Barlin was on the verge of losing his mind, even as he could feel his hand trembling as he held on to his sword.He could smell singed hair and charred skin from the rest of himself, even as he used what Reiki he had left to heal.Never had he felt this pathetic since he started out as a cultivator!Glaring at Charlie murderously, he no longer tried to retort and instead focused copious amounts of Reiki into his flying sword and launched it straight at Charlie, with the might that could tear apart everything in its wake.Charlie was planning to press his advantage with Thunder Order, scraping skin even if it couldn't kill Barlin.But seeing the flying sword moving so quickly with such deadly purpose, he knew he had to get out of the way.However, even as he tried to move, he felt extremely sluggish as if he came under a spell, and it consumed stamina just trying to shift his weight.He realized then that the Reiki fueling the flying sword also projected a pressure to impede its

Charlie never cultivated such techniques, and was naturally caught off guard when Barlin's Reiki suddenly swelled, while the flying sword accelerated with greater power than before!In his panic, he kept launching lightning bolts at Barlin while leaping backward at top speed, concentrating his Reiki at the same time to deflect Barlin's flying sword.Having learned his lesson, Barlin didn't hold his sword and instead directed it with Reiki, keeping it at least five feet away from himself to avoid getting jolted.His reflexes also quickened after he burnt his essence, and it was not that difficult to dodge Charlie's lightning bolts now.As one bolt descended, he dodged away, while his flying sword remained connected to his mind as he pressed his attack on Charlie, as if the bolt didn't slow him down.Charlie was out of options and mystic items that could attack. Neither the Apocalyptic Book nor the Vairocana hand seals were effective for a fight, if not outright unimpressive.Tha

Even then, the drawback was clear—if the real flying sword hit, it was going to tear through him like he was completely defenseless.It was dangerous, but he was really out of ideas.Barlin himself knew that Charlie's death was assured by his combos, and hence still felt delighted, even though he had burnt through much of his essence. Rearing his head and laughing thunderously, he bellowed just as his flying swords would shred Charlie, "Well, you had your chance! Rest in pieces, brat!"Charlie wasn't afraid because he knew he wouldn't die—having Vera's ring meant the worst for him was merely experiencing the pain of death."You wish!" He snapped back coldly, bracing himself.Planting his rump on the ice, he gathered Reiki all around his body to brace against the countless flying swords, and they reached him in the blink of an eye!It felt like being shot countless times while wearing a bulletproof vest—his guard was tough, but was also quickly being shredded by the countless fl

The dust in the air was ice shards due to the collision on the ice cap, but it was also fragments of Barlin's flying sword, as well as the vestiges of its clones.Even then, Barlin wasn't aware that he couldn't feel his flying sword because it was completely destroyed.As the polar gales blew and the dust settled, he thought he'd never forget what he was seeing for the rest of his life: Charlie, standing his ground.Despite being far inferior in cultivation—despite his violent assault… Charlie was still alive, while his flying sword was nowhere to be seen!However, Charlie was not in good shape either.His clothes were shredded, and he was bleeding from hundreds of cuts, with the blood coagulating as soon as it hit the polar air that was at least seventy degrees below.Either way, he was a tragic sight.Still, Barlin was gaping at him, and bellowed, 'Where's my sword, brat?!"Charlie looked at Barlin, and then at himself.He was just as shocked as the geezer, but he was calm—w

Barlin burst into tears right then, devastated as he cried, "Yes, I lived over a hundred years, but I've only lived like a normal person for about 20 years. The rest of my time has been spent cultivating my spiritual path in seclusion. How could I possibly have time to understand or engage with this world? Especially this modern, technologically advanced society, where everything is so revolutionary and groundbreaking…" Charlie sneered. "Choosing to cultivate and go into seclusion for a hundred years is your choice, not mine. Go take it up with Hades when you see him!" Barlin was horrified and kept crying, "Please, my friend… Oh! You despise Fleur, don't you? Do you want to know the secrets of the Qing Eliminating Society? I swear by the cosmic order that if you spare my life, I will tell you I know about her and the Qing Eliminating Society, including the location of the Qing Eliminating Society's headquarters! Everything, without holding anything back!" Swearing to the cosmos w