Damien was being treated like a rag doll by Leylin. It was the first time Damien or anyone for that matter saw him take something seriously. His reputation was well renowned as the lazy alcoholic, but there wasn’t a shred of that in him today. Damien didn’t have the chance to even get a single word in while he did his best to survive. Whenever he tried to use his Dao Magic, Leylin would seemingly teleport in front of him and interrupt his technique.

“Don’t chicken out on me runt. I can feel that Dao Magic of yours is impressive but this is a sword fight. Incorporate it together damn it!”

What Leylin wanted Damien to do was easier said than done. It was what took Damien years to do with the Solar Fire Dao and his Fire Dao, except in a high stress situation.

‘How am I supposed to do that when I can’t even think!’

Damien wanted to scream out his thoughts but all that came out was yelps pain. Eventually he became numb to the pain and felt a pattern going on amongst Leylin’s movements. It felt similar to the sword dance Nora had him practicing when he first started the academy and that’s when Damien realized he was also helping him by guiding him. With the pain gone Damien was able to truly appreciate the fight. He was never one to back down, in fact he got more excited as it became tougher. Damien became looser and relied back on his instincts that were beaten into him his entire childhood. He was able to deflect most of Leylin’s blows and enter into a rhythm of his own.

“Hahaha, that’s what I’m talking about! You’re finally waking up a bit. Too bad it doesn’t seem you improved much. This is going to be a long beating!”

The more Damien was able to deal with the blows with ease, the more intense Leylin became. Leylin didn’t give him a moment's break, pushing him to the utmost extremes. The battle was so fierce ripples of its clashes was brought to the entire school’s attention. This made classes go on hold as no one could focus on their assignments. Eventually, a wave of students and elders gathered around the grand spectacle. Sounds of awe and surprise could be heard from all around, wondering who could go head to head with Leylin. When they caught a glimpse of a young boy with white hair wearing StarPoint’s uniform, it immediately clicked with everyone’s forgotten memory. Word spread like wildfire among the crowd that Damien had returned. Cal, Yuki, and Erik were the last students to arrive. Usually they were not to meddle in such large crowds, but Cal was insistent they checked it out.

When those three arrived, the word that Damien was fighting Leylin reached their ears. Their eyes immediately lit up as their heart rate rose to new levels. For these past two years they were forced to accept any outcome from his disappearance, although they were adamant on finding him. They were stopped at every avenue they tried to explore, leading them to become depressed over the matter. Their only choice was to wait it out while they continued their studies. However, he was right in front of their eyes, beaten black and blue. Cal wanted to yell out and stop everything, but Yuki was quick to shut him down with a punch to his liver.

“Why are you stopping me, sis? He’s right there, and I’m so excited I can’t hold it in!”

“You idiot, can’t you see what’s going on? I bet he’s so focused he wouldn’t give us a second look right now. It’s better to wait.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Yuki assessed everything correctly as usual. Damien was so focused that he didn’t realize the entire school was now spectating him. He was in a world of his own and was enjoying every second of it. Yuki watched Damien fight as she noticed how much he had changed. He was no longer the little kid that was shorter than her. He went through a growth spurt, putting him taller than all of those in his circle. Not only that, his whole aura went through a transformation. He no longer carried himself with an innocent face and silly look. He was hardened by life and the events that followed in his journey leading him to look a little more manly.

Despite these changes, Damien’s overall look stayed the same. His hair was as messy as ever and he lacked any sense of style. Deep down Yuki felt relieved that there was something a part of him that she remembered. It was as if she could reconnect with him once more without worrying that it would not be possible. This feeling was mutually felt by all of them as they slowly made their way to the front of the crowd. They stood there silently while the crowd raved from every single move made.

Slowly Damien lost control of his rhythm. His entire Sword Dao was being picked apart with no mercy. Leylin couldn’t take his helpless look so he went on to give him the final and most important piece of advice. His words were sent directly into Damien’s ears.

“You fight with no style! Your Sword Dao has no defining characteristics! You have only taken the basics and ran with that. It has worked for you for now, but you are limiting your future with the sword. Just look at how I fight. What do you see? What are the unique aspects about my Sword Dao?”

Leylin took this time to give Damien a quick demonstration, exaggerating each of his movements. This gave Damien the final clue he needed to piece everything together. Honestly, it was quite simple at that too.

‘He is moving like the wind! Unpredictable, quick, free, and sharp. The Sword Dao can only bring out the features of the sword and enhance it by itself, but that doesn’t mean it stops there! I should think of the Sword Dao as more of an auxiliary Dao. Something that can be used to house another Dao and amplify its abilities with the sharpness of the sword. To do so I need to be like my Fire Dao.’

Damien instantly worked out the solution in his head, finding the first point he needed to begin at. He held his sword close to his chest pointed up towards the heavens. He closed his eyes and envisioned his Flame Core inside his body. There the ever still white flame with its own sun came to life. It grew and danced as if Leylin’s wind was fanning it up. All of its movements were displayed in the outside world. A white fire surrounded Damien’s sword giving rise to a majestic aura. He then thought about the qualities he wanted to be expressed by his sword.

‘The sword will house my Fire Dao, combining together to be more offensively capable. My Dao is wild, explosive, greedy, extremely fast, but also elegant in its form. The sword is me and I am the sword. We are one, so let us dance like the fire within us.’

At this moment Damien’s Fire came to a withering end. Everyone appeared to be disappointed as just a second ago, his being was as imposing as ever. Yuki watched on with a smirk on her face, knowing what was to come. She whispered to herself as she felt his breakthrough was imminent.

“You really like to make a scene, huh? The calm before the storm is what you would call this right?”

Damien snapped his eyes open right on cue. His spark reignited, making his white flame dance crazily around his sword and body. The power emanating from the fire caused his clothes and hair to flutter wildly. If his presence was heroic seconds ago, it was now devilish. Damien began to move his body in an odd fashion, matching the beat of his flame. Leylin laughed loudly to the point it rang out in everyone’s ears.

“That’s more like it runt. Let’s do this!”

Leylin immediately disappeared from his spot and reappeared behind Damien. He launched an attack that was untraceable. No sound or movement could be felt from the slice of his sword. Right as Leylin was going to make contact with Damien’s back, he slanted his body out of the way. Without missing a beat, Leylin changed the course of attack like the flow of the wind. Damien then proceeded to use his explosive speed to turn around and meet it head on. A great Firestorm brewed from their clash, blanketing the area with white sparks of flame.

Damien and Leylin were currently evenly matched. Neither took a single step back and Damien took this opportunity to power up. His flames attached themselves to Leylin, hoping to greedily absorb his Mana. The force was many times greater than what he had experienced in Damien’s Dao Domain, which led him to panic ever so slightly.

“Heh, you really going to make me try now, kid? I knew you were a monster, but even this is a little too much for me to process. Can’t have you destroying my pride in front of the whole school. I’ll show you why the Heaven Realm is the pinnacle.”