Chapter 623 Sword God
A fifth-stage master from the Extreme Pathway!
James figured it out in a flash.
And odds were, the guy was Neil's mentor—the legendary Sword God!
Masters of the Extreme Pathway were rare in this world. In Sunlandia, Sword God was the most well-known. The others were like ghosts—hardly ever seen. Most of them were off the grid, chasing some higher purpose, completely uninterested in the rat race of power, money, or fame.
In other words, their priorities had shifted. It was like when someone had their house, their car, and their basic needs covered—they started chasing something deeper, something beyond the material.
Extreme Pathway masters were no different. Once they hit that level, they couldn't care less about petty power struggles or grudges. Otherwise, how could someone like James, just a peak fourth-stage martial artist, run the City of Mysteries and bend all those families to his will? That would have been impossible. Any random Extreme Pathway master could have crushed him easily.
James understood this very clearly. So, although he acted all cocky and fearless on the surface, deep down, he knew his limits.
Maybe the more he realized, the smaller he felt. Right now, he was untouchable below the Extreme Pathway, but when it came to facing it, he was still a nobody. To really protect the Smith family and the people around him, he had to break through to the Extreme Pathway!
In fact, Sword God's visit was part of his calculation. He beat Neil so badly and then let him go, all for the sake of Sword God.
After all, Sword God was the Extreme Pathway master he had the best chance of contacting at the moment.
In a breath, James returned to normal. His chaotic aura began to smooth out, and he wore a faint smile as he spoke to the void in front of him, "Sword God, you are here."
As his words fell, a refined middle-aged man walked out of the darkness in front of him. He was wearing suit pants, a white shirt, and black-framed glasses. Anyone would think he was a teacher, and a very cultured one at that. No one would imagine that he was the famous Sword God!
Even James was visibly surprised when he saw him. He hadn't expected Sword God to look like this.
What's more, James couldn't pick up any aura vibes from him. He couldn't even tell the guy was a martial artist.
That just showed how out of his league Sword God was—way, way out of his depth.
This was James's first encounter with an Extreme Pathway master. Though he couldn't detect any energy fluctuations, he could feel it on a deeper level—this man was a force of unimaginable destruction, far beyond anything he could withstand.
In that moment, his heart raced. This was an Extreme Pathway master, the true pinnacle of human power!
Compared to him, a peak fourth-stage martial artist, James was still worlds apart.
As James sized up Sword God, Sword God was sizing him up too, a glint of approval in his eyes. James couldn't read Sword God, but Sword God had James figured out.
After a moment, Sword God stepped closer, his smile warm and disarming. It was hard to believe this was the same guy who'd once been the stuff of nightmares.
"You knew I would come, so you deliberately chose this remote place?" Sword God said as he looked at James.
James did not deny it and nodded, "Yes."
He hadn't detected Sword God's arrival; it was purely based on his calculations. And the facts proved that he was right. Sword God did come to find him at this time.
Sword God had a hint of appreciation in his eyes and asked meaningfully, "You've really made waves in the City of Mysteries, calling yourself the top dog, bending all the family heads to your will, and even roughing up my student."
His voice was icy, cutting through the air like a blade. It was a simple statement, but to James, it hit like a thunderclap.
Still, James didn't flinch. He just smirked and quipped, "I didn't call myself the top dog—they did. In front of Sword God, I'm just a small fry. At best, I'm the top dog among the new blood. To Sword God, this is just kid stuff. Why would you even care?"
Sword God's gaze sharpened, and his refined and gentle demeanor disappeared. A powerful aura pressed down on James, "But you beat my student and taught him a lesson that made him lose his fighting spirit. Should I let you go?"
Once again, James felt that overwhelming aura crashing down on him like a ton of bricks. The pressure was insane—way more than he could handle. His bones were practically grinding under the strain, and every second was a fight to stay upright.
Most peak fourth-stage martial artists would've been on their knees by now, but James wasn't most people. His legs were locked in place like steel rods, his fists clenched tight, and somehow, he managed to keep a grin on his face. He met Sword God's gaze head-on and said, "Thanks for showing up, Sword God. You just gave me a glimpse of what's beyond the fourth stage. Now I know where I'm headed."
Sword God was obviously taken aback. He didn't expect that under his pressure, James could still think about other things. Just this courage and composure alone surpassed many people.
As an Extreme Pathway master, he understood very well how much pressure a fourth-stage martial artist would face from him. Describing it as a world collapsing would not be an exaggeration.
And since James had withstood it, to be honest, he really started to appreciate James and developed a fondness for talent.
He had taken Neil as a disciple because Neil was excellent, not only with high talent and strong comprehension but also diligent and rapidly improving.
But now, he had found someone even more outstanding than Neil, and that was James!
He looked closely at James and found that he was fearless in meeting his gaze. He no longer made things difficult for James; it was meaningless.
He withdrew the pressure on James and said with a smile, "James, you are quite good."
James immediately felt relieved and smiled, "Thank you for the compliment, Sword God."
Sword God's gaze shifted to James's energy center, and for a moment, surprise flickered across his face. Then he gave a knowing nod. "So your energy center's way bigger than that of ordinary people. No wonder you're leveling up so fast without losing your marbles. That's some rare stuff right there."
James's chest tightened even more, and his respect for Sword God—a master of the Extreme Pathway—shot through the roof.
He hadn't expected the guy to be able to gauge the size of his energy center. That was way harder than just scanning his guts!
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