yasinovel Chapter 549
Chapter 549
Ding!
The Emperor Sword responded to Lucien’s summons! It began struggling with all its might to break free from Valen’s grip!
Valen was forced to clutch the Emperor Sword with everything he had!
How could he possibly have predicted things would develop like this? This was supposed to be the killing move that guaranteed victory!
Meanwhile, Kanzaki Rei had absolutely no intention of confronting Valen head-on.
Instead, he calmly widened the distance between them.
With one hand shaped like a sword gesture, he pulled it toward himself!
The Emperor Sword released an even more violent hum!
Bzzzz—
Valen’s arm trembled violently. Despite his overwhelming strength, he could no longer hold onto the sword in his hands.
"Come back to me!"
Valen erupted once more with Imperial Might!
And yet...
Aeloria’s Resonance specialized specifically in weapons.
Even divine artifacts fell within the category of weapons.
If Valen had truly possessed the power of a Level 9 warrior—if the strength he wielded right now had genuinely belonged to a Level 9 warrior—
Then this technique might have been mercilessly suppressed by him.
But...
The Valen standing here only possessed Level 6 strength.
At his current level, he simply did not have the ability to fully master a divine artifact! Even the restrictions engraved onto the Emperor Sword by Valen’s true body had already been completely unraveled by Kanzaki Rei.
At this moment, the Emperor Sword was ownerless!
"Come back?"
"It seems you can’t break this move."
Kanzaki Rei could already tell that Valen had reached his limit. If he continued resisting, the Emperor Sword would only backlash against him instead.
Valen could no longer keep hold of the sword. At last, his fingers slipped free!
And Kanzaki Rei immediately pulled hard!
Seeing this, Valen could only slam his palm into the tail of the sword!
Whoosh!
The sound of air tearing apart shrieked through the void!
The Emperor Sword shot directly toward Kanzaki Rei!
Clang!
Kanzaki Rei’s fingers collided with the Emperor Sword, and he caught it firmly in his hand.
A divine artifact...
What an incredible divine artifact!
Not a projection.
Not a replica.
But a genuine divine artifact!
The Emperor Sword truly existed in this world.
And at this very moment, the real Emperor Sword itself rested in the hands of Valen’s true body. Which meant the Emperor Sword summoned by this Level 6 incarnation of Valen was not merely a projection.
He had directly summoned the true Emperor Sword into his grasp!
Had Kanzaki Rei fought him through ordinary means, he would have been facing an actual divine artifact in battle. There was no telling just how terrifying Valen would have become if he unleashed the Emperor Sword with full power.
It might truly have posed a lethal threat.
But...
They would never find out.
Kanzaki Rei had given Valen no opportunity whatsoever to continue wielding the Emperor Sword.
...
"Kanzaki Rei... are you really going to win like this?" Valen’s expression gradually darkened.
Kanzaki Rei stored away the Emperor Sword before answering calmly,
"Disarming your opponent during battle isn’t exactly uncommon, is it?"
"Or was I supposed to stand there and fight you like an idiot?"
Valen stared intently at Kanzaki Rei.
Slowly, he shook his head.
There was regret in his eyes.
To Valen, Kanzaki Rei simply did not resemble a true warrior.
If their positions were reversed—
Valen would absolutely have clashed head-on against himself while wielding the Emperor Sword. He would have pushed himself to his absolute limits and fought directly against the opponent at their peak.
Preventing the enemy from fighting at full power...
Only striking when the enemy was weakened...
That was the mindset of the weak!
A true powerhouse should charge straight toward hardship.
Only by defeating an enemy at their strongest could one truly prove the worth of strength itself!
But Kanzaki Rei...
His style of battle disgusted Valen.
There was no doubt Kanzaki Rei was powerful. Yet despite possessing such overwhelming strength, he fought like someone weak.
Truthfully, Valen did not care what kind of magic Kanzaki Rei used, nor his foresight abilities, soul sacrifices, or any other strange powers. From Valen’s perspective as a warrior—
Allowing the enemy to unleash everything they had was the dignity of the strong.
And the Kanzaki Rei before him...
Had already earned Valen’s recognition.
He was strong.
Undeniably strong.
So strong that even with the Emperor Sword in hand, Valen was not certain he could truly defeat him.
After all, the instant Kanzaki Rei seized the Emperor Sword, even Valen himself had failed to react.
Deep down, Valen even believed that if Kanzaki Rei fought using only the Warrior class, he still would not fall behind.
But...
Kanzaki Rei’s combat style still irritated him immensely.
Either unleash everything and obliterate him instantly.
Or allow him to fight at full power, in his ultimate state.
But instead...
You neither kill me immediately nor let me unleash my full strength.
What exactly is this supposed to be?
Valen raised his stance once more toward Kanzaki Rei.
Even after losing the Emperor Sword, his fighting spirit still burned fiercely.
Kanzaki Rei was powerful. Without the Emperor Sword, victory was nearly impossible to envision.
And yet Valen still wanted to fight.
Still believed he could defeat Kanzaki Rei.
In a low voice, Valen asked,
"Do you even enjoy the thrill of battle?"
Kanzaki Rei fell silent for a moment in thought before scratching the back of his head and replying slowly,
"I suppose I do enjoy it sometimes. But you understand... I’m not a pure warrior."
Visible disappointment surfaced in Valen’s eyes.
His voice carried deep regret.
"That’s unfortunate. I truly enjoyed fighting you."
"But it seems you wanted my sword more than the battle itself."
Kanzaki Rei did not draw the Emperor Sword.
Instead, he raised both fists and adopted the exact same stance as Valen.
"Do you want me to return this sword to you?"
Valen replied coldly,
"No need. Having your weapon taken in battle is a warrior’s shame. Once a weapon is lost in combat, what reason could there be to ask the enemy to return it?"
"One day, I’ll defeat you by my own methods and reclaim the Emperor Sword from you openly and honorably."
"But unfortunately... I don’t think we can become friends who share the same ideals."
Hearing Valen’s sigh, Kanzaki Rei froze briefly.
True enough.
Not everyone was destined to become friends.
That fleeting sense of disappointment he felt just now was merely regret that he hadn’t managed to befriend a Level 9 warrior. Otherwise, Valen could probably have helped him tremendously in the future.
But thinking like that alone already meant it wouldn’t have been a genuine friendship.
Kanzaki Rei answered,
"Then... that really is a shame."
Slash!
The moment the words fell, both men moved simultaneously.
Yet their figures did not collide midway between them—
Kanzaki Rei covered a far greater distance.
His speed was faster than Valen’s.
And his fist was faster as well.
「Imperial Path — Fourth Principle: Unstoppable Advance」
As his fists merged with his movement technique, every step he took during the charge transformed into a golden afterimage throwing a punch!
At the moment the two crossed paths, countless golden fist shadows surged past Kanzaki Rei and continued forward!
Every single fist phantom slammed into Valen’s body.
Explosions of blood erupted endlessly.
Valen’s figure was swallowed by the torrent, and this time, he no longer had the chance to regenerate. Flesh and blood were washed away beneath the storm of golden fists.
Valen continued counterattacking the entire time.
But his power was inferior to Kanzaki Rei’s.
Even his Dao Techniques were less refined than the ones Kanzaki Rei unleashed.
All he possessed was soaring battle intent!
His unyielding spirit still roared defiantly—
Yet it alone could not overturn the inevitable outcome of this battle.
Fwoosh—
At last, even Valen’s counterattacks disappeared completely.
Only Kanzaki Rei remained standing proudly within the void.
Marcus Huang finally managed to rise from the kneeling position he had been trapped in earlier.
Kanzaki Rei had already become a Level 7 Warrior.