Chapter 146: Confrontation

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Wave after wave of incredibly sharp and life-threatening breeze assaulted Cedric within the Sword Tempering Cave.

Despite the obvious danger, Cedric wasn't fazed. He used his sword and bravely confronted the sharp gales.

At 1500 meters depth, even a stray breeze from the cave could kill any ordinary Tier 3. Even seasoned Sword Practioners had to be careful upon arriving at this depth. Fortunately, Cedric wasn't ordinary at all.

His Sword Intent billowed and sliced the gales apart. Not all, but some. After all, the currents have gotten considerably tough and sharp due to the source of Sword Intent at the very depths of the cave infused in them.

Still, despite struggling, Cedric wasn't cowed. It's dangerous yes, but so was confronting demons who didn't hold any inhibitions. Between this and that, there's not much difference in terms of danger and if this was sufficient to scare him, then he didn't deserve his title as the Son of Heaven.

As he clashed with the strong and continuous wind currents, comprehension blessed his mind. Aside from honing his skills even further, this confrontation was also deepening his understanding of himself as well as his sword.

Little by little, the path to Sword Heart Realm was being revealed to him. He's getting closer and closer to his initial goal. As exciting as this idea was, Cedric didn't dare to celebrate too early. He remained calm and logical. Until he steps into the Sword Heart Realm, he won't celebrate his achievements just yet.

His confrontation against the breeze continued. The gales were unceasing and their frequency was increasing the deeper he went. Each wave drains him considerably of his strength, thankfully he has it in abundance, allowing him to last much longer than anyone would initially expect.

Cedric has been at it for three hours now. As soon as he entered, he wasted no time and fought against the gales. Once the three hours were up, he sighed, put his sword away, and doused his body with Sword Intent.

For the following two hours, he'd be enduring the breeze instead of confronting them.

He allows the strong and sharp winds to blow him away, only using his Sword Intent to defend against them. Because the attacks are wind-natured, it allows Cedric to confirm the imperfections with him using his Sword Intent, which also allows him to learn the areas he should temper to perfect this skill even further.

The dangers of doing this need not be explained for it is obvious, still, he did it anyway. This has been his routine since he came here and he's confident that he's doing the right thing so he didn't bother changing it.

Just like this, Cedric's alarm sounded in his ears, signifying that he was done for the day.

He stood up and began retreating. He wiped his sweat with a clean towel and left the cave depths. He reappeared at the entrance where the cave guardians were stationed. He felt a bit fatigued but his body was already starting to recover once he was out of danger.

Cedric signed off his session and began walking out. He then unfolded his senses a bit and he nearly wished he didn't.

A groan escaped his lips. He then thought: 'God damn! Doesn't he have anything better to do? Why me? Seriously, what did I ever do?'

He was incredibly tempted to just run back to the cave and endure the dangerous gales there rather than deal with this guy. Seriously, what is wrong with this guy? Why is he so obsessed with him?

Whining to himself, he dragged his feet to the entrance. He pretended to be busy with his System interface, a mere excuse to not cross gazes with...whoever his person was.

"You!"

"I can smell your corruption from miles away. I know what you're doing and I will stop you, for I must uphold the sanctity of this institution!"

At this point, a sizable crowd already formed around them. The commotion Alexis caused wasn't small and his voice was loud. The crowd was whispering to each other but nobody tried to stop whatever this was.

"...so you're one of those." Cedric sighed long and slow after uttering this.

Alexis watched as Cedric closed his eyes for a brief moment. Yet when he opened them and looked at him, he could swear that he got doused in a pool of ice-cold water.

"Look. I have no idea what your problem is with me because as far as I can remember, this is the very first time we met. You claim to know me yet I don't know who you are. I'm not particularly interested in knowing you either. All I know is that..."

Fwoosh!

Cedric's body suddenly emitted a fierce heat and killing intent. Alexis held back a gasp being the receiver of its entire weight. He could feel his organs sinking in like he just poked a sleeping beast and pissed it off.

"...your sword is still aimed at my neck and I'm not particularly fond of people threatening my life. Especially after what I've been through. Therefore..."

An incomparably sharp sword intent which seemingly pierces the sky itself billowed out of Cedric's body.

"I will countdown from 5 when I'm done and this sword of yours is still aimed at me, I will treat this as a confirmation that you are trying to kill me. And at that point, I swear to my sword...that I will use Every. Single. Way. I can come up with to slaughter you!"

Fwoosh!

It's as if heaven and earth's attention suddenly landed on the two of them. A mysterious pressure mounted on Alexis' shoulders that frightened him to his core. His pupils dilated as he felt the increasing momentum of Cedric's killing intent pressing him down.

"Five!"

Alexis' hand trembled as the countdown started.

"Four!"

Anxiety drowned him as he felt himself succumbing to the might behind Cedric's voice.

"Three!"

The threat of death came closer and Alexis could've sworn that his life flashed before his eyes.

"Two!"

"Hiii!"

Alexis shrieked in fright as he hurriedly dropped his sword. At the same instant that the killing intent receded like the tide, he ran away out of fear of what Cedric could do to him.