Chapter 706: Concept

"First Layer?"

Hearing these initial words, Lolth grasped the significance of the "Four-Layer Sword Formation."

The silhouette of the sword-bearing maiden before her…

Undoubtedly resembled A Qiu, Seychelles’ national Sword Master whom she’d encountered earlier.

Thus, the Four-Layer Sword Formation likely meant she would have to face Seychelles’ guardian Sword Master four times.

The figure wore plain white garments, clutching a lightweight yet sharp longsword.

Its design appeared ordinary save for one peculiarity – only a single edge had been sharpened, the blade’s honed side facing inward.

Yet whether human or steel, both fundamentally embodied "sword" here.

This was not A Qiu herself, but a blade-forged manifestation from her domain.

Within this realm, only swords existed… every essence became steel.

To Lolth, the concept of "sword" held no strangeness.

Her elder sister and sister’s companion both wielded blades masterfully…

Though Xiletor and Trish Diana might surpass A Qiu in strength and rank,

Their swordsmanship lacked the absolute purity radiating from the maiden now confronting Lolth.

Still, Lolth couldn’t claim ignorance of bladecraft.

She discerned the domain’s essence effortlessly – perhaps because A Qiu made no effort to conceal it.

"To confirm," Lolth tilted her head, "passing this ‘First Layer’ requires defeating you, yes?"

The sword-forged illusion of A Qiu smiled faintly.

"Correct. ‘Defeat’ encompasses slaying, overwhelming, or disarming me."

"No restrictions on methods or duration."

Her hands gripped the sword with its tip lightly resting on the ground, the single edge still turned inward.

"Know this – the ‘me’ here mirrors my present self in every aspect: combat experience, technique, comprehension, and swordsmanship."

"Well then… Lolthlinda, are you prepared?"

Lolth exhaled softly.

"Ready."

The instant she spoke, A Qiu’s figure—

Vanished from her original position!

She materialized mid-air before Lolth, white robes fluttering violently, single-edged blade held diagonally.

Its unsharpened side oriented toward Lolth as she—

Slashed downward!

"Swish—"

A white sword radiance emerged, fine as a silk thread yet impossible to overlook.

It resembled a fissure in a painted scroll—perhaps lacking in vivid hues, but starkly clashing against the rest of the tableau!

"What an utterly pure slash… Master Lolth is in peril."

Isabella exclaimed involuntarily.

"Could Master Lolth truly be endangered?"

Tina’s voice wavered with concern.

"That succubus will manage," Naivee rose from the ground, craning her neck beyond her shell, "But this blade’s essence… transcends mere purity. It’s pristine—beyond mere refinement."

Squinting thoughtfully, Naivee added,

"This strike is too ‘clean’—unnaturally so, as if alien to our realm!"

Kanor gave a slight nod.

Pure techniques she could dissect and replicate instantly.

Yet…

This marked her first encounter with an extraordinary technique defying comprehension.

Even its classification as "extraordinary" felt debatable!

Seychelles’ Sword Master… truly existed on a plane far beyond "Never-ending Night" Philtes’ reach.

Though Kanor had slain a demi-god and confronted deities, this strike demanded her full respect—

Here stood a genius mirroring her own caliber.

Should this rival continue evolving, surpassing her would require epochs of growth!

While doubting Master Lolth’s defeat,

Kanor burned with curiosity about her teacher’s counterstrategy.

Facing the ethereal blade, Lolth herself marveled:

"You’ve severed… a ‘concept’!"

The physical strike had transmuted—no, ascended—into abstract principle.

If mortal actions were flesh, then A Qiu’s "slash" had achieved apotheosis!

Though the blade never touched her,

The lingering thread bisected reality itself.

As the designated target, Lolth remained physically intact yet…

Her magic, soul, vitality—even her existential fabric—

Frayed along inevitable fractures.

To be cut meant division—an immutable law.

As death follows murder, this truth shone with brutal simplicity.

The force assailing Lolth now wasn’t the physical blade, but the fundamental principle it embodied.

The fabric across her chest parted as crimson threads blossomed beneath, blood permeating through ruptured cloth.

Magical currents bifurcated into separate streams.

Even her soul seemed cleaved into twin fractured fragments!

"You call this mere ‘First Layer’ technique? This is outright law-breaking!"

Lolth spat through gritted teeth.

Having crossed blades with Gandhi Alter before – the elder who claimed parity with Seychelles’ Guardian Sword Master while privately admitting A Qiu treated their duels as child’s play – Lolth now grasped the bitter truth. The old man hadn’t lied, yet hadn’t grasped the full reality.

True, A Qiu’s effortless dominance stemmed from overwhelming superiority…

But witnessing this strike reshaped Lolth’s understanding.

"Child’s play" proved inadequate metaphor.

How could such transcendental power against Gandhi Alter permit even mockery of combat? No satisfaction of crushing inferior foes existed here.

This blade-strike manifested conceptual and axiomatic principles – theoretically… irresolvable.

To act meant being severed. Inevitable causality.

Unless…

One abandoned theory entirely.

Exhaling slowly, Lolth produced a glimmering aureate flask.

"Never thought I’d unveil this here…"

"Your technique violates nature’s order!"

She conceded bitterly – she’d gravely underestimated this Sword Master.

In this realm, not only herself could transcend conventional ranks.

Her opponent’s threat level rivaled deific entities.

A Qiu’s eyes crinkled at the vessel’s appearance.

"Yet you prepare to wield greater heresies against me, no?"

Without denial, Lolth unsealed the phial.

Qiong’s ambrosial liquor cascaded down her throat…

Whereupon infernal flames and eldritch vapors erupted skyward.