Sword energy flared as Grey swung his blade downward.

BZZT!

A blazing arc of sword energy tore through the air, splitting into crescent-shaped waves like shattered moons. In their wake, streaks of heavenly tribulation lightning chased closely behind, crackling violently as they carved a path of destruction forward.

The True Dragon did not dodge. Its massive body blazed with power as a mysterious symbol rapidly formed around it.

Whrrmmm!

The world abruptly drained of color, plunging into black and white. Time itself froze. The incoming sword energy and the heavenly tribulation were locked midair, suspended mere inches from its scales.

But Grey was unaffected.

"Time stop doesn't work on me. I'm sure I already made it clear." Grey smiled.

As his words fell, a deeper temporal ripple spread outward from his body. His own authority over time surged forth, forcibly overriding the frozen domain.

Time resumed.

Caught completely off guard, the halted sword energy and heavenly tribulation crashed down all at once, slamming directly into the dragon before it could react.

VRRRRRAAAAAAAUM!

The True Dragon roared. Even as the attack landed, it remained unharmed. A thick layer of frost had already formed over the impact point, sealing it off at the critical moment and dispersing the destructive force entirely.

The True Dragon and Grey locked eyes for a fleeting instant.

In the very next moment, they moved.

Crrk! Buzz! Whoosh! Clank!

Both erupted at full speed. Their figures blurred out of existence, moving so fast that ordinary mortals and even first-rankers could no longer perceive them at all.

From the ground, Fedrick could only see streaks of blue and purple-silver light tearing through the sky in crisscrossing, zigzagging paths. Every collision between them sent terrifying shockwaves crashing downward, shaking the earth beneath his feet.

At this rate, if neither of them stopped, the entire secret realm would collapse!

The True Dragon's crushing claws evenly matched each and every one of Grey's precise sword attacks. Its eyes locked coldly onto him as it dodged and parried with calm precision.

Grey wasn't fazed either. Instead, he was even more excited.

A wide smile was plastered across his face as Nexus energy continuously surged out of him. His momentum increased every second, and the excitement, along with the Nexus Overclock, kept pushing him to new heights.

The True Dragon's endurance had reached new heights. Its scales were not something an ordinary sixth-level second-rank being could damage, perhaps not even a seventh-level expert could breach them with ease.

However, Grey could not be measured by conventional standards.

The Nexus Overclock operated according to the golden ratio principle, continuously forcing his body to function beyond its natural limits. Each surge pushed his physical structure, nerves, and energy circulation into a state that should have been unsustainable.

Yet, while the strain was immense, it would not cause long-term damage as long as he maintained precise control and did not exceed the critical threshold.

This was because Nexus Overclock was fundamentally bound to Nexus energy itself. The golden ratio it followed allowed the energy flow, bodily stress, and recovery to remain in near-perfect equilibrium.

It was precisely due to this balance that Grey could reverse the burden, recycle the strain, and maintain the Overclock indefinitely.

In other words, what should have been self-destruction became a self-sustaining loop.

And this loop, as long as he was willing to suffer a bit of pain, could push him to new limits. If he added his self-buffing halo to the equation, it would become even stronger.

Whmm!

Grey swung his sword in rapid succession. Sword energy and heavenly tribulation erupted at the same time as they surged toward the True Dragon.

Seeing the attack, the True Dragon flung its wings. Immediately, several energy beams shot out from its body.

Grey's attack collided with its own. Instantly, a small nuclear-bomb-like detonation went off in the skies where they fought. The ground below slightly caved in from the impact, and Fedrick, a powerful third-rank expert, was flung away once more.

"Why, god!" he screamed as the impact sent him flying off the map. He landed precisely in the infernals' volcanic hell area.

The rest of the infernals stared at him, then stared back at the two powerful entities in the air and shivered.

Not even hell had monsters like these!

And amidst all this, a certain someone from inside Grey's mansion was witnessing everything through the infernals' sight, a dumbfounded look frozen on her face.

…

"At this rate, the secret realm is going to be destroyed."

Even while immersed in battle, Grey remained aware of the situation.

He quietly reached out to the power of the secret realm. High above, barriers began to form layer by layer, intercepting the aftermath of their clashes before it could crash down.

The next moment, the True Dragon attacked again.

Its wings flung outward, and the surrounding temperature dropped sharply as thousands of icicles condensed in midair and shot toward Grey.

This time, Grey did not move.

He raised his sword and pointed it straight ahead.

"Zenith Sword Art, Myriad Swords."

Sword energy surged behind him. Within a fraction of a second, it split into countless strands, each one condensing into the shape of a sword.

Every blade carried a sharp, restrained pressure, as if each could cleave a mountain apart on its own.

Then they burst forward.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Resounding explosions echoed through the sky as sword-energy blades collided with the incoming icicles. Shockwaves rippled outward, and the barriers above trembled as fragments of frost and light rained down.

Grey did not stay still. Right after the attack, his psionic energy stirred, and his mind perception, amplified by his Nexus Overclock, surged forth.

The world was drained out of light as telekinesis completely erupted out of him. The air twisted and stirred under its pressure, and even with the power of the secret realm, the area around his mind perception was directly affected and instantly pulverized into dust the moment it emerged. Several stones and debris rose into the air.

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