Lex and the Master of the Blood Sword Group stood a few dozen metres away from each other, wielding identical blades, then suddenly burst towards each other, eager to test the other's swordsmanship.
The giant man didn't have high expectations of Lex's swordsmanship, since he was already skilled in so many other things, it would be unbelievable for him to also be skilled in the use of the sword. However, little did he know, Lex was more skilled in the use of weaponry than in hand to hand combat and the use of Fist Skills.
They both started with a simple, but rapid and effective diagonal slash across the body of their opponent, their blades clashed and caused a shock wave as they did.
"Not bad, but still not enough," commented the giant man.
"I was about to say the same thing," said Lex, as their blades suddenly became blurs and all that was heard was the sound of rapid collisions of metal.
Although Lex's blade wasn't produced of metal, the blade formed out of his energy had metallic properties and was almost identical to the giant man's weapon in every way, other than the fact it required energy to form and maintain.
Lex was impressed by the giant man's sword technique, especially the swiftness and speed of his blade, which was hard to believe that he had managed to pull off with his size. But considering that he was a mid level Mortal King and could take on even high level and peak level Mortal Kings, his body and skills were nothing to be scoffed at.
With his Perceptive Eye, keeping up with the giant man's sword attacks was quite easy for Lex, while it also allowed him to learn from the moves of his opponent and find its weaknesses.
The muscles around his arm were bustling, while his veins bulged as he rapidly continued using all sorts of sword attacks against Lex, but it was to no avail and it seemed as though their swordsmanship was equally matched.
However, suddenly, the Master of the Blood Sword Group's speed and strength seemed to increase, along with the swiftness and power of his sword as he quickly began to gain the upper hand.
He had so much blood, vitality and energy within his large body and muscles, after soaking in the blood of tens of thousands of cultivators and innocent people, that he had a secret storage he could draw on when he needed.
While he could also dangerously burn the energy, which would give him a power boost, and he needed that power boost to handle and overwhelm Lex, before taking him down and delivering him to the 13th elder.
Just thinking about all the rewards he would receive caused him to smile mid-battle, while the thought of losing hadn't even crossed his mind, completely confident in his ability to win against him.
And in all honesty, he truly was overwhelming Lex who despite his incredible swordsmanship, was forced to go on the defensive and was being pushed back by his opponent whose power had greatly increased.
However, the sudden change in the tide of the battle was too sudden and there was an underlying reason for it. Lex seemed to be having complications of his own within his body.
His body was starving for energy, not because he had run out of energy, but because he was on the verge of breaking through.
Lex had been at the peak of the Golden Mortal Cultivation Level both internally and externally for a while and needed a nudge in order to break through, and an intense battle was the perfect thing for that. Throughout the entire battle, he had felt himself nearing the breakthrough state that would require the perfect conditions and pressure to help his body surpass its limit and reach the next level.
Now he felt as though he was breaking through, but he didn't have the energy he needed to do so and he suddenly took out some of the valuables he had gathered which he had with him.
Even after everything he had given to Ella and Angela, Lex still had an unbelievable amount of resources that he had gathered from all of those that he had killed, who also had storage items of their own.
Suddenly disappearing, the giant man was confused as to where Lex was and didn't have a Spacial Affinity or any treasure that would allow him to know where Lex was, leaving him confused and angry.
"Has that little rascal run away. I swear I will make sure to bring him to the elder, even if I have to search this entire continent myself. I shouldn't have held back and should have killed him from the start," cursed the Master of the Blood Sword Group who was beginning to worry that Lex had escaped and wasn't going to continue the fight.
It was understandable why he would assume so, as when Lex began to lose, he suddenly disappeared. However, that was far from the truth, and Lex had merely gone into his Portable Sub-Dimension for a moment.
Then within his Portable Sub-Dimension, he scoffed down all the pills and consumable resources that were filled with energy that his body could handle, allowing him to break through and become a Mortal King.
Not only had he broken through and grown stronger, but he regained all his stamina and energy, and was in a state greater than any that he had ever been in before.
Quickly exiting his Portable Sub-Dimension and returning to where he was battling the Master of the Blood Sword Group, the change in him was clear and most of the injuries that were previously visible on him had disappeared.
"Y-You have broken through," the giant man realised, cursing his luck, knowing that it would be much more difficult to take him down.
However, it could be a blessing in disguise as, when one would breakthrough, their cultivation and body would be unstable and he would need time to consolidate his cultivation, or so he thought.
Thinking that, he quickly launched himself towards Lex to continue their battle and take him down while he had only just broken through and wouldn't be able to display his full power.