Kill The Old Ones!

Chapter 164: Tournament: Frozen Sky Wings

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Round 3 began late in the afternoon.

It started with Adrian’s and Elena’s fight.

The Young Sword King vs. The Young King of the North.

As expected, this fight was incredible.

Many people were afraid of facing Adrian up on stage; Elena wasn’t one of them.

To be fair, there were very few things that made her feel fear. Adrian wasn’t one of them. And even if she was afraid, it’s hard to tell because of that perpetual cold look on her face.

The moment they stepped onto the stage, their aura already skyrocketed. The match hasn’t even started yet, but they’re already like this.

Due to that, the arena has been divided into two sides. One turned to a frozen wasteland while the other displayed sword sheens and released metal screeches.

Elena was primed. She was being lifted off the ground by chilling winds; everything beside her and behind her was frozen. Ice crystals condensed behind her. One on her left, one on the right, and a huge one floating above.

Her ice also formed a dress and an armor for her. Additionally, a pair of wings emerged from her back, seemingly made out of pure ice crystals. They were hard and compact and released a chill that could easily entomb anybody in ice.

"Ooh, Frozen Sky Wings. Nice," Ren muttered as he watched.

The moment Elena’s wings unfolded, Ren immediately recognized it. It’s the Frozen Sky Wings—a Sky Archon art, one that Elena most likely translated to martial art and replicated with chakra.

It wasn’t really difficult to do that; however, it requires high affinity and talent towards the element. Elena easily satisfied that requirement, so she was able to replicate it.

’If she actually mastered that art, then she could give Adrian some serious trouble,’ Ren declared mentally.

It wasn’t just him who recognized these Frozen Sky Wings. Almost all of the geniuses who went to the trial grounds and have fought the Undead Sky Archons recognized that too.

And they applauded Elena’s talent and started worrying for Adrian. After all, they experienced the dominance and ruthlessness of the Undead Sky Archon that had the same pair of wings.

Adrian, on the other hand, didn’t look bothered.

He looked as calm as a placid lake. One hand on his sheathed sword, back ramrod straight, indifferent to the occasional breeze of cold that’s hitting his face.

His thumb pushed the sword out, releasing it from the clasp of its sheath, ready to be drawn at any moment.

His momentum certainly doesn’t lose out to Elena. He claimed the other half of the arena for himself.

Adrian’s chakra was gaseous silver. It’s not because it isn’t dense; it’s because it’s mysterious.

Adrian was blessed at birth with a peak epic-grade martial physique called "Heavenly Sword Heart"—it’s a talent that made him a natural towards sword art. He was practically born to be a swordsman.

According to the grapevine, when Adrian first held a sword—a wooden training sword, at that—he smiled so widely and so happily for the first time that it made his mother weep tears of joy.

At the tender age of seven, he beat his primary sword instructor solidly. This instructor was several decades older than he and far more experienced. Adrian hasn’t even trained for long and has already defeated him.

This was also how the Sword Saint Clan discovered his talent.

See, originally, Adrian wasn’t from the main line of the family. They’re close to being outsiders, actually. They’re not part of the founding family that built the clan. Adrian’s ancestors joined later.

Furthermore, the Heavenly Sword Heart doesn’t have an indicator or produce a manifestation. This is why Adrian’s talent and aptitude for the sword escaped the eyes of the elders when he was born.

But when news of him defeating people who have trained way longer than him started spreading, the elders couldn’t help but be curious. That’s when his aptitude was discovered.

And when it was confirmed that he had this much talent, the Clan Leader didn’t hesitate to name him the heir, even though that goes against the traditions of the clan.

And Adrian didn’t disappoint. He became everything that clan expected him to be. By now, nobody dares to say that he doesn’t deserve his position anymore.

The clan practically worships the ground he steps on.

Adrian had forged an undefeated streak so far. And he doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

The countdown of the match eventually ran out, and once it did, both participants wasted no time. They clashed at the very second the match began.

Elena was accompanied by her frigid winds and wings. Adrian’s sword intent flared to protect him.

The Young King of the North took to the skies and summoned a blizzard to harass the Young Sword King. Her chilling winds were accompanied by shards of sharp ice crystals that rained in thousands.

Every single one of those was like a dagger that could easily pierce the skin, and their numbers could easily tear large crowds into pieces.

With each beat of Elena’s Frozen Sky Wings, the temperature on the battlefield dropped dangerously low. She was overwhelming Adrian and limiting the space he could use.

Her flight speed was fast, too. She zips from one place to the next; her movement was obscured by the chilling winds. She looked like an elusive fairy amidst the blizzard.

Alas, the cold never actually bothered Adrian.

He stood still like a tall tree facing a storm. He needn’t draw his sword to defend himself; his sword intent was more than enough to do that.

Adrian tracked Elena’s silhouette through the blizzard, and it would seem like he could actually see her, unlike most of the audience.

Just as the blizzard was about to rage even harder, Adrian finally drew his sword out of its sheath.

His movement was slow and intentional. He went into a stance and cleaved the blizzard in half. His move was accompanied by a strong flash of silver that sliced through the storm and touched the dome, isolating the battlefield.

Elena was nearly caught by that move, which in itself was ridiculous because she was almost sure she was staying clear of that.

Nevertheless, it clipped her wings and caused her to lose control of her flight. Her blizzard storm stopped its rage, not because she did intentionally, but because Adrian cleaved it apart.

Elena was peeved, but it doesn’t show on her face. She couldn’t complain either because she should’ve seen this coming.

This was just one of the things that Adrian’s sword intent could do.

While Elena’s talent and affinity for ice surpass most of the populace, her art remains based on chakra itself. Sure, her ice crystals are hard and she could easily overwhelm those weaker than her, but Adrian was different.

Sword Intent is a conceptual manifestation achieved by those who are extremely talented and fortunate to glimpse the road of the Path of Arms.

Simply put, Adrian’s sword intent touches upon the conceptual rules. Through his mastery over the sword, he could impose said rules over his surroundings.

Him cleaving apart that blizzard was him essentially saying that it’s no longer allowed to happen. That intent becomes a temporary rule, one that could only be resisted by another conceptual imposition.

Elena, unfortunately, hasn’t touched upon those yet.

In fact, none of the participants here do. And that’s why many were convinced that Adrian would win this whole thing.

Elena didn’t want to forfeit because of this, though. Adrian’s sword intent might be beyond what most could handle, and he was definitely powerful enough to defeat her, but she certainly doesn’t plan on making it easy for him.

If Adrian wants to win, he needs to work for it. Nobody should expect her to gracefully admit her defeat without a fight.

And that’s what Elena did. She made Adrian work for his victory.

Elena went all out. She froze the entire arena; she rained down ice spikes, formed glaciers, summoned frozen clouds...she did everything that she could in her attempts to bring down Adrian.

Unfortunately, Adrian was just on a whole other level.

The ice crystals that most people would find extremely difficult to crack, he slices with near-effortless grace.

He was fast with his sword; he saw everything and could cleave anything that came in his way.

Adrian could’ve ended this fight sooner, but he indulged Elena’s tantrums. He played along, purposefully extending the fight just because he could.

It’s only when Elena visibly faltered that Adrian decided to finally end it. With another strong cleave with his sword intent, Elena was grounded.

Adrian’s sword was then aimed at her neck, and in that moment, Elena knew that it was over.

She sighed and admitted defeat.

That spectacle was all the audience ever wanted. They cheered and applauded loudly when it was over.

The arena needed to be restored after their fight. Next was the match between Seraphina and Ren.

And from the restlessness of the crowd, it was clear that they couldn’t wait for the match to start either.

The heir of the White Haven Clan and the representative of the Banished Arms Clan were about to clash.