Chapter 424: 424, [Magic Show of Clone and Original]
In the midst of the battle, Lu Xun retreated several meters, while The Sword Qi is Near swiftly moved to his side.

He was somewhat puzzled, why would the avatar of the Second Priest even dare to show up?

He didn’t think that with the strength of the Second Priest, they could remain oblivious to The Sword Qi is Near’s presence.

Just how powerful was the Second Priest, Lu Xun did not have a clear idea in his mind. Because in the previous life’s great war, the Second Priest would instantly kill any player who crossed his path.

But his avatar was definitely not a match for The Sword Qi is Near.

Although The Sword Qi is Near had lost some of its initial ferocity due to the dwindling Spirit Force, it was only slightly weakened.

From the power standpoint, this inflatable… oops, this avatar was still very much prone on being pierced through.

So, the fact that the Second Priest still dares to come means he must have something to rely on.

“He couldn’t have come from miles away, could he?” Lu Xun muttered to himself.

Does he think he’s delivering a doll?

That’s why he’s being extra cautious right now, advising The Sword Qi is Near, “Stop being so overbearing and reckless. Be more reserved and steady, don’t make any mistakes.”

The Sword Qi is Near let out a proud sword cry in response.

“Of course, it won’t listen.” Lu Xun grimaced.

Being The World’s First Sword Cultivator Yan Li’s trusty sword, it has fought unbeaten everywhere with Yan Li, crushing any adversaries on its path, hence it has its own pride.

Luckily, even though The Sword Qi is Near seems arrogant, but it always seeks stability in its battles. It never behaves like those reckless players who would take full advantage of a small victory.

At this moment, Lu Xun looked over at the slightly flustered Yi Xuan from his perch atop the paper crane, raising an eyebrow.

“I was originally planning to use you for practice, but now the situation has changed, for my own safety, I think I should take you down first.” Lu Xun thought to himself.

The reason he kept Yi Xuan around was because he saw him as a whetstone, using him to figure out his own current limits. At the same time, he also hoped to gain some Experience Points from him.

Avoiding situations where all the High-Level Foreign Races were killed by The Sword Qi is Near, and he wouldn’t gain a single Experience Point or Contribution Point.

Of course, the main reason was because Yi Xuan was a big piece of meat. Killing him might grant a considerable reward, which was something Lu Xun couldn’t bear to miss.

But overall, it was safer to play it safe, so he twisted his head and looked at Yi Xuan with an indifferent expression, instructing The Sword Qi is Near, “Kill him.”

This time, The Sword Qi is Near didn’t let out a sword cry or rebuke him, because it also seemed to understand: as the Second Priest was getting closer, the situation of the battle could change drastically at any moment.

“Buzz——”

The Sword Qi is Near made its move, causing Yi Xuan’s face to drastically change in an instant.

This is unbearable! It’s unbearable!

He thought he had a chance for a one-on-one duel, but this man in black robes only engaged in one exchange of swordplay with him!

“Is this a joke to you? Are you making fun of me here?” Yi Xuan felt like his patience was about to collapse again. He was feeling an Ineffective Rage boiling inside of him once more.

But unfortunately, the speed of The Sword Qi is Near was simply too fast, so fast that he could not keep up with it.

Before his anger could even flash through his mind, the sword qi was already nearing him.

“Whoosh——”

A figure abruptly appeared. This man was dressed in a cloak, had fiercely thick eyebrows and a somewhat ugly middle-aged face. It was none other than the Second Priest’s avatar who walked the path of a magician!

Flames were burning around him and ten fire dragons emerged instantly, attempting to prevent The Sword Qi is Near.

“Acting so fast?” Lu Xun did not expect the Second Priest to arrive so quickly.

What surprised him, even more, was that the Second Priest did not take the opportunity to spring an attack but aimed to protect Yi Xuan instead.

Quite evidently, although Yi Xuan was merely an adopted son of the Supreme Lord, his status was already significant enough to make the Second Priest risk his life to protect him.

“Could it be that this avatar hurriedly came over just to save him?” Lu Xun pondered.

But he felt there’s something off.

“Even if the Supreme Lord is superior to the three priests, his adopted son wouldn’t make the Second Priest pay such a huge price, would he?” Lu Xun frowned slightly.

Yi Xuan is not some prince of a Foreign Race, he simply isn’t worthy enough!

“Something about the situation is distinctly strange.” Lu Xun sat on the paper crane, his Divine Sense radiating outward, his body became taut, and he maintained the highest level of alertness.

The moment The Sword Qi is Near was about to strike, someone stepped in to block it. Even though it was a falling short foe, in an instant, it slightly tweaked its sword’s position.

The altered sword trajectory meant it could no longer strike Yi Xuan.

However, did The Sword Qi is Near actually need to strike him to hurt him?

The shock wave generated by the mere presence of the sword qi was already enough to seriously injure Yi Xuan!

The terrifying shock wave rolled in, carrying the residual Rhyme of the sword.

The Second Priest didn’t have enough time to block it, and Yi Xuan definitely couldn’t protect himself either.

He instinctively wrapped himself with the purple glow wings behind him, in an instant, half of the glow wings were shattered. The remaining impact directly hit his body, causing his chest, which was encased in black armor, to shatter inwards!

“Crack——” The sound of breaking bones was excruciatingly loud, the pain brought about by this strike was suffocating.

His exotic and enchanting face instantly distorted.

The reality demonstrated that, even if one is good looking, as long as the expressions are grotesque enough, one could still look terrible.

Alright, this shouldn’t be the main concern.

Currently, the main concern should be Yi Xuan’s rapidly depleting health.

The shockwave from The Sword Qi is Near took an immediate 40% off his health!

The Second Priest let out a loud yell, still continuing with his magic summonings, chanting incantations and controlling endless flames.

However, compared to his unquestionable stance prior, his actions now seemed ridiculous as ever.

That’s because his Scepter was destroyed by Lu Xun during their previous battle.

Thus, he was a magician without his magic staff.

As is common knowledge, mages love to wave their scepters when casting spells.

Even after losing his scepter, the Second Priest continued this habit. His empty hands frantically groped the air, much like a witch casting spells.

As the flames clashed with the Sword Qi, their destructive force started spreading outwards.

The nearby Foreign Race and players were knocked back, including Lu Xiaoyu and Xiao Long Bao, who were in the vicinity.

Lu Xun had always kept his Divine Sense on them. As the situation unfolded, he waved his black robe, and several streams of ink-colored energy spread forward, shielding the surrounding players.

In this battle, unless his brain was offline, he absolutely couldn’t show favoritism towards Lu Xiaoyu.

The more favoritism he showed, the more she would become a target.

Therefore, he didn’t choose to protect her alone but covered the entire surrounding area.

At this moment, the players within his shield felt like they won the lottery.

“Ah, the Purple Palace is protecting us!”

“Haha! No need to bleed anymore! I’ve only got half a health bar left, might have to resurrect!”

“Purple Palace, forever our god!”

Lu Xiaoyu glanced at Lu Xun’s direction, feeling relieved.

Her health bar condition wasn’t ideal. If she didn’t manage that last attack properly, she could’ve died and had to resurrect.

“Everyone, scatter.” Lu Xun commanded, circulating his Spirit Force.

This battlefield was no longer a place for regular players.

To be precise, if they continued to stand in this area, they were doomed.

Even if Lu Xun wanted to save them, he couldn’t protect them indefinitely.

Except for a few eccentric players causing chaos, most of the players retreated.

As for those thrill-seekers who refused to retreat, Lu Xun couldn’t be bothered.

There was no need for him to waste his Spirit Force on such matters.

At this moment, he started to manipulate the Divine Fire, disrupting the Second Priest.

The Divine Fire originally developed from the Soul Devouring Flame, and it was apparent from previous experiences that the Divine Fire was superior to the flame controlled by the Second Priest, significantly impacting it.

Lu Xun felt that his backup could still serve some purpose.

“Swish!” The Sword Qi is Near didn’t hold back and, just like before, struck the Second Priest with the force of a thunderbolt.

Having allowed him to escape once, The Sword Qi is Near felt that they had lost face in front of the Sword Sheath.

Now, it saw the opportunity to prove itself and hoped to earn the favor of the Sword Sheath.

Now was the time to clear its name!

“Hisss!”

The Sword Qi is Near broke through the sea of flames and shattered the protective shield around the Second Priest.

The tip of the longsword was plunged deeply into the chest of the Second Priest!

This caused Yi Xuan, who was standing behind the Second Priest, to be dumbfounded!

He thought their savior had arrived, but within the efforts of just three sword strikes, he was killed?

What is this sword anyway!?

Meanwhile, Lu Xun, who was not far off, had a furrowed brow. He had a nagging feeling that everything was going too smoothly.

From the current situation, it seemed like the Second Priest had traveled a long way just to hand over his head on a platter.

That’s incredibly bold of him!

But the treacherous Second Priest was definitely not that type of person, and this didn’t match his habitual behaviour.

Even though I destroyed his two treasures, it shouldn’t have triggered him to this extent, right?

The hole-ridden Second Priest had bloodshot eyes, and little points of light started to leak out from his body.

He flung his arms open, and endless flames enveloped the area.

“A sword is merely a sword. Without its wielder, it inevitably lacks some tricks, heh.” he rasped.

The Sword Qi is Near vibrated sharply, preparing to obliterate him with a burst of Sword Qi.

As the flames wrapped around him, everything in front of him appeared like a grand magic show.

The next second, the firelight swallowed up the Second Priest and The Sword Qi is Near.

“Mutual destruction?” Lu Xun seemed to feel this way.

“But this can’t possibly harm The Sword Qi is Near. After all, it’s a sword that’s been nurtured to perfection by the Sword Cultivating Technique!” Lu Xun found it unreasonable.

The next moment, the firelight dissipated.

Yet, The Sword Qi is Near disappeared!

At this moment, the only thing left in the scene was the cloaked, unharmed Second Priest!

“How is that possible!?”

How could The Sword Qi is Near disappear, and why did he suddenly appear unscathed?

However, when he used Detection, Lu Xun immediately understood why this scene had occurred.

At the same time, what shocked him the most was that the man standing in front of him was not the avatar of the Second Priest!

—This was the real body of the Second Priest!

…

(P.S.: The monthly ticket list has dropped another four places. Distressed.)