As far as Arianna was concerned, because her soul wasn’t at the deity level, nor was it as strong as her husband’s, had O’Brien hidden his presence when he arrived, she wouldn’t have been able to sense him, but because he hadn’t, she had nothing to worry about.

He may be a deity, but she was well aware he could only rank among the weakest of deities.

As calm as Arianna and the majority of her group were, the rest of the crowd didn’t share their reaction, or in this case, lack thereof.

From the moment Ace arrived, it had been one shock after the next, but this was by far the most shocking!

Even though it was only one attack, and it had done next to no damage at all, the simple fact that it had even managed to stop O’Brien – a genuine deity – in his tracks was enough. Especially as, from the way Arianna slowly lowered her supple index finger, it appeared to be nothing more than a casual attack from her.

O’Brien looked down at his stinging arms before looking up at Arianna, his casual demeanour having disappeared. “Who are you?”

Even though an attack of that level wasn’t quite at the deity level, it had clearly surpassed anything your average prime saint was capable of.

It was the reason that the faces of both Fain and Desri had suddenly paled. Even though the power of her soul was stronger than either of theirs, it wasn’t to the point where they would be instantly killed, and even though the comprehension she had shown was at their level, as she was still only at the middle stages of the saint realm, her power would only put her at the top of the peak saint level, but now…

‘First Ace, and now her…’ Fain thought as he continuously stared wide-eyed at the mysterious woman opposing his master. ‘Both of their comprehensions are well into the deity levels. Just who are these people?!’

On the other hand, although Desri was also very much in shock, as a mage at the prime saint level who specialised in the laws of light, he was able to sense a lot more than Fain.

“This woman,” Desri muttered. “Her insights…”

“What about them?” His wife, Pennslyn, asked when she saw the almost captivated expression on Desri’s face.

“It’s as though…” Desri’s face revealed a pensive expression as the scene of that beam of light flying through the air replayed in his head over and over again. “They’ve fused…”

Even at his level, Desri had only been able to catch a glimpse of the beam of light as it tore through the air. Its speed far beyond anything he could clearly follow.

“Fused?” Fain asked, not understanding Desri’s meaning.

“It moved too fast for me to see clearly, so I don’t completely understand it myself,” Desri explained as he brought his index finger and thumb to his chin. “But from what I could sense, it was as though she had somehow manipulated the shape and speed of the light at the same time.”

It had to be remembered that other than those of the pavilion, the various experts of the Yulan Continent didn’t have a thorough grasp of the true intricacies and paths of progression when comprehending the various laws and edicts.

As such, although they could sense that Arianna’s comprehension had surpassed theirs, they weren’t able to truly appreciate the true brilliance of her seemingly simple technique.

But just that little attack had opened Desri’s eyes to a whole new world of possibilities.

O’Brien had heard everything Desri had said, but as he was far stronger than the prime saint-level mage, he was able to see what happened with greater detail. As such, he had long since come to the same conclusion. Still, that wasn’t what caused his brows to furrow.

“Are you a descendent of the Qingya Family?” O’Brien asked when he sensed that the mysterious saint had no intention of answering.

A hardly visible flicker of emotion flashed across Arianna’s otherwise placid eyes at a speed virtually no one could detect. Still, O’Brien wasn’t just anyone.

“It’s fine; you don’t have to speak. Your silence is all the answer I need.” O’Brien sighed. “To think there are members of the so-called ‘supreme’ Qingya clan still alive after all this time…

Back in my day, the Qingya’s golden era had long since come to an end. There was only the odd descendant that would pop up every once in a while. Still, because of the teachings your clan held and passed down only to their direct descendants, any member that popped would immediately be hunted down.

So, unfortunately, I never had the pleasure of meeting any of the descendants, but after seeing you here today and hearing about the prowess of a child related to you in no small way, I see that the rumours of your family’s teachings weren’t exaggerated in the least.”

After the initial mention of the ‘Qingya Clan,’ Arianna’s eyes regained their usual tranquillity. No matter what O’Brien said, not even a ripple could be seen, but O’Brien didn’t seem to mind.

“Honestly, I have a great deal of respect for your clan,” the crimson-haired deity continued. “If I had known that young Ace here was of any relation to you or your clan, I would never have allowed any of my people to show him such disrespect.

Still, I can’t overlook the fact that he has not only killed so many of my countrymen but also showed such blatant disrespect to me, a genuine deity.”

“Ooh, and what would you suggest we do?” Arianna asked, humouring the War God’s obvious greed whilst hiding her sneer behind her beautifully tranquil face.

“I’m glad you asked,” O’Brien replied, suppressing his growing excitement.

In his eyes, the fact that Arianna finally responded meant that despite her incredible comprehension, she hadn’t reached a point where she was confident in her ability to defeat him.

Still, unless it was absolutely possible, he had no intention of trying to strongarm her into giving in to his demands.

For one, he didn’t know how many Qingyas there were hiding away or how strong the others, if any, were.

And secondly, although he was a deity, speed wasn’t exactly his forte. Even though this mysterious Qingya descendant was only a mid-staged saint, judging by her last attack, she was one that seemed to specialise in speed. If it really came down to it, he had absolutely no guarantee that he’d be able to make her stay behind.

“How about if both sides were to take a step back,” O’Brien suggested. “I give you my word that you and your group will be allowed to leave here safely, and in return, all I ask is that you share your family’s teachings with me.”

Arianna merely glanced lightly at O’Brien before disregarding him and his proposal entirely.

“Come on,” Arianna said softly as she turned to Carter. “Let’s go.”

If everyone was stunned by this group’s brazenness before, then they were beyond shocked now.

This seemingly insane woman had genuinely turned her back on one of the most powerful existences on their continent and begun floating behind the peak saint magical lion preparing to take their leave, but before they could get more than a few meters, the temperature seemed to skyrocket to the point where, forget the mortals, even some of the weaker saints began to feel genuinely uncomfortable.

“You’d be wise not to mistake my kindness for weakness,” O’Brien growled as a crimson skin-tight aura wrapped around his body.

Ace’s frosty eyes, which had never left his mother’s assailant for even a second since his arrival, narrowed slightly.

Whilst others might not be able to tell, his [Observation] allowed him to see things which most couldn’t.

As he was so far away from that stage, neither Arianna nor his master had bothered to explain the difference between deities and mortals, but the moment he saw O’Brien, he understood the core difference between them.

Whilst mortals, and even saints, were made of blood, bones, organs and other such features, deities seemed to be made of an extremely overbearing energy of some sort. At first glance, it appeared to be some sort of fusion of battle-qi and mageforce, only dozens, if not hundreds of times more pure and potent.

It was then that he realised one of the many reasons why it was so hard for saints to jump ranks to defeat deities.

If his assessment was correct, because their bodies were made of this incredible energy, it would mean that any physical wounds they received could be instantly healed, provided they didn’t run out of energy.

He didn’t know what would happen if a wound was inflicted using energy of the same calibre, but what he was able to deduce was that if ordinairy battle-qi or mageforce were used to harm him, it would do next to no genuine harm. Unless…

O’Brien had barely moved an inch when Arianna’s body moved at a speed that not even he could follow clearly.

“My family’s legacy isn’t for the likes of you to covet,” Arianna said softly as she slowly re-sheathed her sword.

It was only after she returned to the side of Ace and the others that Fain, Desri, and the others even realised she had even moved, but it was only when the clink of her sheathe met the hilt of her katana that they realised the impossible had happened.

O’Brien’s head had been cut clean off his shoulders!

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Book 11: Part 4 – The Bloodline of the Chief Sovereign of Darkness