Leylin was just about to probe into Sadius' memories.
As a Highgod, probing another person's soul without damaging it wasn't easy. Fortunately, Leylin had researched a soul-probing secret art that could quietly read the soul memories of a Saint without alerting them.
Just then, Sadius' Azure Dragon soul suddenly opened its eyes...
A deafening dragon roar erupted in an instant!
Leylin's divine sense was violently repelled from Sadius' sea of consciousness.
In reality, Sadius also let out an angry roar at the same moment.
The roar stunned the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion in place.
Sadius struck out with a claw infused with Destruction energy; ripping the lion's skull apart.
A mutated Blood-Eyed Mane Lion at the peak of the Saint-level was instantly slain by Sadius.
Just moments before, Sadius' insights into the Laws of Destruction had broken through to the Saint-level peak as well. However, breaking through to become a Deity wasn't something that happened automatically. It would require a true moment of insight before he could fully grasp the Slaughter Sword Dao and its corresponding Laws.
What surprised him most was how his soul had let out a dragon roar on its own, causing him to instinctively roar in the real world as well.
He could roar on his own, yes, but that required conscious buildup.
This time, the soul's spontaneous roar was… different. He had experienced something similar before but never understood the principle behind it.
Underground, Leylin's divine sense returned to his body.
He was stunned. Even though his physical body was at most peak Saint-level, he could still draw on quite a bit of divine power, and his divine sense was extraordinarily strong.
Yet he had just been forcibly expelled from someone's sea of consciousness by a Saint-level being's spiritual backlash?
Leylin's divine sense focused on the ground above and discovered the battle was already over.
That Armored RazorbackDragon, who had just broken through to the Saint-level peak, had directly slain the veteran Saint-level peak Blood-Eyed Mane Lion.
Without delay, Leylin emerged from the ground.
"Congratulations. I didn't expect you to break through to the Saint-level peak during battle," he said.
Sadius eyed the human cautiously, contemplating whether or not to kill him.
After all, he still needed a true moment of insight to fully comprehend the Slaughter Sword Intent.
Leylin, of course, had no idea that Sadius was inwardly toying with the idea of killing him.
"I am Leylin, dual-element Saint of Earth and Fire," Leylin introduced himself.
Leylin?!
Hearing this name, Sadius was immediately alarmed.
Could this guy be Leylin?
Sure, there might be other people on the Yulan Continent named "Leylin," but how many had both Earth and Fire affinities?
Sadius didn't believe in such coincidences.
This guy was definitely Leylin.
A top-tier Highgod, disguising himself as a Saint to approach him—why?
Sadius remained calm on the surface, thinking deeply.
"Well met, Mister Leylin. I am Sadius," he replied.
Since Leylin had no intention of revealing his true identity, Sadius wouldn't expose it either.
"Sadius, I noticed you also have talent in Earth-elemental Laws. How about we spar a little?" Leylin suggested.
Sadius was speechless. A top-tier Highgod, pretending to be a Saint, wanted to "spar" with an actual Saint. What in the world was this man trying to do?
Sadius considered whether he should decline.
But on second thought…wasn't this just a great expert giving a rookie personal instruction?
What an enormous opportunity!
After all, in the original novel, Leylin trained on the Yulan Continent and attracted countless powerful cultivators eager for his guidance.
"Then I shall accept respectfully," Sadius agreed.
He decided to only use Earth-elemental energy in battle, mainly because Leylin specialized in Earth and Fire Laws.
This would allow Sadius to glean more insights.
With that, the two began sparring.
Sadius' claws carried the Profound Mystery of Earth Pulsation; each strike heavy and oppressive.
Leylin, however, wielded the Profound Mystery of Strength in his fists.
It was clear: Sadius was no match for Leylin.
"Sadius, how can we spar if you hold back like this?" Leylin chuckled.
"Don't you have a trump card that contains an Earth-elemental Profound Mystery? If you don't use it, you won't even have a chance."
"I had hoped to test out standard Earth-element Profound Mysteries with you, Mister Leylin, but clearly my skills pale in comparison."
During the brief clash, Sadius could already feel that Leylin's use of the Profound Mystery of Strength was quite unusual.
It didn't purely pursue overwhelming power; it had a balance of hardness and flexibility, almost like a yin-yang flow.
He had a faint sense of insight… but since he hadn't yet entered the doorway of this Profound Mystery, there was no way to verify anything.
Since Leylin had encouraged him to use his full strength, Sadius naturally obliged.
"Mister Leylin, I have three ultimate techniques. The first combines entry-level Profound Mysteries of Darkness and Earth Pulsation.
The second fuses entry-level Profound Mysteries of Darkness and Destruction's Slaughter Sword Dao.
The third merges Earth Pulsation with the Destruction Sword Dao."
"All three have only just found a point of resonance between two types of Laws, but their power has greatly increased."
"Wait…different Profound Mysteries can be fused?" Leylin asked, feigning ignorance.
"Why is it that I can't fuse Earth and Fire?"
Of course, Leylin knew the reason; he was just pretending not to.
Sadius also understood he was faking it, but chose not to expose him.
Instead, he explained willingly; after all, how could such a secret be hidden from a being like Leylin?
"Mister Leylin, the reason I can fuse these disparate Profound Mysteries is because my soul mutated; allowing three elemental energies to fuse into one.
Thus, the fusion of different Laws became possible."
"A soul mutation? Fascinating. I've only ever heard of such a thing. Rumor has it that surviving such a mutation is nearly impossible."
"I was lucky; I succeeded when I was still a rank-nine magical beast. That's what allowed me to break into the Saint-level."
After exchanging a few words, they resumed the sparring match.
Sadius unleashed all three ultimate techniques in succession, while Leylin used three different forms of the Earth-elemental Profound Mystery of Strength to neutralize them.
"Amazing. If you can merge all three moves into one, you may become peerless among Saint-level peak experts," Leylin commented.
Naturally, Leylin didn't remind Sadius that one should first fully comprehend each Profound Mystery before attempting fusion.
After all, he was only pretending to be a Saint.
Suddenly, Sadius froze in place.
From the way Leylin neutralized his three techniques, Sadius suddenly experienced an epiphany.
The Profound Mystery of Strength, which he had been clueless about before—he now entered its threshold.
Leylin, watching Sadius fall into comprehension, nodded to himself.
He had indeed embedded teaching elements into their spar.
If Sadius could gain insight from it, it meant his talent was truly exceptional.
After a while, Sadius emerged from his realization.
"Mister Leylin, thank you so much," he said gratefully.
At that moment, he even considered formally becoming Leylin's disciple.
But he also knew—Leylin was a top-tier Highgod. How could someone like him accept a mere Saint?
Moreover, since Leylin hadn't revealed his identity, it didn't seem appropriate to make such a request.
"Haha, it was your own talent that led you there," Leylin laughed.
He then invited Sadius to spar again—this time using the Destruction Law at Saint-level peak.
Sadius happily agreed.
With his finger as a sword, he unleashed countless strikes filled with Slaughter Sword Intent.
Leylin now switched to using Fire-elemental energy in battle.
"Sadius, the Profound Mystery you've grasped from the Laws of Destruction is excellent; it has a relentless, fearless momentum, charging ahead without fear of life or death."
"But it lacks a form of self-preservation, making it easy to counter.
For instance, the Profound Mystery of Explosion I've grasped can ignite all the energy in your body and destroy your physical form entirely."
"You're absolutely right, Mister Leylin. Lately I've been thinking about creating a technique that can prevent enemies from completely destroying my body."
After all, not all ultimate techniques were purely offensive.
There were also techniques for control, healing, and defense.
As long as it benefited the cultivator, it was a good technique.
"A sound idea," Leylin nodded.
Such techniques could still prove useful even after becoming a Deity.