Chapter 109: The Strength to Stand Beside Him

Victor sensed her presence before the blade reached him.

He spun around.

The shaft of his spear rose just in time.

Clang!

Skyla’s sword struck the weapon.

The force pushed against Victor’s arms.

He held his ground.

"Nice try, Skyla."

Skyla’s lips curved into a small smile.

"You’re fast, Young Master."

The three of them separated.

For only a heartbeat.

Then they attacked again.

The sparring continued.

Lane relied on speed.

She darted around Victor from different angles, using the wind surrounding her body to change direction at the last moment.

Skyla remained more composed.

She waited for openings.

Her attacks were precise and controlled.

Whenever Victor’s attention shifted toward Lane, Skyla would strike.

Whenever Skyla tried to restrict his movement, Lane would exploit the opening.

They were beginning to fight like a proper team.

Victor noticed it.

His eyes became increasingly focused.

His comprehension ability allowed him to adapt at an astonishing pace.

At first, their movements had been unfamiliar.

After several exchanges, they weren’t.

He began recognizing their habits.

Lane always shifted her weight slightly before changing direction.

Skyla tended to attack immediately after Victor blocked Lane’s strikes.

Those small habits were enough.

Victor remembered them.

Then he adjusted.

Lane was aggressive.

Fast.

Unpredictable.

Her Hurricane Spiritual Root made her movements even more difficult to follow.

Skyla was different.

She was calm.

Precise.

Her light attribute could disrupt an opponent’s vision while her wood attribute gave her movements a strange fluidity.

Together, their styles complemented each other surprisingly well.

But Victor had changed as well.

His cultivation had already reached the Second Layer of the Spiritual Adept Realm after absorbing the Mid-Grade Spiritual Liquid.

His physical body had also been tempered repeatedly.

Pills had strengthened him.

Dual cultivation had further improved his foundation.

And his comprehension ability allowed him to learn from every exchange.

The longer they fought, the more obvious the difference became.

Victor was adapting faster than they could change their tactics.

Still, he didn’t end the spar immediately.

He continued exchanging blows with them.

He deliberately gave them opportunities.

He wanted to see how far they could push themselves.

Time passed.

Ten minutes.

Twenty.

Half an hour.

Then an hour.

By the time they finally slowed down, all three were breathing heavily.

Sweat covered their faces.

Their clothes were damp from the long battle.

Lane wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.

Her black robe was soaked through in several places, clinging to her figure after the intense sparring.

Her usually energetic expression had softened into one of exhaustion.

Yet the grin on her face hadn’t disappeared.

Skyla wasn’t much better.

Her green robe was damp from sweat, and strands of her hair had come loose around her face.

She took several deep breaths before finally lowering her sword.

Despite their exhaustion, neither girl looked unhappy.

If anything, both seemed satisfied.

They had pushed themselves.

And they had felt the difference in Victor’s strength first hand.

Lane looked at him.

There was genuine admiration in her black eyes now.

"Young Master, you’re getting stronger."

Victor looked at her for a moment.

Then he smiled.

"You too." Victor replied.

He lowered his spear and walked toward them.

Lane’s smile immediately grew wider.

Her black eyes sparkled with happiness.

"I’ve been practicing hard, Young Master," she said. "I wanted to impress you."

There was a hint of pride in her voice.

Skyla nodded beside her.

She lifted one hand and wiped the sweat from her brow.

"We both have," she said. "We wanted to be worthy of standing beside you."

Victor looked at the two girls.

For a moment, he didn’t say anything.

Something warm spread through his chest.

They had clearly put everything they had into their training.

They weren’t saying those words just to flatter him.

They genuinely wanted to become stronger.

"You two are more than worthy," Victor said with a small smile. "You’re amazing."

Both girls froze for a moment.

Then their cheeks slowly turned pink.

Lane lowered her eyes, suddenly looking a little embarrassed.

Skyla turned her face away as well.

Neither of them seemed prepared for such a straightforward compliment.

After a brief silence, Lane suddenly raised her head.

"Young Master."

Her playful expression disappeared.

She looked serious now.

"This is our final move."

Victor’s expression became slightly more focused.

Lane tightened her grip around her sword.

Spiritual mana began gathering around her body.

She poured every bit of remaining strength into her weapon.

The sword trembled in her hands.

Beside her, Skyla did the same.

Her green eyes narrowed as she concentrated.

Neither girl had much strength left.

But neither intended to hold back.

The two girls exchanged a brief glance.

Then they moved at the same time.

Their swords swept through the air.

Boom!

The surrounding spiritual energy suddenly erupted.

Two enormous blades appeared high in the sky.

They were formed entirely from condensed spiritual mana.

The massive blades descended toward Victor with terrifying momentum.

The pressure alone made the ground tremble.

Their power was strong enough to destroy a small mountain.

Victor stood his ground.

He didn’t retreat.

He didn’t try to avoid the attacks.

Instead, he tightened his grip around his spear.

The metal weapon released a faint black glow.

Victor took one step forward.

Then he swung.

A black arc appeared across the sky.

It was different from the spiritual energy he normally used.

This was chaos mana.

A power Victor had never used before.

The black arc stretched across the air like a tear in reality.

The two enormous blades collided with it.

For an instant, the attacks seemed to hold against each other.

Then something strange happened.

The edges of the blades began disappearing.

Bit by bit, their energy was swallowed by the black arc.

The enormous attacks rapidly weakened.

Their brilliant spiritual energy vanished into the darkness as though it were being devoured.

Within moments, both blades completely disappeared.

The battlefield fell silent.

Lane stared at Victor.

She was breathing heavily.

Her chest rose and fell with every breath.

"Haaa..."