Final battle (3)

One of the senior cultivators shook his head "The simple answer is no. In case you haven't realized it yet, that miss over there is using the legendary Sword Source, but even that can't fully penetrate the shield. And that guy isn't bad either—he's using magic spells to keep the monster from closing in on them. He seems to have an exceptionally large spiritual energy reserve!"

"What?! Sword Source?!"

Immediately, the cultivators began murmuring among themselves.

"Incredible! So, this is the power of the Starforge Family! It's almost certain that she will get into the Seven Hearts Academy!"

While the cultivators continued to discuss the situation, Lin Xuanyu's expression grew thoughtful.

His spiritual perception had detected something crucial that no one else had noticed. The Seed Monster's defense was overwhelmingly focused on the front, leaving its back entirely vulnerable.

It was a glaring weakness, one that only Lin Xuanyu, with his unique spiritual perception, could sense in the heat of battle.

He glanced over at Rachael, his voice calm but with an underlying seriousness. "Whoever kills the Seed Monster gets to keep the core, right?"

Rachael, barely looking at him as her attention remained locked on the battle, nodded absently. "That's how it usually works in Gates. The one who lands the killing blow gets the core. If two people team up, they usually split the resources."

Lin Xuanyu's lips curled into a grin as he processed the information, "And if someone else suddenly entered the battle and killed the Seed Monster with a single strike, would they get to keep it?"

Rachael's brows furrowed in confusion as she gave him a peculiar look.

Her friend was locked in a life-or-death battle with a terrifying creature, yet here Lin Xuanyu was, asking questions that seemed oddly out of place.

"Yes, whoever deals the killing blow claims the core, regardless of how they do it," she replied, her attention was still mostly on the battle. "But some people do share it with others in the party,"

Hearing this, Lin Xuanyu nodded to himself with a sly grin.

Perfect. If he ended the battle in one swoop, no one would ever know that the monster's back was wide open—after all, they didn't have spiritual perception like he did!

The monster core on the humanoids' head seemed to glow as if it was longingly staring right at Lin Xuanyu, practically begging him to take it.

He couldn't resist; it was at least worth 10 High grade energy gathering pills!

With a grin on his face, Lin Xuanyu took a step forward.

There was no need to hesitate.

He slowly unsheathed his sword and moved.

"Seeing this, Rachael shifted her attention to Lin Xuanyu and called out in concern, 'Hey, where are y—'"

Before she could finish, his aura surged, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

All the cultivators turned to him; their faces filled with surprise.

Then, a deep purple energy erupted from his body, and in the blink of an eye, his figure flickered out of sight with incredible speed.

Time seemed to slow as he closed the distance between himself and the seed monster. In one fluid motion, he dashed behind it.

With his sword imbued with Cosmic Energy, he slashed downward in a clean arc.

Cosmic Edge Awakening had been activated in full force!

Since he was dealing with a core-formation monster, he had to give it his all.

Both Alissa and Alex still hadn't realized what had just happened.

The blade sliced through the monster's flesh effortlessly, leaving a deep, purple streak across its body.

The instant the blade struck, both Alissa and Alex sensed something was off.

They quickly distanced themselves from the monster, eyes widening as they focused on the seed monster.

Before they could even comprehend what was happening, the monster's head detached from its body and rolled to the ground with a heavy thud.

An eerie silence filled the room.

All eyes were fixed on the scene before them, and not a single person could find the words to express their shock.

"N-no way! It's that g-guy!" Andrew exclaimed, his voice shaking as he gulped, and his words were loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. "H-How is that possible?!"

Andrew's mind went blank.

A wave of fear washed over him as he looked at the man standing before him.

Was this the same guy?!

Wasn't he only at the fourth stage of transition realm?!

How was he able to defeat a core-formation monster?

Rachael's face shifted from confusion to pure shock, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Is that really him?!"

Alissa's expression was one of utter disbelief as she watched Lin Xuanyu Walk toward the monster's severed head.

He casually waved his hand, and the massive energy core detached from the head, floating smoothly into his grasp.

"Despite being a core-formation monster, its monster body is surprisingly easy to cut." Lin Xuanyu said, his lips curling into a grin.

He then looked at Alissa and Alex and, with a serious expression, said, "Since I was the one who killed the Seed Monster, I get to keep the entire thing... right?"

Lin Xuanyu's expression was filled with anticipation as he looked at Alex and Alissa. Alex then replies. "Yes, that monster core belongs to you."

Alissa remained silent, her gaze fixed on Lin Xuanyu, her thoughts unreadable. 

That sword... it was without a doubt a sword intent, yet it cut through the monster's ability?

 Alissa thought, her mind reeling.

Her Sword Source could barely do anything to it, yet this inferior sword intent had completely reduced the Seed Monster's origin ability—one that awakened at the Core-Formation Realm—to ashes.

She felt as though her entire world was collapsing.

He was hiding his real strength!

Poor her.

She didn't know that he hadn't been hiding his strength.

She could take him down in one strike if she wanted to.

In fact, he would've most likely died in the first five minutes if he had gone head-on with the seed monster.

Of course, no one would ever know that

Lin Xuanyu clapped his hands together, a grin spreading across his face. "Perfect. Well then, I'll be taking my leave." With that, he turned on his heel and began to walk away, leaving through the nearest exit.

"???"

Everyone was stupefied.

Wait... He left... just like that?