Book 3. The Long Journey. Chapter 131. Profound Mystery of Heavenly Tempest.
“What’s this ridiculous…” Victoria muttered at Elder Samuel and Elder Simon’s side, unable to find proper words to express the feelings she was experiencing.
“Indeed,” Elder Simon said with a smile and nodded slightly. “It’s not that I didn’t believe before I saw it, but it’s quite a sight to behold,” he mentioned with a weak laugh. He knew of Elder Samuel’s character well and so he had chosen to support his choice to ally with Makarash instantly and gave his best to make the whole endeavor successful, but he needed to admit that his spirits were being raised as he watched the seemingly limitless talent those two young boys were displaying.
A step to the left, Elder Samuel laughed quietly and exchanged a meaningful glance with Elder Simon. Both of them were thinking that it was a great thing that those two came to be friends with Raphael and Mikaela, but since those two were here and listening, they didn’t think it was the most fortunate thing to say out loud.
“He’s gotten better again,” Mikaela said in a daze, his eyes unchangingly focused on Laien. He did watch Yin when Laien was staying back for a bit, but now that it looked like those two would attack Reian together, he quickly returned his whole attention to Laien. By this point, it wouldn’t be a lie to say that he had come to look up to Laien so much that in terms of cultivation, he would be ready to believe that fire was actually ice and ice was fire if it was Laien who told him that.
“Good, good.” A few meters away, Jasmine laughed in a very much pleased manner. “The little pupil of mine’s been hard to set straight those past years. He’s lost that pure motivation to grow strong like he once had when he was still a kid and a teenager, but it’s not like his heart would listen to me even if his mind accepted my advice. It wouldn’t matter if his elemental affinity was different, but a dual-element cultivator of fire and wind just isn’t suited to that overburdened sort of mentality,” she mused, hoping that in face of those two extreme geniuses, as long as he was pressed hard enough by them, Reian would finally break free of the shackles that were restraining his growth.
“They’re about to start again,” Julien pointed out from Jasmine’s side. He was spectating this fight with true pleasure as he had only heard about and not seen the prowess of those three. “I wonder if Luca will be able to deal with what he is seeing though. He’s not been himself those days and learning so bluntly that he hadn’t even forced that kid Laien to reveal any of his true strength in their spar surely isn’t going to make him feel better,” he thought and let out a quiet sigh. He could only wish for Luca to use this experience to propel himself forward, but in the end, it wasn’t that rare for young geniuses to experience a mental breakdown once faced with superior talents. Those who couldn’t overcome their feelings of inferiority would be forever doomed to the life of mediocrity.
“Let’s work together to shackle him up, okay?” Laien thought as he charged at Reian with his spear of water and ice in hand.
“So no main and support roles?” Yin answered with half a question. He had thought that Laien would want to take the main duty of tying Reian up since he wouldn’t get wounded by Reian’s wind blades, but it looked like Laien had different plans. And well, just as his thoughts wandered towards this direction, he understood what Laien’s reasoning was and laughed in his heart.
“You’re worried I won’t have enough time to exchange real blows with Reian if you take the lead? Come on, aren’t you underestimating Reian a bit too much?” he mused merrily, though he needed to agree with Laien. The moment either of their sides decided to resort to their strongest techniques, this battle would end quickly. It was only now that they were all determined to gain an upper hand through the sheer exchange of blows that an opportunity to polish one’s skills with his weapon of choice existed.
As such, the two of them made the decision almost instantaneously and as far as the details of their cooperation went… well. They didn’t need to agree upon such a thing beforehand at all. Not only did the two of them know each other’s fighting styles inside-out and they were connected by the spiritual bond, but they also had a fair amount of experience fighting together. Thus, there was no way that they wouldn’t know how to make the best use of each other’s strengths to press the attack.
The very next instant, Laien clashed with Reian in a very straightforward manner. He knew that there was little point in trying to overpower Reian alone, so just like he had done before, he made sure to employ the smooth mixture of hard and soft spear arts to force Reian into a stalemate. He felt clear how Reian’s sword, after blocking his swipe, kept sliding along the shaft in a very dangerous manner, but having already experienced enough of Reian’s sword arts, he was ready for what was about to come.
He wasn’t surprised in the least when Reian twisted his sword in his hand and following the momentum of his blow, pushed the spear away. He had been taken off-guard by this technique once, but he had already dealt with it more than a few times and so was starting to get a better hang of it. Originally, his solution had been to retreat three steps back and pull his spear back while doing so as to prevent his guard from being blow-off, but this time around, he noticed another possibility.
Unable to keep himself from smirking, he put the whole weight of his body to his frontal leg and thrust his spear forward, making full use of the fact that Reian was nice enough to stop the original swipe’s momentum for him at the ideal point. Subsequently, he noticed the startled look on Reian’s face as the golden-haired man tried to twist his body in a weird fashion in order to dodge.
Alas, even though Reian’s concentration improved significantly compared to the earlier part of their fight, he never expected Laien to suddenly counter his own counterattack. He attempted to push Laien’s spear to one side with his sword while dodging to the other, but he failed to protect himself entirely and had a dangerously deep wound sliced across his stomach. “Shit,” he cursed inwardly. Thankfully, the wound wasn’t deep enough to hinder his ability to fight, but had his body been less sturdy, his guts would have probably been spilled due to that one blunder on his part.
“Fourth one,” Laien laughed happily. It took them quite some effort, but they got down the first requirement for prizes from Elder Samuel. And to top it off, sure enough, the very next instant…
“Fifth one,” Yin counted with a smile just after he emerged from behind Laien’s, exactly from Reian’s blind spot and slashed at him, using the opportunity to leave a bone-deep wound across Reian’s left shoulder. “So far so good,” Yin thought contentedly and pressed the attack, slashing at Reian consecutively with both of his twin swords all the while keeping in mind not to get ahead of himself and aim for a one-hit-kill. Due to this approach, of which he was increasingly getting the hang of, and thanks to Reian being on the back-foot to begin with, he just about succeeded in pushing Reian entirely towards defense. Thanks to that, he didn’t need to deal with the wind blades that would follow each even half-offensive slash of Reian’s sword and spared himself the wounds.
Only by the time he had slashed at Reian over a dozen of times did Laien once again get into position to join in, what showed quite well how extremely fast his barrage of attacks was. “Well, he did try to get to Reian’s side at first, but Reian keeps circling around me as he retreats to prevent that from happening,” he admitted in half-conscious thoughts, then to Reian’s great surprise, suddenly lowered his posture heavily and slashed at Reian’s thigh.
“?!” Shocked by what he was seeing, Reian desperately moved to dodge and defend, but as startled by what he was seeing as he was, he couldn’t find a good way to prevent any more wounds. It wasn’t that he was too surprised by Yin suddenly giving up a part of his advantage and moving to attack from a low angle, but he simply couldn’t comprehend how did Yin dodge Laien’s thrust by skin-width without looking and without exchanging any signs! Who normal would try a maneuver which involved his partner thrusting a spear at his own back, with the plan being that he would dodge at the last second and allow the one-handed thrust to extend forward, to the actual target? The slightest miscalculation would end in a horrible outcome, it was unreasonable to try! And yet, those two not only tried but even pulled it off to perfection!
“How’s that not thinking about anything?!” Reian wanted to yell at himself as in the end, both Yin’s slash and Laien’s thrust landed light blows against his body. He had originally been fairly confident that he wouldn’t let them wound him even once, but he already allowed seven blows to happen, of which two were causing him to lose blood at an alarming rate! And from the looks of it, those two weren’t planning to loosen up anytime soon. At this rate, he would soon be forced to use martial techniques to fight them off! It would be such a disgrace if he needed to resort to pure power to win against two kids who hadn’t lived even half as long as he did…!
However, the most annoying thing was that, at this rate, he couldn’t see himself improving at all! Both of those kids used him to improve their spear arts and sword arts, but he wasn’t doing anything at all apart from feeling shocked every other moment! He didn’t want to admit it, but inside his heart, he was feeling inferior and envious of Laien and Yin’s talent and honestly, a startling amount of potential. No matter how much he attempted not to think about anything, some thoughts invaded his mind the whole time, persistently pushing and throwing off his concentration.
Be it the jealousy he had towards Julien, the uncertainty of the feelings Jasmine had for him, the sense of duty towards Mustafa and Arslan or the feelings of humility and envy as he was exposed to the brilliant shining of Laien and Yin’s talent from close-up, all of them refused to go down and stay silent as he tried to focus on the fight. Eighth, ninth, tenth… he soon received three more wounds from the boys, what served to agitate him further.
“What am I supposed to do? Why can’t I grasp all new things in an instant like those two? Why am I not getting better even though I’m trying so hard?” he questioned himself, what instantly led to Yin finding and exploiting a slight opening in his defense, thus leaving another mildly-deep cut on his right thigh. “That’s bad…!” Reian recognized when he sensed Laien’s spiritual energy surge and transform into a splash of water and ice that flew above Yin’s head and directly at his own upper body. He had gotten so preoccupied with his thoughts and with this melee exchange that he had allowed his Qi to grow somewhat chaotic. He wouldn’t have enough time to rouse enough fire-element Qi to nullify this almost-instantaneous spell of Laien’s!
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“Am I going to lose just like that?” the saddened and resigned question passed through his mind as he watched the small wave of water and ice approach. He couldn’t even slash against it in desperation as Yin would ravage his legs the moment he loosened his guard against the low attacks. He didn’t have enough time to jump backwards either as he had reacted a step too late, so unless he wished to damage his body again by resorting to Wind Steps, wouldn’t he just be done in, in this manner?
As he wondered about it, by a coincidence, the surface of the water that was coming at him smoothed out for a split-second, allowing him to see his own face. With the time having slowed down for him at this last moment, he saw his expression more clearly than he would have otherwise wanted. “What an ugly look,” he thought with a helpless laugh. His face was the embodiment of frustration and unwillingness, it looked so pained and devastated that he wondered how did he even manage to make an expression like that. However, in the grand scope of things, this little thing didn’t matter at all, and as if to prove his thoughts, the smooth surface soon distorted, causing the reflection to first turn blurry and then disappear completely.
With nothing to focus his gaze at, Reian’s eyes relaxed involuntarily what by the second stroke of fate, allowed him to see the looks Laien and Yin had on their faces. “Ah, they look so different,” he mused, started by the heavy contrast between his own expression and the looks of those two. Both of them were smiling with eager and excited expressions, their eyes gleaming with strange light of joy and determination. If only he could fight like them, if only he could enjoy battle and the very process of personal growth as much as those two… then surely, he wouldn’t have performed so miserably in today’s spar against them.
“If only I could…” he repeated, this time more consciously, and just before Laien’s magic hit him, he closed his eyes and relaxed entirely. It was a stupid thing to do, he knew it, but… he just had enough of all those emotions and problems occupying his mind and distracting him. He knew that Jasmine would be disappointed with him and that Julien would give him that smart-ass look, but just for now, for this little moment, he allowed himself not to care… and he realized that it feels exhilarating.
It wasn’t like before, when he attempted to suppress his thoughts and push them away. This time, he simply accepted the existence of them all and stopped resisting them. For the first time since Mustafa picked him up, freeing him from his days as a slave all those years ago, he felt free. It was merely for the briefest of instants, but he allowed himself to enjoy the moment without burdening his shoulders with all the responsibilities and desires he had come to have in his life.
And without him quite realizing, he instantly broke through one of the bottlenecks he had been stalled at for the longest of times. With only partial control from his side, all of his Qi stirred as the new wave of insights flooded into it, causing yet another of the walls he was facing to shatter. Unbeknownst to him, the wind-element Qi surrounding his body grew more than twice as powerful, and not only that. The wind suddenly twisted around him, creating not dozens, but hundreds upon hundreds of streams of air along with an equal number of small wind blades. The barrier that was created crashed against and deflected Laien’s magic, shattering it into little bits and sending it flying sideways almost as if it was but a normal splash of water that faced a powerful gust of wind.
Feeling Qi swell up within him and sensing a new flood of insights enter his consciousness, Reian opened his eyes wide. It took him a second to understand what was happening, but since Laien and Yin were equally started and backed off for the moment, he didn’t pay for his carelessness. “I’ve advanced to the fourth Realm of Heroes, but what is that wind? What are those insights? They feel so childishly happy and… how do I say it? Free? Unrestrained? What in the world are those insights?” he asked himself, marveling at the new sensation to his wind-element Qi. The increase in strength was the most obvious part, but he also felt that now, with but a thought, he could control his wind as he pleased within a certain range of his own body!
Wasn’t this almost like the Guardian magic of spiritual practitioners? How could Qi achieve the same flexibility as spiritual energy? As he was both baffled and overjoyed at the same time, he heard Laien utter an unfamiliar name with a thoroughly shocked broad smile on his face.
“Heavenly Tempest, the Profound Mystery of Heavenly Tempest,” Laien said with a disbelieving laugh. He didn’t know where he knew this name from, but he was sure that Reian’s Qi brimmed with exactly the kind of unique energy that belonged to the Supreme Profound Mystery of the Elemental Law of Wind, the Profound Mystery of Heavenly Tempest! It was well comparable to the Profound Mystery of Maelstrom and stood at an even higher level than the Profound Mystery of Inferno!
To think that Reian was capable of gaining insights into the Supreme Profound Mystery as early as at the third or fourth Realm of Heroes! It looked like Reian’s innate talent was much greater than he had thought it to be! This world truly was filled with monstrous talents anywhere one looked!
“That’s what this thing is called?” Reian asked aloud, his mind still feeling somewhat light and fluffy. He had experienced the Secret Arts, or as the kids called them the Aspects, influencing his emotions, but it was the first time a Profound Mystery was having a similar effect on him. “I’m sorry to say that, but I think you’ll be stalled at eleven,” he added with a surprisingly clear and lighthearted laugh, one that no longer carried the same strong-hearted competitiveness as his voice once used to.
“That being said,” he mentioned while swinging his sword around casually, apparently trying to get used to the new sensation. “Since you were using me to temper your spear arts and sword arts, how about I help you with that?” he said with a laugh. For some reason, he was fully confident that he could defeat those two whenever he wanted, especially if he resorted to his strongest techniques. However, wasn’t he technically in their debt? He only made that incredibly-good-feeling breakthrough thanks to them, so he thought that shouldn’t bully them too much.
Just like in the beginning, it was Reian who felt a shiver run down his spine in face of the full strength of those two, it was Laien and Yin who shivered this time around and hurriedly assumed defensive positions. The two of them had sharp instincts, what was especially true for Yin. They knew when they were outclassed and had no possible way to win the fight and now was one of such times. Prior to Reian gaining those new insights and advancing to the fourth Realm of Heroes, they still thought they had a chance to win even if Reian went all-out against them, but now? The two of them could only gulp heavily as they saw Reian move towards them along with a gust of wind.
“He’s gotten much faster,” Laien recognized the fact and quickly stepped forward. With Reian’s increase in strength, it wouldn’t be a good idea for Yin to face him directly as those wind blades would instantly force him to use Lightning Steps to dodge out of the way anyhow. However, as he braced himself to defend both from Reian’s slash and from the wind-element Qi, he realized that the latter one was being kept relatively calm and restrained and wasn’t following the slash like previously. Was this a trap of a kind? He had no time to think about it, so he could only remain vigilant.
“W-wait, what is…?!” Laien almost cried out in surprise as directly after the first clash of their weapons, Reian directed both his sword and pressed onwards in such a way that the blade and the shaft of the spear wouldn’t separate. The most terrifying thing was how easily Reian was maneuvering both his sword and his body, putting him in a position where he would instantly fall into a great disadvantage if he ever allowed his spear to be pushed freely to one side.
“He’s getting closer and closer, damn!” Laien grit his teeth, but the expression on his face remained thoroughly amazed and excited. Reian’s sword arts were already amazing, but now he was narrowing the distance between them while completely sealing any opportunity for retaliation! If he was a pure martial practitioner, then the mere difference in technique would mean that he would never have a chance to as much as injure Reian!
“I’m not strong enough to block him head-on, I’m not fast enough to jump away and I’m not agile or skilled enough to outmaneuver him,” Laien judged in a rather disbelieving fashion. He was getting a valuable experience of how threatening a ‘soft sword’ could be, but there was no way he could improve fast enough to actually match Reian!
Luckily for him, he wasn’t the only one on their side. Just as Reian was getting dangerously close, so close that the advantage of using a spear would turn into nothing else but a liability, Yin intervened and attacked Reian from the back. Yet, Reian appeared to be perfectly ready for this interruption as he took two swift steps, looking like he was leaning against the wind, as he dodged out of the way.
“Fine, your turn,” Reian called out merrily, after what his figure blurred and he almost disappeared from the boys’ field of vision.
Startled, sensing danger from behind him, Yin didn’t hesitate and used Lightning Steps to gain distance. However, after he reappeared a few meters away and looked at Reian, he saw him pout a little and heard him click his tongue discontentedly.
“I still can’t use the true Wind Steps well, but I can employ them to just about thirty percent of their efficiency without harming my body,” Reian complained silently. He had had a sudden urge to try using his movement art and so he did so, but the results were far from satisfactory. “I guess I’m going to need to get at least to the sixth Realm of Heroes while steadily increasing my insights to master them,” he assumed, his expression once again changing to become very much lighthearted.
“If he attacked me there, it would have been bad,” Yin thought with a resigned and yet expectant smile. The stronger Reian was, the more the two of them would be able to get out of this spar and the safer they would be in the future, mainly in regards to their ongoing plan that involved fighting a regular army. “What else can he show me? I can’t wait,” he mused and certainly, he wasn’t made to wait long before Reian moved to attack him with a merry smile on his face.
“He doesn’t seem to be using wind blades, just like against Laien,” Yin sensed even before the two of them slashed their swords. Truth to be told, he was relieved. Laien might have still been able to more or less defend against those strengthened wind blades, but for him, it was an impossible task. “He really intends to let us improve by fighting us one after another, so nice of him,” the thought passed through Yin’s mind, causing him to become rather amused. First, it had been them who chose to fight Reian one by one, but now he was giving them a leeway and doing the same thing.
Still, there was little time he could possibly spare for having those half-conscious thoughts as the very next split-second, he engaged in a swift exchange of blows with Reian. Unlike with Laien, since he was a twin-swords user, Reian didn’t aim to suppress him entirely and instead, took on the slower approach of making him lose advantage with each movement.
To Yin himself, although from the perspective of a spectator it might not seem so, it was a groundbreaking experience. He had almost always enjoyed the benefit of being ‘the faster and the more agile one’ as a twin sword user unless he fought opponents who were too strong to make a sensible comparison, but it was the first time he was being steadily defeated by pure technique. It wasn’t that Reian’s sword was faster than his twin swords nor was Reian using so much strength that he couldn’t cope with it, but he moved his body in such a way and maneuvered his attacks so well that no matter what, a follow-up attack of the ‘free’ one of the twin swords would be ineffective.
“He is looking and reading ahead far further than I am,” Yin understood after a moment. “He’s not just looking at my movements nor is he just relying on his instinct alone, he is actively reading my technique and using it to put me into a tight spot!” he realized, what in turn allowed an entirely new possibility to appear in his mind. His innate senses were sharp beyond comparison, so he had never thought about doing more than just rely on them and get used to his opponent’s style, but what if he could go beyond that? What if he could encompass his tendencies and gimmicks, maybe even his character and use it all to make his sword arts more effective against him?
The so-called ‘gentle’ approach to the sword that didn’t carry all of one’s power in each attack, to think that with it as a foundation, so many amazing paths would open!