Alex began the fight with a sword strike. It was less of an attack and more of a test to see just how strong his opponent was. As he was, his mental strength placed his attacks at the Divine Creation 9th realm, which was also true for his Sword Intent, whose power was increased through it.
The Divinity had a cultivation base of Divine Creation 6th realm, so depending on what his Battle Power or his various skills were, Alex needed to check if he would struggle against a slightly weaker attack.
Seeing the approaching attack, the man gathered bright metal energy onto his fist and punched forward, which exploded out into a fractal pattern that ended up as a barrier that took on the attack. While the barrier held against Alex's attack, the man was slightly surprised to feel the strength behind it.
Anything above an Immortal's strength would have made him raise an eyebrow at that point, so it was no surprise that he reacted to Alex's current attack.
