CHAPTER 686: HER INTENT

Aldrian saw the sword maiden, already wearing her veil, keep coming closer to his pavilion, which made him wonder about her intention. He decided to hide himself to see what this woman was going to do.

The sword maiden, with her discreet movements, entered his pavilion grounds and hid behind the lush darkness and trees. As she kept nearing Aldrian’s pavilion, her movements slowed before she stood under the cover of darkness, where she saw the building where Aldrian was supposed to stay.

She looked at her surroundings as if she wanted to make sure there was no one watching her or following her, before focusing her senses on the building.

’Where is he? I can’t detect his presence here,’ she thought.

After a moment of thought, she slowly moved toward the building, but before she could get closer, she suddenly unsheathed her sword and swung it backward. However, she then felt her sword hit something hard, which made it stop before it could meet its target, the neck of someone who was standing right behind her.

Her eyes were slightly stunned, and she wanted to kick backward, but the figure had already disappeared and reappeared in front of her. She wanted to attack with her sword, but her wrist was already caught by the figure. She intended to follow up with another attack, but then she stopped as she finally saw the figure.

The masked figure of Aldrian, with his blue eyes, could be seen looking at her with a calm gaze.

"What is the esteemed sword maiden doing in the night while moving discreetly like a thief in my pavilion?" Aldrian asked curiously as he released her wrist.

The sword maiden sheathed her sword and rubbed her wrist as she looked at Aldrian intently. His eyes were truly captivating, with a blue color like the sea’s surface, slightly shining under the darkness of the night. However, she still felt an unsettled feeling, as if those eyes could see her most secret.

As if she were truly naked in front of those eyes.

Still, that did not stop her from coming here, because she wanted to learn more about this figure, or rather, about his strength.

"Fight me in a sword duel," she suddenly said, which made Aldrian slightly stunned.

A duel?

Aldrian truly wondered what she saw in him for her to ask something like this. He felt curious about this strange woman who seemed to have an ice-like personality.

"I’m sorry, Miss Meilan. Well, could I call you that? Anyway, did you enter this place with the sole intent of fighting me?" Aldrian asked.

Meilan nodded her head and once again repeated her words. "Fight me in a sword duel."

Aldrian smiled under his mask. "Why would I do that? Is there a reason for me to fight you? We have never met before today, and suddenly you ask me to fight. I just don’t understand your thinking, or what you saw in me."

"You have strong sword intent and sword will, and I would like to fight you. Even your sword intent and sword will are much stronger than my master’s."

"You can sense the power of sword intent and sword will just from seeing a person?" Aldrian asked in surprise. Meilan responded with a nod. This was truly an eye-opener for him, as even he could not do that. Logically, a person could measure how powerful sword intent or sword will was only when their opponent unleashed them.

But this woman could do it just by looking at someone?

Aldrian was amazed by this ability, as it was quite useful for measuring the real power of an enemy if they were a sword cultivator. With this, she could know how much stronger her opponent was and plan her decisions or her fight accordingly. A sword cultivator could not hide from her sense.

Aldrian looked at the woman known by the nickname Sword Maiden. She seemed like a typical sword cultivator who pursued the way of the sword and challenged strong opponents to keep learning and sharpening her blade. She did not hesitate or shy away from asking even a stranger to fight, as long as she could experience strong swordsmanship.

"I see," Aldrian said with a nod. "But still, why would I need to agree to duel you? You just came and asked me, a stranger you only met today to duel, and I gain nothing from it. Don’t you find that impolite?"

Meilan seemed to agree with Aldrian, as she thought for a moment before taking something out from her storage ring. She revealed a golden badge with her sect’s symbol on it and extended it toward him with the intent to give it to him.

"I will lend you a golden token—my token which will be useful if you visit my sect, the Celestial Lotus Sect, or meet anyone affiliated with it. If you show this token to them, you will receive preferential treatment, just as they would treat me," she said, which made Aldrian raise his eyebrows.

He felt amused by this woman. "Are you truly willing to give something as valuable as this token to a person you have not known for long? What if I am a bad person and abuse this token’s authority? You would be in big trouble, Miss."

Meilan did not change her stance and kept stretching her hand toward him.

"I don’t think you will do that. If the time comes for you to use this token, I believe you will use it wisely," she said with certainty, which made Aldrian find this woman truly reckless. Yet he did not dislike it, as she must have her own way of assessing people. There was no way she was this naïve and innocent, especially after what he had heard about her from Sect Master Han.

The sword maiden who had fought many battles against devils and countless bad people could not possibly be naïve or innocent.

Thinking that he gain something from it, Aldrian took the token with a smile under his mask.

"Alright," he said as he stored the token, his other hand stretching to the side. He closed his eyes for almost a minute, making Meilan look at him in wonder, unsure what he was doing, until she saw his hand move in a slashing motion.

Suddenly, a spatial crack appeared, leaving her stunned.

"If we want to duel, let’s do it in a place where we can battle without leaving any traces. I have already created a secret realm that is large enough for us to duel freely, so let’s go," Aldrian said before stepping into the spatial crack.

However, Meilan just stood there, shocked by what she had heard. He created a secret realm just for them to fight? He could do that so quickly? The way he spoke made it sound as if creating a secret realm was no big deal, as though it were a one-use thing he could simply discard afterward.

She looked at the spatial crack for a moment before stepping into it. The moment she entered, she felt a slight spatial distortion which was normal before appearing in a different environment. She found herself standing on top of a solid expanse of ground, but above her there was only a blank white scenery, as if Aldrian had not bothered to create a sky for the secret realm.

The realm also had its own heaven and earth energy density, which truly surprised her. She then looked toward Aldrian, who was already standing not far away, as if waiting for her. She was truly amazed that he could create all of this in just a minute, but she put aside her amazement as she approached him and stopped five hundred meters away.

She saw him take out a low divine sword, which she assumed to be his main weapon. Unfortunately for her, the sword Aldrian took out was only one among the many in his treasure vault.

"Now, Miss Sword Maiden, you may duel to the best of your ability, as I have made sure this secret realm can withstand your strength. If you want to learn a thing or two, it is much better if you show me your best," Aldrian said.

Hearing his words, she could not help but feel challenged, and her competitive heart stirred. She knew this masked man was strong, far stronger than her, but she intended to try and fight him.

Her calm eyes sharpened with focus, and her aura, at the peak of the pseudo-immortal foundation stage, began to leak slowly. She unsheathed her sword, a jian sword and pointed it toward him before unleashing her sword intent.

The space around her was affected as it became slightly distorted, and even the ground trembled faintly.

Her pressure grew stronger and stronger, eventually matching that of the low pseudo-immortal establishment stage.

Without another word, her figure suddenly disappeared as she shot toward Aldrian with incredible speed. In that split second, Aldrian saw her form seem to vanish even from his sight before suddenly reappearing in front of him, thrusting her sword.

Ting!

He blocked the strike that had almost pierced his chest and smiled behind his mask.

From the information he read through his system, she could use some elements and incorporate them into her sword techniques. He understood what had just happened, and it truly amazed him.

One of her elements was ice, and what she had done was basically freeze time for a split second. That was why, even from his perspective, it felt as if she had simply vanished and appeared again.

’This will be an interesting duel,’ he thought.