The Female Swordsman's Last Strike

"Um?"

Christina noticed this as well.

The chill penetrates silently, yet it is the most deadly.

As Christina parried Lin Qingyan's ice sword, she abruptly retreated from the battlefield, her golden, blazing blood gushing forth, yet she still couldn't erase the sluggishness emanating from her fingertips. It wasn't muscle fatigue, nor a decrease in speed, but rather, the speed of her thought... had slowed!

"Did you notice?" Lin Qingyan's icy wings fluttered, leaving seven afterimages in the air, each wielding a sword simultaneously. "My extreme cold domain will freeze your speed, your senses, your soul's vitality, until—"

Swish!

Seven afterimages struck down simultaneously from seven directions.

Christina did not back down.

She closed her eyes, and the holy sword in her hand, [Glory Beyond], shone with a gentle golden light. It was not an explosive light, but a light as serene as the dawn—the true power of an SS-class holy sword lies not in destruction, but in "severing all illusions."

"—The Holy Sword is unleashed."

A golden beam of light shot into the sky, but instead of attacking Lin Qingyan, it pierced vertically into the earth.

With Christina as the center, the chill within a radius of 300 meters was instantly dispelled, and the ice crystals condensed in the air melted in the golden light, like snow meeting the morning sun.

This is the primary power of an SS-class holy sword:

【Liberation of Truth】—Dispel all phenomena that are detrimental to oneself.

Six of the seven afterimages vanished in the golden light, leaving only the original body wielding a sword and thrusting forward.

"Beautiful." Lin Qingyan praised sincerely, the tip of her sword already three inches from Christina's throat.

The sword sheath [Utopia] responds automatically.

The transparent barrier bloomed like flower petals, firmly blocking the ice sword. This was a protection that could even withstand "magic".

The power of the scabbard is not "defense," but "rejection of all interference"!

"Then let's go for the hard way."

Lin Qingyan placed her left hand on the sword, and icy blue light patterns spread from her palm to the entire ice sword. Instantly, a layer of pale blue ice covered the blade—the [Absolute Zero - Wedge], which could even freeze space itself.

"You can't stop this move."

Lin Qingyan's voice was calm, unlike that of someone in battle: "The chill has already seeped into your consciousness. Every movement you make will be one percent slower than the last."

Christina did not deny it.

She could feel it—a chill that spread from the depths of her bones, like countless ice needles coursing through her veins. The golden light of the holy sword could dispel the external ice, but it could not dispel the cold that had seeped into her soul.

"Then let's finish this quickly. Defeat you before I'm completely frozen!"

Christina held the holy sword level, its tip pointing at Lin Qingyan. Golden magic surged from her entire body, forming faint phantom wings behind her.

Sword Sage, Ultimate Skill—

[Light Speed ​​Sword Domain].

Christina transformed into a golden sword light, merging into a massive sword domain covering a thousand meters.

Countless sword lights swept towards Lin Qingyan, piercing through and breaking through layers of extremely cold ice walls.

Lin Qingyan's once black hair gradually turned ice-blue and crystalline, and she said in a calm tone:

"Use the scabbard to block everything, crush everything with extreme speed, and end everything with the holy sword. It's very simple, and very effective."

"But now..."

"It's invalid."

With the support of martial arts will solidified into substance, a cold moon appeared behind Lin Qingyan.

click-

The ground beneath her feet cracked outwards from her, the fissures extending for hundreds of meters, each crack emanating a chilling blue light. This wasn't an ice-based ability that Lin Qingyan intentionally released—it was because her "will" was too strong, so strong that merely "existing" there caused the surrounding world to begin to "freeze."

With willpower, they "declare" that this place should be an ice zone.

The world responded to her declaration, and everything froze.

What—

Christina's pupils contracted slightly as she transformed into a beam of sword light.

She felt it. After dispelling the chill, the "sluggishness" not only didn't disappear, but became even stronger. It was as if something had pierced through the holy sword's defenses and directly affected the depths of her soul.

Lin Qingyan's voice suddenly became ethereal, as if she were narrating an ancient truth: "The path you walk is that of the 'Sage of the Sword'—wielding the sword with reason and defeating enemies with skill. But the path I walk is that of the 'Emperor'—overwhelming people with will and destroying enemies with power. Your holy sword can sever 'phenomena,' but it cannot sever 'will.'"

She took a step.

boom--

The entire space was trembling.

It wasn't a vibration of qi and blood, nor a physical impact; it was as if an invisible giant hand pressed down from the sky, crushing the souls of all living beings.

The South African athlete, watching from the edge of the battlefield, suddenly bent over, veins bulging on his forehead: "What...is this...?!"

The female mage beside her clung tightly to her staff, her face deathly pale: "Martial will... it's actually materialized! This is the pressure at the soul level!"

On the viewing platform, someone stood up in astonishment, "A manifestation of martial will?!"

"Besides her awakened talent, she has also reached such a level in martial arts willpower!"

"this……"

click-

Fine cracks appeared on the scabbard's barrier.

Christina's pupils contracted slightly. This was the first time she had seen the barrier broken open head-on since she obtained the scabbard. But instead of retreating, she gripped the holy sword tightly and unleashed a reverse kasaya slash from below.

boom!

A huge rift was torn open in the cold moon, but it healed in an instant. The ice wings shattered and turned into twelve ice crystals that surrounded her.

This is her strongest defensive form: [Ice Crystal Divine Realm].

An endless chill, mixed with Lin Qingyan's domineering and unparalleled martial will, crashed down on Christina.

A beam of light shot out from Christina's chest and enveloped her.

Instead of retreating, she advanced, unleashing thousands of attacks at the speed of light in an instant, surpassing her own speed.

It is absolutely impossible to dodge.

And just as the attack was about to hit.

Lin Qingyan's figure vanished mysteriously, without even a spatial fluctuation. Like a phantom or a ghost, she jumped out from a rift in time and appeared before Christina without warning.

Christina's pupils contracted as she keenly sensed an unusual fluctuation in the space.

"You should be proud of yourself for making me use this move," Lin Qingyan said calmly.

Ninth-tier martial skill – [So close yet so far]!

Lin Qingyan slashed down with her sword.

[Utopia] responded automatically, and a transparent barrier bloomed like flower petals, enveloping her entirely. This was a protection that could even withstand "super-tier magic"—but this time, the barrier trembled violently and finally shattered completely with a bang.

Bright red blood splattered.

Christina's chest was cut open, and the cold air froze rapidly.

The entire audience was shocked.

But she wasn't disappointed; instead, she smiled broadly.

"That's amazing."

"I haven't felt this good in a long time..."

"Let me do as I please in this final battle..."

The holy sword hummed.

The next moment, Christina disappeared.

No, it wasn't disappearance—she separated "speed" from "movement." The golden light of the holy sword no longer radiated outwards, but converged inwards, compressed entirely into the blade. She no longer pursued ultimate movement speed, but instead gambled everything on a single strike.

This is Christina's last trump card.

The light of the holy sword filled the sky.

It wasn't an aggressive light, but a light of "revelation." The instant Christina took that step, the Holy Sword showed her a vision—a vision of "what would happen if she dodged."

She saw herself dodge to the left, and then the holy sword slashed horizontally, severing her ice wings.

She saw herself dodge to the right, then the holy sword slashed upwards, shattering her [Ice Crystal Divine Realm].

She saw herself retreat, and then the holy sword was thrown, piercing her heart.

She saw herself lean forward, and then the holy sword thrust forward...

All of the future was covered by that one sword.

This is the third power of the SS-rank holy sword—【Revelation: Cut All】. It doesn't "sever fate," but rather "shows that all fates are contained within this sword."

In other words: this sword strike will surely hit its mark.

Lin Qingyan finally sensed a hint of danger.