Chapter 326

Words : 2538 Updated : Oct 15th, 2025

Chapter 326 The arena was dead silent. Not only the audience, but even the visiting heroes were left in utter disbelief by what had just happened. C-could it be rigged? Did they tweak the sword somehow so that it breaks easily...? No, that shouldn’t be it. They had seen for themselves that Se-Hoon and Aria had swung their respective swords normally, and afterwards, the one forged by Li Kenxie simply just broke under the force of the impact. And most importantly, given that the person who was most affected—Li Kenxie himself—remained silent, there was no reason for them to suspect foul play. However, that just made it all the more incomprehensible to the audience. Even if the sword was well made, could the Sacred Craftsman’s sword really be sliced apart that cleanly? It’s not like they did anything special, either... While Se-hoon’s swing wasn’t half-hearted, neither was it an all-out effort. Yet that mediocre force somehow snapped a blade forged by humanity’s greatest blacksmith easily. Unable to believe it, there was only one explanation that made sense to the heroes within the audience. “I know some of you guys must be thinking that the Sacred Craftsman made a mistake when forging this sword.” Several onlookers immediately flinch. Li Kenxie, though, remained silent and continued staring down at the stage. “And I understand where you’re coming from. Even the best can make mistakes. But...” Just as Se-Hoon trailed off, a new sword materialized next to Aria with its information message on display in midair. [Steel Sword] [Tier: Advanced] [Quality: Perfect] [As a longsword that has reached the limits of steel, this sword is a flawless piece of craft that fully maximizes the potential of its materials. *When infused with mana, its cutting force and durability are greatly enhanced] “But this should prove that’s not the case, right?” Reading the information about Li Kenxie’s steel sword, the skeptical heroes became visibly shocked. A sword crafted purely from steel, without enhancements or special materials, was almost Rare tier. In simpler terms, it was like a wooden toothpick that was as durable and sharp as an iron barb. “As you can see, the sword we’re using for the demonstration is the result of flawless craftsmanship, without even a single misstep. So, any perceived flaws isn’t because of the craftsmanship—” Whoosh! Se-Hoon abruptly swung his sword mid-explanation, and Aria, as if expecting it, swung the one that just appeared in return. Clang! The crisp ring of steel echoed across the stage once more. The onlookers were certain that Se-Hoon’s sword would be the one to break. Once again, though, it was Li Kenxie's steel sword. “But because the steel swords I forge are simply superior.” Completely nonchalant, Se-Hoon casually brushed off the shards of the broken blade, causing many in the arena to gulp nervously or break into cold sweats. Though Se-Hoon’s self-assured demeanor seemed arrogant, the scene in front of him was undeniable proof of his words. “It seems I’ve been speaking a bit too long. I’ll continue with the demonstration.” Se-Hoon assumed his stance once more, and Aria calmly gripped a newly summoned blade. They swung at each other once again. Clang! And again, the third sword broke with a single strike. Clang! Shatter! The fourth sword was a different story, withstanding one strike, but it snapped due to the follow-up blow. Clang! Clang! The fifth sword lost a third of its length on the first strike before being cleaved entirely in two by the second. As Li Kenxie’s steel swords continued to shatter, the atmosphere in the arena grew increasingly tense. Yet no one dared to express it openly. “...” Li Kenxie glared at the scene from the audience with wide eyes. Though his expression could be described as one of surprise, his naturally stern features made him look like a bomb on the verge of exploding to the other spectators. Stop already...! If this keeps up, he might lose control...! Thankfully, Ludwig’s presence somewhere nearby offered some reassurance, but the fact remained that he too was a Perfect One, and any conflict could quickly escalate into a worldwide disaster. What is he planning to get out of this? While the audience held their breath in tense silence, Li Kenxie was in deep thought as he watched the stage. By the second broken sword, Se-Hoon’s proof of his forging skills had already been achieved. Everything after was unnecessary. But judging by his demeanor, he seemed to have anticipated such an outcome all along. So why did he persist with the show of dominance? ...I see. That must be what he was aiming for all along. The Rule of Iron was technology revered as an industry standard for decades among blacksmiths. So, to dethrone such deeply ingrained technology, Se-Hoon needed irrefutable evidence—which the show of dominance provided. He wants to crush all doubts with overwhelming results.... I like the method. Still, being the target of such tactics left Li Kenxie feeling more than a little irritated. “Tsk.” “Eek!” “Ahh!” Hearing Li Kenxi’s annoyance, the nearby spectators were startled and instinctively recoiled. Seeing that, Kasar, who was still sitting beside him, leaned in and cautiously whispered, “Um... Sir, perhaps you should ease up on your expression a little?” “What?” “N-never mind.” Though Kasar was well aware Li Kenxie wasn’t one to cause a scene in public, he was just as aware that Li Kenxie wasn’t someone to provoke in a foul mood. Thus, Kasar instead gestured to calm the frightened spectators, but Li Fei’s gasp in awe every time a sword broke unwittingly worsened the situation, further aggravating Li Kenxie. Meanwhile, as the atmosphere in the arena steadily devolved into chaos, Se-Hoon quietly smirked. Everything’s going as planned. Internally, he felt a little guilty for scaring the audience, but such reactions were essential for his demonstration. Without such public exposure, accusations of rigging and fanatics loyal to Li Kenxie might have caused all sorts of trouble. I learned that the hard way. Now, however, with Li Kenxie himself present as a witness, no one would dare challenge Se-Hoon’s new technology once the demonstration concluded. The only problem... is the one that just popped up. Clang! Breaking the sixth sword, Se-Hoon glanced at Aria, who had been assisting him silently. When he had first asked for her help, she nonchalantly agreed, saying it wasn’t a big deal. Yet, as the swords broke, her demeanor began shifting in a strange way. “...” Her golden eyes were boring a hole into him, as if trying to confirm something. And, having received a similar gaze before the regression, Se-Hoon could quickly piece together what she wanted. She wants the new sword. After that duel with Sung-Ha in the finals, Aria must have acutely felt the limitations of her current weapon. Factoring in their growing bond since his visit to the Myers estate on top of that, it made sense she would start hoping for something better. She’s probably thinking I can make something even better. Under Aria’s unwavering gaze, Se-Hoon mulled it over. “Hey. There are four swords left... but continuing like this might be a bit dull, don’t you think?” he asked, his decision made. All eyes turned toward him. Not batting an eye, Se-Hoon held out his slightly chipped sword. “How about we finish the last four rounds using sword aura instead, Aria sunbae?” Aria’s eyes widened, not expecting his words at all. But she quickly calmed and smiled gently. “That sounds good.” Extending her sword in response, Aria made the tips of their blades cross and meet. Woong- But while she conjured her golden sword aura, Se-Hoon remained still, showing no reaction. What’s going on? Didn’t he say they’d use sword auras? While everyone looked on in confusion, Se-Hoon finally activated his Celestial Infinity Blade while observing Aria’s sword aura. Using it as I normally do wouldn’t work in this scenario. The Celestial Infinity Blade, Kwang-Soo’s advanced swordsmanship technique, replicated the opponent’s sword aura or weapon characteristics. However, while it could imitate an opponent’s style, it wasn’t suitable for an even playing field like the one he needed. So instead of replicating Aria’s aura, Se-Hoon just borrowed it. Swish- With a small amount of mana, he created a structural frame within his sword, and promptly, Aria’s sword aura naturally flowed into it, filling the empty structure. To the audience, it looked as if Aria was willingly transferring part of her sword aura to Se-Hoon. But that wasn’t the case at all. Why is my sword aura... moving on its own? Aria enveloped only her sword with her aura. Yet, a portion of it was inexplicably flowing into Se-Hoon’s blade. Wondering why her aura was being “stolen,” Aria suddenly heard Se-Hoon’s voice. “It’s because I deceived your sword aura,” Se-Hoon explained, using a spell to answer her question subtly. “...Deceived my sword aura?” Hearing Aria’s response via mana, Se-Hoon met her gaze and explained further. “Your sword aura functions like an extension of yourself. As long as the original source isn’t actively interfering, it can be tricked.” For those with high synchronization rates, controlling their weapon and sword aura was as natural as moving a limb, making them resistant to such interference. But Aria, with a long-time synchronization rate of zero percent, lacked the flexibility to adapt her sword aura in that way. Put simply, while most people’s sword aura was “wired,” Aria’s was “wireless.” “The sword aura of others constantly tries to reflect their synesthetic mindscape, making interfering with them difficult. But because yours has a time lag...” “...You can exploit that gap to interfere.” “Exactly.” Now understanding thanks to his explanation, Aria examined the swords before her in wonder. By now, both blades were radiating an identical golden sword aura. It was such a novel phenomenon to her. “Then why hasn’t anyone else tried this before?” Aria couldn’t understand why no one had ever exploited such a critical weakness of hers before. While stealing her sword aura, as Se-Hoon had done, was far too time consuming to use in combat, disrupting or destabilizing it should have been exploitable. “Because the time gap is too short. Most people wouldn’t even realize it exists.” Thanks to her innate sensitivity and exceptional reflexes, Aria’s fatal flaw was completely masked. In fact, Se-Hoon only knew about it because of what Aria had told him herself before the regression. It would have been nearly impossible for him to discover it on his own as well. “Hmm... okay. So, what do you plan to do with this?” Although she was startled to learn about a weakness she hadn’t known, if that was all, it didn’t matter much. Se-Hoon had to have a reason. Seeing the anticipation in Aria’s gaze, Se-Hoon calmly answered, “I’ll show you what your sword aura is truly capable of.” “...What?” Caught off guard by the unexpected answer, Aria just blinked blankly at him. But instead of explaining further, Se-Hoon, now brimming with her sword aura, stepped back, as if intending to demonstrate with actions instead of words. In return, Aria recovered and adjusted her stance, and without waiting for a signal, the two of them swung their swords. Clang! Their golden sword aura-infused swords collided, but neither broke. They then both began swinging at each other repeatedly, each clash scattering golden sparks as fragments of the sword aura chipped away. What does he mean by showing me what my sword aura is truly capable of? Unable to comprehend what Se-Hoon meant, for now, Aria tried to focus solely on swinging her sword. Clang! The seventh sword shattered after ten clashes. Clang! The eighth broke after more than twenty. With each successive exchange, the duels grew longer. Gripping a newly summoned sword, Aria took note of the state of Se-Hoon’s sword. It’s taken quite a lot of damage. Cracks spider-webbed across the blade, visible even to the naked eye. The damage had accumulated steadily, and once he started using sword aura with it, the sword’s deterioration rate had sped up even further. Yet even though the sword aura was proving disadvantageous, Se-Hoon maintained his composure and prepared for the next clash. Seeing that, Aria prepared as well, despite still not understanding. Clang! Se-Hoon’s sword struck hers hard, the blow sinking halfway into it. Clang! And after two more collisions, her sword shattered completely. What just happened? Aria narrowed her eyes. Why had her sword, which had withstood twenty blows previously, broken after just three strikes this time? Nothing about either of their auras or weapons seemed to have changed, leaving her baffled. Trying to figure it out, her eyes returned to Se-Hoon’s posture. “...!” Like before, Se-Hoon stood there naturally, holding his sword with ease. Nothing seemed different, that is, until Aria began noticing subtle changes. He’s growing familiar with my sword aura. From his grip to his movements, even his breathing—everything aligned perfectly with her sword aura. It was as if his entire body had synchronized with his sword and the sword aura imbued in it, achieving a unity she could scarcely imagine. And at that sight, she finally understood what he meant. So that’s what it looks like when the synchronization rate increases. There were two critical differences that separated their usage of Aria’s sword aura. First, the quality of their swords. Second, their synchronization rate with their weapons. He’s using my sword aura, yet the synchronization rate changes the effectiveness that much. While Aria couldn’t raise her synchronization even to ten percent unless using Glare, Se-Hoon, leveraging his Soul Honing, could reach one hundred percent with ease. By exploiting that disparity, he aimed to show Aria the future she unconsciously yearned for—the state she could achieve if her sword aura was fully tapped into. Woong! Basking in the golden light radiating brilliantly from Se-Hoon’s sword, Aria gripped the tenth and final sword, slowly taking her stance. “Are you sure you’re okay with raising my expectations this high?” Her voice was calm, but her eyes were brimming with excitement she couldn’t hide. Her enthusiasm was proving to be both burdensome and irritating, but Se-Hoon met her gaze head-on. “Go ahead. Give it your all.” The sacrifice of his master, the birth of the Destroyer of Light, and the death of Eun-Ha—Se-Hoon resolved himself to erase all of those tragedies by satisfying the reckless young lady before him. “...I see.” Hearing the firmness in his voice, Aria smiled softly. Then, as if perfectly synchronized, the two dashed toward each other. Shank! Se-Hoon cleaved the final sword in two with one clean strike. [The bond with ‘Aria Myers’ has grown to Lv. 3.] [Since the bond has grown to Lv. 3, the existing Relationship has deepened.] Although a notification message popped up before Se-Hoon’s eyes, he showed no reaction since he had guessed as much, and calmly brushed past Aria. And when he did so, Aria whispered to him alluringly, her words grazing his ears as she moved away. “I’ll be looking forward to it~”

Chapter 326

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