I am a hero of the former civilization.

Sakura was still a little confused. She didn't understand why this man had called her out, and why he looked so menacing.

“You know, a true strongman doesn’t care about the opinions of others.” Ryan stroked the hilt of his sword, ignoring the prying eyes behind him.

The guards and intelligence agents stared blankly at the Gobi Desert, completely baffled as to what these two were doing.

"Are you trying to test the power I've gained?" Sakura also came to her senses. She knew Ryan quite well and knew that this man never did anything meaningless.

"That's just one of the purposes. It's also to give the higher-ups a preliminary understanding of my power and prevent them from getting overconfident and doing something stupid. But I want to tell you something more."

"What's the point?"

“You’ll only understand once you’ve fought him.” Ryan kept everyone in suspense as he slowly drew his sword, Crimson Sky. “Draw your sword. I will not hold back in any battle.”

Is he serious?

As a professional assassin, Sakura had countless doubts, but her muscles were already instinctively tense, because as the sword was drawn, even her skin began to feel a stinging sensation.

Ryan was very serious, just like when he faced that thousand tribulations.

The boiling fighting spirit seemed to make the air scorching. Sakura felt that reason was no longer important, because this man had always been good at reasoning.

How much closer can I get to him now?

The question surfaced in her mind, intertwined with the fear she felt upon first meeting, causing her to twist her wrist and flick her thumb.

Clang——

As the sword was drawn, a muffled thud echoed from afar, accompanied by an indescribable force emanating from the wrist.

clang! ! !

The clash of weapons sent sand and stones flying. Sakura's pupils contracted, reflecting the lingering pale ring in the distance, the man in front of her whose face was crackling with lightning, and two straight ravines.

She had already flown more than ten meters away, but...

I blocked it! ?

The man was still terrifying, but he no longer possessed the overwhelming power of a god. She saw purple lightning erupt, and a blur flashed to her side. Instinctively, she took a step forward and slashed back with both hands, gripping her sword.

clang!

Sparks flew as the force from her wrist propelled her into the air, a few thoughts flashing through her mind.

He is stronger than me, but I can see and fight back. Is this the power of a Fusion Warrior?

Sakura felt the texture of the power. In the face of this feeling, any words seemed pale and powerless. She turned nimbly in the air, felt the crescent-shaped arc of electricity brush past her, and slashed upwards with both hands holding the sword.

Winter Cherry Blossoms!

Honkai energy surged forth, transforming into a dense icy mist that froze everything within a hundred meters. This single slash created an iceberg out of thin air.

The sand and dust were frozen inside, and Ryan didn't dare to resist it. He transformed into lightning and retreated a hundred meters, then looked up at the girl standing on one leg on the 'mountain peak'.

Her face was expressionless, her clothes shrouded in icy mist, yet she gave off a familiar feeling.

"The aura of a powerful being, that's more like it."

Ryan smiled gently. He felt that he and Sakura were very compatible. As technical warriors, he longed to learn something from her before dealing with the Herrscher, who was also in human form.

With a twist of his wrist, Ryan sprang forward, his movements as swift as lightning, so fast that his trajectory was impossible to discern.

The light flashed several times before reaching her, while the ring of lightning lingered in the air, and the iceberg beneath Sakura's feet was split in two.

Swah——

Like a mountain collapsing, Sakura landed on the ground a step ahead, her eyes locking onto a blurry figure, before she turned and slashed back.

Reverse robe!

The blades were shrouded in icy mist. When the swords clashed, the frozen ice melted in the lightning, and the energy collision burst forth with a bright light, illuminating the two extremely fast afterimages.

clang! clang! clang! clang!

Thrust, light flick, heavy chop, and continuous slash.

The dense blade light merged into one, the Cold Cherry and Crimson Sky collided and bounced away, and then intertwined again. The speed of the sword had long surpassed the limits of human vision.

It is incredibly fast and cleverly uses its Soul Steel weapon to compensate for its lack of energy.

Ryan swam forward, his sword moving with him, and squeezed through the flashing blades. He saw Sakura jump back several meters and squat on the ground. Without thinking, he immediately turned to the side.

boom!

With a loud bang, the girl shot out like an arrow, her gleaming longsword aimed straight at his forehead. He had already turned to the side, pointing his sword upwards with one hand.

Point the sword.

With a crisp "clang," the sword's edge struck the tip of the longsword precisely, allowing the swift thrust to glide over the girl's head. Then, the left palm, hidden under her ribs, struck the girl's chest.

Heartbreaking.

Without any hesitation or reservation, all that could be felt in the palm was a hard touch.

Unable to retract the longsword that had bounced back, Sakura simply took a step forward, using the hilt as a shield to block in front of her chest, then circled around to the side, drawing a semi-circle with the longsword above her head.

With a series of quick, swift movements, Ryan shifted his gaze to the side, watching the arc left by the blade and the air frozen as it passed.

She gathers energy very quickly; is that one of her characteristics?

Ryan narrowed his eyes, planted his left foot in the ground, turned around, and used all his strength to slash down.

Rachel!

hum...

There was no more sound of clashing swords, because before the swords even collided, the energy had already distorted the air, and white and purple light intertwined, compressed, and finally roared!

boom! !

A beam of aurora burst forth between the two, forming a bright pillar of light that, like a hot knife cutting through butter, carved a bottomless hole in the ground.

Sakura tumbled out of the pillar of light, her body crackling with electric arcs. She rolled several times on the ground before stopping herself with her long sword, her purple eyes still somewhat dazed.

This energy isn't much stronger than mine, but its destructive power is incomparable.

The scene replayed in my mind again and again: Ryan's lightning blade cleaved through her energy. Only by experiencing it firsthand could I understand what 'utterly devastating' meant.

Manipulating Honkai energy is just the basics; that man can actually directly interfere with physical phenomena.

Is this the authority of the law enforcers?

Sakura was perhaps the first among all those who speculated to get the answer: even with the same amount of Honkai energy, there was no comparison in terms of strength. To deal with this kind of enemy, one either had to overwhelm them with sheer numbers, or—

With human experience and skill, this energy can be completely controlled, thus far surpassing the original Honkai Beast.

As Sakura gazed at Ryan emerging from the annihilating pillar of light, her heart was as calm as still water. She had come to regard him as a Herrscher, an enemy that could only be defeated by surpassing one's limits.

"That's it, Sakura."

Ryan glanced at the stunned onlookers in the distance, and lightly brandished his straight sword. He had another purpose: to prepare Sakura for the battle against the Herrscher.

At least in close combat, no Herrscher is stronger than him.

Chi Xiao slowly pointed to the overcast sky, then his eyes widened.

Thunder.

wow-

A bolt of lightning struck the ground with a deafening roar, engulfing the girl.

Is that an afterimage? That's incredibly fast.

Ryan bent down, looked up slightly, and saw a pink figure spinning down from the air, followed by the sound of a dragon's roar as a long sword was drawn.

Clang!

The ice wheel crashed onto the ground, engulfing Ryan's body as well. Only a flash of light remained, and the man, who had dodged in an instant, looked down and saw ice spreading down his calves.

They've pushed the Soul Steel weapon to its limits.

Without much thought, Ryan took off, wielding his sword with both hands and slashing horizontally forward, when a huge ice spear suddenly condensed.

The ice spear was ten meters long, appearing out of thin air. Ryan and the sword in his hand became incredibly small, but when they touched the top, the ice spear stopped instantly.

Thunderstorm.

A roaring ball of plasma erupted from the point of contact, and under the raging arc of electricity, the seemingly indestructible ice spear instantly shattered into countless ice shards, though a blurry afterimage pierced through the icy mist.

Using the Honkai energy covering her body to resist the residual electricity, Sakura bent down, feeling the longsword pierce through her hair, and slashed fiercely at Ryan's legs.

woo-

A blast of air stretched forward a hundred meters. She lowered her head, instinctively locking onto Ryan who had jumped into the air. With a flick of her wrist, she reversed her grip on the longsword.

Time seemed to freeze in her consciousness, as if a barrier had formed within ten meters, leaving only the knife in her hand and the person who had leaped up. She concentrated her Honkai energy and drove her body to the limit of speed.

A single, swift strike. A chilling prison, an icy heaven.

He sprang up, swung his sword—the speed was indescribable. More than ten pale, cold lights appeared simultaneously, while at the same time, more than ten purple lights clashed head-on.

Thunder Strike! Consecutive Slashes!

Ryan had anticipated the feint followed by the killing blow, so he prepared in advance to counter it with a swift blade.

clang clang clang......

Energy and blades intertwined in an instant, and the burst of light left hundreds of sword marks on the ground. In close combat, when it came to sword speed, Ryan was far from at a disadvantage.

The dazzling blade light burst forth and vanished in the blink of an eye. Sakura felt her hands go numb and her reaction was a moment slower. Then she saw the crimson longsword raised once more, and the sound of a thousand birds chirping filled her ears.

As Ryan floated and fell, he used the force of the fall to throw the more than ten-meter-long lightning spear with all his might.

Thunder Starfall Spear!

There was no time to react; the Gobi Desert fell silent for a moment, and then a raging thunderstorm erupted.

Rumbling--

The onlookers in the distance covered their ears, the lenses of their high-speed cameras shattered, and their muscles trembled uncontrollably.

The residual electricity spread throughout the area within a hundred meters, and then a cracked ice ball rolled out. Soon the ice ball exploded, throwing the girl out of it.

Sakura didn't have time to praise herself for her quick thinking. She gripped the knife with both hands and instinctively swung it upwards.

Ding.

Chixiao spun into the air, his suddenly contracting purple pupils reflecting the straight sword.