Chapter 82: Limits

Initially, Solaris didn’t think Lu Mo would surpass her in swordsmanship.

Not only had she been heavily cultivated by the Liatt family, one of the eight great families of the Holy Sanctuary, but she was also highly valued by her mother’s God-descendant family. It could be said that the resources she had access to were more than twice those of the other Sequence Heroes.

She had been guided by famous masters since childhood, and the swordsmanship manuals she was able to study were things most people would never touch in their entire lives.

She could even say with some conceit that among everyone present, her understanding and perception of the sword were the most outstanding.

Perhaps this was also the reason why the Zhanmie Sword had chosen her.

When Lu Mo accepted this duel without hesitation, a hint of playfulness even rose in Solaris’s heart.

Lu Mo held a training sword and stood opposite her.

And Solaris felt as if she had already seen the other girl’s end.

“Let’s begin,” she said indifferently.

In response, Lu Mo tightened her grip on her training sword and attacked.

***

From the very first strike, Solaris’s pupils constricted violently.

She sensed something was wrong.

‘What… what kind of sword is this?’

She had never seen such swordsmanship before.

After only dozens of strikes, she had already fallen into a suppressed position.

There were no fixed forms or established patterns. It seemed chaotic to the extreme, yet the sword momentum grew stronger and more overwhelming with every single strike.

Worse yet, she couldn’t find a single opening within that chaos.

At this moment, she had to focus all her attention and use her family’s top-tier sword techniques to respond.

But even so, it became increasingly difficult for her to ward off the attacks.

*Clang!*

Another collision of blades occurred.

The two training swords threw off sparks.

Between the flashes of sword light, their expressions were reflected —

Lu Mo was calm, her eyes showing no ripples.

Solaris’s pupils, however, were trembling slightly.

‘What is going on with her sword? Is this person… a monster?’

For the first time, dread rose in Solaris’s heart.

She finally realized a fact — Lu Mo’s mastery of swordsmanship was far more terrifying than her cultivation level.

Facing Lu Mo, her heart wavered for the first time.

‘Am I… going to lose?’

The moment that thought appeared, her next strike was a fraction of a second too slow.

Lu Mo’s sword transformed into an afterimage, thrusting straight toward her throat.

The wind from the sword whistled, making the onlookers shiver.

However, the moment the shadow of the sword closed in —

A flash of coldness crossed Solaris’s eyes.

Deep within her pupils, ancient divine runes flickered past.

*Whoosh —*

The Zhanmie Sword in the distance suddenly vibrated.

In the next instant, a faint divine power overflowed from the blade.

The Zhanmie Sword tore through space and appeared directly between the two of them, blocking the fatal strike for Solaris.

Simultaneously, divine power erupted, surging back toward Lu Mo!

“What?!”

“The Divine Artifact actually at a time like this —”

The sudden arrival of the Divine Artifact was completely beyond everyone’s expectations.

Even the Sacred Dragon Knight escorting the group was startled.

His expression changed drastically.

Logically speaking, a Divine Artifact would only take the initiative to protect its master when the Hero’s emotions fluctuated wildly or if their life was in danger.

But now… it was just a duel between peers.

Furthermore —

Solaris’s opponent was only a girl of the Knight class.

‘Was she driven into a corner?’

‘This level of divine power, while not extremely strong, is enough to heavily injure that knight girl!’

The Sacred Dragon Knight immediately prepared to intervene.

He didn’t want a death on his hands before they even reached the Holy Demon Wall.

However, the moment he was about to move —

His pupils shrank.

With Lu Mo at the center, an extremely terrifying and chaotic power exploded!

Attributes of wind, Battle Qi, and space were woven and fused together at this moment!

The divine power collided violently with that force, and the surrounding space began to crack and crumble.

The crowd could no longer see clearly what was happening inside.

And within that chaos —

A power of sublimation was born.

The three-attribute Fusion Sublimation Power charged directly at the divine power!

The power of God and man collided head-on at this moment!

— Boom!!!

A massive roar echoed across the wilderness.

Everyone felt their heads ringing, and even their souls seemed to tremble.

After a moment, the two forces gradually dissipated.

Space stabilized.

The onlookers could finally see the scene in the field again —

Solaris stood to one side, holding the Zhanmie Sword.

Lu Mo stood directly opposite her.

She hadn’t fallen, nor was she injured.

However, the training sword in her hand had shattered into several pieces.

Clearly, it couldn’t withstand the force from just now and had collapsed.

The entire wilderness was dead silent.

It was as if one could hear a pin drop.

The crowd stared at the two girls, falling into a daze.

“I apologize, Miss Lu Mo.”

This time, Solaris was the first to speak.

What was even more surprising was that she actually apologized.

“Perhaps my emotions were a bit too intense during the duel, and I accidentally triggered the Divine Artifact.”

“I have only recently obtained the Zhanmie Sword and haven’t fully mastered its power yet, which is why I almost hurt you. I hope you can forgive me.”

Lu Mo didn’t respond.

She only gave Solaris a cold look, turned around, and walked away.

Soon, Solaris also left the spot.

Only after their figures disappeared did the crowd dare to start whispering.

“Wasn’t it supposed to be just a test of swordsmanship? What were those two forces just now…”

“It was too terrifying… any one of those could have killed me instantly…”

“So who won?”

“I couldn’t see at all. The Divine Artifact appeared too fast.”

“Was it Lu Mo? Otherwise, why would Lady Solaris trigger the Divine Artifact?”

“Impossible! No matter how strong Lu Mo is, she can’t surpass Lady Solaris!”

“And Lady Solaris said it herself, she just didn’t control the artifact well.”

“So… it’s a draw?”

The crowd argued endlessly, but they couldn’t reach a conclusion.

The Sacred Dragon Knight looked in the direction the two had left and whispered, “Truly two terrifying individuals.”

He suddenly remembered the rumors he had heard from the higher-ups about Lu Mo before leaving the Holy Capital.

“Could that power from just now be…”

He didn’t finish his sentence.

***

“Lady Solaris.”

Several companions came forward to meet her.

“I’m fine,” she said, shaking her head.

After returning to her seat, she looked down at the Zhanmie Sword in her hand.

She heard the discussions of the crowd.

Most people believed she had the upper hand.

But only she knew the truth — she had lost.

After only a few dozen exchanges, she had been suppressed.

And the Divine Artifact…

She had actually triggered it herself.

Only by doing so could she cover up the fact that she was about to be defeated in swordsmanship.

Her expression remained calm on the surface.

Yet in her heart, intense humiliation and frustration surged.

‘Why? Why does Lu Mo possess such terrifying swordsmanship? How… on what basis?’

‘And how did she block the backlash of divine power at the end?’

‘She’s just a mortal. Why?’

***

“Miss Lu Mo!”

When Lu Mo returned to the camp, Cecilia immediately pounced on her.

“Are you hurt? Where does it hurt? Let me see!”

She began to carefully inspect Lu Mo’s body, not letting even a single strand of hair go.

Lu Mo sighed.

‘Whatever, let her check. She won’t listen to anything I say right now anyway.’

In terms of pure swordsmanship, she was absolutely certain she could beat Solaris.

After all, she had once faced the Undying Sword head-on in a near-death state.

In comparison, Solaris’s swordsmanship seemed immature to her.

However, the sword techniques the other girl displayed earlier had given her some inspiration.

‘Divine power…’

Besides that, she had also confirmed one thing.

At this stage, the level of the Zhanmie Sword’s divine power was roughly equivalent to her three-attribute Fusion Sublimation Power.

Contending with a Divine Artifact with mortal strength — if that person were still here and saw this, he would probably be very happy.

But…

“It’s still missing something,” she whispered.

Right now, she might still be able to suppress Solaris.

But what about the future?

When the Divine Artifact fully awakened, and when Solaris developed her God-blood and holy power to their limits — would she still be able to win?

‘As expected… I still have to try.’

‘The four-attribute Fusion Sublimation Power…’

Although her destiny attribute talent was only medium, and theoretically one needed a high-level talent to complete the fusion…

She was deep in thought.

Suddenly, her body stiffened, and her small face turned slightly red.

“Cecilia, where are you touching —”

“Not there! Stop it —!”