Chapter 82: The Sword Prodigy of the Salvatore Family (Part 3)
The Sword Prodigy of the Salvatore Family (Part 3)
Boom!!
The crimson claw shattered instantly.
The elder’s pupils contracted violently.
"Impossible!"
Before he could recover...
Damien appeared directly before him.
"So fast!"
The elder hurriedly crossed both arms before his chest.
Clang!!
The sword struck.
Although the blade failed to cut through his defense...
The terrifying Sword Intent exploded.
The elder staggered backward several steps.
Each retreating step cracked the stone floor beneath his feet.
His arms trembled violently.
Tiny cuts appeared across his sleeves.
Fresh blood slowly trickled down his fingertips.
Silence.
Complete silence.
Everyone stared blankly.
A Great Perfection Celestial Gate Realm expert...
Had actually been pushed back.
By a thirteen-year-old.
Austin slowly lowered the hand he had instinctively raised to help.
He laughed bitterly inside.
"I was actually worried about him..."
"It seems..."
"I’m the one being protected."
Damien didn’t continue attacking.
Instead...
He quietly adjusted his grip on the sword.
Victor had once told him...
Every battle was an opportunity.
Every opponent possessed something worth learning.
He didn’t intend to end this fight too quickly.
The elder finally stabilized himself.
His face had turned completely ugly.
His heart pounded violently.
"This child..."
"He isn’t fighting like a child."
"He’s fighting..."
"...like an old monster."
His movements.
His timing.
His calmness.
Everything felt impossibly mature.
It wasn’t something a thirteen-year-old should possess.
For the first time...
Fear appeared inside his heart.
Meanwhile...
Akeno watched Damien carefully.
Her purple eyes narrowed slightly.
She suddenly understood something.
"This isn’t merely talent..."
"This child..."
"...has lived another life."
Her soul had once stood at the Grand Saint Realm.
Although only a remnant remained...
Her eyesight still surpassed nearly everyone alive.
The maturity hidden within Damien’s sword...
Could never belong to someone experiencing life for the first time.
No wonder Victor had personally entrusted him with such an important mission.
He wasn’t merely protecting Austin.
Victor was polishing a future Sword Emperor through real battle.
A faint smile appeared on Akeno’s lips.
"As expected..."
"Victor never makes meaningless decisions."
Her gaze slowly shifted toward the sky outside.
Even separated by thousands of kilometers...
Her heart still unconsciously thought of the handsome man wearing black robes embroidered with golden dragons.
A trace of longing flickered deep within her beautiful eyes.
Then—
The elder suddenly roared.
"I refuse to believe this!!"
His cultivation exploded completely.
The terrifying aura of the Great Perfection Celestial Gate Realm swept across the hall once again.
This time...
He no longer intended to test Damien.
He intended to kill him.
Damien slowly lifted his sword once more.
His smile disappeared.
His eyes became calm.
Cold.
Focused.
Battle...
Had only just begun.
-----------------
The terrifying aura of the Great Perfection Celestial Gate Realm swept across the entire hall like a raging storm.
The marble floor cracked.
Wooden pillars groaned.
Decorations hanging from the ceiling shattered one after another, unable to withstand the immense pressure.
Every member of the Blackstone City Salvatore Family instinctively retreated.
Their expressions were filled with anxiety.
Although Damien had forced the elder backward earlier...
The gap between their cultivation realms remained enormous.
No one knew whether the young prodigy could truly overcome such a difference.
Only Damien himself remained perfectly calm.
His black eyes never left the elder.
His breathing remained slow.
Steady.
Every strand of Sword Intent surrounding him quietly circulated around his body.
His sword pointed diagonally toward the ground.
He looked less like a child preparing for battle...
And more like a peerless swordsman waiting for the perfect opportunity.
The black-robed elder’s expression became increasingly sinister.
"You forced me to reveal my full strength..."
"Little beast..."
"I’ll make you regret being born!"
Boom!!
Crimson True Spiritual Power erupted from his body.
A sea of blood-colored energy surged through the hall.
The air itself seemed to emit mournful cries.
The overwhelming pressure caused countless cracks to spread across the ground.
Without another word...
The elder attacked.
His figure vanished.
A crimson blur flashed toward Damien with astonishing speed.
The distance between them disappeared almost instantly.
His palm descended violently.
The surrounding blood-colored energy condensed into countless claw-like shadows that sealed every direction of escape.
There was nowhere to dodge.
The attack was aimed directly at Damien’s heart.
Austin’s expression changed drastically.
His fists tightened instinctively.
Although he knew Damien was incredibly powerful...
His heart still couldn’t help but tense.
Nellie Whitecliff watched everything with folded arms.
A cold smile slowly appeared on her lips.
"So what if he’s a genius?"
"A dead genius..."
"...is still just a corpse."
At that very moment—
Damien finally moved.
His feet slid lightly across the shattered floor.
Not backward.
Forward.
Instead of retreating from the overwhelming attack...
He advanced directly into it.
His movements were unbelievably smooth.
It was as though every step had already been calculated long before the battle began.
The elder’s eyes widened.
"Has he gone mad?!"
The answer came immediately.
Shing!!
The clear cry of a sword echoed throughout the hall.
Damien’s longsword traced a graceful silver arc through the air.
His Sword Intent erupted completely.
A brilliant pillar of white light soared upward.
It carried an indescribable majesty.
Heavenly Sword Intent.
Heaven’s Way is impartial.
It judges all beneath the heavens equally.
The countless blood-red claw shadows instantly began collapsing.
One after another.
Like fragile glass struck by an invisible force.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions echoed continuously.
The violent shockwaves swept through the hall.
Broken stones flew everywhere.
Dust filled the air.
Before the elder could react—
Damien appeared directly before him.
His sword flashed again.
One strike.
Another.
Then another.
Each strike became faster than the last.
His movements flowed together without the slightest hesitation.
Like flowing water.
Like drifting clouds.
The elder hurriedly defended himself.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Sword and True Spiritual Power collided repeatedly.
Every impact sent powerful shockwaves racing outward.
Although Damien’s cultivation was lower...
His Sword Intent completely compensated for the difference.
Each exchange left a new cut upon the elder’s robes.
Fresh blood slowly stained the black fabric.
The elder’s expression grew uglier with every passing second.
"This monster..."