Chapter 1044 Anger
However, one death still became ten, and ten became a hundred, and a hundred became two hundred.
The lives of essence gatherers were reaped with such ease that even Elder Bowa felt a shiver creep up his spine. This was because he could tell that Dyon wasn't using strength that surpassed the normal realms of an essence gatherer!
Despite having a celestial body, Dyon purposely held his strength back, relying solely on his comprehension of the techniques to power him. At that moment, he was a true early stage essence gatherer, yet he reaped the lives of those at his cultivation level so easily… This was the power of having techniques to rely on!
During his whole journey thus far, Dyon had never had any attack techniques to speak of. Yet, as he climbed deeper and deeper into his comprehension, he suddenly realized how stupid he had been to ignore this facet of cultivation for so long. If he wasn't so focused, he'd be tilting his head back, laughing at the heavens.
As for the spirits, they had never seen such quick breakthroughs in their lives. Of course, for them, as dao formation experts, they could learn a common level technique in the blink of an eye. However, Dyon wasn't a dao formation expert! Just what level would his comprehension reach when he was at their level?!
BOOM!
An illusory bear matted with golden-brown fur seemed to swing its fists in unison with Dyon's. It stood on its hind legs, roaring into the skies as though to remind the world that it was King. At that moment, there was no doubt that Dyon had reached the completion stage… Every life he reaped no longer left a rain of blood because even the drops of crimson were completely obliterated!
Dyon's legs whipped forward at blinding speeds. The air bent to his will, the clouds dispersed at his whim, and his power bore down on the world, uncaring for the cries and pleas of mercy. In this world, there was only him and his leg, sweeping through the skies.
Mist began to surround Dyon as his legs disappeared into a blur.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Dyon's fists and legs could no longer be contained by the body of one. The air currents ripped through the skies, reaping two lives at once, then three. Eventually, a single sweep of his leg or even a single raging fist took ten lives at once!
From the beginning of the fight until now, a mere ten minutes had passed, yet Dyon had learned three techniques to the peak level their creators intended.
In one moment, he was a herd of gazelles galloping at ridiculous speeds, in another he was king of a mountain, roaring into the skies with disdain for the world, and in the next, his legs could cause destruction to even the air itself.
The most shocking part was that with every movement he took, with every fist he threw out, with every leg that swept through the skies, he became more and more powerful, as though he was still seeking a new level, as though it still wasn't enough!
Elder Bowa's expression could only become worse and worse. Eventually, he grit his teeth. "Ready the formation!"
There were many fail safes implemented into the Soul Market, but not all of them involved destroying everything in sight. One of them involved a kill array that once protected Soul Rending Peak at the height of its powers…
Elder Bowa was unwilling to use it because unlike the teleportation array, its power consumption relied on the energy stones of today, something that made his heart bleed.
However, he only asked for the array to be prepared as a precautionary measure. As far as he was concerned, the moment he personally acted, this would all be over.
"Come and die!" He roared, charging into the skies after Dyon's flashing body with a speed that put Dyon's movement technique to shame.
Despite an elder of the celestial level rushing toward Dyon, brimming with killing intent, Dyon still didn't fall out of his selfless state. It seemed as though the state itself was created for him, as though it was only natural that he could accomplish a feat others spent their whole lives chasing as easily as breathing his next breath.
However, no matter how calm he was, he had no chance of avoiding the attack of a celestial while capping himself at the essence gatherer level.
'Flaws…' Everything seemed to slow down to the extreme for Dyon. Normal lower common level techniques would be rife with flaws, even potentially harmful ones. However, this wasn't the case for the techniques of the Celestial Deer Sect.
For sects at that level, they understood the importance of foundation. Therefore, they knew that even their best geniuses should begin with low level techniques. In that case, how could they leave the possibility of harming their younger generation?
Therefore, the techniques were carefully selected and were all the very best of their level category and often times were more powerful than normal techniques ranked higher than them.
So, the flaws Dyon was referring to weren't harmful, but rather, limitations in the creator's comprehension… A disconnect in conveying a clear image, or the projection of a flawed image.
'[Whipping Wing, Galloping Steps] is powerful and provides explosive, short term speed, however it's too predictable and lacks flexibility…'
Dyon's eyes shone as Elder Bowa rapidly approached him. In that moment, his foot seemed to blur.
A rapid series of galloping steps resounded through the air. The sound barrier shattered, causing rings of violent wind currents to project below Dyon's feet.
However, the sound no longer felt as though it was coming from one direction.
A confusing cognitive dissonance overwhelmed Elder Bowa. His eyes told him that Dyon was right in front of him, but his senses as a warrior told him that Dyon was behind him… no, to the side of him… no, above him… no, below!
By the time Elder Bowa oriented himself, swinging a palm toward Dyon, he could only watched wide eyed as he realized he had misjudged his strike, causing him to barely miss Dyon's body.
At that moment, the glow in Dyon's eyes sharpened as his figure seem to meld into the world. If they had been on a planet, auspicious signs would shine down, filling Dyon with Heaven's Blessings. However, a mere asteroid didn't have access to such things.
'I've underestimated him…' Dyon's Master lamented. The value of being blessed by heaven shouldn't be underestimated. In fact, it was something that many wouldn't experience in their entire lifetimes. However, she had actually caused her precious disciple to miss out on such an opportunity, how could she not feel guilty?
Space was devoid of energy, which was why it was so dangerous even for a celestial. Now that Dyon had broken into the One with Self stage in such a place, he couldn't take part in the benefits of doing so.
In the history of those who achieved such a level, this was probably the first time it was so anti-climactic.
Even a dao formation expert wouldn't guarantee that they could raise a common level technique to the One with Self level… Let alone do so in less than 20 minutes… It was too inconceivable!
Dyon's body swayed in the air, avoiding Elder Bowa's strikes by a hair every time. It was only now he understood the majesty of the One with Self realm. It was as though the technique was created by him, causing it to exhibit a strength far surpassing its usual cap.
The most shocking part was that to dodge Elder Bowa's advances, Dyon had only raised his power output to the peak saint stage. Even though Elder Bowa was only a fifth-grade celestial, such a feat was mind boggling!
One couldn't forget that these techniques weren't body cultivation techniques. They were meant to be used alongside energy. Yet, Dyon had raised them to such a level even with his energy cultivation sealed. Currently, Dyon was imitating the flow of energy by using his blood. After all, Meridians were just another facet of the circulatory system. However, that didn't change just how shocking such a feat was.
It could only be imagined how effective they'd be when used in their truest form.
Elder Bowa's anger grew fiercer. He had been attacking Dyon for half a minute already, yet he, as an esteemed celestial, couldn't kill a mere essence gatherer? The slap to his face was so resounding that his cheeks visibly reddened.
The most anger inducing part was that he could tell that Dyon was slowly, but surely, decreasing his power output, trying to rely on his comprehension to enhance his speed.
From the beginning, Elder Bowa hadn't used any techniques. He had already stooped low enough to attack an essence gatherer, how could he stoop any further? However, the anger got to him and he no longer cared about his face.
At that moment, Elder Bowa's speed erupted as he too circulated his own movement technique. Unlike Dyon's, it was at the Peak Common Level!
Dyon immediately detected the change in speed. He realized that he could no longer toy around, if he treated a celestial lightly, he would be the one to suffer.
His fist flew forward, following roar of a majestic bear. However, there was no suspense when he met Elder Bowa's fist.
Dyon was blasted hundreds of meters backward, causing him to lose control of his movement technique and fall from the skies and into a heap of rubble.