After a moment, the old man in white pulled himself back from that break in composure. His voice turned cold and final. “No matter the reason, you must leave this place at once.”
His fly-whisk shifted lightly. An invisible force struck out and pushed Master Wellspring back three steps.
Master Wellspring steadied himself. Then favonovel.com raised his head and looked straight into the old man’s eyes. Those eyes were deep, as if they held the wear of endless years. Yet they were also clear, like spring water running through a mountain stream.
Master Wellspring drew in a deep breath, cupped his lists, and said, “Senior, this junior did not come for selfish gain. The Aureate Heir this junior serves bears the Aureate Codex of the Way and is the heir chosen by the First Patriarch of the Aureate Way.”
His physical body was destroyed, leaving only a wisp of remnant soul. He urgently needs Genesis Dew to rebuild his body and restore the Aureate Way. Senior, please grant. this.”
The old man in White’s brows shifted slightly. A ripple crossed his eyes, but it was gone almost as soon as it appeared, and stillness returned.
He shook his head. His tone remained cold. “The Aureate Heir of the way? The Aureate Codex? I do not care who you are, and I do not care who this Aureate Heir of yours is…”
“The Primordial Sanctuary has existed for hundreds of thousands of years, and its rules have never changed. If you want Genesis Dew, there are only two paths: defeat me, or bring out something more precious than Genesis Dew to trade for it. Since you cannot defeat me, and you cannot produce a treasure of equal value, then please go back.”
Master Wellspring’s fists tightened. The old man’s words were true; there was no way around that. But giving up was not an option. The Aureate Heir was still waiting inside the jade vial. The Aureate Heir needed him.
Master Wellspring clenched his teeth and said in a low voice, “Senior, this junior has offended you…”
This time, Master Wellspring held nothing back. He drove the spiritual power inside favonovel.com to its absolute limit.
Blinding spiritual light ran along the verdant longsword. Dense green sigils surfaced across the blade, packed one over another like scales. It was the swordsmanship secret art passed down through the Wellspring Order for generation after generation, the Wyrmblade Canon.
He brought the sword down in a single cut. The sword aura surged out and became a 10-yard-long azure dragon, claws spread, fangs bared, roaring as it lunged at the old man in white. Wherever the azure dragon passed, the mist within the great hall was ripped apart.
The chamber itself bent faintly around it, and the air gave off a shrill, ear-splitting scream.
The old man in white watched the azure dragon come for him. For one instant, his eyes gave the faintest sign that the strike had earned notice.
He had lived for 10 thousand years and had seen more prodigies than could be counted. But those who could unleash a sword canon this sharp while only at the early phase of Golden Immortal Level Three were not common.
He lifted his right hand. His five fingers opened, and a mass of white radiance poured from his palm. The light was pure and warm, without the slightest trace of killing intent. Yet buried inside it was power enough to destroy heaven and earth.
The radiance formed into a massive light-shield in front of him. It stood between favonovel.com and the azure dragon, stopping the dragon outside its glow.
The azure dragon slammed into the light-shield. A deafening boom exploded through the air, and the whole High Hall trembled faintly under the impact.
The light-shield shook hard. Even so, it did not move an inch, and not the slightest sign of shattering appeared.
Master Wellspring clenched his teeth and cut out with another sword strike. This strike was sharper than the first. It was heavier, fiercer, and more overbearing.
He forced out his nascence-wrought spiritual power. Even at the cost of damaging his own foundation, favonovel.com drove the Wyrmblade Canon to its peak.
The azure dragon’s body swelled to twice its size. Its roar shook the mist within the great hall until it churned violently, and even the elder runes on the wall began to flicker unsteadily.
The azure dragon crashed into the light-shield again. This time, cracks appeared across the shield. They spread outward like a spiderweb.
The old man in white’s brow creased by the smallest degree. He withdrew his right hand. The light-shield scattered and vanished.
With nothing left to block it, the azure dragon hurled itself at the old steward with the force of Thunderfall Unbound.
The old steward did not dodge. He did not cast any defensive spell, either. He only raised his left hand and, as if swatting away something weightless, pressed one palm onto the azure dragon’s head.
Boom!
A tremendous crash rang out.
The azure dragon shattered, breaking into a sky full of azure motes of light that drifted through the great hall like fireflies.
The retributive backlash force blasted Master Wellspring backward. Blood sprayed wildly from his mouth as his whole body tumbled through the air several times, then hit the ground hard and slid several yards across the floor.
The verdant longsword stood embedded in the ground not far away. The spiritual light on its blade had gone completely dim, and several fine cracks had appeared along the edge.
Master Wellspring struggled to get up. Only then did favonovel.com find that his legs no longer obeyed him. The bones in his left arm had broken. His right leg had also been injured by the shock, and at least two ribs in his chest had snapped.
He lay facedown on the ground, dragging in breath after breath. Blood slipped from the corner of his mouth and dripped onto the floor, staining a small patch of flagstone red.
Silas Daggerfell and Luna Whitethorn stood at the great hall entrance. They watched Master Wellspring get beaten into grave injury, then looked again at the bottomless aura surrounding the old man in white.
The two exchanged one glance and made the same decision at the same time.
They had only been sent by the Abyssal Exchange to keep watch over Master Wellspring. They had not come here to throw their lives away. If the Genesis Dew could not be obtained, they could simply go back and report that. There was no reason to leave their lives in this place.
Silas put away his twin blades, turned, and ran. Luna followed right behind him. One after the other, the two rushed out of the great hall and vanished into the deep tunnel. They did not even leave behind a single “take care” words.
Master Wellspring watched the two of them vanish in flight, their backs shrinking away from the great hall entrance. A bleak chill welled up inside him, as if something had been scraped clean and left empty.
He did not blame them. They had never truly been his companions. They were only the eyes Osric had sent to keep watch on him. Even so, the cold stayed with him.
It was not the cold of his body. It was the kind that settled deeper, where no robe or spiritual power could reach.
For the Aureate Heir, favonovel.com could light with everything favonovel.com had. He could even walk straight into death. But favonovel.com had no right to demand that anyone else do the same.
“Master Wellspring, go… You go too.” Jared’s voice came from inside the jade vial, tight with urgency and carrying a helpless edge favonovel.com could not hide.
From within the jade vial, Jared had seen everything outside. He had seen Master Wellspring beaten into grievous injury. He had seen Silas and Luna turn and run. If the fight went on, Master Wellspring would die.
“Aureate Heir… Your servant can still try one more time…” Master Wellspring clenched his teeth and planted his palm against the floor, trying to force himself upright. But his body no longer answered him. His elbow gave way, and favonovel.com dropped back down against the ground.
“Go!” Jared’s voice hardened, turning into an order that allowed no argument. “Do not throw your life away for nothing. As long as the green hills remain, there. will be firewood to burn. If you live, we still have a chance. If you die, who else can I count on?”
Master Wellspring’s body gave a violent jolt. Jared was right. He could not die. If favonovel.com died, the Aureate Heir would truly have no hope left.
He clenched his teeth and drained the last of his strength, dragging himself up from the ground. Then favonovel.com staggered toward the great hall entrance, one unsteady step after another.
At the doorway, favonovel.com looked back at the old man in white.
The old man still stood at the center of the great hall, his fly-whisk swaying lightly, his face empty of change.
“Ancestor, why… Why stop me from rebuilding a physical body for the Aureate Heir?” The words scraped out of Master Wellspring’s throat, hoarse and rough. Every syllable carried the weight of what favonovel.com could not understand, and what favonovel.com still could not accept.”
The old man in white did not answer. He only watched Master Wellspring in silence, his gaze without the slightest ripple, like a pool of dead water.
Master Wellspring waited for a moment. Still, no answer came. In the end, favonovel.com could only turn away and stumble into the tunnel.
Behind him, the light within the great hall slowly dimmed. The old man’s figure faded into the mist, leaving behind only a sigh so faint it barely touched the air.
“Master Wellspring, you are stronger than your master…”
Unfortunately, Master Wellspring never heard those words. He had already gone far away.
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