lower saint It was simply impossible!
However, the moment Dyon's saber qi was birthed into the world, it was as though it was impossible to stop. As though even if a buddha stood before it, it would destroy. Even if a God lorded over it, it would force him to kneel. This was the undying will for victory this saber qi held, the unquestionable pursuit of sovereignty.
At that moment, Dyon's technique which had only just broken into the completion stage reached a completely knew level. Heaven's graces began to sing as the clouded, dark skies were overwhelmed by a golden light.
'This is a true genius' Those watching trembled, unable to temper their emotions.
The illusory image of a pouncing tiger suddenly became all too real as Dyon's saber clashed with Sokzac's.
Sokzac's saber qi shattered to pieces in a mere instant, leaving him completely unprotected as Dyon's attack surged forward.
"Roar!" Dyon's voice boomed through the skies, travelling over Planet Cathedral without hindrance.
Sokzac was sent flying into the distance, crashing through mountains in an unstoppable fashion for what seemed like forever.
Dyon stood in the air, watching on with a cold expression. His saber was held lightly in his hand, slightly flickering with an unbridled radiance. The moment he applied saber qi to it, at had completely transformed. One could clearly see what looked like the pinnacle of the saber fading into and out of existence on its body, sometimes giving it the feel of a beautiful crystalline weapon, and at others, the plain grey that it was.
Sokzac stood up shakily in the distance, wiping blood from his lips. As a devil cultivator, it was only natural that his body was durable. However, Dyon still looked down on him from above.
"You've lost."
Sokzac wanted to get up and fight it out with Dyon. In fact, he had yet to even use his devil qi which could have easily doubled his power, if not tripled. However, Dyon's next words stopped him.
Finally able to use energy again, Dyon's voice was projected directly into Sokzac's mind. 'Think about what you're doing very clearly. If you expose your devil qi here, I won't help you. It's best you leave now.
'I have no real reason to kill you. Although your people have committed vile acts, that's a decision I assume was far above your paygrade and something I'll be sure to pay them back for in full. Don't give me a reason to slaughter you where you stand because I promise that even if you were three times stronger, it would make no difference.'
There were simply too many abilities Dyon hadn't used for him to be worried about Sokzac.
Turning away, he descended from the skies and hovered before Lilith, waiting patiently.
Lilith's expression was completely deadpan. It didn't have the same shock and awe everyone else's had, instead, she still had the same lofty aura, as though she was meeting an equal.
"Your fianc isn't bad." Dyon suddenly said with a grin, completely baffling everyone.
"It's not your place to commentate on this matter." Lilith replied coldly. "He's clearly shown more courage than you. It's easy to seem brave when you knew you would never lose to begin with."
Lilith's voice carried a hint of disdain. She believed that Dyon could only storm through bravely because he had nothing to fear to begin with. It was Sokzac who knew he would lose but still fought anyway that displayed true courage.
Although she didn't quite understand it, after she was injured by Dyon and entered her most feeble state, her heart had opened slightly. It wasn't to the point where she was madly in love with Sokzac, but it was at least enough for her to defend him from outsiders making fun of him.
Lilith didn't seem effected by Dyon's otherworldly handsomeness or his bare torso. Even when his smile made Asyna's heart palpitate while she stood behind the ice-cold beauty, it didn't move her in the slightest.
She just continued to stand in the air, her long white gown and hair looking completely untouchable. If it wasn't for the slight paleness of her face, one wouldn't think she was injured at all.
Dyon silently looked into Lilith's black eyes. He didn't bother to explain that his cultivation had been sealed, so he actually did display quite a bit of courage. It didn't matter to him. After all, this was a woman he wouldn't hesitate to kill if she dared to aim her ire toward him again. The only reason he was letting them go was because of Evangeline despite what he said to Sokzac.