"How could I joke with my man's name before outsiders?"
The straightforward and indifferent tone employed by Yvonne effortlessly convinced Erhardt of the truth of her words. His mind spun, his teeth sank into his lower lips, while his face was twisted by rage, rancor, and jealousy.
"Who? Who is it?! Tell me now!"
He roared, and empowered by his holy force, his cry hammered the eardrums of the gathered experts.
Those beneath the Crossed Tribulation Saint Rank saw blood trickling down their ears, and their minds shaken by violent tremors.
Still, Yvonne remained undisturbed. Stretching out her hand, she summoned Hell's Reach, her lineage weapon, and aimed it at Erhardt.
"I'm afraid I won't."
Such words did nothing to ease his ire, which only grew more pronounced. He raised his hand, and dazzling sunrays shone within.
However, before he could strike, he pulled in a deep sigh and lowered it.
"It's fine…it's fine. As long as you let go of that inferior creature, I can forget anything. Just come with me and be my love. If I have you, what else can I ask for?
Yvonne, I don't care about anything else. I don't even care about the Celestial Church. I only want you. For you, I can forsake everything.
So, stop being this stubborn…and come with me."
Erhardt said through clenched teeth, the words draining him of vitality.
Alas, they failed to trigger anything within Yvonne who merely shook her head.
"Erhardt, you are an outstanding cultivator. On the Ancient Crystal World's standards, you stand at the summit. Were you born in the higher realms, it is likely that you could have become a God.
However, as a man, you've always been lacking and fail to excite me."
Yvonne casually said while adopting her battle-stance and aiming her spear at Erhardt's chest.
"Allow me to give you this bit of wisdom. If a woman wants you, you don't have to do anything. If a woman doesn't want you, anything you do is useless.
And I do not want you. So please…"
As Yvonne's words echoed, dark sand and flames erupted from her form, alongside the might of her physiques, causing the pressure emanating from her to skyrocket.
"…get the hell out of my face!"
The words struck Erhardt hard, and he staggered, failing to regain his composure.
"But I insist on having you, if you won't listen to reason, then I can only use force and rob you from this land!"
Erhardt's peak-stage Star Fusing Saint cultivation erupted at full-force alongside the might of his Mastered Divine Physique.
Bright golden flames and sunrays burst from his form, brightening everything across dozens of miles with blinding radiance.
Erhardt vanished, reappeared before Yvonne, and punched out!
Coated by bright golden flames, his fist tore through the air, causing space to ripple and threaten to crack!
The phenomenon clearly showcasing that his strength stood at the Divine-level, for in the mortal realm, only Divine Rank experts could fracture space without the space attribute.
Meanwhile, he activated his Origin Sight, ready to map the pattern of Yvonne's moves, and force a quick conclusion!
With a sweep of Hell's Reach, Yvonne slammed the punch away. However, the infernal spear's blade couldn't put a dent on Erhardt's fist.
With just this exchange, it was clear that this battle was not likely to take a favorable turn.
"Use the defensive formation to support Yvonne!"
Hubert ordered, and alongside the Voight elders, came to Yvonne's aid.
"Secular world ants, mind your business!"
Erhardt exclaimed and joined his hands. A bright golden sun appeared above his head and fired a pure sunbeam at the center of the Voight Formation.
*BOOM*
With one move, the formation collapsed, and Hubert included, the Voight elders all flew backward, with various degrees of injury!
"He's even stronger than I thought."
Yvonne realized while Erhardt's golden sun dazzled the atmosphere. His windblown hairs erratically flew at his back, while rage still twisted his otherwise flawless face.
Erhardt turned into a golden beam and flew toward Yvonne.
"Suppression!
Overlord's Might!"
Activating her Supreme Overlord's Physique abilities, Yvonne met Erhardt without fear.
But as her spear reached him, he whirled on the side, avoiding it before throwing a blazing palm at her chest. Flipping Hell's Reach around, Yvonne blocked the blow with the lower end of her spear, and used the impact to retreat, then again charged with a flurry of spear strikes.
However, with his Origin Sight, Erhardt saw them all coming. His Origin Sight was so powerful that even changing patterns couldn't fool it, and she failed to graze his clothes.
Meanwhile, his Mastered Divine Physique countered Yvonne's suppression force, allowing him to freely move.
Thus, they exchanged a hundred blows.
"Realm of Eternal Darkness!"
Dark fog erupted from Yvonne's body to cloud everything across several miles and suppress all of Erhardt's senses.
Even his Origin Sight found itself hampered. If only for a little. Meanwhile, a wave of negativity welled up within his chest, enfeebling him and warping his mind.
"Solar Flare!"
Erhardt stretched out his hands, causing the miniature sun above his head to explode alongside his Mastered Physique.
The two released an earthshaking explosion of solar force that obliterated the darkness and restored the light.
Yvonne flew backward with a blood spurt.
…
"Terrible. This is…terrible."
Verena and Else commented from within the Voight palace. The battle was beyond their league. If even Yvonne wasn't Erhardt's match, no one could change today's outcome.
And if she was, so what? In victory or defeat, they couldn't triumph.
Because this time, the enemy was the invincible Celestial Church! Now, only Gulistan could save them. But would she?
…
By the time Yvonne stabilized herself, Erhardt was again upon her, in an instant firing hundreds of blazing palm strikes that fractured space.
*BAM* *BAM* *BAM*
Waving Hell's Reach, she managed to deflect most of them, but the weight behind the blows forced her to recoil again, and again until finally one broke past her guard and sent her tumbling onto the ground!
*Bang*
In an eruption of dust, Yvonne crashed.
Meanwhile, Erhardt still stood within the air, his white robe unblemished, and his fury lessened.
"Yvonne, you hurt me. But it's fine because I do not doubt that in the future, only I shall exist within your mind."
Erhardt pledged while Yvonne rose from the ground.
"The Solar Cremation Physique truly lives up to its reputation. A pity that unlike the Celestial Church Founder, yours is just of the low-grade."
Hearing Yvonne's comment, Erhardt was undisturbed.
"So what if it's of the low-grade? In the mortal world, who can bring a high-grade Divine Physique to the Mastered Stage? No one.
When we defeat the Infernal Cult and rise to the higher realms, I will naturally find ways to improve it. And you better believe that you will be there to see it."
Erhardt pledged.
But at that time, a booming laugh echoed.
"Hehehe! Boy, you surely are arrogant. What makes you believe that your Celestial Church will be the final victor?
A husky voice reverberated within the ears of the gathered experts.
Dazzling golden beams came from the distance and stopped above the Voight domain.
Eight figures appeared within the sky, leading them was an olive-skinned, middle-aged man with short black hairs, a well-trimmed beard, and an appearance that reminisced Eysan Serkar's.
He was his father, Bayiz.
Seeing him, Erhardt's face contorted into a frown.
