The mont Jacob’s Astra Soul rged with his weapon, the alleyway transford into a furnace. A scorching wave of heat erupted from the saber, so intense that the very space around the blade seed to twist and warp. The air shimred, and the stone walls glowed a dull, angry red.
If his physical strength was at the peak of Rank 3 before, the activation of his D-rank Astra Soul talent elevated his power to a whole new level. The blazing energy infused his muscles and amplified his every move. Now, his destructive capability was more than enough to rival a genuine early-stage Rank 4 Cell Tempering Realm. This was the terrifying advantage a powerful Astra Soul provided.
With a guttural roar, Jacob held the blazing saber in one hand and slashed horizontally.
"Whoosh!"
The air itself seed to part as the blade carved a two-ter-long arc of pure fire, a searing crescent that shot across the alley. It tore through the air with a hungry hiss, its destination Levi’s midsection, its intent to slice him cleanly in half.
Levi snorted, his expression one of cold disdain. As the fiery arc closed in, he didn’t dodge or retreat. He simply swung his sheathed cleaver, slapping the flat of the wide blade against the incoming attack.
"Fwump!"
The fire arc, which had looked so nacing, dispersed on contact, shattering into a spray of harmless embers that scattered across the surrounding area.
’Long-range energy attacks at this level are just for show,’ Levi thought with contempt. ’The longer they travel, the more power they lose. They are nothing but parlor tricks used to impress the ignorant and intimidate the weak.’
As if his thoughts were broadcast aloud, Jacob’s form flickered. The position where he had been standing was engulfed by a pillar of fla that erupted from the ground, a spectacular but empty diversion. He had vanished.
Levi’s expression changed slightly, a flicker of genuine surprise in his eyes. ’A movent technique?’
For Jacob to have not only stabilized his new power but also learned a combat technique compatible with his fire-based Astra Soul in a single day was impressive. The resources of a prominent family, combined with a asure of actual talent, were truly not to be underestimated.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a wave of scorching heat materialized directly behind him. Jacob had reappeared, his flaming saber already descending in a vicious overhead slash ant to split Levi’s skull.
"Whoosh!"
The air distorted under the imnse pressure and heat of the descending blade.
"Clang!"
Ti seed to slow as Levi, without even turning his head, swung his cleaver behind him in a perfect arc.
Steel t steel and a shockwave, visibly riding on waves of fire and compressed air, exploded outwards from the point of impact.
The resulting heat wave was imnse, a searing blast that enveloped both of them.
Jacob, was covered with his own fla talent and was completely resistant.
Levi, however, was not. But as the flas licked around him, his face was one of indifference.
With a physique stat of 18, his durability was monstrous. The heat did nothing but irritate him.
Noticing Levi’s utter indifference to his heat, Jacob’s eyes turned cold. This trash was far more durable than he had any right to be.
He imdiately withdrew and attacked again. He activated the third-level mastery of his `Basic Saber Technique`, his speed becoming a terrifying blur as he slashed at down at Levi.
Levi smiled mockingly. ’Daring to show off your puny skills in front of ?’
"Clang!"
Another perfect parry. Levi’s cleaver seed to be everywhere at once, as he easily blocked Jacob’s attacks one after the other.
Jacob’s face was twisted in frustration and rage.
His flaming sword surged with even more flas as he fueled his talent with Astra energy, slashing like a maniac, trying to overwhelm Levi with powrr and speed.
Sparks flew through the alley like fireworks as the two blades t again and again.
Combining his fire-step movent technique with his saber arts, Jacob’s attacks were chaotic and ruthless.
However, Levi t them all.
With his Level 7 mastery, Jacob’s every move was like a child’s drawing, full of obvious flaws and openings. He parried when necessary, dodged when it was more efficient, never once being forced half a step back.
Angered to the point of madness, Jacob suddenly leapt backwards, putting distance between them.
His chest was heaving, his eyes was filled with disbelief and rage.
"I was saving this," he panted, his voice a low growl. "I was planning on using this move to kill a Rank 4 Primitive Beast and secure first place. But I’ll use it on you." He straightened up, a fanatical gleam in his eyes. "For a puny ant like you to push this far, you should feel proud! Now, witness the power of a god!"
’Eh? Where have I heard that line before?’ Levi thought, almost rolling his eyes.
"Inferno Slash!"
But before his amusent could settle, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. His instincts now amplified by his new body, scread at him. Levi’s face instantly turned serious.
In that split second, all the heat in the alley converged on Jacob’s saber. The roaring flas compressed, collapsing into a single, terrifying point of crimson light at the blade’s tip. He transford into a crimson blur, his speed so imnse that he seed to have teleported across the ten-ter gap. His blade, no longer burning but glowing with the intensity of a dying star, drew a straight, silent line through the air.
It was his ultimate technique, a single-thrust skill that sacrificed all defense for absolute speed and piercing power.
In the blink of an eye, the blade appeared just two inches from Levi’s neck. The threat of death, cold and absolute, lood over him like a guillotine. There was no ti to think, no ti to plan.
Without a shred of hesitation, he burst out with his full, unsuppressed strength.
"BOOM!"
A terrifying aura, far denser and more powerful than anything Jacob had displayed, exploded from Levi’s body. The raw, untad power of a Rank 4 Cell Tempering Realm, at 70% of his foundation, erupted outwards, cracking the stone ground beneath his feet. But that wasn’t enough.
In the sa instant, he activated the full power of his `Basic Cleaver Technique`. A 50% boost in raw power flooded his limbs. His muscles scread as he poured every ounce of his energy and skill into a single, desperate, rising block.
He brought his cleaver up barely just in ti.
"CLANG!!!"
The sound was not of tal hitting tal. It was the sound of a mountain breaking.
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