Violet bolts arced out from Yao Jun's body, the air heavy and sizzling with power. The bolts ran along Yao Jun's skin, his body unable to contain the tremendous amount of lightning he was trying to force into it. But was lightning such a gentle and kind force? No, lightning was volatile and ferocious so it wouldn't just allow itself to be forced into a human's body. As a result, Yao Jun's skin sizzled and cracked, the blood that seeped out from the cracks evaporating and turning into a fine bloody mist that rose into the air.
"To force lightning into your own body to speed up your nerves, or even act as replacement nerves in some cases requires either a very strong lightning-based bloodline or an extreme affinity for the laws of lightning. And looking at that cracking... you've got neither. Using your dense Monarch Essence to repair your body as it breaks down is a good idea, but are you aware of how much training it actually takes to properly utilize your body while enduring a technique like that? The heightened speed and reflexes aren't something you can just get accustomed to right away, the unfamiliar speed will make you stumble on the first step."
The Thousand Arms Master gave his chin a few rubs as he observed Yao Jun, the fine bloody mist that rose from his body told him everything he needed to know about Yao Jun's affinity with the law of lightning. He had also waited with using this self-destructive technique until he was pushed to the very brink so it didn't seem like it was one he was very comfortable using, he probably hadn't trained it properly yet.
It was a very honest statement, one that you would expect to get from someone trying to train you rather than someone who had berated you since you first met. But Yao Jun simply didn't seem to react in the slightest to it, his gaze rising slightly so that he could lock eyes with the Thousand Arms Master.
His eyes should be bloodshot thanks to the immense strain his body was experiencing, but the lightning had invaded his body so deeply that even the blood vessels in his eyes had turned a brilliant violet. And then, Yao Jun took a step forward.
"Ah, it's good that I've already done my fair share of practising then."
The Thousand Arms Master's body jerked backwards in slight shock when the words reached him, the reason being that the voice had come from right next to him. Yao Jun had appeared right by his side, the fingers on his left hand curved into a claw that shot straight for the Thousand Arms Master's head.
But that jerk back wasn't something done purely out of shock, whether it was intentional or instinctual, it made it so that Yao Jun's hand missed him by a few centimetres. He glanced down at the hand, the bloody mist rising from it clogging his nose with its metallic scent. And looking at it, a somewhat melancholic yet understanding arc appeared on the corners of his lips.
"So you've actually taken the time to properly practice something this self-destructive, now I'm starting to understand it a little. But I hope you weren't thinking that just becoming faster would be enough."
The Thousand Arms Master's right hand reached out and grabbed a hold of Yao Jun's outstretched wrist, his other arm flashing to the side so that his palm smashed into Yao Jun's chest. But the moment his hand touched his body, he knew that something was off. His hand pierced directly through Yao Jun's body, which rippled like the surface of a tranquil lake that had just been disturbed by a rock.
"The moon's reflection... Ahh, now that's a really annoying aspect of water that you've decided to specialize in."
The Thousand Arms Master stomped the ground heavily while spitting out his complaint, the earth cracking open as a blast of condensed energy blew away a pillar of flame that emerged from beneath the cracks. But the Thousand Arms Master's eyes riveted to the side, following a small arc of lightning as he gave the fragmented earth a light tap with his feet.
He instantly crossed the distance that separated him and Yao Jun, his fist smashing down upon him from the side like a whip. Yao Jun's left arm shot up in response, his forearm positioning itself in front of the descending fist. A layer of ice grew out from his skin, latching onto the rising blood mist to form a sloped gauntlet that caught the fist.
The form of the gauntlet slightly diverted the fist, but all the ice still fragmented thanks to the force contained within the fist. Yao Jun's left arm ached as if it was on fire, but his right arm still shot out at practically the same time he raised his left arm. His palm made contact with the Thousand Arms Master's waist and he gave it a slight twist, three separate bursts of wind escaping his palm.
The three bursts formed three small tornados that interlocked, each one flowing into the small gaps that existed within the other tornados. If everything went according to plan then the resulting force would gouge out a good chunk of his waist, the wind created as the smaller chunks flew through the air creating more tornados to form an attack that propagate seemingly endlessly.
But with an opponent like the Thousand Arms Master, things were bound to not go the way Yao Jun wanted. The waist what was supposed to be gouged out retracted in a strange manner, it simply sank back into the Thousand Arms Master's body and created a crescent moon shaped opening in his side. The opening radiated a strange heavy force that straightforwardly crushed the tornados and rendered them harmless.
At the same time as he neutralized the attack, another arm grew out from the Thousand Arms Master's elbow. The new arm shot forward like a snake, slipping beneath Yao Jun's aching forearm and smashing into his chest. Yao Jun jumped backwards just as the fist touched him so he managed to reduce the impact somewhat, but he still felt his ribs shatter once more, the slowly-repairing hole in his lung growing a bit wider.
"I see, I see. You didn't only force the lightning into your muscles and nerves to speed up your movement, you've also forced it straight into your brain to jack up your thinking speed so that you can launch your attacks at a quicker pace. Now that's something that's taken a step beyond even suicidal. And yet, you're still standing, is it luck or skill?"
The Thousand Arms Master was eyeing Yao Jun up and down, his body was battered and torn, covered in lightning, wounds, and bloody mist. But despite that, he radiated a terrifying and bloody majesty that made it impossible to underestimate or belittle him. It was as if pushing him to the brink had only dragged out every little thing that was usually hidden within. A thought flashed through the Thousand Arms Master's mind, his gaze drifting towards the central island housing his sanctum. His eyes quivered for a slight second before he calmed them down again, turning his gaze back onto Yao Jun with a soft mutter that only he could hear.
"So in the end, what must come must come... Very well, then that is just destiny, but I won't let it come so easily. Young one, I must admit that you have the perseverance needed to pass my trial, and if I refuse to accept your adaptation then I must reject everyone else as well. Your strength I have no reason to fault either, but I will still test it one last time, that selfishness is something allowed to me. I will attack you, survive and you will pass, I will allow you access to my sanctum. Fail, and well... you'll die, simple as that."
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The first sentence was something that the Thousand Arms Master just muttered to himself, but everything after that was directed at Yao Jun with a strong yet slightly resigned tone. He slid his legs a bit apart and took his stance, telegraphing that he would deliver a very simple punch directly towards Yao Jun's abdomen.
Yao Jun's gaze narrowed sharply, the Thousand Arms Master was radiating an aura of death and danger unlike anything he had before. If his previous attacks could be considered deadly, then what would follow was definitely something that would be considered apocalyptic. Yao Jun gently traced his interspatial ring and took out four light green pills, stuffing them into his mouth and locking them in place using his teeth.
The pills were very standard medicinal pills, filled with a vast amount of lifeforce that could be used to heal rather deep wounds rapidly. But Yao Jun had no intention of using them to heal his wounds, drawing in a slow breath as he took his own stance, both palms pointing downward, one held to his chest while the other was lowered to his waist.
Complete silence descended over the area, Yao Jun couldn't even hear his own heartbeat, all sound seemed to be drawn in and swallowed up by the Thousand Arms Master. He couldn't hear anything and his eyes were fully focused on the Thousand Arms Master, but even so, Yao Jun was filled with the strange sensation that he could sense Ba-Shei and the others. It wasn't the same sensation he felt in the past where he knew where they were, it was a far more indescribable sensation. If he had to put a word on it then it would be faith, it was somewhat similar to the lines of faith he could previously feel thanks to his God Gate.
A lingering sensation, a faint desire, or just a trick of the mind, Yao Jun had no idea which of them was the case. But what he did know was that Sirius and the others were definitely fighting with all they had right now, Zhuanxu and the others who were stuck in his fragmented gate might be doing the exact same thing, struggling to break free. And if all of them were fighting then there was no way he could do any worse. He wasn't content with just defending, he would move forward without pause, he would attack and break through.
"Raise your guard, Young One."
The Thousand Arms Master's voice broke the silence that had swallowed the area, the sound of his foot leaving the earth so loud that it was almost deafening. He tore through the air with a subdued whooshing sound, his fist rushing forward, a strange brown material that looked like both metal and wood gathering around his arm. The material turned his arm into a drill covered in bristles, the weapon that evolution had chosen would be best suited to finishing off Yao Jun.
The blood vessels in Yao Jun's eyes all burst open at the same time as he pushed them to the very brink, his vision dyed a deep scarlet as he did everything in his power to track the Thousand Arms Master. He gathered every ounce of his Monarch Essence and Anima Essence, not leaving behind a single drop as he gathered it all in his left hand.
The air around his raised palm started to twist and distort from the sheer heat, Yao Jun pushing the palm down and sideways. It landed on the drill that came straight for him, the bristles stabbing into his palm. The moment they touched him, they expanded violently, turning into branch-like growths that dug into his body to destroy every part of him at once so that he couldn't even heal.
But while the strange growths tried to ruin him, he tried to do the same to the Thousand Arms Master's hand. The air around his palm distorted more and more, the strange wood-like metal screeching slightly beneath his palm. Yao Jun ignored all the pain and all his wounds, focusing everything he had on his left hand, striving towards that image he had chosen for himself.
It was just like the Divine Emperor had told him in the path, it was important to delve into each of his laws, to study them and come up with a path for himself. His law of water had settled into the path of reflection, a mirror that could fool the keenest eyes and replicate everything in front of it. In theory, it was a very defensive law with some rather strange attacking capabilities.
But what about his other laws, what paths had they settled in, what height did they strive for? His law of ice sought only the most extreme frost, an absolute zero that could halt even time and space if pushed hard enough. And his law of fire also followed that same path, it sought the extreme pinnacle of heat. Not fire, not burning, extreme heat, a temperature so great that not even space would leave behind ashes when it passed by.
He didn't have access to his Qi, but by using up both his Monarch Essence and his Anima Essence, he would be able to produce a result greater than what his Qi could. After all, their efficiency with the law was greatly reduced, but when combined he could use quantity to make up for quality.
And for a short moment, that extreme that he strove for was achieved thanks to the quantity he piled onto it. A soft puff sounded out as the wood-like metal gave out, vanishing beneath Yao Jun's palm. His hand continued straight through it, the drill vanishing under the extreme heat that surrounded Yao Jun's entire palm.
But the branch-like growths had already extended up to his shoulder, and the extreme heat obviously wasn't present in his body so they were allowed to keep growing despite the disappearance of the drill, albeit at a greatly reduced speed. His defence was successful, but Yao Jun had already determined that he wasn't content with just defending, his lowered right palm shooting forward in the split-second that the Thousand Arms Master was surprised by the disappearance of his hand.
His hand made contact with the Thousand Arms Master's waist once more, his jaws clamping down on the four pills he had stuffed into his mouth earlier. The tremendous lifeforce contained within them flooded down his throat and spread throughout the rest of his body, but rather than allowing it to heal all his wounds, Yao Jun forcefully assimilated it.
Monarch Essence was just sublimated lifeforce that was usually mixed with one or more laws, that was why it was so extremely useful for healing wounds. He had drained all his Monarch Essence for his defence, but now he got an influx of new lifeforce so he hastily sublimated it and turned it into something more useable for his current goal.
And all that energy was gathered in his right palm, the law of ice surging in a rampant manner. It would be faster to use his law of fire again, but he was worried that the Thousand Arms Master would adapt to it after experiencing it in his defence so he changed to the opposite element despite it meaning it would take a bit longer.
But that short moment he needed to change to the opposite law was something he had already bought himself, courtesy of the surprise the Thousand Arms Master felt at unexpectedly losing his hand. His palm got colder and colder, to the point that the air around it started to flow slower and slower. And in the end, the air around it stopped flowing altogether, the extreme chill invading the Thousand Arms Master's body and halting the movement of his atoms.
The two people stopped moving, both having delivered their attacks. The Thousand Arms Master moved his gaze away from his rapidly regrowing hand and lowered it to his waist. It didn't look frozen, but cracks spread on it as he looked at it, chunks quickly falling off and turning into white dust that blew away.
"Alright, I'll admit that you've surprised me, Young One. It's so very minor, but I'm amazed that you were able to actually inflict a wound on me. Perhaps this is why you were chosen, one final act of petty vengeance against me. Whatever the reason, you've succeeded. I no longer have any ground to refuse you, you have passed the trials with flying colours."
The Thousand Arms Master spoke with a drawn-out and somewhat regretful sigh, the missing parts of his waist getting replaced by a gelatinous substance that seeped out from the skin around the ruined part. He gave Yao Jun's shoulder a pat, the branch-like growths that continued to spread through his body turning liquid and flowing through his body, sealing up the holes and correcting the broken bones. The trials were passed and he had proven his worth, as the overseer it was his duty to reward the victor. Or perhaps in his case, the reward might prove to be a curse.