The Messenger of Death

Klein was startled to see that Xander was able to react properly to his attack. Before his attack could reach its Pinnacle, Xander stopped it.

That's why they were able to reach a stalemate, and Xander was nowhere as strong as Klein when it came to raw power.

Bobby's brows raised in astonishment, he too could tell what Xander did.

['That was fast, did you use a bit of the lightning?'] Al exclaimed.

['No, I'm not a cheat.'] Xander replied. ['The energy I feel now is different from the one I usually experience with my cultivation.'] He added.

-Whoosh!!

The two of them jumped back and put some space between them.

-Whoosh!

Klein charged at Xander once more and attacked him again, but this time, with greater strength behind his slash.

Xander could see the attack coming, not exactly. What he could do, was to hear the sword cry out when it was approaching him.

The sword told him that the strength behind the incoming attack wasn't something that he could match with his own strength.

He could hear the sword speak, and he could also hear his own sword whisper some vague words to him, words that seemed to give him strength and advice.

Xander couldn't understand the language, nor could he communicate back with the sword, but he could hear them.

-Ding!

-Ding!!

Klein gave two rapid attacks that were thrown off course by a slight contact with Xander's sword.

Sparks filled the air, and wind blades materialized and chopped down some of the trees around them.

The wind blades were produced by Klein.

In a split second, Xander saw his chance to attack.

And just like the way the pin of a sewing machine stabs through a cloth, Xander attacked the same way.

He thrust his sword at Klein multiple times within a second.

-Ding!!!!

The sound of metal clashing filled the air. With each stab that Xander made at Klein, he left a little dent on Klein's sword.

'How is he able to keep up? Is this what the real thing is like? Damn, for the first time I don't feel confident with the imitation concept.' Klein reasoned.

'The sword is giving him strength.' Bobby figured out how Xander was able to keep up.

The sound that Klein's sword had been making changed, it sounded crazed now.

This sound made Xander more vigilant. After making several attacks at his opponent and not being able to land a hit or put him at a disadvantage, he decided to change his attack pattern.

That moment that he chose to change his attack pattern, was the moment that Klein decided to make a counter…

Their fight continued for a while, neither of them had the upper hand.

With each exchange that they made, Xander was able to learn something from Klein. And soon, he started to feel the energy in him slip away slightly as time went on.

Klein slashed his sword at Xander, aiming for his right shoulder. Xander sidestepped so that he could dodge the sword.

Klein didn't want to give him breathing space, so he proceeded to attack again. He aimed for Xander's waist this time.

-Slash!!

His attack missed as Xander was quick enough to jump into the air and dodge. A wind blade manifested and shot at the tree closest to the direction in which it was heading at.

Xander twisted his body quickly, in the air, and placed the sheath of his sword on the ground, and used it to support his body that still hasn't made contact with the ground.

He could tell that another attack was coming at him and if he waits till he lands before he decides to block, then he would lose the match.

As soon as the sheath touched the ground, he swung his sword with all his might, at the incoming sword of Klein.

-Ding!!!!

Their swords clashed and the impact from the clash, sent every leaf around them, into the air.

-Grrrr!!!

The force from the clash sent Xander back. His sheath was still planted in the ground, and despite that, he was still thrown away.

The sheath of the sword was dragged across the ground and it dug deep into the blue soil. Immediately Xander was able to get himself, he put his legs on the floor.

He entered his battle stance and expected an attack to be heading for him, however, contrary to his expectations, he couldn't hear the cry of Klein's sword anymore.

"Congratulations Alex, you were able to disarm my brother." Bobby congratulated.

Xander frowned. ['Disarm?'] He searched for Klein and found him within a few seconds. He too was thrown away after their swords collided.

He looked at the sword in his hand and saw that it had broken into two.

Xander sighed. "I admit my loss, and I also enjoyed the fight. I hope that later in the future, we would be able to spar again." Xander admitted.

"Loss? You didn't lose, it was my loss." Klein argued.

"If my sword wasn't better than yours, then I wouldn't have gotten the chance to last more than 2 or 3 attacks."

"Let's just say that it was a draw," Bobby interjected.

"I'm honored to have been fortunate enough to spar with a nonpareil. The real thing is very different from the imitation."

"What can you achieve by imitating the Sword Dao concept? With it, can you achieve the state of being one with the sword?" Xander wondered.

"If you can imitate the Dao up to the Sword Intent stage, then you might as well be called a nonpareil.

Although the imitation of the concepts is easier, it is much harder for us to make it to the Sword Intent stage." Bobby replied.

"So in the end, anyone can be a nonpareil."

['Being one now is just an early advantage.'] Al commented.

"Something like that, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they are the same as nonpareil. In the weapon Dao, what matters the most is your comprehension ability." Bobby pointed out.

['I understand, I did learn a few things from this spar. If my comprehension ability was better, I would have been able to grasp more.'] Xander thought.

['This should be enough for you right?'] Alex questioned, he was referring to Xander.

['Yes, it's enough. Thank you.']

Hearing Xander say that, it made Alex feel good about himself.

['Now let us focus on getting to the Midas flower.'] Al mentioned.

"Okay, let's continue the journey," Xander uttered.

-Tzznn!!

His lightning surfaced again, but this time, it was more violent than ever.

It made louder sounds.

-Whoosh!!

Xander resumed the journey to where the Midas flower is.

As he shot off, his lightning shot of randomly and struck many trees. Unlike the normal burn marks that his lightning used to cause, this strike sliced everything it hit.

Bobby and Klein looked at themselves, Xander had stunned them again.

"The concepts in his lightning have increased and become more violent," Bobby uttered…

*******************

IN THE CELESTIAL PLAIN REALM…

"Father, the first location of the Midas petal has been found. It is in the ordain plain realm." Amir, who was standing behind his father, the sect master, informed.

"The ordain plain realm? Has everyone with a Midas seed gone for the ordain plain realm? Or did we find out before they did?" His father asked.

Amir's father was standing on water, watching the sunset in the distance, with his hands folded behind his back.

"Everyone with a seed has left for the ordain plain realm," Amir responded. "They found out before we did, so we can't sell the information." He added.

"Including the princes and princesses. They found out about it first."

"So be it. I have a feeling that things wouldn't go smoothly." His father revealed.

"Pessimism doesn't help anyone father, cheer up. Mother will be back tonight-"

"Shut up, Amir." He interrupted.

"I think I have to go and see the Phoenix Emperor."

"That might be detrimental father, are you sure?"

"Yes… and Amir, tell your mother nothing about this issue."

"I haven't even told my siblings yet-"

"I said your mother. She has a way of making you speak."

"I will try my best to avoid mother."

"You'd better, or else." His father finished and vanished from his sight…

***********************

After traveling for a full day, Xander was almost at his destination.

['We are almost there.'] Alex exclaimed excitedly…