Chapter 624: Giants and Dragons

Ouroin's smile hinted at a subtle depth.

This made Lei En realize that the other party had clearly seen through Asina's identity.

Elder Suolim's crafted "Ring of Triumph" comes with the Nine‑Ring "Mind Shield" and the Five‑Ring "Disguise Art", which can fool the vast majority of people, even some Holy Soul wizards not adept at detection, but it may have little effect before Ouroin Master.

Before he could introduce himself, Asina's face was full of reverence as she introduced herself: "Greetings, Ouroin Master, I am Asina."

She had studied the Imperial language since childhood, though she rarely used it.

Three years after meeting Lei En she deliberately practiced the Imperial tongue and became very fluent, but having only interacted with Lei En, an Imperial, her accent still differed, full of exotic flavor; the Oren people could tell she was a foreigner as soon as they heard her.

When Asina spoke, everyone guessed she was not an Imperial.

Viscount Stoinde's eyes brightened; he sensed Asina's formidable strength, and such a beautiful, uniquely charismatic beauty was something he had seen only a few times in his life.

He smiled and asked, "Lady Asina, where are you from?"

"This is Viscount Stoinde, a great noble of Mo Du, one of the Empire's wealthiest magnates," Lei En added, introducing Wei Lien's identity.

"So you are a Viscount, sir," Asina gave a sincere yet distant smile and replied, "I am a child of Oden."

The others' expressions turned bewildered.

Oden is the revered name of the "God of War and Courage"; its War God Church is the state religion of one of the three great human empires, Sarelef, and the sole church of the Sarelef Empire. The entire populace worships the War God, and all Sarelef people call themselves children of Oden.

The Sarelef people are fierce, valorous, and love combat, perfectly inheriting Oden's divine traits.

They constantly clash with the Beastfolk tribes to the Empire's east, the Elf Kingdom to the west, the Garxi human nations to the south, and the Nasvika barbarian warband to the north; warfare never ceases.

Sarelef people are taller than ordinary humans, and their appearance is easy to recognize.

Asina stands at 1.8 meters, her build far taller and more athletic than a typical human woman, her fair skin bearing a healthy wheat tint, her hair golden, deep‑set eyes, straight nose bridge, and delicate features indeed show several Sarelef traits.

Most cleverly, many Sarelef people already possess a trace of giant lineage, and the Sarelef language itself derives from giant speech, perfectly masking Asina's accent issue.

As long as one cannot see through the Ring of Triumph's disguise, Asina is a true Sarelef.

Everyone examined Asina with keen interest.

Sicarius's gaze drifted between her and Lei En, filled with ambiguity; Anvira, as always, wore a stone‑cold expression, her attitude very aloof, observing Asina with a scrutinizing stare, seemingly hostile toward the suddenly appearing woman.

Only Ouroin smiled without saying a word.

Wei Lien liked Asina very much; she perfectly matched his aesthetic.

However, he also guessed that Asina was close to Lei En, had no intention of stealing her away, and was merely admiring her, so he curiously asked, "Let me guess, Lady Asina, are you a Heroic Spirit Fighter?"

Heroic Spirit Fighters are an extraordinary vocation created by the War God Oden.

They cultivate an enhanced Beastfolk blood qi, merging with the soul of a demonic beast called the "Crimson Beast", triggering blood mutation to form a new unique energy called "Dou Qi", which can heal wounds and comprehensively boost physical attributes.

Extraordinary beings possessing Dou Qi are called "Fighters" below the Legendary rank.

From novice Fighter to high‑tier Fighter, the three fused Main Souls each carry powerful elements linked to "blood qi", while the secondary soul supports melee elements. Fighters resemble Berserkers but are stronger, because they wield explosively potent and versatile Dou Qi.

As Dou Qi is cultivated and accumulated step by step, reaching sufficient robustness, one breaks through the bottleneck and ascends to Legendary, at which point they qualify to enter the War God's Heroic Spirit Hall. There, gaining the favor of a Heroic Spirit, merging with its soul, one can inherit part of that spirit's experience, memories, and combat techniques; during battle the Heroic Spirit possesses the body, further spurring Dou Qi to surge, multiplying strength severalfold.

Only at this stage does one become a true Heroic Spirit Fighter!

Heroic Spirit Fighters are immensely powerful, far surpassing ordinary extraordinary beings, nearly able to contend with Wizards, and their talent requirements are not as high as Wizards', so they outnumber Wizards by dozens of times.

All Heroic Spirit Fighters are emissaries under the War God, and also the extraordinary vocation every Sarelef Empire citizen aspires to.

Their status is equivalent to the Empire's Wizards and the Lamon Empire's Sun Knights.

Asina claims to be a Sarelef, her towering build and aura fluctuations indicating she is a tremendously powerful Legendary extraordinary being, so Wei Lien immediately assumed she was a Heroic Spirit Fighter.

"Viscount, you guessed wrong."

Asina's reply shocked everyone: "I am a Thunder Magic Swordsman."

"Uh…" Wei Lien's face showed astonishment; Asina looked nothing like a Magic Swordsman—how could a Magic Swordsman use a shield?

"Asina, let me introduce you."

Lei En interjected, introducing Sicarius and Anvira.

Sicarius respectfully greeted Asina; he is now a mid‑stage Legendary, equivalent to a level‑15 extraordinary being, inheriting a shrunken version of the True Will from Lei En, which lets him sense Asina's terrifying power, so he dares not act rashly.

Anvira had already discerned Asina's connection with Lei En, feeling conflicted, yet her face remained cold; after a nod she said nothing more.

Asina thought inward, "What kind of student are you?"

Lei En grimaced, could only pretend not to hear, turned to Ouroin and said, "Master, I heard you called me for something?"

"It's fine, just that you returned is enough," Ouroin said with a beaming smile.

He had originally noticed the Extreme Warriors undergoing drastic collective changes, worried about Lei En's safety, asked the Extreme Warriors but got no answers, and couldn't locate Lei En, so he was very concerned. Now that Lei En returned safely and met Asina, he instantly guessed it must involve a soul contract.

This is a secret between Lei En and the Extreme Warriors; it's not appropriate to ask further.

Lei En nodded, appreciating Ouroin Master's kindness, "Thank you, Master, for your concern."

He was about to lead Asina away when he saw her bow solemnly to Ouroin, her eyes full of anticipation, and ask, "Master, may I join their ranks and learn swordsmanship from you together?"

"Of course you may," Ouroin replied gladly.

These past days he spent most of his time at Jin Gang Fort's base; aside from Wei Lien, Sicarius, and Anvira, he had sparred with almost every Extreme Warrior, and some outstanding spear‑wing knight captains were fortunate to receive his guidance.

Only the vast majority's swordsmanship fell short of the three, unable to endure long.

Now adding Asina makes no difference.

"Thank you, Master!"

Asina was thrilled; she hadn't in a long time met an opponent who could pressure her in combat technique. In that battle Lei En employed spells and potent elements, winning by force. Watching their swordplay just now, she could no longer hold back.

Lei En felt helpless.

Weren't we supposed to go, "The world is so big, I want to see it"? Why stop at the first step after stepping out?

Asina turned back, a bit embarrassed, "Lei En…"

"It's fine, we aren't in a hurry," Lei En naturally wouldn't stop her; after all, Reslin must wait for Grand Mage Teklis to return the "Endless Storm" before departing for the New Continent, which is expected to take a month, giving her plenty of time to study swordsmanship with Ouroin Master.

Asina felt joy, drawing her long sword and round shield from behind.

The others cleared the area.

On the playground only two remained; A Xi Na held a shield in her left hand and a sword in her right, assuming a defensive stance. Her body sank slightly, most of her frame hidden behind the round shield, her gaze fixed on Ouroin dozens of steps away, expression extremely cautious, a thread of tension rose in her heart.

Ouroin remained very relaxed.

He stood holding a cross longsword for several seconds, seeing A Xi Na defending while attacking, he stepped forward, advancing toward her step by step.

His seemingly slow steps were actually like a swift gale.

A Xi Na felt immense pressure and preemptively triggered Thunder Charge; with a booming crack, her body erupted with thick bolts of lightning, moving as fast as real lightning, she thrust the Aegis shield forward to collide with Ouroin.

When the momentum of Thunder Charge was released, everyone except Lei En turned pale.

The force of that collision was terrifying.

Wei Lien and Xi Ka Liu Si thought that if they faced A Xi Na they would never dare to meet it head‑on; An Wei La was considering how to evade.

But Ouroin's choice was completely different.

He neither met it head‑on nor dodged; the instant A Xi Na surged forward, the cross longsword, at a speed invisible to the naked eye, lightly flicked the edge of the round shield, the sword‑shield contact was fleeting, yet the force on the longsword almost knocked A Xi Na's shield from her hand, and she was carried off the collision's line.

More cleverly, Ouroin's blade did not strike the shield head‑on, avoiding a "vector rebound" and preventing the longsword's force from being deflected.

The two passed each other.

Seizing the moment A Xi Na lost balance, the cross longsword, from an angle unprotected by a shield, slanted its tip toward A Xi Na's waist.

A Xi Na remained calm under pressure, powering her right foot to regain composure while the round shield struck below.

Bang!

The air burst, but the shield hit empty space; by then the two had already re‑established distance.

Ouroin stood holding his sword, smiling.

A Xi Na looked down at her waist; the Titan‑strength armor bore a shallow sword scar, and she realized she had lost. In a life‑or‑death duel, with Ouroin Master's skill, that single strike could have bisected her.

The swordplay lasted only a few seconds, leaving A Xi Na standing dumbfounded.

She reflected on the brief exchange; Ouroin Master had only used two sword strokes: one to the edge of the round shield that unbalanced her charge, the other a direct thrust that decided the outcome. Though appearing simple, the technique contained extremely refined skill—vision, experience, timing, strength, and so on—none could be lacking.

The gap in power and swordsmanship between them was huge.

Yet A Xi Na felt no discouragement; instead she grew more excited, exactly the result she wanted—only a Sword Saint as brilliant as Ouroin could make her improve.

"Thank you, Master, for your instruction!" A Xi Na said earnestly.

Ouroin nodded and commented: "Your response was correct, and your reaction fast and timely; your strength and speed are rare, even stronger than when I was younger. Only, when you were off‑balance you lacked control over your strength and were too hasty, so you couldn't block my strike. If you can remedy that, in terms of swordsmanship you already have few flaws."

A Xi Na's eyes lit up as she listened.

No wonder the Holy Soul Wizard, whom Lei En calls the world's strongest Sword Saint, could discern her nature after a single brief clash.

Wei Lien and the other two were even more astonished.

They had sparred with Ouroin Master hundreds of times, constantly improving, yet none had received such high praise.

Ouroin seemed also long without meeting such a swordsmanship opponent; he lifted his cross longsword and laughed: "Come, A Xi Na. This time I won't use full strength; let everyone see how far you can go."

"Yes, Master!"

A Xi Na inhaled deeply, again raised her shield and swung her sword to attack.

Only when night fell did this swordplay conclude. A Xi Na felt satisfied, believing the half‑day's gain was immense; she not only fought Ouroin Master, but also sparred many times with Wei Lien, Xi Ka Liu Si and An Wei La.

After truly clashing, the three finally witnessed A Xi Na's overwhelming power.

Her strength, speed, technique, experience were virtually invincible, especially her strength: with a single‑handed longsword she generated the terrifying might of a two‑handed greatsword, accompanied by lightning, the speed was also extreme; a light touch made her even unable to hold her weapon, it slipped from her hand repeatedly.

Wei Lien, only one step away from Saint Rank, could barely trade blows with A Xi Na, but after many exchanges he lost every time.

Xi Ka Liu Si was hung and beaten.

An Wei La didn't even qualify as an opponent; her prideful speed was far inferior to A Xi Na's, the gap was incalculable, leaving her deeply depressed.

Some eager Extreme Warriors also stepped up to challenge, only to be knocked down one after another by A Xi Na.

In just half a day, A Xi Na conquered everyone.

Lei En, in a good mood, teleported her back to Glamorogen; stepping out of the teleport hall, the sights within the castle filled her with curiosity.

Butler Fabien had already received the news.

He had the servants prepare the most sumptuous dinner, which left A Xi Na raving in praise.

She had lived fifty years; previously in the Storm Temple she had never tasted such delicious food, and if not for disguising herself as human, she could have devoured the banquet laid across the long tables by herself.

After the feast, A Xi Na impatiently requested to go to Fu Kong Cheng.

Lei En gladly obliged, opening the portal with a badge and leading her into his tower in Weizelan.

From the tower's summit overlooking Fu Kong Cheng, the night‑shrouded Weizelan glowed brightly; magical radiance and great power shone splendidly. Farther away, Mo Du's nightscape was no less dazzling, streets teeming with people, prosperity like brocade, as if an eternal city, the reputation of world‑trade capital not exaggerated at all.

A Xi Na watched spellbound, and Lei En occasionally explained to her.

The two were as close as oil and water, rubbing together, and just as a gun might misfire, Lei En's expression suddenly changed, sensing someone had teleported in.

He knew who the newcomer was without turning around.

A Xi Na also noticed a stranger in the room; she rose from Lei En's leg, turned and saw a woman of stunning beauty, aura mysterious and noble, her pupils flashing a colored stream, instantly realizing the woman's identity.

She was that Rainbow Dragon Mage, the first to sign a soul contract with Lei En, who had seized the Truth Willpower, Iron Body and other powerful Elements.

Ao Xi Li Ya also examined A Xi Na, showing no change of expression.

The room was quiet for a few seconds.

Truth Willpower can see through all disguises; the Ring of Triumph is useless; Ao Xi Li Ya instantly recognized A Xi Na's true identity and coldly said: "A Titan Giant dares to come to Weizelan's Fu Kong Cheng, not afraid of being slain and having its demon soul taken?"

(End of chapter)